Falling for His Boss

by Rosie Praks

  Before Max could ask more, a hand fell on his shoulder. He glanced up and saw those bright blue eyes again. Harley.

  “Max,” Harley asked, looking at the pair of lovers on the bed, “are they really not Mr. and Mrs. Hunter?”

  “You’ve been fooled by the witch, sister,” Max explained, nodding, hand calmly resting on Harley’s. “These two aren’t Hunter and Clarice. They’re a pair of frauds.”

  Whitney smacked Max’s head. “That’s enough, Max. We aren’t frauds. There was a misunderstanding. Your lovely Harley over there mistook me for Clarice. I tried to explain it, but she wouldn’t listen.”

  Harley swallowed, shriveling in her shell even more. “I’m sorry. Am I going to be fired now? I have university tuition to pay, so I need the job.”

  “Don’t worry, sister.” Max patted that hand on his shoulder. “You’re not going to get fired. Not when I’m the favorite cousin of the owners. Now you two, you better do a lot more than explain to me.”

  Smack!

  “Ow, Whitney. What’s with you and your hand?” Max grumbled, soothing his head.” Don’t go around smacking my head.”

  “Wow, I thought I was the only one who got talked to that way. I didn’t know you got the witch’s wrath, too,” Darcy whispered to Max.

  “You don’t know, dude,” Max responded, having their own private conversation in front of Whitney. “That’s how the witch behaves. I get that all the time. Ow. Stop hitting me, Whitney. That hurts.”

  “Don’t talk like I’m not in this room. I’m the eldest here. Respect me. And you.” Whitney pointed to Darcy, who right now was still clinging to her neck. “Do you want me to smack you, too? Get off me, now!”

  “Sorry,” Darcy answered meekly, unwinding his arms from her neck reluctantly. “So does this mean we’re officially divorced?”

  “Who’s officially divorced?” Came an unknown female voice from the door.

  Darcy, Whitney, Max, and Harley all turned to stare at the beautiful Asian-Caucasian woman, with her handsome blond-haired partner standing at the door, a sleeping baby in his arms.

  “Oh my fudge!” Whitney swore. “Yes, Darcy. We are now officially divorced.”

  Chapter 16

  “Ha-ha-ha,” Clarice laughed when she heard her friend explain about her adulteress adventure with her personal assistant. “Oh my heavens. You mean to tell me you were playacting with your PA as your husband just so your ex-boyfriend wouldn’t interfere in your life anymore? Whitney, that is so unlike you.”

  Whitney grumbled, using Conrad in her arms as her comfort pillow. “Stop laughing at me, Clarice. You know I didn’t have a good relationship with Johnathan. It was such a surprise to see him. I couldn’t do anything when he kept on bugging me. So Darcy thought of this plan. He said he was poor. I thought, Why not kill two birds with one stone?”

  “Are you sure you two didn’t, you know, tick-tock, tick-tock?”

  “You mean sex?” Whitney was still amazed at how innocent her friend was.

  Clarice cleared her throat. “Yes.”

  “Not telling,” Whitney said and simply turned to caress the bundle of joy in her arm.

  How she missed little Conrad. Since arriving in Queenstown, everything was topsy-turvy. Hopefully, now everything would return to normal, now that she had officially gotten a divorce from her PA. She just hoped Johnathan wouldn’t bother her again, though. Otherwise, she wondered if they had to continue to play this weird game until the wedding was over.

  “What? Why? I’m your best friend.” Clarice’s sudden moaning broke her thoughts.

  She turned to her friend. “At this moment, no. You’re not my best friend. Elise is. Now talking about Elise. Where is she? I thought you said she was coming over with you.” Whitney tried to dissuade her from the subject of her and Darcy. Then again, she was actually worried about her dear friend Elise.

  “Elise will be coming over later today. She needed to arrange for all the flowers to arrive at the same time. Plus, she’s caught up with other work with her clients,” Clarice explained.

  “That girl.” Whitney frowned. “She’s always so busy. Always with her flowers. Did you notice she became more solemn these past few weeks? Did something happen in Australia before her parents passed away? She never talks about it. Is she keeping a secret from us?”

  “I don’t know.” Clarice tapped her chin in thought. “She never mentioned anything. I do agree, though. She’s always so quiet, especially about her past. I thought when the time came, she’d tell us.”

  “Maybe we have to get it out of her,” Whitney suggested.

  “Oh, we will.” Clarice comforted her friend, hand on top of hers, and then she grinned. “But first, I want to get that secret out of you, too. Did you do something with that PA of yours?” Clarice changed the subject.

  Whitney’s face bloomed bright red. “Nothing happened.”

  “Are you sure?” Clarice tried to squeeze for the answer.

  “Would you stop teasing me? Here, Conrad’s asleep. Put him in his cot or something,” Whitney said, handing the toddler back to his mother.

  Clarice gave her friend shifty eyes, taking her baby back into her arms. “I somehow find that hard to believe.”

  “Well, you’ll have to believe me, then. When the time is right, I’ll tell you about my secret.”

  “Oh, so you are keeping a secret from me? Just like Elise.”

  “Yes.”

  After a moment of deliberation, Clarice sighed and got up. “All right then, I’m happy to wait. When the time comes, I’m sure you’ll tell me. I’m not going to force you. Sometimes it’s best if you keep some things to yourself first, just to make sure what you’ve decided is what you really want. But if you need an ear to listen, I’m here. And just one word before I go. You look healthy, Whitney. Like a woman in love. So very different from when you were dating Johnathan.”

  Whitney watched as her friend put her baby boy to sleep. Clarice looked very pretty these past few months. She knew love really made a person happy.

  Her past relationship with Johnathan wasn’t usually made up of the happy stuff. Sometimes there was a mixture of sadness in there, too. But she had endured it, thinking it’d pass. But her time with Darcy, had it all been endurance or was she really laughing and having fun? Clarice did say she looked healthy. Like a woman in love.

  “Whitney.” Her friend’s voice woke her from her thoughts again.

  “Mmm.” She turned to see Clarice standing at the door.

  “Could you look after Conrad for a bit? I’m going to find Hunter. He disappeared off somewhere. I’ll be right back. Then we’ll go to breakfast together.”

  “Sure.” Whitney nodded, knowing she’d be in Clarice’s room for a while. Or until Clarice came back from her quest of finding Hunter.

  Whitney was put in a separate room since Clarice and Hunter had arrived this morning. As for Darcy, she didn’t know what had happened to him. He just made a spin out the door and now had disappeared.

  Whitney moved to stand next to the window. Outside, the scenery was all white. Trees, mountains, rooftops. Out farther, she could see Lake Wakatipu, the famous lake of Queenstown. It too looked solid, almost frozen.

  “Darcy,” she mouthed, touching the frosted glass with her fingertip.

  It was a cold winter here, wasn’t it? But why did her heart feel somehow warm and cozy at just the mention of Darcy’s name on her lips?

  “Oh my God!” Darcy was fumbling, stuttering, and spitting out random words as he thought back to that moment when Hunter had arrived at the door with Conrad in his arms and the woman he remembered as the one he’d ditched a year or so back. He’d finally come to the startling conclusion this must be Clarice, Hunter’s partner, the one woman he so wanted to meet.

  Darcy knew right then he was in deep shit. For so many reasons. So he’d made his escape, torpedoing through the room and into the bar like a missile with no definite path. All he knew was he had to hide from Hunter.r />
  Darcy clutched the drink in his hand and tossed it down his throat. He squeezed his eyes, tears wanting to spill forward. My God! It burns.

  But that was what it should do. It was bloody eight in the morning. Who drank alcohol at such an early hour, except for stupid him?

  Darcy knew he’d never get out of this. Because he’d hurt his best friend’s pride by running out on his partner during their one date together. And he’d impersonated the owner of the hotel just so he could get a load of free stuff. Oh, he really was a low-ass loser. He needed to find a way to apologize.

  Except if he had the chance to turn back time and change history, he knew he’d do it all over again. Because this bloody, stupid, but oh-so-amazing experience had somehow bridged the rift between his boss and him. He’d seen her on a more personal level. They’d slept together. They’d dined together. Swam together. Did all that shit that couples do together. And he loved every single moment of it. So he hadn’t any regret at all. None!

  But he still needed to explain to his friend and apologize. Right?

  Or not!

  Maybe he should just turn tail and run, disappear out into the wilderness of Queenstown and pretend everything never happened. Yeah, that might be a good idea.

  Except he didn’t want to lose his best friend’s trust. Hunter was the only friend he had since he arrived in Auckland. The thought made him even more depressed.

  “Yoo, Darcy!” A hand landed on his shoulder. “Why are you drinking at this hour? Isn’t it a bit too early?”

  Darcy slowly turned to see Hunter. He winched, waiting for his wrath to be unleashed. But none came. Hunter was grinning like a silly idiot.

  “Why are you grinning?” Darcy asked, feeling even guiltier. “Are you going to fire Harley for her mistake? Or are you going to cut me off because I abused our friendship.”

  “None of the above, Darcy,” Hunter said, signaling to the waiter for a glass of water.

  Hunter was tired. He’d asked Clarice to wait until later in the day to fly to Queenstown in their private jet, but his partner was adamant, wanting to get to Queenstown to see the snow fall. And just in time, too, because the snow started falling as soon as they landed. But he guessed that wasn’t the only surprise this wonderful winter had in store for him before their wedding. As soon as both he and Clarice had stepped into their hotel, a commotion was already in full play. The main actors were his friend Darcy and Whitney, his partner’s friend. And now his friend was sitting here looking glum, as if he’d lost his will to live.

  “Cheer up, man.” Hunter slapped Darcy’s back. “I already said none of the above.”

  “But I pretended to be you, Hunter. Your partner now knows it, too. Plus, didn’t you know I’m the bastard who ditched her on our date? How could I face her now?”

  “All right, all right. About that. I already know it. Way before we even became friends. So just flag it. I don’t care.”

  “Hunter, my man, you’re so good to me.” Darcy crumbled and fell into a dead lump on Hunter’s shoulder.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Hunter rolled his shoulder, making Darcy’s head roll onto the bar. “Get your act together, man. If you’re drunk, you’re not going skiing with us today.”

  “Skiing?”

  Obviously, skiing was the magic word. Darcy became alive again, like a wilting plant that had been watered.

  “I’m all well now. I’m not even drunk. When are we going skiing? Do I have to pay?”

  Hunter laughed, shaking his blond head. “Didn’t I say it’s going to be a free stay at my wedding?”

  “Oh, Hunter, you’re really my man. I could hug you right now, except that might imply I’m gay, which I’m not. But seriously, man, give me a man hug.”

  Hunter was glad his friend was all smiles and dimples again. So he gave his friend a man hug, until he heard his partner clearing her throat from behind.

  “Baby.” He looked up, seeing Clarice with one hand on her hip.

  “Are you having an affair behind my back, Hunter?” Clarice asked, looking at the two men embracing.

  Hunter got up from his seat and went to his woman. “Oh, baby. Never. You’re the one for me. And even if you were a man, I would still love you.”

  Clarice smacked her partner’s wandering hand as he pulled her chin up and gave her a delicious kiss, neglecting their audience, who was openly staring at them with hazel eyes.

  Darcy swallowed, seeing the loving couple smooching in front of him. And suddenly, he thought of the kiss he had with his boss. A shiver ran down his spine. And that kind of woke little Johnny from his sleep, too. To distract himself, he got off his seat, straightening his clothes, and stood tall.

  “Clarice. It’s finally nice to meet you. Officially.” Darcy held out his hand in greeting.

  “Darcy. Glad to meet you again.” Clarice shook his hand.

  Darcy was all sweaty. He was nervous under the observation of this beautiful Asian-Caucasian woman. “Look, I’m so sorry about that time.”

  Clarice laughed. “You still remember that. It’s bygones now. Don’t stress about it. I hope you’ll have fun at our wedding. Let’s all have breakfast together.” Clarice took Darcy’s hand, all smiley and flowers. “Our friend Elise will be coming later on today. When she arrives, we’ll go skiing. You’ll come, too, won’t you, Darcy?”

  Hunter sliced his hand through the air, cutting the contact between Clarice and Darcy. “You can talk, baby, but there’s no need to touch him. He’s a Casanova, like I was before. Don’t touch him too much or you might get infected.”

  “Hunter, I’m not some bacteria, man.” Darcy defended himself.

  “You’ll be some bacteria under my foot if you touch my woman again,” Hunter tossed back.

  “Sure, mate. No problem.” Darcy held out his hand in surrender. Turning to Clarice, he said, “Clarice, looking forward to skiing with you… ah, I mean with everyone.”

  Clarice laughed, hitting Hunter’s shoulder when he wouldn’t stop sending his friend the evil eyes. “Stop it with the glaring, Hunter.” Turning back to Darcy, she said, “Looking forward to skiing with you, too, Darcy. We’ll be going to breakfast now. You’re welcome to join. Hunter, let’s go. All that squinting and glaring isn’t good for your eyes.”

  “Say you’ll ski with me. And only me. Not him,” Hunter said, tugging at her arm.

  Clarice shook her head. “Yes, Hunter. I won’t ski with Darcy. Only you. But you’ll need to teach me, okay?”

  “Sure, baby. As long as you promise not to touch him again.”

  Darcy smiled, watching the couple disappear. He turned back to his drink and stared at it. Then smiled. He couldn’t believe his problem could be so easily solved.

  And skiing…

  Umm… He’d always wanted to ski. Will I get to ski with Whitney, though?

  Somehow this thought brought on a warm and cozy feeling inside his heart.

  Whitney. I can’t wait to ski with you.

  Chapter 17

  The minute Whitney stepped out onto Coronet Peak, a ski resort some twenty minutes from Queenstown, she was smacked right in the face by a blast of frigid air. She took a deep breath and wanted at that moment to turn tail and run back to the cozy comfort of Silverton Hotel. But Clarice’s subtle hand on her shoulder stopped her, reminding her this would be a fun activity to do for their friends’ bonding session before the wedding took place.

  Friends’ bonding session? Why the need for the bonding session? They’d been bonded since primary school. Elise, Clarice, and herself. So what bonding did they need to do?

  And skiing being fun? What was fun about skiing? High, steep slopes. Dangerous maneuvering around obstacles. This was a hazardous sport that could kill someone. Preferably not her, if she could just talk her way out of it.

  “Clarice… I—”

  “You promised, remember.” Clarice cut in, shutting her right up.

  Right. Whitney remembered all right. Remembered she’d promised to come to thi
s wedding in Queenstown in the middle of winter. Remembered she was her best friend’s bridesmaid. But she didn’t remember agreeing to this activity.

  But what could she do now? She was already here, standing in high-laced boots, five inches deep in snow. No use complaining now.

  And who was going to listen if she did anyway? It wasn’t like she had an ear to listen. Clarice might say she would always be her ears, but not if she wanted to vent her frustration and complain about the cold. Nope, that door was already shut in her face the moment she got out of the car in front of the ski resort.

  Whitney shivered, huddling herself in her warm coat, arms and legs like balloons, what with the obscene amount of layers she’d put on.

  Whitney couldn’t believe herself sometimes. No matter how many layers she put on, she was still constantly shivering her ass off. One day, some random stranger would walk up to her and tell her she was nuts, what with her butt twitching like a beetle’s. But what could she do? That was her way to combat the cold.

  Got to keep moving or I’ll freeze my ass off. That was her motto. And she did move. Like right then. Because she knew her ass was about to freeze off. My God, the weather up here was even colder than down the hill.

  “Whitney, stop dancing and start moving. We’ll meet the guys up at the slope over there.” Clarice pointed to a spot about a hundred meters away.

  Whitney grumbled but nodded and started trudging forward, only to stop after the first fifty meters. For what but to take a big swallow of deep, cold air.

  My God! She puffed out. She had to start exercising again. She really was becoming a couch potato. She could feel her weight sinking into the snow. This was no good.

  But that one small stop made her reevaluate her outlook on life. She watched as her boots made footprints on the plush white snow. It was beautiful, wasn’t it? This pure white snow.

  Whitney lifted her gaze and took in her surroundings. She gasped, marveling at the beautiful scenery before her. Everything was pure white, from the ground she stood on to the top of the mountains that looked like icing on a cake. In a way, this feeling that flourished within her was peace, as if she were standing on fluffy white clouds, suspended in the sky. They were near the top of the slope, blue, cloudless sky surrounding them.