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Still…this is not like me.
What the hell is this woman doing to me?
I’m not myself.
Which means…this thing with Mandy is affecting me in ways it shouldn’t. I’ve been slightly off my game at work and then what happened with Blossom.
But if I end it with Mandy, she’ll say she’s going to find someone else to teach her. And that will kill me. A slow, painful death by a thousand paper cuts.
That’s what it will feel like, knowing someone else is doing things to Mandy that I should be doing.
Now what?
Of course my cock is rock-hard. I was probably dreaming of her—doing all those things to her she’s not ready for but she thinks she is.
A cold shower it is. At least it’ll wake me the hell up.
An hour later, after a cup of coffee and a protein shake, I’m on a run.
I try to run five miles every day. Sometimes I do it on the treadmill at the gym, but if the weather is good, I prefer to do it in the city.
Running early is the best. I love the yeasty aroma of the first bread bake at the neighborhood bakeries. Castiglione’s is my favorite. They still use wood-fired ovens to bake their bread, and sometimes I see the bakers heading up from shoveling wood into the ovens. They always wear a white tank top, a hairnet, and their arms and neck are glistening with sweat and grime from the hot ovens. When I was a kid, I used to imagine myself working in a bakery when I was older. Then my dad made it big, and I didn’t have to work as a teenager.
Sometimes, after my run, I head into Castiglione’s and have a chocolate croissant. Sometimes an almond one—Mandy’s favorite. Sometimes just a piece of baguette with butter.
Always the first bake, always warm, and always the best. More often than not, I grab an extra almond croissant and drop it off at Mandy’s before I go home and shower. She’ll pour me a cup of coffee, and I’ll walk around the block with her and Roger.
Today, though, I don’t stop. The scent of rising bread—its yeasty, golden-baked aroma—doesn’t appeal to me today. Neither does stopping at Mandy’s.
I run home, have another cup of coffee, shower, and then head into the office. It’s early. Not quite eight a.m., so I’m surprised as hell to see Pendleton Berry waiting for me.
“Penn? Is Frankie okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. They sent her home yesterday afternoon.”
I heave a sigh of relief. “Oh, good. What can I do for you, then?”
“Can we talk in your office?”
“I have a meeting in half an hour that I have to prepare for.”
“Oh. Sorry to bother you, then.”
“We can talk for a minute. Come on in.”
He follows me into my office, and I shut the door. I nod to one of the seats across my desk. “Sit.”
He drops into a leather chair. “I think you should know that Frankie is really concerned about Mandy.”
I swallow. “You have my attention.”
“She thinks Mandy is in love with you.”
I widen my eyes but catch myself before I act too surprised. “She’s mistaken.”
“Maybe she is. I don’t have a clue, to be honest.”
Damn it. I knew we should’ve never had sex.
