Page 49 of Over My Dead Boss
Sienna: you love his professional side…
Olivia: Duh, you know I love his books.
Sienna: And you love sleeping with him.
Olivia: ‘Sleeping with him’ makes it sound so mundane. Our sex is transcendental.
Sienna: And you enjoy spending time with him.
Olivia: The other day he sneezed and I couldn’t stop laughing for a solid ten minutes. Imagine a giant sneezing, but it sounds like a little puppy. Ha.
Sienna: Ooook, and you mentioned his best friend and his grandma like you, too?
Olivia: I feel you’re working up to something, but I’d rather if you stopped talking now.
Sienna: THEN GET ME THE LAST BOOK! I NEED TO KNOW HOW IT ENDS!111!
Sienna: adjshaf69jioafoiajoislp13fvfew12käwfoiuhi1rj2rjoäoij
Downstairs, I hear Phoenix and Dog, who must have returned from their walk, and I quickly sneak back down without leaving a trace. I know he wouldn’t mind me going into his bedroom or probably even me reading the notebook, but it still feels like I invaded his privacy. The two of them are drenched, a trail of water following them, even though there aren’t any clouds up in the sky.
“You went for a swim, I see?”
“Dog pushed me in the water.”
Dog barks happily and jumps towards me, resting her wet paws against my chest, begging for some head scratches as if she deserves a reward. She’s drier than Phoenix who takes off his wet clothes one by one, while retreating to his bathroom upstairs. I grab a towel to dry Dog and then sit on the couch with a notepad and a pen to brainstorm. When Phoenix comes back down, he still seems somewhat defeated, which breaks my heart a little.
“Don’t pull a face like that. Dog tried really hard to cheer you up.” I am met with silence and a slightly annoyed glance. “Alright, listen to this,” I exclaim and wave him over. “I know your books aren’t technically romance novels, but I think a Happily Ever After would be nice, comforting. So why don’t you allow Noël to end up with Roan while Chris ends up in a ditch? Because I genuinely dislike him.”
Phoenix grumbles as he lets himself fall down next to me, propping my legs over his lap, massaging them gently.
“Or not. How about you finish the book by revealing that Noël was an alien all along and the notebooks were a way to communicate with his alien family back on Ouranus.”
“Ourwhatnow?”
“Ouranus. It’s their home planet, a highly civilized society that has overcome silly concepts such as private property relations, appropriately naming their planet OUR—”
“Yep, no I got it. That’s certainly… an idea.” One side of his mouth pulls up a little and I think I’m on the right track.
“Not a perfect fit? Maybe you’re right. How about you reveal that Noël was an alien all along and the notebooks were a way to communicate with his alien family back on Moist.”
Phoenix sighs heavily while his grin grows bigger. “Moist?”
“Oh, yeah, they’ve been in a terrible war with earth for centuries now. They even went so far as to rename their own planet after the most disliked word in the human lingua franca, just to spite us. Of course, humanity is woefully ignorant of their existence and that this war is even happening.”
“Two truly unique and equally terrible ideas. I appreciate the effort, but I don’t think I’m going to include any moist aliens in my story.”
“Hrmpf, I would sayyour loss,but that would be inaccurate because I have to read it.”
Together, we brainstorm some more, until we both get hungry and decide to order pizza, one with, one without pineapple and one with various toppings to share. Being here with Phoenix feels frightfully familiar already and I am dreading the coming week, when I won’t be able to wake up next to his face, smell his scent or feel his stubble against my skin anymore. I should have known better than to get involved with someone, especially someone as unattainable as a dead guy. A dead, grumpy, gorgeous guy like him. My fist lands on his upper arm, a pain shooting through my hand. Phoenix barely moves and just frowns at me.
“What was that for?”
“Nothing.” I wince and shake my hand. “Just… making me like you. Things were easier when you were still a heartless, cold-blooded, selfish boss who fires people for no good reason and cuts their wages just because he wants to…”
“Oh,” he says and pats his arm, making the muscles in his chest pop even more. “I think you’re pretty nifty as well. But I think I’m better at showing it.” He slaps my ass gently and gives me an awkward wink. “Also, I don’t think I ever did any of those things.”
Pretty nifty.He said I’mpretty nifty.
