Page 26 of Must Be Love - Irresistible Bachelors

“I just talked to you on Monday.”

“Which was how many days ago? You can’t make time for the woman who raised you single-handedly?”

I roll my eyes. My father died when I was seven, so my mom was a single parent for most of my life. And she never misses an opportunity to remind me of that fact.

“Sorry, Mom. What’s up?”

“Well, I just had to tell you. You know Charlene?”

I do not know Charlene, but I lie and say I do. If I admit to my ignorance, I’ll be on the phone for an extra hour learning who Charlene is. It’s really not important.

“Well, she was telling me about this tick she found on her dog…”

Mom prattles on about the tick and how it might have had a disease, so she’s going to have her condo sprayed for insects. This is not information I need to know. I don’t understand why my mother insists on calling me to tell me about spraying for ticks.

When she’s done, I manage to get her off the phone quickly. It’s only possible because she needs to get to sleep so she can go to breakfast with Charlene in the morning. When I answer the phone earlier in the day, I can be stuck talking to my mom for hours.

I hang up just as I get to my house. I head inside and immediately get ready for bed.

It’s only been three days, but I miss Amber. Her next appointment is in a week, and I can’t wait to see her again.

Luckily, I have the memory of her last appointment to tide me over. It’s what I think about as I drift off to sleep.

9

Amber

This week has been crazy.

Merhalle officially launched our holiday products, just in time for the Christmas shopping season to begin. That meant a lot of extra work for us in the marketing department. Sure, the ads were already finished by mid-year, but we still have to be on top of things. It’s our job to make sure the products sell. When they don’t, we’re the first ones blamed.

I grab my coat from the back of my chair. As I’m sliding it on, Nicole appears by my cubicle.

“Are you dying? Because I’m dying.”

I laugh. “I’m just glad the launch is over.”

“Except that now, we have to start preparing for next season.”

That’s the thing about marketing. Our job is never done. Now that the Christmas stuff is out, it’s time to create ads for our spring releases. We don’t get a break.

Shifting gears is hard. How am I supposed to think about spring when it’s flurrying outside? That’s almost as hard as prepping for winter when it’s a hundred degrees outside.

“At least it’s Friday.”

“True. I’m heading to The Grove with Daisy. Do you want to come with us?”

Daisy works in sales, so our teams work together a lot of the time. She’s the one who gets on our asses when an ad isn’t having the desired reception. But Daisy always does it nicely, so I like dealing with her.

“Yeah, I’m in,” I decide.

I grab my purse from under my desk and follow Nicole to the elevator. Daisy is waiting for us in the lobby so that we can all walk to the bar together.

The Grove is a bar and restaurant that’s less than a block from our office building. The food is good and cheap, at least for New York. When we’re with a small group, this is our go-to place to hang out.

For seven o’clock on a Friday night, the place is empty. We manage to find a standing table in the corner. None of us need to check the menu. We’re familiar enough with The Grove to know exactly what we want.

I order the hangover burger, despite being sober. It’s got a fried egg, bacon, and a bunch of other deliciousness on top. Nicole gets her usual loaded hamburger, which is like a loaded baked potato on top of a burger. Also delicious. Daisy’s order is a bit tamer. She just goes for a plain bacon cheeseburger. I try not to judge, but she is missing out.

Along with our burgers, we each order our usual drink. Mine is a Shirley temple with vodka. There’s something about it that reminds me of being a kid but makes me feel rebellious at the same time. Plus, it doesn’t taste like alcohol, so it’s easy for me to drink.

“So, did you hear about Kira and Ben?” Daisy asks.

I shake my head and take a long sip of my drink. After the week I’ve had, I’m going to need a few more of these.

“Someone caught them getting it on in the supply closet.”

Nicole and I gasp. Kira is one of the supervisors for the sales department, like Daisy, and Ben reports directly to Kira.

“I always thought there was something going on between the two of them. They only look at each other in sales meetings.”

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