Page 46 of Boss with Benefits

Lexi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, held it, and took another. Then she looked at me and said, "I need help now. Either get her back or hire someone new."

"Can Peyton help out?" I asked.

"She's swamped too," Lexi said.

I frowned, a twinge of annoyance mixing with my concern. Rachel was spontaneous, but she wasn't flighty. Not when it came to work. She went above and beyond to make sure everything ran smoothly.

"I'll reach out to her," I said, running a hand over my face. "What can I do to help in the meantime?"

Lexi tapped on her iPad and turned it to me. There was a list of tasks that took up the whole page: post teasers for the upcoming episodes, post clips from current episodes, manage fan comments and respond to pertinent DMs, monitor hashtags, create fun polls and quizzes, repost latest five-star reviews, create behind-the-scenes content... It went on and on.

My head hurt just reading it.

"I'm not really a social media guy," I admitted. "But I could—" I looked at the list again and shook my head. "Fuck. I can't do any of that stuff. I mean, you could give me a crash course…"

Lexi raised an eyebrow that clearly meant “Are you fucking kidding me, I don't have time for that.”

"You're right. That won't help." I sighed. "Give me a case with complex clues and I can solve it, but ask me to post on The Artist Formally Known as Twitter and I'm lost."

"That's funny," Lexi said without smiling.

"I'll get some help. I'll talk to HR right now." I opened my email and typed a message to Prathi to come see me ASAP. I also set a reminder to watch some social media tutorials later. "And I'll speak to Rachel. It's not like her to just bail on her responsibilities."

"Did something happen between you two?" Lexi asked, setting her iPad in her lap.

"That's not an appropriate question," I said.

"It is if that's the reason she's ghosting us." Lexi crossed her arms and raised a tawny eyebrow.

"It's not," I said, but she may have been on to something. "I mean, I don't think it is."

Lexi sat there and stared at me, considering.

"Have you tried the medicine yet?" There was no teasing in her question. It was matter-of-fact.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I sat upright, heat spreading across my neck and chest.

"Nothing. It's just the first real conversation we've had since you shared what was bothering you," Lexi said, her tone gentle. "I wanted to follow up."

I cleared my throat. "There's no point getting meds now. My issue is when I'm with someone. And I'm not with anyone."

Lexi rolled her eyes. "You need to try the meds before you're with someone. You have no idea how your body will react. It's usually fine, but it's best to test it out first. Alone. To avoid any other embarrassing situations that could cause further issues."

I turned to my computer and moved the mouse to my email, ready to change the subject. "Thanks. Now don't you have a mountain of work to do?"

Lexi pressed her iPad to her chest and stood. "Talk to your doctor, okay? You'll be grateful you did."

I waved her off but nodded.

When she was gone, I logged onto my doctor's patient portal and set up an appointment for tomorrow. Then I did a quick check of my email, texts, and Slack, but there was still nothing from Rachel. This was getting ridiculous.

Where the hell was she?

23

RACHEL

My phone pinged for the umpteenth time. The incessant buzzing made me want to fling it out of the fancy arched windows of the loft. I didn't even have to glance at the screen to know it was my mother.

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