6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Jenna
“I know he has to be phony.”
I stopped what I was doing and paid attention to the conversation that was taking place on the other side of the wall. I was in the file room at the office, and the two who were talking did not know I was in there.
The one who had just spoken was Theresa. She was a young file clerk who worked in the office part time while she was attending college.
“I agree with you. There's just something off about him.”
That voice belonged to Jack, one of the junior agents.
I paused for a minute, trying to decide how I could make myself known without things getting too awkward, but also curious as to who they were talking about.
I didn’t have to wait long for my answer.
“Everyone talks about how he worked hard and built this company from nearly nothing, but I don’t believe it. I’m sure he had rich parents who handed everything to him,” Theresa said, and I could hear the disdain in her voice.
“Yeah, I’m sure you're right. Plus, he hardly ever smiles. He is probably just a complete jerk. I mean, he’s never lashed out at me or anything, but I can tell he’s not a nice guy,” Jack answered.
That was it. I couldn’t let them go on saying things that were just not true. I didn’t care if things got awkward. I had to put a stop to this, and I felt both a personal and professional obligation to speak up.
I cleared my throat and walked around the corner.
Jack and Theresa looked up at me, with startled and guilty expressions on their faces.
‘Hey guys,” I said.
“Hey, Jenna,” they both replied, neither one willing to make eye contact with me.
“So, I heard you two talking just now,” I said, figuring that it would be best to just get right to it.
“Oh, yeah?” Jack said, fidgeting uncomfortably.
“Yes,” I said. “And I have to address it. First, I just want to remind you guys that you are in a professional environment, and it is not appropriate to be discussing your coworkers in this manner.”
Theresa nodded. “I understand,” she said. “I apologize, and guarantee it won’t happen again.”
“I apologize as well,” Jack added. “And she is right, it won’t happen again.”
“Okay, good. Thank you,” I said. “But I also want to clarify a few things because it sounds to me as if you two are misinformed about a few issues. Is that alright with you?”
Theresa and Jack looked at each other and then me and simply nodded. Neither one knew what to say, and we all knew that they could not refuse.
“Thank you. First, his parents had nothing to do with his success in this business. He started working as a junior agent, just like you, Jack. He was just very good at what he did, and quickly rose to be the CEO. He is the one who oversaw the expansion of the business and the creation of the new offices, including this one,” I said.
One of the writing projects I was working on was a new biography section for the website, and I had been doing quite a bit of research to get my information.
“I didn’t realize that,” Jack said.
“Neither did I. That’s really impressive,” Theresa added.
“I thought so, too,” I said. “He doesn’t advertise all of this, but I have looked through all of the documents myself. It’s a pretty great story, in my opinion.”
Both Jack and Theresa nodded.
“And finally, I have to let you know that he is actually a very kind and caring person. He is tough, for sure, and he is strict. And if he is unhappy, he’s not afraid to let you know. But none of this means that he is not kind.”
“I understand,” Jack said. He looked at Theresa and raised her eyebrows, and instantly knew that they were most likely going to assume that there was something going on between Ryan and me.
I did not say anything. I just nodded and gathered my things to go back to my office.
I could not control what they thought, but I knew that from that moment forward, neither one of them was going to be that petty at work, or gossip in such a public place.
I had only been sitting at my desk for a few minutes when my phone buzzed. I looked down and saw I had received a message from Ryan.
Hey Jenna. I wanted to talk to you about something but I figured it would be awkward to have you come to my office, after what I just heard. Is it okay if we text? I don’t necessarily want to put this into an email.
I was curious as to what he wanted to say, so I immediately replied.
Of course that’s okay. What’s going on?
I had things that I had to do, but I sat and stared at the blinking dots on my screen, waiting for Ryan’s response.
Well, I was standing outside the file room just now and I heard everything that was said. I did not look inside so I am not sure who was talking about me, and I don’t want to know because I don’t want it to taint my relationship with them. But I recognized your voice.
I thought for a minute, not sure of what to say. I didn’t know how he felt about what he had heard, and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing now. Finally I decided to say the most honest thing that I could think of.
I am sorry you had to hear that.
I really was sorry that he heard people saying such awful things about him.
It’s alright. I have heard much worse. But I wanted to thank you for the kind things that you said about me. I appreciated the professional way in which you handled it, but I also appreciated you speaking up on my behalf. I am used to having people tear me down, but it was nice to hear what you had to say.
I smiled and let out a sigh of relief. I had been concerned that he may have been upset about how I handled it, or about the fact that there would most likely be a rumor going around about us.
I meant every word that I said.
I felt my heart start to pound, and I knew that I was entering into territory that I needed to avoid. He was so handsome, kind, and supportive. He had been so nice to me in the city, and he had been so wonderful to Tyler. I knew that if he wasn’t my boss it would be really easy for me to develop a crush on him. I shook my head and pushed all of those thoughts out of my head.
Well, I deeply appreciate it. I am pretty sure that they are going to assume you and I have something going on, but that’s alright. That will pass, and that’s why I didn’t have you come into my office to discuss this. But thanks again, and keep up the good work.
I felt bolstered by his compliment.
Thank you. Have a good rest of the day.
I settled into my work, and the day flew by. Tyler had a baseball game that night, but it was a late start and I didn’t have to leave early. My parents had to leave town and would have to miss the game, so they were going to have dinner with him and drop him off for warmups.
When it was time to go, I gathered my belongings and hurried out of my office, nearly bumping into Ryan on the way.
“Oh, sorry,” I said, flustered.
Ryan chuckled. “No harm done. Why are you rushing?”
I felt myself blush. “Tyler has a game tonight, so I’m excited.”
“Ah, that makes sense. Are you late?”
I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. “No. Not late. Just excited.”
Ryan laughed, and I was delighted.
“What time is his game?” he asked, kindly.
“Seven,” I answered.
“Are you up for company at the game?” he asked.
I was surprised by his request, but it was not at all unwelcome.
“Absolutely,” I said. “It will be fun!”
“Okay, great,” he said. “Then can I take the two of you out for dessert after the game? I had a lot of fun hanging with Tyler in New York City, and I would love to be able to talk with him about his game tonight.”
“That sounds like a fun plan,” I said, hoping that I didn’t betray just how much I was looking forward to it.
I knew that I would enjoy spending time with him, but I was even happier to know that he wanted to spend time with Tyler. Tyler had not stopped talking about Ryan since we got back from our trip to New York, and I knew he would be thrilled to go and get dessert tonight.
“Perfect,” Ryan said. “I’ll see you there.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
As I walked out of the building I realized that Jack had been in the office right next to where Ryan and I were talking. He was furiously texting on his phone, and I was pretty certain that by the next morning everyone in the office would have heard that Ryan was coming to watch my son play baseball and then take us out for dessert.
As I got into my car I realized that although I was annoyed to have people talking about me, I was more excited about the night and realized that spending time with Ryan was worth becoming fodder for gossip.