Prologue
Remy
Remy was elbow-deep in papers when the phone rang. He was doing his best to distract himself with work,although it’s not working.
Inhaling sharply, he plastered a fake smile on his face and answered the call. “Bucket List Buddies, Remy speaking. How may I assist you on this wonderful day?” he said as brightly as he could manage. He really wasn’t feeling it, and he hadn’t been since the mail had been delivered earlier in the day.
“My gods, he lives.”
He groaned as he recognized the voice on the other side of the call. “Tasha, what are you doing calling me on the work line?”
“I know you’ll answer this phone,” Tasha said sharply. “Why haven’t you been responding to my texts and calls? Did you lose your phone again? Is it drowning in the toilet or did you leave it on the bus?”
“No. I didn’t lose it.” Remy leaned his elbow on the desk and rubbed his head. “Tasha, I promise I’m not avoiding you or any of our friends. I’ve just been really busy with work—”
“Work, work, work,” Tasha complained in that tone, the one that suggested a rant was coming his way. “That’s all we hear from you these days. Mia thinks that you’ve come down with some dreaded disease, and Terry can’t remember the last time he’s seen you. What’s going on, Remy? This isn’t like you.”
“It’s not like I’ve been in this job very long—”
“Months.” Tasha knew him too well. She could see through any of his bullshit. “You’ve been in this job for months now.”
“Okay, months, but I really want to make a good impression. I’m working super hard. There’re so many details I have to take care of, and we’ve got another new event starting tonight. I know Sven won’t be here—”
“Oh no, Remy, no. Please tell me you haven’t got another boss fixation. What’s this Sven look like? Go on, tell me.”
“What do you mean, another boss fixation?” Remy wouldn’t allow anyone to cast aspersions on his character, not even one of his closest friends. “I just mentioned my boss’s name. Besides, at my last job, I didn’t have a fixation on my boss—he had a fixation on me. That’s why I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. This has got nothing to do with my boss. I’ve never even met him in person.” Did he sound convincing?
“Are you sure? Your voice went up when you mentioned that Sven person. Say it again. Go on. Say his name again.”
Oops.Remy wasn’t sure how Tasha did it, but his friend had a knack for learning his secrets. “I’m not playing this game,” he said as firmly as he could. “I’m in a position of responsibility here, and I have a dozen things to do before the event tonight.”
“I’m not disputing that you work hard, my dear friend,” Tasha said, perhaps realizing she’d taken her teasing too far. “I’m just worried about you. We all are. You haven’t been out with us in weeks, and it’s getting to the point where we’re wondering if you don’t want anything to do with us anymore.”
“I promise I don’t feel like that.” Remy groaned again. “I didn’t realize it had been that long, I truly didn’t. It’s just this is a new venture, and if it fails, then I’m back job hunting again, and I don’t want to be in that situation anymore. For the first time in ages, I’ve got a regular paycheck, and my boss gives me a lot of responsibility. I get to use my initiative. He appreciates my ideas. Tasha, he seems to trust me. Do you realize how much of a big deal that is for me?”
“How would you know that if you hadn’t met him?” There was a warning hum over the phone line, meaning Tasha was thinking about something. “Are you sure you don’t have a fixation on your boss that you’ve never met?”
“How would that even work?” Remy chuckled, amused despite his angst. “Surely I would have to meet the man to develop a fixation on him, and the way things are with him and his busy life, I’m not likely to ever meet him.”
Although he kept his thoughts about how he felt about that to himself. There were days when Remy dreamed of Sven walking through the office door, his suit immaculate, not a hair out of place. He would take a discreet sniff of the air, and then his eyes would bore into Remy’s as he crossed the distance between them…
“You can’t have a fixation on a boss that isn’t here.” The picture from the company newsletter seemed to glare at himfrom the desk, and Remy quickly flipped it over so he couldn’t see the photo of Sven in all his magnificence.
“Truly, I’ve just been really busy. There were six weeks of dance classes to organize and get through. I was the host for those events, and honestly, by the time I’d finished with them most nights, I barely had time to eat.
“Then I have to get all the promotions ready for the ghost tours, which are running for the next month. These are all Friday and Saturday night events, which means by Sunday I’ll be exhausted.”
“All right. Fair enough,” Tasha said. “However, I’m sure that your mythical boss, that you’re very definitely not pining over because you two haven’t met yet, won’t have a problem with you spending time with your friends for a Sunday lunch. You’re entitled to at least one day off a week.”
“You’re right.” Remy knew when he was beaten, and while he’d never admit it to her, Tasha had a point. He had been spending far too much of his downtime mooning over somebody who probably didn’t give him a second thought. “I’ll meet you all for lunch, our regular place. I promise I’ll be there with a smile on my face.”
“Your friends don’t need any of your fake it till you make it shit,” Tasha warned. “But if you were pining over a mythical someone who may or may not be your boss, then you know you can share that news with your friends. We’ll all drink and commiserate and you’ll feel a lot better. Pining isn’t good for anyone.”
“Oh, my goodness.” Remy immediately felt guilty. He really hadn’t been keeping up with any of his friends for ages. “Are things not going very well with Terence?”
“Things finished with Terence two weeks ago,” Tasha said bluntly. “Good riddance to bad rubbish, in my opinion, but that’swhy you need to come and have lunch with us. Honestly, we’ll all be married and have ten kids before we get a chance to see you.”
“I haven’t been that bad,” Remy muttered hunching. “But you’re right. I’d love to catch up with you all. Count me in, I’ll see you at twelve, at our regular spot. And I promise I’ll be there.”
