Page 31 of Unbossly Manners

His phone rang and he answered it before I could berate him further.

Derrick meandered through the small crowd, collecting the consent forms we’d signed in case we got injured. We were all there for a self-defense workshop the company was putting on.

“I’m glad you came,” Derrick said when he took mine. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Er…yeah. Totally,” I said, flustered. Why did I turn into a moron around him?

“You were hired at the start of summer, right?” One of his thick eyebrows lifted in question.

“March.” I bit my lip, remembering our first encounter. “I’ve been meaning to apologize for the whole sign-my-shirt-thing I did when I first met you.” I toed the floor with my shoe. “I’m sorry about that.”

His Instagram was filled with comments from hot girls in bikinis. They weren’t the only people who followed him, but they were the most vocal. He never engaged with them—at least in the comments—and I didn’t want him to think I was like one of them.

“I just really admire everything you’ve done in support of women,” I said. “It’s an honor to work here.”

Oh my god, please shut up.

“I forgot about that. You were cute.” His smile was bright.

Great. He was describing me like a puppy.

“Half the time I want to pinch myself,” he said. “It’s a privilege to have a platform to speak about the things I care about.”

“And if we’re bought by NOW, that platform will grow tenfold,” I said.

“Let’s not jinx it.” He winked. “We’re in the running but we’ve still got some competition.”

NOW was a multi-media, multinational company. Anything it touched turned to gold and it was looking to acquire another podcast company to bring into its network. They’d been interested in a dozen companies, but the fight had dwindled to two—FireVision and Dreamary.

A young woman came up with her completed form, coquettish in her gaze and gait, but Derrick’s attention on me didn’t falter as he took her paperwork and put it with the stack in his hands.

“Thanks for hosting this class,” I said, scrambling to think of something else to say.

“You were the inspiration.”

Heat spread to my neck and cheeks. “What do you mean?”

“Isaac and I had been planning on holding this class for a while but we kept putting it off. Then Jackson barged into my office on Friday and basically demanded we do it ASAP. When I asked why, he said you had an encounter with someone and he wanted you to be prepared if it happened again.”

I tucked my chin back, surprised.

“Don’t worry,” Derrick said. “He didn’t go into details, but he was adamant about it. I have to admit it concerned me. If someone assaulted you, I can call my old department and we can file a report.”

“Oh, no. It wasn’t a big deal,” I said, laying my hand over my heart, grateful he’d offered.

Selena gently elbowed her way through the crowd. I’d texted her earlier and asked her to attend the workshop with me. When she got to me, she bumped her hip with mine and slid her eyes over Derrick’s strong frame.

“Damn. If I liked cock, I’d be all over you.”

“Lena!” My eyes bulged and I smiled apologetically at Derrick. “You can’t say that.”

Derrick laughed. “It’s fine. And I’m flattered. I think.”

“What were you saying to my friend?” Selena asked. “She’s single, you know.”

“Oh my god.” I palmed my forehead. “Can we learn some karate now, so I can kick her ass?”

Derrick’s mouth rose into a bemused smile. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

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