Page 76 of The Boss I Can't Stand
Now I had three energy drinks buzzing through my system and enough bandages on my fingers that my new nickname should probably be “pincushion.”
But we were ready.
We’d delivered.
And that’s what mattered.
“Can you gather up the rest of the accessories for the background actors and take them to set?” I asked. Everyone had already been through the costume shop this morning to get dressed, but we’d still needed to compare hats and pocket squares and all the other tiny details with the original sequence to be sure everyone matched.
“Sure thing,” Paisley said, gathering up all the accessories into a box. “Want me to bring anything else?”
“No, I’ll get the rest of Kaiden’s costume and bring it with me as soon as I steam it.” It would have been easier to have the rest of my team already on set, helping the actors finish dressing, but I’d lost Carter and Trin in the process, having to send them home before they sewed their fingers to a pair of pants. “Why don’t you head home when you’re done?”
“Are you sure?” she said. “You don’t want someone to trade off with?”
I shook my head. Paisley was dead on her feet. And I was—okay, I was dead on my feet too, but there was no reason for two of us to suffer. I was the captain of this department, and I’d go down with the ship. “I don’t mind staying for the rest of the day. You’ve worked hard enough.”
“If anyone’s worked hard enough, it’s you,” she said.
“A requirement of the job.” I yawned. “But hopefully this is the last of it. Seriously, you get that stuff to set and head off. I’ll message you later to let you know how it goes.”
Paisley grabbed the box and hurried off while I hung Kaiden’s new blood-splatter-free shirt on a wire rack. While I waited for the steamer to heat up, I swapped my can of RevX for the cold mug of coffee I’d brewed an hour ago, popping it into the microwave.
I took a sip once it was done, then steamed the shirt until it was perfectly wrinkle free.
Buzzzzz. Buzzzzz. Buzzzzz.
Grabbing my phone, I couldn’t keep from groaning when I saw MOM flash across the screen. And then—immediately after—I felt guilty. Did I have the energy to deal with Mom right now? No, not really. But would I feel like a terrible person if I ignored her call when I technicallydidhave a minute to talk?
Yeah, probably. It might be a little hard to remember right at this moment, but Ididlove my mom, and I didn’t want to make her feel ignored or unsupported.
I picked up my phone and carried it into my office where I locked the door behind me, thumping down heavily into my chair.
“Hey, Mom,” I said, resisting the urge to recline a bit. The last thing I needed was to fall asleep, but this chair was dangerously comfortable.
“Hi, honey,” she said, her voice pitched and wobbly. I went on alert like I’d been injected with a shot of caffeine.Uh-oh. I knew that tone, and it rarely meant anything good.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Mom said, trying to play it off.
“Mom,” I said pointedly.
“I don’t know,” she said, letting out a heavy breath. “It’s just…Larry.”
“What about Larry? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine, I guess. It’s just…last night when we went out to dinner, he didn’t pull my chair out like he usually does. And I know this sounds ridiculous,” Mom said, her words colliding in a panicked rush. “But I alsoknowLarry, and he’s never not pulled out my chair.”
That’s what this was about? I briefly considered putting my head through the wall. “Maybe he was just tired.”
“Hewas the one who wanted to go out!” Mom said.
“Right, but I mean, that part of the relationship doesn’t usually last forever. You know, all those little things a couple does to impress each other right at the start? They naturally start to fade when you’re more comfortable together and don’t feel like you have to show off. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong.”
“Larry’s justthatguy,” Mom said. “I always thought he’d be pulling my chair out until neither of us can see straight.”
“Then maybe he just had something else on his mind?”
