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

ago—I guess he’s been moved to one of the senior centers. He said that’s where you used to be the supervisor.”
    Owen smiles then as he nods. “It’s a great place. I can’t tell you how many times I won Scrabble championships over there. I’ll miss it.”
    For a second, I just stare at him. Scrabble. That’s . . . not hot.
    “Right, so . . . anyway. Remy is there now. Do you know anything about the circumstances behind the move? The switch? Like, why you were brought over here?”
    Owen cocks his head for a second, his tan arms crossed and balanced on the back of the chair in front of him.
    “Why are you asking?”
    My heart stutters. Fuck. That means yes.
    Then Owen shakes his head. “Look, honestly, I came into work yesterday and Burt Kensington was there with a few other people and they told me I was being transferred. That’s really all I know. A bunch of supervisors were shifted around.”
    He shrugs, then stands up.
    “It’s not a conspiracy theory, Rainey.”
    I bristle at that.
    “I don’t think it’s a conspiracy theory. I just . . . was curious.”
    I don’t tell him about the phone call with Remy. I was going to. I wanted to. But now I have another thought—a thought that would need me to bide my time a little bit. And not show my cards to my new boss right away.
    I stand up then and force a genial smile.
    “I’ll go get everyone for pizza,” I say.
    When I make it back to my office, everyone who was there before is still there, plus two of our preschool teachers, Brenna and Tim. I wave a dismissive hand at them.
    “False alarm,” I say, trying to seem relaxed. I should never have overdramatized my potential quitting. This is what I get for hyping things up for the sake of drama alone.
    “No, wait, what was Remy saying?” Shannon asks, her brow furrowed. “I mean, it obviously upset you because you said something about leaving, Rainey. No one is more devoted to this place than you are.”
    I shake my head.
    “It’s just been a long day, that’s all,” I say, feeling like a total tool for lying. The truth is that Remy, while vivacious and well-loved, is also pretty private. Telling the whole staff about his meeting and his new position would feel like a betrayal to him in the end.
    Besides, I need to try and keep some semblance of order around this place—in about two hours, there will be nearly three hundred kids here and, as per usual, not nearly enough staff to handle them. That’s one thing I’m proud of about BYC—we never turn anyone away. You always have a place to go when home is the last place you want to be.
    Well, and really, there are a lot of other things I’m proud of about this place. As my coworkers stand and start moving toward the—frankly—delicious-smelling pizza, I can’t help but remember how much I really do love it here. We’re all devoted—just like Remy, we put this place first. We put each other first.
    Owen may be the Scrabble master, but he’s going to have a lot to learn when it comes to this place. I suppose it’s technically my job to teach him, but I’m torn between a loyalty to my former boss and a necessary allegiance to my new one.
    In the end, it’s all about the kids. I know that Remy would agree. Maybe with a belly full of pizza and a chance to relax as a group, we’ll all look at things a little differently.
    Fingers crossed, anyway.
    When we all make it into the break room, Owen is standing at the front where a whiteboard is hanging. He’s holding a dry-erase marker in one hand, and I almost groan out loud. He really doesn’t get it, does he? He needs to give us a break to socialize before we actually start having legit work meetings. Pizza doesn’t create rapport. Gossip and laughter does.
    “Welcome, everyone!” Owen says brightly. “That’s for coming in. I’ve called up some of the afternoon staff to join us as well—I just thought we could get together and chat about the center.”
    I grab a slice of