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I smiled. “Did you need something else? Or should you be getting to your actual job?”

He blew out a long breath and stood up. “You don’t have to be a bitch about it.”

“That wasn’t me being a bitch. Do you want me to be a bitch? Is that what it takes to get you to stop behaving like an idiot? Bringing your child to work every other day? Slacking off on getting your paperwork done? Everyone has been picking up the slack for you, and I’m done. I’m not going to baby you, I’m not going to protect you.”

Jeff’s ears were red, his mouth dropping. “What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t just speak to me this way.”

“I can and will because you don’t listen to me otherwise. Never have.”

He scoffed. “Oh, come on. Don’t bring our marriage into this.”

“Jeff,” I warned, standing up. I could feel eyes on us as people passed the doorway, spectators starving for something juicy to talk about. “It is Monday morning. We have a busy month ahead of us. Go do the job that I sign your checks for, or resign.”

His eyes bugged out of his head. He stood up and shook his head, muttering under his breath on his way out. I caught just a couple words, ‘bitch’ and ‘psycho’, and picked up my stapler to hurl—but then Ellen stepped into the doorway, her eyes bright with forced professionalism.

“Good morning,” she said quickly. “I have your coffee and a blueberry muffin with a crumble top.”

“Shut the door,” I growled.

She kicked it shut behind her and whispered, “What the fuck?”

“I’m sick of him,” I hissed, plopping down in my chair. “I’ve had enough. I can’t keep dealing with his incompetence. Why the fuck did I start a company with him?”

Maybe Tommy was right about firing Jeff. The idea of doing so stoked a lot of fear, especially since a lot of the industry thought of Jeff as the face of Rosethorn.

Ellen’s brows shot up as she put my coffee down along with my muffin with one hand, leaning forward enough that she saw my computer screen.

“Oh?!” she exclaimed.

My cheeks flamed as I started to close the tab, but she swatted my hand.

“Nope, I don’t think so. Unhand that mouse.”

I gave her a flat look, but swiveled my computer screen. She grinned. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s see what you’ve got in your cart. My god, I’m so proud right now. I’ve been trying to get you to buy toys for years… What made you change your mind?”

“Well…”

She slowly turned to look at me then gasped. “Oh my god.”

I covered my face, sinking further back into my chair.

“You gotlaid,” she said. “You broke the streak. You had sex. Who? When? Where? How?”

I giggled nervously spread my fingers to peek at her. “I can’t tell you.”

“Whatdo you mean?” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You’re gonna tell me everything. Every. Single. Detail.”

I hissed through my teeth and leaned forward. “You can’t tell a soul.”

“Who am I gonna tell? Scott from legal? Oh hey Scott, happy Monday morning, your boss got railed over the weekend?” she growled. “I work foryou, not Rosethorn. Remember? Also, I’myourfriend. The only reason I work for you is because it works for us.”

I nodded. “Okay. So, you know how I went out with Tommy and Dan on Friday night?”

“Oh my god, did you sleep with them?—”

“God, no,” I laughed. “They’re gay. And married.Ellen.”

She threw up her hands and settled down in the chair. “I don’t know. People are flexible.”

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