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So the production studio is sending a crew out to Starlight Falls to film the interview at the bar. As the date ticks closer, I’m just desperate to keep my mind off of it all.
As I’m working, I feel bad vibes on me. When I look up, I find Suzy shooting me the stink eye from where she’s rolling the silverware into paper napkins at the other end of the counter.
That girl.
She really is a miserable, raggedy person. She’s constantly firing vitriol my way for no particular reason. But I’ve become pretty good at ignoring her.
Whenever Nolan grumbles about firing her for being catty to me, I rush to her defense. After all, she’s okay at her job—on the days when she actually shows up—and the last thing we need around here is having to worry about hiring and training new servers.
Still, a petty part of me takes an unreasonable amount of pleasure from knowing that Nolan would fire that bitch in a heartbeat if I asked him to.
Luckily for her, I use my powers for good. Not for evil.
But she’d better not take my kindness for weakness.
Anyway, now I find that my mind is on the subject of Nolan. I realize that I haven’t seen him in a little while. I’d bet he’s somewhere around here with his clipboard, making checklists and counting the inventory.
A smile comes to my face and my brain is automatically searching for an excuse to go off, looking for him. Cocktail stirrers. Yeah. We’re out of cocktail stirrers. I need to go talk to him about that. Right now.
I give my hands a quick rinse, fluff up my hair and head off to look for my sexy boss. I don’t find him in the kitchen, or in his office, or in the storage room. But I do notice that the emergency exit at the back is now wedged half-open with a garbage bin. So I wander in that direction.
I squeeze through the doorway and step out into the balmy afternoon. “Hey Nolan, can you remember to order cocktail stirrers on your nex—?”
My words die on my tongue when I spot him in the parking lot, crouched down beside a shiny blue SUV. He doesn’t notice me approaching because he’s completely focused on whatever it is he’s doing.
When I get closer, I realize that he’s applying a decal to the back window of the vehicle. It says, ‘Princess on-board. Back the heck off!’
“You finally got a new car!” I exclaim, playfully slapping him on the shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Glancing over his back, he grins widely. “I got two of them, actually.” He rises to his feet and nods to where an identical vehicle is parked a few spaces down. It’s got the same sticker affixed to the back.
“Nice, Boss Man.” I stroll over to brush my fingertips over the smooth paint. Ooh—so shiny and new! And so pretty. “Two for one special at the car dealership?” I tease him with a giggle.
“Something like that, I guess. I spoke to a financial advisor the other day and he was spewing some mumbo jumbo about tax benefits for employee cars. Leasing versus buying or something like that. I wasn’t really listening.”
“Employee cars?” I spin to face him.
He digs his hand into the back pocket of his jeans, producing a key fob. “Some of my employees have been walking their sexy butts all around town in this humidity. I figured it would benefit the company if our workers aren’t passing out from heat stroke on the sidewalks of Starlight Falls.” He extends his arm, dropping the key into my palm.
My heart starts to pound now as I blink at him. I’m trying to make sense of what’s happening here.
“Go ahead. Check it out.” He jerks his chin in the direction of the second SUV, barely restraining a smirk.
When I don’t move, Nolan comes up behind me and, hands on my shoulders, he pushes me in the direction of the vehicle. He opens the door and nudges me into the driver’s seat.
My palms go sweaty as my fingers curl around the steering wheel. I look around. Oh my god. This is so nice. Sleek black and gray interior. High-tech dashboard. And that unmistakable new car smell.
“You’re giving me a…a new car…?” I whisper, my voice quivering as I peek up at Nolan who’s leaning in through the open window.
An uncomfortable look comes over his face, almost like embarrassment. “I’m not giving you a new car. It’s a company car. For tax benefits,” he emphasizes.
I refrain from rolling my eyes as I climb out of the vehicle. God—I want to feel special. Would he at least allow me that?
“Right. A company car. For tax benefits.” I stand toe-to-toe with him. “So you won’t mind if I let Joe drive it? Or if I pass the keys to Suzy now and then?”
He moves so fast I feel a breeze as he snatches the keys back from my hand. “You wouldn’t dare let that woman drive this car.”
I toss my head back, cackling. “So, as I said, you’re giving me a company car.”
