Page 51 of The Guy Who Became My Grumpy Boss

Barring his grumpy attitude, that is.

The waiter, Thom, arrived. “Are you finished with this?”

“Only if you have our next course ready to go,” Brooke replied with a smile.

Thom nodded once. “It will be out momentarily, miss.”

I was glad for the respite from my friends’ interrogation. I needed a moment to breathe. To think. If only my brain would engage properly. Instead, I was left with half-finished fantasies about Danger Zone battling against everything we needed to get finished before the retreat.

Danger Zone had probably been right about heading home tonight. It was only going to get worse from here on out.

Thom brought our main course, and after he told us what everything was, he left us to our own devices.

“When is our meeting with the Curvy Gurl Crew?” Ashley asked.

“Thursday night,” I said. “I’ll send a list of our options out before then.”

“Do you want someone else to do it?” Brooke asked. “You’re pretty swamped right now, darlin’.”

“It’s fine.” I stabbed my first piece of chicken and dipped it in one of the pots. “I’ve written the message, I just need to send it. I was waiting to see if anyone else had any ideas.”

“I like Brooke’s idea.” Ashley jerked her thumb at our friend.

“William’s idea of flying everyone everywhere?” Brooke replied.

Ashley nodded.

That still didn’t sit right with me for some reason, but I covered my irritation by selecting a piece of beef with another skewer and immersing it in a different pot.

“It would be fun,” Brooke insisted.

I said nothing and wondered if I should have just gone home after work instead of calling the girls. This conversation had stressed me out way more than answering stupid questions via email had.

***

The next morning, I woke up to a handful of texts from Danger Zone.

Peter:This is what Marissa came up with for the gift baskets. What do you think?

A list followed. One that I was annoyed to say was acceptable. Brilliant, actually. I hated that Marissa was so good at things. It would be easier to dislike her if she was incompetent.

The next message had made me stop halfway to the bathroom.

Peter:I’ll be in the office early. I’ll have coffee waiting for you.

Technically, Danger Zone knew what kind of coffee I preferred and where I got it from, but it had been a while since he’d ordered it for me. Maybe he kept notes on everything in his phone.

Every little detail about me might be in his phone.

I shivered, then remembered I’d been on the way to shower, and continued. Before I got in, I sent him back a thumbs up for the coffee and “Great ideas” for the baskets.

That’s all I could manage so early on a…what day was it?

Wednesday?

It felt like mini golf had been weeks ago, but the memory of Danger Zone’s breath on my neck from the evening before seemed to be as fresh as if it had happened when I’d gotten out of bed.

I groaned as I shut the bathroom door. I could not go into work thinking about my boss like that. It would only complicate my day.

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