Chapter 36
STEPHANIE
“Welcome back Friday, you beautiful thing you!” I said under my breath when I got to the office and pulled up my calendar, ready to put the last few things for this week to rest. “How I’ve missed you.”
Friday, of course, didn’t answer but that didn’t matter. My tasks for the day loomed in brightly color-coded blotches on the calendar on my computer screen, but that didn’t matter either.
Nothing was going to get me down today. It’d been a long, hard week, and I was looking forward to the weekend. Jeremiah’s father, Jance, had been in the office a lot over this last week. And it was safe to say he was the reason the week felt so long and awful.
He made me really uncomfortable. I didn’t know why. The man hardly spoke to me. He’d never said or done anything to warrant the feeling, but being around him made my skin feel like there were tiny bugs crawling around underneath it.
I couldn’t wait for two whole days without the possibility of seeing him. Why he’d been hanging around Jer’s office, I didn’t know. When I started working here, I only saw him for maybe a minute a week. Now he was around all the time.
The two of us just didn’t gel. I could tell Jance didn’t like me either, though I had no idea why. I didn’t speak to him much, so there was no real reason for him to dislike me any more than I had to dislike him. Yet I was quite sure we were both firmly rooted in our mutual, non-sensical dislike.
And I was fine with it. Really. I wasn’t one of those people who were in constant need of approval from everyone they met.
If Jeremiah was anything more to me than my boss, I might’ve been worried about his father’s dismissiveness of me. Since we were keeping things totally professional, I wasn’t too worried about it.
My job was to work for Jeremiah, and I did my job well. When Jance was around, I simply tried to keep my head down and to not ruffle any feathers. As much as I usually enjoyed ruffling, it didn’t seem worth the risk of attracting his wrath or attention.
I’d heard him on the phone a few times. The man could be brutal. Ruffling his feathers felt like a surefire way to get fired. Staying under his radar and keeping my mouth shut wasn’t always easy though, which was why I was glad the week was over.
Next week, I hoped Jance would stick to his own office again and leave Jeremiah’s alone. Even Jeremiah seemed out of sorts by his father’s continuous presence. He still drove me every morning and every night. We still spoke and joked around in the car, but he seemed more distant. Especially once we arrived at the office.
My new normal was still very new to me, with my new job, boss and commute situation, but I liked it. I wanted it back. Fingers crossed next week would bring with it the return of my new routine.
Until then, I would just have to stick it out.
Thinking of the devil, Jance emerged from Jeremiah’s office. His suit jacket, which probably cost more than my non-functioning car, was hanging neatly over one arm. Intimidating for a man of his age, he was as tall and broad as his son.
Once near black hair now flecked with gray, on his head and in his eyebrows, he had the air of a man who ran a country and physique of one who could still run marathons. Ignoring my existence, he paused in the door between my office and Jeremiah’s, turning to look back at Jer. “Just get it done. I’ll expect an update by Sunday.”
Without a word of goodbye to either of us, Jance marched out of the office. As soon as my door slammed behind him, I breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. His parting words to Jer made it sound like he wasn’t coming back today, so it looked like my Jance-free time was starting earlier than expected.
I did a little happy jiggle in my chair, queuing up a feel-good playlist and reaching for my earbuds—a luxury I denied myself whenever Jance was around because I was sure it would be a mortal sin to listen to music on the job when he was around.
A soft chuckle from the doorway between my office and Jer’s caught my attention. I looked up to find my boss leaning with his shoulder against the frame, amusement skittering in his eyes as the noon light caught them. He had one thumb hooked in his pocket and looked relaxed, comfortable.
“Don’t stop on my account,” he said when I froze, forcing my butt to stop its victory dance. “I was enjoying the show.”
Heat crept onto my cheeks, but I ignored my obvious blush. How had I not realized he was still standing there? “I was just, uh… I thought I heard a squeak in my chair. I was trying to make it do it again so I could figure out where it was coming from.”
“Sure.” His lips twisted into a knowing grin. “I’ll have someone from maintenance come check it out next week.”
Waving off his concern, I felt the heat in my cheeks intensify. I was so busted. “That’s not necessary. It was probably my imagination. Besides, I’m the secretary. If maintenance needs to be called, I’ll deal with it.”
“It’s no problem. Really.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started pulling up a number.
“Did you need something, Jeremiah?” I asked, stopping him from making the call with a glare. “Or do you just like watching people in their private workspaces?”
He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “It’s hardly private. My office is right there.”
“Even so.” I leaned forward, crossing my arms on my desk. “Was there something I could do for you?”
“Do you have any plans after work?” he asked, giving me a sheepish smile that made my heart flutter like a newborn butterfly trying out its wings. Definitely not a passing crush, damn it.
Tiana and I planned on staying in again and doing laundry, but that hardly classified as plans. She would be thrilled if I told her we could do it tomorrow instead. “I don’t, why?”