10. Daisy #2
I did exactly as she instructed.
“So, how were your first two weeks at the office?” she asked while I sniffed the bottles.
“Very interesting. Anthony is a great boss.”
“Is he?”
“I know he has a reputation of being tough with his assistants.”
Her jaw dropped. Clearly she wasn’t expecting me to know that. Then she composed herself and nodded. “Well, yes. Since we’re openly talking about it, he ran off quite a few of them.”
“He’s been great to me, and I’m learning a lot. I like these most.” I pointed to the two middle bottles, and Isabeau immediately shoved them to one side.
“But you’re only going to work for him temporarily, right? ”
“That’s the plan. But you know what they say about best-laid plans. I thought I moved here to be a senior marketing manager, but that fell through, so I’m trying to keep an open mind. Do you have any ready-made perfumes? I’d love to send my mom one.”
“Yes, we have quite a few.”
“Excellent. She and I always bonded over fragrances. She changes them a lot, unlike me.”
“We can ship it to her too.”
“No need. Annelise can take it to her. She lives close by, and between you and me,” I said in a conspiratorial tone, “she’s my little spy. Tells me whenever something goes awry. My parents are determined not to worry me.”
“But you do anyway.” Isabeau’s voice softened.
“I can’t help it.”
“The boys can be like that with us too.”
“Yes. Anthony said that most of the time he goes fishing with his grandfathers to keep an eye on them.” Then I pressed my lips together, realizing I’d just let loose something he told me in confidence. “Whoops. Was that a family secret? I didn’t mean to give him away.”
She chuckled. “It is a secret, but we all know about it. All the boys do that.”
“Then I don’t feel too guilty.”
Isabeau gave me a strange look, and my stomach somersaulted. Oh crap. Did I cross a line?
“Right… You know what? I don’t think I can finish a perfume for you on the spot.”
I deflated instantly. “Why not?”
“I need some time to think about what should be in it.”
I blinked, looking over at Annelise and Celine. She was packing a small bottle for my friend. Clearly Annelise had gotten her custom-made perfume.
I focused on Isabeau again. She was looking at me very intently .
“So… should I drop by again next week?” I suddenly felt very silly. What’s going on?
“We’ll give it to Anthony once it’s ready.”
“Thanks.” Was this usual for them? “I hope I didn’t offend you.” I was beginning to worry now.
“Oh no! Not at all.” Isabeau turned around, shuffling through a few small boxes.
Hmmm. Did they often send potential customers on their merry way because they needed time to think about ingredients? That didn’t seem likely.
“Now, let’s get something for your mother. What perfumes does she like?” Isabeau asked.
“Her favorite is Euphoria by Calvin Klein.”
“Right. I know exactly what she needs!” Her eyes lit up.
She knew just like that, huh? And yet she needed time to think about what worked for me? This was bizarre.
I moved over to Annelise as she swiped her card. Then I paid for Mom’s.
“What did you get?” she asked me.
“Nothing. This is for Mom. I was going to ask you to take it to her.”
“Perfect. Oh, she’ll be so happy. She loves her perfumes.”
“Do let us know her reaction, and if she wears it more often than other fragrances,” Isabeau said.
I almost started to laugh. Was everyone this competitive in the family?
“I’ll do my best to convey the information,” Annelise said before turning to me. “So, you didn’t get anything?”
“No. Isabeau needs time to decide what works for me.”
Celine immediately looked at Isabeau, who just shook her head lightly.
I knew it. Something was off, but what was it? They were planning something; I was sure of it.
“Right, you two. Have a great rest of the weekend,” I said .
“Same to you. If you stay in the Quarter until the evening, do be careful, especially on Bourbon,” Celine said.
If I had a penny for every time a local had warned me to stay off Bourbon on a Saturday night. I’d done the exact opposite, of course. It was a bit livelier than expected, but I didn’t think people needed to be worried about going there.
As we left the shop, I distinctively heard Isabeau say, “Anthony,” to Celine.
I sucked in a deep breath. Oh God. Am I in trouble already?
Annelise and I stayed out in the Quarter for quite a while before heading home.
“So, you’re bailing on me tonight?” she asked.
“I’m not. I just have to work.”
“Can I come with you?”
I considered this, biting the inside of my cheek. “I think it might be a bit unprofessional if I show up with my best friend to the event. It’ll look as if I’m there to have fun.”
“I’m gutted.”
“You don’t hate me, do you?”
“No. God, no, but I do like to tease you.” She grinned. “Besides, I want to call Kevin and then finish that series on Netflix I mentioned.”
We headed to my closet so I could figure out what I had to choose from.
“So, what will you be wearing?” she asked.
“Something professional.” I took out a black pencil-style dress, one of my favorites. “I’ll pair it with gold flat shoes.”
Annelise blinked at me. “You’ll stick out like a sore thumb. This is a very conservative outfit.”
“That’s the whole point. I want people to know I’m there on business. ”
Annelise sat on my bed, nodding. “Okay, you’re right. Can you at least pair it with heels?”
“No can do. I don’t want to have to watch my every step.”
It didn’t take me long to get ready. I just put on the dress and shoes, then pulled my hair into a very tight ponytail. I was tempted to put on my glasses, too, just to give the appearance of the consummate professional, but I only needed those when I worked long hours staring at a screen.
“Ready to come face-to-face with your boss and not jump his bones?” Annelise asked once we moved from the bedroom to the kitchen.
“Annelise, you’re being bad.”
She giggled. “Sorry, I can’t help it. This is very unlike you.”
“You’re telling me,” I sighed. “I’m not even sure what’s happening. I go into the office every day in the morning figuring that we’ll be good, and then…”
“You’re not!”
“Exactly.”
“He brings out the naughty side of you. That wouldn’t be so bad if he weren’t your boss.” Her expression turned serious. “All jokes aside, you know this would be a bad idea, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. Is there anything more cliché than the boss and his employee? Word would get out, I’m sure of it.”
“As long as you’re at least trying to do the right thing…”
“I am trying,” I assured her. “Very much so.”
“All right, then I’ll let you finish getting ready.”
I started putting on makeup, feeling a bit off-kilter. I hadn’t expected her to openly warn me. That was unlike Annelise.
As I applied mascara, I received a message from Anthony.
Anthony: Ready for tonight? I know I am.
I glanced at the message, deciding how to play this.
These past two weeks had been… well, different.
He’d given me a smile here and there. He was in my office a lot .
Not that I disapproved of that, because it gave me an opportunity to admire that perfect ass of his.
I hadn’t had my guard up either. But why should I?
It was good to feel comfortable around my boss, right?
Yeah, but comfortable and wanting to jump his bones were two very different things.
Potayto, potahto.
I was going to the bar to make sure everything was running smoothly.
If I had a little fun, too, that was all right. I just had to make sure said fun absolutely didn’t include my boss.