The Boss Project by Vi Keeland

“What’s Pete the Cat?”

“A cartoon.”

“Who needed forty dozen cookies?”

“A couple getting married who wanted to give everyone a small box with fresh-baked Italian flag cookies as a parting gift.”

“You make those things?”

I nodded. “I bake a lot. My grandmother owned a bakery when I was a little girl.”

“Milly did? I didn’t know that.”

“Yep. She sold it a year or two after my grandfather died. She said it wasn’t the same without him. But she still baked a lot, and it was something we did together every time I visited. I don’t remember ever walking into her house without it smelling like a fresh batch of cookies or a cake. I’m more of a mood baker than a regular baker, though. I don’t usually bake if things are just rolling along in my life. But if I’m happy or sad, I get a certain energy and need to keep myself busy, so I wind up in the kitchen. I also tend to snack when I’m nervous, so I suppose the baking and snacking go hand in hand. And…” I laughed. “I have no idea why I’m telling you all this.”

Merrick smiled. “I’m not even sure how this conversation started anymore.”

“Ah…” I raised a finger. “My sister wants your sperm.”

Merrick’s phone buzzed. “We might’ve needed this call as an interruption. God knows where this discussion would go next.”

He swiped to answer and brought the phone to his ear. “What’s up, Bree?”

Unlike the way he’d listened to my entire conversation, I couldn’t make out more than a word or two of his. Though the voice on the other end was definitely a woman. After a minute, he shook his head.

“Sorry. I won’t be around next week. I have a business trip.”

He listened again. This time, he looked over at me before he spoke. “That’s nice of you to offer, but I’m not home now either.”

Quiet.

“Probably not. I’ll be pretty late. But thank you anyway.”

He swiped his phone off and went silent. I just couldn’t help myself.

“You know, your phone is so low, I could only hear one side of the conversation.”

“That’s because I turned it down after you were able to hear my entire conversation with Kitty the other day.”

I shifted in my seat to face him. “So you’re not going to tell me who you just blew off?”

“How do you know I blew someone off if you didn’t hear the person on the other end?”

“A woman knows when she hears a blow off, whether it’s for her or someone else. It’s one of our innate talents.”

Merrick’s lip twitched. “Bree is my neighbor.”

“Is she super tall?”

“Yes, why?”

“I think I met her when I went upstairs to get your file earlier today. I’m pretty sure she insulted me, but I can’t be sure.”

Merrick smiled. “I don’t even know what she said, but I’m sure it was insulting. Bree’s not a big fan of women.”

“The entire gender?”

He shook his head. “She’s a model, and apparently it’s very competitive.”

“She’s a model—one who is very pretty with great legs. So why would you blow her off?”

“I don’t shit where I eat, Dr. Vaughn.” His eyes dropped to my lips for a fraction of a second. If I’d blinked, I would have missed it. He caught my gaze again. “Getting involved with a neighbor is almost as stupid as getting involved with a coworker.”

An odd disappointment hit me. “Oh… Yeah, that makes sense.”

When we turned the corner to my block, my sister was coming out the front door of her building with Buddy on a leash. I leaned forward to let the driver know which building it was, and we pulled up right next to where Greer and her dog were standing. I had a sneaking suspicion she was out here on purpose, waiting for me to pull up so she could take a look at the man sitting next to me since she’d told me she just took out her dog with the neighbor’s.

“Thank you very much for the ride home.”

Merrick nodded. “Of course.”

I grabbed the door handle, but Merrick stopped me. “Hang on. Don’t open that side. This is a busy road, and no one pays attention. I’ll let you out on this side.”

“Umm… You might want me to risk it.” I pointed to my sister, who was smiling like a loon. “That’s my sister, Greer, who wants your sperm. I’m not sure you want to get out.”

Merrick chuckled. “This should be interesting.” He climbed out of the car and offered his hand to me.

Greer’s eyes sparkled as she watched the scene. I had no choice but to make the introduction. “Uh, Merrick, this is my sister, Greer. Greer, meet my boss, Merrick Crawford.”

The two of them shook, and Greer looked Merrick up and down. “You’re tall.”

He smiled politely.

“What, about six two?”

“Exactly. Very good guess.”

She nodded. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve met your grandmother. She’s a hoot.”

“That she is, indeed.”

I could see the wheels spinning in my sister’s head. “How old is she now? She and our grandmother were born the same year. So that must make her close to eighty?”