Free The Girl He Needs by Kristi Rose Page A

shocked when he first arrived. The place looks ransacked. Paper is everywhere, boxes thrown around the floor with recycling or shredding flowing out of them. I turn to make a joke about the mess but he’s totally engrossed in his phone, thumbs flying madly across the screen.
    “Holy crap. I’ve never seen a phone be so busy as yours. Any of that business I can help with?” It’s annoying as hell. I want to snatch the phone from his hand and stomp on the screen. He’d definitely thank me later. Once he got past the shock and withdrawal.
    “It’s mostly all business. We’ve always been short on office staff, so I sent all the calls to my phone as well as the emails. Some of it’s from my job at the University.”
    “All the calls?” That explains why the office phone is so quiet.
    “Yeah, students, other schools looking for instructors, you name it.”
    “Give me your phone.” Palm out, I wait. After he hands it over—reluctantly I might add—I repress the urge to smash it, instead set about loading some apps. “I’ve put everything on an online calendar and can send you daily emails with the following day’s schedule. I’ve also set up reminders about when orders need to be completed. Like jet fuel.” I give him a knowing smile and hand back his phone.
    He scans the screen. “It all looks good, I’ll give you that,” he says and I catch his eyes darting away from me.
    I pick up the office phone. “What’s the code to stop forwarding the calls? It’s my one mission to make that thing shut up.” I nod to his phone that, coincidentally, hums with vibrations.
    He types in the code and for a moment it’s blissfully quiet. I take advantage of that silence and send all the calls to voice mail, as it’s quitting time soon.
    “This calendar is really nice,” he says, the app open on his phone.
    Stepping close, I tap some empty space highlighted green. “There’s some free time on Thursdays that’s not accounted for. Anything I can put into that time?”
    He shakes his head. “That’s my time. I don’t work for Mark then, so you can’t schedule me for anything.”
    “OK. Very mysterious.” I wag my brows.
    “Same for my time at the college. My office hours there are not flexible. I’ve a chance to land a full time teaching job if I apply for my Ph.D.”
    “How can you possibly manage all that with all this?” For added emphasis, I push over a pile of papers and let them slide across the table, stopping when they collide with the next pile.
    “I just will,” he says with a shrug. “I don’t have to take the position, but it’s a great contingency plan.”
    “And here I thought this place was your lifeblood.”
    “It is.”
    “Then why would you need a contingency plan?” I toss that zinger out, not expecting an answer.
    We stand in silence for four beats.
    “How’s your brother?” I ask, conceding the point to McRae. I used to have contingency plans for my contingency plans.
    “Fine. Busy with school.”
    “What’s happened with Mel?” I sit on the corner of the desk and start swinging my foot, glad I painted my nails a fire red last night. He licks his top lip and clasps his hands in front of his crotch.
    “Mark and I got a lawyer involved right away like you suggested. Mark was pretty resistant at first. But we’ve managed to contain it. Thanks for the advice.”
    “My pleasure.”
    “Hey,” Zach calls as he comes into the room. “You two doing all right in here? I guess you’ve met already, but I thought I’d come to see if everything was going well.” He stands in the doorway, his hands tucked in his back pocket, his eyes bouncing between us.
    “Yeah, we’re good,” I tell him while McRae steps back.
    “You two aren’t fighting or anything, right?”
    “Why would you think that?” I ask.
    “Because I feel like I interrupted something.” Zach shrugs.
    “No, it’s all good.” McRae tells him.
    “You’re Smitty, aren’t you?” I ask, putting together