Page 21 of Bossman

My eyes bulged. “I’m not hitting on you! You’re the one—”

“Relax. I’m joking. I don’t find it inappropriate at all. Keep doing it.”

“Have you been sniffing wax chemicals all day?”

Chase’s grin was contagious. “So how late you staying?” he asked.

“I have an appointment at eight. I figured I’d stick around until then since it’s on my way home.”

“Dinner with Braxton?”

“Bryant. And no. I have a wax appointment.” I held up the small jar of Divine. “Figured I’d do a little product research.”

“I should come.”

“To get waxed?”

“To watch you get waxed.” His eyes gleamed. “Research.”

When Samantha suddenly appeared at my door, she gave us an odd smile. “I’ve been waiting in your office for ten minutes. Are we still grabbing a bite?”

Chase looked at me. “We’re going over to Azuri’s for falafel. Want to join us?”

“Thanks, I’d love to. But I have that appointment.”

***

Later that night, after hanging up with Bryant, I was lying in the dark, replaying my day, when my phone buzzed. It wasn’t a number I recognized, and the message seemed cryptic. It read, Are you and Tallulah twins?

It took me a minute to figure it out. For a moment I’d forgotten I gave Chase my number to pass to Samantha that day when we met at the gym. I closed my eyes and smiled to myself, suddenly not feeling sleepy at all.

Chapter 7

REESE

It was only day two, but I already loved my new job. It had rekindled something inside of me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I hadn’t even realized it was missing until now. Passion. I couldn’t wait to go to work when I woke up this morning. I’d been there at one point with my previous job, but where had that feeling gone? Parker Industries made me feel alive again.

I’d spent all morning in a marketing think tank session listening to the group come up with ideas. These people fed off of each other—building off each other’s thoughts to come up with the best single idea, rather than competing with one another. Since I was new, I listened more than I spoke.

We’d returned from lunch, and Josh was standing at the whiteboard, scribbling random words that people called out, when Chase slipped into the back of the room. He stood quietly, observing. Feeling his eyes on me, I glanced back a few times, and his gaze was always waiting for mine.

There were two empty seats in the room. One was next to me. After a few minutes, Chase silently walked up the side of the room and slipped into the seat to my right. We exchanged a sidelong glance, and then Josh stepped away from what he’d been writing and cleared his throat.

What do women want? he’d written on the whiteboard in big, black letters.

“Before we get started again this afternoon, let’s talk about the things we know.” He counted off facts with his fingers, beginning with his pointer: “One, our customers are ninety-six percent women. Two, women’s buying habits are different than men’s. Three, ninety-one percent of women in the survey we did last year said advertisers don’t understand them.” He ticked up his pinky as he started his fourth point. “Four, men shop for their needs. Women shop for their wants.” Then he tapped on the board. “What do women want? If we’re going to sell them a product, let’s start at the very beginning.”

He pointed to easels set up on both sides of the room. “We’re going to split up into two teams. There are two whiteboards. Let’s make this interesting, shall we? All the women work together on the right side of the room, and all the men work together on the left. I want a minimum of five wants on each of your lists. More is fine. I’ll be the scrivener for the men.” He looked to Chase, who offered a single nod. “Chase will be the scrivener for the women.”

Chase leaned over to me and whispered, “You smell incredible—like the beach in the summer.” He breathed in deep through his nose. “Coconut, maybe some honeysuckle, mixed with a little citrus.”

I shook my head, but whispered back, “Thank you.” Then I pointed to my watch. “Inappropriate during the work day.”

“Oh yeah? Adrien Brody needs a raise. I’m about to get a roadmap into what makes you tick, and I get to call it actual work. Love this job sometimes.”

After the room had been rearranged and everyone was comfortable in their new seats, Chase suggested each woman take five minutes to make her own list, and then we could see what the group collectively came up with. He tried to peek at mine a few times, but I covered my notepad and grinned. After everyone’s pens had slowed, Chase stood, swiped the marker from the tray, opened it, and scribbled What women want with a thick slash underlining it.

“Of course, I already know the answer to this one, but since I’m the facilitator, I’ll let you ladies take your best shot.” He smiled playfully, and there was that damn dimple again.