“Sure. I was friends with Rosie, remember. I’d love to meet her niece.”

He could swear his mother was up to something, but if he called her on it, she’d want to know why he felt so defensive over mention of Justine. And since he had a tough time acknowledging just what he and Justine had between them other than friendship, he did his best to smile and pretend a family date with her didn’t bother him.

“I’m happy to ask her to join us. But fair warning, she’s been pretty busy with work and her own family lately. I haven’t seen her all that much this week.”

“I’m sure you’ll bump into her at some point. You don’t have her number?”

“Well, no. If I need to talk to her, she’s right upstairs.”

“And now you have an excuse to get her number.”

“Mom.” He sighed.

“You’re welcome. Now pass the fruit salad.” She paused. “And tell me more about Max.”

CHAPTER 14

“You’re kidding. What a nightmare,” Katie said as they walked out of the office building together Friday night. “When is someone going to hold Frank accountable? He’s a terrible manager.”

“Tell me about it.” Justine’s head throbbed from a growing headache after fixing her boss’s problems all day. “I have my own work to handle plus his, which he never seems able to do correctly.”

“Maybe because he spends all day long up his boss’s ass. Hard to get work done when your sniffing ass crack.”

Two guys in suits stared at Katie as they passed her, having obviously overheard her.

She just waved.

One of them grinned and waved back.

Katie turned to her and linked arms. “You need to speak up, Justine. If you don’t tell him how much you hate working overtime when you have your own life to get back to, nothing will change.”

“I’m not even getting paid the extra hours,” she muttered, annoyed she still hadn’t had her yearly review for a raise. Frank kept putting it off.

“Wait, what?” Katie stopped in her tracks, forcing Justine to stop with her. “Are you telling me you’ve been doing all your own work and his, staying late, and you’re not getting any OT for it?”

“No. It’s not in the budget.”

“This is bullshit, Justine.” Katie softened her voice. “Look, honey, I know you’re a team player. You work so hard, don’t expect a pat on the back for it either, and are trying your best. But this is not at all a good fit for you.”

Tears came to Justine’s eyes. “You don’t think I know that?”

“You’re miserable. Frank is getting all the credit for your ideas. Plus he’s so busy schmoozing the boss that he looks like he can do no wrong while you’re holding him up and getting no respect for it.”

“I’m trying to make our team look good.”

“You’re just making him look good. Not the team.” Katie paused. “Why isn’t Phil or John or Sarah working overtime for him?”