AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You like him,” Evelyn shrieks, with a cackling laugh. “You like the sexy baseball boss! Look at your little pink cheeks!”
“No,” I protest, uselessly. I can feel the heat on my face. “That was a professional conversation.”
Roxy smirks. “Not buying it.”
“Well, I’m not trying to sell it,” I huff.
“No one’s judging you, honey,” Lottie says kindly. “You’re young and vibrant.”
“And that Blake sucked a big one,” Evelyn adds.
“Abigone,” Arthur agrees
. “If this Austin tickles your fancy…”
“He’s not tickling anything!” I blurt, blushing.
“I work for him! Even if I did like him, he’s off limits. Way, way off-limits.”
“Well, now,” Evelyn says with a wicked grin, “Where’s the fun in that?”
* * *
At the officethe next day, I have to chant “off limits” in my mind more than once. It’s like a meditation practice at this point: breathe in boundaries, breathe out self-control. Having a hot and charming boss is turning out to be a professional hazard.
And did I mention it’s been a long while since I felt these kind of sparks?
“Welcome everyone, let’s get started!”
Austin begins an all-hands-on-deck meeting in the conference room by telling everyone how much he appreciates their hard work. I zone out, admiring his shoulders, his eyelashes, his considerate little speech to his team.
Snap out of it, Walker!
“Construction and décor is on-track to be finished this week, we’ve got a stellar events line-up, and our new marketing maven is getting the brand materials together,” he adds, shooting me a grin.
I blush, glad I took the trouble to blow out my hair this morning.
You know, for professional reasons.
“The food and beverage permits are being slow walked,” Austin continues, looking concerned. “And our launch hinges on having our restaurant open for business. So, I’m open to any ideas how we can move things along.”
Permits are certainly not my area of experience, so I think it’s okay for me to tune out. I keep thinking of us chatting in my office over pizza on my first day. Truthfully, I can’t remember the last time I had such a fun, easy time with a man.
It felt like a first date—a good one.
Off-limits. Off-limits.
Austin’s winding down the meeting, about to adjourn, when my brain catches up to the permit talk. Wait a minute… Lottie’s husband, Hal, retired from City Hall last year. The whole knitting circle attended the luncheon in his honor, and he seemed like a beloved higher-up.
On a whim, I text her.
Talk to Hal, she replies,but he’ll be hard to catch;)
?
He’s fishing today,Lottie replies, and I smile. The woman loves her puns.
I quickly message back and forth, then when the team files out of the conference room, I intercept Austin.
