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I was shocked to find that she only had two suitcases.
“Didn’t you come from Kansas?” I asked her. “Is a moving company sending the rest? Let me know the cost of that. I’ll reimburse you for all of your moving expenses, just like we agreed on—”
“This is everything. I’m a minimalist. I’ve never needed much.”
I just stared at her for a beat, wondering if she was messing with me, then shrugged it off and took her things inside.
CHAPTER THREE
“ANOTHER ONE OF your duties is attempting to help me stay on task,” I told Ro as she brought me my morning coffee the next day.
“Got it,” she said instantly. “How do you propose I do that?”
“Well, I have a deadline right around the corner, a few short months away. I need to complete 2k words a day between now and then. I need you to remind me of this often, and every time you see me, I’d like you to ask me what my word count is for the day. Also, if you see me doing anything other than staring off into space, deep in thought, or actively writing, I want you put me in check.”
“How do I put you in check?” she asked reasonably.
“Bribery. Coercion. Threats.”
“I think I could get on board with the threat part.”
“Of course you could.”
“One problem. I don’t know you well enough to know what to threaten you with.”
“You’ll think of something.”
“You know, you’re not exactly the tyrant I’ve been made to believe. Tyrants don’t usually ask their assistants to threaten them.”
“Oh just you wait, little girl. See what happens the first time you try.”
She bit her lip to keep from smiling.
It was at that moment that I realized two things, neither one of them good for my peace of mind.
One: Ro had about the sexiest mouth I’d ever seen. Just my motherfucking luck.
Two: She was growing on me fast.
“Go get yourself some breakfast,” I told her almost affectionately, “We’re going to run some errands in a bit.”
“What errands?”
“I like to go to Office Max about once a week,” I explained. “I know, I know. I can get all of this stuff online, but I enjoy browsing office supplies.”
“You enjoy browsing office supplies?”
“I’m always trying to reinvent my office. Think of it as a brainstorming session for that. I feel like, if I tweaked this office just a bit, it would make me write faster.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be writing all day?” she asked pointedly.
“Hush,” I said, “don’t talk back, and go eat some eggs.”
I was ready to go when I tracked her down in the kitchen.
She was chatting with my hook-up from the night before. Real friendly like.
I did not like that.
