Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Lyla

W eirdly enough, the words he's said hurt. I've never, not once in the time we worked together, did I think we should date. But those words hurt. Maybe it's because everyone needs to be wanted, and it's been a long time since I've had a person want me. At least in person.

Bossman on that app does. We matched, and we haven't looked back. But that isn’t real life. He's not going to keep me warm at night. He won't be someone I can call when I need help. Hell, I don't even know what he looks like. We've never exchanged pictures.

Who knew a blizzard would make me question everything I've got going on right now?

"Are you okay?" Lincoln asks. "I didn't mean to offend you. You have to know you're beautiful and smart. Anyone would be lucky to be with you."

These words bring tears to my eyes. As long as it's been since someone has seen me as attractive, it's been the same amount of time that someone has given me a compliment. For the past year, I've dealt with a lot on my own, and I've never given thought to how much I've actually needed the past twelve months. I've missed out on everything that most people take for granted, and I'm realizing at this moment how much I need it all. "Thanks, Lincoln, I appreciate it."

"I don't say it to blow smoke up your ass. I mean it."

I nod, not able to say anything. When we get to the office and walk in, I finally understand what he means about how small it feels and looks with the cot in there. It's tiny as fuck.

"See what I mean?" He says as we enter.

The only way there's enough room for both of us is because he plasters himself up against the wall. "I'm getting it."

Going to his desk, he picks up a remote and points it at the TV. With the flick of a button, it comes on, and then the local news comes across the screen.

"Sugar Creek is under a Blizzard Warning. It's extending through tonight into tomorrow. Looks like we'll be going straight through to Friday evening, and once the snow stops, that doesn't mean we're out of the woods. Temperatures are extremely low. With the windchill they are in the single digits."

We look at one another. The enormity of the situation coming down upon us. "We might be stuck here for a few days, Lincoln."

"Yeah." He rubs his eyes. "Luckily, I keep a change of clothes here."

I don't, and that sucks. "Who knew it would be a good idea to pack panties in your car?" I quip, giving him a grin.

The smirk on his face reminds me of the man I worked for last year. "Believe it or not, you have clothes here from last year."

"Do I?" I'm trying to dig back into my memory bank, wondering why I would have clothes here.

"Not long before you quit, you worked a catering job for me. You didn't have to, but you did. When you came in, I asked you to change..."

I laugh loudly, thinking back to the argument we'd had. "That pissed me off so much that you made me dress up in a suit. We fought like we hadn't fought in a long time." I play with a thread between my two fingers. "To be honest, that was the first time I thought about going on my own. It's when I started making my plans."

He tilts his head to the side. "What about that made you want to quit working for me? I mean, I knew you were mad, you left your clothes here and then a month later you walked out."

I've thought about it a lot since I left. "It's so stupid, now that I think about it."

"Whatever you were feeling is valid. I learned that in the last year. What came between our working relationship was my unwillingness to listen to you. I wish I had realized that earlier, and not been so dead set in my ways."

Pressing my lips into a firm line, I answer his earlier question. "I was pissed because you weren't willing to put the outfit on and help us. In a perfect world, I truly believed that a boss should help their employees, and from where I was standing, you didn't want to do that."

"It's not that I didn't want to..."

I hold my hand up. "I'm not done yet. I failed to understand there was so much going on in the background. Until I got out on my own, I didn't understand what kind of pressure you had on your time."

"That's correct. There isn't anything I'm not willing to do in order to help the business and my employees, but there was so much happening then. I was wrapping up the purchase of the bakery, trying to keep everything going while I was closing. We were switching over accounts, and I had to make sure we were stocked for the Christmas season. There were a lot of pressures on me I never told anyone about. In the back of my mind, I didn't think I could share what was happening with anyone." He stops for a second and rubs at the back of his neck. "I was struggling with what I was supposed to be doing as a manager, a Bossman."

The word he says - Bossman - it gives me a spark in my stomach. One of recognition and disbelief. "Do you call yourself Bossman a lot?" I ask, not sure if he's going to be honest or not.

His face reddens. "Sometimes. It's one of the easier things to remember."

My intuition has been wrong before, but there's a nagging at the back of my mind. Something that I know can't be the truth. I need to know. "What would you say if I told you my plan today was to make snowman cookies and reindeer cupcakes?"

Realization dawns on him. "Your Decorator Babe?"

"And you're Bossman."

"Holy. Fuck." He looks at me as if he's seeing me for the first time, and I think I'm seeing him for the first time, too.

"There were parts of what you said that made me wonder if I knew who Bossman was." I inhale deeply, slowly letting the breath out.

"I had no idea who you were," he scratches at the hair that's started growing in as the day continues.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," I say deadpan, cutting my eyes over at him. "You've never been the most observant. How does it make you feel to know I'm the person you've been talking to for the better part of four months?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. There are a lot of emotions flowing through my body right now, and I'm not even sure what's up or down. It's going to take me a while..."

"Me too," I insist.

The air between us is charged, like it used to be, but this time I'm not sure what it's charged with. Is it with annoyance because I'm the one he's been talking to, or is it because we're both realizing how close we've gotten?

Whatever it is, we're going to have to figure it out before we leave Sugar and Spice, whenever that may be.