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“I’ll figure something out,” he says, reaching for my bag and shoe. He looks around for the second pair and finds them under one of the chairs. “Found it!” he exclaims and returns them to me but my hands reach for something else. With his shirt open, Jake’s ripped body is open for my viewing and touching. “Careful or we’ll never leave here,” he echoes my words.
I smile, even though I can feel him withdrawing into himself again. I give him a smile of gratitude as I take my bag.I am at the door when I stop. It just feels awkward to leave it at this. “It was nice talking with you,” I try at a final remark. He looks up from arranging the files on his desk and gives me a smile and nod.
That stung, bad. But I shoulder it and leave his office trying to keep my head up. I crash into Samantha on my way out of the resort. Because of the crash, her belongings fall and I quickly bend down to help her. “I’m so sorry,” I say and stop short. Among her things is a packed shirt.
I pick it up. “Something for the husband?” I joke.
She flushes. “Running some weird errand for the boss.” She takes the shirt from me before walking off. I continue on my way home, knowing I don’t have long to freshen up and come back to work.
* * *
“This light won’t work.It’s a sunset event. As much as we want to focus on aesthetics, we need proper light.” I drop the lights into the box.
“Miss Ortiz,” Ian, one of the staff, calls for my attention. He walks over to me. “I got the materials you asked for.” He produces a bundle to me and I frown.
“This is not what I asked for. This material is too thick and it would ruin everything. And I asked for white. This is off white.” Ian flinches like I slapped himand I feel the glances of the other staff around. Then I realized how loud I was.
“Sorry about that,” Ian grumbles and leaves before I can apologize.Crap.
“Hey, how about a lunch break?” Tristan pops up beside me and I nearly drop the clipboard in my hand. I glare at him and he raises his hand in surrender with a smile.
I sigh; maybe that’s what I need. I’ve been running on caffeine all day. “Lead the way.”
We head to our favorite burger joint and Tristan treats me to my usual. I bite into the food and sigh in contentment. Just what I needed. After I finish eating,I sink into my chair and pat my stomach with satisfaction. “Thank you, Tristan. I really needed that.”
He smiles at me. “No problem. It was either this or you eat one of the staff’s heads,” he laughs.
I only smile back. Food is far from the reason why I am in a bad mood and though I tried to distract myself with work, my anger is sipping out.I wince when I remember what I did to Ian.
“Was I that bad?” I ask Tristan.
“If it’s bad in the sense that Ian probably hates you now, then it’s bad. But there is no need to worry; Ian is not one to hold a grudge.” Then he leans in. “Now tell me, what’s really going on?”
“I guess I’m just having a bad day.” I reach for my drink. He narrows his eyes at me. “What?”
“Forgive my language Bella, but are you fucking the boss?”
I spit out the drink, coughing loudly. He doesn’t move from his position. “Where did that come from?” I ask, aghast.
“If your heated chemistry wasn’t a dead giveaway, the noise I heard from his office last night was enough confirmation.” My face becomes hot and his face falls at the confirmation. Disappointment paints his features.
He rubs his forehead. “Truthfully, I was hurt because I thought I had a chance with you.” He shrugs and smiles at me. “What will be, will be.”
The smile does not hide the hurt in his eyesand I want to reach out and hug him, but I doubt he would appreciate that. “I’m sorry,” is all I can say and I immediately regret it. Of all the stupid things to say in this situation, I manage to pick the worst.
“Don’t be. You guys obviously feel strongly about each other. Anyone with eyes can see that.” I cough again.
“There is nothing going on between Jake and I,” I quickly say.
He raises a brow. “That’s not what it sounded like last night.”
I look down at the table as I murmur. “Last night was just another mistake.”
“Another mistake? Bella, is this some kind of affair?”
Realizing my mistake, I wave my hands at him. “No, no.Jake and I have a more complicated relationship. I can’t explain it.”
He kneads his forehead and groans. “I know I’m going to regret this later, maybe even feel pathetic. But go ahead, Bella. Explain the unexplainable.”
