Page 75 of Anyone But You

“It isn’t.”

“I have at least another decade in me.”

“You don’t need to work another decade.”

He closed his eyes and massaged his lids with his thumb and forefinger before sighing. “Here is how it will go if I retire soon. Are you listening?”

“I am.”

“I will annoy the absolute fuck out of you because I’ll want to spend every waking moment with you and monopolize your time. I’ll find new hobbies like ghost-hunting or something similar and try to rope you into joining me.”

Ghost-hunting? Who does this man think I am? A Ghostbuster? Fuck that shit. My black ass doesn’t mess with ghosts.

“Cue the part where you tell me you’re not a Ghostbuster.”

He gets stranded on an island with me for a few months and thinks he knows me.

“I—see—you’re doing too much. The thought never even crossed my mind.”

“Right,” he remarked, failing to hide the smirk in his tone. “Whatever the case, retiring now is not an option, but you’re free to enjoy your early retirement.”

“I’m not retiring. I have to be there to keep you in line.”

“I don’t need a babysitter, Tori.”

“I beg to differ. Plus, you’re not replacing me with some slutty assistant.”

“Why would I do that when I have one at home already?” he drawled, tapping away on his phone again.

“Call me Bernadine.”

“Bernadine? Who’s that?” he asked curiously.

“You haven’t seenWaiting to Exhale?”

“No, I can’t say that I have.”

“You’re so uncultured,” I mumbled, wondering if I had the DVD lying around somewhere. “But can we be serious?”

“Being serious.”

“I don’t want you to turn into a workaholic again, where we’re working into the night. We deserve a healthy work-life balance—arrive at 7:00, leave at 4:00.”

He grabbed my hand and kissed my engagement ring. It was stunning, and I grew breathless every time the sun caught the magnificent oval diamond.

“I’m all for a healthy work-life balance; however, I can’t make you any promises, at least not for the first couple of months while I try to get everything up and running again. I’m afraid the long nights are unavoidable.”

“Is there any room for compromise?”

“We can leave early after lunch on Fridays.”

I nodded as I considered his proposal. “Okay. I can get down with that,” I agreed, smiling softly.

See? We can work together without cussing each other out.

“When are you returning to work?”

My slight smile quickly turned upside down when Knox checked his watch.