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

Chapter 19

-Jessica-

“Do we have any more ramps?” someone asked in a panic.

I held up a finger, checked my list for who was supposed have the cups for the holes, gave that information to one person, then turned my attention to the next problem child. “There should be two ramps per team. Make sure someone hasn’t hijacked one from a neighbor.”

The man nodded and sped away.

Tyrell, one of our vice presidents, walked up to me. He looked almost as good as Peter had in his business casual polo shirt and slacks, but not quite. “Where’s Peter?”

I just about said he was in time-out but stopped myself. “I sent him on an errand. He should be back in twenty minutes.”

Tyrell narrowed his dark eyes at me as if he knew something was going on between Peter and me.

But how could he know? No one knew. We’d been totally alone at the office. Not even the cleaning people had been there on a Sunday night.

“This looks great!” a familiar voice cried at double the volume needed.

My heart sank.

Tyrell turned his head and frowned. “I thought she was supposed to be at home. Calling in via video chat or something.”

“She was,” I hissed through gritted teeth.

If he noticed my animosity, he didn’t comment on it. “Is that the errand you sent Peter on?” Tyrell pointed.

Even in a wheelchair with a cast up to her hip, Marissa looked amazing. Perfect curls, sexy makeup, and a blouse that practically opened to her belly button. She’d even managed to find one cute sandal to wear while the nails of the toes in the cast had been painted bright pink.

Peter stood behind her. No, he was pushing her.

Marissa turned in the chair and patted Peter’s hand. “This is amazing. You did such a great job.”

Tyrell let out a snort that I interpreted as annoyance and moved toward Marissa and Peter. He caught Marissa’s attention, and she waved Tyrell in for a hug.

Peter’s gaze met mine, and I could see from here that he was at a category four.

Not good.

Two more people approached me with world-ending questions, and I shot Peter an apologetic look. I couldn’t rescue him. Not this time.

He shrugged and turned his attention to Tyrell.

While I wanted to stomp over there and ask Marissa what she was doing here, I kept my attention on my task. Peter would have to handle Marissa and Tyrell for now. Hopefully he planned to hand her off to someone else as soon as the activity started.

Maybe we could meet in the closet again.

That threatened to generate a blush up my neck, so I focused on the people in front of me and kept working.

Each team had to check in with me as they arrived, and that kept me busy. I tried to watch Peter and mostly found him pushing Marissa around saying nothing.

Good, if he didn’t have to communicate now, he would have more for later.

To my surprise, Amelia sought me out.

Our CEO was a plus-sized woman with medium-length red hair and pale skin who had built the investment company from the ground up. She was in her late forties, but still had a youthful excitement about her. She had a passion for helping people with their finances so they could relax after retirement instead of stressing about money for the rest of their lives.

“Jessica.” Amelia nodded.

“Morning.”

I was graced with a grin as the woman looked around. “When I heard about the retreat cancellation, I was worried, but it looks like you and Peter really pulled this off.”

“It was a team effort,” I said. “The committee really stepped up.”

“After the scolding I gave them?” Amelia shot me a meaningful look.

“Yes, after that.”

We both laughed, and when Amelia’s eyes landed on Peter, she frowned. “I thought Marissa wasn’t coming.”

“She wasn’t. I haven’t got the story yet.”

“Peter looks less than enthused,” Amelia said.

I didn’t answer. What was I supposed to say, that he did better if he could stay out of the spotlight?

“Do you like working for him? “Amelia asked suddenly.

“For Peter?”

“Yes, for Peter.”

I met Amelia’s eyes. “I do.”

She pursed her pink lips. “Too bad. I was thinking about stealing you away from him.”

I blinked in surprise. “Me?”

Amelia stepped closer and lowered her voice. “I’ve heard nothing but the highest praise about you from almost everyone. My personal assistant is leaving at the beginning of the summer to start his own business, which I’m happy about, but it means I need someone new.” She eyed me. “Would you be at all interested?”

At that moment I felt like Peter, completely unprepared for a conversation.

The correct answer would be, “Of course I’d be interested,” but then I’d have to leave Peter.

Would that be so bad? If things got serious between us, we probably shouldn’t be working together anyway.

With that thought, I nodded. “I might be.”

“Good.” Amelia patted me on the arm. “I’ll send you my offer.”

It sounded like she was ready to do it right then, but I didn’t get to ask her about it or protest, because another team arrived with a literal pallet mover of food items.

“Is there a prize for buying the most with our money?” One woman smiled and pointed proudly at the cube of goods.

“There is.” I scrolled to their team info and pointed across the ballroom. “You’re on the far end, along the back wall.”

“Thanks.”

The whole team pushed the load, and I noticed them chatting and laughing.

Amelia patted me on the arm again. “This was the perfect idea.”

“It wasn’t just mine,” I reminded her.

Our CEO gave me a knowing smile, then walked away.

“Wow,” I muttered to myself when she was out of earshot. I’d always loved the work at this company, and I was totally behind what they did for people, but I hadn’t been thinking about moving positions. Was it something I wanted? Or was it something I needed?

Personal attention from Amelia would be invaluable.

My eyes wandered the room until I found Peter, still with Marissa.

What would happen if we didn’t see each other all the time? Would the heat between us cool? Would he be upset if I left? After all, he didn’t love change.

“Jessica!” a panicked voice called.

I turned and found Patrice from the food committee running toward me. “We have a problem.”

Of course we did. “What is it?” I used as patient of a voice as I could muster.

“It’s the sandwiches. The company didn’t tell us they used nuts in their bread, and we have a few people who are allergic.”

Well, this was an actual emergency. I thought about dragging Peter away from Marissa, but I’d agreed to take care of all the problems before the event officially started.

Catherine, Tyrell’s assistant, had been lurking nearby for a while. I caught her attention and moved to her. “Do you think you can handle getting everyone else in place? The layout is here and instructions are on the board.” I indicated my tablet.

She frowned, and her expression asked what she’d done to deserve this.

“We’ve got an allergy emergency with the food,” I explained.

Catherine held her hand out for my tablet.