Page 37 of Love, Luck & Clusterf*ck

“Sure thing, boss.” Adam saluted him and went back out to the main floor.

Something felt very weird to me. “Am I in trouble?”

“Why would you be in trouble?”

Okay, if he wasn’t going to mention anything that had happened so far, then I’d be smart to keep my mouth shut as well.

“No reason. I just feel like I’ve been called into the principal’s office.”

His lips curved, and maybe it was the coffee making me bold, but I just had the strong urge to tell him to fuck off. His mere presence was throwing me something fierce. I didn’t want to be dealing with this every work day. We were only supposed to have contact with each other occasionally, dammit.

“I trust you’ve familiarized yourself with all the company’s policies?”

“Like the one you sent out yesterday?” Stupid mouth. That wasn’t being smart at all. I should have just said a simple yes and been done with it.

“Yes, like that one.”

“Yep. All caught up, Stephen. No worries there since I don’t believe in office dating anyway.”

And you know damn well that I’m with Dre since you’ve butted into my life on more than one occasion already, so this should be a non-issue. But since I don’t know what I can or cannot say to you right now because you’re my temporary boss, I’m screwed. In other words: Fuck off.

“It’s not only that, Perry. These policies are in place to also protect against harassment. Since you’re the newest member of the team, I’d like to make sure you know that you’re working in a safe environment. If you feel threatened in any way, you can come to me, and the matter will get resolved.”

“Again, no worries. I feel perfectly safe here and everyone has been wonderful so far. Very friendly.”

I swore I saw his jaw tick again. “Good to know, but if that ever changes, my door is always open.”

“Thank you. Is there anything else?” It was getting too fucking hot in there. Slamming half a jumbo coffee while sitting so close to him certainly didn’t make the temperature more appealing. I scooped up my donut and stood, ready to bolt.

“No, that’ll be all. Unless there’s anything you’d like to say?”

“Only that I wish Mr. Krismer’s wife a very speedy recovery.”

I heard him laugh behind me as I exited the office. What. The. Fuck?

“What the fuck?” Kate mouthed as I made my way back to my station. Her eyes were darting between me and Stephen, who was clear as could be sitting at his desk through the glass walls.

“Don’t ask,” I mouthed back, shaking my head.

I sat before my computer, and she scooted her chair over. She was going to ask anyway.

“What happened in there?” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. Did you know he’s filling in for Mr. Krismer?”

She nodded. “I read the memo this morning. It was supposed to be someone else coming in, so I was surprised to hear it was Stephen. He never comes here. Now how am I supposed to explain to my husband why I’m going through so many damn pairs of underwear?”

I broke out laughing and had to cover my mouth. I wasn’t expecting that. Her phone rang and she rolled back over to her spot. “Hey, bring up your chat when you log on. It’ll be easier to talk.”

I made sure all my applications were up and ready to go before I brought up the interoffice chat. I also checked my e-mail for the memo Kate mentioned, and yes, it was sent out early that morning. Effective immediately: Stephen Davidson acting as Operations Manager for Pete Krismer. Ugh.

Kate Lambert: Hey.

Perry Sommers: Hey.

Kate Lambert: So, what’s going on between you and Bossman?

Perry Sommers: What? Nothing.

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