like, ‘I think you’re amazing,’ and he gives me an uncomfortable punch on the shoulder and calls me ‘dude.’”
“Shit,” Wendy said. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. Unless we’re fucking or just finished fucking,” Alice said flatly. “He’s a lot more vocal about what he likes about me then.”
“You can spare me the details on that. But you should tell him how you feel, Alice. No good relationship grows without honesty. And not telling him about what makes you mad isn’t honest.” Wendy cleared her throat with a sigh. “I’m gonna go take some more meds and a hot shower. Sorry about lunch. Good luck with your new boy toy. Don’t keep him a secret too much longer, or I’ll think he’s got a tail or something.”
Alice burst into laughter. “Maybe that’s why I like him so much.”
“You would,” Wendy answered and hung up.
With her lunch plans canceled, Alice grudgingly ate the snacks she’d packed instead of going out for pasta and meatballs, which is what she’d been craving. Her resentment fled, though, when Mick’s name popped up on her IM list. If she’d been out of the office, she’d have missed him.
Hey,
she typed.
Fancy meeting you here.
No answer. With a sigh, Alice shook her finger at the computer screen. “Pay attention to your messages, McManus!”
Of course that didn’t do any good. He’d probably popped online for a second and then left his office again to do something else. Her job as administrative assistant to the head of human resources for Snazzy Nailz nail polish chained her to her chair for most of the day, but most of Mick’s time was spent onsite or in meetings about those onsite visits. Still, seeing the green dot beside his name was like a grain of sand in an oyster … only there was no pearl, Alice thought a half hour later when she’d finished her meager lunch and he was still online but hadn’t replied.
Ugh.
Busying herself with work, she managed to get through a number of assignments that had been put on the back burner for one reason or another. Stomach growling, she gave in and decided to hit the employee cafeteria. The food there was slightly better than fast-food takeout, which would’ve been her second option. After a quick sandwich and a salad, she was back at her desk … to find a message from Mick.
Hey, hot stuff. Heading out to a job in York.
Hey, you there?
USER MCMANUS HAS GONE OFFLINE
“Dammit,” Alice muttered as she slid into her chair. Not only had she missed him, but York was only twenty minutes from her office. He never came this close to where she worked, though Jay sometimes had.
She looked at the clock. The messages had come in fifteen minutes ago, which meant he was probably still driving. A quick glance at her workload showed her where she could rearrange things. She called him, heart already skipping a beat at the thought of getting to talk to him midday on a Wednesday. Thumping harder at the idea that if she could finagle things just right, she might even get to see him.
When the call went to voice mail, Alice said, “Hey, it’s me. I got your IM, but I wasn’t at my desk. Sorry I missed you. When you get to York, if you have a chance, can you give me a call? I could come meet you for a late lunch or something. You’re so close.”
She hesitated, then added, “I miss you. Would love to see you today. Bye.”
She worked for another hour or so. No call from Mick. She thought about sending him a text, but this close to the end of the month she was in danger of going over her texting allotment, and she’d learned her lesson last month about how expensive that could be. She should bump it up another thousand messages, she thought randomly as she forced herself to focus on work and not her silent cell phone. But she already had a phone plan for five hundred a month, who the hell would ever need to use that many texts?
By the end of the day, any hope she’d had that he was going to call her from the site had fled. When
“Shit,” Wendy said. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. Unless we’re fucking or just finished fucking,” Alice said flatly. “He’s a lot more vocal about what he likes about me then.”
“You can spare me the details on that. But you should tell him how you feel, Alice. No good relationship grows without honesty. And not telling him about what makes you mad isn’t honest.” Wendy cleared her throat with a sigh. “I’m gonna go take some more meds and a hot shower. Sorry about lunch. Good luck with your new boy toy. Don’t keep him a secret too much longer, or I’ll think he’s got a tail or something.”
Alice burst into laughter. “Maybe that’s why I like him so much.”
“You would,” Wendy answered and hung up.
With her lunch plans canceled, Alice grudgingly ate the snacks she’d packed instead of going out for pasta and meatballs, which is what she’d been craving. Her resentment fled, though, when Mick’s name popped up on her IM list. If she’d been out of the office, she’d have missed him.
Hey,
she typed.
Fancy meeting you here.
No answer. With a sigh, Alice shook her finger at the computer screen. “Pay attention to your messages, McManus!”
Of course that didn’t do any good. He’d probably popped online for a second and then left his office again to do something else. Her job as administrative assistant to the head of human resources for Snazzy Nailz nail polish chained her to her chair for most of the day, but most of Mick’s time was spent onsite or in meetings about those onsite visits. Still, seeing the green dot beside his name was like a grain of sand in an oyster … only there was no pearl, Alice thought a half hour later when she’d finished her meager lunch and he was still online but hadn’t replied.
Ugh.
Busying herself with work, she managed to get through a number of assignments that had been put on the back burner for one reason or another. Stomach growling, she gave in and decided to hit the employee cafeteria. The food there was slightly better than fast-food takeout, which would’ve been her second option. After a quick sandwich and a salad, she was back at her desk … to find a message from Mick.
Hey, hot stuff. Heading out to a job in York.
Hey, you there?
USER MCMANUS HAS GONE OFFLINE
“Dammit,” Alice muttered as she slid into her chair. Not only had she missed him, but York was only twenty minutes from her office. He never came this close to where she worked, though Jay sometimes had.
She looked at the clock. The messages had come in fifteen minutes ago, which meant he was probably still driving. A quick glance at her workload showed her where she could rearrange things. She called him, heart already skipping a beat at the thought of getting to talk to him midday on a Wednesday. Thumping harder at the idea that if she could finagle things just right, she might even get to see him.
When the call went to voice mail, Alice said, “Hey, it’s me. I got your IM, but I wasn’t at my desk. Sorry I missed you. When you get to York, if you have a chance, can you give me a call? I could come meet you for a late lunch or something. You’re so close.”
She hesitated, then added, “I miss you. Would love to see you today. Bye.”
She worked for another hour or so. No call from Mick. She thought about sending him a text, but this close to the end of the month she was in danger of going over her texting allotment, and she’d learned her lesson last month about how expensive that could be. She should bump it up another thousand messages, she thought randomly as she forced herself to focus on work and not her silent cell phone. But she already had a phone plan for five hundred a month, who the hell would ever need to use that many texts?
By the end of the day, any hope she’d had that he was going to call her from the site had fled. When
Similar Books
