Page 56 of The Rebel

“This isn’t an ideal situation, I’ll give you that.”

I glanced at her. “Aren’t you supposed to support me?”

“I would if it were anyone but your boss. Things can get complicated, you know that. You know how things ended for me.”

How could I forget it? Many years ago, Kevin and Annelise split for a few months. She started dating her boss afterward, and things turned out to be very messy.

“I’m sorry. This must bring back bad memories for you.” Ugh, I was messing everything up.

“No, not at all. We’re talking about you, not me. Listen, Anthony strikes me as a major flirt, judging by what you said about your first day and the coffee shop. So, this is probably just his MO and doesn’t really mean anything to him.”

I didn’t say anything, but she was just making me feel worse, my heart growing heavy.

“I don’t think he’s going to make a fuss over it,” she added.

“He’s not the type to make a fuss about anything.”

“See?”

I downed my coffee quickly as the pressure in my chest increased. What if Annelise was right and this didn’t mean anything to him?

Oh, why was it Monday already? I could call in sick, but I wasn’t a coward.

After setting my dishes in the sink and grabbing my bag, I bade Annelise goodbye. She was leaving at noon, and who knew when I’d see her again, but I didn’t have time to linger. I didn’t want to be late to the office on top of everything else. And despite the fact that this complicated things, I didn’t regret any of it. Our escapade had beencrazybut also hot as sin. The way he’d made me?—

Nope, I wasn’t going to think about that because it only made me want a repeat.

He’s your boss, Daisy. Don’t forget that.

Yeah, but only temporarily.

I swallowed hard. Why was I even having this conversation with myself? I wasn’t in a position to leave the job right now, as I had no way of knowing when I’d find something I wanted. It could take months, and the last email from Samantha said she wasn’t finding anything. And in the meantime, I didn’t want an awkward situation at the office—though it might already be too late for that.

I arrived at LeBlanc-Broussard five minutes earlier than usual, so I just stood in front of the restaurant. I took in a deep breath, smiling in the sun. It was a gorgeous morning. I rolled my shoulders back, giving myself a pep talk. I was a strong, confident woman. Last night had been a choice that I didn’t regret. It might not have been my finest moment, but I still didn’t regret it.

I’d paved my way through life by making careful decisions and always weighing the pros and cons. One way or another, I’d always moved forward, and I was certain that I could do so today.

I headed inside, jogging up the stairs and straight to my office, but then I heard Anthony’s unmistakable voice.

“We could definitely do that, but we need the right strategy.”

I looked over my shoulder to see him walking toward me with Beckett. Then Anthony trained his gaze on me.

“Good morning, Daisy.”

Ah, here was the flaw in my plan. I might want to be all professional, but my body reacted to hearing him say my name. He’d done it a million times since I started working for him, but after last night…

“Hey,” Beckett said. “I heard you had some fun last night.”

I was rooted to my spot.Holy shit! Did Anthony tell him about us?That couldn’t be.

“So, is Julian’s Sazerac the best or not?” Beckett asked me, and relief flooded me.

“It’s definitely great.” My voice sounded a bit robotic.

Beckett frowned, then turned to Anthony. “I’m off. I have a meeting at Café Du Monde. I’ll circle back to our conversation when I’ve had some time to think about it.”

“Sure.” Anthony nodded at him before turning to me. “Daisy, let’s go to my office so we can finish the conversation we started last night.”