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Gotta shut this down before Elizabeth gets jealous. “I’m the one who gets tempted, actually,” I said. “You should see the way she answers emails in the morning. It’s like she’s trying to set her computer screen on fire with those glares. And the sound of her hammering words out at high speeds?” I did a little chef’s kiss and grinned at Elizabeth. “I can barely stay on my side of the office.”
I had to admit my comment had another purpose. I still remembered the way I’d seen Mrs. Glass looking at the little bald man in the gym. I’d done some digging and found out his name was Enzo. More interestingly, he’d worked in the same office with Mrs. Glass dating back to a period before she began dating her husband, Brandon Glass. I was nurturing a little pet theory, and I thought her reaction might help shed some light on it.
As expected, Mrs. Glass was watching the entire exchange with deep interest. She gave a wicked little smile, then shrugged. “Ladies,” she said like a teacher addressing her students. “If you only take one lesson from me tonight, let it be this. A woman in positions of power is a dangerous force because she’s able to listen to her heart and her head.”
“What would a ‘heart centric’ decision look like, in your opinion?” asked Candace.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Mrs. Glass said. Then she winked at me. “Perhaps looking the other way when two extremely promising employees could benefit from bending an old-fashioned rule.”
Elizabeth stuttered. “I think your company policies are very well thought out and necessary, Mrs. Glass.”
Mrs. Glass gave Elizabeth a squeeze on the shoulder. “In ninety-nine percent of cases, I agree. But one of the perks in being the boss is you can bend the rules, wouldn’t you say? And wouldn’t it be a shame if boring old rules got in the way of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?”
Nicole’s expression was souring by the moment. As a man who considered himself deeply attuned to the needs and desires of women, I felt confident that Nicole was hoping to go home with me tonight. It wasn’t usually my style to shut down a woman who made a pass at me. But ever since I’d met Elizabeth, I found I wasn’t even tempted by the prospect of rolling around the sheets with some woman from a party. I was at the proverbial buffet and all I had eyes for was the ice cream. One flavor of it, at that.
“Oh,” Mrs. Glass lifted her finger. “While we’re on that subject. I need someone to personally fly out to New York this weekend to preview a few dresses before we shoot an ad for Cosmo.”
“I love Cosmo,” I said.
“That’s perfect, because I’d like you and Elizabeth to go together. I trust your judgment, and I’d like you two to oversee the photoshoot as well. I need this ad to be perfect.”
“I don’t know if that sounds appropriate,” Elizabeth said.
“Elizabeth. Dear,” Mrs. Glass stepped closer and cupped both her cheeks until her lips smooshed out. “As your boss I’m not asking you to go. I’m telling you. Fly out to New York. Enjoy some first-class seats and a five-star hotel stay on me. And why don’t you two stay an extra night or two after the ad shoot to enjoy the city?”
Oh, my. Mrs. Glass wasn’t just playing Mrs. Matchmaker. She was the little girl with two dolls in her hands violently jamming them together, crotch to crotch. And suddenly I decided I was almost certain my pet theory was correct. She wasn’t just rooting for us to get together because she thought we made a good couple. No. There was a deeper layer to it. A more personal one. I just needed to figure out if I could find a way to use that to my advantage and clear up this whole legal mess.
“Sounds amazing,” I said.
“Wonderful.” Mrs. Glass clapped her hands in finality, motioned to the women at her side, and glided off to leave me with Elizabeth and a table full of finger foods.
I picked up a little hotdog wrapped in cornbread and popped it in my mouth. “Not sure who thought of these, but they were a genius.”
“How can you eat at a time like this?”
I swallowed, then took a bite of another one. “You realize this is a good thing, don’t you? We get a work-sponsored trip together to explore our rapidly growing feelings for each other.”
“I wish you wouldn’t… make everything so blunt.”
“You want subtlety?” I polished off the little hot dog in a bun and dusted my hands. “I think this trip will be a huge opportunity to grow. Specifically, I think I’ll do a lot of growing. And I think my growth is going to bring you all sorts of satisfaction and pleasure.”
