Page 44 of Winning Her

“She probably just put the stuff back,” I said to myself in reassurance.

She had a long shift usually, and I couldn’t go down to bother her. Besides, that would only fuel the rumors, and I needed to kill them before they grew even more annoying.

It was early enough that I didn’t worry about anyone catching me coming out of her room. I rushed back to mine to jump into the shower. I hummed as I stood under the warm spray, keeping the shower short. Then I was getting dressed for my day. I left my room and headed for the elevators to take me up to the office.

I was tempted to give Jessi a call. Then I remembered she hadn't officially given me her number yet. It was still there in the records, but I couldn’t bring myself to use that. The elevator doors opened before I could think too much about it, and I stepped outside.

Besides, I would probably only be a bother to her. Jessi had always been the responsible type, and if I tried to butt in while she was working she would be annoyed with me. Besides, it was one of the reasons I admired her so much. She knew what needed to be done and she went and did it. As much as my dad had tried to teach me, I’d learned that sort of attitude from her.

“Good morning, sir.”

I stopped with a blink because I’d almost just walked past the secretary. Usually, I greeted her in the morning. If she hadn't called out to me, I would have forgotten.

I gave her a wide grin as I said, “Good morning to you too. Have some coffee sent up for me before starting anything, all right? Thank you.”

She was left stunned as I walked into the office. And while I knew why, I didn’t care.

I was happy.

The realization was a pretty obvious one, but I couldn’t help grinning at the thought. For the first time in a long time, I could say I was genuinely happy, and it was all because of Jessi. My day was better because I was thinking of when I would get to see her later.

My coffee came in twenty minutes later, and I thanked both the server and the secretary as she’d let him in. I was left to myself, humming as I drank my coffee and logged into my computer. I picked up work where I’d left off yesterday, feeling more excited than I’d felt in a long while to get to work.

After a while, I picked up my phone because I couldn’t help myself. I had Jessi’s number, so why not use it? I sent a quick text.

Hey, Jessi. It’s me, Trent. Let me know if you got into work okay.

I winced because it was the best I could think of, but I felt like I could have done better. I put my phone down, but even as I went back to work I kept eyeing my phone, waiting for a reply. None came for a while, then a knock on the door diverted my attention.

“Come in,” I called, leaning back in my chair.

The secretary walked in, followed by my brothers. I grinned.

“Mason, Kevin! Aren’t you guys up a little early? I figured you both like to sleep in.”

Both my brothers froze, but the secretary crossed the room, picked up the mug, and walked away without a word. She closed the door behind herself, and the noise seemed to jolt my brothers, because they approached the desk again.

“Did something happen to you?” Mason asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

I didn’t want them to know. I didn’t want anyone to know, but it wasn’t exactly easy to hide when I wanted to burst out into song, as ridiculous as it would be. I was happy, but I didn’t need to broadcast it, especially to my suspicious-as-fuck brothers. I checked myself, rearranging my expression into something blank. I had to keep to my usual routine, and the usual me was always serious and polite, not grinning at everyone.

I was happy. Really, truly happy for the first time in a long while.

“Nothing happened,” I said, waving away his suspicions, though I couldn’t help a slight twitch of my lips. “But I would like to hear from you guys. You’ve supposedly been working. Do you have anything to show for it?”

That got them to start fidgeting, and I smirked. It was different from a grin, and I did it often so this one was allowed.

“What about you, Kevin?” I asked.

He frowned. “We have actually been working. If you want anything physical to show for it, you’re going to have to wait. It’s only been a few days.”

I sighed, shaking my head in mock disappointment. “Really, boys. I know I’m the oldest here, but I can't keep supervising you. I will if it’s the only way to get you to do shit, though, so why don’t I have the desks brought back in here, huh?”

Mason immediately shook his head. “Dude, no way! Work is so much more than just sitting behind a desk all day, you know? You can just keep doing that while we take care of everything else.”

I sighed. “That isn’t really fair to me though, is it? I feel like I’m doing all the work.” I pursed my lips. “I guess I have to admit I’m impressed. I haven’t heard any news of you hosting a party yet.”

His eyes drifted away from mine as he looked shifty.