Page 7 of The Guy Who Became My Grumpy Boss

She could deal with anyone and figure anything out.

Not to mention I had a wide-eyed, office-building-sized crush on her that I couldn’t shake.

Chapter 3

-Jessica-

Why did Marissa continue to test me? She’d never caught me off guard, and I’d never floundered under what she thought was fierce scrutiny.

If only she knew how tough I was on myself and the high standards I held myself to. Marissa would never challenge me again.

“I have concerns.” Marissa’s tall heels clicked on the tiles as she took a few steps to look into Danger Zone’s office. She wore her signature super-short blue skirt with a matching suit jacket and pink blouse.

As always, Danger Zone made her wait until exactly the appointed time. He did this to everyone.

“What are your concerns?” I asked in a perfectly neutral voice. I’d spent years working on the tone.

Marissa blinked, as if she’d forgotten she’d said anything.

Probably because all she was really thinking about was getting into Danger Zone’s office. The woman had the hots for my boss, and while he didn’t seem to notice, I did.

“We can talk about them with Peter,” Marissa said.

“Sounds good.” I smiled.

She smiled back.

Neither of our expressions was warm.

Marissa diverted her full attention to me and cocked herhead to the side. “Have you lost weight?”

“I have not.” I had to force my voice to remain even.

“Are you sure? You look different.”

Probably because I’d gained a few pounds in the past six months. Stress eating was real, and since no matter what I did I could never stay below a size eighteen, I’d sort of given up for a bit. The onset of spring would likely lure me out on walks.

I wasn’t sure why, but Marissa commented on my weight each and every time we interacted.

Compared to me, Marissa was a bean pole. She couldn’t possibly wear more than a size four, and once in a while, she looked so gaunt I worried about her.

Not enough to ask her if she was okay, mind you, but I did think about it. That should count for something, right?

A notification sprung up from the corner of my monitor, indicating that it was time for our meeting.

Danger Zone got the same notification, and he stood.

I had a problem. I knew I had a problem, and his name was Peter Kim, aka Danger Zone. Each time he stood from his desk, buttoned his suit jacket, and strode to the door, I watched.

I couldn’t help it. The man was just the right height, had the body of a swimmer who lifted enough weights to create tantalizing muscles in his arms and chest, and he was Asian. Not to mention, he was ruthlessly efficient and grumpy.

Basically, this guy was my kryptonite.

His grumpiness added to his hotness level.

If I told myself the truth, I’d been harboring a crush on him since I’d met him, but I’d often wondered if it was just me wanting to have a guy in my life. A man I could fixate on, but who was forbidden. Lookie-no-touchy, which meant he was safe.

I was safe.

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