Silver City Girl

by Yvonne Beattie

  "Hello, this is Jennifer," I answer. We are instructed to answer our desk phones in this manner.

  "Hey Jen," says a familiar female voice. It’s Becca, one of the girls I became friendly with during my placement year. "I just wondered if you had lunch plans today?"

  “Hi you! Nope, I certainly do not! But hoping I do now! I was just going to grab a sandwich from the canteen, I'd love to catch up though?"

  "Yeah, it's been a while, I’ve got so much to tell you. How about we meet in fifteen in the atrium downstairs? Maybe we could go to that little sandwich deli across the road? Escape office talk?" she suggests.

  "Sounds great! Ok, I'll see you soon." I hang up and quickly finish my note to Tim. I sort out the piles of leases I'm working on so I know where I left off, grab my purse and head for the elevator.

  I have to walk past Jack's office but his door is ajar and his lights are off. I'm not sure if I am relieved or disappointed, but there is no sign of him anywhere. So I head downstairs. Becca is already standing by the exit waiting for me.

  "Hey you!" I walk over and give her a hug, "How's things?"

  "Hi! You look fabulous, Jen!" She hugs me back.

  I look down at my black pencil skirt and fitted suit jacket, matched with my jade green cami I especially picked out for today. I spent ages straightening my hair only to get caught in the rain on the way to work, so I tied it up in a ponytail which is curling. It's nice to be complimented when I put so much thought into what I was going to wear though it's just a shame I've not seen the person I was aiming to impress. I have another quick glance around, nothing.

  "How's the new job going? Having fun with all the techies?" She teases.

  “Oh ya, it’s riveting over there,” I wink at her and we giggle.

  We walk over to the deli and have a nice lunch. We sit by the window and I can't help but keep looking out in case I see Jack, I’m starting to feel like a stalker. We speak about everything from work to what we did at the weekend, but I somehow manage not to mention my little 'dates' with Jack. I don't know what to tell and I don't know what to say, if anything, about Jack. I do trust Becca, but I don't want to make it awkward for her too. She filled me in on her new love interest who she's been seeing for about six weeks, she sounds in love and they are going to London next weekend for a ‘dirty weekend away’ (her words). I can't help but feel a pang of jealousy and it takes me a little by surprise. A dirty weekend with Jack would be....wow. Unthinkable.

  I see the waiter walk by and catch his eye asking for our bill just as Becca snorts into a fit of giggles.

  I snap my eyes back to her, looking to see what she is laughing at, “What?” I ask her.

  “Nothing, nothing,” she waves me away.

  I touch my hair and then run my hands over my face feeling self conscious, “Oh come on, what is it?!”

  “You actually just signed your name mid-air!” she laughs and waves her hand at me again. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just you do it every time, and I made a bet with myself that you would do it again today. And you did!”

  “What? What are you talking about?!” I smile coyly.

  “Sorry, you do it every time, I was just waiting for you to do it, and you did, when asking for our bill. I love it!” she tries to stop laughing at me and bangs the palm of her hand on the table. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just really funny!”

  I’m looking on amused, with several other patrons I might add. I was completely unaware I did that, and I automatically think back to asking Jack for a rubber. I can’t help myself from smiling.

  “Well, I aim to please,” I smirk back at her and stick out my tongue.

  We are just standing up to head back to the office and as I pick up my purse, I see a black stately car pull up in front of the office entrance. Low and behold, Jack steps out of it looking perfect as ever. I see a few female figures take note of him as they walk past on the street, and again I can't believe how jealous I feel, I have no right, but I feel a bit protective over him. I can think of little else.

  "Jen.....Jennifer...? Earth to Jennifer... What's up?" Becca is waving and snapping her fingers at me and looking between me, the car and Jack. “He’s a sight for sore eyes, eh?” she sweeps her eyes over him which also annoys me.

  "Umm, yeah," I pull myself back to the here and now. "Come on, let's head back, I've got a ton of things to do this afternoon and I need to speak to Tim."

  "Ooh, torturous Tim?!" Becca rolls her eyes. "How are things going with him?"

  I'm glad she didn't say anything further about Jack.

  "Actually fine, he's been really nice to me," I smile back at her.

  "I've heard he is a right cantankerous old biddie and you should watch your back," she warns me.

  "Well, I've heard some of those rumours, but honestly, so far anyway, he has been totally fine. I think so long as I get my assigned work done, he will be fine. I’ve only got three more weeks with him," I remind her.

  I really don’t think I’m going to be working with him long enough to have to worry about the office politics surrounding him.

  Becca looks at me skeptically, "Hmm."

  We walk outside and head back across the street. Jack's car is still there and I see Norman who smiles and nods at me discretely, but there is no sign of Jack. Again, I'm not sure if I feel relieved or disappointed, but I think it is definitely more a feeling of disappointment. I feel like my eyes are darting everywhere in desperate search to catch a glimpse of their gorgeous weekend candy. Becca and I say goodbye and head our own ways.

  As I sit back down at my desk I notice I have a note from Tim telling me to see him in his office, ten minutes from now I realise as I check the time. I also see my note to him is gone. That's a bit off seeing as I didn't actually get the chance to give it to him, he must have just taken it and I'm a bit annoyed. Mental note, don't leave anything personal lying around. Becca obviously jinxed my good karma towards him.

  I pull out the next lease I need to go through when I hear my mobile buzz in my bag, which is still sitting on my desk. I grab it out of my bag and the front is lit up showing there is a message from Jack. I draw in a sharp breath and can't help but feel excited. I quickly open it:

  You look fabulous in heels, and I love your hair tied back.

  My heart stops. When did he see me? I'm not sure whether to reply, or even what to reply. Eventually, I hit 'reply' and type:

  Why thank you, Mr. S. When did you see me?!

  Almost instantaneously my phone buzzes again:

  I'm everywhere, Jenny-bean ;)

  As if that’s an explanation. I reply:

  Oh! Looking down from your beanstalk were you?

  Straight away, he replies again:

  I hope to be hearing a lot more of those from you in the near future...

  It takes me a minute to get what he just said. Oh dear lord. It suddenly feels warm in here.

  Crap, I see the time and need to run to Tim's office, so I put my phone back in my bag without replying, distance makes the heart grow fonder, or so they say. I grab my note pad and pen, and dash over to Tim's office.

  His office door is closed and I hear voices inside, so I stand outside and decide to wait a couple of minutes before knocking as I'm not sure whether to interrupt or not. After about a minute of smiling dopily to myself and trying not to think about Jack's messages to try and eliminate the goofy grin I know I am wearing, the door opens and to my surprise Jack emerges.

  He stops and studies me for a moment too long, like he did at the elevator on Friday, and I see him clench and unclench his jaw. Then he says, "Afternoon, Ma'am." Also just like he did on Friday. Then he turns and walks down the corridor.

  As usual, I'm left standing watching him with bated breath, and an enormous urge to run after him and throw myself at him. Oh, I wish. My lips have parted and I just came out in a cold sweat. I’ve got it bad.

  "Jennifer, can you please come in and close the door behind you?" Tim agitatedly says rather loudly and
impatiently.

  Nothing like a cold shower.

  I snap back and do as he asks.

  "Hi Tim, sorry I just stood outside as I didn't like to interrupt."

  "That's fine, Jennifer. Please take a seat," he says, a bit more politely.

  Tim looks to be around fifty, has graying dark hair, dark brown eyes, a grayish skin colour and a huge bulging belly. I've not seen him wear anything other than cream, beige or brown. At least he does change though.

  I sit and suddenly feel like I'm in trouble. I feel like I'm in the principal’s office.

  "Don't look so worried," Tim smiles at me. "I actually have some good news for you. Very, very good news, in fact. It would appear you have made a major discovery this morning."

  “Oh?” I sit up a little straighter. I did? I start racking my brain.

  "I do apologise for helping myself to your note which I realise you would have given me this afternoon. I swear I wouldn't normally have been rummaging your desk but I needed one of the lease files that you had, and being you weren't there, I just helped myself and was going to return it quickly. However, when I saw your note, I checked it all out straight away and I can safely say, you are one hell of an intern!"

  I am?

  He coughs a little, he is obviously a smoker, and sits up straighter himself. I can't help but notice his bulging buttons covering his enormous stomach. So. Gross.

  "It would appear this huge discrepancy you found has been missed by all the Landmen and Geologists thus far, how in God’s name this has happened is beyond me, but these things happen. Anyway, I have just spoken with Mr. Samson and he is having everything rechecked by the guys in Houston. They should be in work any time now, going on the different time zone, so we should hopefully have everything confirmed this afternoon and then we can take action to rectify everything with our competitor who is currently showing as owner, where we should be. I must also add, that if this is all confirmed, this then makes us the leader in this shale. I realise you may not know nor understand quite yet what this means, but this is huge for us!"

  Tim's face has gone from gray, to near scarlet with excitement, I actually hope he doesn't do himself an injury.

  Christ, not on my watch, I need to get out of here.

  I force a smile and do feel a bit excited myself, I can't believe I found this, I genuinely thought I was doing something wrong.

  "I'm so glad I was able to help out!" I say enthusiastically.

  "You've done more than help out, Jennifer. Like I say, this is huge. I don't want to go on too much, but this will change a lot of things for our company in this play, so let's just hope and pray we can get everything in order as soon as possible." He is grinning from ear to ear and all I can see are his yellowing teeth. He turns my stomach.

  "Wow!" I manage. I truly have turned into a woman of many words.

  "Off you go back and check out the rest of the leases, and I'll be in touch once we hear back from the team in Houston. Fingers crossed it won't take too long." He then adjusts himself in his chair and turns to look at his computer. I take that as my dismissal.

  “OK, thanks Tim, fingers crossed!”

  I head back to my office, feeling a little shocked. It would make me so happy to find something huge for the company. Not to mention it would bode well on my resume, but I’m going to try and not get carried away with Tim's excitement. I carry on going through the rest of the leases for the remainder of the afternoon. I only had thirty or so left to go through, but with my mind being elsewhere it took literally the whole afternoon. In the last week I have gone through over eight hundred, so it’s a relief to be done, to say the least.

  I lean back and stretch my arms up, everything feels stiff after leaning over all day. It's nearly 5pm and time to go home, but I've not heard back from Tim yet and so I’m not sure what to do. I’ve also not heard from a certain cowboy either. I start clearing everything away for the day when finally, as if someone has telepathically read my mind, my mobile buzzes. I realise I actually never texted Jack back earlier, I got preoccupied with all this excitement, if you can call it that. So maybe that is why he hasn’t been in touch again, though I’m sure he is a busy man. I rummage around not able to get into my phone quick enough to see if it is him.

  Sure enough, it is yankee doodle himself.

  The message reads:

  So, you have an eye for detail...

  That's it?

  I quickly reply:

  Must be all the jelly beans ;)

  Before I get the chance to even think about what he might reply, my desk phone starts ringing.

  "Hello, this is Jennifer," I answer.

  "Just Tim here, Jennifer. Mr. Samson himself would like to see you in his office before you leave for the day. He told me to head on out for the day as I've just come out after talking with him. I just wanted to let you know not to be daunted by him as he is very nice, I know you've not had many, if any, dealings with him, but just remember who he is."

  Remember who he is? He's your bloody boss, Tim.

  "Ok, thanks Tim. I'm just closing down here so I'll go pop in past to see him now."

  "Do you want me to wait for you afterwards?" He asks me.

  Absolutely not.

  "Umm, no, that's ok Tim, thanks anyway."

  "Ok, well if you're sure, I need to pick up my kids and I'm running a little late as it is. I'll see you in the morning and well done, Jennifer. You've done a grand job!"

  He hangs up and I quickly finish shutting everything down and tidying up, I grab my bag, check my hair and make-up quickly in the reflection on my computer monitor screen, and walk down to Jack's office. The blinds are closed as usual but his door is slightly ajar. I knock tepidly feeling my usual unease and shyness creep in as I feel Jack's presence. Even after yesterday I still get the jitters when I think about him. Albeit, nice warm jitters now. Jitters that call on butterflies. And butterflies that do weird things in my tummy.

  "Come in and close the door behind you," he instructs me, without looking up. I walk in to see him typing something quickly on his computer. He doesn't look up at me, but carries on doing whatever it is he is doing. I close the door behind me. I'm not sure what to do, so I just sort of loiter and look around. Jack apparently finishes what he is doing as he switches his computer off, still not looking at me, but not appearing rude. He picks up a few files, puts them in drawers, puts a few more into his bag and then stands up.

  Finally, he looks at me.

  I feel weak all over as his gaze does all sorts of wicked things to my insides.

  He doesn't say a word, he just looks at me.

  He then takes his gaze from my eyes and trails it lower, over my chest, down my stomach, down to my knees and feet, then slowly back up again.

  I stand watching him nervous as hell as it feels like he is undressing me, burning my clothes right off of me with his superhuman gaze.

  He slowly stands and walks around his desk and towards me. I'm not far from the door, but he gently walks me backwards until my back meets it, he hasn't touched me but I already feel his caress.

  He gently takes my left hand and combines our fingers, circling his thumb in my palm while simply looking at me, eye to eye. He takes my handbag off of my right shoulder and drops it lightly to the floor.

  I feel my breath quickening.

  His other hand meets the right side of my waist, as he slides inside my suit jacket and travels up and back down my side while my head falls back against the door.

  His touch is sizzling.

  He gently kisses the side of my neck, getting easy access with my hair being tied up, and pulls me into him. I hear a guttural growl escape from deep inside his throat.

  He is aroused.

  I mould into him like we are made for each other.

  His hand has met the curvature of my breast and I wish I didn't have a bra on.

  He must have the same thought as he reaches underneath my top and pushes my bra down to stroke my nipple with his thum
b, I feel it harden instantly as he does so.

  I have never, ever wanted anyone so badly.

  His mouth finally meets mine and I lose it.

  My hands are in his hair, pulling at his shirt to feel what's underneath.

  His chest is all ripped and toned with a light covering of hair, so soft.

  He lifts me up, pulling my skirt up around my waist as my legs wrap around him. I feel him trying to push into me through his trousers.

  I want him.

  I need him.

  I worship this man.

  We continue like this for who knows how long, I want him so badly, but I suddenly feel like we need to stop. It's too much.

  I push him back a little, "Stop." But then carry on kissing him.

  After a moment, he pulls back, "Are you ok?" He asks breathing hard.

  "Yeah, yeah. More than ok,” I feel breathless. “Just...not here... I just think we need to stop."

  He gently puts me down and pulls my skirt back down, still kissing me. "You're right,” he manages to muffle around our kisses. “I don't want our first time to be in here," he pulls back and grins dopily at me, our foreheads together. We are both hot and bothered and I silently curse myself for stopping.

  I smile, "I don't know what to make of you Mr. S." I lightly bite my lower lip.

  "You can make anything you want of me, it would appear you have me cornered, Ms. Steen."

  "I do?" I ask from beneath my lashes.

  "You do. I told you, I've seen you around the office for a long time, but since you came back here, I've been longing for your time in this department to come around. I’m so glad you accepted the time I offered. I thought I'd be able to stay away, but you just pull me in. You mesmerize me, Jennifer. I've never seen anyone so beautiful, and you don't even know it. I've thought of nothing else since we connected this weekend. I can't get that damned rubber out of my head."

  I laugh, "Me neither, though I have a confession. I've only ever seen you from a distance now and again," I manage. “It’s probably just as well I didn’t see you up close until Friday.”