Page 87 of The Boss and the Wedding Mess

Only twenty-six minutes later, she rings my doorbell.

Wow, this is definitely not how I imagined spending my evening.

I decided on white leggings with a loose pink top. Comfortable. When I open the door for Stephanie, she immediately throws her arms around me like we’re best friends.

"Oh, how lovely to see you again," she says happily. Well, I can’t be mad at her now. "Look what I brought," she adds, holding up a patisserie box filled with macarons, petits fours, and truffle pralines.

Not bad.

"Well, anyone who brings such delicious things is always welcome in my apartment," I say and let her in.

"Hmm, smells like fast food," she remarks, looking me up and down. "I thought you'd eat more healthily?" I’ll take that as a regular question rather than an attack.

"Usually I do, but today was an exception," I admit. Stephanie, of course, is dressed to the nines as always: white pencil skirt, white high heels, a black blouse, a white jacket, and gold jewelry. She always looks flawless.

She slips off her heels at the door, then follows me into the living room where she sets the delicious treats in their pretty packaging on the table.

"Tea?"

"Yes, please. Do you have strawberry or peach?"

"Yes," I reply, putting the kettle on. "Are all of these vegan?"

"Half of them are, the other half aren't. I admit, the vegan ones taste different, not everyone likes them."

How thoughtful of her!

I sit with Stephanie, who seems unusually keyed up.

"So, tell me. How was your honeymoon?" I ask, pushing aside the images in my head of those photos she sent to Alex. I really don’t want to think about that right now.

"Oh, it was great. But I'm much more interested in how things went with you and Alex."

What?

I’m surprised she cuts her honeymoon story so short. So, sheishere to pump me for information. But did Alex send her or is she just curious? I’m not sure.

"Well, we're working together as usual. Marc was there today and..."

"At the office?" she interrupts me. Stephanie looks both shocked and agitated, which makes me suspicious.

"Yeah, they wanted to talk," I say quickly.

Why doesn’t she know about this?

"About what?" She’s acting so conspicuously that I don’t feel comfortable telling her more.

"I was done with work and left them alone. They were in Alexander's office."

"Oh, I see." Stephanie stares off, then quickly grabs the pralines. "Here, try one."

Her hands are trembling.

"Gladly. Thank you." I take one, then ask, "Is everything okay with you?"

The water is done boiling, so I get up and head into the kitchen to pour two cups.

"Yes... yes, um..." She suddenly jumps up. "I just received an important message and unfortunately have to leave already."