Page 29 of Mated To My Boss

When I enter, my aunt is awake. She turns to me with a tired expression and sighs, “It's not as bad as it looks.”

“Aunt Cora, you're in the hospital. It's definitely as bad as it looks.” I move closer to her and sit by the bed. “How're you feeling?”

“I'm fine, I don't know what the doctors are fussing about.”

“They’re Fussing about because the food poisoning got into your blood. They have to make sure you're okay,” I remind her.

“Well they're wasting my time. I've got a lot of work to do.”

If it were anyone else, I'd be shocked at how they think about work while they're in the hospital. My aunt is a different breed, though. She's been this way as long as I've known her. She has inspired me to follow in her footsteps.

“Don't think about work for now,” I tell her. “I want you to focus on getting better, that's what you need.”

She pouts a little, knowing I'm right. “I've been thinking about—”

“No, I won't bring work here to you,” I interrupt her, shaking my head back and forth.

“That's not it,” Aunt Cora says, smiling. “I've been thinking about your internship. I don't want you to miss out on valuable experience because I'm unavailable.”

“How are you worried about that at a time like this? You should be thinking about recovering. I don't mind waiting for you to feel better.”

“That's just it. I don't want you to wait.” Aunt Cora coughs, but it stops almost immediately. “I believe it's best if you continue your internship officially under someone else.”

“Aunt Cora, I don't want—”

“You'll work under Nate.”

“Aunt Cora, that's not a good Idea, you know that. One day working together was enough. Will he even allow that? He doesn't like having an assistant.” I sound like I’m panicking, so I take a deep breath.

“I know, but he'll have no choice.” Aunt Cora places a hand on my cheek and I hold it close.

“The two of you are drawn to one another and you're naturally going to find your way back to each other anyway. Just give it a try.”

Chapter 11

NATE

The elevator doors open on my floor. All the people around me troop out, but I pause for a second to sniff the air.

“That's odd,” I muse. “Where is she?”

There are only traces of Madeline's scent in the air and that's just because she spends a lot of time at the office. The absence of a strong source tells me she's not here.

Madeline hasn't missed a day yet. Is she sick?

I feel so anxious that I almost let the elevator doors close with me inside. Luckily, I reach out at the last second and stop the door.

I step out and walk through the hallway, passing my office and not stopping until just before Cora's temporary office. She’s been away a lot more, leaving Madeline in her stead. However, my mate is nowhere to be found.

My anxiety begins to rise. What's going on? I whip out my phone, hovering over her number and wondering if I should call.

No, I'm just going to look like some stalker. She misses work one day and I'm on edge? But then we did have someone tailing us in the car. You’re overthinking. They disappeared; it was probably nothing.

I take a few deep breaths to ground myself before heading to my office, determined to carry on with my day as if nothing has happened. My computer awaits, ready to be put to work.

The first hour goes by without hassle. One thing about not having Madeline in the vicinity is that I finally have a free mind to actually accomplish my tasks instead of handling interruptions.

My brain still brings her to the forefront a lot, but it's much different than her standing right before me.

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