My head shot up at his suggestion. That would not be acceptable. He wasn’t understanding. There could be no mistakes.
I was immediately back to my old, rule-following self. Afraid to make a misstep. And when I did, it felt as though my entire world was going to collapse around me.
“Mare, seriously, we’re dealing with staffing issues. Tell whoever it is that we need to reschedule because of that. It’ll be fine, I promise.”
My anxiety ratcheted up at the thought of Gage finding out, but why? He wouldn’t be upset about rescheduling a meeting either.
This was simply because I lost focus due to…
I couldn’t allow him to let me lose focus.
He scared me when he was suddenly next to me. He didn’t reach out or touch me, rather, he kept his distance with his hands in his pockets.
“Hey,” he said. “Do you want me to make the call? It’s my meeting and it’s me who lost an assistant. It would make sense for me to do it.”
All I did was look at the calendar on my tablet. My brain felt that if I stared at the mistake long enough, it might disappear.
“Or would you like to reschedule the night out?” he asked.
Oh my god. As soon as he asked me, I felt the anxiety in me dissipate. Having someone put me before them, someone understand my feelings, was life-altering. I spun toward him, a smile of relief on my face.
“Thank you, Chase.”
His disappointment was clear. I hugged him. Christ, I was continuing to break so many of my own rules.
“No, I don’t want to cancel our night out,” I said as I pulled back and looked up at him. “I just really appreciate you offering.”
Evie hadn’t stopped texting me the past couple days about Mitch. I had to turn my phone off at work for a while today to finish a project. She was lighting it up nonstop.
Is he hot
Tell me what he looks like
How much does he make
Does he have a girlfriend
Does he like girls
You can find out his salary, right?
OMG, this is going to be so much fun
She didn’t stop, nor care, that every text went unanswered. Chase was getting similar questions from Mitch. I felt as though our night was turning into a setup for these two.
As I stood in front of my closet, it was the first time in a while I didn’t know what to wear. We were going to a bar, so jeans would be an obvious choice. However, Chase enjoyed seeing my legs, and I was in the mood to make him happy.
In his office, he surprised me by putting my concerns and emotions before his own. That was a huge change in how he usually handles things. He was trying, really trying.
So, the miniskirt was staring at me.
I didn’t have a ton of options to choose from. My wardrobe was very basic.
Black. Gray. White. Cream. Tan.
Those were my color options I wore to work every day. It made it easy to mix and match my limited pieces. Slacks, skirts, blouses, and sweaters. My work uniform. And for the weekend I had some shorts, jeans, and T-shirts. I didn’t splurge on myself. I worked hard at taking care of my clothing, so it lasted.
The one miniskirt I had was a black leather one I found at TJ Maxx on a deep discount. It was sexy and solely for going out to clubs, which I rarely did anymore. I felt too old for that at almostthirty. It was still staring at me, so I grabbed it. I paired it with a baby tee and combat boots.
