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“Nothing? You can’t leave me hanging,” I urge.
She takes in a deep breath. “Okay, it was someone here, and it was a while ago. But seriously. It’s over, and he’s not even here anymore.”
“Was it serious?”
“No, not really. I mean, I kind of thought it could have been eventually, maybe. We were just having fun, though. Neither of us was looking for a permanent thing.”
“Wow, Liz the rule breaker. Who would have thought? Hey, don’t raise your eyebrows at me…”
“I was gonna say something about a pot and a kettle and all that. But some things just don’t need to be said,” she teases.
“Look, come over on Friday and join me and my roommate for a girls’ night in. We’re ordering pizza, watching a movie, and there will likely be a good amount of wine involved.”
Liz seems like she will turn down the offer, but then she surprises me with a wide smile and says, “I’ll bring the popcorn!”
As the days pass, I find myself struggling to navigate my relationship with Jake at the office. After getting caught by Dax and Liz, we make sure to stay several feet apart. By mutual and silent agreement, we decide there will be no more touching at the office. Jake has asked me to stay at his place several times this week, but each time, I tell him that I need to go home.
Turning him down gets harder each time. And I wonder to myself why I don’t just give in and stay over at his place.
Because things are moving far too fast.
Because every time he asks, I’m almost desperate to say yes.
Because he is too charming, too handsome, and I need to take a breath before I drown.
Despite my fears, I can’t help but be drawn to him. The magnetic pull gets stronger each day. The more I try to distance myself, the more I want to be with him. If my goal is to try to slow down our relationship, it’s not working.
Throughout the week, I find myself constantly thinking about Jake. It doesn’t help that our connecting door remains open, and I can see and hear everything that goes on in his office. The one time I tried to close it, he told me that he preferred it open so that air could circulate.
He needs the air to circulate? I didn’t bother to call him out for that bald-faced lie.
After work on Thursday, Jake stops by my office.
“We are going out to dinner,” he informs me.
A thrill runs through me at the thought of going out with him. We haven’t seen each other outside of the office since our trip to Niagara Falls over the weekend.
“Aren’t you supposed to ask me if I want to go out, not tell me?” I say teasingly.
“Do you need me to convince you?” He takes a step closer to me. But I put up my hands in surrender.
“No, no, no, stay back,” I laugh. “I don’t need convincing. Where are we going? I’m not really dressed for a date.”
Jake looks me up and down deliberately. “You look perfect to me.”
Well, what can I even say to that? The way that he is looking at me now makes me wonder if I’m standing here naked. I flush at the appraisal and find myself wishing I had put more thought into my outfit. Not that my chic little pantsuit isn’t cute, but it’s definitely not sexy.
“Okay, I’m all yours then,” I say, shrugging.
“Only say it if you mean it, Lana.” The way he says my name in that deep, low, gravelly tone makes me shiver.
He leads me out to the waiting car. Instead of using the car service, like he typically does, Jake’s personal Porsche Taycan is there. He opens the car door for me, ushering me inside, then slides into the driver’s side. This is the first time that I’ve been in his car. In the city, it’s usually more convenient to take the car service.
His car is as I would expect it to be. Sleek, modern, powerful, much like Jake himself. His strong hands grip the steering wheel as the car quietly takes us off the city street and onto the highway. He steps on the accelerator, and the car surges forward in an instant.
“Where are you taking me?” I’m beyond curious. We haven’t said anything since getting into the car.
“I know a little steak place outside of the city. I thought it would be nice to escape the noise and go somewhere a little more quiet.”
