"For the three of us?" she asks.
"Yeah, and maybe for behind the bar too, just in case," I suggest.
"I'm on it." I watch as she grabs a cart that seems to have been abandoned at the end of the aisle and walks off.
"I did good, huh?" Zane says, knocking his shoulder into mine.
"Too early to tell," I say, lying through my teeth. This is . . . more than I bargained for. However, if I'm being honest with at least myself, I can admit that Zane did good. Real good.
Zane chuckles and I walk off to follow Berklee. I catch up to her in the Post-it aisle, watching as she checks each pack carefully. "What are you doing?" I ask.
She quickly raises her head, apparently unaware that I was watching her. "Getting the best bang for our buck. Checking the number of Post-its versus the price." She says it like I should've known.
"Berklee, I can afford whichever ones you want."
"Doesn't matter. It's about getting the best deal. That's great that you have money, and it's my job to make sure you keep it that way."
She settles on what I assume is the best-what did she say, bang for my buck?-and throws two packs in the cart. I step behind the cart and motion with my head for her to move down the aisle. "I got this," I tell her.
"We need pads of paper, and printer paper. I assume the printers will come with at least starter ink. I can order more once I know what kind we're going to need. Oh, and we'll need pens. I think that's it for now."
I follow her as she stops and studies the pens. Looking down to the cart, I see three staplers and three tape dispensers, along with a sleeve each of staples and tape.
"Now the paper," she says, placing some pens and highlighters in the cart.
I don't say anything, just follow her down the aisle and into the next. Cases of paper are lined up and she immediately goes to the lower price. She bends as if she's going to pick it up. "Stop!" I say, probably louder than I needed to. "Sorry," I mumble. "Let me get it." I rush to her side and easily lift the case, placing it in the bottom of the cart.
"Thank you." She looks around. "Where's Zane?"
Why is she looking for him? "Left him at the chairs," I say, trying to keep my voice calm. This causes her to laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"You don't know how many times all of us would get together to go out and Zane would end up getting lost in the crowd. I swear that guy doesn't know a stranger."
Relief and more annoyance that he knows her. That he's spent time with her. It pisses me off because I can't have her. She works for me and I have to focus on the club. A guy could lose himself to a girl like Berklee. I would lose myself to her. All the more reason to keep this professional.
She works for me. That's the extent of our relationship.
I hear a woman laugh and I would bet my life Zane is with her.
"I think we found him." She smiles up at me.
"You know him well."
"Not really. I mean, we've hung out, and he's at all the family functions that I go to with Maggie and Barry, but I wouldn't say that I know him. I do know that he likes the ladies, and with his looks and personality I can only assume that he's behind that throaty, 'I want you' laugh."
I choke back a laugh of my own. "What exactly is an 'I want you' laugh?" I have to ask.
She waves her hand. "Oh, you know, the one that makes women seem desperate. The laugh that you know is fake, and so does the offender, but she doesn't care. She wants the guy's attention and she knows stroking his ego will get it."
Sure enough, we get to the end of the aisle and find Zane standing too close to one of the store employees. She's looking at him like he's her next meal and laughing at almost everything he says. She reaches out and touches him, and he moves closer.
"See what I mean?" Berklee whispers.
"You nailed it," I whisper back.
"It's sad, really. She's a pretty girl. She should hold out for someone who really makes her laugh."
It's with those words that she walks toward the couple. Zane spots her and introduces them. I follow behind and watch her as she says hello and then tells Zane that it's time to go, almost like a mother hen. I watch as the girl grabs a business card off the counter and scribbles something on it-her number, I assume-then hands it to him. Zane winks at her and then turns his attention to Berklee, looking over her shoulder to find me.
"Got everything?"
"Yeah," I mumble as I roll the cart to the checkout line.
WE PULL UP outside the club and I'm ready to get out of this damn truck. I'm sexually attracted to my very hot, very close boss, and the ten-minute drive felt like a lifetime. I need some space to separate us, to move away from his musky scent, the one that has me rubbing my thighs together.