Page 31 of Loathing My Boss
And he’s never once said a mean thing to me—in personorvia email.
Viktor tracks where he left off in his printed outline while bringing up his document. “Right, yes. You’ve said so. It’s a very cute name.”
“Thanks.” Stiff silence. It’s…weird. Given that Viktor and I spend most of our time together marinating in the silence, I shouldn’t think anything of it now. Yet I am suffocating. “He’s a boy.”
“Oh?” Viktor glances at me. “You…sexed your fish?”
Is that not normal? I’m positive that’s normal.Therefore, with utmost confidence, I say, “Yes?”
Viktor blinks. “That’s…”
Weird? Strange? Creepy? Unique?Quirky?Come on. Hit me with the adjective. I’ve heard everything.
“…dedicated.”
I don’t think I’ve heard that one.
I ramble, “Well, pea puffers aren’t exactly a low-maintenance fish, but I was desperate to have one, so I did a lot of research before I brought Potato home from the pet store. I really like the pet store in Sunset. It takes great care of their animals.”
“I wouldn’t rent to anyone who didn’t,” he notes.
Oh. Yeah. Right. I forgot. The Bachelor family carefully curates every business in Sunset, and the leases are hefty documents with so many rules that make eviction at any point in time easily accessible if you break them. It’s different here than where I grew up. One of the biggest hurdles in my plan to become Viktor’s assistant was being cleared to live here. Getting on the waiting list was one of the first steps in my scheme, because it can take years for a house to open up, then months of follow-up testing.
Truly a shock I passed the mental health assessments. Who knew spite fueled acting skills?
Sunset isperfectby design. People can visit, if they pass the entry checkpoints and pay a fee, but beyond that? No. Waiting list. Tests. Assessments. Four of the five Bachelor brothers are celebrities, and Sunset is their perfect safe haven.
Which is why what I’ve done might be the greatest con in history.
The strange silence sweeps in again, making me fight for every breath as I robotically sort emails, forward emails, put emails I can’t handle on Viktor’s docket to take care of later. In the stillness, it feels like I’m waiting onsomething to snap.
I just don’t know what.
“Crisis.”
Sickness erupts in the back of my throat. “Yes?”
“Are you interested in the archery later?” he asks.
Am I interested in shooting at things with pointy sticks? One hundred percent yes. “Yes?”
His chest fills with air, and he doesn’t look at me as he positions his fingers over his keyboard. “Would you like…to do it together?”
What is happening?
My brows lower. “Um.” I blink. “Sure?”
Who else would I do it with? I don’t know anyone else here, and I’ve yet to respect any of these whimsical fools enough to pretend to be amicable, much lessarchery buddies.
Viktor nods, once, affirmative, then begins typing. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Oh-kay, man. Sounds good.
Trying to shake the niggling sensation of something being very, veryoff, I get back to work.
Chapter 11
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