Something Great
Page 15

After the logistics and signing contracts were taken care of, she led me to my office. Gripping tightly on my bag, I could feel the tension in my knuckles, and the palms of my hands were moist. Nervousness and excitement had claimed me. As I inhaled deep breaths, I walked behind Mrs. Ward.
The office was fairly large, but the five of us shared it. My desk was placed next to the large window, and the other desks were place on the either side of the wall. In the center was another table with chairs, perhaps for meetings.
There were two females and two males. The one that approached us first was Lisa, who had light brown hair and soft brown eyes. She looked just as young as me, and seemed friendly. Then I was introduced to Rachel, Dan, and Eric, who were just as welcoming. After the introductions, Mrs. Ward left, and they all sat down and got back to work.
Lisa knew all the ins and outs of the place. She showed me the lists of our clients, and where I could find their information on the computer on my desk. There was so much to learn and so much to do. As I sat, I turned my black leather chair around to face the window. My stomach lurched up to my heart from my fear of heights, so I backed away to marvel at the beauty of my view.
Looking straight down I could see the front entrance, people rushing in and out of the building, and cars whizzing by. I inhaled a deep, thankful breath at the thought that I was given this wonderful opportunity. Though I didn’t get the job I’d wanted, things happened for a reason. I hoped it would be a good one.
Before I knew it, it was almost noon. “We usually take our lunch at twelve-thirty to miss the lunch rush. Would you like to go to lunch with us?” Lisa asked, smiling.
Though I should have said yes, I had so much to do, and knowing they would be gone for an hour, I declined. “I’m just going to grab a sandwich and get back to work. How about I join you tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Lisa smiled and everyone left, leaving me all alone.
Grabbing my wallet and my cell phone out of my workbag, I headed out of the office, down the elevator, and stepped out into the wind. It had been comfortable that morning…where had the wind come from all of a sudden? Trudging through the heavy wind, I entered Café Express. My heart pounded, wondering if I would see Max again. I did a quick scan of the room and relaxed my shoulders when there was no sign of him.
The line wasn’t as long as I had expected it to be, but thinking of Lisa’s words, I guessed I was at the tail end of the lunch hour rush. To pass the time, I checked my emails and texts as I stood in line. Becky, Nicole, and Kate had texted to tell me to have an awesome first day. They were so sweet. My parents did the same. There was a missed call from Luke; Becky asking me to find a rich guy for her; Kate telling me to find someone who made me leak; Nicole telling me to find someone who would rock my sex life. I giggled a little bit too loud, and looked up when the cashier said something.
Too engrossed in my texts, I hadn’t realized the line had moved fast. “Sorry. I would like to order your turkey sandwich, a bottle of water, and….” Should I or shouldn’t I order one? Heck…I deserved one for being good and not having sweets for the past couple of days. “One Rice Krispies Treat, please.”
The cashier came back with my stuff and rang up the register. “That will be thirteen fifty.”
I opened my wallet and was just about to place a twenty in his hand when a hundred dollar bill crossed my vision. “I’ll have what she’s having, except for the Rice Krispies Treat; and I’ll be paying for both.”
I froze. I knew the sound of his voice, his smell, and his warm breath against my face when he reached over. Turning, I peered up to him. “Um…thank you, but it’s okay,” I said politely.
“Jenna, we meet again. I got this.” There was excitement in his tone. He gave a stern look to the cashier, a look that meant, “take it now.”
Not wanting to make a big fuss, I turned to him again. “Thank you, but it wasn’t necessary.”
“It’s my pleasure, and since we’re friends now we can sit together.” He grabbed his change and our lunches, and headed to an empty table toward the back with one of his hands on my back.
Having no choice, I let him lead me. “We’re friends?” I cocked my head to the side with a questioning look.
“We’ve run into each other four times already, and we even had dinner together,” he joked, pulling out a chair for me.
After I sat, he pushed it forward. What a gentleman! A part of me felt guilty for sitting there with him, but he was being friendly, and in a way, we were friends. “I didn’t really have dinner with you,” I corrected.
He opened the cap to the water bottle and placed it in front of me. Then he unwrapped the paper that was tightly hugging my sandwich and placed that in front of me as well, but he held on to the Rice Krispies Treat that was inside a brown paper bag. “Here you go. You must be hungry. But we did. You sat across from me, didn’t you?” he winked.
Oh…don’t wink. My heart did a funny flip. “Yes, but I was with someone, and you were with someone, so I hardly call that going to dinner together,” I giggled, thinking how funny this conversation sounded.
“We can change that. And just so you know, I wasn’t stalking you.” He smiled that irresistible smile. “I come here to grab a quick bite to eat. Unless you want me to stalk you, then I can make that happen.”
My eyes grew wide.
“You know I’m joking, right? Someone has to protect you from people who like to accidently bump into you, make it seem like it’s your fault, and then be really rude about it,” he winked again, opening his mouth to take a bite of his sandwich.