The Boss Project by Vi Keeland

“It’s sweet of you to offer. But I think it’s something I need to handle on my own.”

He nodded. “The offer wasn’t coming from an entirely sweet place. I’m a little territorial when it comes to you. But I understand.”

After we finished eating, I packed up the leftover food while Merrick got changed. Then we sat in the living room and watched TV for a while. Merrick had his feet propped up on the coffee table, and I lay down with my head on his lap.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you.” I turned on my side to look up at him. “I almost got caught coming up here. When I got in the elevator, I pushed your floor, but then Joan walked out of the office and joined me in the car.”

“Did she notice?”

“No. Because I panicked and hit all the buttons on the panel before she entered, so she couldn’t see what I’d pressed.”

Merrick chuckled. “That’s one way to handle it.”

“It was the best I could think of in the moment. But I think it worked. Oh, and she saw you coming out of my office earlier, so I told her you’d stopped in to let me know you wanted to start therapy yourself.”

“I’m starting therapy?”

“I felt like she was looking for a reason you were in my office, now that you’re not my boss anymore. I pulled that out of my ass. Then I had to walk to my train and wait until the coast was clear before coming back up. Let me tell you, I was a nervous wreck until I made it safely up here.”

Merrick stroked my hair. “You know I don’t want to hide you forever.”

Those damn butterflies in my belly went crazy once again. Merrick was not a man who spoke first and thought about his words later. So the fact that he’d used the word forever hit me hard. The signs were all there that I meant something to him, but I hadn’t let myself believe it yet.

“Maybe we could tell Joan soon,” I said. “That way I’m not lying to my boss. But I do think we should keep our relationship quiet when it comes to the employees, at least while I’m working to establish trust and let them get to know me.”

Merrick leaned over and brushed his lips with mine. “That sounds like a good compromise.”

I rested my head back in his lap and stared at the goldfish on the table, watching them swim before rolling on my back to look up at Merrick again. “Thank you for moving the goldfish.”

He smiled. “My apartment might be big, but I thought it was important to show you there was room for you.”



• • •



The next morning, I dragged Merrick out on a Saturday shopping trip to get things for my new apartment. I was going to get the keys on Monday, and I needed to get a bed before I could move in, so that was first on my list.

“What do you think of this one?” I lay back on a plush-top mattress and made Merrick do the same.

“I’m not sure. How about you get up on all fours so I can see if I’m gonna like it.”

I pulled the pillow out from behind my head and whacked him in the face with it, laughing. “I’m serious. A good night’s sleep is as important to your health as eating right and exercising. What bed do you have? Yours is really comfy.”

Merrick shrugged. “No idea.”

My nose scrunched up. “Oh.”

Merrick looked over and his forehead creased before a look of understanding crossed his face. “It’s not because another woman picked it out, if that’s what you’re thinking. Well, one did. But she was an interior designer. I hired someone to pick out everything I needed when I moved in.”

“She chose your mattress too? What if you didn’t like it?”

He shrugged. “I’d get a different one, I guess. She picked out everything. I basically just showed up one day and moved in.”

“Did you give her direction, like colors and stuff?”

Merrick shook his head. “Nope.” He looked around the mattress showroom. There were two salespeople, both currently helping other customers. Then he rolled on top of me and started jumping around, making the bed move up and down.

“Oh my God,” I laughed. “Stop it.”

He jumped a few more times before planting a chaste kiss on my lips. “This one will work. Let’s get it.”

After the mattress store, I dragged him to HomeGoods. For a man who didn’t even want to pick things for his own apartment, he was incredibly patient. My cart was soon full of bedding, candles, housewares, and even a stuffed pig, which I couldn’t resist buying for my soon-to-be niece or nephew. The checkout line was twenty deep when we joined the end of it. A little girl sat in the seat part of the cart in front of us. She had braces on her legs, and she pointed to the pig in my cart.

I smiled. “Aren’t you adorable?”

Merrick had been scanning messages on his cell, but he looked up at the little girl. He seemed to squint like she looked familiar, but I didn’t think anything of it, and he resumed scrolling on his phone.

“Puh! Puh! Puh!” she yelled, pointing to the pig again.

Her father turned around to see what his daughter was getting excited about. He smiled at the little girl and spoke as he simultaneously began to sign. “That’s right. Puh for Pinky, your pig.” The man looked at me. “She’s deaf and just started working with a facial-prompt therapist to learn sounds. She has a pet guinea pig named Pinky, and all stuffed animals are him lately.” Reaching into his cart, he pulled out a small stuffed frog. The little girl reached for it, making a Puh sound again. “I already got suckered into buying one today.”