Wrong Number

by R. L. Kenderson

  “I might be bored, but he is super fine.”

  I just nodded, so she’d go back to her own area.

  But she was right. He had dark, almost black hair, and green eyes. They sparkled when he had sex.

  I dropped my head in my hands. That was something an employee was not supposed to know about their new boss. But I didn’t know how I was going to forget it.

  Right now, all I could picture was how determined he’d been to make me come when he was inside me. I’d never been with someone so focused on pleasuring me.

  My core flooded with heat, and I whimpered softly.

  “What’s wrong?” Leslie asked.

  I shook my head. “Nothing.”

  I’d tell her later. After Cal was safely in his office. Or maybe after we were safely out of the building.

  I forced my eyes open because closing them had only brought back memories, and I stared blankly at my computer.

  I heard a pair of hands clap, and I looked up at the boss. It had been him.

  Oh God, did he notice I wasn’t paying attention?

  I watched him, but he didn’t look my way, so I relaxed.

  “I know having a new boss is not easy, and I want to alleviate everyone’s fears about big changes coming. I know this place runs well, and I don’t plan on doing anything to ruin that.”

  “Damn right it does,” Leslie said.

  “Thanks, everyone, and we’ll be talking soon.”

  Nicholas Callan headed back to his office, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “That wasn’t so bad,” Leslie said. “He seems like a nice guy.”

  In bed? Yes. In the office? We’ll have to see.

  “Indy?”

  I turned to my best friend.

  “You were zoned out. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I opened my mouth to tell her that our new manager was Cal, Mr. Wrong Number, when Patrick walked over.

  “Leslie, Indy, where are you on the Glessan software?”

  “I think we’ll be done by the end of the week,” I answered for the both of us.

  “Make it Wednesday. The client is waiting for us.”

  The contract actually stated we’d have it to them by the end of the month, which was over three weeks away. We had plenty of time to get our part of the project submitted. Patrick just wanted to throw his weight around, but both of us were past letting him get to us.

  “You wouldn’t want us to compromise quality, now would you?” Leslie asked.

  Polly had never put up with his shit, and if the new boss sided with him and Patrick fired me, then it would just save me from embarrassment of facing Cal.

  He was trying to intimidate the wrong women.

  “We’ll have it by Friday, just like we promised from the beginning.” I smiled sweetly. “Okay?”

  Patrick murmured something, looked at the guy sitting next to Leslie, who had heard the whole thing, and told him to get to work, and then he walked off.

  I gave him the finger. It was behind my cubicle wall because while I might stand up for myself, I wasn’t dumb enough to get caught flipping off my supervisor.

  “What were you going to say?” Leslie asked.

  “Huh?”

  “You were about to say something before Patrick came over.”

  “Oh. I don’t remember.” I remembered, but after that interruption, I figured it wasn’t a good idea to tell her anything when anyone could eavesdrop.

  I went to work to the point that I actually put Nicholas Callan out of my mind, but then Keith had to come around and ruin everything.

  “Hey, ladies. After lunch, Mr. Callan is going to start meeting with everyone in the office.”

  My belly flipped. “What?” I demanded.

  Keith grinned. “Yeah, it’s great. He wants to get to know everyone here and talk with them. He actually wants to hear what we have to say.”

  “That sounds awesome,” Leslie said.

  “Doesn’t it though?” Keith agreed. He pulled his tablet back from his chest and looked at it. “So, Leslie, I have you down for around two-ish. It just depends on how long everyone takes. He said he doesn’t want to rush anything, so it might be before or later. I’ll let you know.”

  “Got it,” Leslie said.

  “And, Indy …” Keith scanned the page. “Where are you? Where are you?” He rolled his eyes and laughed. “I didn’t see you because you’re way at the top.” He looked at me and smiled. “Second person of the day. You’re lucky.”

  “Put in a good word for me,” Leslie joked to me.

  “I’ll try,” I said, but there was no way I was meeting with him.

  I needed to figure out what I was going to do.

  Six

  Indy

  The thought of faking my own death crossed my mind, but instead, I told Leslie I was going to run out and grab some lunch. Then, I just never went back. I sent her a text to tell Patrick I was sick.

  I needed a new game plan, but I didn’t want to think about it, and rather than facing my problem head-on, I decided to ignore it for the rest of the night.

  That’s right; I decided to hide from the world.

  I turned off my phone, picked up food from the drive-through, and went home and watched Netflix the rest of the night. I was going to drown myself in someone else’s fake problems while I avoided my own.

  It seemed like a solid plan until I woke up an hour earlier than normal the next morning. Turned out that not looking at your phone all night helped you get to bed at a decent time. Who knew?

  I showered, and then I headed for the office while I listened to my voice mails and tried to come up with a new game plan. Maybe I could convince Keith to take me off the list.

  “Indy, this is your mom. Where are you? Leslie called me and said she couldn’t get ahold of you. Please let me know you’re okay. I love you. Bye.”

  Next message.

  “Indy, you are on my shit list. I have texted you a dozen times and called you a dozen more. I even called your mom to see if she knew what had happened to you.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, I know you called my mom.”

  “You did not seem sick at work, and then you just disappeared. You’re lucky I’m busy tonight, or I’d come over to your house and break your door down. Now, please call me.”

  I also had what felt like a million texts, but I couldn’t read them until I got to work. Not that it was much of a mystery who had messaged me. Leslie was very tenacious when she wanted something.

  I pulled into work, excited to be the first one there. I said hi to the security guard, who thankfully wasn’t one who liked to chat, and headed to my floor. Once I got there, I grabbed my computer and other things I needed and made a beeline for one of the private rooms.

  They couldn’t make me talk to the new boss if they couldn’t find me.

  I turned on my computer and sent Leslie a text.

  Me: I’m alive and at work. You can find me in private room 2.

  I waited a few minutes to see if she would answer before I started playing catch-up for the stuff I’d missed yesterday from leaving early.

  She didn’t answer, and I got to work.

  About an hour later, I could hear the sounds of my coworkers arriving and knew it wouldn’t be long before Leslie found me hiding out.

  The door burst open, and it felt like a whirlwind had arrived when my friend made her entrance.

  “All right, young lady, spill it.”

  I arched my neck, trying to see if anyone had heard her.

  “No one’s out there.”

  I sank down in my seat. “Close the door, will you?”

  She shut the door and sat down across from me. “What is going on?”

  I took a deep breath. “I don’t want to meet the new boss.”

  She frowned in confusion. “Why? I heard he’s actually a really nice guy. I haven’t had my chance to talk to him yet, but I think he might not be as bad as we thought he was going to be.”

  I shook
my head. “It’s not that.”

  “Then, what is it?”

  Even though we were alone, I leaned forward and whispered, “The new boss, Nicholas Callan is Cal.”

  It took a few seconds for Leslie to catch on to my words, but when she did, she burst out laughing.

  “Shh, I don’t want anyone to know I’m in here.”

  Leslie tried to be quiet, but she couldn’t stop laughing. “That is the fucking best thing I have heard all year. You fucked the boss. You are so screwed.”

  “Thank you. Thank you very much,” I said dryly.

  That only made her laugh harder.

  “You’re a bitch, and I hate you.”

  Leslie wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry, Indy, but I can’t help it. That is seriously the funniest thing I’ve heard. I’m going to remember it forever.”

  I scowled at her, and she suddenly sat up in her seat and gasped.

  “Give me your phone.”

  “Why?” I asked suspiciously.

  “I want to see that pic he sent you. All I have is a screenshot of it in your message.”

  “I deleted it,” I lied.

  “Yeah, right.” She didn’t believe me, but she let it go.

  “Listen, you can’t tell anyone. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “You could quit.”

  I looked at her.

  “I’m kidding. Of course, you can’t quit. I refuse to be here without you.”

  “And that’s why I’m hiding. I know, sooner or later, he’s going to find out, but the longer I put it off, the better.”

  There was a knock at the door, and Keith popped his head in. “There you are, Indy. Since you went home sick yesterday, I have you first on the list to meet with Mr. Callan this morning.”

  I looked at Leslie with help me eyes.

  She shrugged. “Sorry, babe. It looks like it’s going to be sooner rather than later.”

  I dragged my heels as I walked toward the office, and I tried to come up with any excuse as to why I couldn’t go in.

  I came up with squat.

  The office was made up of all windows, so we could normally see inside. But the floor-to-ceiling blinds were closed today. I couldn’t even get a good look at him before walking inside.

  Keith raised his eyebrows. “You can go in. He’s waiting for you.”

  “Thanks. No pressure or anything.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. You’ll be fine,” he said and turned to open the door.

  I took a deep breath, flapped my arms to relieve the sweat that had started to gather in my pits, and put on a straight face.

  You can do this, Indy. He’s just a guy.

  I walked in behind Keith and saw Cal—Mr. Callan … I didn’t know what to call him anymore—standing off to the side, looking at some papers. He still didn’t look like the guy who’d come to my house in jeans and a black T-shirt, but at least he’d lost the suit. He had on a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, which showed off his muscular forearms, and dark navy pants that fit his ass like they had been tailored for him. They probably had been, but that thought didn’t stop me from having to almost wipe the drool from my mouth.

  I thought he’d gotten hotter since our night together.

  That brought back memories, and I smiled to myself. I wondered if the reason he was standing was because he couldn’t sit since I’d left claw marks on his cheeks. I doubted it, but it was a fun thought that helped relieve some nerves.

  “Mr. Callan, this is Indy Scott,” Keith said, and I lost my smile.

  Nicholas Callan looked up from whatever he had been reading and gave me a polite smile. Too polite. There was no recognition in his eyes.

  “Hello,” he said as he walked to his desk. He gestured out his hand. “Have a seat, please.”

  I took the chair in front of his desk as he sat behind his without a single wince. It appeared his butt was fine, and I was a little disappointed. I’d been suffering the last twenty-four hours. He should have been suffering a little too.

  “Keith told me you were sick yesterday?”

  Not in the traditional sense, but I had felt nauseated. “Yes.”

  He studied me but not in a sexy way. In the way a boss studied their employees. “But you’re feeling better today?”

  My stomach was in knots, and I had the cold sweats. “Not one hundred percent, but better.”

  “That’s good.” He sat back in his seat and picked up a folder. “It says you’ve worked here for five years?”

  “Almost six,” I said.

  He put the folder down and met my eyes. Still nothing in his gaze to let me know that he knew who I was. His green eyes were serious.

  “And do you like it here?”

  Is he trying to get rid of me?

  “I love it.” Take that. You’re not kicking me out of here without a fight.

  He smiled. “That’s good. Exactly what a new boss wants to hear when starting in a company.”

  I smiled back, but I wasn’t sure if it reached my eyes.

  Is this guy for real?

  He’d literally been inside me two days ago, and today, he was making small talk like we’d never met.

  And now, I was thinking of him inside me.

  Don’t turn red, don’t turn red, don’t turn red. And for God’s sake, don’t squirm.

  It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but I was pretty confident that I hadn’t moved a single muscle. I felt some heat hit my cheeks, but I’d said that I didn’t feel back to normal, and thankfully, he was looking down at the folder again.

  “It also says here that your real name is Lucinda?”

  He looked up, and I gave him a second to acknowledge my arousal. He did no such thing.

  “It was my grandmother’s name, and she went by Lucy, so they called me Indy.” I tilted my head to the side, deciding it was time to test him. “Do you have any nicknames, Mr. Callan?”

  “Oh, a few,” he said with a straight face. No cocky smirk, no glint in his eye, not even a slight smile.

  I was beginning to think I’d dreamed the whole sex encounter. I must have seen his pictures somewhere in the office, and I was now going insane.

  “What would you like us to call you? We called our last boss by her first name. Do you go by Nicholas? Nick?”

  “God, no. Nicholas is my father’s name. You can call me Cal.”

  You can call me Cal.

  Those were the same words he’d texted me the night he came over. So, maybe I wasn’t crazy.

  A throat cleared behind me, and I jumped. I’d forgotten Keith was still in the room.

  Cal looked up at his assistant. “Some people refuse to call me by my preferred name.”

  “It’s not personal,” I said. “Keith called Polly, our last boss, Ms. Dyer until the day she left. You’re never going to get him to change.”

  Keith sniffed. “It’s the professional thing to do.”

  I rolled my eyes, and Cal grinned at me. It wasn’t a knowing grin or a secret grin, but it was the first sign that this was the same guy who had come over to my house the other night.

  “Listen, it was great talking to you,” Cal said. “If you ever need anything, my door is open.”

  Again, his face was straight, and there was no sexual innuendo in his voice.

  He stood and held out his hand. “It was nice meeting you.”

  “You too,” I said and placed my hand in his to shake.

  Electricity shot up my arm, just like it had on Saturday when he came to my house.

  I needed to go and get some fresh air.

  I dropped his hand. “Thanks,” I muttered and hurried for the door.

  Seven

  Indy

  Leslie popped out of nowhere a few feet away from the office, and I cried out, clasping a hand to my chest.

  “You scared me.”

  She ignored me. “Oh my God, what did he say? Did he flirt with you? Did he take you over
his desk?”

  I gave her a really look. “Keith was there the whole time.”

  “Whoa. You had sex in front of Keith? Mr. Boss Man is a bad boy.”

  “Nothing happened,” I hissed. “I mean, nothing. He acted like he was meeting me for the first time.”

  Leslie wrinkled her nose. “Well, there goes my entertainment for the day.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “Hey, I don’t want you to suffer any more than you are, but since you are, I might as well enjoy myself.”

  “You’re the worst best friend ever.”

  “I took all your stuff from the private room back to your desk,” she said in a singsong voice.

  “Thank you. I suppose you’ve moved from the top ten list to the top one hundred.” I stepped around her and headed for my cubicle.

  Leslie was right behind me. “So, he really didn’t say anything about the weekend?”

  “Not a word.”

  “Bummer.” She dropped down in her chair and shrugged. “But it looks like you were worried for nothing.”

  I sat down. “Yeah, maybe. I guess we’ll see.”

  My phone buzzed under the pile of my stuff that Leslie had carried over.

  Cal: What were you thinking about when you turned red in my office? You couldn’t seem to sit still.

  I whipped my head up, but the blinds were still closed.

  Then, at that moment, Keith opened them. Cal was at his desk but not looking in my direction.

  Leslie sat forward in her chair. “What?”

  “Act normal,” I told her.

  “What?”

  “Act. Normal. Get on your computer or something.”

  “Not until you tell me what happened.”

  “I will once you get on your computer,” I said with my teeth clenched.

  “You two bicker like an old married couple,” Tessa, a coworker, said as she walked past.

  Leslie and I looked at each other and shrugged.

  She pulled up her latest project on her laptop, her back to me. “Okay, will you tell me now?”

  “Don’t turn around, but he just texted me.”