Page 10 of Boss Me

“What are you going to do with all your leisure time while he’s away?”

“Leisure time? I’ve got to make sure they put his office back the way it should be.” The cleaning crew had removed all the glass, but when I inspected it, I’d found tiny scratches in the cherry finish from the broken glass. Someone like Jackson would never notice, but Cooper would. “The furniture refinishers should be here any minute. The new top will be delivered tomorrow.” I’d been sure to order the tempered glass in case of another accident.

But what would I do without Cooper there? It sounded perfect: no strain of holding myself back, holding myself in, around him. No temptation to caress his back through those deliciously soft-looking tailored shirts. Not until next Monday. I deserved a flipping break from the daily torture.

I could get a head start on my next assignment for school, I supposed. Though writing another dry economics paper was a different type of agony. “Let me know what I can do to help you, okay?”

“Sure, sure.” She bit her lip. “Do you think they’re okay now? Jackson and Cooper?”

“You’ve known them longer than I have. They argue all the time.” Never like yesterday, though, and we both knew it. I glanced around to see if anyone else was near enough to overhear. We had to pretend everything was normal, or a rumor would reach Weston. Something sinister lurked just below that cold, stylish exterior.

“But”—Marlee leaned closer and lowered her voice—“they’ve never gotten physical before. He was like…like the Beast.”

“You mean from the X-Men?” Had Tyler given her a proper comic-book education?

“No, from Beauty and the Beast. Though the Beast was really gentle, you know.” Marlee twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “Until Gaston attacked him.”

Of course she’d think of one of her fairy tales. “Didn’t you ever read an X-Men comic or see the movies? He’s totally Beast. His eyes are the same color as Beast’s blue fur. And they’re both geniuses.”

Marlee tipped her head to the side. “I’ve always thought of him as a Thor, myself. Blond hair, blue eyes, the stubble, those muscles—” She shivered.

“Hey, now.” The stairwell door banged behind Tyler. “You’d better be talking about me.”

“Of course.” She winked at me before she turned, arms out, to welcome her fiancé to the executive floor. She only pecked his cheek, but I turned my face away. The love shining on Tyler’s face was too obscene for an office setting.

“Jay’s not here yet?” He tipped his chin toward the dark office.

“No, poor Valentine’s got a fever, and she’s been keeping them both up at night. That’s why he didn’t go to Boston. He’s working from home today so Alicia can rest.”

And that meant Cooper couldn’t rest. He always picked up Jackson’s slack. I put out the irritation burning in my chest with a swig of my lukewarm latte. “Morning, Tyler. See you later, Marlee.”

“Later,” Marlee murmured, still grinning at Tyler like they’d been apart days and not hours.

That flare of irritation went cold and heavy. I would never experience love like that. Not as long as I kept falling for the wrong guys. I trudged across the floor to my desk just outside Cooper’s office. As soon as I set down my satchel, the red blinking light on my phone drew my attention. Had the furniture guys arrived? Why hadn’t José called my mobile? I picked up the handset and pressed the button to retrieve the messages.

The first one was from six a.m., nine a.m. on the East Coast. “Mr. Levy-Walters, this is Shauna from the New England Entrepreneurs’ Society. Mr. Fallon hasn’t checked in yet, and I haven’t been able to reach him. I’m hoping you can confirm that he’s still able to give the keynote speech today at noon.”

Give the guy a break, lady. He couldn’t have gotten there any earlier than midnight. He was a man, not a machine; he was probably just grabbing an extra espresso to fuel him through the jet lag. Still…Cooper acted more like a machine than a man, and I’d never known him to be late. To anything.

The second message played immediately, timestamped thirty minutes ago. “Mr. Levy-Walters, it’s Shauna again. From the Entrepreneurs’ Society? I’m starting to get a little anxious. Mr. Fallon still isn’t here. Can you call me back?”

I picked up my Synergy-issued mobile and dialed Cooper. It went straight to his voice mail. Usually, listening to his outgoing message made me feel all swoopy inside, but my stomach clenched with nerves. What could’ve happened to him? I left him a terse message asking him to check in as soon as he could.

The desk phone rang with a Boston caller ID. “Cooper Fallon’s office. Ben Levy-Walters speaking.”

“Oh, Mr. Levy-Walters. I’m so glad I finally caught you. I’m sorry to call so many times, but we still haven’t seen Mr. Fallon. Is he on his way?”

If he hadn’t arrived yet, I doubted it. Cooper Fallon followed through on his obligations.

Something was wrong.

“I’m sorry for the late notice, Shauna, but Mr. Fallon is unexpectedly ill. Fever. Chills. Vomiting.” I cut myself off there before I could give Cooper any more disgusting symptoms. “Sudden onset. He’s probably contagious. He’d like me to pass on his apologies. He’ll be making a large donation to the Society as soon as he’s recovered.”

“Oh. Thank you.” I’d learned from working with Cooper that cash always helped smooth things. Shauna didn’t sound as mollified as I’d hoped. “But what about the keynote?”

“I’m sorry, Shauna,” I said, as gently as possible. “I can’t help you with that. But you have a roomful of entrepreneurs. Can’t one of them step in?”

“I—I guess I’ll try—”

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