12. Chapter 12 So Close, Yet So Far
Chapter 12: So Close, Yet So Far
W ADE
Breakfast could have been worse, Wade decided as they headed to the first session. After several stilted minutes while they waited for breakfast to arrive, he took the initiative and addressed the elephant in the room.
“Look, I shouldn’t have said anything about being able to hear you in your room, but I’ve never been very good at shutting up. Plus, with three sisters, I don’t have much of a filter. It’s nothing you should be embarrassed about. Everybody does it. It’s a normal part of the human condition, especially…”
He let his words trail off deliberately as he attempted to provoke a reaction other than mortification and despair. Jenny was having a rough couple of days. Maybe he shouldn’t push her, but he felt like it was the better choice.
If they tiptoed around it, it would just become another thing getting in the way of knowing each other better. Talking about it, joking about it, would make it something they could laugh about and move on from.
When it became obvious that he wasn’t going to finish his sentence, Jenny huffed a breath and asked.
“Especially what?”
She sounded cross, but that was a million times better than earlier, when all the blood drained from her face, and she looked like she was about to faint. It was time to pour on the charm or make himself the fool, so she’d feel less like one.
“When you have all of this taunting you, hour after hour.” He gestured dramatically to himself and winked. “So close, yet so far. No one would blame you.”
Wade hammed it up while preening outrageously for her amusement, and she let out a reluctant chuckle. After that, it still took another cup of good coffee and half a pancake before she thawed. Things were not quite as relaxed as they’d been in the car, but they were better than earlier, so he considered it progress.
He refused to allow her to hide away when his friends waved them over to sit in the auditorium seats. After a little while, Jenny loosened up further and became more like her usual self, which helped him relax.
Throughout the opening session, the group exchanged commentary about other attendees, industry rumors, and upcoming sessions plans. Wade used this as an excuse to talk more to Jenny since he wanted her to feel included, but he also just liked talking to her. She gained confidence as time passed, and it became clear no one thought she made a fool of herself the previous night like she worried.
When Suzanne showed up during the networking break, things became a bit more stressful. She tried to single Wade out of the group. He was not having it.
“Sweetheart, do you still need to call Gloria?” he asked Jenny. “Wasn’t there some issue you needed to resolve, but you had to wait to log in to the VPN?”
She looked at him blankly for a moment before she realized he was giving them both an easy way out.
“Yes, thank you. Do we have enough time to take care of that?”
“It’ll be okay if we’re a few minutes late,” he assured her.
“Or,” Suzanne offered in a helpful voice, “Jessie can toddle along to do her thing. I need to talk to you, Wade.”
“It’s Jenny, and she needs my help.”
“She can’t do her job by herself and needs you to do it?” Suzanne sniped back.
Wade simply looked at her, and Suzanne had the decency to blush considering their history. He put his hand on Jenny’s waist, and she shivered. He hoped no one else noticed, or that they attributed it to excitement rather than anxiety.
“I need to check in with the office myself. I was… distracted earlier this morning and ran out of time before the opening session started. I need time to finish up what I started earlier.”
He let his gaze linger on Jenny until her cheeks turned pink. He hoped his words reinforced the idea that they were a couple.
“We need to head back to our room to make some calls, so we’ll see you guys later,” he said to his friends as they made their escape.
“Ugh, that was so uncomfortable,” Jenny said once they were on the elevator.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you, but I thought it would sell it.”
“Oh, not that. Suzanne tried to humiliate me, but I already did it to myself. I’m mortified I drank so much.”
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m sorry that I put you in a position where you had to drink so much because you were bored or stressed.”
“But I wasn’t. Your friends were funny and nice, and I had a good time. I guess I wasn’t aware of how much I drank. It always seemed like my glass was full, but obviously I drank too much. There’s no need for you to feel guilty.”
Wade frowned at her words, but they arrived at their suite. Jenny excused herself to talk to Gloria, so he called Kyle.
“Is everything okay?” Kyle asked.
“I’m not sure.”
He quickly brought Kyle up to speed on the various embarrassing incidents, though he skipped over the mutual masturbation.
“Wow, you’ve been busy,” Kyle teased.
“I don’t know what to do. It’s three steps forward, two steps back. The more time I spend with her, the more I like her. She’s funny as hell, super smart, considerate, loyal. She has no poker face, which is hard for her, but it’s a relief after Suzanne. And Suzanne keeps trying to talk to me. We escaped her by implying we were coming back to the room to have sex.”
“What?” Kyle laughed. “That’s hilarious. How did Jenny react?”
“She turned the color of a tomato, but she didn’t contradict me.”
“What are you doing talking to me, then?”
“Ensuring you’re holding down the fort okay.”
Kyle scoffed. “Rude.”
Wade snorted. “Seriously, though, I need advice. What should I do? I like this girl a lot, but we’re in a weird position because of the shared suite. If I freak her out, there’s not any place she can go.”
“You’re not going to freak her out. Stop thinking like that. Just keep doing what you’re doing. I think you’re making progress.”
“What makes you think that?”
“She could have walked back your statement or thrown you to Suzanne or any number of things, but she didn’t. I think it’s a good sign.”
“What do I do now?”
“Charm her. Show her what she’s missing. Treat her like she’s your girl so she realizes how great it is.”
“Okay, I can do that,” Wade agreed.
“And maybe if you’re a good boy, she’ll touch your wee-wee.”
“Why am I friends with you? You’re the worst.”
“Who’s the worst?” Jenny asked from his doorway.
Wade hung up his phone to the sound of Kyle cackling.
JENNY
The rest of the day flew by. Jenny was less overwhelmed than she expected by the conference. Even though she attended the first few sessions with Wade since they were all-conference sessions, they separated after lunch so she could follow the non-technical track.
She was delighted with the session on interpreting tech speak. It was tongue-in-cheek but also earnest, co-presented by a card-carrying member of the geek squad and a slick guy in a suit. The session on emotional intelligence surprised her, and she wished it had been an all-conference session.
By the end of the day, she was feeling good about herself. She learned some things she could use, so it wouldn’t be a complete waste of In-Tech’s money. Plus, the accounting conference tomorrow sounded awesome.
Jenny headed to the ballroom where the reception was held the night before. Today, it hosted Canapés and Coffee for the late afternoon networking session. With a smile on her face, she eagerly looked for Wade.
Her smile froze when she saw Suzanne once again. She was like a bad penny. Momentarily, Jenny distracted herself as she wondered about the etymology of the phrase. She giggled to herself at the thought that Wade would know.
“He’ll never love you,” Suzanne scoffed.
Jenny’s eyes widened. “What?”
“He’ll always love me,” Suzanne said. “Why wouldn’t he? Unlike some people, I know my way around a computer. And, well, just look at us. Why would any man choose you over me?”
“Maybe because that man wised up,” Wade said from behind her.
Jenny squealed with surprise when his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Why are you causing problem for us?” he asked. “You and I have been over for a long time, Suzanne, and Jenny had nothing to do with it. Let it go.”
“I made a mistake,” Suzanne said. She gave an impressive performance, switching from haughty to distraught. “I should never have broken up with you.”
“You didn’t,” Wade said flatly. “But it’s a moot point. We’re done and have been for a long time.”
Suzanne huffed and flounced off. Wade turned Jenny in his arms, and he searched her eyes for signs of distress. She grinned back at him, and he relaxed.
“Do we still have time to change before the off-site event?” Jenny asked.
“We’ve got time for anything you want, sweetheart.”
Wade brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. She blushed before reminding herself that this was fake. As they left the room, Wade swung them by one of the tables of snacks and piled a variety a bunch on a plate.
When she looked at him, he shrugged. “Fighting demons makes me hungry.”
Jenny cackled as Wade led her to the elevator. He held her hand while they rode the elevator and as they walked down the hall to their suite. Part of her began to think this wasn’t just a show anymore.
“Listen—“ he started.
“What are—“ she began to ask.
They both smiled, and she encouraged him to go first. She was both nervous and excited, hoping she interpreted his signals correctly.
He let her over to the couch before he set the plate of snacks on the coffee table. Then he blew out a sigh and ran a hand through his long hair. Oh no, this might not be going in the direction she wanted.
“I understand,” she said, as her heart sank.
“What?” he asked? “What do you think you understand?”
“I understand that all the things we’ve been doing were an act. Sometimes I got a little bit confused, but we’re on the same page now.”
“I don’t think we are,” he said. “Not if you thought that was an act.”