Page 2 of Boss with Benefits

"Sir, yes, sir, Mr. Jackass." I mock saluted him.

"What did you call me?"

"Uh, isn't that your last name?"

The side of his mouth twitched like he wanted to laugh. "It's Jacques." Then he said it slower and more pronounced. "Hawk-Ez. Like hock a loogie or hockey."

"Got it. You are not a jackass." I swiveled around to sit, but both chairs were covered in piles of papers, coffee cups, balled-up trash, and God knows what else.

He cleared a spot, and I plopped down as he leaned his tall frame against the arm of the opposite chair to mine. "I haven't been able to keep my office in order since Eva left. I didn't realize how much she did to keep my work life in order."

To say Eva was fastidious would be understating her mad organizational skills. We’d been college roommates at Syracuse University, and her obsession with neatness was one of the first things we bonded over. I was impulsive and unstructured, but I liked my physical life ordered and mess-free. Eva liked order in every part of her life.

"When did you first notice him?" Derrick asked, grabbing a small notepad from his cluttered desk to jot down notes. He was OG like that, low-fi.

I only knew him peripherally from hanging out with Eva at the office, but I'd picked up on a few of his quirks.

"I'm probably overreacting," I muttered, crossing my arms defensively. "This is New York, after all. Weirdos are everywhere."

"Maybe," Derrick said, his voice calm but firm. "But a woman's instinct is powerful. Always follow it. Never let anyone tell you you're being silly or crazy."

His words sent a shiver down my spine. I met his gaze, feeling a sudden surge of vulnerability that I wasn't used to.

"Okay," I said quietly, the sass draining out of me. "You're right. I'm pretty sure he was outside my apartment building on Wednesday night. There was a guy across the street with the same hat, staring at me. And now this guy with the same hat is lurking outside Dreamary after I went inside. It can't be a coincidence."

I shuddered, remembering the way he had followed me, like I was prey.

"I agree," he said, picking up the phone on his desk. "I'm calling the local precinct. You're going to tell the officer everything you just told me."

"Wait, now?" I protested, but Derrick was already dialing, his expression leaving no room for argument.

As I watched him make the call, my heart still racing, I realized that for the first time in a long time, I didn’t like not knowing what was going to happen next. And for a woman who lived on skates and thrived on the unexpected, that was saying something.

"Stay right there," he said, and goose bumps raced up my arms. I nodded, a little breathless. "An officer is on his way."

2

DERRICK

My jaw clenched as Rachel Arya skated back into my office. The rookie who had taken her statement had just left, and irritation simmered beneath my skin.

I wasn’t expecting this whirlwind tonight. Rachel was a friend of Eva Bailey, an ex-employee. I’d seen her flit in and out of the office over the years, always with a quip or a smirk, but we’d never had more than a peripheral acquittance.

She’d been Eva’s spirited friend who liked to give me grief, and I assumed she’d vanish with Eva. So, her sudden reappearance tonight caught me off guard.

“What happens next?” Rachel’s hazel eyes locked onto mine.

“The report will be filed when the officer returns to the station.”

“And forgotten about,” she replied, her tone flat.

I started to shake my head, but she cut me off.

“Don’t bullshit me.”

A humorless chuckle escaped me. “You’re right. Unless this creep does something illegal, there’s not much they can do. That’s the system. But I’ll follow up and dig deeper if I have to.”

“Thanks, Derrick,” Rachel said, pulling a sucker from her bag. She popped it into her mouth and started skating circles around me, her energy a chaotic force that made my already frayed nerves twitch.

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