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Hopefully, answering that question will make him realize that I don’t actually need to come, and I can have my time away from Jared, even if it will only be less than forty-eight hours.
“Um, you’re my personal assistant,” he says, as if that’s the only explanation there is.
“And you normally have your personal assistant join you on these types of things?” I ask, wondering if I’m being too presumptuous about me coming on this trip.
Maybe this is all completely normal and not some ploy Jared is coming up with to get me alone with him.
Wishful thinking… is what I wouldn’t say about that thought.
“Yes. I need someone to take notes at meetings and make sure I stick to my schedule,” he explains, eyes darting away from me for a moment as he watches our waitress bring us our food.
Good. Hopefully stuffing food into my mouth will stop me from making a fool of myself. Of course he has his personal assistant join him on business-related trips.
“Oh, well I can definitely do that,” I try to say enthusiastically, though I know that I feel anything but.
There’s no reason I should be alone with Jared in New York City. It’s a horrible idea, even though I now know it’s part of my job to go with him.
Maybe it isn’t too late to quit. It may be for the best to get back to searching for a new job, even though options seemed bleak the last time I looked.
But right now, unemployment is looking better than going on yet another trip with Jared.
“Good. We leave tomorrow from the Hanscom Field at 9 a.m. My first meeting starts at noon, so we need to be ready to head out soon after we get off the plane. We should have a little time to set our stuff in the hotel before going. But I imagine you already know all that,” he says before taking a large bite of his lobster roll.
For a second, I watch as some butter drips from the corner of his mouth. The sight is inviting, and I’m so close, I could just lean over and lick it away.
“Monica?” I hear Jared’s voice ask as he wipes his mouth with a napkin, snapping me from my thoughts.
“What? Um, yeah, I have all the information,” I say, letting my focus move from Jared to my soup, wanting to give myself something to do, so I’m not caught staring at his mouth again.
Luckily, I don’t think he noticed, too engrossed in his own food.
I wonder if it crosses his mind at all that we’re going to be put in the same situation as we were last time we were on a trip together. Does he just not care, or is he so focused on his job that he doesn’t think it matters?
I hate not knowing what’s on his mind. Not only because it makes me feel like I’m left in the dark, but also because it makes it so thoughts of him are constantly in my head. Maybe I need to be more nonchalant about all of this and stop worrying.
“What are you thinking about?” Jared asks, and I cringe at the fact that he must see the concern on my face.
What am I even supposed to say?Sorry, Jared. I’m too busy worrying about the chance that we’ll hook up again?
I could, but what if that’s not even an issue for him? It will seem like there’s a very real chance that I’d fold and sleep with him again, a sentiment he may not even share.
Realizing it’s taking me too long to answer, I settle on saying, “Nothing. Just thinking about when I’m going to wake up tomorrow.”
He doesn’t seem to fully believe me as he looks at me with narrowed eyes, trying to see if I’ll crack under the pressure.
Finally, he tells me, “Well, don’t be late.”
Good. I need him to be rude. It keeps things normal. The more I dislike him, the less I’ll be worried about the chances of something else happening between us again.
“I won’t be,” I bite back.
“Oh, and before I forget to ask, did you get the rooms I asked for?” he questions, and I wonder what would make him think of that in this moment.
Of course, I did. It seemed odd for me to get adjoining rooms at the time but—
Shit. He had me get adjoining rooms.
I can tell he knows when I make the connection as a smirk appears on his face. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
