How to Not Fall for My Boss ✔

3. Gone Baby Gone

Something is off this morning. Cobie glances down to double-check if she is wearing her blouse inside out or unmatched shoes. Everything on her seems fine, even her hair isn't that stubbornly messy today. Then why do people gawk at her as if she's the most intriguing creature alive? Does she look that dashing this morning? Or is it because she turns up five minutes late? She stayed until ten at work last night. She deserved to have a little bit of an easy morning, didn't she?

When she reaches her desk, she hangs her bag on her chair armrest and turns on her computer, trying to ignore those gazes on her. Plopping down on her chair, she slumps forward so that she can disappear behind the cubicle wall, completely gone from her colleagues' prying eyes. Still, it doesn't make her feel unseen. Something is definitely wrong.

She looks over her shoulder to check Lucy's cubicle. To her surprise, her colleague is also watching her with a look she can't decipher. Lucy quickly waves at her once she meets Cobie's eyes.

"Good morning!" Lucy greets.

"Morning. Do you know what's going on right now?"

Lucy's lips stretch, a little bit too wide, but the anxiousness in her eyes betrays her attempt to smile. She looks like someone having constipation instead. "What?"

Cobie straightens her posture and peeks over her cubicle top. People are now back to their work, but a few of them catch her eyes and grin at her. She lowers her head again and turns to Lucy. "Something is off. People are staring, and those girls from Finance just grinned at me like maniacs. What the hell is going on?"

Lucy gulps. "Okay. Calm down. Don't freak out."

Cobie raises one eyebrow, utterly confused. "Should I be freaked out? Why?"

"Mmm, in case you didn't know.... There was, I mean, there is a message going around at the moment."

"What message?" When Lucy doesn't reply to her fast enough, Cobie stresses her voice. "What message?"

Lucy's forced smile turns to a wince. "Maybe you should go check your email."

What is Lucy talking about? She has her work email set up on her phone. The only message she got was from Luke last night, and it was about him thanking her for the files. Nothing more, nothing less.

Cobie clicks the refresh button three times, and still no new email. Frowning, she opens Luke's email and rereads it.

---------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: Files for Global Sports

From: Luke.Williams

Cc:

Thank you :)

---------------------------------------------

"So?" Lucy's voice comes from behind her.

"I still don't get it. What am I looking for exactly?"

Lucy gets up and walks over to her. "Why not revisit your email to Luke last night? Maybe" —Lucy bites her lower lip— "it will give you some idea?"

Without asking further, Cobie does as Lucy suggested and clicks on her sent messages history. Her fingers are shaky, and her stomach churns for no clear reason, but she can feel that what she's going to see is not a pretty thing.

When she rereads her last email to her manager, her heart drops to the bottom of her stomach.

------------------------------------------------