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Pricing the stock actually wasn’t as bad as I thought. It was a little bit repetitive placing the same labels over and over again, but it wasn’t exactly hard. Colin made for great company too. Despite his proposal yesterday, I was sure we could be great friends. He really was a friendly, funny guy. I was getting a little lost in my own thoughts that I forgot he’d started telling me a story. I turned to him and tried my best to pay attention to the end of it.
“That was when my friend Ian told us all, with a straight face no less, that he honestly thought chocolate milk came from brown cows. Apparently, his dad had told him that as a kid and growing up, he’d just never really questioned it. Can you believe that?” Colin told me with a guffaw of laughter.
“I’ve heard little kids say that before, but I can’t imagine a grown man still believing it,” I said with a wide smile. “You set him straight, right?”
“Of course, I did, but only after some merciless teasing.” He nudged my arm with his and I could feel his body steadily moving closer to mine. I wasn’t enjoying how friendly he was suddenly becoming. I put a little bit of space between us and tried to focus on the task at hand.
“Anyway,” Colin began as he changed the subject. “You know, Rylee, I do really value our friendship. I enjoy working with you and spending time together, but I can’t help but think we could have something more. Don’t you?”
I bristled. This was exactly the conversation I was hoping to avoid. “It’s… It’s complicated, Colin,” I told him, feeling totally overwhelmed by how many strange things were happening to me lately. “I have a son to raise and a career to focus on. It isn’t easy and I need to keep a clear head in order to do those things. I’m sorry.”
“Well, there’s no reason for me to get in the way of any of that,” Colin argued before leaning on one of the pallets and putting down his pricing gun. “I’m really looking forward to becoming a father one day soon and I think Jayden might really like me if you gave him the chance. I’m great with kids.”
I felt stumped by his response. I expected most guys to be put off by the fact that I’m a single mother with a kid that belonged to someone else. I hadn’t ever even really considered being with someone while I raised Jayden. The two ideas seemed so completely separate. When I really thought about it, I began to wonder if Colin and Jayden might actually get along… I stopped that thought. It was wrong.
He was my boss after all!
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” I told him with a defiant jut of my chin. “I’m still your employee and I don’t plan on quitting anytime soon. I really need this job. I can’t risk it for something as silly as a relationship.”
“If that’s the only thing that’s keeping you from going on a date with me, then you don’t need to worry,” he said with confidence and stepped closer to me once again. “All we have to do is fill out the correct paperwork, file it with Human Resources, and it’s all good! We might have to meet with them at Head Office at some point, but those are all just minor details. As long as we keep everything above board, there’s no way the store will stand in the way of our relationship.”
It was then that I realized Colin was incredibly close to me. My eyes widened as his hands moved upward and he placed them on my shoulders and stared down into my eyes. It was such a similar way to how Spencer had looked at me just two days ago, but it felt entirely different. There was no heat between us, no spark, but Colin still seemed so determined.
“I think you forget how special you are, Rylee. You deserve to have someone in your life who can help you with everything. Someone who really cares about you. I think I could be that guy.” His expression looked genuine and soft. I could tell that he really meant what he was saying, but somehow it just felt wrong. I wasn’t attracted to him and stringing him along would just be plain wrong.
Except, I did really want someone in my life who could help me during those rough days where I feel exhausted and couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed. The more I thought about Jayden having some kind of father figure, the more appealing it sounded. Colin was a nice guy, even if he hardly compared to Spencer. He was nowhere near as intelligent, witty, or charming. Even though Spencer was here right now, who knew what could happen in the future? After all, he was the one who took off on a six-month long trip to Chicago without so much as a phone call. I didn’t know how long he might stay before he up and vanished again…
