“We were more like friends with benefits,” I continued. “We liked each other but it wasn’t serious.”
Yancy cast a knowing look in my direction. “If you say so.”
Before I could ask her what she meant, Lucy rejoined us. “Chelsea, you have the rest of the day off with your boss’ thanks,” she stated.
Chelsea stared at her in disbelief. “How in the hell did you manage that?”
“You don’t want to know.” Lucy gave her a pointed look that clearly declared that whatever she’d promised Chris was naughty and better discussed behind closed doors. Or never.
“You’re right,” Chelsea agreed, clapping her hands. “I don’t want to know.” Then she turned toward Yancy. “Any chance you can take the afternoon off and join us?”
Yancy frowned. “There’s no way. Charles and I have a project due next week and a meeting with our supervisor after lunch.”
“Bummer,” Chelsea muttered.
“I’ll join in next time,” Yancy assured her. She glanced sideways at Chelsea. “And even if you don’t want to know what Lucy promised Chris to get you the afternoon off, I do, so cover your ears.”
“Actually, I think what he wants is more fun for me than it is for him, so it isn’t much of a hardship,” Lucy replied.
“Oh, do tell?” I asked, laughing at the pained expression on Chelsea’s face.
“Well, first, I—”
“Oh my God, I don’t need to hear this about my boss!” Chelsea cried, clapping her hands over her ears. “It was bad enough when I started working for him after you overshared during girls’ night out, Lucy. I don’t need to know what y’all do after he leaves the office.”
Lucy laughed. “Okay, okay, no more talk of play time with Chris. I don’t want Chelsea to be uncomfortable.”
“Spoilsport,” Yancy teased Chelsea.
“I don’t need to know those kinds of things about my boss.”
“So, Chelsea, how are things going with Landen?” Lucy asked, changing the subject. “Chris came home in a grumpy mood a few days ago, mumbling something about pig-headed assistants and ungrateful friends who expect favors.”
Chelsea grinned at her, looking both wicked and utterly unrepentant. “I may have explained to Mr. Weber that he needed to organize his files before delivering them to us. He implied that it was my job and I explained that I was Mr. Barden’s assistant, not his and that if he wanted someone to organize his paperwork, then he needed to hire them.”
Lucy laughed. “I bet that went over well. As I remember, Landen Weber is even crankier than Chris.”
“I told him that he was more than welcome to pay me an additional salary if he wanted me to do that sort of work for him,” Chelsea replied with a shrug.
“I think it’s awesome that you get away with stuff like this,” Lucy said. “I didn’t take a lot of crap from Chris, but you take it to a whole different level.”
“What you failed to see when you worked for him is that Chris needs you more than you need him. He will put up with a lot of crap in order to keep a decent assistant, especially since he’s had so many horrible ones in the past,” Chelsea explained.
Lucy shot her a disbelieving look.
“Okay, so that’s not exactly the case,” Chelsea conceded with a laugh. “But I had you going there for a minute, didn’t I?”
Rolling her eyes, Lucy replied, “No way.” She shook her head as we walked into the restaurant. “Now, let’s go eat and then go shopping. Tanya has an outfit to buy and I have to figure out what I should wear on my tropical getaway.”
“And I have an afternoon to waste thanks to my best friend, a.k.a my boss’ fiancée,” Chelsea chimed in. “It’s good to know people.”
