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

Chapter 7

-Jessica-

A simple phone call didn’t usually get my hands shaking, but this one had.

I’d noticed that Danger Zone’s day had filled up, with things Marissa had been in charge of. Had he called me in to ask me to help him with that stuff, to facilitate Marissa, or was it something else?

I stood just as two people listed on Marissa’s schedule approached. The duo of women had their heads together, and if I had to bet, I’d say that they were talking about getting to go into Danger Zone’s office—an unusual experience. Too bad I was going to have to nip that in the bud. I gave them an easy smile and held up a finger. “Sorry, Peter just got pulled into something by management. I’m going to have to postpone your meeting until later. I’ll let you know when.”

The taller of the two scowled, but the other one nodded and dragged her partner in crime away.

It took less than five minutes to send requests for rescheduling, then I stood and went to his open door. My hand felt heavy as I raised it and knocked on the frame.

“Come in,” Danger Zone called.

I took a breath and entered.

This office always felt a bit antiseptic, but right now a dark cloud seemed to hang from the ceiling, complete with grumbling thunder.

Danger Zone was notoriously cold to people, sometimes to the point of being rude, but I’d never known him to be upset.

And right now, I’d say he was upset.

Danger Zone sat ramrod straight in his seat with his palms flat on the desk on either side of his keyboard. He must have straightened his tie before I’d come in, because it usually leaned a little askew when he was sitting down.

I had plenty of people in my life that emanated a strong vibe. Nanette brought calm and creativity with her to every situation. Victoria brightened up even the darkest moments. Danger Zone usually projected confidence and productivity.

Instead of that, I felt a dark wave of uncertainty coming off of him.

I didn’t remember grabbing my work tablet, but I had it in my hand, ready to take notes.

Usually Danger Zone spoke first. We didn’t do pleasantries. This time he stared at me with his light brown eyes and his lips pulled into a tight line.

To some this might be unattractive, but I’d always liked intense guys, and right then, Danger Zone was sizzling hot.

I reminded myself that he didn’t like curvy girls and smiled. “What’s up, boss?” I inwardly cringed. I’d never addressed him as boss before, and I should never do it again.

Danger Zone blinked in surprise, then shifted ever so slightly in his seat. He flicked a finger. “Please, sit.”

I sat. Like an obedient puppy.

No, not like a puppy, I assured myself. More like a woman doing her job.

Danger Zone stared at me—or more accurately stared at my earrings—for a few seconds. Which left me feeling breathless.

Was he going to ask me to help him? What would he say if I suggested that Marissa should still be involved? I didn’t want to bring her into it, but if that’s what he wanted, I’d do it.

Even knowing he didn’t like curvy girls hadn’t stilled my beating heart or quelled the butterflies in my stomach when I’d caught sight of him this morning. The intensity he was oozing right now wasn’t helping.

“I need your help,” Danger Zone blurted out.

I waited.

He sighed. “We have a problem.”

“I heard about Marissa,” I said in an attempt to move the conversation forward.

“It’s not that.” He looked away, then back at me. His normally confident gaze held a hint of panic. “The facility hosting our company retreat has been shut down, and I’ve been tasked to come up with something new.”

I’d been expecting him to ask me to help him by replacing Marissa in some capacity for the next week and a half, but this was news to me.

“No one but Tyrell and me know about this,” Danger Zone said. “And now you.”

I’d thought long and hard about what I’d say if he asked me to step in for Marissa, so it took me a moment to change tracks. “They’re totally shut down?”

“Correct.”

I needed more information. “What has Tyrell asked you to do?”

Danger Zone leaned forward and placed his forearms on the edge of his desk. I refused to watch his fingers interlace. The guy had perfect hands. “I suggested that we give everyone two days off, but Tyrell wasn’t entirely on board with that.”

“That’s a good idea,” I said, surprised that he’d come up with it. He wasn’t exactly approachable, but he was very devoted to work.

“I agree, but Tyrell asked me to think of an activity we could do as a company for one of the days. He’s going to see if Amelia will approve the other day off.”

My fingers had already started typing out a list of things to do, but before I started asking questions, I looked at my boss. “Do you have a plan?”

“I called six places yesterday, and none of them can facilitate us even for just a few hours.” He licked his lips, which for the record upped his attractiveness. “This is not my specialty, and I was hoping you would agree to assist me with this assignment, Jessica.”

Danger Zone rarely used my name. He’d never asked me for anything like this before.

If I said yes, I knew I’d be putting myself on a path of stress and heartbreak.

If I said no, I’d feel like the biggest jerk on the planet.

I studied Danger Zone’s face, and…were those puppy dog eyes?

Uh-oh.

I was a sucker for someone in trouble.

Especially someone I cared about. Just because he might not like me because of my body type was no reason for me to ditch him in his hour of need. I used a stalling tactic. “What would this entail?”

Danger Zone shifted again. “We’d need to find an activity Amelia will approve, acquire a venue, seek out a catering service, organize everything, and communicate the plan to people.”

That wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg. I had fifteen other items on my list already.

“On top of that, I’d like your help running whatever activity we choose.” He gave me a pleading look.

Oh no. Danger Zone had just shown vulnerability. Now I literally couldn’t say no. I didn’t have it in me.

“You’re much more of a people person than I am.” He looked down.

In that moment, I realized that even though I’d been soft stalking the guy for almost a year, I didn’t know that much about him. He kept up an aloof air at work and preferred to have a set schedule that didn’t change the day of. Many people thought he was ornery, but I’d learned that this is how he was.

What if he actually needed help? Not just because it would take a lot of his time, but because he couldn’t handle it for some reason.

Was he missing Marissa?

I hadn’t pegged him as the sentimental type, but what did I really know? All I knew for sure was that he was an intensely private person who liked structure and professionalism.

“Are you willing to partner with me on this?” Danger Zone asked.

I almost dropped my tablet. The word partner—aimed at me—should never come out of his mouth. My vision blurred for a moment.

“There’s no obligation, obviously,” he said.

If I hadn’t been sitting in his office, I would have rolled my eyes or buried my face in my hands in frustration.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but I beat him to it.

“I can help.” I spit the words out in rapid fire.

Danger Zone breathed a sigh of relief. Something I’d never seen him do before. “Thank you, Jessica.” It looked like he wanted to continue our discussion, but I needed to process, and I had about a hundred things to research.

I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “How much of your schedule today do you want me to push?”

“Everything concerning the retreat, just until we can figure it out,” he said. “And anything else that isn’t urgent.”

Normally, he would have more detailed instructions for me, but it felt like he needed some time to unwind. Or whatever he did. “Can you give me an hour or two to tidy up your schedule and come up with some ideas?”

“Of course.” Danger Zone furrowed his brow. One of his more attractive looks, in my opinion. “But we need to talk about this today.”

“Even bumping things, you’re pretty full,” I noted.

He frowned and for the first time looked at his computer screen. His eyes darted around until they settled on something I couldn’t see. “What about lunch?”

“Lunch?” If he didn’t have a client to dine with, Danger Zone liked to spend lunch alone.

“That should give us some time to get started.” His gaze returned to me, and for once, his eyes stayed locked with mine. “I’ll have something brought up for us, and we can eat here.”

He’s not inviting me to lunch.

It’s a meeting.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll get some ideas together before then.”

“Good.”

I needed to distract myself from the fact that he’d invited me to have lunch with him. He’d mentioned Amelia. “What is Amelia expecting?” I asked. “Are there any musts?”

Danger Zone frowned. “I’ll find out.”

“Great.”

Then he graced me with a slight twitch of his lips. It wasn’t so much of a smile as it was the hint of a smile, but it was enough to rouse the butterflies in my stomach. “Thank you, Jessica. I’ll see you at lunch.”

He’s not inviting me to lunch.

It’s a meeting.

I had to get out of here. “Sounds good.” I stood, gave him a single nod, then did my best to walk casually from the room.

“Jessica?” Danger Zone spoke just before I escaped.

I turned back.

“You like the Indian restaurant down the road. Butter chicken with medium spice, correct?”

I nodded mutely.

“Regular naan?”

How was I going to keep my distance from this guy when he remembered what I liked to eat for lunch?

He doesn’t like curvy girls.

Right. That’s how.

I gave him another nod.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said.