Page 43 of Maid for My Billionaire Boss
That wasclearlya mistake because he was still dating Tonya.
I had gotten caught up in a silly fantasy.
I needed to find a way to forget about him.
The fastest way was to put distance the size of a job resignation between us.
Stealing a tissue from the box on his shelf, I swiped several times over each eye, then dropped it into his empty trash can, gathered Josiah, and left.
Twenty-Three
Trey
Iwouldn’tsayitwas nice to see Tonya again, but it did give me a weird closure I hadn’t realized I needed. We easily laughed with each other in a way we hadn’t done in the better part of a year, as we could finally speak openly about our downfall. We talked for hours about everything like we used to. I came away from our breakfast seeing we were parting as friends—and would always support each other—but we were clearly moving fast in opposite directions. She admitted she had already gone on a couple of dates, and it didn’t make me feel weird or jealous. If anything, it made me excited to think about . . . a possibility of dating.
Okay, the truth was, it made me think about Atalie.
I obviously didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by asking her out if I didn’t think she’d be willing, but she kissed me back. That meant something. I believed if I could spend some time with hernot at work, we could get past this weird stage. Since I could be slightly awkward with this stuff, I formulated a plan to ask her out. I was going to walk up to her and say, “I see you like to breathe, as do I.” If she laughed, I’d ask her if she wanted to breathe somewhere together over coffee. If she didn’t laugh, I’d be more strategic and ask, “How does one successfully ask you out?”
It was the perfect plan.
In my humble opinion.
With my T-shirt flung over my arm, I carried my giant stuffed Yoda into his new home, eager to stow him safely on a shelf in my office. I wasn’t materialistic, but my dad had given him to me and if my memory served me correctly, it was the final gift he had given me. He wasn’t a nerd like me. He didn’t understand the obsession with the series, but he had gone out of his way to have this stuffed animal—I mean action figure collector’s item—signed by Frank Oz for my thirteenth birthday.
Best gift ever.
I will eternally love Yoda.
It turned out he was too big for my shelf, so he got an upgrade to the chair in the corner. I smoothed his authentic-looking, threadbare shawl and fluffed up his scantily scattered hair so he’d look handsome and wise. My mind shifted to Josiah and how he was also a fan of the series. My lips spread into a huge grin when I thought of how excited Josiah would be to see a Yoda this cool. Yoda would definitely be allowed in our new man club. Turning on my heel, my eyes caught a piece of loose-leaf paper on my desk. I was a clutterphobe in every sense of the word and hadn’t left anything on my desk. I quickly snatched it up, taking in the thesis in one eye sweep.
Atalie quit.
Just like that.
Maybe she got a better offer?
I could make her an even better one.
I pulled out my phone, found her in my contacts, and pressed send. No answer. She was obviously avoiding me, but I had no idea why. Or maybe I did know why?
I kissed her.
It’s the only thing that changed.
I needed to talk to her. Even though my throat was closing in at the thought of speaking actual words to her right now, I had to apologize. I didn’t want to because I wasn’t sorry but if that is what it took to make her feel comfortable, I would because I was unwilling to accept a resignation.
A resignation meant I was losing her.
I went to throw the stupid letter in the trash, but when I held it above the trashcan, I noticed a single soiled tissue resting on the bottom.
I didn’t use a tissue.
Yoda didn’t use a tissue.
Atalie was the only other person in here.
Thatmeantthere was only one person who’d use a tissue in my office.
