Page 2 of Finding Alfred
But damn, the man was too hot. I didn’t regret our hook-up, but that’s all it could be, even if he didn’t understand that it was a one-and-done. And being in the same town as him? The same small town.Verysmall town. I would see him everywhere. He would be at Brock’s bookstore nearly every day. There would be nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run. What the fuck was I going to do?
I still had a little time, but I didn’t see a way to get around this conundrum. The building for the servers was complete and ready for occupancy, and our offices were nearly done as well. All I needed was a place to live. And to actually move my ass there.
My team and I were working with specialists to pack up the equipment, and I was overseeing it all. That meant getting busy. “Hey, you. Wait.” Someone was packing one of the servers in the anti-static foam, but he wasn’t labeling as he went. Cords, wires, everything needed labeled. I had to stay on top of every single thing to ensure it went right. From prep to shut down to packing.Hell, I felt like I needed to be in the moving trucks. People were inadequate.
As always…
I took care of one problem after another until I stopped to get something from the cafeteria… In Foggy Basin, there would be no on-site cafeteria, only a small breakroom. Eddy wanted everyone to go into town and support the small businesses there, which included a café, a bakery, and of course, Books Beans and Buns. I looked at my phone. A new text from Jackie.
Great. Just great. Fuck my life.
Instead of texting Jackie, I texted Eddy.
He sent back laughing emojis. As if I were kidding.
Chapter three
Sitting at the front counter at Books Beans and Buns during the day was normally the perfect way to work. When it got slow, I wrote my blog or did promotional stuff. But for the first time, it wasn’t getting done. I needed to upload the latest episode in two days, but the page was practically blank. Worse, my brain didn’t want to cooperate. Nope, it only wanted to think about Alfred and how he would be moving to Foggy Basin soon. Eddy’s entire company, Queen Gaming, was moving. In fact, they were already in the middle of getting the servers shipped to the new space. Ihad no clue what all that might entail, but I was pretty sure it would keep Alfred busy.
But when they finished and he was here in Foggy Basin permanently?Yay! Time to turn on the charm and woo him over. Woo him? Who the fuck had corrupted my brain?
But I was under no illusions that it was a done deal. First, I had to get him to like me. Then I had to convince him that his future was here. Because if he got bored, he could change jobs and move back to Sacramento, or worse, someplace like Seattle. Tons of jobs for him there, but I did not want that. Nope. I wanted him here with me. So I needed a plan.
Some teens who had been hanging out in the game area walked up to the counter. One was buying a game that I was pretty sure they’d been testing out in the game zone Brock had set up. Selling games added a ton to his business and gave Eddy a little testing ground for his work. Behind the kids, our Sheriff, Clay West, raised his hand in a friendly wave. “Morning, Sheriff,” I greeted him after helping the kids.
“Hi, Jackie.” He slid a coffee, a sticky bun, and this month’s copy ofAmerican Handgunnermagazine on the counter.
“What’s new?” I asked as I wrung up his things.
“Nothing. As usual.”
That wasn’t entirely true, but Clay wasn’t one to gossip or talk about his personal business. If I wanted that, I’d ask Evelyn or even Brock’s mouthy cousin, Paige. She always knew what was going on, and half of what she knew came from her wife, Sharon, who worked for Clay at the Sheriff’s department. I suspected something was going on with him. I simply didn’t know what, and it wasn’t any of my business either.
So, I let him get on with his day, and I continued mooning over Alfred. Which gave me an idea. “Hey, Eddy?” I called out.
He popped his head around a corner of the bookshelves where he’d been half inventorying and half reading the merchandise.Seemed like he inventoried the Sci-Fi section a lot. “Yeah?” he asked, sounding a bit guilty. But I wasn’t going to bust his chops.
“What do you think if we got some people together to help you move the offices or some of your personnel?”
“Like Alfred?” He gave me the eyebrows. I knew that look but ignored it.
“No…” I don’t know why I protested. Both Eddy and Brock were aware of my crush.
Eddy got up off the floor and joined me behind the counter. “I think helping move is a great idea, but not necessary. I’m paying movers. And I think your offer is more about getting closer to Alfred, but maybe just give him a little more time. I’m sure things will change once he’s here. Maybe don’t push so hard. He’s like, you know, a wild rabbit. Tough as hell. Fast. Ready to run at a moment’s notice. Don’t scare him away.”
“Approach with caution?”
“Yes.”
I heard what he was saying, but I didn’t know if it was possible to reel myself in.
Chapter four
Everything was happening too fast now. The servers had been moved, set up, and the conversion went without a hitch. The office were mostly finished as well. Everyone now lived in or around Foggy Basin if they weren’t considered remote employees, the latter didn’t include me. Unfortunately.
I had two months left on my lease, but when I tried to use that as an excuse, Eddy bought the two months out. He was willing to throw money at this problem to get everyone together. But it was killing me. I didn’t want to leave my house in the city. It wasperfect. Small but not too small, and best of all, a pool where I swam nearly every day. Including the winter, since it was heated.
No people were holding me back, though. I was an only child, and my parents didn’t give a flying fuck about me and my life. Then there was my love life, which was previously non-existent and now completely extinct. Not that it mattered if I liked it that way or not, because there was only one person in the whole fucking country that I would be interested in anyway, and that was Jackie Corbin, who practically had a flashing neon warning sign on his forehead.
