Page 7 of Beauty and the Bosshole

“Hello, Ms. Nina.” I smile at her. “You’re looking very beautiful today.” She seems to have a thing for vintage clothes, and not just vintage by a few years. She’s rocking aLittle House on the Prairielook, but it works for her. Her long, flowing, pale blue dress even has the little white apron thing on the front of it.

“Aren’t you the sweetest.” She beams at me, and I notice the mischief flashing in her icy blue eyes. “And you look quite lovely today.”

“Thank you.” I’ve been struggling to dress professionally while also keeping true to my own style. In the end, I bought several boring “work” skirts and plain blouses, and I’ve been accessorizing to make the boring outfits work on my short, curvy frame. Today, I’m wearing my navy-blue pencil skirt and light blue silky blouse with my fuchsia and yellow plaid scarf and my four-inch fuchsia heels.

“Has my son been behaving himself and treating you nicely?”

I’m not sure his heated looks and tendency to stare at me counts as behaving, and his grumpy attitude definitely isn’t nice. “He has.” I cross my fingers behind my back and blurt out another whopper, “Reese is very easy to deal with as a boss.”

Her white eyebrows shoot straight up a split second before she throws back her head and laughs. “Did you know your left eye tends to twitch when you bend the truth?”

“Uh…” I’m not sure how to respond.

“Don’t worry, doll. I won’t give your little secret away.” She winks at me. “We girls have to stick together.”

This conversation has us on a very slippery slope, so I decide to turn things in a professional direction. “Would you like to have a seat, and I’ll let Reese know you’re here?”

“I already know.” We both spin around at the sound of Reese’s voice. Darn, he’s too freaking quiet. He needs a collar with a bell on it, just like I put on my cat. “Mother, come on in so we can figure this shit out.” Then he turns to me. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”

His shocking offer causes my brain to misfire, and I end up standing there staring at him with my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“But…” I manage to croak out, “I still have a few things to do.”

“They’ll still be here tomorrow. You’ve stayed late every day since you started, and you deserve the time off.” Now, I know what my clever boss is doing. He’s trying to pull the wool over his mother’s eyes. Good luck with that.

“Thank you.” I smile at Reese while his mother looks back and forth between us with suspicion shining in her eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I call as Reese and Ms. Nina head to his office.

I don’t waste any time turning off my computer and grabbing my purse before rushing out the door like the hounds of hell are on my heels. There’s no way I’m wasting a second of my afternoon off.

On the way home, I stop by the Porter Downtown Market to grab a few things since my cupboards are bare, and Max will be rebelling if I don’t buy more of his favorite treats.

“Hello, Ava,” Mr. Nathaniel, the store owner and my third-grade teacher, calls to me as I grab a basket. “How are you today?”

“Hi. I’m great, Mr. Nathaniel. I’m on my way home from work and needed a few things.” I give him a wave and attempt to head straight to the produce aisle, but I only make it as far as the first checkout stand.

“How’s your new job going?” Beth Ann, the middle-aged cashier who’s a fixture at the small country grocery store, stops me.

“It’s great.” I’m not about to go into all the juicy details with the town grapevine’s director. “I’m sorry I don’t have time to talk right now, but I have to hurry up and grab a few things and get home.”Leave it vague,echoes around my mind.

“Oh.” Her eyes light up, and I realize my response was too vague. “Do you have plans tonight?”

I need to head this off quickly before the entire town hears about my imaginary plans from the Porter grapevine. “Nope. I’m meal prepping for the rest of the week and watching TV.” I give her a bright smile and head off to do my quick shopping.

An hour and a half later, I drag my three bags into my tiny duplex and drop them on the small table in my kitchen. “Max, I’m home,” I call out, wondering where my ornery old cat is hiding. “I bought you a treat.”

A white and black streak zips across the room and up onto the counter at the sound of the “T” word. “Were you a good boy today?” I attempt to give him a scratch under the chin, but my cat is laser-focused on my promise, so I grab the bag of cat treats and hand him two.

“I can’t believe I have to bribe you to let me give you pets,” I grumble to him as he runs off to enjoy his treats.

I’m putting away the rest of my groceries when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I hit the talk button without even checking who’s calling. “Hello.”

“Hello, Ava.” His deep voice sends chills down my spine, and I almost drop the half gallon of milk in my hand.

“Reese, is everything okay?” If he makes me work this evening after giving me the afternoon off, I’m going to be so mad.

“There’s a catastrophe brewing that I need to head off,” he sighs, “in Las Vegas.”

The thought of having him out of the office for a few days is freaking appealing. “When are you leaving?”

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