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“Jenna!” Harrison was grinning and Michael was looking at her with his ever-present smirk. Before having enough time to appropriately process he was not actually looking at her like a trophy or anything remotely related to what had happened between them, Harrison continued talking. “I’m so glad we have you again. This is Caroline Prewitt, one of the higher-level executives in Michael’s company. Guess what? I’ve been officially hired!”
“Congratulations,” Jenna told him with a smile before turning to greet Caroline. “It’s lovely to meet you.” The woman smiled before taking to her menu, all the while Michael staring Jenna down like it might be the last time he ever laid eyes on her. His smirk grew. She gulped.
“What’s the most delicious thing to have here?” Michael asked quietly. Just like it had been when she first met him, his tone of voice was highly suggestive.
Jenna, however, refused to play into it. “The Brioche French Toast is extremely popular,” she replied simply and professionally.
“Do you like it?”
Jenna paused and stared into his eyes trying to search for something, anything, but he was just being his regular self. There was not even a hint of what had gone down between them– or rather that she’d gone down on him. “I’ve never had it,” Jenna said honestly.
Michael quirked his brow and lowered his eyes to the menu without another word, leaving Jenna to stand in front of them awkwardly unsure if she was supposed to wait a bit longer or was free to walk away. After what felt like an hour of silence she slowly made turn and walk away but he stopped her. “What is your favorite?”
Jenna stayed rooted to the spot but didn’t immediately turn to look at him. She looked over her shoulder and licked her lower lip before saying, “Eggs Florentine.”
“I’ve had that,” he stated.
“Yes, yes you have,” she replied quickly. That was when both Harrison and Caroline looked up and glanced at the two of them, clearly curious about the exchange going on.
“I’m not sure what’s going on here,” Harrison muttered cautiously.
Caroline Prewitt laughed, taking Jenna completely by surprise though it paled to what she said next. “Isn’t it obvious? He’s trying to toy with the poor girl. He is Michael Black.”
Jenna stared at Caroline in shock, unable to find a suitable response and her legs unwilling to move and carry her away from the increasingly awkward situation. Michael chuckled before leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, to appraise Jenna. She straightened up and looked around before asking, “Would you like to start with drinks? Are you ready to order?”
Harrison quickly ordered three coffees and she rushed off to get them, thankful for the sanctuary of being behind the wall and away from even their field of vision. She leaned back and took three deep breaths before heading toward the kitchen area. She still felt flustered and Mac picked up on it as soon as he saw her.
“So your boyfriend showed up today,” Mac commented blandly.
Jenna shot him a glare before going into a small coughing fit. “He is not my boyfriend,” she grumbled before cleaning her throat and leaning forward to add, “But yes, he’s here.”
Mac let out a long, sardonic laugh as he shook his head. “Get it together, girl.”
“There’s nothing to get together, much less anyone to get it together for,” she griped.
“Sure,” he responded sounding as bored as ever.
Jenna rolled her eyes but then looked down at her shoes. She was fidgeting and that only meant one thing– she was nervous and confused. She did not want to say it out loud because it made it real, too real for her taste, but it was the only way to deal with it. “Look,” she started but then promptly clamped her mouth shut.
Mac set down his spatula and turned to look at her. He cocked his brow and said, “What? Just come out and say it.”
Mac had an inkling what was on her mind even if she did not want to admit it to herself. “I just don’t know,” she complained. “I’m so confused because of him and I don’t get it.”
“You’re not confused because of him. You’re confused over him,” Mac corrected.
Chapter Eight
It was a Friday afternoon and Jenna had just thrown together a last minute picnic for herself when her phone rang. She glanced over at the kitchen counter, where she had left it as it charged, to see Tara’s name on the screen. Jenna paused; it was usually Harrison who contacted her. Although Jenna got along quite well with Tara there was no doubt her friend was Harrison and she’d befriended his wife by default. It was not until after she’d accepted the call it dawned on her there was a possibility it could be an invite and one of the invitees would be Michael.
“So glad to catch you,” came in Tara’s ever-chipper voice. “I know this is entirely last minute but we’re having a little celebration for Harrison and we sure would love it if you could join us!”
Jenna could hear the anticipation in Tara’s voice and instantly she got a mental image of her sitting, quite literally, on the edge of her seat. She could even see her pretty blonde hair pulled into a cute bun and her big eyes wide with hope. It was really quite a cute picture but Jenna had to take a moment to think about it. She knew she could not avoid Michael forever, not if she wanted to keep Harrison as a friend anyway, but did not know how to act around him. Then she recalled he’d acted like nothing had even happened back at the restaurant so she made a snap decision.
“I’d love to go,” Jenna responded, sounding a bit more sugary than usual.
“Oh! Yay! I’m so happy and I just know Harrison will be thrilled!”
With that they ended the call and Jenna awaited the text message with the details. She sat on the arm of her couch and tapped her phone’s screen, spacing out at the wall. Her thoughts began to pick up speed; Michael had been on a business meal at the restaurant so of course he wouldn’t have made any mention or even subtle hint about what had happened. She was not sure if he would do it in a social setting where Harrison was present but it would not exactly surprise her given how overt he tended to be. Then Jenna jumped up abruptly. “He better not,” she muttered as the scenario of him requesting another encounter with her played out in her mind. She suddenly felt angry as if it had already happened, as if he’d already demonstrated the gall of actually asking her to go down on him again. Jenna reminded herself of her resolution and charged into the bedroom to pick out an outfit.
