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I looked between the two of them. The stress wasn’t helping the situation, but Francis didn’t need to be acting like this on Jessa’s first brush with Wall Street drama. “She’s not naïve, I promise you. But this is her first experience with some Grade A Wall Street shit, so cut her a break.”
Francis smirked, returning to his tablet. “Shall we continue?”
“Priority tasks, please.” I steepled my fingers, focusing on my fingertips as Francis began reading down a list. I needed to focus on my fingertips, because each flinch or sigh from Jessa across the table yanked at my attention.
But it didn’t quite matter what I did. My gaze slid back to Jessa, watching as she lifted the gyro to her mouth and took a bite. Her teeth sank into it at the same time sauce squirted out, landing right on the front of her green and white dress.
“Oh noooo,” she moaned, setting the gyro on the table.
“What is itnow?” Francis asked, looking up from his list.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt. I just—” she sighed, dabbing at the spot with a napkin. “Can y’all excuse me? I’ve gotta go try to keep this from staining.”
“Send it to the cleaners later?” Francis said, theduhtone unmistakable.
“I can’t,” Jessa corrected sharply. “I need this dress for Monday.”
“You’re wearing it again so soon?” Francis asked, disgust tugging at his lips. “Not a good look. You’re in Manhattan, dearie, you need to act like it.”
“No, it’s just—” she sighed again. “I need it for something else. I can’t have this stain on it.” To me, she looked supremely apologetic. “I’ll be right back. I gotta go try to fix this.”
“Wait,” I said, pushing to standing. “I’ve got something upstairs that could help.” The words were flying out of my mouth before I could think better of them.
“You do?” The way her eyes lit up made my chest warm. I jerked my head toward the door, urging her to follow.
“It’s in the penthouse. Let’s take a dinner break, guys.” I twisted to look at Axel and Francis. “We need the break.”
Francis grumbled his agreement, and Axel nodded morosely. Jessa hurried behind me as I led the way out of the conference room, our footsteps falling softly on the carpeted hallway.
“I’m so sorry Damian,” she said. “I feel like I just hijacked that whole thing.”
“It’s not a problem.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets, my mind racing faster the further we moved from the conference room. My thoughts were turning to static now. All I could feel was how close she was behind me. Nobody else was here. “I think we needed that meeting to be hijacked, honestly. So thank you.”
We came up to the elevator at the far end of the building, the private one that led to our penthouse. I swiped my keycard and pressed the button, looking over at her as we waited.
“You should have brought your gyro soyoucould eat,” she said.
“I’ll eat when we get back. Gotta deal with this emergency first.”
She smirked. “Hardly an emergency, considering what you guys are going through. But if my professor finds out I ruined my project…”
The information sizzled through me. A million questions sprang to life. “Is that the night class you mentioned?”
Her shoulders slumped. “Yeah. This dress is my project.” She fanned out the bottom of it, looking down at herself, allowing me a gracious glimpse of cleavage. I balled my hands into fists in my pockets. “I’ll die if I stained it. I’m in my late twenties, Damian, why do I still need a bib to eat?”
I laughed as the elevator door opened. We stepped inside and I swiped my keycard before hitting the button labeled P. “Don’t feel bad. We all need a bib sometimes, at least when tzatziki sauce is involved. Or someone to remind us to eat in the first place.”
She sent me a warm smile. “You’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t sign up to be my mother.” I crossed my arms over my chest, my head growing cloudy as we zoomed up to the penthouse. Every inch of my body knew how the next steps should go: alone time in the penthouse, laughter and wine, one amazing night in my bedroom—or probably the guest room, based on how I’d left the room that morning. My heart thudded with a desire so pure, so intense, that I felt lightheaded trying to keep it at bay.
“I’m not being your mother, just being a friend.” As soon as the words came out, she rolled her lips inward. “Which, I’m not supposed to be doing, so…”
Her words seeped into me, reminding me of all the conflict and confusion since she’d started. I’d been trying so hard to protect myself, but at what cost? The elevator doors slid open, revealing the side foyer of our penthouse. We stepped off the elevator.
“I know it’s confusing, Jessa.” I cleared my throat, unsure of what I was trying to say. I pinched the bridge of my nose, opting to drop the thread altogether. “Follow me. I think we’ve got some top-notch shit in the laundry room.”
I strode down the hall, the half-finished conversation sizzling in the back of my mind. My forearms prickled from how close we’d been in the elevator; from how badly I wanted to make all the wrong decisions.
