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out. But I'm not sure if I should go see her and listen to what she has to say. She may
not want to even see me. I didn't react very well, and I'm afraid I might have been a
little mean and immature."
"I would give it another day or two. Give both of you a chance to calm down."
Mike stretched and let out a loud yawn.
"She has more concerns on her plate than little old me. She wanted to keep our
fling under wraps anyway."
"There's a lot going against you two. You're total opposites. Look at it from her
perspective. She's older and has a reputation to uphold in the business world. Not only
is she romancing someone a decade younger, but a woman. And her employee, to boot.
What would those good old boys think if Barbara came out all of a sudden? She has so
much to lose, even more than you do. Until you told me, I was iffy about Barbara being
a lesbian."
Jenny fell silent as she mulled over Mike's words. He had his moments where he
put his goofing and teasing aside and made perfect sense. He always gave great advice
when it was needed.
"I guess I don't have anything to lose. I just feel hurt and betrayed. It's going to
take some time for me to be back to normal. Ya know?"
Mike leaned over and kissed Jenny on the forehead. "I know. Being in love sucks,
especially when you don't know where you stand with the other person. I'm finally
beginning to understand that. Why don't you go get ready for work and I'll make us
breakfast."
Jenny nodded and Mike walked into the kitchen. Standing, she flinched from the
ache in her back from sleeping on the couch and reached down to pick up the tissues
she'd carelessly thrown to the floor. She walked toward the bathroom, refusing to hide
away and mope as she'd been doing for the past few days. The only thing left to do
would be to suck it up and show her face. After all, she had a job to do even though it
could be gone in a few months.
* * * * *
Jenny went into work and kept her mind off Barbara by busying herself at both
the front desk and at the concierge. Jeffery seemed to be on the warpath, but she made
sure to stay out of his way until the last hour of her shift when he came over to her as
she gave a pair of guests advice on where to go out for dinner.
"Jennifer." He barked at her after the guests had left.
She held back a wince and kept her smile in place as she looked at him. "Yes
Jeffery?" She tried not to grit her teeth.
"I need you to come in around nine tomorrow instead of noon. Ms. Jennings has
scheduled a company meeting and wants all the employees there. She has an important
announcement to make."
Jenny ignored the buzzing in her ears. "Do you know what the meeting is for?"
"You'll find out tomorrow, now won't you?" He snapped and walked away,
growling under his breath.
Jenny leaned against the wall. Barbara must have come to a decision about the St.
Jennings and her employees. And if Jeffery was in a horrible mood, she knew it couldn't
be good news.
On her ride home, she decided she couldn't live like this, especially with the way
things now stood between her and Barbara. After the doomsday meeting, as she had
come to think of it over the past hour, she would talk to Barbara in a reasonable
manner. She hoped the way things ended between them wouldn't ruin her chances at
keeping her job.
She expected to have a conversation about the meeting with Mike, but when she
got home, his bedroom door was closed and his usual place at the kitchen table was
vacant, meaning he was knee-deep in his writing. She sat there and made a sandwich,
and then she stared at the wall, suddenly very afraid, more so than ever before. She
could've called Tonya and talked to her about her fears, but didn't want to bother her
friend who had more pressing matters to deal with than her own.
Jenny slept like shit. Her nerves were shot. By the time she dozed off, the sun
had risen, promising another gorgeous spring day.
Even with the lack of sleep, Jenny made sure she arrived at work on time. She
went through the motions of her job, just like she always did. When the clock struck ten,
Jeffery walked in with Barbara and an incredibly attractive man.
Coffee cup in hand, Barbara stood and chatted with the gorgeous man, who
smiled down at her. They made a striking couple both of them rich, well-dressed,
good-looking. Jenny ignored the pang of jealousy bubbling low in her stomach. Jeffery
stood off to one side, a disapproving scowl on his face.
Barbara looked up, catching Jenny's eye, but Jenny quickly looked down at her
computer and pretended to type something. She bit her lip and ignored the urge to
wipe away the tears forming in her eyes. By the time she looked up again, the three had
moved on, turning the corner toward the conference room.
Soon after, the lobby started filling with other employees, many of them wearing
street clothes because they had the day off. When Mike and Tonya made an appearance,
Jenny smiled and waved at them. They walked over to her, each holding cups of
Starbucks coffee. Mike, Jenny noticed, held two. She gave him a huge grin. "I hope one
of those is for me."
"Hey there, roomie. Absolutely. I figured you'd need this."
Mike handed over the cup and she lifted it up to her nose and sniffed.
Ah, manna of the gods. She took a sip, closing her eyes as she savored the taste.
"Thanks. I didn't have time to stop for any this morning."
Tonya leaned against the front desk. "You really need to do something about
those dark bags under your eyes. Mike tells me you haven't been sleeping well."
"Aw, thanks for caring." Jenny snorted. "Anyway, it's a long story. I guess you're
here for the meeting?"
"Yup." Tonya looked down at her Minnie Mouse watch, a gift she'd received
from her soon-to-be ex-husband, Tom. Jenny was surprised Tonya still wore it.
"Speaking of which, our little shindig starts in a few minutes. It better be something
good to make me get up at the ass crack of dawn on a Sunday."
Jenny and Mike shared a look.
Tonya took a sip of her own coffee. "You two know something. What gives?" she
asked.
Jenny licked her lips and tried to think of something to tell Tonya, when Tia
walked across the foyer and went behind the front desk. "Jenny, I'm here to take your
place while you and the other full-timers attend the meeting. It's in the big conference
room down the hall."
"Oh, okay." Jenny grabbed her coffee and walked around the desk.
Mike placed an arm around both Jenny and Tonya. They walked down the hall
together. Jenny remained silent as Mike and Tonya chatted with one another.
A hand-written sign taped to the door of the room indicated where they needed
to be. More than half the room was filled and people sat and talked with one another. In
the front of the room stood Barbara and the attractive man Jenny had noticed before.
Jeffery sat in the front row.
"Do you ladies want to sit in the back or closer to the front?" Mike asked.
"Back." Jenny and Tonya said at the same time and laughed.
Tonya and Jenny went in first and Mike sat in the chair near the aisle. Jenny
looked to the front of the room and studied Barbara, noting how well rested and in
good spirits she seemed. She wore one of her trademark dark suits, and she looked
gorgeous.
Barbara placed her hand on the suit who stood next to her. She squeezed his arm.
Again Jenny felt a spurt of annoyance she could only describe as jealousy.
"Oh my god. Do you know who that guy standing next to the Barra- erm
Jennings is?" Mike whispered.
Tonya looked over her cup. "Nope. But I wouldn't mind making his
acquaintance. He is one hot puppy."
"You got that right, sister. He's Kyle James, former sex god model for
Abercrombie. He's uber-rich and buys and sells properties like nobody's business. He
has to be worth billions. I wonder if he's gay?" Mike licked his lips as he looked Kyle up
and down.
"Mike, sometimes you're ridiculous. He's been fawning all over Barbara since the
minute they walked into the hotel. He obviously has a thing for her. I'd say he's
definitely not gay," Jenny said and crossed her arms. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]