Page 60 of Rich and Bossy

Now, he just looks irritated. “Why are you acting like an old woman? Stop manifesting shit into reality. It’s fine right now.” He claps a hand on my shoulder, gripping tight for a moment before letting go. “I wouldn’t lie to you. Nothing has happened. No chatter, at all, and trust me, we would know. I’ve never steered you wrong.”

“You got me to go on a date with Kristy What’s-her-name, friends with that theatre geek you were dating.”

He points. “I didn’t know she was…” He glances down at my crotch, trying not to laugh. “Infested? It’s not like she had it tattooed on her forehead. Little medication cleared it right up for you.” He finishes putting on his coat, still laughing. “Aside fromthat, something out of my control, I have a pretty good track record, don’t I?”

Yes, but nothing’s ever been as important as this. He doesn’t seem like he’s in the mood to understand what I’m trying to say, and I know better than to bang my head against a brick wall.

He reads the look on my face and breaks into a wide grin. “She gave up. It’s the only explanation. Most workers don’t want to ruffle feathers. I guarantee she tried and her own friends and coworkers shut it down.”

“Not buying it.” I’m having a hard time believing Hazel would just give up this easy. I would not bet against that.

“It’s the world’s oldest story. She decides she’s going to change the world—until she finds out how difficult that’ll actually be. Then she comes back down to reality, and she moves on with her life. It doesn’t have to be any deeper than that.” One more clap on the shoulder and he’s gone without asking if there was anything else I wanted to talk about.

I can’t believe how much I want him to be right. That would make everything so much easier if Hazel changed her mind, realized there was absolutely no way she could win this, once she’s up against the resources at our disposal. I don’t want to go to war with her.

Mainly because I know how bad we would beat her.

The only question is, did she do it because she saw how impossible it was to win? Or was it because of me? Because of us? I hate thinking that she’d give up on this because she likes me.

I want her to give up on it because it’s a horrible idea, and the worst thing she could do. I will do everything I can to blunt all these changes they’re experimenting with over there. I truly mean that. I might not get rid of all of them, but I can balance it out somehow.

I mull this over on the way back to my office, hardly aware of anyone around me. I don’t know how to feel about any of this. It’s all so confusing.

Did I really use sex to get her to quit? To get something for my company?

It doesn’t matter that my intentions were pure, that I didn’t plan on using her. I would hate for her to look back on that night and regret it. For her to think I did all of that just for money, for my company. It’s so much more. I don’t give a fuck about that.

I like her too much to let her think that way.

I have to talk to her.

I’ve tried to keep some distance, but I need to see her. Every day I don’t see her is torture, especially now that I’ve been inside her.

After letting Bree know I’m on my way out, I grab my coat and do my best to hide from anyone who might want another second of my time.

I think I knew I was going to do this, all day long, because subconsciously I drove the BMW again today. Man, it’s hard. I love my Charger and I know Hazel loves it too. I’m not trying to broadcast my whereabouts to the world, though.

Besides, pulling up in the Charger isn’t exactly an example of being discreet. I’ll attract less attention this way. At the end of the day, I don’t even care. If push comes to shove and somebody wants to know why I’m around, I’ll make up an excuse like visiting with management, checking in to see if there’s been any further developments with these union rumors. Paul will do whatever the hell I tell him to do, and he’ll kiss my ass the whole time.

Hell, the more I think about it, the more I enjoy the idea of surprising him. I almost hope I do have an excuse to announce my presence. I wouldn’t mind watching him squirm while I ask him a bunch of questions.

When I arrive, I pull up around the loading bay, figuring there’ll be so much activity I might go unnoticed. Only there isn’t much activity at all aside from a single warehouse employee who looks like he’s not doing much more than hanging around, keeping an eye on things during his smoke break. This place was buzzing when I visited a couple of weeks back. That couldn’t have been a show put on for my benefit, could it? No way, not with the volume of business we do every day. I might not know every last detail of every last fulfillment center, but thousands of packages ship out from here on a daily basis. That much, I do know.

The guy barely pays attention when I walk up.

“What’s going on? Where is everyone?” I do my best to stay hidden in the shadows of the loading bay.

He stubs out his cigarette, shrugging. “Some kind of meeting. Almost everybody is up in the auditorium. Everyone had to bust ass to make time for it at the end of the shift.” I look over his shoulder to find a single forklift being driven down one of the wide alleys between shelving units, and a pair of workers packing shipments for distribution. Otherwise, it’s almost eerie seeing so little activity.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, man.” It’s obvious he has no idea who I am, and I don’t have the time or inclination to reveal myself.

If he’s enjoying a cigarette break, let him. From what I understand, breaks like this are few and far between.

Since there’s nobody around to stop me, I find the elevator and take it to the third floor. The moment the doors open, I can hear a man’s voice down the hall. I follow it, ending up in the open doorway of a massive auditorium with slanted seating, designed to house the entire warehouse. And the chairs are all filled with workers who should be working, not watching a presentation.

I don’t recognize the man standing at the front, talking to everyone, but he’s wearing a blue polo shirt and reflective vest like the ones everyone else has on.

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