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“Are you getting along okay with everyone in the office? You’re not here hiding from anyone, are you?”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Stop worrying, Vivian. Everyone is great. I’ve been getting along really well with everyone here—except you. We’ve been working together for two weeks now, and I feel like I barely know you. Tell me something about yourself.”
Vivian desperately tried to fortify her crumbling internal defenses. “We shouldn’t talk about personal matters during work time.”
“So come out with me,” Emma said at once. “Let me take you to dinner. We can talk all we want then.”
Was Emma asking her out on a date? It certainly seemed like it. The thought sent a warm shiver through Vivian’s spine. No one had ever asked her on a date before—she wasn’t exactly what you’d call approachable.
“I think that’s a bad idea. I’m your boss.”
“Oh yes, I forgot about the no dating rule. I’m not looking to date. Come out with me as friends?”
She was relentless, wasn’t she? Vivian might be annoyed if she didn’t find it so attractive. “I don’t form personal relationships at work.”
“Why not?”
No one had ever bothered to ask her that before. Vivian knew that she should be kicking Emma out of her office along with her tray of food, but she somehow found herself answering instead.
“It’s too messy. I’m not doing that to my business, or my employees. As CEO, I need to keep a clear head and not get involved in any interpersonal drama.”
“That’s a load of crap.”
Vivian blinked at Emma. “Excuse me?”
“So you’re scared of intimacy—I get it. You don’t want to get hurt. I disagree with the decision, but it’s your decision. Don’t try to pretend it’s a business decision, though. Plenty of CEOs have friends and do just fine.”
Vivian wanted to be angry with Emma for speaking to her like that, but she was too curious to be angry right now. Was Emma right? Was this more about Vivian’s personal fear of getting hurt than the business? If she was just using her business as an excuse to avoid making herself vulnerable, that would shatter Vivian’s entire worldview.
She repeated her own internal argument to Emma. “I’ve seen good businesses go down because their CEOs allowed their emotions to get in the way of running a business.”
Emma shrugged, unimpressed. “So don’t allow your emotions to get in the way, then. That doesn’t mean not having emotions. You’re a person, not a business robot, Vivian.”
Vivian couldn’t help but chuckle at the image. Business robot. Yeah, that’s kind of what she was.
“You know, you could get in huge trouble talking to your boss like this.”
“Not when she knows I’m right.”
“I do not!”
“Then why haven’t you kicked me out of your office yet?”
Vivian wished she knew the answer to that question. “I’m hungry, and you have food,” she defended, taking another bite of the muffin for emphasis.
“Well, at least we can put those vampire rumors to rest.”
“Emma! You said there were no rumors!”
Emma laughed. “Don’t worry, you’re okay there. But there are rumors about you—about your romantic past.”
“Don’t I know it,” Vivian muttered, ignoring Emma’s bright-eyed look of curiosity.
She should keep quiet. She shouldn’t give in to her desire to know more about Emma, but Emma was right there, so open and friendly, filling a void inside Vivian that she hadn’t even realized was there.
“How is Lily doing? Is she adjusting well?”
Emma’s face fell a little. “She’s struggling. It’s hard to make new friends when you’re the new kid and everyone else already knows each other. She’ll figure it out, though. We both will.”
