Love the Boss (Managing the Bosses 4)

After making sure everything else was fine, she walked the long way back to her office to grab the files that had the new user ID on them. The guys were back to working with their earbuds in, which was almost too cute. Jamie grabbed her coat and buttoned it up, picked up the files, and walked to the elevator.

A pretty blond with a pixie cut and vibrant green eyes was getting off as Jamie got on.

"Oh sorry." Jamie moved back and held the door.

"No problem." The girl looked a little lost, but Gina could redirect her. Jamie had to get something done or she'd feel like she did the night before... useless. With so many things piling up on her to-do list, she needed to stay focused and not let little things, like Annette coming to see Alex later that day, bother her. He was hers, and he’d made that more than clear last night.

Alone in the elevator, she spoke quietly to herself. "By the end of the week, all of your stuff will be in his place. Stop worrying all the damn time. He isn't Stephen." She walked out of the elevator bank and pushed the doors to the front door open as the wind whipped around her. Her ex-boyfriend, Stephen, who was now her brother-in-law, had only been interested in one thing... sex.

Not that she didn’t like sex. Just not with Stephen. Yuck.

She pushed away the thought of having been with him too many times for their current relationship to be healthy. Knowing that he was with her sister, Christine, now left her stomach soured. The man had very little in the way of human decency. The hope was that Christine would leave him and find someone who made her a better person, not let her stew in her selfishness, as Jamie's mom had allowed their whole lives.

"Not just stew in it, but she fostered it." Jamie shuddered and picked up her walk to a jog. The IT building was a few buildings down, and didn't belong to Alex. They were a third-party vendor that provided services for small and large investment companies.

Jamie walked into the tiny lobby and was greeted by a nice man in a bright green shirt and striped pants. A smile tugged at her mouth as he spoke rapidly and adjusted his glasses a million times.

"I need to see Barton, if he's free. I'm Alex Reid's PA." Jamie slipped her hands back into her jacket pockets, and held the file tightly under her arm as she tried to not think about just how freaking cold it was outside. Her teeth weren't chattering as badly by the time Barton poked his head out of the back.

"Hey. I'm free for about ten minutes. Will that work?”

“That’s all I need.” She smiled.

“Then come on back and let's talk." He smiled and opened the door wider.

Jamie walked around and slipped into the back with him, the place a sea of cubicles. Everyone was dressed in business casual. She let Barton take her through the normal pleasantries before asking about the fellow out front.

He chuckled and pulled out a seat by his desk, nodding for her to sit down. "Chuck? He's a little eccentric, but we love the guy."

"I think it's great that you guys let him dress as he wants to." Jamie handed the file to their IT guru. Barton was a genius, but he'd obviously never been gifted a razor. His beard was thick and unruly, his eyebrows a hot mess.

"Yeah. He's typically what people think all IT people look like, so we decided to use the image and have fun with it. Chuck loves the reactions he gets, so it's all good." He took the packet and looked through it. "Talk to me. What’s going on?"

"Right, so the files are some of our reconciliations. Make sure you put them in a confidential place. The account numbers and such are coded, but I need to know whose ID this is.” She pointed to J-134. “We didn't add any users, and yet I know that you guys wouldn't have given access to anyone without our approval. Can you look into it for me?" She watched as he wrote done the ID on a scrap of paper. Jamie moved back to give him a little bit of space.

"Of course. I'll have something for you later today. Does that sound okay?" He closed the file and slid it into the top drawer of his desk, locking it in front of her.

"Yes, but make sure you give the information to me. Mr. Reid is fine, too, but no one else. I—We’d like to keep it confidential." She stood and slipped her hands into her pockets. "You guys need to move closer. It's freezing out there."

He chuckled. "Just call next time and I'll bear the cold. I think it's my turn anyway. You've been down several times this winter."

"True. I'll hold you to that promise." She thanked him and walked out of the building, a little uneasy, but unsure of what to do about it. Alex had too many problems to take on another one, her family had gone back to being less than welcoming, and Mark didn't need to get any more involved in her life than he was. That left her with trying to figure out what was going on by herself until Alex had some time.

Jamie jogged the rest of the way back to the building and sat down in the cafeteria after grabbing a soda and the last three donuts on the rack. Why food was a comfort, she didn't know, but it was. She could run the calories off later. It wasn't going to hurt anyone.

After a long morning of trying to direct Mark and play catch-up, Jamie took her lunch and walked around the mall just down the street from the office. Still full from the donuts, she eschewed lunch and decided on a fruit cup for her afternoon treat.

She glanced at her watch and let out a string of curses. Annette would be in the office in the next fifteen minutes or so. Not that Jamie would be invited into the meeting, but she wanted to make sure to give the girl an 'I'm watching your ass' look. Or maybe just rub in the fact that she, Jamie Connors, was still around and looking hot as hell. Okay, maybe more like frumpy. Why the hell had she decided on eating three donuts herself? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Turning on her heel, she walked quickly back to the office, and made it to their floor with a few minutes to spare. Gina glanced up as she walked off the elevator and gave her a sad smile.

"You okay?" Jamie moved up to stand in front of the other woman's desk.

"Yeah. No. I don't know. We'll talk at happy hour." Gina shrugged and glanced down. "Can you watch the desk for a few minutes? I just need to grab a sandwich from downstairs."

"Sure." Jamie moved around the desk as she pulled her coat from her shoulders. Her heart ached for the obvious weight sitting on her friend, but she needed to tread carefully. There were too many unknown variables to reach out and comfort Gina when all signs pointed to her as being some type of villain.

It's not possible.