Page 5 of Doubly Tied

Anise ground her teeth. But rather than tell him what she really thought of his shenanigans, she bit her lip. Holding back her nasty rebuttal, she shook her head. Pasting a polite smile on her face, Ani sat her purse on top of her rolling luggage.

“Sorry, Mr. Guerrero,” she addressed him formally, “but this trip has been booked for ages. I have to meet my sisters. I will check out the numbers when my flight lands. I hope you and Mrs. Guerrero have an enjoyable weekend.”

Her boss frowned. Mr. Guerrero nodded his head and backed out of the doorway when she gestured with her suitcase. There was just no way in hell she was going to flirt with her much older and very married boss.

At first, the attention was flattering. He’d praised her abilities, and Anise had eaten it up. Shy and nerdy most of her life, she was grateful for the professional compliments he paid her. But once they started becoming personal, she’d grown uncomfortable.

While shy most of the time, Anise was no pushover. She approached him once about making personal comments, and he’d apologized forher misunderstanding. Ani had thought it was over. But here they were again, and she was in no mood. His behavior only confirmed her belief that her resignation was perfectly timed.

But Ani did not want to worry about all of that right now. She wanted nothing more than to kick back with her sisters on a sandy beach, drinking cosmos and tequila shots. Finally, the sisters Freeman annual vacay was here, and Ani could embrace her inner wild child.

She was so done with David Guerrero andEarthOil. The Uber she’d called to drive her to the airport was waiting outside. She adjusted her face mask, conscientious of the global pandemic that had put a halt to most travel for over a year, but even so, as she climbed inside the air-conditioned vehicle, Ani felt free for the first time in forever.

“GPS says we should be there in twenty minutes,” the driver said, her own clear face shield in place, and Ani nodded at the older woman.

“Thank you,” she replied.

“I don’t mean to pry, but you seem upset.”

“Sorry,” Ani apologized. “I’m fine.”

She let that sit for a moment, wondering why the lie came so easy to her.

She was not fine.

Far from it, in fact.

“Whatever you say, miss,” the driver replied.

“Actually, I’m not fine. Can you believe mymarried bossjust hit on me? Tried to tell me I should stay at work toorder inwith him and not go on vacation. As if!”

“No way!” The driver muttered something in Spanish that sounded distinctly like a curse Ani had once made the mistake of saying in front of her father.

Yikes!

“What a dog,chica! I hope you told him where to go,” the spunky woman continued.

“I mean, I didn’t tell him off. I just said no,” Ani replied.

“Fancy building like that, and the men are still dogs. I tell you, this world can be a crazy place sometimes.”

“Yeah. I just want to get away from it all. This year has been crazy, but I’m finally going to see my sisters and have some fun.”

“No boyfriend to come along?”

“No.” Ani laughed. “I’m afraid I have no luck in that department.

“Beautiful, smart lady like you? Should be easy,chica.”

“It’s not, though. I guess, I’m just hard to please.”

“Ha, sounds like an old boyfriend told you that BS.”

“Actually, you’re right,” Ani said, wondering why she felt so comfortable with the older woman. “My last boyfriend suggested I was a freak who needed psychiatric help. He, uh, said my expectations in the bedroom were not normal.”

“What a jerk! And I suppose he thought he was the only one deserving of orgasms in the bedroom! Am I right?”

“Yeah, I mean, what kind of man does that? OMG. I can’t believe I am discussing this with you. I am so sorry.”

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