Page 85 of Boss with Benefits

"Me too." I smiled.

"Call me or text me. Anytime. Okay?" Brad said.

"I will. And same."

We all signed off, and I closed my laptop. I was all tingly, and it felt like I was in a dream. My dad. Brad. Wow. I didn't know if I'd ever call him Dad, but it was wonderful and strange just knowing I had one and that I'd get to know him and discover this whole other part of me.

I texted Lulu to tell her the news and ask her to pass it on to our grandfather. I had no idea how Hao Lin would react, but that wasn't my problem. He had nothing to do with this part of my life.

Lulu replied with lots of happy emojis and joyful memes and I laughed. Then I typed in Derrick's name. Again. Forgetting. Again.

Eva looked at me, her brow furrowed. "What's wrong?"

I sighed, leaning back against the couch, closing the phone without sending the message. "Derrick. I keep almost texting him and then remembering he kicked me out of his life."

Eva raised an eyebrow. "You need to talk to him. He's probably afraid to call you because he knows he was a total jerk."

I sighed, Derrick's absence weighing on me more than ever. "He's probably not even thinking about me. I haven't seen him at work. I know he comes in, but he must have someone keeping tabs on my whereabouts in the office because we never cross paths."

"But you love him," Eva said gently.

I whipped my head around to her. "So what? We both know you can't make someone love you. Screw him. I'm moving on."

Eva sighed, shaking her head. "I've never seen you like this, Rach. You're so out of sorts."

I raised my eyebrows likeno shit, Sherlock.

"It consumes me. It controls my every waking thought. Sleeping with him was a huge mistake. It made my inkling of love into something desperate. Ugh!" I threw my head back.

"I'd bet my life that he wants you just as much."

"He's too damn moral!" I hollered like a banshee. "He can't get over the whole boss thing and age thing. And he won't forgive me for yelling at his mom when we were upstate. He likes law and order and I'm chaos and mayhem."

"No, you're not. You're fun and spritely and loyal and kind." Eva gave me a pointed look. "If the boss thing bugs him so much, would you leave Dreamary?"

"Yes," I said without pause.

"Really? I thought you loved it there."

"I do. But I've only been there a few months. It's not like my dream job. I don't really have a dream job. My goal is to make enough for a comfortable living with benefits and to work at a company with people I like. In that sense, it's a great job. But there are plenty of other places I can do the same."

Eva smiled, a gleam in her eye. "I'm glad you said that because I've been thinking about this for a while. Why don't you come work at Coding for Change? We need another social media assistant. How amazing would it be for us to work together?"

A spark of excitement lit me up. "Um, hell yeah."

Eva’s grin widened. "Then it's settled. Whenever you're ready, the job is yours. And then Derrick can be yours."

I snorted. "Okay, fairy godmother. Be careful where you're waving that wand. I'm not sure Derrick wants it pointed at him. Even if I quit Dreamary, I doubt it’ll change anything."

I sank into the couch and let the truth wash over me like a bad drug trip.

41

DERRICK

Istepped into Prathi's office, the tension of the past few weeks weighing heavily on my shoulders. The bustling sounds of Manhattan outside the windows seemed worlds away from the turmoil churning inside me.

Working at the deli, bringing Mom home and helping her recover, and dealing with my sister Tina stepping in to care for Mom had been overwhelming. I'd stayed away from the office mostly, working remotely, only coming in for emergencies. But now, it was time to get back to the office and the real world.

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