Page 30 of Bossy Grump's Secret

"With you in the room!? There's no way," I laugh.

"I'll leave. You'll call me when you're done."

"Lil, I think it's better this way. If you think about it enough, we're not even supposed to be a thing. He's my boss."

She smirks.

"Boss? Heh. In fact, I bet three days of work that you won't be able to stay without him, and you'll do it again," she challenges.

"You think?" I laugh but actually think about it. What if I'm not able to overcome this maddening addiction to him?

Is it possible to like someone this much, or is it all in my head? Ava is a natural-born competitive machine. If there's anything I exist to do, it's to break bets. There's no way I'll let her win this one. Besides, it's a cheap bet. Three days... on something Dylan and I had already agreed upon.

There's no way I'll lose. The best thing to do is to map out my avoidance strategy. Since Dylan is in on it, I will share it with him when he comes to the room this evening. The plan is simple. Wherever he sends her, he will avoid it. All I have to do is make sure I'm always in her company as much as she will allow me to be...

"Hey, if we keep it like this, the celibacy plan will last longer than three days." Dylan rests his lips on my ear, which turns me on more than he knows.

By the time the night is concluded, I'm sure there's no way Lily is winning the bet.

Dylan

If I go with Ava's plan, I'm sure I'll survive the summer.... if I can survive at least the next three days. It doesn't seem that hard. Just bury myself neck deep in work, speak to no one... especially her, at least not till the evening when Lily is around to keep us apart.

One day, I find myself in her room, and we talk ourselves into oblivion until we're thoroughly lost in each other's words. There's no one else in the room, not even Lily, who is just a few feet away.

"So, you liked cartoons as a kid?" she asks with a scathing chuckle. I know I'm dead serious at times, but come on...

"Everyone loved cartoons as children. To be honest, if I'm given the opportunity, I won't refuse the offer to indulge in a properly animated film show with a well-set-out storyline," I reply.

Ava contemplates it for a while. "So... in that case, every cartoon then."

I laugh because she's right. Animated shows have way cooler storylines because you can do more stuff, especially when you can't tell what's real and what's not.

A chicken can become a roast one moment and be scuttling after a bouncing can the next in perfect condition. It gives the writers much less to think about. It would be exactly the same if our love life was animated. We could do whatever we wanted, and people would walk by, not noticing us.

Maybe we'd have the time of our lives in a toilet, and a staff member would come in. All Ava has to push me into the toilet and press flush. I'd be gone in the blink of an eye, waiting for her on the other end of the pipe some miles away, where our business would continue promptly despite my filth.

"Sometimes, I wish I didn't grow out of childhood so fast, you know," she muses while I stroke her arm. She's cuddled next to me. " All the responsibility is on you to be the one the world looks up to, only…

"If I tell you I don't understand what you're saying, I'd be the biggest liar in this hotel," I croak loud enough for her to hear. I understand her perfectly.

"Time suddenly seems not to be on my side anymore. There's so much I should have accomplished by now, but here I am. In the arms of some... boy." Her voice assumes a tone I don't recognize until I realize she mimics someone. A parent, maybe. I should ask, but then again, I'm terrible at conversation. Instead of saying anything, I let her stroke my thigh and tickle her arms in return till we both fall asleep in each other's arms.

The daybreak finds us together...me scrambling for an easy way out. Luckily, I have Lily on my side, and she quickly makes a disguise that I used to leave their room unnoticed.

My petite hero. I owe her one now.

Once I took the bath, get dressed and conquer every morning activity, all that left is to do myself-apportioned quota of work and avoid Ava for the next ten hours.

Keeping away from Ava alone is a deathly task. But I should survive if I steer clear and go only to the most probable places she would not be. It would be either the kitchen, gate post or anywhere but the hotel, the RDM's office. Of course, I'd want to see my other favorite person.

Once given clearance, I burst into the room, giddy like a child. I get an instinctive feeling from the expectation of seeing her from when she was still my nanny. Nothing pleased me more than hearing the phrase as a child, “Auntie Sylvia is back!” when she returned from her weekend break.

"Auntie Sylvia," I greet when I see her face. She's much older now, with slightly more rounded features, but no less beautiful.

"Here's my Dylan!" she coos. "How's work?" she asks, looking up from her computer.

"It's...work. I guess. I’m saying that I’m helluva tired right now." I collapse on the couch.

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