Sneak Peek

SNEAK PEEK OF

SNOWED IN WITH MY GRUMPY BOSS

I'm the boss nobody likes—even my kid thinks I'm grumpy!

Anna has been my right hand since my wife died.

I couldn't run my business without her, and she has a special bond with my son, Tommy.

And then I mess up.

Because of me, her boyfriend dumped her the day he was going to propose.

I never noticed her until I spilled my coffee.

My heart pounds as she dabs at the coffee on my shirt.

Her skin is silky smooth, and the tip of her nose pops up like a little ski jump.

A strand of hair falls into her face; I brush it behind her ear before I can stop myself.

My son and I need a vacation, so we head to an isolated cabin.

But I forgot Tommy's inhaler.

Here comes Anna to the rescue again, only to get snowed in with us.

It's then we see each other in a different light, and sparks fly.

But can she forgive me for EVERYTHING I've done?

Click here now to get Snowed In With My Grumpy Boss!

CHAPTER ONE

Anna

I have got to get another job. I've put in 70 hours this week alone, and I still have work to get done before I can go home. I thought working at an up-and-coming commercial real estate firm would be an exciting and good experience. I was wrong about both. It's awful. My boss is awful. The job is awful. Everything is just awful.

At least I have the weekend with Rick to look forward to. He's been so patient with all these extra hours I've been putting in–although I think his patience is running out. He doesn't think I even need this job. Sure, he makes plenty of money for both of us, but I want my own career. He doesn't get that. I was hoping that once I got promoted, he'd understand. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only person on earth who can stand Wesley Jacobs. On top of that, somehow, I've become the only person he can trust to do anything, which means I have to do everything for him. Meaning I'll never get promoted.

There are plenty of things I don't mind doing for him. For example, if I have to do a coffee run for him, I treat myself (on his credit card) to a fancy coffee. When I have to drop off his dry cleaning, I drop mine off, too. When I have to get his car serviced—I have to sit in the waiting room like everyone else, fielding calls and texts from Wesley asking when I will be back. So that one isn't fun.

I get to hang out with his adorable, smart, charming, funny little boy. I've grown very close with Tommy over the last five years. I love it when Mary, Tommy's nanny, drops him off at the office. Then my job becomes ‘entertain Tommy'! He's much easier to manage than his father–and much more fun!

Tommy lost his mom just before his second birthday. Sadly, he doesn't have any memories of her. After she passed away, Wesley buried himself in work and forbade everyone from talking about her. One afternoon, I returned from a coffee run to find Wesley screaming at poor Judy because she passed a resume along to him, and the candidate's name was the same as his wife"s: Heather. So, another important aspect of my job is smoothing things over with colleagues after Wesley loses his temper.

BZZZZ BZZZZZ. I look down at my phone to see a text from my gorgeous boyfriend:

Hey, babe. I'm at the bar. They won't seat us until we're both here. Are you close? I'll order you a drink.

Babe? Where are you? If you aren't here in 10 minutes, they're giving our table away.

Oh NOOOO! How is it already 8:00!?

I was supposed to meet Rick for dinner at The Avenue, a hot new restaurant he's been dying to try. We made this reservation months ago. I can't believe I forgot. I'll never make it there in time. He's going to kill me.

"Anna? Can you come in here for a sec?"

BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ.

And now my boyfriend is calling me.

"Sure, just a sec," I yell to Wesley as I answer my phone. "Hey, babe!"

"Oh, my goodness. You're still at work."

"I'm on my way, I swear!"

"Anna!"

"Shhhh—" I say, waving Wesley away. I cannot believe I just shushed my boss.

"There's no way you can make it downtown in 5 minutes. And..they're giving our reservation away as we speak. I cannot believe you forgot again. Do you know how many times you've stood me up in the last two months?"

"Rick, I'm not standing you up."

"Right. I'm sitting at The Avenue alone, missing the reservation I got months ago because my girlfriend isn't standing me up. I can't do this anymore, Anna. I'm tired of sitting at the bar alone every weekend."

"What do you mean? I'm running out the door right now. I'm sure I can get our reservation back. I'll be right there."

"Anna!" Wesley has the worst timing.

"12. You've stood me up 12 times in the last two months. I'm not waiting around for lucky number 13. Goodbye, Anna."

"Wait–" but the line is already dead.

"Anna! I need that report." Wesley is waiting in the doorway of his office, looking exasperated.

"It's right there on your desk! I told you that earlier." I march into his office, pick the report up off the corner of his desk, where I placed it hours ago, and shove it at him more forcefully than I intended.

"Woah–get some bad news? You don't have to take it out on me."

"Yes, I did get some bad news. And yes, it is your fault! I deserve to have a life outside of here! I am not your servant!" I screamed at him.

"Woah, woah, woah…Anna, what is going on?" Wesley looked at me with genuine concern in his eyes, which kind of surprised me. He's never looked at me like this before. His big brown eyes have flecks of honey that match the highlights in his hair. He sat down on the corner of my desk and took my hand. "Anna, you can talk to me."

"I–uh–my boyfriend—I've stood my boyfriend up 12 times in the last two months because I work late every night, and now he's going to break up with me!" I blurt out. My phone buzzes again. We both look down at it. This time, it's a text from Sasha, my best friend and Rick's sister.

"You want to get that?" Wesley asks.

"Yeah–it's just a text," I say as I open the message.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!!! HE WAS GOING TO PROPOSE TONIGHT!

"Oh. My. God. He was going to propose." I sit down in my chair in a daze. I can hear Wesley talking, but his words don't register. A tear rolls down my cheek and onto my blue silk blouse. I look at my phone again. Sasha sent a picture of the ring. It's gorgeous, of course. Rick has impeccable taste. The phone slips out of my hand, into my lap, then onto the floor. I'm too stunned to do anything about it. It lies on the floor, a picture of a gorgeous diamond ring staring up at us.

"Here, let me get that for you. What's his name? I'll call him. I'm sure we can smooth this over." Wesley picks my phone up off the floor. "Rick? It must be Rick." He hits call, and before I can stop him, he's leaving a voicemail. "Rick, hi, ahh–this is awkward, but I'm calling on behalf of Anna. This is Wesley, her boss. I kept her late tonight. Please don't be mad at her. Nothing is going on between us, I swear. I haven't been able to look at another woman since my wife died–sorry, that's probably not what you want to hear right now. Anyway, let me smooth things over for you. I can get you a reservation this weekend at any restaurant in town. Give me a call back, and I'll get it set up. Sorry, man. Anna's just such a great worker. I don't know what I'd do without her. Ok, this is getting a bit long. See why I need her? I'm terrible at leaving messages. Give me a call about this weekend. Ok–bye."

"Wait–what are you doing!?" I yell at Wesley as I finally snap out of my daze. "Are you leaving a voicemail for my boyfriend?!"

"Yeah, I just thought if he knows it"s not your fault, he might give you another chance."

"Oh. My. God. Get it back! Delete it! You can't just call my boyfriend! What were you thinking?!"

BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ.

"Rick! He's calling me!" I grab the phone out of Wesley's hand and answer. "Rick! I'm so sorry. Please, can we just?—"

"YOU HAD YOUR BOSS CALL ME!? That is a new low, Anna. Instead of trying to fix things yourself, which you couldn't have, by the way—you had your BOSS call me. Unbelievable. Thank you for showing me who you really are. You saved me from a life full of strife. Goodbye. Good luck with Wesley. You two deserve each other."