Page 20 of The Guy Who Became My Grumpy Boss

“I don’t hate it,” Tyrell said.

Hope that I wouldn’t have to put together a last-minute retreat blossomed in my chest.

“But I don’t think Amelia will go for it.”

The delightful bloom of hope froze and exploded into a thousand shards of ice. It almost physically hurt.

Tyrell held up a finger. “Not fully, anyway.”

The shards thawed but didn’t dissipate. “What do you mean?”

“I like the idea of giving people a day off. Maybe make it a long weekend. However, Amelia is going to want us all to do something together.” He shook his head. “Not just lunch.”

I took a deep breath and opened a blank page on my phone. “What do you suggest?”

“I’m no expert at this.” He held up his hands. “Can Marissahelp with ideas?”

“She’s high on pain killers at the moment.”

“Then she might have some good ideas.”

“I don’t want to bother her while she’s injured and awaiting surgery.”

That wasn’t entirely true. I’d been replaying my time at the hospital with her and found myself uncomfortable with the way she’d clung to me. If she’d been in pain or distress, I would have justified it, but she’d obviously been feeling good because of the drugs and therefore uninhibited.

Marissa and I had gone on a few official dates right after college. She’d forced me to hold her hand and had done far too much giggling for my taste. When I’d told her I wasn’t interested in dating anyone at the time, she’d continued to cling to me.

That’s what she’d acted like at the hospital.

For now, I’d dismiss it as a trauma response, but I wasn’t about to spend more time with her than I needed to. I didn’t want to give her the wrong idea.

“Fair enough,” Tyrell said. “Can Jessica help? She seems to be capable of pretty much anything.”

The thought of working with Jessica on this threw everything in my mind and body off; it somehow also made me feel warm inside. “She can,” I said.

“Have you already talked to her?” Tyrell asked.

“Not yet, but we can handle it.” I spoke with more bravado than I felt.

“You’ll have to be quick.” Tyrell leaned forward. “We need to get the new information to people as soon as possible.”

I looked at the clock and found that it was already eight-thirty. I wanted to get to my desk before Jessica arrived so I could ground myself. “Give us until the end of the day to come up with some proposals.”

Tyrell raised his eyebrows.

I stood. “Which means I have work to do.”

“Fine. Get going.” Tyrell made a shooing motion.

I left his office and walked toward his personal assistant, Catherine. The older woman, whose mind was twice as sharp as people half her age, always required a real-life human interaction from me. She was already madly typing on her computer with her head tilted back so she could see through her tri-focal lenses. “Morning, Peter.” Her fingers didn’t slow.

“Good morning, Catherine.”

That was usually it. Unfortunately, the typing abruptly stopped, and I felt a prickling at the base of my neck. “Peter, you promised me no trust fall, correct?”

I stopped, turned toward the woman, and looked directly into her shrewd, dark eyes. “Correct.”

Catherine, whose dyed blond hair resembled a mini afro, glared. “I’ve heard rumors that it’s on the list of bonding activities.”

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