Page 8 of A Very Bossy Christmas

“Piper. Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Um. This is my niece. Piper, this is my boss, Mr. Cannavale. How was your meeting?”

“It was not terrible. Can you get Victor on the phone for me? And ask what’s-his-name’s assistant for the by-laws for the—”

“She just emailed them to you. I’ll get Victor, and then Holly will be covering my desk for the rest of the day so I can take my adorable niece shopping.”

“Oh great. Sounds fun.” He winks at Piper and then flashes me with the kind of smile that makes me check his hands to make sure there aren’t any knives in them. Because he looks all kinds of stabby. “Can I talk to you in my office for a second?”

Eye roll.

“I’ll be right back, Piper. Why don’t you start packing up your bag so we can go.”

I follow Declan into his office and shut the door behind myself.

He drops his laptop onto the leather sofa and turns back to face me with a wide stance, his arms crossed at his chest. “You’re going shopping? At five o’clock? Today?”

“I told you this morning and yesterday evening and two days ago. As I just said, Holly the floater will be covering for me.”

“How long were you planning on shopping for?”

“She’s Christmas shopping for her friends and parents. It’ll take a couple of hours, at least.”

“But you’re coming back afterwards, right?”

“To the office?”

“Yes, Cooper. To the office. Where you work. For me.”

That’s it. My arms are crossed in front of my chest now too. “You’re asking me if I’m coming back to the office after seven tonight?”

He shrugs. “I’ll still be here.”

“And Holly will stay until you leave.”

“Who?”

“Holly. The floater.”

“What’s a floater?”

“Someone whose job it is to cover an assistant’s desk when said assistant is unable to cover it herself.”

“For instance, when said assistant is shopping with a family member in the middle of a workday?”

“Five pm is hardly the middle of the workday, and you know what—I have made the proper arrangements for you. My niece rode the subway on her own from the Upper West Side, and now I am going to get Victor on the phone for you and then I am going to take my niece Christmas shopping.” I turn on my heels for like the ninth time today and walk away from him before he tells me to come back after dinner.

I can feel him glaring at my back. Or possibly slightly lower than my back. I leave the door open, but he doesn’t say anything else. Except when he calls out to Piper to tell her to have fun shopping. Which is so annoying.

Piper is just a silent pulsating heart-eyes emoji face all the way until we exit the building onto Madison Avenue, when she finally exclaims, “Sheeeww. Your boss’s butt is perfect!”

“Piper! Shhh!” It’s so cold, I can see our breath.

“It is! Have you looked at it?”

“No. He’s my boss. Come on, Fifth Avenue is this way.”