A Heart to Trust

by A. L. Brooks

  “We have.” Jenny seemed to make an effort to sound cheery. “And in the meantime, I think you and I have another date tonight, don’t we?” She waggled her eyebrows.

  Olivia laughed, then playfully pushed Jenny off her desk. “Back to work, Ms. Quinn. Stop distracting me.”

  Jenny leaned down so that her lips were close to Olivia’s ear. “Trust me, I have much better ways of distracting you than that.”

  Olivia swallowed hard. “I don’t doubt that for a moment.”

  They held each other’s gaze for one intense moment before Jenny stepped back, cleared her throat, and walked back to her desk, shaking her head as if coming out of a daze.

  Olivia sighed, sternly told her libido to pipe the heck down, and went back to her work.

  Chapter 32

  Jenny didn’t know whether to be happy or not about the fact she hadn’t been in the office all week. She and Olivia had been dating—on the down low—for nearly three weeks now, and it was going well. So being away from the office was, on the one hand, difficult when all she wanted to do was stare dreamily at Olivia at her desk.

  Olivia had this cute way of biting her lip when she concentrated that had Jenny completely mesmerized whenever she did it. She also continued to wear skirt suits to work, despite the weather, and holy hell was it hard to concentrate when those legs walked by.

  On the other hand, all that was a good reason why it was great Jenny was out of the office. Given they were still keeping this to themselves, it would have totally given the game away if Jenny had sat drooling at her desk all week.

  The other side effect of the time away from the office was Jenny had been too distracted running all over the city to spend any time thinking about her job future. Or Olivia’s job future. The call with Adrienne had stayed on her mind, but it had been easy to ignore it when she was so busy. As had the conversation with Olivia about her applying for the production manager role. If she does get it, I’ll have to find another job if I want to continue seeing her. She snorted. As if that was in any doubt. Once again, a change would be forced on Jenny, one she’d have to work fast to sort out. So maybe Adrienne is right. Maybe I should take control of the situation. Own it.

  She sighed. The idea filled her with trepidation. Why can’t things just stay the way they are? She just wanted time to see how she and Olivia could be. Things were going so well, she didn’t want to rock the boat.

  She and Olivia, as an item, were so good. Each time they met, they’d find somewhere far from the office—usually at a quiet bar or diner, or sometimes they’d stay in Olivia’s apartment. Last Saturday had been the best—they’d spent the entire day together, taking in an exhibition at the Guggenheim, then lunch in Soho, then drinks back at Olivia’s. Drinks that had led to more kissing, more holding and caressing, more wearing down of Jenny’s self-imposed no-sex-until-I’m-really-sure mandate.

  She had only just resisted, but she also wondered what held her back. Three weeks and many dates gave lots of opportunities to observe Olivia, to listen to her, to make sure she was who she said she was. And absolutely nothing she’d done had led Jenny to believe she wasn’t the real deal.

  So, why are you still waiting to take that final step? Wanting Olivia was not the problem; she was so damn sexy it was ridiculous. The thought of finally touching her, naked and hot beneath Jenny, made her breathless with desire.

  So, what’s stopping you?

  She finished dressing and grabbed her coat and scarf, that last thought swirling around her brain.

  Then she exhaled and shoved that thought, and thoughts of career moves and jobs, far from her mind. She had more immediate things to worry about: in a little over fifteen minutes, Olivia would meet Tamara, Roz, and Carl for the first time.

  Jenny had been flipping between excited and terrified all morning. What if her friends didn’t like Olivia?

  “You okay?” Carl asked as she walked into the living room.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You look a little wild around the eyes.”

  “All good.” She didn’t look at him as she answered. She pulled on the coat and wrapped the scarf around her neck. Then she tugged on her boots before grabbing her purse. “Okay, I’m going to meet her at the subway. See you there.”

  The walk to the subway gave her a few more minutes to ponder her situation, both in regard to making that final move to intimacy with Olivia and in talking to her about her job quandary. She trusted Olivia now, didn’t she? Jenny searched inside herself for the answer, thinking of all the ways they interacted.

  At work, Olivia was the epitome of professionalism, yet she always made time to thank people for anything they’d done and to praise others when she was impressed.

  Outside of work, she was a total sweetheart and far softer than Jenny would ever have guessed. She cried at sappy movies and any TV commercial involving puppies. She gave money to every homeless person she passed, and twice she’d stopped them on their way to her place to buy soup for the older homeless woman who had taken up residence in the doorway of an abandoned furniture store two blocks away.

  Olivia respected Jenny’s need to go Dutch on every date, though she clearly had access to more money than Jenny. Although, it wasn’t as much as Jenny had first thought, and her stance on that meant Jenny respected her even more. Apparently, Broderick had offered to pay her an allowance as part of their agreement and she’d turned him down. Yes, she lived rent-free, but in everything else she paid her own way and used the money she would have spent on rent to save for her own place one day. And the prenup she’d signed made it perfectly clear she’d walk away with nothing extra if she and Broderick divorced—the family lawyer had been strongly coached by Katherine in that regard. Olivia was happy with that. She was as independent as Jenny and determined to make her own way, using her own skills and knowledge.

  She’s done everything to show me who she is. And I like everything I see. I never would have imagined we’d fit, but somehow, we do. And the thought of seeing Olivia again in a few minutes had Jenny’s nerves tingling in the best of ways. This is what I wanted to feel again. All of this.

  When Olivia appeared at the top of the subway steps, her smile wide and her eyes shining, Jenny’s heart and stomach competed for who could flip over the quickest. Wow, I am so gone on this woman. She stepped forward, pulled Olivia into her arms, and held her tightly.

  “Hey.” Olivia’s voice was muffled in the swathes of Jenny’s scarf. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I missed you.” She was nervous saying the words out loud; for all the time they’d spent together, such endearments had not yet been shared.

  “Oh.” Olivia’s voice cracked even on that one simple word. “I’ve missed you too.” She squeezed Jenny a little tighter. “This week was so hard. I loved what I was working on, but all I wanted to do was share it with you.”

  “Me too.” Jenny pulled back a little and looked into Olivia’s eyes, the hazel of them glowing in the low winter sun. “So, how was your journey out to the wilds of Brooklyn?”

  Olivia rolled her eyes. “I have been to Brooklyn many times, you know.”

  “You have?”

  “Yes! There’s some amazing theater here. I also interviewed for a couple of jobs here last year.” She frowned. “As you can tell, I didn’t get anywhere.”

  “Then they’re idiots for not taking you on.”

  “You’re sweet.” Olivia’s frown dissipated. “Besides, I have enough to worry about today without thinking about jobs.”

  “Relax, they’re gonna love you!” God, I hope I’m right.

  They walked to Tamara and Roz’s apartment hand-in-hand, deciding the risk of anyone seeing them this deep in Brooklyn was too small to be concerned about. And Olivia needed the comfort and that was all Jenny cared about.

  Roz opened the door and greeted them both warmly. “It’s so great to fin
ally meet you,” she said to Olivia. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Likewise,” Olivia said as she handed Roz her coat and scarf. “Thanks for inviting me today.”

  “Well, if you’re going to be with this one, you have to get used to the Sunday lunch tradition.” Roz gestured over her shoulder. “Carl and Solomon are in the living room. Want to join them and I’ll get you a drink?”

  “Thanks.” Jenny squeezed Roz’s arm in a silent gesture of gratitude for the lovely welcome. “I’ll take a light beer, please.”

  Olivia held up her shopping bag. “I brought some red wine with me, and there’s some of what I hear is Tamara’s favorite beer in there too.”

  Roz’s eyes widened. “Nice move!” She took the bag. “What would you like to drink?”

  “Do you have any white wine?”

  “Sure do. Please, go sit and I’ll be right out.”

  Jenny led Olivia into the living room, wondering why Tamara was slack in coming to greet them and hoping it was simply a kitchen emergency. She introduced Olivia to Carl and Solomon, who were both as nice as pie to her. They were just about to sit when Tamara poked her head out of the kitchen doorway.

  “Hey!” She had a large wooden spoon in one hand. “Sorry, I’ll be there in a sec. Basting waits for no man. Or woman.”

  Olivia chuckled, and Tamara smiled.

  Okay, so far so good.

  Tamara was key, Jenny realized. Her guardian angel, or Mother Hen, or whatever you wanted to call Tamara—her opinion mattered the most in this. Jenny realized her stomach had tightened with nerves and willed herself to relax.

  Roz appeared with their drinks, then sat alongside Olivia on the couch. “So, you’re dating our baby girl.”

  “Roz!” Jenny’s face heated. “Seriously?”

  Olivia laughed and placed a hand on Jenny’s knee. “Did you think they’d do anything else?”

  “I suppose not.” Jenny’s voice was a mumble directed at her chest.

  Roz guffawed. “Oh, come on. You know I’m only teasing.”

  “Already?” Tamara appeared from the kitchen. She walked straight over to Olivia and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Tamara. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Olivia stood to shake her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you. Thank you for inviting me.”

  “Our pleasure. We needed to meet the woman who’s well on her way to stealing this one’s heart.” Tamara thumbed in Jenny’s direction and grinned.

  “You too?” Jenny glared at her. “What is this, National Embarrass Jenny Quinn Day?”

  Olivia turned to look at her. Her expression made it very clear she was happy, not alarmed, at Tamara’s implication. She sat and took Jenny’s hand.

  “And hey, thanks so much for the beer,” Tamara said. “That definitely earns you plus points.” She winked.

  Olivia nodded. “Good. Whatever it takes.”

  “Hey, I’m no pushover.” Tamara leaned into one hip, the gesture kind of intimidating. “So, you’re married, right?”

  Jenny tensed. There was an edge to Tamara’s tone she didn’t like. “Hey.”

  Tamara turned to her. “What?” She opened her arms wide. “I think I have a right to ask important questions of the person who’s suddenly gone from treating you not very nicely to wanting to date you.”

  “I’m not sure you need to be that blunt about it, babe.” Roz frowned at her partner.

  “Why not? It’s the elephant in the room, so let’s just get it out there.”

  “It’s okay.” Olivia pulled away from Jenny and stood once more. The look she gave Tamara was open and friendly, but having known her for a few months now, Jenny noted the tension in her shoulders said she wasn’t as relaxed as she made out to be. “Ask away. You do have a right to know. Although Jenny knows it all already, and if she’s okay with it, that should be enough. Or are you saying you don’t trust your best friend’s judgment?”

  Carl whistled; Jenny thought her heart might stop.

  Tamara barked out a laugh that made everyone jump, and the tension broke. “Oh yeah, I like this one.” She gave Jenny an enigmatic look, then turned back to Olivia. “I’m doing a roast chicken, is that okay with you? Jenny said you didn’t have any allergies or dislikes.”

  “Roast chicken sounds wonderful.”

  Olivia and Tamara locked gazes for a moment.

  Tamara nodded. “Good.” She headed back toward the kitchen. “Dinner in about twenty, people!” she called over her shoulder.

  Olivia sat back next to Jenny and grabbed her hand, the only sign squaring up to Tamara had affected her.

  Jenny blew her a kiss.

  Olivia let go of Jenny’s hand and picked up her glass of wine. She took a long drink and Jenny smirked at the sight.

  Roz turned to Solomon to ask about his week, and Olivia squeezed Jenny’s thigh.

  She looked up to find Olivia’s warm gaze on her.

  “Is it true?” Olivia asked.

  “What?” Jenny kept her voice low.

  Olivia blushed a little. It was adorable how often that happened, and with her pale skin, she couldn’t hide it. “That I’m on my way to stealing your heart?”

  Jenny took her hand. Her heart thumped hard, and she flushed hot and cold all over. “Yeah. You are.” The words came out huskily, her emotions all over the place.

  Olivia’s smile was one of the most beautiful things Jenny had ever seen. “Ditto.”

  Chapter 33

  “Olivia? Do you have a moment?”

  Olivia looked up from her laptop to find Zoey, from HR, standing by her desk.

  The older woman smiled as their gazes connected.

  “Sure. Here or…?”

  “How about we just head into a meeting room?” Zoey didn’t wait for a response, and Olivia jumped up to follow her to the bank of rooms on the far side of the floor.

  It was Tuesday morning, and she was alone in their area of the office.

  Jenny was still working at the studio where a documentary on the history of nail polish was being filmed. “Most boring TV program ever made,” Jenny had whined when they’d spoken on the phone the night before.

  Maxwell was in what he’d called an external meeting, but which Olivia suspected was actually an interview for another job somewhere. He’d not seemed happy ever since the start of the year.

  Zoey shut the door behind them and motioned Olivia into a seat. “Thanks for giving me this time.”

  Not sure I had a choice. She kept her temper in check and tried to relax in her seat.

  “So, here’s the thing. I don’t normally do this but there’s always time for an exception.” Zoey took a deep breath. “The post of production manager, previously held by Derek, has been advertised for a couple weeks now, and applications close tomorrow.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “I haven’t seen an application from you cross my desk yet.” Zoey’s voice was low but not accusatory. If anything, she sounded confused.

  Olivia startled. She’d never expected Zoey to have this conversation with her, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for it.

  “Olivia?” Zoey tilted her head. “Are you even considering applying?”

  “I…I’m not sure.”

  “May I ask why?”

  Olivia sighed. “It’s complicated.”

  “Are you worried you aren’t qualified enough? Because I’ve seen your résumé, and I think you have as good a chance as anyone. At least to make it to interview stage.”

  “Oh.”

  It was great to hear, obviously. But if she became production manager, Jenny would be her subordinate. Which would mean they couldn’t be in a relationship.

  Her stomach rolled over.

  “Or is there something else holding you back? The responsibilities, the pay grade?”

&
nbsp; “No, it’s…” She had to ask, because it was fundamental to the situation. Olivia chose her words carefully. “Hypothetically speaking, if I was involved with someone romantically, someone who was a peer at present but would become a subordinate if by some chance I got the job, would that be a problem?”

  Zoey steepled her fingers and rested her chin on them. “I’m confused, I thought you were married?”

  Olivia’s face heated. “Getting divorced.”

  “Ah. Well, I think you know the answer to your question, don’t you? As much as I would like to tell you that your relationship—sorry, your hypothetical relationship—would not be frowned on, I can’t. It would break company policy and one of you would need to either move departments or leave the company.” She softened her tone. “Or the relationship would have to end, but I don’t think any of us would want that, would we?”

  Olivia blinked, not trusting her voice.

  “Please talk to your hypothetical partner about this situation. I believe it would be a great shame if your résumé wasn’t one of the those we had to review tomorrow.” Zoey held Olivia’s gaze.

  “I… Okay.”

  Shit.

  Olivia slept fitfully that night and was a tad bleary-eyed when she arrived at work on Wednesday morning. The sight of Jenny and Maxwell playing desk basketball lifted her spirits a little; somehow, no matter what, just hearing Jenny laugh was all Olivia needed to feel good about the world. “Good morning,” she said as she placed her purse on her desk.

  “Hey,” Maxwell replied.

  Jenny smiled. “Hi. How are you?”

  “I’m okay.” Don’t lie. “Actually, I didn’t sleep too well. I have a lot on my mind.”

  “The closing date is today, isn’t it?” Maxwell asked.

  Of course, he would remember that. “Yes, I believe it is.”

  Jenny looked at Olivia. “So, did you apply?”

  They hadn’t spoken about it again. Somehow, with all the fun they’d had the last couple of weeks, Olivia had never quite found the right moment to bring it up. And neither, it seemed, had Jenny. So, here they were, about to air it all out in front of Maxwell. Lovely.