11. Chapter 11
Jinny
L ed stands on the opposite side of the room when I enter.
His eyes meet mine for a half second, and then they divert, like he’s kicking himself for letting me see that he saw me.
Brushing it off, I walk over to my team, knowing full well that this is the game that must be played.
And I’m okay with that. Led and I owe nothing to each other.
We enjoy each other’s company when it fits and that’s it.
Nothing more. My mother’s words echo in my head though, knowing full well that the woman has a sixth sense about things.
And this is the first time that she’s, in not so many words, told me that Led and I are a good fit.
The meeting is very useful to most of us, but I can understand why Led would be so pissed, as he stomps out of the room the second that he has a chance.
Why he was forced to attend is beyond me.
He said so himself that he’s up to his ears in work, and participating in a meeting about mostly production, HR and sales projections, was a total waste of time for him and his team.
As I sit with Bowie later, I ask her why she thought that Led needed to be in on that meeting.
“I have no idea. I’m part of the production team. Jagger didn’t say anything about who was all included, but I assumed those that needed to be were there.”
“Yeah, well, I can see how he would be so pissed off.”
“He did look upset when he left.” She changes the subject. “Is there anything I need to know about you and Led? Your gaze seemed to be going in his direction some during the meeting.”
I’m mulling my response over when her phone rings. She lifts a finger as she looks at the screen, indicating that she has to answer it. After a brief conversation, she hangs up. “It’s production. I have to go.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
Phew! Saved by the bell, literally.
My assistant comes in about an hour later to go over some policies that need updating, and then she goes on her break. I hear a knock at the door and see Led’s face appear. “Come in.”
“Hey, sorry to bug you.” He says, raking a hand through his hair. “I just wanted to go over the projection numbers again, before I work on the budgets for Jagger.”
“Sure.”
“It’ll only take five minutes, and I figure you get enough emails.”
“Exactly. No, I appreciate that.”
He sits down and we go over everything that we touched on when we went to dinner. After we’re done reiterating, making double sure that we have what we need, I smile at him. “You looked like something was troubling you earlier.”
He rakes another hand through his hair. “When isn’t something troubling me.”
My face sobers. “You know...one thing about being in HR...whatever you tell me I have to hold in confidence. Seeing as technically you’re a staff member, even though you could fire my ass, which is consequently another reason why I would absolutely keep whatever you say to me, in confidence.”
He swallows, looking at the wall. “Fuck it.”
I press the DND button on my phone and settle in by resting my heels on the corner of my desk. “I’m all ears.”
“That girl I...took back to my place during Jagger’s wedding...” He trails off.
“The one that runs Drummond?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Reya.” He licks his lips. “Her friend that runs the UK site, called me.”
“Wasn’t her name Freddie?”
He nods. “Yeah. Anyway, they’re both fucking around with me, and Jagger’s having none of it.”
“Define ‘fucking around’.”
He gives me this look. Almost a puppy dog look, but not quite so pathetic. “Look, promise me you won’t get pissed.”
I nod once for emphasis. “I promise.”
“Freddie threatened to get me in shit with Wesley Hopkins if I don’t go on a double date with her and Freddie and Axl. I told Jagger about it, and he flipped his lid. He told me not to fuck anything up for him, so I have to go on this fucking date tonight.”
I’m confused. “What’s the problem. You have to go on a date? I thought you already fucked this girl. You don’t like her?”
He blinks. He seems to be speechless. “Holy fuck.”
“Holy fuck, what.” I push my laptop further to the side so I can bring my other foot up onto the desk.
“I...uh...I didn’t think you’d be so cool about this.”
“Well, you did make me promise.”
“Yeah, but, if I didn’t ask you, would you be pissed?”
I shake my head. “No. Not at all. Why would I be? So, you’re going on a date with a girl. Big deal. What...do you think you owe me an explanation? Because we’ve slept together?”
“S...something like that.”
I smile at him. “Led, do you know what your problem is? You think too much. I am no insecure little girl off crying in the corner because some guy I slept with is going out on a date with a girl he met before we slept together. Because that’s exactly what this is, right?”
“I...guess so.”
“Why on earth would you think that I would be upset? How many other times have you slept with a girl and then gone out on a date with another girl?”
“I never counted.”
I sit up, placing my heels on the floor, and level with him. “Led, you’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s called damage control. You need to fix this for your brother. It’s simple. And it’s the right thing to do.”
“But what if I don’t want to?”
“What? Go out on a date? Why not?”
“Because I don’t like her.”
“How come?”
I think the words come out of his mouth before he realizes it. “Because I like you .”
I smile. “Well, I like you, too. But that doesn’t mean that it changes anything. You still have to go out with her to finish what you started, evidently.”
“I don’t want to.” He licks his lips. “When you asked me to hang out with you tonight, my first impulse was to say yes, but then I stopped myself.”
“Why?”
He hesitates. “I don’t know.”
I lick my lips. “Well, when you figure it out, I’ll be in my pool. No strings attached. No games. And certainly, no threatening phone calls.” His glance goes to his lap. He looks forlorn. Like his best friend is dying or something. “Is there something else bothering you?”
He snaps out of it, pinching his nose with his thumb and index finger. “No, nothing. It’s cool. I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Have fun tonight.” I tell him.
That gets an eye roll.
“Maybe you’ll get lucky again.”
He gives me a look as if to say, ‘God, don’t even joke about that’.
“It could be fun.”
“Not as fun as hanging by the pool with you.”
“So, we’ll do that tomorrow night.”
That forlorn look crosses his face again, but he just opens the door and leaves, not bothering to respond.
I stand there, dumbfounded. That man has something going on between his ears that he’s not letting anyone else be privy to.
I can tell the difference. That there is a man stuck in limbo.
I’ve seen it before in my line of work. I always promised myself that I’d never fall for a guy, but especially that I’d never fall for a guy with a look like that on his face.
Here’s hoping that I’ll always keep that promise to myself. So far, it’s looking good.
I find Bowie in production, all decked out in coveralls and safety glasses, hovering over an engine that’s not yet running, so I’ve caught her at a good time, evidently. Lifting her head from the top of the engine, she sees me. “Hey.”
“Hey. Are you busy?”
“Not really. Everyone’s on a break, as you can see.”
“And why aren’t you?”
“It’s the first chance I’ve had to tear the header off this thing.”
“Okay. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Wait, no.” She pulls the goggles off. “What’s up?”
I lie. “Nothing. I just wanted to come chew the fat with you for a minute.”
“About what?”
“Nothing, really.”
Her phone rings. It’s sitting on the work bench next to her. She looks at the display. “Jesus, what is with this woman?”
“Who is it?”
“It’s Freddie. The girl that runs the UK shop.”
“What is she calling you about?”
“Well, she’s trying to get her tentacles in, so that Jagger will take Axl under his wing.”
I play dumb. “Axl? What does she want with Axl?”
She gives me a look like I asked the stupidest question on earth. “Everyone wants Axl, evidently. Women, car manufacturers, and yes, Freddie out in the UK.”
“Do you think that Wesley Hopkins is in on this, too?”
“Probably. I mean, the men are geniuses.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Bowie.”
She exhales quickly. “Fortunately, unlike Axl, I don’t have a huge ego. And Wesley’s about to find out about that soon enough.”
“If she’s running the UK location, then what is she doing here?”
“They have a private jet, of course, which she hops on like it’s a goddamn bus, I’m guessing.
” I smirk, knowing full well what this woman’s intentions are, but I can’t divulge without breaching my confidence with Led.
“Wesley doesn’t enjoy traveling, which is why he sends her.
He was here for the wedding and left the next day.
I doubt we’ll see him in this neck of the woods for a while. ”
Too bad she can’t be scarce, too, but I digress and remain silent.
“You need to call her back?”
“Yeah, I should. Can we do a raincheck? I’ll come see you later?”
“Sure.”
The pool, once again, is the perfect temperature, as I lie in the shallow end, using the steps as a seat.
After doing laps, I head into the sauna and bask in there for a while, until my skin feels soft and supple.
I can’t get enough of my little escape back here, but all the same, I can’t stop thinking about Led and how his date is going.
I shake it off as I leave the pool, and head inside to do some reading.
Surprising myself, I fall asleep within minutes.