Page 19 of Boss's Baby: A Fake Fiance Romance

“Hey! You in there?” It was Katie.

“Is that you?”

“It’s me. Sorry to interrupt you in the middle of, uh, bathroom stuff, but I saw that same pair of white Chuck Taylors you’d been wearing since high school, and I knew it was you.”

Leave it to Katie to say “Hi” in those circumstances. I took one last deep breath before I opened the door and revealed Katie, dressed in a black T-shirt for one of the heavy metal bands she liked, a pair of light blue jeans, and some dark flats. Typical casual look for her—the kind of dress you’d expect for a partying bartender.

I glanced down at my Chucks, white with some years of dinge to them—exactly what you want with a pair of shoes like those.

“You got me.”

“Anyway, you done in here? I’m ready for some booze.”

The mention of booze made my stomach turn again slightly, like an aftershock from the nausea.

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

“I’ll catch up with you.”

I washed up and left the bathroom and was soon back at my seat at the bar. The place was one of those fancy dives, the kind of Brooklyn spots that was meant to look like a working-class joint, but you just knew it was owned by some kid whose parents had pockets deep enough to help out with the rent. No judgment, of course—you had to do what you had to do to get by in the city. Purposefully tacky Christmas décor adorned the walls, cheap-looking in an intentional sort of way.

The bartender, a skinny guy in a band shirt and a pair of round wire-frame glasses, approached and gave me a sharp nod.

“Uh, vodka soda for me, and my sister’s going to have a Manhattan.”

Another nod, and he was off to it. He placed the drinks in front of me at about the exact second Katie was back from the bathroom.

“Perfect,” she said, lifting her drink and eyeing it approvingly. Then she brought it toward me.

“What’re we drinking to?” I asked.

“To exciting new developments in the workplace.”

I groaned, reminded of the crap going on at work. “No, no—something else.”

“To exciting new developments in the workplace all turning out just fine.”

“That’ll have to do.”

We tapped our glasses and took our sips. But as I brought the drink to my lips I realized how…not good booze sounded. It was strange—I loved a cocktail after work, and grabbing one every Wednesday with Katie had been our tradition ever since she moved into the city. Right then, however, alcohol only made me stomach turn. What was going on with me?

I took a sip and set the drink down, telling myself I’d nurse it and see how my stomach handled the thing.

“This is weird to ask, but were you all right in there?”

“In the bathroom?”

“In the bathroom.”

“Why, did I not look all right?”

“I mean, kind of. Like, a little pale.”

I took out my phone and swiped the front camera on and held it up. Sure enough, I appeared drained, like I’d finished exerting myself in a bad way.

“You look good, though,” she said, quickly trying to cover up what she’d said.

“I don’t—I look off.”

“You coming down with something?”

“I better not be—I can’t afford to right now. Work’s too busy for taking time off for being sick.”

“Might be your body’s way of letting you know it’s time to chill.”

“Definitely no time to chill.”

She cocked her head to the side and smiled slightly, and I knew right away what she was going to ask about.

“So, the new boss—”

A strange rush of emotions whirled up inside of me—anger and frustration and, yes, a little arousal. I almost hated Josh for making me want to slap him and fuck him all at the same time.

“Don’t even remind me.”

“Sounds like you’ll be reminded of it every day, once he’s all nice and moved in.”

“You know which office they gave him?” I asked. “The one down at the end of the bosses’ hall—the one with the killer view that I’ve had my eye on ever since I started there.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, ouch. And the worst part is it’s not like he’s going to be using it. It’s there for him to use whenever he decides to grace us with his majestic presence.”

“Double ouch. Are things still weird between you?”

“That’s a whole other thing.”

“Was he mad that you said what you said?”

“If he was, he didn’t show it. If anything, he found it funny.”

“That’s good, right?”

I shrugged. “I mean, yes, that he’s not making his first decision there to fire me for being a bitch. But no, because it was clear he didn’t take me seriously in the slightest. It was almost like he reacted as though I was one of his teenage girlfriends stomping her foot at him for being an asshole. Like it was all some kind of game.”

“Could be flirting.”

“Doubt it—it was more like the jackass I knew who’d come into Two Scoops and give me shit. Only now he’s wearing an expensive suit and has total control over my career.”

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