Page 43 of Jake

“It’s okay. I’m sorry for making you think I wanted to not be with you,” she told him.

“I’m sorry for making a big deal out of it. You were just being considerate. I’m an ass.”

His phone buzzed in his pocket before they could continue the awkward conversation, and she had to admit that she wasn’t mad about it. The conversation had gotten weird, and she wasn’t sure what else she would even say.

He answered the phone and listened to what the other person said before swearing and hanging up.

“Do you mind if we swing by my office for a minute?”

“Not at all.”

She’d only been to his office a handful of times, mostly doing courier work for Cade when he didn’t trust anyone else, but she liked his assistant well enough, so at least she would have someone to talk to.

Jake gave the driver new instructions as he shoved his hand through his dark hair. “I’m sorry about this. It shouldn’t take long.”

“It’s not a problem. I can take my computer and get finished up on my email and we can just do an early dinner instead?”

“That sounds great actually.”

He looked at her again as the car pulled into the parking garage and came to a stop, a small smile on his lips. As the driver opened the car door, Jake stepped out and reached in for her hand, helping her out.

She stood, straightening her skirt with one hand and gripping her laptop and purse in the other.

“Thank you for being so flexible,” Jake said, barely a whisper, in her ear.

“We should probably date on Wednesdays; they’re less dramatic,” Lauren teased as he took her hand.

She walked with him to an elevator, stepping in when the doors opened. The second they closed behind him, Jake pushed her up against the back wall, covering her lips with his own.

When he finally stepped away, they were both breathing fast, her own heart racing. “Wow,” she said, breaking the silence.

“I’ve been waiting all week to do that.”

“It was definitely worth the wait.” She blushed.

“If you think that’s all I have on my mind, just imagine how much more worth it things will be tonight.”

Jake gave her a quick peck on her lips before they stepped out into his office where Max stood, waiting, out of breath and worried. Max was always relaxed so him being anxious was concerning to Lauren.

His hair was out of place, and his grey suit looked wrinkled. She’d never seen him with a single hair out of place, not that she saw him often. He was about her height, and given that he was focused on Jake, she took her time to study him.

He had a stack of files in his hands and a phone and tablet on top of everything. Jake stood, waiting for him to say something, before he finally spoke.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I figured this was something you would want to handle directly.” Max rushed everything out as Jake headed toward his office door.

“Where are they?” Jake asked.

“In the conference room.”

“Thanks, tell them I’ll be there momentarily.” Jake stopped at his office door. “Do we have everything they need to see?”

“We do, and I sent them over in several emails, so I’m not sure why they showed up. We didn’t have anything scheduled.”

Lauren felt like a third wheel and was definitely out of place, with no idea what was going on, and it was none of her business.

Jake opened the door and gestured for her to go inside. “I’ll be there in just a moment,” he assured Max and shut the door.

“I don’t think this will take long, but you are welcome to use anything you need in here. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

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