Page 20 of My Forbidden Boss

I lazily opened my front door, dragged my purse and work satchel through the opening, and closed the outside world behind me, stumbling a bit over my heels as the bags slid down my shoulders to the floor.

“Honey, I’m home.”

Of course, there wasn’t any kind of response, not that I was expecting one. For once, I was content just to be alone, happy to let my mind go blank, and my limbs relax after my first full week at the new job.

I thought about calling my parents but realized that I lacked both the energy and the will to make it worth the effort. All I wanted was to change into something comfortable and wipe off the day’s makeup, but I didn’t even make it that far. I slouched into the living room and dropped onto the couch, sliding sideways and kicking off my shoes as I curled myself around a throw pillow.

My ears perked up, and my shoulders tensed as a crash came from the kitchen, but still, my eyes remained shut. Finally, I overcame the laziness weighing down on me, despite the sudden shock as I heard my name shouted and the clatter of footsteps. It took tremendous effort to open my eyes and raise my head from the pillow, but I soon slumped back down and resumed shutting out the world as I saw Brandon careening into the room.

“Tisha! What… What are you doing? Are you asleep?”

I grunted, refusing to rise to his level of excitement.

“Tisha, come on… Get up for a second! Have you looked at your phone?!”

I sighed, still pretending I had a chance to slumber. “Brandon, whatever it is… it can wait. Unless Russians are raining down from the sky… You know what? Even then, just tell them that I surrender. I could get used to calling everyone Comrade.”

I felt him move closer. Brandon kneeled in front of the sofa and tried to shake me awake, complaining, as he did his best to coax my eyes open. When I continued lying there, responding with nothing more than a groan, he growled in frustration and flopped down beside me.

“Ow! You’re crushing my legs, fatty!”

His reply was curt and cold. “Well, Your Majesty, it seems that youcanspeak after all. Now stop sleeping and take a look at this, will you?!”

I opened one eye, just enough to see him huddled over his laptop, the harsh light from the screen giving his face a bluish brightness.

Another sigh rumbled in my throat. “What is it?”

“Do you remember when you set up your work account? I helped you do it, and we used my laptop so I could show you how the system works? Yeah?”

I closed my eyes again, ignoring Brandon until he swatted the couch in front of my nose.

My vision snapped back, focusing on him in a flash as I lashed out. “What is your problem? Yes, okay! I remember. Now, what’s the big deal?”

“Well, I came home and opened my laptop… I forgot that you were still signed in. You had an email sitting there, and when I saw the subject line and who it was from, I just had to open it.”

I leaned up on one arm, no longer feeling tired. “Who was it? What…”

He cut me off, turning the screen to blind my eyes. “I was worried when I saw it, of course, thinking there was only one reason that he would be sending you an email, but…”

“Brandon! Who?!”

“Just read it!”

I blinked and leaned upright some more, taking the little computer in my hands to keep it steady. The words mumbled from my lips as the blur finally formed legible words, and I began to scan the page line by line.

“Subject: Mandatory Meeting. Hello, Miss Crawford. This is a request for scheduling an appointment to meet… Fleming. Founder and Owner. Tomorrow, Saturday, at nine-fifteen. Please respond as soon as possible.”

I glanced up at Brandon, feeling nervous but not having a solid reason for it.

“Am I in trouble?”

“I don’t know. Did something happen?”

“No, I…” Thoughts flew around my brain, along with images and sounds, remembering every moment from the past week that might seem pertinent. “I swear, there’s nothing!”

Brandon didn’t appear fazed. “Then it has to be a good thing. Right? I mean, there is nothing in there that says anything worth freaking out over. There’s no mention of termination or anyone being displeased with your work. Alice didn’t say anything to you before you left?”

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t see her at all today. I think someone said she was next door, meeting with the other department heads. Wait, how old is this? When was the email sent?”

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