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“Well, I’m going to be gone for about twenty minutes,” she said. “I didn’t want you to wonder where I was.”
“You’re allowed to take breaks, and I don’t need to know your location at every minute of the day. I don’t like to micromanage people,” he said.
“Thanks, Eli,” she breathed. “It’s just weird that we know each other and now, I’m working for you.”
“That should make things easier,” he insisted. “I mean, we already like each other, right?” She more than liked him, but there was no chance that she’d tell him that. Instead, she just nodded. “Okay then, we have a leg up on our working relationship. I think us knowing each other is a good thing,” he said.
“I guess I just wasn’t looking at it that way,” she said. “I’ll be back in a flash,” she promised, turning to leave his office. As soon as she got into the elevator, she pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed Carrie’s number.
“Hey, how’s the first day going?” Carrie asked.
“Good,” she said. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel like if one more person asks me how I feel, I’ll murder them,” Carrie grumbled, causing Mina to giggle.
“Sorry,” she said, “I’m at least smart enough to know not to ask if you’re still pregnant.” Carrie made it very clear after her eighth month that no one was allowed to even joke about that. Every time one of her relatives called from Scotland, they’d ask if she was still pregnant or if she’d finally had the baby. Carrie would assure them that if she had the baby, everyone back home would know it because her father would shout the news from the rooftops. Mina knew how much her friend hated waiting for anything and this baby was really trying her patience.
“Yeah, at least you’re smart enough not to ask me that question,” Carrie agreed. “So, why are you calling me when you should be working?” she asked, not missing a beat.
“Well, I’m on a coffee break and I thought that while I ride the elevator down to the cafeteria, I’d call you,” Mina said.
“Um, you do know that they have coffee machines on every floor, right?” Carrie asked. “Eli might even have one in his office.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that,” she lied, “but, it is my first day. Plus, I wouldn’t want to bother Eli by traipsing into his office to get a cup of coffee.”
“Are you all right?” Carrie asked.
“Sure, why do you ask?” Mina lied. She was feeling more and more out of sorts with every passing hour. She wasn’t sure if just coming right out and asking Carrie about Eli’s dating status was a good idea or not, but she had nothing more to talk to her about and she was going to have to get back to her desk at some point.
“Fine,” Mina whispered more to herself than to Carrie. “I called to find out if Eli has a girlfriend or if he’s married or something,” she admitted. The doors to the elevator opened and she stepped out into the lobby of the building. She had missed her floor, and now, she was wondering if she was losing her damn mind.
“Crap, I’ve missed my floor,” she mumbled.
“If you go outside and make a left, there’s a great little coffee shop about two blocks down. Their coffee is so much better than the stuff they have in the building,” Carrie said. “And, to answer your question, Eli is single. Should I ask why you want to know?”
“I think you can guess,” Mina breathed. She walked out of the building, nodding to the security guard on her way out. She spotted the coffee shop right away and practically ran down the two blocks to it.
“You like him,” Carrie said. She wasn’t asking, more telling Mina that she had figured out her deepest, darkest secret.
“Yeah,” Mina admitted. “Hold on a minute,” she ordered, “I found the coffee shop and I need to order my afternoon pick-me-up.”
Carrie groaned into the phone, “Oh how I wish I could have more than one wee cup of coffee a day.”
Mina giggled, “You know, when you whine, you sound even more Scottish than usual.” She placed her coffee order, knowing that her friend was listening the whole time by the little moans coming from the other side of the phone.
“So, back to your brother-in-law,” Mina said, paying the cashier and stepping to the side to wait for her order. “You’re sure that he’s single and doesn’t have some woman hidden away somewhere?” she asked.
“I mean, I can ask Evan when he gets home, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure,” she insisted. “Why do you question if he’s single or not?”
“Because he didn’t ask me out at your wedding,” Mina admitted. “He didn’t even ask me for my number, and I was sure that we had hit it off, you know?”
“Yeah, you two seemed pretty cozy at my wedding, but I thought it was because we threw you both together. I had no idea that you liked him,” Carrie said.
“And I thought that he liked me too, but I guess I was wrong. Oh well, I’m going to have to do something about these damn feelings so that I can get on with my work,” Mina said.
“Or you can ask him out,” Carrie countered.
“He’s my boss,” Mina squeaked. The guy behind the counter called her name and she snatched up her coffee, nodding her head at him. She was going to make it back to the office in time if she hurried.
“Well, I hate to remind you of this fact, but my husband is my boss,” Carrie said.
“Yeah, I remember, but not all of us get your fairytale ending, Carrie,” Mina reminded. “But I appreciate the intel on your new brother-in-law. Talk later,” Mina said. Her friend protested loudly over the phone until she ended the call and shoved her phone back into her purse. She’d pay for that later, but right now, she was going to have to hurry if she planned on making it back to her desk by the end of her break. Eli seemed cool about her taking breaks, but she didn’t want to push her luck. Then, she planned on spending the rest of the night trying to figure out reasons why wanting her new boss was a horrible idea. She’d put him out of her head and move on in no time, Mina was just sure of it.
