“I’ve been here before,” she said.
“Yeah, I know. Of course, I know. I’ll show you to your room.” He had a spare room always made up. Trudy, his sister, usually stayed, but she hadn’t stuck around this time. Nope, she’d thrown him to the wolves and allowed them to feed on his corpse. So much for a nice sister.
It kind of pissed him off.
No, it didn’t kind of do it. It did.
He knew Trudy had a plan, and he was going to have to figure it out, but until then, he was on his own.
The bedroom was large with a king-sized bed in the center. “The en-suite is through there. Let me know if you need anything. Towels or a toothbrush. Stuff like that.”
“Yeah, okay. Sure. Fine. Cool. This is totally fine. We can do this, Preston.”
“You’re nervous,” he said.
“A little bit. It’s not every day you live with your boss. This will be fine because we know what we’re doing, right? Totally right. This is going to be a breeze.”
“We’re screwed if you’re nervous right now.” He didn’t have the heart to tell her they’d be sharing a room.
That revelation could come on the day.
“So, I’ll be waiting for you in the sitting room,” he said.
“Yeah, sure,” she said. “I’ll be out in a second.”
He left her to put her stuff away, going back to his main sitting room with his blank walls and black furniture. The eligible bachelor pad.
When he first moved in, he’d been proud, almost impressed with what he accomplished. Now, after seeing Eliza’s place, he saw an empty carcass.
After going to his liquor, he poured himself a shot of whiskey.
“You’re doing the drunken thing today?” she asked. “That makes sense. This is your apartment.” She’d joined him, and he saw she still wore her office uniform.
“I’m just enjoying a drink. Want to join me?” he asked. “I don’t think we need to get wasted.”
“No, I don’t think getting wasted would be a good idea.”
He poured her out a glass of his finest whiskey.
She took a sip and her nose wrinkled, but she swallowed. “Oh, my, what is that?”
“Expensive,” he said.
“You need to contact your supplier. It tastes like mold. That is so gross.” She didn’t hand him back the glass.
“Do you want to sit?” he asked.
She perched on the edge of the sofa, and he sighed, sinking back.
His furniture was so fucking stiff!
He’d sunk into Eliza’s sofa. It had been so soft and welcoming.
“Maybe you can tell your parents that I died? Or that I had a twin and she’d been bamboozling you since I left town. I vanished?” Eliza asked.
“I could do all of those things, or you could attempt to relax, and we just talk, like normal people. No notes. No planning. Just talk,” he said.
He’d already begun to get a headache at the back of his mind.
“Yeah, you’re right.” She took a sip of her whiskey. “We can do this, even with your bad taste in alcohol.”
“So, what is your poison of choice?”
“When the time calls for it, tequila.”
“A guaranteed hangover.”
“Yep, and I’ve sworn off it for life. Last time I drank it, I ended up engaged to my boss.”
He couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “So that was why you were late.”
“Yep. My alarm decided not to go off, and Juliet didn’t know, so no wake-up call from her. You get the drill,” she said. “It was a morning of disasters. No coffee place. No breakfast. The world was against me, and then I’m suddenly engaged. I snagged a rich man all by being a screwup.” She smiled at him. “That’s the way it looks.”
“Very true. You’re not a screwup, though. You’ve been the most competent assistant I’ve ever had,” he said.
“Wow, that stuff is strong if you’re already paying compliments.”
“I know when I’ve got a good employee, and you, Eliza, are damn good.” He lifted his glass toward her in salute.
“If we’re being all honest and stuff, then you should know you’re not a bad boss, at all. You’re pretty great, actually.”
“I am?”
She chuckled. “Don’t let it get to your head, but I do know you take care of your employees. Your company means everything to you, and I can see that.”
“I’m a workaholic.”
“Yes, you are. You got to learn to live a little. None of us want anything bad to happen to you, you know. When you gave me this job, I was so freaking scared. I was excited as well. Obviously. My very angry boss had just come and pointed a finger at me and said you’re my new PA. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. I took it. Most of the time, I like this job.”
“When don’t you like this job?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’m not going to tell my boss when I don’t like my job.”