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She nodded, dashing my hopes into pieces. “Yeah. My honey really doesn’t like me working here. It’s not a safe neighborhood, and now that I will be married, I’ll probably start popping out babies pretty soon. Might as well get used to the stay-at-home wife lifestyle.”
“Right,” I mumble. I wasn’t able to hide the disappointment from my voice. I was so close to getting her to spill the beans about whatever it was she saw. All I needed was a clue or something. But now, she was leaving, and it would be much harder for me.
“Don’t worry,” Chelsea said, misunderstanding my disappointment. “It’s really not hard. Most of it is just knowing how to look up inventory.”
“No, it’s not that,” I said, trying to think of a way to salvage this. “It’s just that…I’m going to miss having you around here. I’m not very good at making friends, and I felt like we were getting to the point where we could be friends.”
“Aww.” Her eyes glowed warmly, and I felt a little bad for lying to her. Although it wasn’t entirely a lie, I assured myself. I did like her, and I enjoyed her company on some level.
Chelsea reached out and took my hands, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “I know. It’s fine, though. We can still be friends and get lunch once in a while.”
“Yeah,” I said, and a lightbulb went off in my head. Actually, maybe her resignation was a good thing after all. And perhaps, on one of our lunch dates, away from the prying eyes of Paul and Jimmy and without the threat of being fired, she could finally spill the beans on what she saw.
And maybe I could coach the new girl to tell me if she sees anything suspicious too.
That was two extra sets of eyes.
This might be a good thing, after all.
“Speaking of which,” Chelsea adds. “The boss is looking for you. He’s in his office.”
“He’s in?” I frowned. He wasn’t usually in his office this early. “What does he want with me?”
Chelsea shrugged. “Not sure. He came in when I was opening and told me to tell you to come straight to his office the second you get in here.”
“Alright. Thanks for letting me know.”
I steeled myself at the door for whatever might be upcoming. I wasn’t sure why Chris was calling me, but my mind immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion.
Had he figured it out?
Had Chelsea told him that I was asking questions, and then maybe he put two-and-two together and figured out that my reappearance in his life wasn’t a coincidence after all?
If that was the case, I was as good as dead meat.
But there was no use standing here for hours, so I prepared myself and rapped on the door.
“Come in,” he said in that deep voice of his.
The second I pushed his door open, my heart started racing again. I couldn’t help it. The entire office smelled like him, a combination of some kind of exotic cologne and a deep masculine scent. His office was decorated in minimalistic leather décor, with wooden accents that served as a brown highlight to the predominantly black interior.
He glanced up at me, and I tried to quell the effect his gaze had on my body. I focused instead on trying to ascertain his mood.
“You asked for me?” I inquired.
“Yes,” he said as he stood up, coming around to close the door behind me. I took a step back the minute he got close, trying to defy the dizzying effect his scent had on me. But then he stepped back too and then smiled at me like he knew exactly what I was feeling.
“How are you feeling?”
“Huh?” I answered stupidly.
“I mean, after yesterday,” he said. “I thought you might be rattled.”
Since when did he care if I was rattled or not?I was sure a part of him enjoyed watching me deal with the assholes that came into the shop.
I shrugged. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
He nodded and reached out suddenly. I flinched, but he only tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
