Page 42 of The Guy Who Became My Grumpy Boss

The woman shook her head, sending her halo of dark hairtwisting. “Consider yourselves lucky. We had three people end up in the hospital due to injuries on the ropes course and seven others because of severe food poisoning.”

“Seriously?” Gina asked.

Another man affirmed the woman’s allegations, and suddenly the whole group was talking about it.

I kept quiet, listening. A part of me felt a little smug that I’d brought this up and Marissa had either lied about calling the place or had been lied to, but I was trying not to let it go to my head.

Speaking of Marissa, after several emails back and forth I’d told her she had to contact Danger Zone herself and not continue to make me the middleman.

“So we’re going mini golfing?” Gina asked me.

“Sort of.” I explained that we’d all been put on teams and that each team would build a mini golf hole using only non-perishable food items that they bought with money provided by the company along with other supplies Danger Zone and I had made a list of the night before. Afterward, all the food would go to an organization that made sure that underprivileged kids received at least one good meal a day.

Danger Zone had somehow acquired several personal stories from kids that the organization had benefited. I’d totally teared up on the train here reading them.

Again, all of this had been in the email that they’d supposedly read, but I did my best to explain it and make it sound fun.

“And when we’re finished, we’re donating the food?” Gina asked.

“That’s the plan.”

Gina, who hadn’t exactly looked excited about the activity, pursed her lips. “That might be okay.”

“It should be a good time, and it’s for a good cause,” I said.

The elevator finally came, and we squished in like sardines.Unlike a normal ride up to the fifteenth floor when most people remained silent while listening to their Bluetooth headphones, our trip was filled with talk of the candle company’s retreat as well as ours.

Most people were happy with the day off, and at least half seemed somewhat excited about the activity.

“Why not just donate the food and give us another day off?” one man asked.

Gina scoffed. “And pass up the chance to torture us?”

Everyone laughed at Gina’s comment.

Knowing that this had been Danger Zone’s first suggestion made me grin. He wasn’t the only one who was averse to forced bonding.

The occupancy of the elevator slowly dwindled, and by the time we got to the fifteenth floor, there were only five of us left. Everyone went their separate ways, all talking about the retreat, when my text message chime sounded.

When I pulled out my phone and saw Brooke’s name, I scowled.

Brooke:How did things go last night?

I’d been furious when she’d suddenly canceled on me, and I was loath to tell her that things went better than I could have ever dreamed, so I decided to keep it simple.

Jessica:I won.

Brooke:Good for you, but how did it go with DZ?

Jessica:Fine.

There was no way I was going to recount what had happened between Danger Zone and me. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, other than that we weren’t in the same place we had been eighteen hours ago.

Danger Zone was more complicated than I’d anticipated,but I found myself wanting to know more about him. The man hadn’t been kidding when he’d said he needed to experience mini golf before he could play for the retreat. He’d not only watched my every move but also everything and everyone around us. It was like he was soaking in the whole experience so he could process it and then figure out how to implement what he’d learned.

Of course I’d noticed that he struggled interacting with people, but I’d had no idea that he had to go to such extreme measures to feel comfortable in each situation.

I reached my desk and was about to put my phone down when it chimed again.

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