揗aybe.?
He smiles at me deliciously.
Right. If only he weren抰 a deranged, cinnamon-roll-obsessed lunatic, and also, you know, my boss.
His gaze falls to my hands. 揥ith no ring on your finger, I have to ask. How do you know so much about the wedding industry??
There it is.
My biggest shame, tossed into the spotlight for a roomful of people.
Taking a deep breath as the room blurs around me, I glance around, wishing I could disappear. But I manage to swallow the cotton ball in my throat, gather my wits, and glare at him. 揟he same way you handle this company without direct experience in everything. Google is a miracle worker.?
Cheryl抯 eyes flick from me to the boss and back. She visibly stiffens.
揂re you okay, Dakota??
I don抰 answer.
揈xcuse me.?
I just grab my notepad in a rush and flee the room, but not before I hear Cheryl behind me. 揚oor dear. No woman her age likes to be reminded she抯 still single.?
That抯 not true.
Plenty of women thrive on being unmarried. I抦 just not one of them.
Maybe once I was meant to be a wife, but those days ended in a million tears on a small-town day baking under the sun, along with my desiccated heart.
She抯 trying to stick up for me, I get it, to paper over what a weirdo I am for fleeing, but it just makes this worse.
Oh, and of course I feel the bosshole抯 searing gaze trailing me as I close the door on my way out.
I need to be alone.
I need to shut myself somewhere dark and lonely and ugly cry. I抎 rather not do it in a crowded conference room full of people who抣l have a harder time respecting me now even without an open meltdown.
I fling my stuff down on my desk and make a mad dash to the bathroom.
After splashing cold water over my face and fixing my hair, I text Eliza. Maybe you were right. I抦 not sure I can handle this.
Eliza: What happened?
I抦 blotting at my eyes and tapping at my phone with one hand. The bosshole. He asked me how I know so much about weddings when I don抰 have a ring.
Eliza: Oh, God. Ouch. How do you even work for that guy? Did you kick him in the balls yet?
I smile and shake my head at that last part.
He may have it coming, but for once, this isn抰 totally his fault.
I don抰 know and no, I send back.
Why not? You抮e a Poe and last I checked, Poes don抰 take any crap. They lure people into dingy wine dungeons and brick them up. She adds a devil emoji at the end.
Leave it to Eliza to make me laugh.
A Poe writes about horrible things, but it抯 fiction, I send. Also, workplace assault probably won抰 help me get another job.
Eliza: True. You can always work with me at the coffee shop.
No, I really can抰。
People annoy me like nobody抯 business.
I think I抎 rather paint my place with a toothpick over working retail with customers, with complaints, with an awful need to smile.
Ugh.
Sighing, I send her what抯 really a wish. Don抰 worry. If I blow this, I抣l figure something out.
Eliza: When do you get home? I抣l brew up a Madagascar vanilla coffee just for you.
Dakota: A steaming hot cup of vanilla bliss sounds perfect right now.
Eliza: Come home early. Don抰 drag yourself through the rest of the day.
I wince, wishing I could before I add, I have to power through it, Eliza. I don抰 have a choice when it抯 still my job. For now. Catch you later.
I open the door to the restroom and scan the hall to make sure there抯 no one around.
The coast looks clear, so I go to the break room and make a quick cup of tea, trying to clear my head.
The pain may be new, but this situation isn抰。
Lincoln Burns is a nosy, rude, bad-tempered grumphead. I won抰 dignify that by adding dangerously handsome.
But I knew that before I took this job, didn抰 I?
Certainly before I agreed to his ninety-day proposal from hell. And I抦 not ready to fly the white flag when I still have over eighty days to go.
I抣l get through this.
I have to, if only for my own pride.
If I made it out of a church with a hundred and forty-two people inside before I broke down over the biggest humiliation of my life, I can smile about this, too.
I can put in a few months earning big-girl pay and segue to another position.
Then I can forget all about this cinnamon-snorting psycho and the apocalyptic feelings he抯 too good at stirring up.
6
A Midnight Dreary （Lincoln）
揙kay, I think we抮e off to a fantabulous start. Class dismissed,?Anna says with a wide smile, calling the meeting to an end with a sharp clap of her hands.
I stand, watching my staff file past with the usual mix of wary respect or affable nods. When you抮e in my position, you appreciate both.
I wait until the last person files past before I start moving.
揗r. Burns??Anna calls. 揅an you stick around for a minute??
Shit.
I抳e been around long enough to know nothing good ever comes from a subordinate asking for my time, even if she抯 my hardworking and loyal marketing head.
Anna waits a few more seconds until she抯 sure we抮e alone.
The look she gives me says you fucked up before the words are out of her mouth.
揝omething on your mind, Miss Patel??I urge.
揥ell, please don抰 take this personally but…Dakota Poe is very talented. She hasn抰 been here long, but I think she has that missing ingredient in creative we抳e needed for a long time.?
I nod slowly.
Get to the point. I never doubted Miss Poe抯 talents.
揂nd? You say that like it抯 a problem,?I say, folding my arms.
揑 just…well, I hope she doesn抰 quit,?Anna tells me point-blank.
I抦 taken aback, even if I don抰 show it.
換uit? Why would she? She just got here, and considering her previous position and pay, I抦 sure she抯 happy we抳e given the stray a new home.?
揟he pay, sure, but that抯 not what I抦 worried about.?Anna hesitates until I clear my throat impatiently, urging her to spit it out. 揃oss, I think you upset her. You got sort of personal back there. And if you抮e going to do it, does it have to be in front of everyone she works with??
揑 said nothing wrong,?I snarl back defiantly, looking away and then back at her again. 揇id I??
揗r. Burns. I mean this as nicely as possible but… Would you be okay if a superior asked how you were fit to oversee a wedding line? Because you抮e pretty single yourself, last I checked. I mean, you抮e spearheading the entire line, and in fairness, the same question could be asked of you.?
I抦 single for good fucking reason, I almost growl back.
揑 wouldn抰 mind answering it,?I bite off.
Not true.
I抎 very much mind revisiting an engagement that went down in flames.
My heart bristles like it抯 crawling with hornets, a lying face flashing in my mind I抳e tried like hell to forget.
Goddamn. Is that what I just did to Miss Poe? Pulled bad memories to the surface?
Perhaps Anna Patel has a point.
揘ot everyone has your bluntness. Especially when it comes to marriage,?she says softly.
Damn. As much as I want to swipe away her concerns, a small, distant part of me screams she抯 right.
From the way Nevermore hightailed it out of here, I may have thrown sea salt in an open wound.
揑 didn抰 mean anything by it. I was simply curious,?I say.
Anna doesn抰 say anything, but she holds my gaze with a disapproving glint in her dark eyes.
揗aybe so, but it struck a nerve. And Miss Poe doesn抰 seem like the sensitive type.?