Page 51 of Forty, Flirty & Fired

"Traditionally, we also didn't have revolutionary poetry in our meditation room. Times change." His lips quirk. "Unless you're worried about spending three days in the mountains with the corporate overlords?"

"Worried about being trapped in a luxury lodge with Seattle's tech elite?" I try for casual. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Says the woman who turned our last formal event into a champagne shower."

"That was different. I was angry then."

"And now?"

I look up and realize we're still standing under Brad's mistletoe. Alex follows my gaze upward. "That's..."

"Brad's doing. He's very... committed to holiday traditions."

"I see." His hand is still on my elbow.

Neither of us moves.

"Mr. Drake!" Emma's voice carries down the hall. "Theboard is waiting for the quarterly projections, and Keith is trying to teach the interns revolutionary carols!"

The moment breaks. I step back, clutching my coffee cup like a shield.

"The budget meeting," I remind him. "Two o'clock?"

"Yes. Though perhaps we should..."

"Deck the halls with calls for justice," Keith's voice rings out from the break room, accompanied by what sounds like a kazoo. "Fa la la la la, la la LA REVOLUCIÓN!"

"I should handle that," I say quickly.

"Mac." His voice stops me. "About dinner the other night..."

"Mr. Drake!" Emma again, closer now. "Gerald is asking about the projections, and he's using his 'I'm about to call an emergency board meeting' voice."

"Later," I promise, then flee before he can respond.

In my office, I pull up my blog dashboard. My latest post about gender gaps has thousands of retweets. The comments are full of women sharing stories about being overlooked, undervalued, pushed aside.

Stories I thought I knew all about. Stories I thought I understood.

Stories that feel different now, knowing about Alex's secret mentoring program.

My phone buzzes – a text from Lucia:

“I overheard you two. So... are we going to talk about you almost kissing the CEO under the mistletoe, or should I just forward the security camera footage to Nonna? PS: Keith is now leading a chorus of 'Joy to the Revolution' and Brad's journaling about holiday spirits haunting the coffee machine. PPS: Three days trapped at Cascade Lodge with Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Billionaire?

Nonna's probably already planning what she's calling your 'mountain romance care package.' Can’t say I’m notconvinced that this Summit is basically a Hallmark movie waiting to happen."

I tuck away my phone.

Some crises require more caffeine before facing.

Like the fact that I might really,reallylike the man I'm supposed to be exposing.

Or the fact that he might actually deserve better than that.

Or the fact that I now have to figure out how to survive three days at a mountain lodge with him without either exposing my blog identity or giving in to whatever this thing is between us.

Maybe Keith's right. Maybe I do need a revolution.

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