A Grump in Moose Falls (Moose Falls #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

OLLIE

A SOUP SIZED DISASTER

“Ican’t wait to meet your boyfriend.”

The shrill voice startles me, my spoon clattering to the desk. Tomato bisque splatters across the neatly printed stack of papers.

“What are you talking about, Sharon?” I ask, grabbing a napkin to mop up the mess.

“The company Christmas party this weekend. All of our significant others were invited this year.”

“W-what?” I stutter.

“Did you read Kevin’s email?”

“No. I’m eating my soup.”

She sighs. “You really should eat your lunch in the break room.”

“I like eating at my desk.”

The likelihood of having to socialize is much lower here, which gives me less of a chance of being awkward.

“What did this email say?” I ask, ignoring her.

“Details of the party. When and where. And who is invited, more importantly.”

“I thought significant others couldn’t come since Terry’s partner got drunk and tore the paper towel dispenser off the wall at the bar.”

“Kevin decided to give them a second chance.”

“He did?” I adjust my glasses.

“Which means”—she beams at me—“we get to meet this elusive boyfriend of yours.”

“I’m going to have to run it by him.”

“No one’s worried about you bringing a man. Kevin and Raymond have been married for years,” Sharon points out, like that’s the hang-up.

“I’m not worried. He is busy this time of year, so I need to check his schedule.”

Sharon pierces me with a sharp look. Being older and having two kids and several grandkids, I’m sure it’s the look she uses to get them to tell her the truth if they’re lying.

I squirm under the attention.

“You’re not getting out of it, so make sure you bring him so we can all meet him. Since you’ve been talking about him so much, it’s about time you bring him around.”

“Right.” I grimace.

Bangles clang as she walks away, leaving me to myself. I groan, dropping my head onto my desk.

My still messy, soup-stained desk.

Crap. I can feel half-dried soup sticking to my forehead.

This is not how I was planning on spending my day. Working on the latest specs for a new library remodel? Yes.

Taking a boyfriend that doesn’t exist to a company Christmas party?

No.

Everyone here is in everyone’s business all the time. If I didn’t like my job so much, I might leave. But architect jobs are hard to find in small-town Maine. Even this job isn’t in Moose Falls.

I could only fend off Sharon and her wanting to set me up with her cousin’s boyfriend’s best friend’s brother so many times before I snapped.

I’m not the type that likes to go out after work, so I didn’t see any harm in saying I had someone at home. They let it go.

It’s going to be even worse if I show up and I don’t have anyone. Crap. Well, maybe… I mean, this is why they have dating apps, right? Except the thought of getting on a dating app petrifies me.

I can’t show up dateless. There’s only a handful of people who would understand.

Ollie

Mayday! Mayday!

Hunter

What’s the emergency?

Why do you assume there’s an emergency?

Hunter

You texted mayday

Hunter

That is the universal sign for distress

I don’t know if it’s an emergency…

Griffin

What’s wrong?

I need your help

Something’s come up at work

Griffin

Just name the time and place

Griffin

We’ll be there

Griffin

If Theo can peel himself away from his new boyfriend

Theo

Hey, don’t hate on me because I’m in love

Charlie

I’ll reserve the usual spot for us

Brooks

And I’ll already be there since Charlie will be there

I blow out a breath as I mop up the rest of my soup with a napkin from my desk. I’ll have to reprint everything I was working on. Notes made. Numbers calculated. At least it’ll be easy enough to redo.

Why can’t I be cool and keep my composure?

Maybe if I were, I wouldn’t be in this situation. An awkward, bumbling nerd who is hopelessly single. Not that I mind most days.

I like my life. I love getting to design buildings for a living. I have a close group of friends who are like family, since my own family lives across the country.

So what if I don’t date? So what if I’ve never had sex? It’s not like my life depends on those two things.

Then why am I starting to sweat?

Heading to the bathroom to clean up, I set my glasses on the counter and splash cold water on my face.

Staring at myself in the mirror, I give myself a mental pep talk. I can do this. It’s one night. One night isn’t a big deal.

I can figure something out for one night. I’ve solved a lot harder problems at work. But I’ll find something temporary. I have to. Because I don’t want my coworkers to know I’ve been lying. That’d be even worse.

Solving the problem of Ollie needing a boyfriend? Not sure that one will ever be solved.