Struggles of a Single Father (Book 1 of the Struggle Puff Series)

Chapter 34

Edited 03/14/2020

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When Amy left to give her boss her answer, Rosie came out of her hiding place.

I was leaned with my waist against the counter and when I saw her, I beckoned her over. She seemed nervous but came over anyway.

"Yes sir?" She asked, avoiding my gaze.

"Sir? I thought we were long past that." I joked.

"It's not really appropriate for an employee to refer to their boss by their first name."

I groaned, "She didn't mean that. Didn't she come and apologize before she left."

She shrugged, "She did, but she also told me that our behavior is inappropriate, and that she had been meaning to talk to me about it for a while."

I found myself to be frustrated with Amy's intrusion on my private affairs, "Amy isn't even your boss. Who cares?"

"Don't you think she's right though?" She was still avoiding my gaze, which frustrated me even more, and before I could stop myself, I used my thumb and finger to gently lift her head up.

When I saw her eyes, they were glazed over with tears, I started to panic, "Rosie, what's wrong?"

She tried to look away, but I still had a firm grasp on her chin, "It's nothing." She mumbled.

I looked around to make sure no one was coming up to the register. When I confirmed that there was a lull in traffic, I dragged her to the back turned her around to face me.

"If it were nothing, you wouldn't be about to cry." She shrugged wordlessly, "Ugh. My daughter does the same thing and it really gets on my nerves."

That seemed to strike a nerve in her and her head snapped up to meet my eyes, "Amy said that part of the reason our behavior is inappropriate is because of our ages. And you kind of just confirmed that by comparing me to your teenage daughter."

I cringed at the thought of what I said, "You know I didn't mean it like that."

"I get that you didn't mean it like that, but you still said it. And the fact that it was the first thing to cross your mind when I shrugged basically solidifies it."

The way she was talking was making me nervous, "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that we need to back off from each other. We clearly don't see each other the same and I guess that's for the best."

"Huh?"

"Let's just go back to a normal employee-employer relationship. It's for the best." She held her hand out for me to shake.

I didn't like this at all. It felt like not only was she killing our friendship, but it felt like she was killing any potential outside of that too.

"And what if I don't agree to that?" I asked boldly.

She looked down for a moment before shrugging again, "It's either this or I'll have to find a new job."

"I don't see why those are our only options."

"Because you clearly don't see me as I see you and that's bad enough. And I can't keep doing this weird friendship that's borderline dating thing either. It's nerf or nothing, you know?"

I wanted so badly to laugh at her joke, but I got no joy from this conversation. Before I knew what I was doing, I slowly reached out and grabbed her hand which was so small in comparison to my own. Her dark skin contrasted mine, but it was still a beautiful clash in my eyes.