“Hey, no shame in trying to wolf down some pastries in the elevator. Next time just make sure the door isn’t about to close on someone.”

She finished chewing and glared at me. “It’s not the job of the person in the elevator to check to see if anyone’s coming. You should have called out for me to hold the door.”

“I disagree.”

“I wasn’t asking your opinion.”

I narrowed my gaze. “How about you tell me why you’re so hostile. We have to work together, so you need to drop the attitude.”

“Oh, so anyone who doesn’t agree with your elevator etiquette has an attitude?” She chuckled and stepped off.

“Noooooo. This has nothing to do with etiquette and everything to do with your attitude.”I followed her into her office and shut the door.

She sat down behind her desk and I dropped in the chair across from her. “You know. You may have just helped me choose the first topic for my column.”

“Let me guess…how to treat your boss with disrespect?”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you always such a narcissist?”

“Probably. I mean, look at me.”I chuckled and raised a brow in challenge. “So, what’s the topic?”

“Social etiquettes. From the workplace, to the elevator, to small talk, to the dating world. I mean, we face these challenges daily, right? What’s politically correct these days? Do I hold the door for a guy I don’t really care for, or let him wait for the next one?” She paused and smirked before continuing. “Or what if a guy asks you out and you aren’t interested. You’ve got two choices, A, you ignore him, and you’re labeled a tease, or B, you tell him you aren’t interested, and you’re labeled a bitch.”

“What about C?”

“There is no C.”

“Well, what if you like him?”

She shrugged. “Okay, there’s a C. Say you actually like him. If you tell him you like him, you’re a stalker. So, you keep it to yourself, and then he sleeps around because he didn’t know you wanted to be exclusive, and then you hate him. Yes. There’s a lot to run with here. I mean, there’s also a ton going on in the political arena, which is slightly more riveting, but I agreed to do this, and you just helped me get there. So, thank you, Montgomery. You’ve been a huge help.”

“Why do I feel like that’s a backhanded compliment?” I asked.

“Because it is.” She chuckled. “You’re a bit slicker than I expected.”

“I’m full of surprises.”

“I’m sure you are. But not everyone loves surprises, so…” Her gaze moved to the door.

Seriously? She was kicking me out of her office?

“I was just leaving,” I said, pushing to my feet with irritation.

“Sure, you were.”

I laughed. I liked how snarky she was.

“Send me over the idea for the column.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, her smile anything but genuine.

“Now was that so painful?” I asked as I paused at the door.

“Yes. Very much so.”