Chapter 6
Chapter 6
I twirl my fork aimlessly through my Caesar salad, smiling in greeting when Jenna enters the breakroom, lunch in hand.
“Crazy day,” Jenna mutters, setting her lunch bag on the small table and sitting down across from me. The door to the breakroom swings shut behind her with a soft click.
I nod, widening my eyes. “That pottery workshop is turning out to be a pain to organize.” I’d been so excited about it—and still am—but the kilns aren’t ready yet, we’ve been having shipping problems with the supplies, and the teacher is seemingly less available than she’d originally told us. Ugh.
“We should do something fun this weekend to get our minds off work,” Jenna says, pulling out her sandwich and taking a bite. Jenna and I both started here at the same time, about a year ago, and we’ve been friends ever since. We’re roughly the same age—Jenna is twenty-two, and I’m twenty-four.
“There’s a cute flea market I keep hearing about on Capitol Hill,” I suggest.
“Ooooh, yes,” Jenna agrees. She glances around, looking over my shoulder and presumably through the glass window on the breakroom door to make sure no one’s around. She leans toward me, a mischievous smile on her face. I already know what she’s going to say, and I’m chuckling in preparation. “So, Julian Mercer.” She widens her eyes at me. We haven’t had a moment alone since he arrived early this week. “Cute.” She shakes her head. “God, I didn’t expect him to be that cute.”
I roll my eyes. “I suppose.”
“You suppose?” Jenna repeats. “Are you blind?”
I laugh. “Okay, okay.” There’s no use in pretending. Not with Jenna anyway. Besides, I barely made it out of that bar last night without doing something I’d surely regret. I’m still in disbelief that it actually happened. Sure, I’d kind of assumed his invitation to get drinks would lead to some flirting—but blatantly suggesting we sleep together? My god. I hadn’t really expected that. Although, based on his actions so far, I wonder if that was naïve. He’s definitely made his intentions clear. And maybe if circumstances were different, I’d take him up on it. I mean, he’d practically dared me to …
“Earth to Nora,” Jenna says, laughing when I shake my head and focus my attention back on her.
“Sorry,” I say.
She smirks. “Daydreaming about Mr. Mercer?”
I laugh then lean forward conspiratorially. There was never a chance I wasn’t going to tell Jenna about what happened last night. She’d kill me if I didn’t. “Speaking of Mr. Mercer, you’ll never guess what happened last night.”
Jenna widens her eyes. “Holy shit. You didn’t.”
“No! God. No.” I laugh, glancing over my shoulder to ensure no one’s around. “But oh did he try.” I widen my eyes in emphasis.
Jenna’s mouth drops open, a delighted smile spreading across her face. Giggling, I tell her about how he’d suggested we get drinks, his flirting, and his very obvious innuendos.
“Man, you have much more self-control than I do,” Jenna says with a laugh. “I’d have taken him up on that offer.”
“Oh please,” I say.
She raises an eyebrow at me. “I’m sure his offer still stands.”
I open my mouth in shock. “Jenna, I’m not going to sleep with Julian Mercer.”
“And why not?” she shoots back.
“Maybe because he’s technically our boss? The man who holds the future of the foundation in his hands?” And maybe one more reason that no one else knows about. Not even her.
“You know, I suspect that sleeping with him would only improve our chances of survival,” Jenna muses with a devilish grin.
I burst into laughter. “Well, I’m not about to test that theory.”
She chuckles, pausing to take a bite of her sandwich. When she’s finished chewing, she asks, “How has dating life been, by the way?” She levels me with a curious look.
I sigh. How has my dating life been? An absolute wasteland, if I’m honest.
“So, nobody?” Jenna guesses after my hesitation.
I take a deep breath, shaking my head. “You know me. The time and effort that goes into dating? All for the risk of just breaking your heart?” I scoff. “Is it even worth it?”
She purses her lips. “It’s obviously worth it, Nora.”
I grimace. I suppose she’s right. I mean, everyone dates. And it’s not like I’ve never dated. I have. I’ve just never really had a relationship that turned into anything. A relationship that lasted. I guess I’m just too scared. Too scared of getting my heart broken, of falling in love and being torn to pieces. It’s also why I’ve never …
Well. That doesn’t matter.
Sensing that the subject is somewhat sore, Jenna quickly moves on, suggesting a coffee shop in Capitol Hill that we should try out before the flea market on Saturday. I nod along, looking forward to the weekend but still somewhat caught up in thoughts of dating and, surprisingly, Julian.
If ever there was a man I’d want to date, he’d be the one. Perfectly sculpted jaw, a stupidly handsome smile. Too bad it’s too risky. Too bad I’m still too scared. And too bad I’m … well, never mind. Too bad, is all.