Chapter 1 #2
She reached the office and braced herself when she heard Henry on the phone yelling at his soon-to-be ex-wife.
Honestly, she wished she could mute the man but since she couldn’t she did the next best thing.
She pulled out her ancient iPhone that she couldn’t afford to upgrade despite not updating any longer, slipped the earbuds in turning it up until she could barely hear the screaming, and started on the stack of work in front of her.
By the end of the day, she was sorely tempted to call Jordan and inquire about the job he’d mentioned.
The only thing holding her back was her worry that it wasn’t a real offer just something to tempt her into calling him.
He wouldn’t be the first one to hand over his number and she was sure he wouldn’t be the last.
She stayed up half the night studying for the AP exam.
The more she got ahead now the easier it’d be to hopefully get into college, and maybe, just maybe stop living this despised corporate life by getting a good enough scholarship.
She slipped into the classroom and Tate sent her a questioning glance before noting her tired expression and slid into the seat next to her.
“Mel, you promised you wouldn’t stay up all night.”
“And I didn’t, just half,” she said grinning at him when he rolled his eyes. “Come on, did you really expect me to listen to you? I mean when have I ever?”
“No clue but there’s always a first Mel.”
“Well, well, well if it isn’t Indy and Tate, don’t they look cute?” Stephanie crowed from the front of the class and Mel felt herself slipping completely into the role of a nearly seventeen-year-old high school student.
“It’s Melinda, Steph, and you know that. After all, we’ve been going to school together for oh…eleven years now.”
“Yes, that would have been about the time your mom started sleeping with all the men in town. Tell me, how is she?”
“Busy working away,” Mel answered as Tate squeezed her hand.
“On her backside,” Stephanie stated and Mel got up leaning her hands against the table.
“Mel, let it go. She’s not worth having them call your mom because you knocked the witch’s teeth in,” Tate said quietly in aside knowing it would get through to her.
She stood glaring at the other girl until the teacher walked in noting the tension and the interest of the rest of the class.
“Is there a problem here girls?” Ms. Simmons asked.
“No…” Mel finally answered sitting back down.
“Well then why don’t we start our exam now? Mr. Tatum, would you please return to your seat?”
Tate sent her a reassuring glance before moving over to the next table letting Andrew have his seat.
“You know, you’re pretty hot when you’re angry,” he said.
Mel felt like breaking her pencil in two and smacking him over the head with her textbook. Instead, she sent him a glare that froze off most men she’d come into contact with and concentrated on the test in front of her.
Thankfully, it was easy and she finished it quickly, turning it in relieved when Ms. Simmons excused her and she went to the library to check her work email. She was working on the fortieth or so reply when she realized she wasn’t alone.
“Melinda, right?”
She glanced up and saw Brent, the star of the basketball team and senior class president standing beside her. “Yeah…”
“Great,” he said pulling out the chair turning it around to straddle it as he faced her.
“Why?” she asked as her fingers continued to fly across the keys making quick work of the answers.
“I like knowing I have the girl’s name right before asking them out,” he answered and her fingers paused for the slightest second before continuing.
“You want to ask me out? Let me guess, Stephanie put you up to it?” she asked exiting the program and logging off as she grabbed her things. She needed to get to her next class and the last thing she wanted was to deal with more bullshit from annoying males when she still had work later.
“Stephanie? Oh, Augustan? Why would she…you two were at it again, weren’t you? Do you know you’re the only one who stands up to her around here?”
“Maybe I just don’t like jerks? Look, let me just cut you off right now.
I don’t date the guys around here. I don’t sleep with them either if that’s your angle.
This town is barely big enough for the gossip to not travel from one side to the next but here at school it does.
Go find someone else to play games with, I’m too busy,” she added giving him her best look of complete and utter iciness and boredom most men didn’t appreciate.
“Dating Tate?” he asked sliding in front her locker.
“Tate’s my best friend, the only person around here I like, but I’m not dating him. I don’t have any extra time; I’m only here half the day as I have an internship in the city. So while this sudden attention might seem like it’s nice and all, I’m busy.”
“I’m not going to give up on you Melinda Taube. You’ll see how persistent I can be when I want something.”
“Lord I hope not,” she muttered to herself taking off down the hallway.
She managed to get through her next few classes and when lunch rolled around Tate was waiting on his bike for her.
They grabbed a bite to eat before she changed and finished making their way to the train station that took them from their little suburb into the heart of the city where she worked.
“So what’s this I hear about Brent Rackers asking you out?”
“You heard?” She groaned knowing if he had, then most likely everyone had including Stephanie who she knew had a thing for the guy still.
“The entire school heard Mel, heard him say he wasn’t going to give up on you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll last until the next girl he hasn’t slept with comes to his attention. Don’t worry; you’re not going to lose your date to the dances—well the ones I can manage to make it to that is.”
“I’m not worried about that Mel. Just take it easy, I don’t trust Henry. One of these days he’s going to go too far.”
“I can handle myself okay,” she said kissing his cheek before taking off to get on the train.
She wasn’t about to tell Tate his assumptions weren’t too far off the mark.
Henry had once or twice let his hands linger just a bit too long on the back of her chair and it made her decisively uncomfortable.
More so, because she was sixteen going on seventeen while pretending to be going on twenty-one and the man was twice that with ease.
Mel was relieved when the afternoon and evening sped by quickly although she wished she’d had little interaction with the man. She was going to drop in for a bit in the morning before heading off to her birthday celebration with Tate and she gladly shut down her computer and left.
She was almost to the train station when she felt a slight twinge of fear creep through her. A truck slowed down beside her and her heart pounded as she dug in her bag for her keys, the only thing that she could use as a weapon.
“Melinda?” Mel heard her name said with a deep voice as a window slid down and she relaxed a bit.
“Jordan?” She sighed walking over to the truck giving him a half-smile. “You really shouldn’t sneak up on someone like that; you’re likely to get maced.”
“Sorry, I was heading home from a work site and saw you. Where are you heading at this time of night?” he asked looking around the dark but mostly deserted street. More than half of the street lamps weren’t working, but that wasn’t anything new.
“The train, I live outside the city.”
“And you walked this entire way alone? Where’s your boyfriend when you really need him?”
“Huh? Oh Tate? He’s not…we’re not…” It took her a minute for her brain to figure out what he’d meant but even with that, her heart was fluttering in wild ways that wasn’t from fear.
She paused for a moment, getting herself under control but it was difficult when she clocked the darkness in his eyes wasn’t anger at her the way Henry’s typically was.
No, his eyes were saying something entirely different and what touched her most was the worry shown for her in them.
“Tate’s my best friend and sometimes he jumps into situations thinking he’s protecting me. ”
“I see, and he thought you needed protection from me?” he asked his face relaxing into a smile.
“Maybe not you so much as the whole situation, he’s worried that Henry or someone else won’t take no for an answer.”
“Henry’s…”
“Not blatantly enough for me to do anything about it but if he’s not angry he’s…attentive.”
“So why do you stay? Surely you could find somewhere that accommodates your schedule.”
“But they don’t pay as well. It’s fine. I can handle it, really. I’ve been foisting off advances since I was fifteen…” Shit, she thought but he seemed to let it slide right by or took it that she meant longer than just two years now thankfully.
“Hop in, I’ll drop you off at the train station.”
“I…”
“It’ll give me a chance to tell you my offer.”
“Okay,” she agreed, knowing somehow deep down that it was safer than walking the rest of the way alone no matter if she felt a bit tongue-tied around him.
“Now, what’s your current package like?”
“I make about forty-five thousand a year. I’m supposed to have two weeks’ worth of vacation time and sick leave but if you try and use it—well, Henry gets grumpy.”
“And your hours?” he asked, his jaw a little tight after her comment.
“I usually start around one, work till seven or eight and then on Saturday mornings I stop in and catch up on things until I’m finished.”
“Well what would you say to fifty a year, working from one to six during the week and Saturdays seven to one? If you want to take a vacation or are sick, I’ll understand more than Henry I’m sure.
We also have health insurance, it’s about sixty a month from your paychecks, and you can set up a deferred comp type plan if you want that’s tax deductible. ”