we plopped down on the sofas, she said, “Now, don’t leave anything out.”
“All right.” What a fib. I retold her everything we’d said, but not what I’d felt. I left out the moments I had wanted to kiss him and all that. No need to go into details that would only get me in trouble.
After I finished, she twisted her mouth as she appeared to mull it all over. Finally, she said, “So he says he’s not sure why he took the job? Like it could be you or it could be the work.”
“Yup.”
“But he wants to be friends.”
“That’s what he said.” I frowned and muttered, “Not my idea.”
“You still don’t want to be friends with him?”
“Honestly, I don’t know if I’d be good at being friends with him.”
“Well, that’s a warning sign…”
“Warning of what?”
“That you’re still interested in him, silly.”
“Well, yeah, in a way,” I mumbled. My tone strengthened. “But I have Juan Carlos, and he’s great.”
“Juan Carlos is a good man who is good to you. Not to mention he’s gorgeous. Hell, even his name is sexy. Any woman would want to be with him.” She waggled her finger at me. “Don’t you forget that.”
“Believe me, I won’t. I love him.”
“Good.” She looked out the window for a moment, then shook her head. “But Adam…he’s still interested in you, though he has a girlfriend.”
“Let’s not get too carried away with his level of ‘interest.’ The guy says he wants to be my friend.”
“Hmm.” She tapped her fingers against her lips. “Maybe this is all one big test for him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he has a girlfriend, but he’s still interested in you. He wants to see if there’s still anything there between you. The girlfriend is his safety net. She’s the control group in the experiment.”
“You are such a scientist.”
“But I’m probably right.”
“Huh? You really think he’s calculated it that way?”
“Maybe not fully consciously, but it kind of looks that way.”
“Maybe.” It did sort of make sense, but I was wary. “You realize our jobs are at stake here. Nothing can really happen between us. It’s highly unethical, especially for him, and for me, it’s a political scandal.”
“Yeah, your boss is the president of the United States,” she said, pointedly stating the obvious.
“I can’t be screwing around with the press, but you think I should be friends with him?”
“Of course. Otherwise you’ll never know.”
“But Adam has never even flirted with me, never even paid me a compliment.”
“Really? Not even something like, ‘You look good’?”
“Nope. He’s been very professional.”
“That’s a good thing, right? You don’t want him hitting on you and further complicating things.”
“True.” I smirked. “But maybe it’s because I’m not a Nubian princess.”
She covered her eyes with uncharacteristic drama. “Don’t get me started with David. That guy is crazy.”
“Crazy but cute, and Rachel and I can vouch for him.” I punctuated it with a wink.
“Don’t remind me,” she grumbled.
Chapter Five
F OR T HE N EXT F EW W EEKS , Adam and I were friendly when we saw each other, but no more than when we interacted with anyone else in the briefing room. As curious as I was about him, I was happy not to have my workweek thrown into emotional upheaval. Maybe he felt the same way.
I often pondered on what his life was like outside of work. Did Felicity visit him often? What was she like? When I was on the phone with Juan Carlos, was Adam talking with Felicity? And what did she know of me? Everything or nothing? The ruminations never lasted too long, as the stomach-churning jealousy made me physically sick.
One Saturday morning, I was at work again when Juan Carlos called to tell me his flight had been canceled. There was a late winter storm headed east, and he’d already gotten caught in it in Chicago. As I resigned myself to a weekend of work instead of fun, my
“All right.” What a fib. I retold her everything we’d said, but not what I’d felt. I left out the moments I had wanted to kiss him and all that. No need to go into details that would only get me in trouble.
After I finished, she twisted her mouth as she appeared to mull it all over. Finally, she said, “So he says he’s not sure why he took the job? Like it could be you or it could be the work.”
“Yup.”
“But he wants to be friends.”
“That’s what he said.” I frowned and muttered, “Not my idea.”
“You still don’t want to be friends with him?”
“Honestly, I don’t know if I’d be good at being friends with him.”
“Well, that’s a warning sign…”
“Warning of what?”
“That you’re still interested in him, silly.”
“Well, yeah, in a way,” I mumbled. My tone strengthened. “But I have Juan Carlos, and he’s great.”
“Juan Carlos is a good man who is good to you. Not to mention he’s gorgeous. Hell, even his name is sexy. Any woman would want to be with him.” She waggled her finger at me. “Don’t you forget that.”
“Believe me, I won’t. I love him.”
“Good.” She looked out the window for a moment, then shook her head. “But Adam…he’s still interested in you, though he has a girlfriend.”
“Let’s not get too carried away with his level of ‘interest.’ The guy says he wants to be my friend.”
“Hmm.” She tapped her fingers against her lips. “Maybe this is all one big test for him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he has a girlfriend, but he’s still interested in you. He wants to see if there’s still anything there between you. The girlfriend is his safety net. She’s the control group in the experiment.”
“You are such a scientist.”
“But I’m probably right.”
“Huh? You really think he’s calculated it that way?”
“Maybe not fully consciously, but it kind of looks that way.”
“Maybe.” It did sort of make sense, but I was wary. “You realize our jobs are at stake here. Nothing can really happen between us. It’s highly unethical, especially for him, and for me, it’s a political scandal.”
“Yeah, your boss is the president of the United States,” she said, pointedly stating the obvious.
“I can’t be screwing around with the press, but you think I should be friends with him?”
“Of course. Otherwise you’ll never know.”
“But Adam has never even flirted with me, never even paid me a compliment.”
“Really? Not even something like, ‘You look good’?”
“Nope. He’s been very professional.”
“That’s a good thing, right? You don’t want him hitting on you and further complicating things.”
“True.” I smirked. “But maybe it’s because I’m not a Nubian princess.”
She covered her eyes with uncharacteristic drama. “Don’t get me started with David. That guy is crazy.”
“Crazy but cute, and Rachel and I can vouch for him.” I punctuated it with a wink.
“Don’t remind me,” she grumbled.
Chapter Five
F OR T HE N EXT F EW W EEKS , Adam and I were friendly when we saw each other, but no more than when we interacted with anyone else in the briefing room. As curious as I was about him, I was happy not to have my workweek thrown into emotional upheaval. Maybe he felt the same way.
I often pondered on what his life was like outside of work. Did Felicity visit him often? What was she like? When I was on the phone with Juan Carlos, was Adam talking with Felicity? And what did she know of me? Everything or nothing? The ruminations never lasted too long, as the stomach-churning jealousy made me physically sick.
One Saturday morning, I was at work again when Juan Carlos called to tell me his flight had been canceled. There was a late winter storm headed east, and he’d already gotten caught in it in Chicago. As I resigned myself to a weekend of work instead of fun, my
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