4. Chapter 4 They Should Get a Room
Chapter 4: They Should Get a Room
W ADE
A pale-faced Jenny walked with Elizabeth to the latter’s office. Holy shit. His mind spun with all the implications of Jenny going on the trip with him. He could use the four-hour drive to get to know her better. Maybe he would take Kyle’s advice and ask her out when they got back.
While they were on the trip, though, he’d keep it friendly. No pressure. He wouldn’t want her to feel obligated, or worse, view him as a conference fling. Now that she was single again, he was ready to make his interest known.
“Lucky bastard,” Jeff said as he barreled past Wade on his way out the door.
“What are you talking about?” Kyle asked, saving Wade from asking.
“You know. The nerd chicks at these conferences are usually desperate,” Jeff sneered at them both. “It’s a sausage fest, but the few women there are ready to ride. Wade’s not much to look at, but he can pull there.”
“Thanks?” Wade answered cautiously.
Jeff was known for his crude humor when the boss wasn’t around. Wade expected worse than a back-handed compliment.
“And if that doesn’t work,” Jeff added, “he’s going to a hotel with that chick from finance. Bow chick-a bow wow. She’s a little fat for my tastes, but I’d still hit it. She’s got great tits.”
“Knock it off, dude,” Kyle warned him.
Wade reminded himself that killing was bad.
“It’s a work trip, asshole,” Wade seethed. “I’ll be busy attending sessions and learning things. You know, working? Some of us know how to be professional with our colleagues. Besides, I thought you and Sarah were dating.”
“Yeah, but that’s the beauty of being out of town. Nobody needs to know. Besides,” Jeff’s curled his lip in distaste, “she’s not my colleague. She’s just some bitch with a nice rack who happens to work in the same building we do.”
“That’s not—” Wade began, but Jeff warmed to his topic.
“However, there are some benefits to her private office. She doesn’t have to share one like those of us who do the real work around here.” He humped the air in a perverted gesture. “Hell, she’s so pathetic, she’d probably thank me for clearing out the cobwebs.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Wade bit out. “You’re a disgusting pig.”
“Fuck you,” Jeff sneered. “You think just because you’re a team lead, and you’ve worked here longer, that you’re better than I am. As if being the King of the Nerds is all that great.”
“And he has a master’s degree,” Kyle added because he knew Jeff hated it.
“I am better than you,” Wade said, “but it’s not because I’m a team lead. I’m better than you because you’re a piece of shit, and I’m not.”
“Break it up, guys. Break it up,” Kenny said in an exasperated tone. “Jeff, quit starting shit. You know it’s not okay to talk about woman like that. You’re already skating on thin ice with Elizabeth.”
“It’s not my fault that client was a bitch and didn’t know how to take a joke.”
“Enough!” Kenny repeated with more bite in his tone. “Get back to work. We’ve got a deadline, and we’re all waiting on you to finish your bug fixes.”
Kenny drew Jeff away towards their part of the building. Wade gritted his teeth as he stomped off towards the office he shared with Kyle. Kyle shut and locked the door. Wade looked at him sharply because that was unusual.
Kyle shrugged. “I don’t want anybody else to walk in while you’re planning his murder.”
A laugh burst out of Wade against his will.
“Fuck that guy,” Wade said.
“Don’t curse me like that.”
“How the fuck does he still have a job here?” Wade sat heavily on his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. “He is such a dick to everyone who works here and to customers. How is he not a huge liability?”
“I don’t know, man. There was a rumor that he was related to Elizabeth, but I asked her flat out, and she said no. I can’t see her lying about that, but he doesn’t belong here. I’m fucking glad he’s not on our team.”
“Yeah, no shit, though I would have gone to HR about him if that were the case. Sucks for Kenny. I thought for sure I was going to be saddled with Jeff on this trip, and I might have been tempted to break my own tooth to get out of it.”
“But now you get Jenny instead. That’s interesting, don’t you think?”
“I am so pissed off right now, I can’t even think about that.”
“Don’t let Jeff get to you. I don’t like him, either, but he’s not nearly as much of an asshole when you’re not around. For some reason, he’s always trying to get a rise out of you.”
“Well, it fucking works. You can’t tell me he wouldn’t spend the whole conference hitting on woman, cheating on his girlfriend, and harassing Jenny. God, can you imagine if the two of them had to drive up there together?”
Wade’s temper flared again as Jeff’s words about her zipped through his mind. He clenched and unclenched his hands, but it wasn’t enough. After a few seconds, he popped up from his chair.
“I need to go for a walk to calm down, or I’m going to march across the building and punch that fucker through a wall.”
“Am I supposed to dissuade you?” Kyle asked with a snarky grin.
“Except for Jeff, I like this job. And I like not being arrested, so I need to calm down. But if I run into him on the way, I’m not sure I can be held responsible for my actions.”
“You want some company?”
“I don’t think I’d be very good company right now. I just want to break something.”
“Or someone,” Kyle said.
“Yeah, or someone.”
WADE
“Do you have a playlist you want to listen to?” Wade asked Jenny once they got on the highway.
The past week had flown by as he prepared to be out of the office for several days. As a result, he hadn’t had the opportunity to speak with Jenny since the surprising announcement that she’d be attending in Kyle’s place.
Robert, Elizabeth’s executive assistant, took care of changing all the travel arrangements from Kyle to Jenny. Other than that, all he knew was to meet her at the office today, and they’d take a company car to the conference together.
“You’re the driver. Shouldn’t you get first pick?” she said.
He shrugged. “I like all kinds of music.”
“Even pop music?”
Her tone made him think her question was a trap, but he couldn’t see the pitfalls. He liked pop music, as well as hard rock, heavy metal, Mongolian throat singing, outlaw country, hip hop, drum and bass, nineties alt rock, and more.
“Sure. Pop music is popular because it’s fun and catchy.”
Jenny referenced a popular singer, and Wade grinned widely.
“My sister and I saw her in concert a few years ago, and we had a blast.”
“Really? You went to one of her concerts?”
Wade risked a glance at the woman in the passenger seat. She was dressed for comfort, and he was thrilled. In her silky T-shirt and leggings, her curves were on display now that her hoodie was in the back seat. She made a little nest on the floorboard with her shoes, tote bag, purse, and even a neck pillow.
“Why is that so surprising? She’s got millions of fans, maybe more. Statistically, at least some of them are gonna be guys like me. I’ve got some of her songs on a few of my own playlists.”
“I didn’t see you liking her, that’s all. It’s not a judgment.”
“I don’t know,” he teased. “It sounds awfully judge-y, but there’s an easy way to prove it. Put on your playlist, and let’s see what happens.”
“All right, I will.”
Wade grinned again, marveling at how much more relaxed they already were in each other’s company. He glanced at her as she connected her phone to the car’s wireless system.
“I hope you’re ready for this,” she said.
She settled back into her seat to watch him as one of the singer’s most popular songs played.
“Pshaw! Is that all you’ve got? My grandfather probably knows that song.”
“So far, all I’ve heard is a lot of big talk.”
Wade knew it might hurt his chances of being seen as a romantic possibility, but he couldn’t be anyone but who he was. And he was a legit fan. He turned up the volume and belted out the lyrics as he sang along.
Her eyes widened comically, and then she burst into laughter while he serenaded her with the song’s lovesick teenage girl lyrics.
“Okay, okay, you’re right,” she said between giggles. “That one might have been a little too easy. Let’s try this one instead.”
She swiped on her phone, and the song cut off.
“Aw, I liked that song. You could have let me finish,” he mock-grumbled.
“Do you like this one, though?”
Just a few seconds into the song, he smiled at her again. Together, they sang along to the rest of the catchy song with its sardonic take on modern sexism.
Jenny fell into a contemplative silence once the song ended, so Wade refocused on the drive and let the music flow. Several songs later, Jenny lowered the volume.
“Do you think we’ll be stopping for gas sometime soon?”
“We don’t need gas, but we can stop for a bathroom break and stretch our legs. There’s no reason to push hard since we’ve got plenty of time to get there.”
At Jenny’s prolonged silence, Wade looked at her again. “Is there?”
“No, I guess not. I just thought…”
“What did you think?”
“It doesn’t matter. But, yes, if we could stop somewhere so I can grab a snack and use the bathroom, that’d be great. I promise I’ll be quick.”
“Like I said, we’re not in a hurry. Would you prefer to stop at an actual restaurant, a fast-food place, or do you just want gas station treats?”
“Why are you being so accommodating?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought it was a guy thing to hate stopping on road trips.”
He shrugged. “I’d rather be comfortable.”
“If you’re sure, I’ll keep an eye out for a fast-food place near a gas station.”
“Why don’t you pull up the route on your phone, and we can pick something instead of leaving it to fate?”
Jenny sent him another wobbly smile that confused him. She read out the names of several restaurants until they picked one and added it to the route.
“You’re sure you don’t mind? It won’t put us too far behind schedule?”
“We’re not in a hurry, and there’s no one waiting for us, so there’s no reason to rush. Let’s just enjoy the ride, okay?”
Jenny didn’t say anything, but he felt her gaze on him as he stared at the road ahead. What was that all about?
Jenny wrapped her arms around herself as she sat stiffly. Her body language screamed discomfort, and the ease they’d created through music was gone.
“Even if we stopped for a few hours, the only thing we’d miss is the opening plenary, which is no great loss unless you’re a true believer,” Wade joked. “We’d still get there in plenty of time for the networking reception.”
“Elizabeth isn’t going to expect me to come back with a handful of business cards for prospective customers, is she?”
“I doubt she has any expectations about what you’ll get out of it, honestly.”
“When I glanced through the program, I didn’t even know what half of the stuff on it meant. It made me feel as stupid as Jeff sometimes treats me.”
Wade gave her a brief rundown of the big events and explained their purpose. He offered to send her a list of the sessions he planned to attend. She relaxed as he spoke, and he berated himself for not expecting her to be nervous.
“The opening plenary is a pep talk. Afterwards is the opening reception. It should be hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. The goal is mingling and relaxing away from the office for a few days.”
He tried to recall the main events from when he reviewed the program.
“There are often off-site events for local tourism or volunteer activities. Sometimes, there’s a group that meets for an early morning run. Restaurant hops are popular. When we check in to the conference, which is separate from checking in to the hotel, we’ll find out what entertainments the local arrangements committee has planned.”
Wade glanced her way. “Your accounting conference doesn’t start until the day after tomorrow, right?” At her nod, he continued. “There will be plenty to keep you busy until then including tonight’s reception and tomorrow’s restaurant hop.”
“Oh, wow, I wouldn’t have expected it to be so complicated.”
“Yeah, it’s a whole thing to make it a memorable experience. Regarding the sessions, there’s a non-technical track, with talks on general stuff, like work-life balance, emotional intelligence, creating a diverse workforce, that sort of stuff.”
“That’s amazing!”
“It’s why nobody put up any roadblocks to you coming. There are professional development opportunities for you as a non-technical person. There are always decision-makers who aren’t tech people at these things, both to recruit new talent and to network.”
“Wow, there’s so much I never thought about. I’ve been so busy getting everything done for the week, I’ve barely reviewed the information.”
Jenny set her phone into one of the cup-holders and pulled her knees to her chest. She then stretched her sock-clad feet out in front of her on the car’s dash. Wade glanced at her and at her feet and frowned but didn’t say anything.
“What?” Jenny asked. “Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong.” He looked carefully at the cars around them and changed lanes.
“Do you not want me to put my feet up on the dashboard? They’re clean.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?” she asked with more spine than she’d shown all day.
“If we get into an accident, that’s the most dangerous way you could be sitting. Airbags are designed to keep your chest and head from slamming into the dash. If you’re sitting with your legs up like that, they can do some serious damage. Dislocation, broken bones, hip problems, all kinds of stuff.”
“Oh. Should I take them down?”
“You’re an adult. I’ll just try to be even more cautious.”
“I don’t know what to make of you,” Jenny said as she brought her legs down and got more comfortable. “You don’t talk much at work, but now you’re funny, considerate, and like my favorite music.”
“There’s nothing to get. I do better one-on-one than in bigger groups. Besides, at work, you hang out with Gloria a lot, and I’m usually with Kyle. The way they fight—”
“I know! The tension between them is electric. They should get a room!” Jenny joked and then fell silent abruptly.
Wade wondered if she had the same thought running through her head. They were getting a couple of rooms.