The Guy Who Became My Grumpy Boss (Curvy Girl Crew #7)

Chapter 6

-Peter-

“A few accidents on the obstacle course and they have to shut the place down?” I asked.

Tyrell, my boss, shifted in his chair. He wore his usual three-piece suit—this one brown—with old-fashioned, wingtip shoes. Close cut, black hair topped his head, and his olive skin looked darker than it had on Friday. He must have spent some time outside. “A few broken bones and a concussion in the past two weeks is a safety concern.” His brown eyes met mine. “And let’s not forget the bedbugs.”

I winced. Tyrell knew how I felt about bugs.

We’d met early at his office. Not a great way to start out a Monday morning.

My friend and the vice president over the personal investments division shrugged a shoulder. “Better that we find out now rather than later.”

He was, of course, correct.

Tyrell and I had known each other since college. He was one of the only people I agreed to hang out with on a quarterly basis. He liked to go to old theaters and watch old movies, and considering the activity required minimum human interaction, I accompanied him. Plus, I got theater popcorn.

He’d tried to get me to join his cycling team, but I’d refused. I often used a trainer at the gym, but participating in races would drain me more emotionally than physically. Tyrell understood this about me and hadn’t pressed.

“I know you’ve only been sitting on this news for less than a day, but do you have any thoughts moving forward?” Tyrell asked.

I drew my phone from my pocket and brought up my notes. “I’ve contacted six facilities within five hours of here that run corporate retreats, but they’re completely booked. They don’t even have half a day they can give us.” It had taken me all afternoon to get a hold of people, only to have them tell me they couldn’t help. “There are a few places in the city, but the activity options seem to be sillier—escape rooms, human puzzles. That sort of thing. None of them could accommodate our entire group if the employees’ families join us.”

Tyrell narrowed his eyes. “The facility we had booked is willing to give us half of our money back, or we can reschedule with them once they’re up and running again.”

I frowned. “Do you trust them to reopen?”

“After talking to the candle people downstairs, I’m going to predict a no on that.”

Apparently, the gossip Jessica had overheard had been more truth than exaggeration. I wondered if Marissa had actually called them. If they’d lied to her, we shouldn’t trust them. “Will you attempt to get more money back?”

“Of course, but it will take time, which means we only have half the budget left and a week to plan something.”

There was an easy answer to this problem. I’d overheard several employees in my area muttering about how they’d rather not be dragged into the middle of nowhere to participate in stupid activities, even if the company was paying. I cleared my throat and said, “Or we could have a nice lunch here and give everyone two days off next week.”

Tyrell’s brow furrowed. He studied me for a second before he replied, “Did you come up with that on your own?”

I shrugged. “I’ve heard some complaints about the retreat. Most of them half-hearted,” I added quickly. “I’m not an expert on morale, but it might be good to consider it. Surprise everyone with the time off, maybe give them a bonus, and revisit the retreat plan next year.”

Not only would this go over well with a majority of our employees, but it would be the easiest thing for me.

If Marissa wasn’t still drugged, she would, no doubt, already have grand plans for a new retreat. I didn’t share her passion for forced bonding with coworkers and had come up with this other idea in the hopes that Tyrell would take it to Amelia and get it approved.

“Even if we only get half of the money back from the facility, the company will come out ahead,” I pointed out.

I’d expected an immediate no to my proposal. Tyrell also loved the social bonding thing, but now I found him considering it with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t hate it,” Tyrell said.

Hope that I wouldn’t have to put together a last-minute retreat blossomed in my chest.

“But I don’t think Amelia will go for it.”

The delightful bloom of hope froze and exploded into a thousand shards of ice. It almost physically hurt.

Tyrell held up a finger. “Not fully, anyway.”

The shards thawed but didn’t dissipate. “What do you mean?”

“I like the idea of giving people a day off. Maybe make it a long weekend. However, Amelia is going to want us all to do something together.” He shook his head. “Not just lunch.”

I took a deep breath and opened a blank page on my phone. “What do you suggest?”

“I’m no expert at this.” He held up his hands. “Can Marissa help with ideas?”

“She’s high on pain killers at the moment.”

“Then she might have some good ideas.”

“I don’t want to bother her while she’s injured and awaiting surgery.”

That wasn’t entirely true. I’d been replaying my time at the hospital with her and found myself uncomfortable with the way she’d clung to me. If she’d been in pain or distress, I would have justified it, but she’d obviously been feeling good because of the drugs and therefore uninhibited.

Marissa and I had gone on a few official dates right after college. She’d forced me to hold her hand and had done far too much giggling for my taste. When I’d told her I wasn’t interested in dating anyone at the time, she’d continued to cling to me.

That’s what she’d acted like at the hospital.

For now, I’d dismiss it as a trauma response, but I wasn’t about to spend more time with her than I needed to. I didn’t want to give her the wrong idea.

“Fair enough,” Tyrell said. “Can Jessica help? She seems to be capable of pretty much anything.”

The thought of working with Jessica on this threw everything in my mind and body off; it somehow also made me feel warm inside. “She can,” I said.

“Have you already talked to her?” Tyrell asked.

“Not yet, but we can handle it.” I spoke with more bravado than I felt.

“You’ll have to be quick.” Tyrell leaned forward. “We need to get the new information to people as soon as possible.”

I looked at the clock and found that it was already eight-thirty. I wanted to get to my desk before Jessica arrived so I could ground myself. “Give us until the end of the day to come up with some proposals.”

Tyrell raised his eyebrows.

I stood. “Which means I have work to do.”

“Fine. Get going.” Tyrell made a shooing motion.

I left his office and walked toward his personal assistant, Catherine. The older woman, whose mind was twice as sharp as people half her age, always required a real-life human interaction from me. She was already madly typing on her computer with her head tilted back so she could see through her tri-focal lenses. “Morning, Peter.” Her fingers didn’t slow.

“Good morning, Catherine.”

That was usually it. Unfortunately, the typing abruptly stopped, and I felt a prickling at the base of my neck. “Peter, you promised me no trust fall, correct?”

I stopped, turned toward the woman, and looked directly into her shrewd, dark eyes. “Correct.”

Catherine, whose dyed blond hair resembled a mini afro, glared. “I’ve heard rumors that it’s on the list of bonding activities.”

“I assure you, it has been removed.” Especially now.

Catherine studied me for a moment before she huffed. “Good.” Then she went back to work.

I walked quickly through the rest of the desks and cubicles. I’d started a list of questions Jessica and I would need to answer, and I should finish it before I called her in.

To my relief, Jessica hadn’t yet arrived.

Once in my office, I went around my desk, dropped my messenger bag on the floor, and tried to settle into my chair.

Rationally, I knew there was nothing about the leather that was different than it had been on Friday, but the seat felt off-kilter and prickly. Or maybe that was my morning routine, which had gone out the window when I’d already had to talk to seven people before this point in the day.

I closed my eyes, slowly inhaled, and looked at the ceiling.

Marissa had interrupted my flower arranging yesterday. Perhaps that was the issue. I hadn’t had enough time to prepare for the week. Especially this one.

Some people found animal shapes in the texture of the ceiling tiles. I saw them as serviceable parts of the building that needed to be there to hide the untidy innards above them.

There was no way I could tackle this retreat by myself, and Jessica was the only ally I trusted to help me.

My gaze drifted to my computer screen, and I suddenly wanted to watch one of the Curvy Girl Crew videos. Maybe the one with the rat skeleton, or when they went to Alaska. That one seemed more powerful than the others.

What would Jessica think if she knew I watched her channel to calm myself? Her group of friends was utter chaos, but for some reason, they grounded me.

She grounded me.

I knew she’d agree to help me without question, but could I keep things professional?

Having to work with her instead of her working for me might allow my progressing feelings for her to spring free, and that’s the last thing I wanted to happen. I didn’t want to push her away, but getting closer to her felt intimidating.

Jessica’s voice floated through my door. She was laughing and talking with someone. If I’d been a cat, my ears would have perked up.

The tight knot around my chest loosened. Jessica did that for me. It wasn’t as good as flower arranging, but she helped.

I would have to keep things professional between us. I picked up my phone and hit her extension.

She answered immediately. “Morning.”

I was glad we didn’t do pleasantries. “You probably noticed I have a lot of extra meetings this morning. Can you postpone the next two and come into my office?”

She only paused for a moment before she said, “Of course.”