I asked, "Is something wrong?"
He glanced toward my phone. "You've gotta ask?"
I tried to look on the bright side. "Yeah, well, it could always be worse."
When he made no reply, I lowered the phone and said, "But itdoesmake me wonder…were the two of you serious?"
He shook his head. "Not even close."
I was glad to hear it. Still, Iwascurious. "Didsheknow that?"
"She should've," he said. "Trust me. I never gave her reasons to think otherwise. But forget Imogen. We need to talk."
I tensed.That sounded ominous.
Bracing myself, I asked, "About what?"
"The next time trouble breaks out – and I don't care what it is – you're not gonna argue with me, okay?"
"But—"
"And," he continued, "I'm not gonna give in. So don't waste your time begging. It's not gonna work. Not again."
My face grew warm as I recalled that yes, Ihadactually begged for him to let me handle today's commotion. Still, I couldn’t quite regret it. After all, I'd only been doing my job.
"But why shouldyouhandle it," I said. "You're the one signing the books."
"Yeah? And you're the girl I love." He gave me a serious look. "So give it up – unless you want me to hire someone else."
My jaw dropped. "Are you seriously threatening to fire me?"
"If you're not more careful?" he said. "Hell yeah."
Talk about offensive.Working hard to keep my cool, I said, "I thought we were past all of that."
"Past what?"
"You threatening to send me packing."
"You can't have it both ways. You know that, right?"
"Just what are you getting at?"
"Ask yourself this," he said. "Would you have pulled that stunt if I was a regular boss?"
"A stunt?" I said. "What stunt?'
"Looking at me with those pretty eyes of yours and asking for something stupid."
"Stupid?" I sputtered. "Did youseriouslyjust call me that?"
"Not you," he clarified. "But your idea to handle it alone? Yeah, that was stupid." He shook his head. "And me? I was dumber for listening."
I muttered, "Well, at least we were both stupid."
When he made no reply, I said, "But I was doing it foryou."
From the look on his face, thiswasn'twelcome news. "That doesn't make it better."
