Sincerely, Up Yours: A Grumpy Boss Romantic Comedy, page 7
Maybe you could argue all the things Dominic did to be a pain in my ass were just him being on top of his job as our boss. But things had been just fine with Jasmine in charge and she’d simply trusted us to get our work done. Maybe I should’ve appreciated Dominic clearing out freeloaders who weren’t putting in as much effort as the rest of us, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel grateful towards him for anything–unless he decided to walk off a bridge or jump out a window, that is.
I rolled my neck out and looked at my screen. I’d been grinding on this piece since Monday and the weekend was only hours away. I knew Dominic expected every assignment to be completed by the end of the week, and I really didn’t want to give him an excuse to get on my ass. I’d barely had to interact with him since Eloise’s art gallery at d’Orsay. Going to his office and begging for more time might put me back on his radar.
With begging off the table, that meant I was staying late tonight.
Closing time rolled around and my co-workers started gathering their things. Elizabeth stopped by to wish me luck. Farhad gave me a nod and a thumbs up on his way out. Pollie flashed a smile and a wave. Within a few minutes, the office had almost entirely cleared out except for one or two of Dominic’s new hires who looked like they were intent on finishing something before they left. That was a sign of how much things had changed. There were now people in my office every day I just thought of as “the new hires”. I didn’t even remember their names, yet.
I got myself a coffee and sat back down to work. I’d done all the research I needed for my piece on a popular multi-level-marketing company that was starting to crack at the seams. The piece was a little outside my normal zone of focus, but Dominic was always pushing for that crossover between entertainment and information. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had a motto about it stitched into his underwear. And I should not be thinking about my boss’ underwear.
I shook my head, physically trying to get rid of the image I’d cooked up of Dominic looming over me in nothing but tight fitting gray briefs. In my mind, he was so rippled with muscle that a beginner rock climber could’ve scaled his body from one ab to the next.
When I looked around, I realized the last of the new hires had headed home for the night. I was officially alone on the floor. I could see the vague shape of Tristan moving around in Marcus’ office and I knew Dominic was still in his office as well, but none of my colleagues were still around.
Marcus and Tristan still popped in the office from time to time, but they worked off-site and sometimes went whole days without showing up at our location. The two of them hardly interacted with staff. They mostly worked directly with each other and sometimes with Dominic, but I got the sense most of their business didn’t involve us or him.
I focused back on my task. I hadn’t expected to care so much about this story, but my mom got sucked into a multi-level marketing scheme a few years back. She’d been convinced by a friend that it was the new wave of working from home. She thought she could make thousands per week just like the top sellers did. In the end, she ended up with a garage full of poorly made leggings she couldn’t sell. It cost her a job and her savings. She never said as much, but I worried it also cost her most of her self-respect. My mom always saw herself as the kind of person who didn’t fall for scams, but she didn’t realize the company she joined was nothing more than a pyramid scheme.
So, yeah. I felt like I had a bone to pick with the whole business model, and this new one seemed more predatory than usual. I’d spent most of the week researching and gathering information. I’d even gone farther than I normally do and contacted a few people for interviews. It was exhilarating, to be honest. I felt like I was actually working on something important, and I didn’t want to screw it up.
Every time I opened the document to work, I felt my perfectionism kicking in and stopping me from making progress. I knew it needed to get done, but I wanted to do it justice.
I was rubbing my temples when Dominic stopped by my desk. I hadn’t even noticed him leave his office.
“Stuck?” he asked simply.
I licked my lips, then looked up. He seemed even more insanely tall when I was sitting. As if he could sense my thoughts, he leaned one butt cheek on my desk, folding his arms and bending his neck to look at my screen.
“A little,” I admitted.
“How long are you planning to stay?”
“As long as it takes. It has to be finished by the end of the week. Those are the rules, right?”
He didn’t respond right away. Dominic had on a silky gray vest over his black button down today. A scarlet tie was tucked underneath. His dark hair was pushed back and he looked so painfully good it almost hurt to meet his eyes. I never knew I was into vests, but something about the way that vest hugged his broad chest and made his big arms seem even more impressive as they shot out from the sleeves was just… Mmm.
“Do you need more time?” he asked.
“No,” I said. “Because if I tell you I need more time, then you get to say I’m not hacking it and it’ll be part of why you fire me.”
He looked frustrated–or maybe he’d eaten something that didn’t agree with him. Dominic let out a long breath through his nose. “You can have until next Friday. But take any longer than that, and your ass is mine.” He had started to walk away, but he froze, as if replaying his last words. “Poor choice of words,” he added in a near whisper. Then he went back to his office and closed the door.
A brief but very vivid mental image of Dominic taking my ass in both of his hands invaded my thoughts. My core tensed and my body went warm. Goosebumps prickled up and down my thighs and arms.
“Get it together, Darcy,” I said, blinking hard and trying to think about something innocent, like bunnies hopping through fields of flowers.
Had Dominic Lockwood just shown me mercy? What the hell was going on? I pinched my arm to make sure I hadn’t passed out at my desk and dreamed this. It hurt, and I was still right there in the same spot.
Once what he’d just said sank in, I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me. Excitement rolled through immediately after. I had a whole week to make this story what I hoped it could be. A week to get it perfect. I was so happy I could’ve kissed him. No, wrong thought. I was so happy I could’ve got up and danced?
With a sigh, I gave my screen another look. It was blurry and I had trouble focusing. I could keep bashing my head against the piece tonight and probably end up deleting everything I wrote tomorrow, or I could go home and get some rest. I had dinner with my parents on Sunday, but other than that, my weekend was wide open. I’d work on this every chance I got and maybe even get it finished before Friday.
I started gathering my things, but my purse caught on my chair as I stood and half my stuff spilled on the floor. I got on my knees, bending over as I scooped everything up and shoved it back in the bottomless black hole that was my purse. I saw things in that mess I hadn’t seen in what felt like years. For about the hundredth time, I lied to myself and said I’d clean my purse later.
When I got up from my knees, something made me look over my shoulder. I saw Dominic standing at his window, staring straight at me–straight at where I’d just been pointing my ass in his direction.
Jesus Christ.
Feeling awkward, I waved. He ignored my wave and walked back to his desk while I rushed to the elevator.
I tried my best to mutter angrily about how creepy him staring at me was as I waited for the doors to close. But I knew the truth. Being stared at like that was only creepy when I didn’t want to jump the guy’s bones. Knowing Dominic was lusting after me just made every nerve in my body light up like a freaking Christmas tree.
I pressed my thighs together, feeling uncomfortably turned on. I really wished I could just be annoyed with him. He was my boss, after all. A boss shouldn’t be leering at his employee’s ass. But then an employee probably shouldn’t be having regular dirty dreams about playing hide the sausage with her boss, either.
In a completely unrelated string of thoughts, I decided maybe I should invite Dominic to dinner Sunday.
12
DOMINIC
Her text came through on my watch while I was doing my morning run. Breathing heavy, I read the words and found myself smiling before I could stop it.
Darcy: Dinner with my parents tonight at 6. Be there. My dad’s sort of famous steaks and a romantic back patio for dessert.
I tapped the thumbs up button and continued running. I found myself pushing harder lately during my workouts. I’d nearly torn something in my shoulder last week and now I was running through an ache in my knee. I just couldn’t seem to push it hard enough to fully clear her from my mind. No matter how much I lifted or how fast I ran, Darcy was right fucking there.
I was gasping for air and clutching my knees when I finished. Sweat dripped from my chin in a steady drumbeat.
I was supposed to meet Marcus and Tristan for basketball in thirty minutes. I’d let the run go much longer than planned, but I also didn’t want to pass up basketball. The only time I ever seemed to be able to shut my brain off from work or Darcy seemed to be when I was physically past my limit. At first, it had worked. But these last few days it wasn’t enough anymore.
Images of Darcy bent over picking up her things in the office or the way she’d smiled when I offered to give her another week for her piece would pop into my brain. I grabbed a towel from my gym bag and wiped away some of my sweat as I headed for the courts.
Marcus and Tristan had already started warming up by the time I got there. We snagged a few guys from nearby and played our asses off until I was too tired to keep track of time. With the run and then the game, I finally got to a point of exhaustion where everything went black. I played and didn’t even remember if we won or how it went. I only knew I was tired as fuck and it felt good.
For a while, I’d been numb and wasn’t questioning everything I thought I knew about myself.
Marcus and Tristan sat with me on the bleachers to cool off after the game. Little touches of Winter were already starting to creep into Spring. With the sun dipping behind a sheet of clouds, I felt like I could’ve sat there all day enjoying the feeling of the sweat evaporating and cooling my skin.
“That was some shit,” Tristan said.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Marcus agreed.
“What was?” I asked.
“You,” Tristan said. “You played like a fucking God today. I’ve never seen you so in the zone.”
“Yeah, normally you’re pretty shit. But I was happy to pass you the ball every chance I got. What was that?”
I shrugged. I really didn’t remember more than a few bits and pieces. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”
“Like Darcy McClain?” Marcus asked.
I stiffened. So far, neither of them had called me on it, but I knew this was coming. They saw me that night at the bar when I knocked the asshole off his stool for making her uncomfortable. They probably had also noticed the way I avoided her when I was so busy riding everybody else’s ass at work.
“What about her?” I asked.
Marcus and Tristan shared a look and then a grin.
“You want to fuck her,” Tristan said with a simple shrug. “So what’s stopping you?”
“You know what’s stopping me.”
“You’re not your dad,” Marcus said.
“You’re right. I’m not. And it’s because I don’t act on every fucking impulse that comes my way. It starts with one choice. That’s how you sacrifice your integrity. One choice. His was a different circumstance and it wasn’t over a woman, but it was that first choice.”
Tristan looked skeptical. “What, you mean that thing with the bribes?”
Tristan was incredible at what he did, but the man had the emotional and social awareness of a rock.
“Yes, dumbass,” I said.
“So what?” Tristan asked. “He bribed some senator and got out of some kind of shit, right? Everybody with money does stuff like that.”
“Dominic doesn’t want to be that way,” Marcus said. His voice was soft enough that I knew he at least understood this was important to me. “And good for him.” He clapped me on the back, grinning. “But I’ve always thought the thing about employers not dating employees was overblown. I mean, so what? If you both want it, then what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is I’m her boss. There’s a power imbalance there. Who’s to say she wouldn’t be dating me to fish for a promotion? And what happens if we break up? How am I supposed to stay unbiased about her employment status if I’m pissed at her for something that happened in our personal lives.”
Marcus pursed his lips. “Yeah, I guess so. But are you unbiased right now? From where I’m sitting, Darcy is getting special treatment already. If you are attracted to someone enough, it’s not going to matter whether you act on it. You’re still going to treat them differently. So why not have a little fun while you’re fucking things up, right?”
“I fucked a girl I worked with at a taco shop once,” Tristan noted. “It was fine. But she did start expecting me to close every night so we could hook up in the walk-in. Our boss thought we were going above and beyond so he actually promoted us both. So, in my experience, fucking employees and co-workers is a great idea.”
“Insightful,” I said with a sigh. “Fuck. I don’t even know what I’d want from her if there were no complicating factors. This is pointless.”
“I think you’d have to be blind to not see what you want,” Marcus said.
“Pussy,” Tristan agreed, nodding wisely.
I shook my head. “So what? I should just fuck her and see what happens?”
“He’s finally getting it,” Tristan said.
“All I’m saying is you are giving yourself a terminal case of blue balls,” Marcus said. “Keep this up much longer and you’ll be carrying those things around in a wheelbarrow, and nobody wants to see that. Actually, that Elizabeth girl with the blue hair might. She seems like a bit of a freak.”
“She doesn’t seem so bad,” Tristan said with a shrug. “I like the hair.”
“So I should pick up some random woman from a bar and fuck her. Is that your point?”
“It’s on the table,” Marcus said. “Or it could be on your desk. Maybe invite her to the office and just close your eyes. Pretend it’s Darcy you’re fucking and get it out of your system.”
“I don’t want to fuck some random woman,” I growled.
“Aw,” Tristan said. “He just wants to fuck Darcy. How sweet. I think it might be love.”
“I need to go get cleaned up.” I stood suddenly, snatching up my gym bag.
“Hot date?” Marcus asked.
I clenched my jaw and decided it would be wisest not to admit I needed to get cleaned up for dinner with Darcy’s parents, followed by a “romantic interview for dessert”.
“None of your goddamn business,” I said, storming off.
13
DARCY
My leg bounced and I chewed the nail on my index finger. Mom was going on about some show she was into–apparently it was nearing the finale and she wasn’t sure if her favorite contestant was going to make it. I sat on the couch I’d spent so much time reading on as a kid, halfway listening while my thoughts bounced around.
My parents had a McMansion in a suburb a little over an hour outside the city. The only time I used the old beater my dad insisted I keep was when I came to see them. There was a little known, secret parking spot I kept it in. I’d briefly worked in a building with an underground garage that had far more parking than needed for the building. So nobody ever checked permits on the cars there, and so far I’d been able to avoid the major hassle of having a car in Manhattan as long as I was willing to take the train all the way to the garage to pick my car up. Still, one of these days, I knew that old car was going to break down on me. Thankfully, it hadn’t this trip.
The lawns were manicured, the houses all looked like they were cut from the same mold, and just about every house was close enough together you could’ve stuck a hand out your window and given the neighbors a high-five. I still remembered moving here when I was seven. Dad had just sold a big story to The New Yorker and he was convinced the money was going to start rolling in.
Of course, that had been the last big story. After that, it was all financial talk and stress and worry. Mom and dad had to take on jobs as realtors to scrape by, but they were always underwater with the mortgage on this place. Still, dad didn’t want to admit he’d gone in over his head and risk embarrassing himself in front of the neighbors and his friends, so they just kept struggling.
I knew it was stupid pride on their part, but I still felt bad for my parents. It was one reason I’d always had a secret dream of making it big somewhere so I could buy them out of their mortgage and let them finally relax. I knew all my dad cared about was bragging rights, though. He wanted me to land a prestigious position at an “important” magazine or journal somewhere. Then, he could brag to his circle of friends from when he’d been involved in the world of academia and feel like he’d somehow been redeemed.
“...and he’s just gorgeous,” Mom was saying. “But I don’t think he’ll make it. He really hasn’t clicked with anyone else, especially not Jenny, and she’s definitely gathering allies to get him out of there.”
I realized my eyes had probably been glazed over, so I refocused my attention on mom and nodded, smiling. “Sounds intense,” I said.
She nodded back with big eyes. “That’s an understatement.” My mom had me when she was young. She was in her late forties with an out-of-date poof of brown curly hair she meticulously kept styled and large. In her twenties, she’d been a semi professional tennis player, but a chronic shoulder injury ended her career and landed her on the couch. There were no signs around the house about her former life and I knew better than to ever bring it up. Tennis had been her biggest passion and dream, but it was taken away from her. Now she lived through other people on her shows, I guessed.
