Hired Hottie

I told my fairy godmothers the details with swollen eyes the morning after the grand opening. It sucked to rehash the details, but it was nice to know they had my back. In fact, I may or may not have had to restrain Sophie for a few minutes to calm her down. She might be pregnant, but she’s feisty as hell.

It’s been four days. Four grueling days. Indie asked if I wanted to take a few days off. I told her, no, thank you. I don’t think I could deal with this much time inside my head without anything to distract me. That being said, I need this run more than my next breath. I already texted Suzette and asked if she could get Bonnie ready. And because she’s a champ, she said yes.

As I swing open the door, I find her waiting for me with Bonnie’s leash in her hand.

“Thanks.” Reaching forward, I grasp the nylon cord.

With a sympathetic smile, Suzette pulls me into a side hug before I can escape unscathed. “You doin’ okay?”

I release a sigh and shrug one shoulder. “I guess we’ll find out. I’m gonna go.”

Suzette nods and waves goodbye as I head out the door just as quickly as I’d entered it.

Once outside, I head up the street in a full-on sprint, feeling a little sorry that Bonnie has to be stuck with me and my complicated mess of emotions. As we round the corner toward Get Baked, and subsequently Central Park, I dig my heels into the pavement beneath my feet. Six inches in front of me is Alexandra, Levi’s kinda, sorta boss. Or at least one of them, anyway. Her hand was outstretched to grasp the door handle of Get Baked, but she twisted in my direction when I nearly barreled over her.

“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! Are you okay?” I apologize.

“Charlie?” she asks, looking me up and down.

“Hi. Again, I’m so sorry, I—”

“Don’t even worry about it.” She waves me off. “I was actually looking for you.”

“You were?”

“Yeah, actually. How are you? I didn’t get to chat with you at the grand opening.”

Ugh. My shoulders hunch at the memory.

“Oh, yeah. I…uh…I’m sorry I rushed off. I wasn’t feeling well.” The apology sounds forced. And awkward. And, let’s be honest––like a load of bullshit. Thankfully, she doesn’t call me out on it.

“You looked a little pale when I saw you beeline it for the exit, and I was worried.”

My eyes threaten to well with tears, but I dig my nails into the palm of my hand. The bite grounds me enough to keep my shit together.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you,” I offer with my gaze glued to the damp cement beneath my black Nikes.

“Are you feeling better now?” Her voice is soft and kind, making it that much harder to lie to her.

“Um…yeah.” I clear my throat, slip on the best poker face I can muster, and look back up at her. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for your concern, though. That was really sweet of you.”

Weight shifting between my feet, I try to figure out the quickest way to end this conversation without full-on running in the opposite direction. ‘Cause, ya know, I have a soul, and even though I hate Levi right now, I still wouldn’t want my response while chatting with his boss to cause an issue for him at work.

Damn conscience.

“Don’t mention it. I actually had an ulterior motive for coming here. I haven’t been able to get a hold of Levi, and I was curious if you’ve talked to him lately?”

Jerking my head back, I reply, “No. Why?”

“I was just really surprised that he turned down the offer yesterday. I wanted to see if I could maybe talk to him and change his mind. I think he’d be an excellent addition to Montague Enterprises, and I’m curious what we can do to convince him to accept the final position. We want to see what it takes to get him to work with us.”

My jaw drops before I attempt to cover my surprise. “I’m sorry, what?”

“He didn’t tell you?” Alexandra returns curiously.

I shake my head. “No. Are you telling me he got the job offer?”

With a nod, a very confused Alexandra explains, “Yes. Right after his presentation on Monday, we extended the job to him, but he turned it down.”