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“Stop squirming.”
“Don’t do that.”
“I’m doing this foryou.”
“But it hurts.”
“Should I blow on it?”
“Maybe.”
Mr. Cox puckered his lips and blew, his breath stinging my skin.
“Ow…ow…stop. It hurts.”
“Where is that spunky woman I know and lo…I mean…stop acting like a wuss.” He fumbled with the wrapper.
“No, not that one, it’s too big. It won’t fit.”
“I’ll make it fit.”
My boss sat beside me in my office. He slid the Band-Aid on my finger. “Fucking Reed. Had I known he’d draw blood, my fist would have gone through his nose.”
“It’s only a paper cut from when he flung the report at me.” I shrugged and took my hand back, even though I wanted him to keep holding it. “I didn’t even notice until after. It’s not that bad.”
He threw his arms up in resignation. “Seriously? You whine like a child and now you say it’s nothing?”
The corner of his lips twitched, and I was fighting to stifle my own smile. After a few seconds of silence, we both burst into laughter.
“Did you…did you see his face when I stormed in?” he asked as he laughed.
“I know.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. “He looked like he would crap his pants.”
We both bent over, and our roars of laughter filled the room. My abs were cramping up from the exertion. I clutched my ribs. “Hahaha…Ow…It hurts…Hee-hee.”
“Again…you…with the ‘it hurts’,” he said between bursts of chortling.
Another burst of laughter consumed us, like a couple of teenagers who’d smoked too much weed.
This ridiculous chortling was so uncharacteristic for him. Was it fatigue? Stress of the job?
Whatever the reason, I was thankful for the chance to bond with him in this way. We weren’t just co-workers. We were becoming friends. Laughing together. Sharing moments.
The more I discovered about this man, the more I grew to care for him. Sure, he was rough around the edges, but with me, he was all kindness. Mostly.
We worked well together. We made a great team. He challenged me to take on more responsibilities, to think beyond what I had been taught to think, coaching me on the ins and outs of the business. He wasn’t just my boss, but my mentor, my teacher…my friend.
The man was a genius in his field, and I had learned more from him in the last couple of weeks than I had in the last few years at school.
I struggled to keep things strictly professional between us. I think he did too. But our eyes spoke a different truth. Discreet glances in each other’s direction while working together on a financial forecast. Long dream-like gazes when we spoke about the economic impact of the upcoming merger.
And the twinkling of his jade eyes whenever he smiled at me.
That smile. That no one else got to see.
This was dangerous. I couldn’t let a flirtation get in the way of my plan. I wouldn’t let a man distract me from my goals.
Afew days later, I was working late as usual. I glanced up at the clock. 8:30 p.m.
