On the run

Six

"What do you want to know?"

"What are your hobbies? What do you get up to outside of this place?"

"I'm a busy person, I don't really have time for hobbies."

"Yes, your unnamed friends that you see every weekend, yet never have any stories or pictures of them and your adventures." His brow furrowed a little, chewing his food a little slower. "I'm very suspicious of a person who doesn't want to gloat about their goings on."

"You don't." He smirked. "I told you. I like my personal and professional life separate and I intend on it staying that way. If you want to know what I do when I'm not with friends and I'm not working, I'm probably reading and drinking wine. There's not much to tell."

"Reading what?"

"Books." He rolled his eyes.

"For someone who likes to act shy, you have a major attitude problem sometimes."

"I do not have an attitude problem." He put another load of food into his mouth, smiling as he chewed and honestly, if he was such a pain in my ass, I'd say it was stunning. The way he was looking at me right now, would have me getting on my hands and knees. "I have a you problem."

"Me?"

"You're so hot and cold. Polite and friendly one minute, asshole the next." He choked on his food, banging his fist in the centre of his chest. "When you call me in here, I never know who I'm getting it's so Jekyll and Hyde. 'Morning Penny how are you?' Then 5 minutes later, 'black coffee one sugar.' Nothing else. No, when you get a second can you make me a drink. Not Please. No manners. Just straight to the demands. I get you're trying to assert your dominance and everything so no one walks over you but you're my boss, I'm not about to go against what you ask me to do even if I don't agree with it."

"Like what?"

"Hm?"

"What have I asked you to do that you don't agree with?"

"Ha, see, I know better than to answer that question. I'm not stupid. I'd rather not give you a reason to sack me." He scrunched his face up, putting his food on the table and standing up, walking around the table, and sitting down beside me.

"I'm not going to fire you Penny."

"Hmph. I'm still not answering." I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'm not. I don't have the time to retrain someone when you already do the job exceptionally well. It's not worth the time."

"Oh great, love being kept around just because I'm convenient." I chuckled to myself, pushing the food around in the box with my fork. He shuffled beside me, moving onto his side, resting his head on his fist, leaning his elbow on the back of the sofa.

"You're also the only person I know wouldn't be concerned to call me out."

"I think you're mixing me up with Alice there."

"No. Alice does it for attention. You keep yourself to yourself but I can see your brain ticking over when I say things and I know, from the handful of times you've proved me wrong, you don't have an issue with telling me how it is."

"You've got me all wrong Mr. Seagrave."

"Yeah I'm sure I do Penelope." He smirked again. "So, tell me. You don't have friends outside of here. For whatever reason that may be, you don't want friends. I think there's a lot of secrets you're keeping from everyone and I personally find it intriguing."

"I don't have any secrets."

"Then what are your friends' names?"

"Jaxson, Dean and Emily."

"Boyfriend?"

"Nope."

"Live alone?"

"I'm not answering that."

"Another secret."

"No, I'm not telling a man if I live alone or not. I'm not stupid." He chuckled.

"Fair enough. What are you doing this weekend?"

"Not a clue. Dean and Emily plan everything. I normally find out on a Friday night when I see them."

"Fair enough. What did you do last weekend?"

"Quiet one in. Watched films, take out, pillow fight."

"Weekend before that?"

"Went to a bar."

"Which bar."

"I was drunk, I don't remember."

"Okay, then where abouts."

"You're starting to sound like a stalker." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Have you quizzed the other girls in the office like this?"

"No."

"Then why are you doing it with me?" He shrugged.

"You're the only one in the office whose deal I can't work out. No social media, no record of you anywhere before starting here 3 and a half years ago. You keep your head down, no one knows who you are, not really. Not to mention that it's your birthday tomorrow and not a single soul in this office knows about it." I stared at him, his steely blue eyes making me both uncomfortable and hot at the same time. I couldn't pinpoint it. I stupidly had an attraction to my boss, which was not only completely insane, but massively inappropriate. And now he was trying to do a deep dive on me which was sending my head into a spin. "I'm just curious." I brought my eyes back to my food and shrugged.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Good thing I'm not a cat then."