Page 35 of Faking It With My New Boss

“You should turn it into a bakery. Your bakery. You can make the special treats and things you dream of making, but for the hotel guests. And you can be right there, available for special orders for people who are staying there. And even people who aren't,” she said.

Courtney sounded so excited by the idea she was tripping over herself to talk about it. I could understand why. It sounded amazing. But I wouldn't let myself think about it any further.

“That can't happen,” I said sharply, shooting the idea down firmly so she wouldn't push it more.

“Why?” she asked, apparently not caring about the tone in my voice.

“Because it's not an option. Not in my life. We're not going to talk about it anymore. That dream was something I told you about in private and nothing more. You understand?” I asked.

Courtney looked a little taken aback, but she finally nodded.

“Alright,” she said. “It was just a thought.”

We ate in silence for a few seconds and I felt an awkward tension starting to form between us. I wanted to push past it and I searched around in my mind for something else for us to talk about. She brought up the dream I told her about, so I decided to detour over to hers.

“Tell me about law school,” I said.

She scoffed. “So you can make fun of me?”

“No. I really want to know about it,” I said.

Courtney looked at me for a few seconds, evaluating me like she was trying to determine if I was actually being serious. Finally, she gave a slight shrug.

“Alright. What do you want to know?” she asked, picking up a piece of bacon and nibbling on the end.

“What are your professors like?” I asked.

“Well, right now I'm only taking a couple of classes and they are with the same professor,” she said. “That's good, though. I like him.”

That struck me in a way I didn't expect. I took a sip of fresh orange juice, giving myself a second to process it through, but it didn't settle.

“You like him?” I asked.

“Yeah. He's a good teacher.”

“What's he like?”

She shrugged again. “He's just a kind of quirky guy. He's really helpful, good at taking the time to answer questions and have meetings.”

“Meetings? Like away from the rest of class?”

She gave me a quizzical look. “Yeah.”

“It sounds like maybe this professor likes you a little too much,” I said.

Courtney gave a short laugh. “That's ridiculous. He's just my professor. Like you said about the kitchen staff, it's his job to help me. He just wants to make sure everybody in his class does the best they can. So, he takes the time out of his schedule to help. And I fully intend to take advantage of it as much as I need to in order to get the grades I want.

As a matter of fact, I have to leave work a little early on Monday to go to a meeting with him to discuss a project.”

“I don't think that's going to be possible,” I said, feeling defensive and protective.

Courtney looked up at me from her food and gave me a surprised look.

“What do you mean you don't think it's going to be possible?” she asked. “You seemed supportive of me going to school and going after my dream of being a lawyer.”

“I am. But that doesn't mean you can just not be at work. You still have a job that needs to be done.”

Courtney looked shocked. “I didn't say I just wasn't going to come to work at all. I just needed to leave a little early so I could make it to this meeting. I'm working on a major project and I need insight to make sure I'm on the right track.”

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