“They have separate fucking kitchens,” I complained. “What is there to fight about?”
“Something to do with the produce man,” Ben explained. “Apparently, they both ordered the same ingredients, and now they’re fighting over who gets what.”
I groaned. “Can’t you handle it?”
“They want to speak to you,” he said with a shrug.
“Tell them I told you to handle it.”
“Don’t you think I’ve already done that?” he asked. “I’m not the boss, and they know that.”
“Don’t we have someone specific who can handle this?”
“You still haven’t hired a human resources manager yet,” he told me.
“Fuck,” I said, remembering that I had all but promised the job to Molly. I put my head in my hands and cursed at my own short-sighted behavior. “This morning sucks,” I complained.
“Does your bad mood have something to do with the fact that you’re wearing the same clothes from last night?”
I looked down at my untucked white shirt and my blue suit. “Maybe,” I admitted at last.
I looked up at Ben, contemplating how much to tell him. He was my assistant, and even though I considered him a friend, our friendship didn’t really extend to personal conversations about our lives. It was strictly business. But I was realizing that I didn’t have very many people I could talk to.
Jason was definitely off limits in this particular situation and given Gregory’s history with Molly, I didn’t want to go to him, either.
“Have you ever slept with a virgin?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
Ben’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” I said, unwilling to repeat myself.
“Uh…sure,” he nodded after a moment. “Except that I was a virgin, too, and we were seventeen.”
I sighed. “It hasn’t happened recently then?”
Ben looked a little concerned. “Please don’t tell me you slept with a minor?”
“What? Of course not,” I said quickly. “She’s an adult who happens to be a virgin.”
“How much of an adult?” he asked curiously.
“Twenty-four.”
He looked surprised. “Huh… I didn’t expect that. Molly looks like she’s had experience.”
“What makes you think I’m talking about Molly?”
“Your defensiveness,” Ben smirked. “That and the fact that I saw you follow her out of the party last night.”
“Fuck.”
“Had a good time?”
“Shut up,” I said childishly.
“I knew it was only a matter of time.”
“This is serious,” I snapped. “She’s my best friend’s sister and a virgin, besides.”