Taming Her Boss

“That’s great! And knowing you and your skill set, you’ll be full-time in no time,” her best friend assured her.

“Here’s hoping,” she said as she kicked off her heels and wiggled her toes to restore the blood flow to her feet. “But right now, I’m just thrilled to have the opportunity. Alexander Limited is a huge company. And extremely stable, with plenty of space to advance later.”

And boy, I am so ready for stability in my life again.

She blew out a sigh once she’d ended the call with Meghan.

Trixie had been one of the last employees laid off when her former company had unexpectedly been sold to a capital investment firm, who in turn gutted it to its core. Seven years of her professional life of forming deep bonds with great people had vanished, trashed in a matter of weeks.

Except, of course, for her bond with Meghan, her best friend, college roommate, and the company’s marketing genius at the time they’d been acquired. No longer working together wouldn’t even put a dent in what Meghan always referred as to their lifelong ‘wonder twins’ relationship.

Now Meghan was unabashedly following her true passion – being an artist – and already, she’d made some sales of her sculptures. And Trixie was a strong enough person to admit that she was both proud of and a little envious of her best friend.

Wish I could be that brave. I’ve always wanted to work with animals. Then again, I’m the only financial support I have, so, it’s not like I can just dive off into a huge career change whenever I want. At least being an accountant keeps the bills paid.

Her stomach rumbling broke her train of thought.

“Dinner, dinner. What to do for dinner,” she thought aloud as she rummaged through her pantry and found very little to work with.

That’s what I forgot to do this week. Make a store run. I knew there was something I missed….

She looked at the amazingly painful-to-wear high heels taunting her from her own living room carpet and sighed.

I so do not want to put those back on….

“Change, then store,” she announced, and marched to her bedroom to strip out of the boring charcoal grey business suit she’d worn to yet another interview with yet another accounting firm in town.

She’d been going full tilt with sending out resumes and filling out job applications. The process had consumed her days for the better part of the last three months. With the extreme lack of luck in landing full-time employment on her own, she’d finally signed up with the temporary agency as a last-ditch effort to try to get income rolling again before her unemployment claim ran out.

I have some of my severance pay, still…

Trixie snorted at that thought.

“Not like it was much to begin with, just my unused vacation time and an extra five hundred dollars. And they’re required by law to pay out vacation, so…” she admonished the hangers in her closet as she hung up her suit and reached for a sweatshirt and her favorite jeans.

Her phone rang while she had one leg in her jeans. She hurriedly finished putting them on, nearly toppling over in the process, then raced into the living room to answer her phone.

By the time she reached it she’d missed the call. But she noticed a new voicemail from Grant, her boyfriend of six months.

She played it back and frowned.

Hey babe. My trip got extended another week. I won’t be back now until next Sunday. Hope you can still pick me up the airport. Love you. Talk to you later.

“That figures,” she muttered. “I’m sure glad someone’s career is going well.”

She stalked back to her bedroom to grab her socks and tennis shoes.

***

Twenty minutes later she was meandering down the cookies and chips aisle of her local supermarket and willing herself not to fill her cart with junk.

Grand circle of irony, she mused. Shouldn’t come to the grocery store when you’re hungry, but you can’t eat beforehand when there’s nothing at home to eat.

She sighed and picked up her pace, determined to outrun the high carb and sugar temptations all around her, and heaved another sigh once she’d successfully run that gauntlet.

Vegetables, Trix. Make a stir-fry, even though you’d kill for a potato chip right now.

Resolutely, she worked her way toward the produce section, and was stopped dead in her tracks.

At seven-twenty-two on a Tuesday night, high traffic in the aisles wasn’t the problem.

Nope. Not by a long shot.

The incredibly built, gorgeous man currently occupying space in front of the bagged salads was what had stopped her cold.

Trixie could feel her jaw hanging open as she stared at him. He was wearing shorts and a form-fitting muscle shirt, and even with his back to her she was plainly able to see his physique was cut, all the way down to tanned calves. Dark black hair grazed the collar of his blue top and looked so thick her fingers ached to run through it.

Then he turned around, and she barely managed to shut her mouth even as her pulse went into overdrive. Emerald green eyes glanced her direction, and a lopsided grin appeared, causing a deep dimple in the man’s right cheek to appear.

Oh, sweet Lord, Trixie thought, grateful the shopping cart was in front of her to hold on to when her knees went weak.

She’d just about regained her wits when the sculpted perfection in front of her– whom she dubbed ‘Super-Hot Guy’ in her mind - spoke.

“Sorry, am I in your way? There’s just… so many different kinds to choose from,” the vision admitted in a rich baritone, and Trixie blinked rapidly.

Say something, dork! her brain screamed at her.

“I know, right?” she managed after a lengthy pause. “I mean, it’s lettuce. How many choices do we really need?”

Super-Hot Guy’s smile deepened, causing an equally sexy dimple to materialize in his left cheek.

I can’t take much more of this…

He walked toward her, his every move graceful – like a jungle cat, she thought to herself – and said, “Exactly. I myself am good with regular old romaine.”

Trixie’s brain sputtered to a stop when she caught his scent.

Woodsy, with a hint of oh-my-God-he’s-gorgeous… Walk away, Trix. Anything you say right now will just sound stupid…

“Question is,” Super-Hot Guy murmured as he got closer, “what to put with the romaine to liven it up a bit?”

“Tomatoes,” she managed, and was immensely proud she’d remembered a vegetable that belonged in salad.

Oh, wait… isn’t a tomato technically fruit?

Shut up, brain!

“Avocado, purple onion. Maybe some yellow or orange bell pepper slices. Then…”

“Yes?” he leaned closer.

“If you want to live dangerously? Steak.”

“What kind?”

“I prefer filets, myself,” Trixie heard herself say. “A little pricey, but worth it. They’re so tender.”

Now he laughed, a rich, captivating sound that pierced to her core.

“Nice! Pretty much what I was considering when I walked in here. What about blue cheese?”

“Crumbles?” she asked, and he nodded.

“Classic choice, of course,” she answered. “And a vinaigrette dressing.”

“Of course,” he agreed, dangerously close now. “But that seems like a lot to buy to feed just one person; after all, they don’t sell single portions of avocado. So maybe we could have the salad together sometime.”

Her mouth went dry.

Wow, he’s gorgeous and clever…

“I… I’m flattered, mister….”

“Drew,” he offered. “And you are?”

“Trixie,” she answered before she could stop herself.

She took a deep breath and continued.

“Drew,” she echoed, “I really am flattered, but I can’t share salad with you. I don’t know you, and even if I did, I’m in a committed relationship, so…”

Her voice trailed off as she gazed into his eyes.

To his credit – and her sudden and unexpected regret – he nodded and stepped back immediately.

“That was kind of creepy of me, wasn’t it? I’m so sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” Super-Hot Drew said, sincerity in both his voice and his eyes. “I think you’re beautiful, and I didn’t see a ring, so…”

He thinks I’m beautiful? she thought, and barely resisted the impulse to look behind her to see whom he was speaking to.

Something on her face must have relayed her thoughts because he smiled again.

“You are, in fact, beautiful. Has no one ever told you that?”

She shrugged, unsure what to say.

“Well, you are,” he finished. “And if the guy you’re seeing hasn’t ever told you that, than he’s an idiot, plain and simple.”

She flushed scarlet and looked down at her cart.

“Anyway, I guess I’d better be going,” he said. “It was nice to meet you. Have a good night, Trixie.”

And with that, Super-Hot Drew walked back over to the bagged salads, made his selection, and continued on his way.

That was surreal, Trixie acknowledged as she stood there for a few minutes to regain her composure.

And suddenly she knew what she had to do; the craving had been set in motion and there was no escaping it.

She pushed her cart around the produce section to grab lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and bell peppers before heading to the meat counter to select the smallest filet mignon she could find. After that she located a package of blue cheese crumbles and a bottle of vinaigrette. Her last stop was the wine aisle to pick up a bottle of Moscato before moving to the checkout line.

Forty minutes later she was sitting on her couch, her plated salad in one hand, and a glass of wine in the other.

“I hope you’re enjoying your salad, wherever you are, Super-Hot Drew,” she said aloud, raising her glass in the air.

***

“You’re kidding me,” Meghan gushed the next morning as she set a mug of freshly brewed coffee on her kitchen table in front of Trixie.

“And you said no to Super-Hot Drew? Why?”

“Hell yes, I said no,” Trixie retorted as she added creamer to her mug. “First of all, I have no clue who he is. He could be an axe murderer for all I know. Besides, I’m with Grant.”

Meghan huffed.

“I have to tell you, girl, Grant creeps me out. I don’t like him, and I don’t trust him.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know, Trix. I can’t really put my finger on it,” Meghan admitted. “I just… don’t. Please, please be careful with him.”

“He’s a good guy, Meghan, and he loves me. I really think we have something special,” Trixie replied, not knowing how badly her defense of Grant would bite her squarely in the ass later.