Page 16 of Stuck with the Hot Boss
‘Zig-a-zig,’ confirmed Nicky, and clinked her glass on Evie’s own. ‘Hopefully, with an extra-large helping of ah.’
Evie made it to the office at eight-twenty-five. Leo was at his desk.
‘I’ll never beat you in, will I?’ she said.
Leo glanced at her for a nanosecond. ‘No.’
Evie eyed her container of sharp pencils. It was a consolation to know they were there in case murder by stabbing became the only option.
She fired up her PC, checked her inbox – yes, four emails already from Leo, some of them with the dreadedFwd.before the subject line, a sure sign that the email contained a long, boring business article she’d be expected to read.
But she had other priorities. A document. Five double-sided pages, which printed then stapled together at the top left corner.
Evie stood and waited by Leo’s elbow. Today, he was wearing a retro-style knitted polo shirt, olive green and white, with a pairof slim-fit chinos and tan loafers, no socks. Leo didn’t push the boat out fashion-wise, but he always looked stylish. Mind you, Evie had to admit, if he’d just crawled out of sewer, she’d still want to jump him.
This morning, he also looked cool and distant, as if he and Evie hadn’t even had a proper introduction, let alone got jiggy with it not twenty-four hours earlier.
‘Yes?’ he said, with another nano-glance.
‘Here–’ Evie handed him the stapled document. ‘I wrote up some observations from yesterday. While they were fresh in my mind.’
She decided not to mention that she’d written them up at two in the morning because she couldn’t sleep. Owing to fantasising about having sex with Leo. Multiple times.
‘More than just observations here,’ Leo remarked, scanning the pages. ‘You’ve made some recommendations.’
‘Well – not necessarilygoodones,’ said Evie, and mentally kicked herself. If you’re going to crack self-deprecating jokes whenever you feel uneasy, then rule one is to make sure they’re funny, and not pathetic.
Leo finally looked at her directly. There was a small lift in the corner of his mouth thatmightbe a smile …?
‘Worried I’ll have feedback?’ he said.
Evie flexed her hands and cracked her knuckles. ‘Bring it, boss-man.’
Suddenly, all was cool and distant again. Leo slotted the document onto a pile on his desk.
‘Thank you,’ he said, turning away. ‘I’ll read it as soon as I have time.’
Evie had a happy vision of picking up his MacBook Air and braining him. Instead, she went back to her desk and got petty revenge by leaving Leo’s emails unread and instead clicking on one from Keith. Normally, Keith’s emails contained useful iferratically written information for the staff, such as “new pub down the Road happy hour 4 to 6!” or “Local lottery Store Luckiest in Britain!” No subject line, ever, so clicking on Keith’s emails was like the proverbial box of chocolates – you never knew what you were going to get.
This time, though, it was an email only for Evie: ‘Can you come see me and Kev in our office at eleven.’ He’d spelled “eleven” as “elven”.
Crap. Today had already pushed her to the cliff edge of disappointment, and now it was sending her plummeting into the canyon of terror. KeithandKev. What could they possibly want to see her about?
Evie checked the time: 9.05am. An hour and fifty-five minutes to go before elven/eleven. This was about to be the longest morning of her life.
Chapter Nine
Keith and Kev’s office had a desk at either end, and in the middle a low sofa and two chairs arranged around a coffee table. On the table were the latest issues ofHeating and Plumbing Monthly,Entrepreneurand a Dungeons and Dragons magazine, which probably belonged to one of Keith’s grandkids, but then again, who knew what Kev did of an evening.
Evie had arrived on time and at Keith’s request was now seated on the sofa, while he and Kev took the chairs on either side. Hyper alert, Evie had scanned Keith’s face for any clues to his mood, but he seemed his usual jovial self. She didn’t dare look at Kev. It would be like walking widdershins around a church; simply asking for trouble.
‘Thanks for coming, Evie,’ Keith began. ‘We won’t keep you long.’
That could be interpreted in more than one way. Evie tried to think positively.
‘Kev and I wanted to ask what you thought of Leo,’ Keith said.
‘Oh!’ Evie prayed hard that she wouldn’t blush. ‘Er, thought of him in what way?’
