Rude Boss 2 (DePaul & Company, Book 2) by Tina Martin

Author:Tina Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: womens fiction, workplace, alpha male, workplace boss, grumpy boss
Publisher: Tina Martin

Chapter 11

Quintessa

I had all day Sunday to think about this situation and I’m still in disbelief. I can’t believe Essex is actually Stewart. The dramatic change of appearance has me stumped. His body is out of this world amazing – so far from when we were in high school. Either way, I never cared about his size – he was amazing to me.

I remember when he and his family first moved to Florida – he wouldn’t talk to me – didn’t talk to anyone until I helped him pick up his books off the floor. I remember seeing him in the cafeteria. He didn’t have anywhere to sit. I waved him over to my table. It was the first time he smiled at me.

And we hit it off.

He seamlessly fit in with my circle of friends and they welcomed him because they saw how much I liked him. Why did I like him so much? Because he had a calm demeanor like my father. He was kind. Considerate. He was what most boys weren’t back then and I naturally gravitated toward him. As I recall, he was always obsessed about his weight – said he was teased constantly at his old school back in Detroit and his parents had to move. They were trying to save him from being bullied. Those stupid kids weren’t fully aware of what they were doing to another person by poking fun at him constantly. They did quite the number on Stewart. I’m sure that’s why, as an adult, he decided to change his appearance and get in shape. He wanted to become someone else because the old version of him wasn’t accepted. He had to transform – reinvent himself. It’s a decision he made for himself – to better himself. I can’t be mad at that. I’m more upset about the pretense. I feel like he’s made a fool of me.

That’s why I didn’t want to show up at the office when Monday rolled around, but I came anyway. I can’t quit on my team because of this. Besides, I was off most of last week.

When I arrive at my desk, there’s a vase of red roses waiting with a little card attached. My stomach flutters. I know who they’re from.

Zahara says, “Oooh, let me find out Tez done got herself a man.”

“Those are gorgeous,” Greta says. “Whoever he is, he ain’t cheap.”

“Who are they from, Tez?” Zahara inquires.

“Y’all leave Tez alone,” Mauve says, retying the shoestring on her boots while smacking on gum early this morning. “She has a right to keep her lovers under wraps.”

“Lovers, Mauve?” I clarify. What would make her go there?

After blowing a large bubble and popping it, she peels it off her lips and shoves it back in her mouth, then says, “Hey, I don’t judge.”

“Yeah, stop being nosy, Zahara,” Jake adds.

“I was just asking,” Zahara responds.

“Well, I’d rather not say who they’re from, but they’re not from a lover,” I answer. I pull the card, open it, and written in some fancy cursive are the words, I’m sorry.

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