Free Reckless by Winter Renshaw

know how that came up, but apparently he has a wood shop and he’s really handy, and he builds these little wren and finch houses and sells them online for an insane amount of money.”
    “That’s adorable.”
    Keegan’s face falls. “No. It’s not. It’s weird.”
    “Well, I think it’s adorable.”
    She rolls her eyes. “Why can’t he have normal hobbies? Despite all of that, he was really, really handsome. Like we’d make super adorable babies together.”
    “Don’t you think maybe you’re prioritizing the wrong things here?”
    Keegan’s hand flies to her chest, her mauve lips forming an ‘O’ shape. “Oh, god, no. All I want out of life is to be a wife and a mother, and I’m entering prime baby-making years. We have to get this show on the road. I need a man who can support a family, a man whose genes will mix well with mine. Those are basically my only priorities.”
    Glancing at the clock, I see it’s been almost ten minutes now. Those boxes in the storeroom are practically screaming my name, and I so don’t want to answer them.
    “So who is your ideal man?” I ask, pretending to care.
    “Our boss.” Her lips spread into a smile as she answers without any sort of hesitation whatsoever. “He’s perfect. God, is he perfect. Dark hair. Tall. Athletic. Serious but still nice. Intelligent. Everything you’d want in a husband.”
    “Will I ever get to meet him?”
    “Doubtful. He spends most of his time upstairs in his part of the building.” She twirls a finger around an ombre curl and stares blankly out the window on the far wall. “Doesn’t matter anyway. He won’t date staff. He’s made that perfectly clear. There’s an entire chapter on interoffice dating in the Starfire Employee Handbook. Typed it out myself from his handwritten notes. The man has great handwriting. That really says a lot about his attention to detail.”
    “It’s probably for the best. Those kinds of things never end well.”
    Keegan turns to me. “It would never end with him. I’d make damn sure of it. I’d hold on with everything I had. I’d have his babies, and I’d lock him down tight.”
    “Well, since he’s not an option, maybe you should just try to find someone more like him?”
    She blows a sarcastic breath through the side of her lips and cocks her head. “There’s nobody like him. Trust me. I’ve looked.”
    Keegan rises from my desk and gathers her hair in her hand, draping it over one shoulder. “All right. I’ve got a bunch of weddings to RSVP to. Can you get started on scanning, please?”
    My jaw hangs as she walks to her desk. I noticed last week that it never seemed like she was very busy, but the fact that she flat out admits it, like it’s nothing, is infuriating.
    This isn’t right.
    I really, really hate this job.
    And I hate that Keegan is my boss.
    Making my way to the storeroom, I grab the next box and lug it to the copy room.
    I could call the temp agency and tell them it’s not working out here. I could ask for another placement. But there’s no guarantee they’d be able to find something for me as soon as possible, and besides, the last thing I need to do is come across like I’m the one who’s hard to work with. They’ll blacklist my file quicker than I can say curriculum vitae .
    My morning is filled with hours of repetitive scanning, and my afternoon consists of watching the clock between my tedious electronic filing. By the time I’m placing the hard files into the filing cabinet at the end of the day, the sound of Keegan laughing and chatting on the phone wafts past her desk and into the storeroom.
    I don’t think she’s worked a damn hour all day today.
    I should have her job.
    “Mary.” Keegan’s voice scares the bejeesus out of me when I’m halfway through filing the M-P box.
    I glance up, forcing a smile on my face.
    “I’m leaving a little early today,” she says, checking the time on her phone. “I have a wax and then I’m meeting some friends