Page 33 of Mated To My Boss

“It's alright,” she says, laughing. The soft sounds make me feel more relaxed. “Yes, Graham is my mate.”

“If he's anything like my mate then I'm sorry.”

Rose chuckles again before taking the seat opposite me. “I came to check on Cora and see if she's back yet.”

“No, she's still at the hospital.”

“Damn, I'm sorry about that.”

“It's fine, she's better. I think they need to keep her there so she doesn't come to work just yet. My aunt can't seem to stay away from work.”

“Tell me about it. I was her paralegal for a bit.”

“Oh my God, so you know how much she focuses on her job.”

“She's a perfectionist,” Rose shrugs. “Making a mistake under her is a cardinal sin.” We both pause to share a laugh before Rose continues. “I didn't just come for her though, I came to introduce myself to you. I haven't really been in the office a lot recently.”

“Yeah, that's sort of how I knew about you. Graham mentions you nonstop.”

“I'm glad he does,” Rose smiles. “I hear you may not be having the same luck with Nate.”

I let out an exasperated breath. “He's pretty hard to figure out.”

“Even though he's with us, the man's a bit of a loner. Even Graham can't provide many details about him and they're close friends.”

“I guess I'm stuck like this then.”

Rose shakes her head. “I think he's going to come around. I did.”

I gasp. “You didn't want to be with your mate?”

“It's a bit more complicated than that,” she says, smiling as if she's keeping a secret. “What's that?” Rose points to the corner of the room at my bags.

My eyes light up immediately. "It's this project I'm working on. I like to knit, it helps me relax and it's a lot of fun. Right now, I'm working on a temperature blanket."

"I started learning when I was in high school, but I've gotten more serious about it recently. There's something calming about creating something beautiful with your own hands, watching it grow row by row, knowing each decision matters to the final piece."

“Ooh, I've always wanted to learn. Can I see it?”

I stand up in a second, rush to my bags of supplies, and bring out the half-finished blanket. Rose comes over and takes a good look at it before reaching to touch it.

She handles the material like it's the most delicate thing on Earth, a fact I greatly appreciate.

“That's gorgeous,” she says in genuine awe. I try not to blush at the praise.

“Thank you.”

“I'll definitely come back to see the finished product, but I have to go back to work.”

“That's okay. It was nice of you to stop by.”

We share one last friendly smile before she leaves. I do my best to contain my excitement, but it's a pretty tall order considering someone just complimented my work.

This urges me to continue working on the blanket since I have nothing else to do.

My senses pick up Nate's scent, indicating he's close by. This brings a smirk to my lips, but I continue working like nothing happened.

While I work, I listen to a true crime podcast, switching from my constant knitting to trying to solve who the Mannyville killer is before the big reveal.

---