Page 17 of Tell Me Something

“Did you get your PO box established?” As always, he asked a question that wasn’t on my mind.

“Yes, it’s set up.”

“Good. Look, there’s a lot—”

“Sir, Mr. Hines on the line for you. He said it’s quite urgent.” Nigel’s voice cut through.

Josh’s eyes reflected his frustration. “Dammit, I have to take this.”

His tone was apologetic, and I felt bad about adding drama to his already busy day. “Yes, certainly.”

I walked out feeling relieved.

THE REMAINDER of the week was spent establishing a routine and learning how to plan travel and all of the other details of Josh’s schedule. I was comforted that he had a private travel person named Maria who took care of the actual flight and hotel itineraries.

On Friday I was invited out by Zach, the IT guy who was around my age. He asked if I’d come over to Jersey City for a drink or two and indicated there would be a group, including his sister and roommates.

Considering I didn’t have any friends in the city and it was in fact a Friday night—without any indication from Josh that he wanted to spend a minute in my company outside of the office—I accepted. After the subway took me across the river to Jersey City, it was a short walk from the third stop.

I was pleased to see Zach’s friendly face toward the back of the bar. He was sitting at a table with some other twenty-something-year-olds.

“Hey, you made it. Fantastic. Everyone, this is Haylee. She works in my office. Haylee, this is Jason and Kyle, my roommates. Debbie is Kyle’s girlfriend, and that’s her friend, Natasha.”

Smiling, I took a seat, happy to get off my feet. Meanwhile, Jason ordered a round of shots.

Oh, shit, I wasn’t a lightweight, but shots were definitely going to set me over the edge if I didn’t get some food in me. After throwing back the first one, I requested a menu and ordered some chicken strips and fries. At least those would help soak up the liquor.

I was having a good time talking with everyone, but by midnight I was drunk. Not fall-down-stupid intoxicated but silly-fun drunk. So were all of my companions for the evening. I reached into my purse to check the time on my phone and noticed the three missed calls and two text messages asking where I was. They were all from Carmen, which I’d thought a clever way to input Josh’s cell phone information.

I considered calling but realized it would only break the good mood I was in. Instead, I sent a text. “I’m fine, just out with friends, see u Sunday.”

The response back was immediate. “Where are you?”

Why did he make me feel like I was breaking curfew? “Jersey City.”

No response back.

He was probably either seething or tracking my phone about now. Crap, he would have the resources to do it, too. How ironic would it be if he called Zach to take care of that? Smiling at the thought, I told everyone I needed to go. It would take an hour, at least, to get back to my place, and I wanted to ensure I didn’t miss the last train.

“I’ll walk with you to the subway,” Zach offered.

It was tempting to say no, but I wasn’t sure I could find it again from this direction, particularly given all the alcohol in my system.

“So, it seems like you had a good time,” he tested along the way.

“It was really nice of you to invite me. Thank you.” We stood in front of the subway entrance, and I noticed him getting nervous. “It’s good to have a friend in the office, Zach. I’ll talk to you when I get back from my trip. Thanks again.” I wasn’t taking any chances and was down the stairs before he could try to kiss me or say something that would make the situation weird.

He was a super nice guy, but I didn’t want to date someone I worked with.

Yeah, right. Evidently, the exception would be my boss and the owner of the whole damn company. I wanted to kick my own ass for being so naïve.

My phone buzzed, and I realized I had another text.

“How are you getting back?”

“I’m about to hop on the subway,” I responded.

IT TOOK AN HOUR, but I was finally in familiar territory again and waved hello to Rafael upon entering the building. As I came off the elevator onto my floor, I was rummaging for my key. When I glanced up, I saw one of the doors at the end of the hall open and Josh appear in the doorway.