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“Nicksen!”
Popping to my feet because she sounded so brusque and mad that I was sure I was about to get into trouble for something, I stuffed the last bit of bagel I had left to eat of my breakfast into my mouth and muffled out, “Yes, ma’am?”
She paused, then blinked at me as she archly watched me chew and swallow. Then she lifted her iPad to show me the screen. “I want to reword this memo so it sounds less...kind. These assholes are three payments late, and I’m beginning to lose my patience.”
“Um, okay.” Grabbing a pen and writing pad, I asked, “What changes do you want—”
She didn’t give me a chance to finish the question before she was spitting out corrections, pointing out sections as she spoke, causing me to squint at the screen to discover what parts she was talking about.
By the time she finished all her instructions, I’d filled out three pages of notes and my head was starting to swim, but I knew I could do this, so I nodded and told her, “No problem.”
She eyed me with distrust for a moment before giving a stiff nod. “Very well. See if you can have it done before noon.”
“Will do.”
I’d have this sucker done before eleven. Maybe ten.
“’Morning, ladies,” an achingly familiar voice perkily called from behind me, making me nearly jump out of my skin. “Anyone want a muffin?”
Jada lifted a curious eyebrow over my reaction before we turned together to face Gracen.
And I nearly let loose one of those pathetically lovesick sighs as I watched him approach. His smile was wide and friendly, as if he’d woken up after the perfect sleep, refreshed and ready to tackle the day. When he lifted a basket that had three muffins sitting in it, I just continued to stare at his face, ecstatic to get to be this close to him again.
He looked so good and cheerful and content. Simply looking at him made my entire day feel better.
“I’ve got banana-nut-flavored ones this morning,” he told both me and Jada. “Yesterday, it was blueberry, and the day before that, chocolate chip. Magda keeps bringing me a new batch every day. And I can’t seem to keep up. What do you think; am I growing a gut yet?”
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When he turned to the side and arched back his shoulders as he displayed his flat stomach, Jada rolled her eyes and smacked him right in the diaphragm with the back of her hand.
“Stop sucking it in and maybe we’d be able to give you an honest answer.”
When he grunted from the contact, his old assistant Price passed by, pausing to scoop all three muffins from Gracen’s basket. Narrowing his eyes on his old boss, he held one up as he clutched the other two to his chest. “You owe me these. And more.” Then he defiantly took a huge bite straight from the top of one and walked off, eating it.
We watched him go before turning back to each other.
“Just what do you mean by a new batch every morning?” Jada asked her co-owner, as if nothing had just happened with Price. “Are you saying that bitch brings you muffins daily? In a fucking cloth-napkin-lined wicker basket, no less? She never in all the years she worked for me brought me a single muffin.”
Gracen paused. “She didn’t?” Then he cleared his throat and flushed as he cringed and rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. “Well, uh...” He must’ve thought it was time for a topic change because he pointed at me and blurted, “How about Yellow here? Things working out okay for you two?”
I held my breath, wondering what my new boss would say about me, and my hopes plummeted when she scowled. “You mean, how am I stomaching the perky little people-pleasing cheerleader?” With a roll of her eyes, she answered, “She's annoying as hell. Smiles at me and says hello every fucking morning. And today, she had the nerve to bring me a dozen donuts. Which are no doubt a hundred times better than your nasty muffins.”
I blinked, wondering if I’d just been complimented or insulted.
Meanwhile, Gracen gasped and covered his mouth with both hands, causing the handle of his basket to dangle from the crook of his arm. “That fiend,” he said. “Say it ain’t so.” He gave me a mock superior glance before snootily lifting his nose. “I mean, the gall of some people.”
“Oh, shut up,” Jada grumbled over his teasing. “The kid’s surprisingly not a half-bad assistant. She types and files a hell of a lot faster than Magda ever did.”
Really? I brightened, stunned to hear any kind of praise from Jada.
Gracen scowled at her, though. “Hey, Magda may be like a tortoise, but she stays steady to the course. Price was a hare with quick typing fingers too, but I could never keep him at his desk. He was always popping from one gossip station to the next. So, honestly, they both finish their work for me at about the same time.”
“Well…” Jada lifted her face haughtily. “I have the best of both worlds. Yellow types fast and avoids gossip.”
“Does she?” Gracen murmured, shifting a speculative glance my way. He sent me a warm smile before wrinkling his nose. “I should’ve known you’d be a goody two-shoes.”
Notching up my chin, I answered, “I prefer to call it tidy and competent, thank you very much.”
