“Did he call you back?”
“No.”
“Has he called you at all?”
“No. I have some emails but that’s it.”
“Oh, Jennifer. Sweet, Jenny,” Nicole cooed. “Baby, I am so sorry. I should have tried harder. I should have made you leave with me.”
“Even if you did, Nikki, what would happen when I was alone with him again? Something is just wrong with me,” Jennifer cried, “there has to be. Why can’t I sort this mess out?”
“Don’t—don’t bash yourself, Beautiful,” Nicole said quickly. “You were vulnerable,” she started.
“But I wanted it just as much. Can I really claim that he took advantage of me?”
Nicole smirked this time. “I think so. I’d do it.”
Jennifer scoffed and finally opened her eyes. She stared at the bottom of her ceiling. “Yeah, well, I don’t see that going over too well with a judge. I can see it now; I’ll get to the part where he practically begged me to tell him to stop and I actually nodded and told him yes.”
“You did what?”
Jennifer groaned.
“He told you to tell him to stop?”
With a heavy sigh, Jennifer closed her eyes again. “Well, there was more that happened too,” she grumbled. Jennifer begrudgingly told the rest of the story. She ended with a pathetic whine, “I think I’m just a terrible person. Maybe it’s better I haven’t dated these past three years.”
“Jenn, you were drunk. You’d been drinking and the man is haut—and that’s H-A-U-T. Who would tell him no?”
“A good woman. A better woman,” Jennifer whined.
“Alright, look. You’ve got to stop this self-pity and figure out what you’re going to do about Andrew. You can’t ignore him forever. So think about that. Maybe you should call him? Ask to Skype or something?”
Jennifer frowned. She didn’t like any of those ideas. They were much too direct. Then again, perhaps direct is exactly what she’d need after ignoring him all weekend and the past two days.
“Anyway, it’s late, girl, and I do have to go. Next time you call, I promise, I’ll tell you about Kyle.”
“That’s his name? He is an actor too?” Jennifer tried her best to keep Nicole on the line, but her old friend only chuckled.
“Get some sleep, girl. I’ll call in a day or so to check in on you, or you can call, text, or email anytime, okay?”
Jennifer murmured a reply and they ended the call. It was a great way to past the time, but her mind was far from settling. Each time it tried to quiet down, she thought of Andrew and that was something she just couldn’t face.
She fell asleep on her sofa and tossed and turned late into the night. Morning time wasn’t much better, but she finally found solace when the sky turned blue and brightened. A deep sleep finally came to her just before the sun broke the horizon and began to fill the room. She didn’t care though, and slept just the same.
She only slept for four hours and awoke with her phone buzzing near her head. It was James. She answered it reluctantly.
“Hello?”
“Are you okay?” James seemed out of breath.
“Fine,” she lied and cleared her throat. Her eyes still ached. “Had trouble sleeping last night.”
James chortled. “You and me both. When are you planning on coming in?”
“After lunch.”
“Okay, thanks. I don’t have good news.”
“Can it wait?”
James paused before answering. “Until after lunch, sure. Take care of yourself and get something to eat.”
The kind and caring professional was back. Jennifer sighed and lowered her phone. She liked that side of James better. She looked at the time and winced. 10:53 am. She needed to be at the office by 12:30, and definitely no later than 1 pm.
Jennifer pulled herself up and began her morning routine. She barely felt the steaming water against her skin and decided to add a bit of volume to her hair. Her mind was surprisingly blank.
She prepared a cup of coffee using the French press and sipped on it quietly when it was finished and ready to enjoy. Her mind began to churn and by the time her cup was gone, she was slipping her shoes on and giving herself a run down on what she could expect when she arrived at the office.
James was going to catch her up and she needed to keep her appointment to hire another scheduler. She was certain James had a few conference calls that he needed to make, but she needed to prepare a light presentation for this new gig in New Jersey. She paused at that thought and wondered. If that was a contract they really took on, would it be just like it was while she was dating Dick?
Of course, the answer to that depended on what happened between her and Andrew. That lingering thought made her frown. She decided she’d call him first thing after the rundown with James. It’d be easier to handle the situation when she was in business mode. Her mind was always so clear, fresh, and bouncy, ready to spring with thought and action when she was ready to work. She needed that to face the mistake she made.
At her door was a soft knock. Fitting earrings to her ear, she moved towards the front door and expected to see the doorman, hopefully with her package of clothes from The Kimberly since they didn’t bring them back. James would never be caught carrying his laundry. Ever. Thanks to him, she had adopted the same sentiment.
Jennifer opened the door carelessly and glanced backed at her phone. The screen was bright, indicating some type of missed notification. She sighed. It was probably James, contacting her about some reminder or something before she made it to the office. She turned back to the door and froze. It wasn’t the doorman.
“Surprised to see me?” Andrew asked softly.
The earrings Jennifer held fell from her hands. She only had the right side in and didn’t bother to see where the matching pair fell. Andrew stepped casually into the condo and stooped to pick it up from the floor.
Standing, he handed Jennifer the earrings. He was incredibly calm. A little too relaxed for her liking.
“They let me in downstairs,” he commented. He watched Jennifer and waited for a reply. She only stared. “I can leave if you want.”
“No,” she said finally in a breath. She looked down at the earring in her hand and stepped back, ushering Andrew in completely. Turning her back to him, she put the earring through and tried to think of something to say.
“You look like you don’t want me here,” Andrew spoke gently. He shut the door behind him.
“No, that’s not it,” Jennifer said again quickly. She shook her head. “I’m just surprised. I was going to call you when I got to the office.”
Andrew nodded. “You forgot.” Jennifer stared back at him blankly. “I’m not surprised though. You never responded to my emails or missed calls.” After a moment, he added, “Lunch, remember? I told you I’d come back Wednesday for lunch.”
“Ohmygosh,” the words were barely audible beneath her breath. “What time is it?”
Andrew chuckled and smiled sweetly. “After lunch. I already ate.” Jennifer nodded. “Did you hang up on me Monday night?”
Jennifer wet her lips and stared at the wood flooring. He had to know that she did. Clearing her throat, she nodded weakly. Andrew shifted his weight, but he didn’t move to her.
“I thought so, but I figured I’d at least ask. I’m going to go now. I need to speak with Melone about something.” He paused, and then added, “Bye.” Jennifer looked up then. His back was to her already.
“Is that it?” She asked, quite pitifully. Andrew stopped and turned towards her slowly. It took him a moment more before he finally met her eyes.
“Jennifer, you’ve ignored me for days. I know you and James went out of town and I know you spent the night together. You hung up on me when I called and,” he paused and looked down.
“I really don’t do this kind of thing so… Yes,” he nodded and sucked in a deep breath before meeting her eyes again. “Yes, that’s it. I probably won’t see you at the o
ffice later today, but when I do tomorrow, I’ll say hi.”
When he turned the second time, it was much faster than the first. Jennifer didn’t stop him and nothing more was said. By the time she slid to the floor, she already knew her mascara was running again.
Chapter Nineteen
Harvest Time
There were days when sitting in his commander’s chair while he faced the glass panels offering the inner city view of Chicago’s hottest downtown hub made him feel like King of the World. He didn’t get that feeling today though.
He had clocked out of work for the past two days and it was hitting him full force in the chest. Coming in Tuesday afternoon from Jersey made him miss an important conference call. He tried to right the wrong over email, but after a quick teleconference, he wasn’t so sure that his client was any better.
The conference call was more than just a checkup, but several of their private investors had been scheduled to be present, and had been left waiting. They were interested in where some of their funding was going. The contract they had with the Melone Group wasn’t trivial by any means and represented a good chuck of their retrained earnings.
That would be another face-to-face meeting he’d need to make to soothe the feathers out. He made note on a piece of paper. Jennifer would kill him with the notes he had for her to sort through. He couldn’t worry about her reaction though, Elaine from the front desk had just called and told him Jerry was on the line. He snatched up the phone on the first ring.
“James,” he answered in a gruff.
“Mr. Melone, it’s good to finally get ahold of you, Elaine’s a dud.”
James chuckled. “It’s not her fault. She didn’t know about the last minute ride to Jersey.”
“Yeah,” Jerry muttered. “You could have warned us about that. I really needed your direction yesterday.”
“I got your email. Tell me where the hiccup is.”
Jerry hesitated before he responded. “Well, Mr. Melone—”
“Cut that out and give it to me straight,” he nearly barked.
“James, I told you HR should just hire the people. They were working on some applicants and when I told them not to worry about it. Seogen contacted me yesterday and said they need things two weeks ahead of schedule. Once they started marketing their expansion, bits of New Mexico and Utah became interested and they need something out there fast. Their fish are ready to bite and they want to bring the boom.”
James rolled his eyes. He hated the way Jerry spoke when he got excited. It was so unnecessary.
“Okay, so what have you been able to do as far as an analyst and project manager is concerned?”
“Well, I contacted some folks back in Illinois, but I got nothing. I can’t manage this and cover the slack from Seogen because we’re screwed. I still need to order office chairs and start a contract for marketing.”
James closed his eyes and sighed. There was silence and for a while, no one spoke. Jerry was the first to break the silence.
“Is it true someone in New Jersey is looking to expand into New York?”
A growl rumbled deep in James’s throat. He hated rumors. Whenever he found that gossip…
“Because I just think that’s a mistake. We’ve got Carnal but if they want to move fast too, they we’re doubly screwed. You took me off for three days and I feel like I’m so far behind I don’t even know where to begin and—”
“Jerry,” James interjected, “calm down.” The man stuttered, but eventually came to stop talking. “No one’s mad at you. Let me worry about New Jersey. Tell me what you need to get caught up on Seogen’s orders and—”
“I already did, James,” Jerry said with a huff. “I sent your assistant an email about any updates, like you told me to,” he added with emphasis, “two days ago. She never responded so I called you and—”
“Jerry,” James cut him off again, “calm down.” There was more sputtering and James fell silent. “I’ll talk to Jennifer. She’ll get back to you with a phone call later today. Give me HR’s number and I’ll call them directly about the new hires.”
“Thank you. We’re so screwed,” he tacked on quickly.
James forced a chuckled. “Calm down, and keep outbursts like that to yourself,” he commented.
“We’re screwed, right?” Jerry asked. “I mean, I don’t know how we can make the time back.”
“Jerry,” James stressed his name. “Focus on your part, okay?” His voice was soothing. Jerry sputtered, but he agreed.
“Okay. Yes. I’ll get HR’s numbers and shoot them over in an email.”
“Thank you. Email me when Jennifer calls you.” They hung up and James pinched the brow of his nose. “When this blows up in your face, please don’t call me about it.”
He took a deep breath and ran his hands over his face. They were screwed. He couldn’t tell Jerry that though. There was still time to put the pieces back together. He was good at that. A fixer. He could fix this. His phone rang and he snatched it up.
“Melone,” he nearly growled.
“Andrew’s here to see you,” Elaine squeaked.
James frowned. “Andrew?”
“Yes, he flew in for the afternoon, remember?”
“Uh, yeah. Send him in.” Lying at this juncture was just out of necessity. No, he didn’t remember reading that Andrew was flying in. He felt like the whole company had gone to shit in a matter of three days. That didn’t make sense. Then again, he had never purposefully orchestrated such a faux pas before either.
James took a deep breath and reached for the bottle of water on his desk. He glanced at the time. 12:17 pm. He couldn’t wait for Jennifer to arrive. She’d help him make sense of the scheduling errors caused by their absence. She’d help him gather his thoughts to create an action list and one thing at a time, he’d regain the ground he lost.
He was still drinking water when the door opened. Andrew stepped in and acknowledged him with a raised hand and a nod. James took a deep breath. It wasn’t difficult to meet Andrew’s eyes.
“Just the man I needed to see,” James commented.
Andrew pursed his lips together and raised a brow. “Are you sure about that?” He asked coyly. James frowned. Andrew lingered by the door and crossed his arms. “There’s no smoke without fire,” he murmured.
James’s brow bunched.
Casually, and quite a bit relaxed, Andrew cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “I spoke with Jerry before I left.”
“Jerry?” James blinked. “You spoke with Jerry?”
Andrew smiled something unpleasant and nodded. “I wouldn’t have normally, but after I couldn’t get ahold of you or Jennifer past Monday afternoon, I tried Jerry to see if you had spoken with him.” James wet his lips in the silence. “What the hell are you doing?”
James opened his mouth, but Andrew suddenly cut him off. “And,” he pointed a finger at him, “I want you to tell me just what the hell is going on between you and Jennifer.”
Up Next
The Next Book in the Series!
Wow. I’m going to just take a moment and let that last little bit sink in for you.
…
James really screwed up, didn’t he? But what about Jennifer? How do you feel about that? Personally, I think it’s kind of crazy! How is all of this going to pan out?
James just got an investor-level partner to the firm, and the contracts that would make his business boom—it hasn’t even been a month and he has pissed off the talent.
Will Andrew leave the firm? Are he and Jennifer really done? Also, what’s up with this Jennifer - Melone thing? Is that really over, or is Melone gonna try his frisky hands with her one more time? Your guess is as good as mine!
So many questions—sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger, but at nearly 54K words, this book was overdue to call it quits. You know the deal, if you’re wanting more, sign up. If you’ve already signed up, show me some love and LEAVE A REVIEW. :)
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Millionaire Romance: In Love With My Personal Assistant - A Contemporary Romance (Millionaire Romance, Contemporary Romance, Comedy Romance Book 2) Page 17
