Just For Now (A Flirting With Trouble Novel) Read Free Page A

squeezing his hand harder than he probably needs to. Then, all of a sudden, he lets go, dropping his hand and moving to stand up. Without another word, Derrick turns and walks past the rows of folding chairs and out the same gym door Mr. Kensington exited a minute ago.
    Apparently seeing one employee walk out is enough to inspire a few of the others to do the same. The aquatics director, Jenn, and the facilities manager, Ronald, both walk out without another word. Shannon and the others are staying, but they’re all looking at me as though waiting for permission to leave. Sighing, I make a dismissive motion with my hands.
    “Go ahead, everyone. I’ll check in with y’all in a little bit.”
    The rest of the staff files out, the scrape of chairs the only sound as they go. I can feel Owen’s eyes on me, so I turn to face him head-on.
    Oh, yeah. He’s pissed.
    “I understand that you have a certain amount of authority here, Rainey, and I respect that. But, in the future, I would appreciate it if you didn’t dismiss staff from a meeting without my go-ahead.”
    I swallow, allowing the few moments it takes for my irritation to settle back down to hang between us.
    “Owen, I’m trying to explain to you that Remy is well-liked. Well-loved. He isn’t here now and no one knew it was happening. This is going to be a hard adjustment. If you let me help to smooth the transition, it’ll probably make life easier for you.”
    Owen licks his lips, which have formed a small smile. I notice he has the slightest dimple in his left cheek, far more shallow than the deep one in his chin.
    “Right. Well, I’ll be sure to let you know if I need any more of your . . . transitioning.”
    I open my mouth, completely ready to let loose a snarky response, then close it. It isn’t worth it—not when I’ve got to spend the rest of the day putting out fires.
    Finally, I just shrug and start moving toward the door.
    “Just remember that when two thirty rolls around,” I say over my shoulder.
    “Two thirty?” Owen asks.
    I glance back at him.
    “If you think a handful of upset adults is a pain to deal with, just wait until the kids get here.”
    ***
    My job at the Baltimore Youth Center has always required me to wear many hats. There are days when it’s mostly administrative, where I spend an entire eight hours working on a proposal for a new grant or enrollments for the next semester. There are days that are the complete opposite, when I spend the entire day running around the building, trying to fix faulty toilets or replacing light bulbs when the facilities staff is down a man or two. And then there are days like today—when my office is a revolving door of people wanting to come and talk. To find out what I know.
    To talk shit, essentially.
    By lunch, people are coming in and out of my office without rhyme or reason. Owen has gone out to get pizzas for the staff in what is probably a genuinely nice gesture, but everyone is taking the opportunity to talk smack while he is gone.
    “A guy like that? He’s never gonna make it,” Jenn says, leaning back on the secondhand couch. It’s a hand-me-down from Cyn’s dad’s old apartment, but it’s seen better days—mustard-colored foam spills out of the split seams like it’s calling “uncle” and running toward the door.
    “He could,” her partner, Wendy, says, shrugging. She and Jenn have been here since the center’s inception and they fell in love almost right after starting to work together. When I met them, they’d been planning their wedding—a small get-together in the Baltimore Harbor that was probably the most fun reception I’ve ever been to.
    Wendy pats Jenn’s hand. “Honestly, honey, we need to at least give him a chance to prove himself. For all we know, he was assigned here. We have no idea if he had any say in whether Remy got to stay.”
    I look at my phone for the hundredth time. It’s going on three hours since I first texted Remy and he still