Checking Every Box

“I said no.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You’re my boss in this office, not in my personal life,” I said quickly. I hated that my voice was becoming higher pitched. “I know you need to control everything, but this is not your department. Stay out of my personal business.”

“No. It’s for your own good.” He turned back to his office. “You’re not to see him again, and that’s the end of it,” he said before shutting the door.

Tears pricked my eyes as I tried to focus on my laptop. I worked my ass off for my brother for nearly a year, and he still treated me like a child.

Sure, I really appreciated his help when I was moving, and when my shower broke and the landlord wouldn’t return my calls. He was also quite generous in giving me a job, but I’d obviously proven myself to him. Or so I thought.

As I stared unfocused at my laptop, I realized that I had to attempt to sort out both sides of this problem.Opening a hidden document, I messily typed out a quick list.

***

– Yes, Steve is older than I am, but not by a strange amount. He’s obviously lighthearted and fun.

– Joel is probably just trying to protect me so that I don’t get hurt, but he has to know that getting hurt and growing is what humans do. He can’t stop me from having a relationship forever, and if I’m going to get my heart broken someday, that would be a natural part of life.

– Joel doesn’t control me. He’s pushy, and always wants to control everything, but he likely knows that doesn’t always work.

– I could survive without Joel. If I didn’t have him as a reference, it would be really hard to get a new job, but I do have one month’s worth of money saved. So I’d have a few weeks to find something. Anything.

– Joel wouldn’t really fire me, because our parents would probably kill him. Wouldn’t they? Mom’s voice is just as shrill over the phone, no matter how far away she is.

– It’s obvious that Steve likes me. Seriously likes me. He wouldn’t hurt me. I have no idea how I know that for a fact, but I’m positive.

– What do I really want? I want Steve. For the first time in my life, I want something even more than my job. Yes, that is absolutely terrifying. It’s also the truth.

***

Working my ass off for the rest of the day, I got ahead of some projects, and even earned praise from the other two agents. I was extremely grateful that they CC’d Joel with their responses so that he could see how hard I was concentrating.

As I left the office on my way to my book club meeting, I was thankful that it was scheduled for tonight. I desperately needed a few glasses of wine and some light conversation that had absolutely nothing to do with my own life.

CHAPTER TEN

* Steve *

Friday morning I had intended to secure a new home for myself. By Friday night, I had my new home and my new girlfriend.

It was astounding how perfect Heather was in every way. It was as if she had been designed specifically for me. Now all I had to do was make her fall desperately in love with me so that we could begin our new lives together.

Saturday was a whirlwind of ordering some basic groceries and wine, towels, and toiletries, and having my possessions shipped to my new home. It was mainly clothing, and several boxes of books and keepsakes. The several suitcases I travelled with were already here.

I had the staging furniture company send me suggestions for new dining room tables, a backless sofa, and a few other things. I didn’t want to order anything without Heather’s opinion. I wanted a woman’s touch to make my new place feel like home, but I also wanted her to feel like this was her space as well, in some small way.

I forced myself to wait until four in the afternoon to give her a call. I knew that younger people mostly preferred texting, but needed to hear her voice.

“Hello?”

As soon as I heard her, I realized it was shocking how much I missed her in just twenty-four hours. “Hello, Heather, it’s Steve. I was hoping that you could come over tonight, and we could have dinner, and pick out some furniture.”

“Um,” she hesitated. “I’m not sure that I should be going out with you, since you’re a client.”

A prickle ran between my shoulder blades. Yesterday she had seemed so connected with me. “Sweetheart, did anything happen? Did an old boyfriend suddenly come back into town? Or did someone at your office say something?”

She took her time speaking, which made it sound like it was extremely difficult for her. “Joel found out that I, um, was interested in you. He said that I needed to put my job first and that dating a client was absolutely forbidden.”

I forced myself to chuckle, trying to make the situation sound light. “The deal is finished, so I’m no longer associated with your company in any way.”