Page 25

Mindy

I haven’t had this much sleep in forever and a day. It’s positively decadent rolling out of a magnificent bed into a bathroom with both hot and cold water working at the same time. I take a few minutes to put a little makeup on, which is something I only do when going to my nine-to-five job or out dancing. The snakes don’t care if I wear mascara.

But it makes me feel stronger and more human. That must be Mom’s influence. A lady never leaves her room looking anything but perfect. I’ll never be perfect, but for the snakes, I’m good enough. There’s no way I’m thinking about dinner with Maddox.

It’s nothing but a meal with a coworker.

Remember that, because he sure does.

This is as good as I’m going to get. The car he’s sending for me should be here in twenty minutes. Time to head down so they don’t have to wait.

Oh no! The television is on. That means Adonis is awake and still home.

We’re roommates now. You have to learn how to deal with a pretty man walking around half-naked.

Maybe he isn’t now. It’s daytime and all that.

“Morning.” I keep my voice light and friendly while my eyes focus on the front door.

“Mindy! Did you have a nice night’s sleep? Was the bed okay?”

“Everything was great, thank you.” Especially compared to the mattress that was gifted to me by a neighbor when their kid outgrew it.

“Would you like to go to brunch with me? We could talk.”

I finally turn to look at Adonis.

Does he just run around perpetually at home without a shirt on?

At least he keeps his pants on…one of Mom’s boyfriends would run around in his tighty-whities. That’s an image that’s permanently burned on my brain that no amount of bleach will remove. “I’d love to.” That’s actually true. “But I have to head to work.”

His brows wrinkle. “Come talk to me.”

“I have to go to work.”

“It’ll just take a second.” He pats the couch next to him.

Why do I have to have manners? I sit down on the edge of the couch. Eye contact. Whatever you do, maintain eye contact. Though to be fair, his pasty white semi-muscular chest is nothing compared to what Maddox probably looks like without a shirt on. “What’s up?”

“I’m concerned about you. What’s this about you having another job? And with a man like that? You know you can always come to me if you’re in trouble.” He reaches out and takes my hands in his.

The urge to tug them away is instantaneous and powerful. “Maddox is a great boss.”

“Are you in trouble? I know people that can help. You never have to see this guy again.”

“Really, Maddox is wonderful. He’s sending a car to pick me up. I love both my jobs.”

He doesn’t look convinced.

There’s no time to convince him. “Look, I’ve got to go to work, or I’ll be late.” After wasting all day yesterday, I can’t even be a minute late. “But I promise I’m just fine.” I don’t give him time to disagree. Pulling my hands out of his grasp I dash out the door and down the stairs completely ignoring the elevator.

Canyon’s waiting by the car when I reach the lobby.

Take a breath. Pull yourself together. I step outside. “Sorry to make you wait.”

“Waiting for you is always a pleasure. Maddox would have come to pick you up, but he had a phone call that he couldn’t miss.”

I wonder if that is Jordan calling his brother, not that it’s any of my business. “Thank you for doing it.”

He opens the SUV door for me. “You feeling any better?”

Like a whole new person, but then what do you expect after getting almost a day’s worth of sleep? “Yes, thank you.”

***

The drive with Canyon was quick and friendly. We talked about nothing, which was the mental break I needed after Adonis. My afternoon with the snakes will give me even more time to decompress.

There’s a man inside cleaning the cages when I arrive.

Have I been replaced? Is that why Maddox didn’t want me working yesterday? Pull the bandage off. “Hello.”

“Oh, hey.” He pulls out some ear pods. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. I’m Pit. Your new boss.”

Excuse me. What did he just say?

“Let me give you my number. If there’s anything at all that you need, feel free to reach out anytime at all. All work-related issues you will contact me for, including vacation, sick time, days off, etc.”

Is this Maddox’s way to avoid me because I attacked him yesterday?

“You’re entitled to eight weeks of vacation per year, and unlimited paid sick time. I’m also cutting your hours to a max of twenty.

Twenty hours. “Was there something wrong with my work?”

Pit shakes his head. ‘Nothing at all. With that comes a raise so that you won’t be losing any money.”

What?

“We also offer benefits including 401k matching, medical, dental, and vision—It’s some of the best coverage you’ll find anywhere—Have you been informed that we have a housing allowance as well? If you rent an apartment on Willow Street, your rent is a quarter of the list price.”

A quarter?

“I can have an agent meet with you today if you want to get right on that. And because you’re an employee, you don’t need to worry about first, last, and security. You can move right in today.”

No security deposit?

My head can’t process everything Pit is saying.

But he requires a response since he’s now staring at me silently.

What am I supposed to say?

“I’ll let you think about it. If you need anything, feel free to contact me. Or I’m usually down at the pet store.” He steps away from the cage. “Hot Dog is soaking in that bucket. I’ll leave you to it.”

To what? Work for an exorbitant amount of money, plus all these perks.

Why the sudden change?

Because of yesterday? Maddox saw where I lived.

This is all pity!

He pities me.

This rich, gorgeous man thinks my life is pathetic, and he needs to fix it.

I don’t know whether to cry or rage at him for being a jerk.

Peters women never shed a tear over a man’s actions.

At least not a man they aren’t married to.

They drink away their pain…I can’t do that. So, there’s only one stupid option.

First, I need to take care of Hot Dog in case Maddox fires me. There’s no way he should be forgotten in a soaking tub because I told an infuriating man off.

Maybe I should just quit.

Adonis won’t throw me out. He might even be able to help me find another job.

One that pays half this well? Probably not. But there’s no way I’m going to take this.

Absolutely not.

Today was a good day to wear makeup. My mother’s fearless arrogance is exactly what I need. I set my purse on the bench in the changing room and walk towards his office, allowing all the rage inside of me to bubble to the top.

The door is open like it always is. I don’t wait for permission. If he didn’t want to hear what I think, he would have hidden like the coward he is sending a lackey to take care of the repulsive task.

“Hello.” He’s smiling at me like he was waiting for me to walk in the door.

“How dare you?”

His brows wrinkle.

“And you couldn’t even do it yourself.” Tears well up unbidden in my eyes, which just make me madder.

Maddox stands up. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“What happened? You can really ask me that?”

“We have a problem.” Canyon storms in.

Maddox never takes his gaze from me. “Not now,” he bites out.

“This can’t wait.”

What is so important that it can’t wait for me to chew out Maddox and for him to fire me?

Maddox walks over to me. “I’m sorry. I need you to go. We’ll finish this conversation later.”

What?

“You need to go home.”

He practically pushes me out the door and locks it behind him.

That felt so final. I take my purse and walk out of the building, but don’t head home. There’s no way I’m heading back to run into Adonis.

My feet seem to have a will of their own when they take me to a little park on Willow Street that I’ve never visited before. This one isn’t filled with sculptures or fountains. Instead, raised beds with neatly tagged vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, and cabbages like I’ve never seen in the city before are everywhere. Scattered among the plants are a few benches. I sit down on one of them.

Whenever I do this, Louisella shows up.

Is that what I want?

Maybe some of her nuttiness will make me feel better.

“You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.” She takes a seat next to me resplendent in diamonds and pearls today.

Just the little world around me. “Have you ever been pitied?”

“No.”

Of course, you haven’t. People are too afraid of you.

“Who pities you?”

“Maddox.”

“That boy is stupid. I really should talk to Emilia about this. We might have to step in and get that boy in line.” She shifts on the bench and stares at me. “Why didn’t you dissuade him of that ridiculous notion?”

“I tried to, but he kicked me out.”

“Kicked you out?” She shakes her head. “Maybe you're better off without him.”

Better off? “He’s the best boss I’ve ever had. Well, he was. Until he passed me off to this guy named Pit.”

“He what?”

“I’m Pit’s problem now. I report to him instead of Maddox. They cut my hours and doubled my pay with all these crazy benefits. Oh, and I think Canyon plans on driving me to and from work today. It’s like Maddox doesn’t think I can take care of myself.”

“To be fair, you aren’t doing a very good job of it.”

What? Isn’t there some girl code that says she’s supposed to support me?

Even if there was, this woman doesn’t follow anyone’s rules but her own.

She stands up. “You have a lot to learn about idiotic, alpha men.”

“That’s all the wisdom you’re going to share with me?”

“Yes. You two need to stumble through this together. But I suggest you figure out the difference between pity and this really quickly, or your life is going to be hard for a while.” Louisella starts to walk away then turns back. “Don’t you let him treat you like that. If he pushes, you push back. You let a man know what you want and what you need. If he doesn’t give that to you and more, you walk away.”

“My mom says that.” Though she’s usually talking about money and I’m pretty sure Louisella didn’t mean that.

“Then you better listen.” She walks away.

Men usually give you what you want when they think they’ll get something from you. How do I get my boss not to pity me without any funny business?

Not that I’d be opposed to funny business with Maddox. Am I mad he pities me or that he doesn’t want to date me?