Page 6 of Turning the Page with My Grumpy Boss

Oh no.“But you said—”

“I wasn’t finished! Do you ever look before you leap into action? You don’t press them at thesame time.” Daniel’s expression was stormy. “See, this is why I didn’t think this would be a good fit. You show up late, you don’tlisten, you bring a dog in here. Martha must be losing it in her old age, thinking this was a good idea.”

So Tessa had been right. The older woman—Martha, apparently—had twisted Daniel’s arm. That was the reason she was here right now. Defensiveness bubbled up, and she whirled to face Daniel. “Okay, so I’m not off to a great start. But maybe if you weren’t so,” she gestured to all of him, “likethis, I could relax a little! Right now, I feel like I’m walking on eggshells with you!”

Daniel laughed, but there was no humor in it, “Something tells me you have never walked on eggshells in your life, Big City.”

Well, that went to show how well he knew her. Tessa tried to will down the fury that was building in her chest. How dare this man assume he knew her after two short meetings. Was this kind of arrogant assumption a thing in small towns? “What is your deal? You’re so arrogant, and your derision of the “big city” is such a cliche. Seriously, get a new shtick.”

While Tessa was shooting back, Daniel was fussing with the register. “Maybe mydealis that I prefer competence in my employees.” The register dinged, and the cash drawer slid open. “There. Well, that’s fixed, but let’s come back to this. I think I have a different task where you won’t do as much damage.”

Tessa fought the urge to make faces at Daniel when his back was turned. There was something about his arrogance that made her feel like being petulant. This man was insufferable. The way he was dressed casually but somehow still appeared completely put-together, the assumptions, the stupid “Big City” nickname. All of it equated to pure, unadulterated loathing.

Okay, so we’re not destined to be BFFs. It’s not like Iwantthat.

“Okay.” Tessa was pulled from her thoughts by Daniel’s deep voice. “So, we’ve determined that maybe starting on the cash register isn’t in the cards. But we have plenty of other work to do around here. As you might guess, people don’t always put their books back in the right spot, so you can go through and straighten, put them back in the right place.”

Tessa nodded and took in the shelves. The order of the books was a little different than she was used to, and for the life of her, she wasn’t entirely sure what the pattern was. “I’m sorry. Is this entire section in disarray, then? Because I have no idea why the author Bonnie Blunt is before Clarissa Addison. Or really, what order this is in at all.”

Daniel sighed and rolled his eyes with entirely too much dramatic flare, Tessa thought. “Look, the romance section is divided up into subgenres. Blunt is contemporary, while Addison is historical. It’s simple.”

Tessa saw no signs indicating the different sections, and to the untrained eye, this section looked like a disaster zone of mismatched books. “How is that, in any way, intuitive?”

“Well, perhaps not to you,” Daniel conceded with a smirk. “But this is the way we have always done it, so you’ll have to learn.”

With an indignant huff, Tessa put one hand on her hip and fixed him with a glare. “If you’re going to organize it that way, at least have signage so patrons aren’t stumbling around the entire alphabet, looking for their author. Is it really that hard?”

Daniel adjusted the wool beanie on his head and rolled his eyes, “It’s just—”

“The way you’ve always done it. Yes, you mentioned,” Tessa climbed onto the ladder next to the shelf, reaching for the top row. “But change isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Small Town. For instance, if we just—” She leaned over slightly, her fingertips just brushing the novel she was reaching for.

Before Tessa knew what was happening, the ladder began to sway. In terror, she clutched the rails, attempting to balance the best she could. In her haste, her heel snagged on a rung, and in seconds, she was plummeting straight for the shop floor.

Daniel’s expression, at first amused, was suddenly panic-stricken. He rushed toward the ladder just in time for Tessa to land safely in his strong arms. He didn’t even seem strained by the effort.

Tessa stared up at his face, stunned. Though she detested this man on principle, the heroics must have done something for her because as she brushed her hands against his arms, feeling the tight muscles beneath, her face flushed. She looked up at his emerald green eyes and swallowed past the sudden dryness in her throat. “I, uh, thank you.”

Daniel’s expression was concerned and somewhat pensive, his eyes intense as he looked down at Tessa. For a beat, he was silent, and then he seemed to remember himself, clearing his throat and looking away, “Ah… of course. Just—be careful.”

Tessa checked in with herself and realized she was fine. But she also couldn’t help but notice that Daniel still hadn’t put her down. She shifted slightly and chuckled, “Duly noted. I can’t believe I almost broke my nose on my first day.”

Daniel set Tessa down—sending a surprise wave of disappointment through her—and steadied her once she was on her feet. He brushed a lock of his sandy brown hair from his eyes and smiled slightly, a dimple showing on his left cheek. “It just would have been a great story later. Are you alright?”

Am I?Tessa couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed her head checked because she was still flustered from the feel of Daniel’s strong arms around her. That look in his eyes as he gazed down at her sent shivers down her spine. She tried to find words as he continued to stare at her intently.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the bells above the entrance tinkled softly.Saved by the bell.“I, um, I think I can handle that. I’ll just—” She was already walking away from him, her face burning.

Near the front of the shop, there was a middle-aged brunette woman with a round face perusing the thriller section. She squinted at the shelf as she traced her fingers along the spines of the books, murmuring slightly to herself.

“Hi, can I help you find anything?” Tessa put on her best customer service face, pushing the situation with Daniel out of her mind.

The woman straightened and brushed a lock of her brown bob behind her ear with a wry grin, “Yes, well, I have been tearing through James Patterson lately, but I want to try a different author. Shake things up a little, you know? But I don’t even know where to start.”

Tessa nodded and moved toward the shelf, “Well, have you tried any Dean Koontz? He is a fantastic thriller author who often writes in the same style as Patterson. HisOdd Thomasseries is particularly good, but I am partial toCold Lightning, myself.” She plucked the book from the shelf and handed it to the woman.

Taking the offered book, she straightened her glasses and skimmed the back cover. As she read, Tessa could see a spark of excitement start to gleam in her eye. It was her favorite look—the look of someone who had just found a book they were excited about. “Oh, yes! This will do just fine!”

Fighting the urge to fist pump in victory, Tessa nodded and gestured toward Daniel. “I’m sure Daniel can check you out. Happy reading!” As she caught his eyes, she was certain she saw something he hadn’t meant for her to see. He was… impressed.

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