In Love With Lucy (NSFW) (12 page)

“Should I call and cancel your other appointments?” I asked brightly. “You two seemed to have hit it off.”

For a moment I thought I saw a fleeting expression of amusement cross his face, before he sighed. “Don’t cancel the interviews. Vonda is a nice woman, but I think she’s more interested in husband hunting than working as an administrative assistant.”

I felt the sharp claws of jealousy dig into my back, scraping and scratching hard enough to make me grind my teeth. I had no right to be angry that she flirted with him or that he may have flirted back, but I was. The fury was like a red veil over my eyes.

Instead of shooting out of my chair and stomping out the door as I wanted to do, I merely nodded. “Okay, well, your next appointment is with Chelsea Archer in fifteen minutes.”

Chris was still watching me, but I pasted a smile on my face.

“She currently works in this building, right?”

I nodded.

“I think I’ve seen the two of you eating lunch together several times.”

I glared at him. I know he’d seen me eating with her and my other three friends often. We lunched together almost every day.

“Let me know when she arrives and perhaps we can start her interview early.”

I scowled at his back as he walked back into his office. Less than ten seconds later, there was a light knock on the door jamb between the reception area and my office. I looked up to see Chelsea poking her head through the door, her strawberry blond curls in a riot around her pretty face.

“Hey, how’s it going?” she asked.

“Fine,” I sighed. “He’s ready to see you if you’re good to go.”

She grinned broadly. “Sure.”

I led her into Chris’ office, made introductions, then left, shutting the door behind me. I tried to work at my desk, but caught myself straining to hear what they were saying to each other through the door.

Twenty minutes later, the door opened and Chris led Chelsea out of his office, smiling at her. Not his polite smile, but a genuine, warm smile. My friend was giggling. Actually, giggling like a schoolgirl. Chelsea may have looked as though she were an innocent, sweet person, but her personality was fiery and her tongue was sharp. I’d witnessed her reduce grown men to tears when they tried her patience, which she did not possess in excess.

Chris went back into his office, shutting the door behind him, and Chelsea actually skipped to my desk.

“I got the job!”

I smiled at her, genuinely happy for my friend. She hated her current job. Her boss was a complete dick. He piled his work on top of hers, took all the credit, and then criticized her constantly. I knew the only reason she hadn’t cut him off at the knees was because she desperately needed her job. Like me, she had student loans to pay when she graduated and a desire to eat more than once a day. While my loans were paid for, her wages were peanuts by comparison and it was taking her much longer to reach her financial goals. If Chris paid her as well as he paid me, she would be able to improve her quality of life immediately.

“I’m glad.”

She glanced at Chris’ closed door and leaned closer. “You always talk about him like he’s this intimidating, cold man. He seems pretty nice, Luce. I mean, sure, he has extremely high expectations, but he seems pretty fair.”

I wanted to grimace at her over the dreamy-eyed expression on her face, but also had to suppress a smile. She had no clue. Still, she would find out soon enough. While I didn’t think Chris would be verbally abusive like her current boss, I’d been on the receiving end of his cold, disappointed stare and bland, mocking voice on more than one occasion. I couldn’t wait for the first time. I could already imagine the angry phone tirade I would be treated to when he spoke to her like that. I also had a pretty good idea what she would say in return.

I knew without a doubt that Chelsea would do a wonderful job, probably even better than me, but Chris was in for a shock if he thought I was the outspoken one in the group. Then again, she might keep her trap shut until she was sure if she could get away with the back talk. He was going to have his hands full with her.

“We have to celebrate.”

I nodded. “I’ll text the girls. Wanna meet at Tully’s for happy hour?”

She grinned and clapped her hands together. “Yes! Five-thirty sharp.”

I nodded and watched her bounce out of my office, looking more like a Mickey Mouse Club alum than the mouthy woman who swore like a sailor that I knew and loved. I shook my head and started texting the rest of the girls.

Since Chelsea was the last interview of the day, I had to cancel the candidates who were scheduled to interview tomorrow. After that, I read emails and organized paperwork for the BioSign Corp in Fort Worth. Chris was getting closer to figuring out who was embezzling, but they had covered their tracks well, despite the large sums of money that were missing.

I also tried not to dwell on the fact that Chris never left his office before lunchtime and then disappeared for the rest of the afternoon. I also told myself that it didn’t make my stomach ache. My lying skills must have been improving because I almost believed it.

“So, Geordy is
standing there, his boss right behind him, and I say, ‘I don’t give a damn if you give me a bad reference. Seeing as Mr. Barden worked with your company a few years ago and remembers you less than fondly, I doubt he’ll believe a word you say.’ Then I look over his shoulder at his boss, John, and say, ‘Every good idea he’s presented to you in the last four years has been mine. Every report he’s handed in was prepared by me. He’s done little more at work than play computer games and search for porn since I started working here.’ And, of course, John starts to look pissed, Geordy’s already livid, so I stick my nose in the air, stomp to my desk and pack up my shit. I have enough money put back that I can take a some vacation time before I start training with Lucy next week.”

Tanya and Yancy are giggling like idiots, likely due to the three margaritas they’ve consumed rather than Chelsea’s story. I’m grinning right along with Grier, feeling pleasantly buzzed from the three vodka tonics I’d thrown back on an empty stomach.

“I hope the horse’s ass gets fired,” Chelsea grumbled into her margarita before she drained the last of it.

“I’ll drink to that,” I said, lifting my own glass.

After Chelsea drained her glass, she glanced over and waved at our waitress, signaling that we were ready for another round. Then she pointed at me.

“And you!”

“What?” I had no idea what she was talking about.

“Your boss is the sweetest guy. I mean, I have no doubt that he’ll let me know when I screw up, but he’s not the ogre you made him out to be.”

I sighed. “I think he’s nicer because he’s getting laid.”

The table went silent before it erupted in a chorus of squeals and yells.

“No way!”

“You finally did it!”

“Was it awesome? I bet it was awesome.”

I dropped my head into my hands and then onto the table and groaned. The girls fell silent. I felt a hesitant hand on my shoulder and lifted my face to look at Grier. She looked worried.

“What’s wrong, Lucy? I thought that you decided to give him a shot.”

I brushed my hair off my face. “Yeah, a shot at a fling. I didn’t plan on falling in love with the jerk.”

My friends looked stunned.

“But, you don’t even like him, right?” Yancy asked.

The waitress came with fresh drinks before I could respond. I waited until she set them all down and took a huge sip of mine before I answered her question.

“I didn’t. Not really.” I paused. “Most of the time.”

I looked up and all my friends were staring at me as though I’d lost my mind.

“Well, which is it?” Tanya prompted.

I threw my head back. “He’s actually considerate. And even a little sweet.” I lowered my face and leaned toward Tanya. “He even likes to
spoon
.”

Tanya, Chelsea, and Yancy gaped at me. Grier merely smiled.

“And now I’m in love with him.” I shoved my hands through my hair. “I am SO fucked.”

Everyone at the table burst into gales of laughter.

Smacking the table with her palm, Yancy managed to exclaim, “Literally!”

I decided then and there never to share my love life problems with my friends ever again.

T
hat night I
didn’t sleep well. Again. As a result, I woke up the next morning with a horrendous headache and did something I hadn’t done in almost a year. I called in sick. Well, texted in sick.

I won’t be in today. Migraine.

A few minutes later, as I was lying on the bed with a cool cloth over my eyes, my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen.

You okay?

I rolled my eyes. Of course I wasn’t okay. I almost wished my head would fall off.
I will be if I get a nap and take some meds.

That was actually pretty sweet, though unnecessary.
No thanks. Just sleep and maybe a hot bath.

I’ll check on you later. Call me if you need anything.

Wow, he sounded as though he was concerned. As though he cared.

Ok.

I set my phone back on the nightstand and closed my eyes. It was Friday, which meant I wouldn’t see Chris for three days and part of me was relieved to have a break from the emotions that bombarded me when we were together. The problem was that I never set the parameters of this fling with Chris in my mind before I jumped him. Now all the boundaries I expected were nowhere to be seen and I was ass-deep in relationship quicksand.

I honestly thought Chris would want to keep things simple and maintain his distance. I hadn’t expected the possessiveness he demonstrated, nor his affectionate behavior. It was surreal. Those qualities, along with his dry wit, were enough to make me fall in love with him. Had I realized exactly what I was getting into, I probably would have run as far and as fast as I could in the opposite direction.

Nothing good could come of this. The Chris Barden I’d known for the least three years didn’t seem capable of falling in love. I never would have expected the considerate, even sweet, interior that was covered by his aloof, cold shell.

Now, I was in love with him and it scared the crap out of me. I didn’t know what my next move should be. Thinking about it made my head ache even more, so I rolled over onto my stomach and drifted off to sleep.

I woke up from my nap three hours later, feeling much better. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten. I climbed out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom to use the facilities, brush my teeth, wash my face, and then I headed into the kitchen. My fridge was woefully empty when I opened the door but there was a carton of yogurt that expired yesterday. I peeled back the lid and sniffed. It smelled okay, so I decided to risk it and vowed to go grocery shopping later.

I also found the two end pieces of a loaf of whole grain bread and stuck them in the toaster. As I ate my yogurt and waited for my toast to finish, I wished that I could find a store nearby that would deliver groceries. There were several high end stores that offered the service, but the minimum required purchase would be more food than I could eat in a month.

I threw away my empty yogurt container. After I spread Nutella on my toast and devoured it, I took a nice, long leisurely shower. The insistent ache in the back of my skull had dulled so I dressed in a pair of stretchy lounge pants and a t-shirt that was faded and thin from too many washings.

A few hours later, I was sprawled out on my sofa when I heard someone knock on my door. Frowning, I went to the door and looked out the peephole. It was Chris. I glanced at the wall clock in my living room and saw it was only three in the afternoon. What in the hell was he doing here instead of the office?

I pulled the door open, staring at him in confusion.

“Chris, is everything okay?”

I noticed that he held several plastic grocery bags in his hands so I stepped back to let him into the apartment. He immediately headed toward the kitchen, leaving me to follow behind him. I shut and locked my door and moved to the bar area between the kitchen and living room.