Page 15 of The Guy Who Became My Grumpy Boss

The doctor nodded.

“But until they arrive, please keep me apprised of what’s going on.” I wrote my number in the corner of a whiteboard on the wall.

If I was going to survive the retreat, I was going to have to rearrange my whole schedule for next week. I could call Jessica now but didn’t want to blow up her Sunday.

I imagined her hanging out with friends and basically having a party every night. None of that sounded appealing to me, which made me wonder if we could actually be compatible. It was one of many reasons I’d never approached her romantically.

I said goodbye to the doctor and then called Marissa’s parents, whom I’d known since my mother had died. After a brief report, I hung up and was walking out of the hospital when my phone buzzed again. I glared down at it, and the expressiononly deepened when I saw Tyrell’s number.

A quick check of the time told me he’d waited until after my flower arranging should have been finished to call.

More people in the world needed to be like Tyrell.

I swiped the phone to life. “Peter here.”

“Hey, Peter. Sorry to bug you on a Sunday.”

I didn’t reply.

Tyrell kept going. “I’m afraid there’s a problem with the retreat.”

“I just left Marissa,” I said simply.

“I didn’t think the two of you hung out on the weekends,” Tyrell commented.

“She’s in the hospital.”

“She’s what?” Tyrell asked.

“That’s not why you called?”

“No. I mean. What happened?”

I quickly brought Tyrell up to speed, and when I finished, silence filled the air.

Something was off.

“Tyrell?” I prompted.

Tyrell cleared his throat. “Well, I have more bad news for you. The facility we had booked for the retreat is temporarily shut down for safety purposes. We’re going to have to completely replan it.”

Chapter 5

-Jessica-

I should have let the call go to voice mail.

However, since I was currently waiting outside a wedding dress store for Brooke to arrive, I drew the device from my pocket and frowned.

“What does Marissa want?” It was Sunday. I almost dismissed it entirely, but the only way Marissa could have gotten this number was from the emergency list at work. There could be a legitimate problem, or this could be her retribution for the lack of eclairs. I took a breath and answered. “Hello?”

“Jessica.”

Did I get a greeting? No.

Marissa went on. “You need to take notes.” She sounded lethargic but also extra bossy. I wasn’t sure how she’d managed that. “Are you taking notes?”

I resisted the urge to let out an annoyed sigh and navigated to the record button on my phone. “I’m ready.”

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