Page 17 of Saved By the SEAL

“Something like that, yes.” My teeth grit together. This whole thing is making me uncomfortable. “So I have to go.”

I’ll think twice about heading into a café again! That was definitely the strangest thing to happen to me in a very long time. I don’t even know if I should tell Michelle about it because it was so odd. It might cause her paranoia to peak. I need to concentrate on checking in on the building. Maybe I should have focused on that, anyway…

14

MICHELLE

“Every answer you have given me is very impressive,” Sally declares as we wrap up what has been a very successful, at least in my mind, interview. I did everything that Jordan told me to and faked confidence until I made it, which seems to have worked really well. “I probably should take some time to think about it, but since this is my office and I can do whatever I want, I’m going to tell you right now. I want you to come and start working for us. I’ve been interviewing for a while now, and you’re the best person to walk through this door. I’ll need to get the paperwork all sorted out with Human Resources, but will you be able to start on Monday morning? I’ll be here then and able to train you properly with our computer system and processes.”

I nod eagerly, so excited. “Oh, yes, definitely. Thank you so much. I’ll work hard for you. I won’t let you down.”

“Great. Well, thank you, Michelle.” She reaches across and shakes my hand, sealing the deal. “I look forward to Monday, then.”

Sally walks me through the office, which might be a strange place right now but will soon become my second home if I make as much of a success of this as I hope to. I take a glance at all the faces as we go. I don’t want to get caught staring at anyone in particular, but I want to check that all the people I’ll be working alongside are going to be friendly. To say they seem nicer than the Russian spy people I’ve been dealing with up until this point would be an understatement. They seem amazing. I even get some smiles thrown my way, which helps to make me feel awesome. I’m going to like it here for sure.

“Well, thank you for everything.” I feel warm and fuzzy as I say goodbye to Sally. “I’ll see you very soon, on Monday.”

I could skip back to the car as I walk away from the office building because right now, life feels incredible. Things haven’t always been easy for me. I’ve been through some dark times in my life, but ever since I contacted Max and Jordan was brought into my life, everything has been on the upward curve. And now I’m making some awesome progress on my own behalf. Soon, Jordan won’t have to babysit me quite so much. Well, not when it comes to sorting my life out, anyway.

I don’t know how long I’ll need him to keep Alexander away from me, but I’m definitely not ready to try life without him just yet. I wouldn’t want to, anyway. I’m enjoying having him around, especially with this little ill-advisedthingbetween us. Even thinking about it now sends an excited shudder down my spine. I might have to drag him to bedagainfor more fun tonight…

“Jordan.” He kinda jumps as I rest my hand on his shoulder to get his attention. “Oh, sorry, you’re on the phone.”

He holds up his finger, indicating that he needs one more minute. I can tell by his expression that whoever he’s talking tois serious. In an attempt to give him a bit of privacy, I step away, but I can still hear more than I should.

“I know, Max,” Jordan says through gritted teeth. “But it was weird. I’m telling you, she was strange. The name of the café?” He glances over to the coffee shop over the road. “Rosie.Yep, justRosie. I don’t know, I don’t have any reason for thinking it. It was just a gut feeling. No, I didn’t get any pictures of her or anything… yep, okay. Sure. Speak to you soon.”

Hmm, that was weird. Something happened while I was in my job interview. Of course, I immediately need to know more. My curiosity gets the better of me, so much so that I forget I was just offered a freaking dream job just now.

“Is everything okay?” I ask him softly. “Did something happen in the café? Should we be worried?”

“Oh, no, it was nothing.” He does his best to reassure me by being dismissive He even swipes his hand to shut me up. “Sorry, I was just talking to Max about your job interview. He’s very happy with the way that things are going.”

“So, there was nothing about a woman then?” I demand impatiently. I know what I heard and I don’t appreciate being left in the dark. “Because I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I could have sworn that you were talking about a woman.”

“I don’t know what you think you heard, but you didn’t.” His snapping tone does shoot me down. I snap my lips closed all of a sudden, not wanting to push this any further however intrigued I am. “You didn’t hear anything. I wasn’t discussing anything to do with this situation at that moment. You misunderstood, that’s all. Now, let’s get out of here.”

I want to demand which one it is—he was talking about my having a job interview or he wasn’t talking about us—but I get the impression that Jordan is a pressure cooker who could explode at any given moment. I don’t want to get in the middle of that, so I climb into the car beside him with my mind spinning the whole time. What if thisisabout a woman not linked to me? What if it’s a woman in his life? Just because we are hooking up, it doesn’t mean I’m the only one…

I squeeze my fists together angrily, trying to remind myself that I don’t have any ownership over Jordan at all. There is nothing solid there between us, so I shouldn’t care if he has another romantic situation bothering him… but it does upset me. I can’t help it. It really gets to me knowing that he means more to me than I do him. It’s killer.

“How did it go?” Jordan suddenly asks as if he remembers what we actually came here for. “The interview, was it okay?”

A little part of me doesn’t want to tell him just because he’s keeping me out of the loop, but I decide not to be that person. After all, IknowI could be getting the wrong end of the stick and I don’t want to make drama where there doesn’t need to be. “It went well. Really well, actually. Sally offered me the position and wants me to start on Monday.”

“Really? Jordan spins to look at me fast before remembering that he’s on the road and needs to focus forward. “Oh, my goodness, that sounds amazing. She must have really liked you to give you the job like that. I’m impressed.”

“Well, I’m happy about it too.” I allow myself to remember how good it felt to hear those words. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“We should go out to celebrate.” Jordan seems to sense the fear from my silence. “No, I know you don’t want to go out, but what if we do something in a private place? Like, somewhere not many people go? This is a big celebration, isn’t it? We should make a big night out of it. And I’ve been wanting to take you on a date for ages. Let me, come on. It’ll be awesome.”

I hesitate for a while, trying to work this out in my mind. I mean, if Jordan really does want to take me on a date, then maybe there is no other woman in the picture. Perhaps I really did jump to conclusions then. A date means he really does like me. As much as the idea of heading out in public makes me cold and full of terror, I suppose Ineedto push myself. I have to keep trying, and since things have been going so well for me, then perhaps this is the next step for me.

“A date?” I cock an eyebrow toward Jordan, trying to play it cool and casual. “Yeah, I don’t see why not. It could be fun.”

“Really? You really want to go on a date?” Jordan sounds so excited, it makes me giggle. “I would love that. I won’t let you down. I’ll makesurewe have a date that makes you feel comfortable and safe. I can promise you that much.”

A warmth floods me as I reach across to take Jordan’s hand in mine. He really has been great to me, and I should remember to trust him. I hardly care about the phone call anymore. It obviously doesn’t matter or he would have told me. Everything he has done for me has been perfect, so I need to just have a lot of faith in him and hope that this night turns out okay…

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