Page 19 of Hotel Mallois

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or are you going to keep playing airplane with your fork?" Sarah asks, tired of watching her.

"What?" Jodie responds, thrown off balance.

"You haven't touched your food since we sat down, and you haven't said a word, not to mention you looked like the walking dead when we arrived this morning. I gave you space thinking you'd tell me later, but since you're not saying anything and I'm dying of curiosity, I demand you tell me," Sarah responds, pointing at her with her fork full of macaroni, with melted cheese dangling from it.

Jodie sighs while staring at her. She hadn't planned to tell her anything about what happened yesterday inKatherine's penthouse, but the truth is she can't get it out of her head, and if she doesn't vent, she feels like she'll collapse at any moment.

"Yesterday Katherine invited me for a drink in the penthouse when she got back from running some errands. All very natural, she didn't want to drink alone and asked me to sit with her."

Sarah raises an eyebrow.

"Katherine? Not Mrs. Taylor anymore?" she questions mockingly.

"Shut up," Jodie demands, not in the mood to play along.

Sarah erases her mocking expression and becomes serious again.

"Okay, you sat down with her for a drink," Sarah says, encouraging her to continue talking.

Jodie looks from side to side making sure none of her coworkers can hear them, still, she lowers her voice and leans forward.

"At one point she tried to..." Jodie blushes when she remembers and a shiver runs down her spine like a current.

"Kiss you?" Sarah gapes.

Jodie shivers again, just thinking about Katherine's lips on hers makes her dizzy.

"Not exactly. I was about to leave and suddenly she was behind me. She said she loved my neck and caressed it," she manages to express.

"Oh my god!" Sarah exclaims, covering her mouth. "And what did you do?"

Jodie clears her throat and slowly shakes her head.

"I pushed her away."

Sarah gives her a surprised look at first, but it quickly turns understanding.

"I can't sleep with her and then..." Jodie shakes her head and takes a breath.

"I understand," Sarah says, taking her hand across the table, "I don't know if I would have had that willpower, but I understand what you did and I think it was the right thing."

"Really?" Jodie asks, surprised.

"Yes. You and her belong to two completely different worlds, and I'm not saying she can't like you, but a woman like her, I don't know, must be used to things you can't even imagine, and I guess someone like us can only be entertainment. You did right to stop her, you need this job and sleeping with her would have only complicated things."

Jodie nods in complete agreement with Sarah, although a part of her—a very big part—had hoped her friend would tell her she had made a mistake and try to fix it.

"And what do I do now? In a while I have to go to her penthouse and I don't even know how to look at her," Jodie asks anxiously.

"Just act like always, go there, do your job and don't bring up the topic, like it never happened, I'm sure she'll do the same. Besides, I imagine someone like Katherine Taylor isn't used to being rejected, it must be so new for her that it'll be the last thing she wants to talk about."

Despite the circumstances, Jodie can't contain a loud laugh.

"I'm serious," Sarah insists, infected by her laughter. "Those people never get told no, and you rejected her, her wounded ego won't let her bring it up."

While walking from the elevator to the penthouse door, Jodie keeps thinking about Sarah's last words. She doesn't know Katherine well and maybe she's too blinded by her feelings for her, but she's never seemed like a person dominated by ego; instead, she relishes thinking about how Annie would feel facing rejection, it would probably cost her several sessions with the most expensive therapist in the city.

When she takes out the card to access the penthouse, Jodie sighs and prays everything she knows so Katherine won't be inside, but as usual, her prayers go unheard and the businesswoman sits at that work table that looks like a hurricane has passed through.

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