How to Kill Your Boss Read Online Free PDF

Frozen in place, I waited for a knock that didn’t come. My heart hammered painful blows against my chest, pumping heated blood through my ears and skull. I jumped when I heard muffled voices and a loud slam. It had to be Jacob’s door. We were the only apartments sharing this floor.
    I listened, then listened some more. Excruciating minutes passed before I was able to trigger the nerves that connected my brain to my legs. This was insane. Jacob had a visitor. So what? Why was I getting so worked up? Maybe my overactive imagination needed a long vacation.
    I threw on my sweatshirt and grabbed my sunglasses. A walk on the beach would do me some good. Sunshine, blue sky, and salty air. I peeked again before leaving to be sure no hooded creeps lingered in the hall. The coast was clear so I made my escape.
    I only needed to cross the street to reach my destination. There was a walking and bike path, a patch of grass, and then the beach. Despite the sunshine, it was way too chilly to park it in the sand and enjoy the view, so I headed west. Merging onto the walking path took an insane amount of gumption, much like I-5 during rush hour. Somehow I managed and even dodged a cyclist with an impressive amount of grace.
    Instead of clearing my head, I filled it with dizzying thoughts and questions about my non-date with Franklin. What would happen on Monday? How could I face him after running like I did? Oh crap. What if I’d stayed? Would I have woken in his bed this morning instead of my own? Hmm. He must be yummy in the morning all sleepy and…oh, no. I couldn’t let my mind go there.
    I made the decision to call him. At least it would make things less uncomfortable on Monday. Except I didn’t have his number. We’d never exchanged digits, never had reason to. Maybe Nan could help me. Would that be creepy? Make me a stalker? Clearly, if he’d wanted to give me his phone number, he would have, right? Except, I hadn’t given him a chance. I was the one who bolted after all.
    Okay. Enough was enough. I’d call Nan as soon as I got home and get his contact info. She’d have it on file. The woman practically ran the damned company, for crying out loud.
    I was less than a block away from my building and lost in reflection when a bulldozer wearing a gray hoodie knocked me off my feet and flat on my back. I lay on the sidewalk for a moment, stunned but unhurt as far as I could tell. From the corner of my eye, I watched him sprint away and duck around the corner of a building.
    “Asshole!” I shouted. Not that it did any good. A jogger stopped to help me to my feet.
    “You okay?” she asked, panting. Her face turned ten shades of pale. She looked wide-eyed, down the length of my body. “Oh, my God. Let me call an ambulance.”
    “What? No. I’m fine.” I reassured her.
    “But you’re bleeding.” She gestured to my stomach.
    Yup. There was blood smeared across the front of my clothes. I frantically searched for a wound. No pain. I pulled up my shirt. Nothing. Not a scratch. I inspected my hands. They were bloody, but only from touching my soiled garment.
    It must have come from hoodie man. My throat closed tight and I grabbed the jogger to steady myself. “Oh no, oh no, oh no.”
    I sprinted the short distance home. The elevator took at least three hours and twenty-five minutes to reach my floor. As I approached Jacob’s door, my heart stopped beating, the hallway narrowed and lengthened, and I fell to my knees. It was wide open. I pulled myself up, gripped the wall for support, and peeped in the doorway on shaky legs.
    * * * *
    Detective Leland Waters jotted one more note in his little black book, handed me a card, and patted me on the shoulder. “Miss Wood. Here’s my number. Please call if you think of anything else.”
    I nodded because I hadn’t a damned word left to say. I’d told him everything I could remember about the man who’d haunted my day, from the moment I’d spied him out the window until I found