“I’m not. It’s logical,” Julian justifies.
My eyes swing between them as I sit here wishing for popcorn.
“I honestly can’t deal with you when you’re being stubborn.”
“I’m allowed to be. It’smycompany.”
Charles rubs the side of his head and takes Julian’s claim with a grain of salt. “I’m out of here. I have a soccer game for the grandkids to go to.” He begins to walk, looking my way. “Congratulations. I knew you could tame him. It was a risky move on my part, but clearly it paid off.” He winks at me as he moves along.
My jaw drops from the revelation that he’s now privy to the full extent of Julian and me. My mind screams that he might have set us up all along. Kill two birds with one stone. Fix Julian’s disorganized office lifeandmake it something more, as though he could see the match and we didn’t.
I stand, wanting to say something, but Charles is already entering the elevator, and I direct my gaze to Julian, who is already on his way to his desk. I’m hot on his heels, though.
“What was all of that?” I point behind me.
“Nothing. Charles just delivered news that I did not appreciate.”He sits down behind his desk cooly and searches for what seems to be a Post-It note, and he never uses those.
“He knows about us?” My voice pitches higher.
Julian nods as his eyes scan his desk. “I told him earliertoday. Although he kind of already guessed it. Something about one of the reasons you had the perfect resume to be sent my way. But anyhow, he didn’t succeed at what I needed.”
“He never disappoints you, so what the hell could he have done?”
Julian massages the back of his neck and doesn’t look at me. “My old assistant decided she won’t be returning after her baby goes to daycare full-time, plus said she would never work for me again.”
I plant my palms on his desk to enable me to loom over him. “What! Were you going to fire me? And by the way, she quit, in case you forgot.”
“Charles did point that out.” At last, Julian snaps his gaze up to me. “I wasn’t going to fire you, merelyreassignyou.”
Now I’m pissed. “And when were you going to tell me this? I don’t deserve that.”
He stands, his fingertips gliding along the glass as he circles his desk to land right in front of me, an intoxicatingly close distance.
“Baby, I’m doing this for us. Having the old assistant back would mean we don’t need to worry about any confusing lines. It’s a win for us.”
I utter a sound of complete disagreement and turn away from him. “A win would be discussing this with me beforehand.”
“You’re right. I’m… wanting to explore, I guess. No obstacles. Is that crazy?”
Damn it. There are a few solid points there. But still, it’s completely twisted.
I throw my arms in the air and breathe in exasperation before spinning to meet his gaze. “I can’t deal with you.”
“But you do.”
“Yes.Because in some bizarre way, I like you like this.” I raise a finger and give him a cutting look. “I’m only going to end this argument because I recognize a hint of effort, although a little fucked up. And if you ever make employment decisions without me, I will lose it. Full-on. Don’t play that game with me,” I reprimand with firmness.
He nods once. “Okay. I’m learning.”
“Fine,” I huff.
The silence causes Julian to notice my dress, and he begins to sniff. “What the hell is that awful smell?”
“Lola threw up on me.”
He winces and covers his nose with his forearm. “What the hell is your friend feeding her kid?”
I drop my eyes to my dress. “I’m not 100% sure, but by the looks of it, I’m going to guess orange juice and oatmeal.”
