Page 97 of The Guy Who Became My Grumpy Boss

She looked haggard. Her hair was half tied up in a bun that looked as if it was holding on for dear life. Dark circles carved rings under her eyes, and her cheeks were flushed red, as if she’d been crying. The wall-mounted television had been playing a movie, which was now paused.

I stopped a few steps into the room, and we stared at each other.

Marissa broke the silence first. “Why are you here?”

“Many reasons. Are you hungry?” I held up the Hawaiian bag.

Her eyes went wide.

I smiled at the surprised expression. “Spam Loco Moco.”

“Not sushi?” Marissa’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“I heard you didn’t like that.” My attempt at humor was pedestrian, at best, but her lips twitched toward a smile.

“How did you remember about the Loco Moco?” Marissa tried to sit up.

“You ordered it more than once when we went to Hawaii as kids.” Each meal had come in a box, so I handed hers over, retrieved mine, and sat on one of the chairs.

We ate in silence, which I took as a good sign. She could be yelling at me. Instead, she seemed to be truly enjoying her food.

After I’d eaten half of my meal, Marissa put her fork down and cleared her throat. “Thank you for this.”

“It’s the least I can do,” I said.

She shook her head and closed her eyes, as if she was reviewing something in her mind. I knew the process well. “You don’t owe me anything.”

My thoughts kept trying to jump ahead in our conversation, but I quieted them. I could be present. “I at least owe you an apology for not being clear with you about my feelings.”

“You were clear.” Marissa picked a piece of Spam out of her meal and ate it. “I just didn’t want to believe it.” She sighed heavily. “I had a whole plan for the retreat.”

I raised my eyebrows.

Marissa waved her hand. “I’d purposely put us in the same room and made sure there wasn’t another open room at the resort. I was going to spend the whole time making you fall for me.” She managed a weak smile. “I had such plans. I had plans within plans.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I didn’t.

“Then I broke my leg, and the retreat got changed, and suddenly, you were spending time with Jessica.” Marissa gave me an apologetic look. “I saw you guys at the office Sunday night.”

“How?” I asked.

“I heard you were going to be there and talked the security guys into turning on my laptop camera and aiming it at the conference room.” She looked away from me. “When I saw you and Jessica kissing, I was so mad. That’s why I came to the hotel on Monday. I knew I only had one chance to win you back.”

Someone with a normal brain might have seen this coming, but I hadn’t suspected any of it.

Marissa continued. “But you kept passing me off, and I had to go to extremes to get your attention.”

I blinked, putting the pieces together. “You started the fire?” She’d told the authorities that she hadn’t seen anything.

She nodded miserably. “I did. I’m not proud of it.”

“You went to very extreme measures,” I said.

“I did. Oh, don’t blame Lance. I’d sent him away to get me a drink. I already told Amelia that it was me. We have a meeting next week.”

This was a lot to take in, and I let silence descend again. After a few minutes, I broke it. “Did you really want to be a park ranger?”

Marissa laughed a bitter laugh. “I did.”

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