Fuck, the mouth on this raven.
When she puts it like that, I抣l admit, it does sound pretty bad. I want to tell the pastry witch she抯 wrong, but my brain seizes, tripping over the way she抯 called me out.
揑 called you in here to offer an olive branch, Miss Poe. Not to burn this place down,?I warn darkly.
揙h, okay.?She pauses, rolling those eyes like jade marbles. 揑 have a better idea.?
揥hat??
揑 quit. Effective immediately.?
Before I can even breathe, she抯 out of her seat, heading for the door.
I抦 up like lightning, flying past her and blocking the door.
換uit? You can抰 just棓
Her look says try me. 揟his just isn抰 worth it, Burns. I wanted to make this work, but it was wishful thinking, and wishes don抰 come true.?
揘inety days,?I snap off, my mouth moving faster than my brain.
揌uh??
揘inety goddamned days,?I repeat, pinching the bridge of my nose before I look at her again. 揑f you make it until then, I抣l quadruple your performance bonus. And based on what you turned in this morning, keep that up, and I抦 sure you抣l make at least an extra hundred thousand. Not from the company coffers, but my own.?
There抯 a long, terrible pause before she huffs out a breath.
揂gain, you抮e trying to buy me. How cute.?
I inhale sharply. 揘evermore, I抦 trying to make you comfortable the only way I know how. I抦 offering you a choice.?
She tilts her head with a sarcastic smirk.
揈ven you can抰 sneer at six figures for a few months of work. If you抮e out the door after that, I won抰 stop you,?I say, shaking my head. 揑 want you here. Working on my wedding line. Not wasting another minute bickering over frigging sweets.?
揘inety days,?she repeats to herself, her brows pulling together thoughtfully.
I wait, trying not to make it obvious I抦 holding my breath.
I抦 not sure when the fuck I started to care this much, or why.
She抯 a stranger and a royal pain in the ass. Letting her go before she抯 even started shouldn抰 feel like losing something critical.
揥ell??I prompt, scuffing my shoe against the floor. 揥e don抰 have all day, lady.?
揑 suppose a quick payoff like that might be fair compensation for putting up with your rudeness.?
I blink. 揗y rudeness??
Does she hear herself? I抦 offering to pay her from my own pockets for the privilege of retaining her services梐nd she抯 calling me fucking rude?
揟hat抯 right. And to help make sure it won抰 be a problem, I抣l make the Sweeter Grind run every morning and grab your stupid coffee and your stupid Regis roll. And I抣l do it on my bicycle. In the event there抯 only one Regis roll when I arrive, I抣l generously give it up to you.?
Not what I expected her to say.
Not at all.
I fucking despise how it抯 a sane offer梡robably a better one than I deserve梐nd I wonder why.
Is it because she抣l give me three months? Even when she clearly hates my guts more than ever?
揂m I such a tyrant you can抰 stand sharing a car for twenty minutes??I ask.
She hesitates.
Not good.
揅an I be honest??she asks softly, looking up with her long lashes fluttering.
What the hell? She抯 been holding back?
揂re you ever not honest, Miss Poe??
揥hen I saw you in the interview, I almost turned around and walked right out. Staying here isn抰 an easy decision. But I don抰 want to give you the satisfaction桰 couldn抰。？
Her sheer disgust rips through me like an arrow.
揑 took the job for the pay梐nd I抣l give it ninety days for the same reason?but that doesn抰 mean I have any desire to be friends,?she says, deepening the wound. 揟aking a car together every morning punishes me for something I didn抰 do. So I抣l pick up your coffee, but let抯 limit our interactions to the office, okay??
揑抦 trying to make amends,?I say slowly. 揥e抣l be working very closely together and棓
揧eah. Right there. It抯 the 慶losely?part that抯 the problem. We both love our jobs, right? At least, I want to love mine…？
I nod. What抯 she getting at now?
揋ood. Then that should be enough. In fact, that is enough.?
揥hat do you mean??I rake a hand through my hair, fully regretting this stupid peace summit.
揥e can coexist as professionals and leave it at that. Frankly, I抳e never been great friends with anyone I ever worked with anyway and always kept my distance.?For a second, she glances away, as if she抯 revealed too much. Then she continues. 揝o. How about I write some awesome copy and send it to you for approval or revision? I can check in at team meetings and take notes, or you can mark the document, and I抣l correct it. If we just talk business and do our jobs, there抯 no reason to even worry about being frenemies or whatever…？
揊renemies??I echo.
She gives me this fake plastered-on smile I want to yank right off her face.
What the hell would it take to make her smile for real? I must be sick in the head for wondering when I did a pretty damn good job of making sure I抣l never see it.
Not that it matters.
揇akota, this organization is a team. If I can抰 get along with my own right hand棓
揢m, Lucy抯 your right hand, isn抰 she? And you two have a great vibe. I抦 just a copywriter.?
揧ou抮e a highly specialized copywriter assigned to a flagship product line who reports directly to me. You are an appendage like my own hand. Care to guess how many other writers fit that criteria??
揘ot really. Since you keep mentioning your right hand, though, I抎 see somebody if it抯 giving you grief. That must be pretty awkward when you use it to梟ever mind.?
揋o to hell, Nevermore,?I snarl. 揑 wanted to set things straight, not continue sniping at each other like middle schoolers.?
She barely holds back a snicker.
揂nd yet aren抰 you the one who started the silly nicknames??
My brow furrows. She makes it painfully hard to ignore her fuckery.
揗iss Poe, you don抰 understand. If the rest of the team sees us at each other抯 throats, office morale crashes and棓
揟hey won抰，？she clips, slowly walking to the other side of the room. 揑 promise you my work will get done so efficiently no one will ever question it. I won抰 even let anyone know about our little agreement, or the fact that I think you抮e certifiable棓
揇o you always tell your boss who抯 just given you a huge bonus that he抯 a nutjob on your first day??I raise my brows in challenge.
揘o. But then again, I抳e never had a boss who ruined my breakfast before I started working for him, either.?
I wish I could just be honest.
If she knew about Wyatt, she抎 know I抦 not a lunatic chasing his next sugar high and maybe show some remorse for her bullshit.
揥e don抰 know each other very well, but I trust you抣l find I never do anything without a damn good reason.?
She crosses her arms. 揧ou mean you had a good reason to harass me and buy out every cinnamon roll in the shop the next time you saw me? Were you feeding half the city??
No. Just the office, plus one brutally obstinate man.
My brain grinds like it抯 rusted shut. Yeah, buying all the rolls for revenge might have been petty.
I could apologize.
Obviously, I could, but then where would that leave me with this green-eyed pixie who glares up at me like she抯 smelling blood in the water?
I stare back as something resembling a vacant smile turns up my lips.
揑 offered you a roll at the interview, and I had a good reason for needing them that day.?
She raises a brow. 揕et抯 hear it.?