Page 4 of My Orc (Secret) Boss

I felt my cheeks heat, but figured I could hide it before I started to blush—my skin was dark enough, she might not even notice. Ireached for my tea and sipped it as I began to turn. “Your plants are in the back, I’ll?—”

“Answer the question, Maya!” Ro’s tone was positively gleeful. “Have you started seeing someone?”

I choked on my tea.

Once I remembered how to breathe again, I glared at her and wiped the spilled liquid from my green t-shirt. “I’m—I’m notseeinganyone. I was talking aboutbooks, RoRo!”

My friend merely hummed and danced around the edge of the corner, looking stunning in her sundress and heels, as always. “Because if youwereinterested in orcs, I know of a few?—”

“Oh mygosh, stop,” I sputtered, plunking my tea back on the counter. “I can’t date. I’m too busy. Books are fine.” Books, and my special toy, which happened to be shaped like an orc’s you-know-what.

I mean, a girl can dream, right?

“I’m just saying.” With a mischievous wink, she slipped her arm through mine. “There’s plenty of them around.”

She was right. Last year, Eastshore Isle opened its arms to orcs and other displaced monsters. Our new mayor, Sakkara, was married—no, wait,Mated, that’s what orcs call it—to one of Ro’s coworkers, and there were a lot of other prominent orcs around Eastshore.

And of course, a pair lived upstairs, above my shop.

Now I was blushing for real, and I turned Ro toward the back room in an effort to hide it.

Last night, because of my curiosity, I’d almost been busted. But I couldn’t regret it because seeing Memnon was always worth it. I was kinda pissed I wasn’t wearing my contacts so I could see him properly, becausedamn, that was one hot male. And despite the fact that he lived over my shop, I rarely got to admire him.

He was reclusive, and grumpy as anything, and apparently that was like catnip to me. I wanted to pin Memnon down and lick him… But I couldn’t let him know I’ve been sleeping in my back room. He would have to be in contact with our landlord, and if the landlord found out the truth about me…

I wasnotgoing to lose my shop.

Hoping to turn Ro’s attention from orcs in general and my upstairs neighbor in particular, I pushed open the door to the back room. “Roll this rock in front of it,” I commanded her, nudging a large decorative rock with my foot. “Sandra isn’t in until ten, and I want to be able to hear the bell if anyone else comes in.”

“Oof,” she complained as she followed my instructions. “You keep rocks around for fun?”

“I found it near the nature reserve—there’s a piece of land for sale along the creek—and I thought I could use it as a center piece in a landscape design.” I was only half paying attention as I pulled tools off one of my red wagons. “Hasn’t happened yet, but it’s been useful as a doorstop.”

“Maya Locklear, geology thief,” RoRo intoned seriously. “Stealing rocks from?—”

“Oh, shut up,” I huffed, finally unearthing the wagon. “No one cares. I heard the owner was some old geezer in Atlanta, and hisheirs just want to get rid of the property. It’s right next to the preserve, so I hike there a lot.”

“I’m just teasing you.” Ro stepped up beside me and bumped my shoulder with hers. “So what have you got for me?”

“Ready?” I took a deep breath, then turned her toward the back shelves to present her with her new babies. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Oh, they’re perfect!” Ro rushed to fuss over the azaleas. “The color is the perfect pink, just like I imagined. You’re sure these four are healthy?”

“As healthy as I could find.” She was paying me a hefty fee for these beauties. “I can’t carry all of them, so that’s why I got the wagon. If you can help me get them off the shelf, I’ll wheel them out to your car.”

As she stepped up to help, Ro grunted, “Girl, you havegotto get some help.Stronghelp. Sandra is sweet and all, but you need an employee who can actually lift and tote and dig holes and whatever else you need.”

Don’t I know it.

I was too focused on lowering the azalea into the wagon to waste breath on answering, but as we wheeled it through the shop and out the front door, I pointed to theHelp Wantedsign I had tacked on the front glass window.

“Reasonable pay, heavy labor,” Ro read. “Well, you don’t mess around.”

“Idoneed help,” I announced, my hand in the small of my back as I straightened. “Sandra can man the store, but I’m goingto need help with the actual landscaping. If I have to do it all myself, it’ll take months.”

“True,” Ro sighed, taking the wagon from me and wheeling it to the back room. “Now that you’ve won the council contract for the new landscaping in the park, you’re going to be golden. I know you’ve wanted that for a long time.”

It was, frankly, a dream come true.

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