My Boss’s Secret by Taryn Quinn

Ten

And that washow I ended up on a flight back from Fiji to the US wearing a pair of Dolce and Gabbana fuzzy slippers, an eye-searing bikini, and a flowing printed coverup with one spiked Cinderella heel in my beach bag.

I also had my carry-on full of electronic equipment, my toiletries, and a few souvenirs for my friends I’d hastily crammed in the other day, along with some extra pairs of underwear, socks, and a spare nightshirt.

Oh, and my teensy-tiny vibrator.

Hey, if I wasn’t going to have a romance with an actual man on vacation, I’d intended to be able to at least have it with myself.

What I did not have? Any of my actual clothes other than my new bikini and coverup. Any of the clothes my still unnamed mystery man—also known as the bye guy, oh yeah, there was relationship material—had bought me. My huge wrapped present that I’d never even gotten a look at because he’d asked me not to peek and I’d obliged him, not knowing I’d run away like a coward and never see it at all.

God, I was a fool.

I should’ve stayed. So what if my boss was his best friend? That wouldn’t be awkward if we stopped seeing each other.

Definitely not.

I moaned and rolled onto my side in my airplane seat, belatedly catching an aghast expression from my seatmate.

“I’m not sick,” I said hurriedly. “Just having romantic trouble, I swear.”

The older gentleman fussily moved closer to the window and watched me out of the corner of his eye.

Fabulous.

It was a miracle I’d even managed to switch my flight to this one in the first place. And I didn’t even know where I was going once I got to the airport.

My home was available, of course, but I couldn’t go home alone right now. I’d texted my grandmother to let her know I was okay, that I’d just needed to head home immediately, and oh, could she maybe grab the rest of my belongings from my suite and not ask any questions?

Please.

Then I’d wished her a great time island-hopping with Roger and told her to keep me updated and sent a prayer to the travel gods that she wasn’t canoodling with a mass murderer before I turned off my phone.

I couldn’t bear a conversation now. I didn’t have an explanation for my behavior. I was just a throbbing ball of stress, guilt, confusion, and woe.

And my sunburn freaking hurt. I was the only one who could get burned in like fifteen minutes.

Many, many hours and two connecting flights later, I got an Uber from the Syracuse airport back to Kensington Square. It was late, and I was jet-lagged and didn’t know which way was up, so I stumbled into my apartment and checked on Kit-Kat, who promptly turned her back on me and started to wash. My neighbor had come by twice a day every day to feed her and give her fresh water and clean the litterbox, but you would’ve thought I’d thrown her to the werewolves from the green death glare she sent my way.

That didn’t stop her from waiting outside the bathroom door while I took a quick cool shower to get rid of the travel grime. After, I pulled on my rattiest pair of flannel PJs. They had clouds on them and were nearly threadbare from wear. I crawled into my bed and nearly wept when my cat curled up beside me on the pillow. She was still watching me judgmentally, but she gave in and rested her head against mine.

I’d never needed the show of solidarity more.

I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. When I woke, it was Saturday afternoon New York time, and I had to pee with the fire of a thousand suns.

Kit-Kat watched me take care of business from her station on the sink. I knew what she wanted, and it wasn’t to be close to me.

“Gimme a second, cat, okay? I’m hungry too.”

She finally gave me that second once I’d filled her dish with her wet food twice. A delicate face wash later, she swished off to sleep in her favorite patch of sun under the window.

And I curled up on the couch and stared at my silent, turned off phone.

I shouldn’t have left. With each hour, I knew that with more certainty. It had been a cowardly act, more fitting of the me I’d been after Jeremy had dumped me. I’d grown some since then. My self-esteem was still questionable, but I thought I’d made some progress.

Apparently, I could let a devilishly attractive stranger finger me in front of a mirror while I helped, but I didn’t know how to have an adult conversation about wants and needs.

I’d been so sure nothing could work between us for a million reasons. Distance had definitely been one of them. What were the odds he could live near Kensington Square? Not good. And I hated to fly. I’d loaded up on Dramamine before my flight home from Fiji, and I’d still white-knuckled it most of the time.

I still didn’t know where he lived, but he probably wasn’t based all that far from here, considering that whole commercial thing. And Preston.

His best friend. God. Would that ever stop flooring me? I didn’t think so.

They were so different, at least on the surface. Both driven men, at least from what I could tell. Wealthy, powerful, well-educated. Miles above my associate degree and commensurate pay scale. Someday I might go for that paralegal certificate, but that was still firmly in the maybe realm. I hadn’t reached for that brass ring. Even the silver.

My mystery man was a bright, shiny gold, and I didn’t want to eventually be his tarnish.

My shoulders shook and I bowed my head to get myself together. I couldn’t sit here alone and second-guess myself forever. I needed someone to help me out of this self-created spiral.

I needed my best friends.

I tried Ryan’s home phone and got voicemail. Didn’t that just figure? I hung up without leaving a message and debated calling her cell, since she rarely turned it off. But right now, Ryan was one degree away from my boss, even if I’d been the idiot who put her there.

At the time, it had seemed so reasonable. I was only going away for a week.

How could the span of a week—even less—change so much? Me especially. Even my apartment didn’t feel like mine. It was as if I’d been dropped down into the place of a stranger.

I belonged on a white sandy beach with a man with changeable eyes the color of the sea before a storm.

Swallowing hard, I called Luna’s cell. The call went to her voicemail too.

Not shocking. It was the weekend and my friends had active social lives. They didn’t spend their free time watching D-I-Y YouTube crafting videos to create seasonal displays with popsicle sticks, hot glue, floral stems, and colorful gourds. Or studying new sewing patterns.

I sniffled as I studied the arrangement I’d made a few weeks ago for my coffee table. Whatever. It was cute. Besides, it wasn’t as if I had a trust fund or a divorce attorney’s largesse. Or both in the case of my boss. I had to make do with what I had.

He was a decent boss. I wouldn’t have worked for him for a year and a half otherwise. But I wanted him to stay firmly in the realm of my superior. That was one of the reasons I’d asked Ryan to fill in for me at work. There was no way in hell she’d ever spend one second more with Preston than she had to.

Lines not blurred. Mission accomplished.

I curled up on the sofa and clutched a throw pillow to my chest. I was still sleepy. A nap might help my mood, although I hadn’t done much since I’d woken up.

Or maybe I should go for a walk. I popped back up again. I had that harness thingy in the closet for Kit-Kat. I’d never actually put it on her, but she might want to enjoy the late summer day too. She liked to watch the sparrows and the squirrels out the window from the lofty height of her kitty condo, right? This would be even better. We’d both get some sunshine and some exercise and fresh air.

Half an hour later, my hands were covered with Band-Aids, Kit-Kat was sulking under the bed, and my desire to enjoy the great outdoors had been extinguished.

So, I’d just slather aloe on my sunburned skin with the fingers not bandaged while I listened to Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were” and wallowed.

Luna texted me a while later when I was spooning up boxed macaroni and cheese and watching old “Friends” reruns.

Bish, u home? What’s with u calling & leaving no voicemail?

I dumped a handful of crushed goldfish crackers into my mac and cheese.

Are u not answering me now? That’s ok. I’ll just come over.

Hastily, I grabbed my phone with cheesy crumb-laden fingers. The mess made me grumble, but I did not want company. At all.

I’m busy. Sorry I bothered you. Chat soon.

My phone buzzed. I sighed, answering on the second ring. “Hi, Lu.”

“What happened with the couples’ massage? Did they slip accidentally on purpose into the no-no places?”

I laughed loudly enough to spew crackers. My own fault for eating before I picked up the phone to Luna. It was always dangerous to talk to her with a full mouth—including texts. She was apt to say just about anything.

“No. It was fine.”

“Just fine?”

“Well, I mean, it wasn’t, like, sexual.”

“Not sexual?”

“Stop repeating me. It was hot seeing my guy naked while he was getting a massage, yeah, but the women weren’t hot. Which was good since I wouldn’t have wanted some Pamela Anderson Baywatch babe oiling him up.”

“Girl, you need to update your pop culture references. Welcome to 2021. Next time, say someone like Dua Lipa or Megan Fox.”

“Dua who?”

She sighed. “I was hoping you’d get off. Loosen up a little.”

“I’m loosened. I’m so loosened that I practically passed out more than once from extreme loosening.” And with that, I promptly burst into tears.

“Uh-oh. Not good. Not good! Goldilocks, you’re gonna have to scram.” The sounds of a ruckus came over the line, filled with plenty of giggles interspersed with a much deeper voice that indicated Goldilocks probably had a penis. At least I assumed.

What a week this had been for all of us. Unless Luna’s “friend” had been around longer than that. You could never be sure with her. She acted as if she was an open book, but she definitely had some pages glued together not for public consumption at the back.

“You don’t have to send him away.” I tried to swallow my tears when she returned to the line. “I don’t want to be a cockblock. I’m totally fine. I have HBO Max and food and my cat, who is around here somewhere even if I can’t hold her right now because of earlier.”

“Earlier?”

“Ever tried to walk a cat?”

“Goddess, no.”

“Good. Don’t.” I couldn’t help shuddering.

“Okay, obviously that’s a conversation for later. You said you have food. You went shopping?”

“Not since I’ve been back, no.” I sniffled. “I emptied my refrigerator before the trip because of spoilage concerns, but I have another blue box.”

“If that’s code for some kind of drugs, I don’t know it. And spoilage concerns sounds so very April.”

I cried harder.

“All right, hang tight. I’m coming and I’ll grab a pizza on the way. Once I’m there, we’ll grab an Instacart order and spend the night watching trash movies in our living room blanket fort. Sound good?”

“Yes. Thanks, Lu. Can you grab Ry on the way too?”

“Ry’s…unavailable right now. She’s fine,” she added hurriedly. “She’s on a spiritual quest.”

“Huh?”

“She fell onto some dick and it got her all mixed up.”

I knew the feeling. But God, it was so good—until it all went bad.

I frowned. “Wait, what dick?”

Luna rushed ahead. “On top of that, Rainbow is in town. Or she was. They’re off in the RV exploring together.”

I rubbed my forehead. “I have a feeling somehow I won’t like this story.”

Lu’s sigh was long-suffering. “Yoda, you are correct. I’ll be there soon, babe.”

Grabbing a throw off the back of the sofa, I gave in to the desire for sloth and set my half-empty bowl on the floor—I never did that, since I was a member of the “no dirty dish shall touch my sink club”—and rolled myself into a burrito. It was a warm day, but I was still chilly due to the AC and my cracked heart.

The last one I was just assuming was to blame for my broken temperature gauge. It definitely had increased my appetite. I wasn’t one to eat tons of junk food, but I had a feeling I would be tonight.

So much for fitting in that bikini. Oh, well. It wasn’t as if I’d be cavorting on any other beaches soon.

Lu showed up with her double cheese and pepperoni pizza in hand an hour later. She took one look at me, set the pizza on the kitchen counter, and drew me into a huge hug.

“You’re burned.” She drew back and tapped my nose before dragging her enormous bag off her shoulder. “I brought supplies, so don’t worry, I’ll fix you right up.”

“Stuff from Luna Falls?”

“Of course. You know I get my goods from the best witches.” She winked, her blond space-buns bouncing.

She looked adorably chic as always in pink denim overalls, a bright yellow T-shirt, and colorful high-top Keds.

And a bright red hickey just under her ear.

“So, who’s Goldilocks?”

“Hmm?” She was still rooting through her big bag, tossing items on the counter with impunity. Balms, candles, tarot decks. Essential oil sprays, a random stick of incense, a velvet pouch I knew contained crystals.

And strawberry-flavored lube.

Rather than commenting on that particular item, I picked up a tin of lavender salve and lifted the lid to sniff. I swiped my finger through the mixture and leaned over to rub it under her ear, making her jump.

“Hickey,” I said by way of explanation.

She flushed from her throat to her hairline. So not like Luna. She didn’t embarrass easily, unlike me.

“Oh, that. Thanks.” She snatched the salve and did the honors herself. “I hope you got some of those too, by the way.”

I didn’t reply. I actually had some on my breasts, not an area I intended to reveal anytime soon.

“If you did, this stuff works wonders.”

“Do you have any that makes them stay forever?” I asked miserably, sliding a hip onto a stool at my counter.

Luna stopped rubbing her skin and frowned, capping her tin. “That good? Or that bad?”

“It was good. Amazing. I didn’t want to ever get out of bed.”

“Sounds promising. So why the hell are you back here, looking like someone stole your cat?” Luna glanced around. “Where is she, anyway?”

“Still hiding. She’ll be happy to see Aunt Luna.”

“I’ll go find her for snuggles in a few.” She clambered up onto a stool with far more difficulty than I had since she was half a foot shorter. “Okay, grab the plates and some wine. Time to spill.”

“Technically, I just ate dinner.”

“Are you satisfied?”

What a weighty question.

Since no, I definitely was not, I got the plates. The bottomless hole inside me felt like it would never be filled. Jamming it full of gooey, cheesy pizza was as good a start as any.

“Where’s Grams?” she asked as we dug into the still-hot slices.

“I abandoned her.”

Luna choked and grabbed for her goblet of wine. She waved me off when I started to come around the island, then set down her drink and took a bracing breath. “Metaphorically?”

“No, literally. I ran off to have sex with a stranger, didn’t come back, texted her sporadically, then planned to see her off before she went island-jumping with a serial killer, but instead, I ran off again, except this time I didn’t stop until I was home.”

Luna blinked her large baby blue eyes at me. “You must be tired.”

“Huh?

“That’s a really long way to run.”

I let out a laugh, shocked I still could. “A plane or two was involved.”

“Start at the beginning.”

I told her all of it up to the point right before my big escape. From the dress to him appearing at my hotel room to carrying me over the threshold of his bure and the Cinderella shoes and all that came afterward. Leaving out a few dozen, um, intimate details.

“Damn, girl, even in an overview, that sounds like a lot of sex.”

I bit my lip. “It does, doesn’t it?” I shut my eyes. “Did I mention that he made me come back-to-back more than once?”

“Back to back? Sounds like you didn’t stop. I would hate you right now if my own plum hadn’t been thoroughly plundered earlier today.”

“Yeah, tell me about Hickey Man.”

“That’s a lovely nickname. Goes so well with Goldilocks and Teach, my other choices. But nice try, Finley.” She finished off her slice and piled three more onto her plate while my eyes widened. “We’re still talking about you.”

I sighed. “Lu, he lives here.”

Luna threw down her napkin. “Here? Like here here, in Kensington Square?”

“I don’t know exactly.” I jerked a shoulder. “Maybe in New York State, maybe Jersey, but God, I overheard him talking with Grams and found out he’s a damn divorce attorney who does commercials as the Bye Guy, and he’s besties with Preston.”

“Preston?!” Her screech threatened to break the sound barrier. “Oh my God, you’re going to be double dating with him and—” She stopped and shoved half a slice of pizza in her mouth. “Sorry, starving,” she said, chewing loudly.

I narrowed my eyes. “You never eat this much.”

“Told you I’m hungry,” she said between overly large bites, making me think she didn’t want to have to answer questions. I knew the feeling. “Okay, backtrack. Bye guy? Commercials? You missed a step or five.”

I pushed aside my plate and braced my elbows on the counter to drag my hands through my normally quite boring hair. I’d slept on it wet and hadn’t bothered brushing it today, so it was not my usual look. “I don’t even know, except I freaked out at the idea this guy who was supposed to be a stranger and just a fling could be my damn neighbor, and I didn’t even know it. Preston being his best friend jammed all my circuits and I couldn’t think. How can I sleep with a guy who is close to my boss?”

“Uh, quite easily. Not like you’re sleeping with your boss, Apes. I mean, people do that too,” she added hastily. “Whether a temporary boss or otherwise…” She coughed into her hand. “Anyway, don’t make molehills into volcanoes.”

I straightened and crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re being weird.”

“Am I?” Her expression was pure angelic innocence as she peeled off a pepperoni slice and popped it into her mouth.

“You are and you know it. Is Hickey Man your boss? Even your temporary boss?”

She giggled, bending over at the waist. “He works in a Catholic school, teaching little kids. How could he be my boss? Unless, hmm, I was his teaching assistant.” She sat back up and tapped her chin. “Do they have those in elementary schools? No matter, would be hot to roleplay. You can only do that doctor and nurse thing so many times.”

“I was gone a week,” I said under my breath. “Only a week. It feels like I’ve been gone a lifetime. Has anything else monumental gone on while I was away?”

Lu hummed under her breath. “So, how about those Yankees?”

I tipped back my head to stare at the ceiling. “I feel like I’m missing something big, but gotta say, I can’t handle anything else right now. Between having the most amazing couple days of my life and fleeing from my sexy stranger and my grandmother, who may even now be international news since I never got to meet her new lover, I can’t deal.”

“I kinda gathered that. We’ll just table anything else for a bit and watch some movies and rub sweet smelling balms on each other. You know, the sort of sleepover that would make our dudes sure we’re secretly lesbians. Or at least hope we are.” She leaned forward and clasped her hands near her mouth. “Just one rather specific question.”

“Okay.”

“What kind of thrusting power are we talking here?”

“Turbo jet,” I said immediately. “My eyes rolled back until I saw Jesus.”

She nodded serenely. “Just as I suspected.”