The Introvert's Guide to Speed Dating (The Introvert's Guide 2)

“Come in?”

The handle rattled.

Right.

I’d locked it.

“Hold on, sorry!” I darted over there and unlocked it, opening it to see my boss standing in front of me.

Uh-oh.

Despite my apprehension, Mr. Chester chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m no stranger to locking my door. Sometimes you just need to focus, am I right?”

“Uh, yes. Yes. Come in, please.” I opened the door fully for him to come in. “What can I help you with, Mr. Chester?”

“I had a—ooh, these are very nice.” He walked over to the flowers. “Lovely. My wife would like these. Do you know where they came from?”

“The card is there with the—here.” I picked the card and tore off the front with the florist’s name on and passed it to him. “Does that help?”

“Yes, lovely. Do we have an admirer?” His eyes twinkled.

“Oh, no, no. Um, they’re from my son’s, um, soccer coach.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Oliver?”

“Yes, um, Leo is going to be the goalkeeper at their tournament this week and, um, he came over last night to give him some one-on-one training and I, uh, cooked him dinner. As a thank you, you know. So this is him. Saying thank you. For the food.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Very unexpected.”

Mr. Chester looked at me knowingly for a minute with a smile. “Well, it’s nice to see some young men still have manners.”

“Yes, yes. For sure.”

“I, for one, will be ordering some for my wife to make up for whatever annoying thing I’ll do next.” He gave a throaty laugh. “Always nice to keep something in the bank.”

“Yes. Uh.” I cleared my throat. “Did you need something from me?”

“Yes!” He clapped his hands together. “I read those bitesize interviews you sent me—the ones with the Zumba teacher? Loved it. Great little fillers. Have you interviewed all the instructors yet?”

“I have not. I was going to see how long the major interviews went on for then see what was left.”

“Interview everyone and we’ll go from there. I must say, London, you have a very keen mind, and your questions are excellent. My wife read the plates one over my shoulder and I think she’s signing up!”

“The plates? Oh, Pilates.”

“Yes, yes, that’s the one. Anyway, more of those. Little bitesize bits people can read in a few minutes.”

“I’ll see if I can catch Sebastian tonight when I’m there.”

“Excellent.” He walked to the door where he stopped, turned, and smiled at me. “London? If he asks to take you out for dinner, it wouldn’t hurt to say yes.”

“Is everyone in this town trying to marry me off?”

“Not yet.” Mr. Chester laughed.

***

“And you didn’t tell him that she threatened you?” Holley leaned in. “London!”

“Shh,” I said, waving my hand so she’d keep it down. I didn’t want to disturb the practice or alert the attention of anyone around me. “No, I didn’t tell him. I doubt she’s being serious, plus he thought the flowers were nothing more than a nice gesture. And judging by the fact he told me to go out with him, he doesn’t care.”

“But she’s making you miserable.”

“She makes everyone miserable.”

“It doesn’t matter. You need to speak to him about what she said to you.”

I sighed. “I’m not in high school. This is my workplace. The last thing I need is for Chester to talk to Ebony. She’ll know I was the one who spoke to him and then I really will never catch a break. She’s just jealous I have the big project. She was sure it’d be hers. Besides, I can handle her.”

Holley put her hand on my arm. “I know you can. You were always the one who stood up to bullies when we were kids, but she’s not a nine-year-old picking on me after I had chicken pox and still had the spots on my face. She’s a grown woman.”

“I know that, but it’s easier to carry on as I am. Trust me. Mr. Chester knows she’s a problem, and…” I hesitated.

I didn’t want to talk about what I’d overheard from one of the intern offices this afternoon when I’d left the newspaper building. As a rule, the interns did nothing more than gossip, but since that gossip had involved me…

Well, I’d had to listen, hadn’t I?

“What? London, tell me!”

“Fine, but don’t say anything. Promise?”

Holley nodded. “Promise.”

“When I was leaving to pick Leo up from school, I overheard the interns. They have a big conference room they all work together in unless they’re needed elsewhere, like Mandy has a little space outside my office.” I paused. “I heard them talking about me. Apparently, there’s a rumor going around that if my project is successful, Mr. Chester is seriously considering promoting me.”

A grin spread across my cousin’s face. “He’s going to fire Ebony, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know. The assistant editor job is open, but I think he knows I’ve basically been doing her job anyway. I know he’s happy with what I’ve sent him so far, but I don’t think it’s true, for what it’s worth. The interns are known to gossip and none of it ever comes true.”