Page 58 of The Guy Who Became My Grumpy Boss

I’d almost called Ashely in, but a tiny part of me wanted this time with Danger Zone. He’d started to open up a little, and Iwas desperate to see where that went.

“Do you want to put the items in or wrap the stuff up?” I asked.

Danger Zone frowned. “Let me arrange the items.”

“You sure?” He didn’t sound confident.

He nodded and moved to the other side of the room to grab some baskets to put on the table.

I wasn’t the best at packaging things, but I should be able to handle cellophane and the simple twist ties on the end of a bow to close everything up.

Danger Zone started assembling, and I did my best not to stare. Today was the first time I’d ever seen him wear anything besides a suit.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked him in a suit, but the dark red T-shirt and jogger pants left very little to the imagination.

The guy did indeed have wiry, muscular arms, and I didn’t want to admit that I’d watched carefully when he’d bent over to get something off the floor. I felt a little naughty basically drooling over my boss, but he obviously worked hard to stay in shape, and I was more than happy to admire the results.

Besides, I’d caught him staring at me more than once. I may or may not have worn an off-the-shoulder shirt on purpose, and Danger Zone obviously approved.

“Can I ask you about something?” Danger Zone said as he handed me the first finished basket.

I blinked. We’d mostly been working in silence, but I gladly took the bait. “Sure.”

“Do you enjoy opening storage units with your friends?”

My fingers froze halfway through bundling the cellophane above one of the baskets.

“You’ve seen our channel?” That, in and of itself, was strange. I’d never pictured him spending time on anything so silly.

“I have.” Danger Zone kept assembling as he waited for my answer.

I gathered the wrapping above the basket and twisted. The sound of crinkling plastic filled the air and gave me a minute to come up with my answer. “I do.”

“Why?”

“Why do I like it?” I asked.

“Yes.” He set another completed basket on the table.

I put the bow in place, and twisted the tie in the back to cinch everything together. This isn’t something I’d thought about recently. “There are a few reasons. I like being with people, I love having friends, and I enjoy the mystery and excitement of opening a unit. We never know what we’re going to find, and that’s part of the fun.”

Or it had been. Now it seemed all I did was stress about it.

When Danger Zone saw the basket I’d just finished, he frowned.

“What?” I gave him a quizzical look.

He pursed his lips, as if deciding on his next course of action, then carefully picked his way through the obstacles on the floor to stand next to me. His fingers found that spot on my back, and I almost shivered. “You mangled it.”

I studied my first attempt and squinted. “Looks okay to me.”

He sighed and reached past me to rescue the basket. “Can I show you?”

“You know something about wrapping?” There was a hefty amount of sarcasm in my voice.

“I do,” he said simply as he untwisted the tie and handed the bow to me.

I took the bow and was trying to decide if I was going to be grumpy about this or not, when I accidentally met Danger Zone’s gaze.

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