It's Only Temporary

Chapter 3: cnan't sleep (part 1)

July 2012 (two years earlier)

"Nose to the grindstone. That's what I like to see."

Penny sat bolt upright in her desk chair and minimized the window on her work computer. She'd been so absorbed that she hadn't heard David walk up behind her. He had one hand resting on the back of her chair as he gazed at the screen over her shoulder. With the other hand, he dropped a heavy stack of papers across her keyboard.

"I need six copies," he said, as she twisted in her chair to look up at his face. "You know, if it's not too much of an imposition."

"Sorry." Had he seen what she was looking at before she shut the window? She wasn't sure.

"Keg rentals, huh?"

Penny winced. "Sorry," she said again, picking up the papers he'd set down. "When do you need this by?"

He didn't respond to her question. He released the back of her chair and leaned back against the window sill behind him, bracing his weight on his arms and crossing his legs at the ankles. "When's the party?"

Penny shrugged, feeling her face start to flush. "No party."

"So the keg's just for you? Should I be concerned?"

"Tonight, OK? The party's tonight."

It had been Lauren's suggestion - a little housewarming shindig to celebrate Penny's new single status. Because nothing spelled P-A-R-T-Y like getting dumped on your ass by your boyfriend of four years.

Greg had broken up with her a few weeks ago, and Penny still couldn't quite believe it. They'd been pre-med together - her constant study buddy, all four years of college. She hadn't seen it coming. Not even for a second. Greg had been pissed, of course, when she beat him by four points on the MCAT, but that all blew over once they both had their hard-earned acceptance letters in hand.

Penny had followed him to New York for the summer after graduation. They'd agreed that their relationship would continue long-distance once the summer ended and they both started their first years of medical school: Greg at NYU, and Penny a two-hour train ride away at Yale. She'd been completely blind-sided two weeks later, when he asked for her keys and announced that he met someone else.

The funny thing was, she felt surprisingly okay with the way the summer was shaping up. Not that she enjoyed getting cheated on and dumped. She couldn't deny that it stung. But there was also something exciting about the prospect of a summer in the city - single and free, with no responsibilities beyond a nine-to-five temp job to bring in some cash.

It probably didn't hurt that the position came with a handy built-in distraction from all thoughts of her ex. She'd known the moment she laid eyes on her new boss that the summer wouldn't be a total loss.

She looked up at David's face again hesitantly. Was he mad? He wouldn't fire her over this, would he?

"You realize this is a gross misuse of company resources, Ms. Stewart," David said, nodding toward her computer. "Do I need to have a word with your temp agency?"

She was about to apologize again, but she could see one corner of his mouth quivering - trying to rise upward, and being forced back down into a stern line. He was messing with her. She was 99 percent sure he was messing with her. She'd been working at this job for six weeks now, and she was finally getting a sense for how to read him.

"Don't be a bully, David." She returned her eyes to her computer and pretended to resume typing. All for show, of course. She was watching his reflection in the monitor.

He raised his eyebrows. "I'm your boss. Why shouldn't I be a bully?"

"It gives you wrinkles in your forehead."