Jesse felt her heart pounding and her face flushing with each and every scrap of gossip and news that was being brought up. She had the horrible feeling that she was not going to escape this meeting without being called out, but with each piece of news that wasn’t about her, she felt a mixture of hope and relief build within her. Maybe she would be able to get out of this situation unhurt after all.
“And lastly,” Elaine’s voice rang out over the congregation of vocalists. “We have, of course, the category of celebrity love stories.”
Jesse felt her stomach sink. She knew her time had finally come.
“And today,” Elaine dragged it out. “We are fortunate enough to have one of our own featured in the latest photograph that was captured of Hal Roberts in a small coffee shop. Let us all give Jesse Clarke a round of applause for her accomplishment.”
The room broke out into a soft bout of clapping, but it ended quickly, much to Jesse’s gratitude.
“That’s all for this morning.” Elaine dismissed the group. “Good luck to you all. Miss Clarke, you will follow me to my office directly.”
Jesse swallowed drily and looked up at Mark, who gave her a weak smile of encouragement. Jesse took a shaking breath and gathered up her things. She vaguely noted that she was becoming entirely too familiar with the route that led to her boss’s office.
It did not take long for Jesse to cross the building and arrive at the door to Elaine’s office. Elaine was already there waiting for her, and the woman silently held the door open for her. Jesse kept her eyes fixed on the ground as she advanced into the room.
“Jesse,” Elaine said, her tone seeming bored. “Have a seat.”
Elaine gestured to one of the chairs in front of her desk as she took a seat in her own chair behind it. She said nothing as she sat and waited for whatever Elaine was certain to unleash upon her.
“As you probably already expected,” Elaine said, casually looking over her perfect manicure, “I am incredibly interested to hear all about your romantic coffee date with Hal Roberts.”
Jesse blushed to hear it called that, and she hurried to protest.
“It wasn’t like that,” Jesse protested. “We had just gone to lunch, and …”
“Lunch?” Elaine raised an eyebrow, and Jesse felt foolish at having disclosed yet another sliver of information.
“Well, it wasn’t lunch, exactly,” Jesse stammered hastily. “It was more like a continuation of our interview.”
Elaine raised her eyebrows again.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Was the initial interview not sufficient for you?”
“It was …” Jesse said, looking for a way to get herself out of her situation. “I just thought we could benefit from a less stiff setting.”
“Interesting,” Elaine noted drily. “Go on.”
“So, we went out to lunch,” Jesse continued. “And we both had a few drinks. So we decided to go for a walk just so we could both sober up?”
“And this was after lunch?” Elaine cocked her head and peered over the desk at Jesse.
“Yes,” Jesse confirmed.
“And correct me if I’m wrong,” Elaine leaned back and crossed one leg over the other, “but this was on a work day?”
“Yes, it was,” Jesse confessed, looking down into her lap.
“I see,” Elaine’s brows met in a frown. “And it didn’t occur to you that you should probably get back to the office? To, you know, do your job?”
“Well yes, but …” Jesse struggled to justify her actions the previous day. “Well, I was hoping that I could get more information for the article.”
“Right, the article,” Elaine said, unconvinced. “Well, by all means, go on.”
“After we had walked around a while, we decided to go grab some coffee,” Jesse said.
“I was wondering where that would come into the picture,” Elaine’s expression perked up, and she gave Jesse a predatory smile. “Given that the picture was taken in a coffee shop, after all.”
“Yes,” Jesse nodded. “Well, we got the coffee, and we were talking for a while … and then he spotted someone with their phone out, taking a picture. So … he took my hand, and we ran out.”
“I see,” Elaine said simply and was silent for a moment as she looked at Jesse from across the desk.
The silence stretched on, and Jesse feared that she would soon break out in a sweat if Elaine kept looking at her that way. Finally, though, Elaine blinked and shook her head with a sigh.
“And that was the end of your little adventure, I presume?” Elaine asked as she leaned back in her seat.
“Yes,” Jesse answered. She was half-worried that Elaine would be able to tell that she was lying, but her boss merely nodded.
“Good,” Elaine said. “Well, fortunately, this isn’t such a big issue.”
Jesse released a sigh of pure relief. After this interrogation, she had been seriously worried that her job was on the line. She had definitely not expected Elaine to say anything of that nature.
“However,” Elaine said sternly, and Jesse felt all her tension return, “I really do expect this article to be a real piece of work.”
At that, Jesse felt her stomach drop. She knew that she had enough insight into his life to create the article that Elaine was really wanting, but she also knew that she had given her word to Hal that none of it would be used in the article. Normally, Jesse would have had no problem lying to a celebrity about the use of their interview, but this time, she couldn’t shake the guilt she was experiencing.
“Jesse?” Elaine’s voice called her out of her thoughts.
“Of course.” Jesse nodded and gave Elaine a grateful smile.
“Another thing,” Elaine said, seeming to be lost in thought. “We might be able to create a spin-off of your relationship with him. So, if you’re going to keep seeing him, it wouldn’t hurt too much to get a few more candid shots with him every now and then. Then I can put someone else on covering your relationship. We can really keep the media moving. Maybe we’ll get to interview you at some point!”
Jesse couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable with the idea, but she had to admit that the notion of being in a relationship with Hal Roberts definitely carried quite a lot of appeal for her, though she did not appreciate the idea of it being used to create stories for the magazine.
“I don’t really thing that will happen,” Jesse confessed, and Elaine raised her eyebrow, seeming genuinely curious.
“No?” the older woman asked, a slight grin blooming on her face.
“Um, no.” Jesse shook her head and felt a blush rising up on her cheeks. Elaine laughed at the obvious color in her face, which only served to make her blush deepen.
“Oh, youth,” Elaine said with a sigh. “Let me guess, you’re horribly self-conscious, and you couldn’t imagine any man falling for you, much less the billionaire celebrity Hal Roberts?”
Jesse made no comment and looked down into her lap.
“Trust me, honey, from woman to woman,” Elaine said with a knowing smile. “You’re not giving yourself half the credit you deserve. I don’t want this to get too personal, but you have a spark about you. Hell, it’s a part of the reason that you’re even here.”
Jesse looked up at her boss and blinked. Elaine had never been so personal in conversation with her before and to hear her give her praise so frankly and essentially tell her that she had a chance with Hal was certainly unexpected.
“So,” Elaine clapped and gave Jesse a wide smile. “Are we back on track now? Shall I expect the article from you soon?”
“Yes,” Jesse said with a vigorous nod. “Absolutely.”
“Excellent,” Elaine said with a smile. “That’s all.”
Jesse nearly collapsed from relief right there. She rose from her seat and began to make her way to the door of her employer’s office.
“Oh, and Jesse?” Elaine called, and Jesse tensed as she turned to face her.
“Yes?” she answered, waiting for
the other shoe to fall.
“Try not to take any more extended lunch hours,” Elaine said as she flicked through some papers on her desk. “We don’t pay you to go gallivanting with celebrities.”
“Right.” Jesse nodded, once again relieved.
“Very good,” Elaine said and turned her full attention to the items on her desk.
Jesse lingered a second more just in case there was something else Elaine had forgotten, but when she was sure the other woman was finished speaking, she wasted no time in dashing out the door. She moved down the hall quickly and found solitude in the elevator. She leaned against the wall and let out a long breath of relief. She could feel her heart still pounding in her chest, and she could feel her hands shaking.
She scolded herself for ever letting herself get caught up in a situation like this, though she had to admit there was no way she could have ever anticipated such a thing actually happening to her.
Jesse marveled at her situation, but eventually shook her head. The elevator reached the floor where her desk was situated, and she cleared her mind, determined to get to work on the article that she had been neglecting for so long.
Chapter 20
Jesse kept focused as she began to compile her notes into a document and started the process of creating an article that was fit to be displayed in their magazine. She read it over and over as she wrote, and she couldn’t help feeling dissatisfied with the article as a whole, especially after she had gained so much knowledge about the personal life of this incredible celebrity.
At length, Jesse sat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. She knew that even after adding quite a lot of ornamentation, it left a lot to be desired. Sure, there were little snippets here and there that the public had never seen before, but it was mostly just a reiteration of things people already knew. It was certainly not the breakthrough in her career that she had been anticipating.
Jesse sighed in frustration and tapped her fingernails against her desk. Unable to think of anything better to do, she allowed her mind to wander to the subject of the article. She vaguely wondered what Hal was doing with his time just now and imagined he was having lunch at some other fine dining establishment. As she thought of food, her stomach growled, and she reached into her bag to withdraw the apple and sandwich that she had brought along for lunch.
As she nibbled, she pondered over what else someone like Hal could be doing in their spare time. She wondered if he was even in the country at this point, for surely he could afford to go off wherever he wished and whenever he wished to do so. She released a long stream of air and couldn’t help imagining him strolling about in all manner of different places that she could barely even afford to visit.
Jesse shook her head quickly and blinked her eyes, embarrassed that her thoughts were so actively occupied with Hal Roberts. She had spent one whole afternoon with him, and suddenly she couldn’t get him out of her head. She felt like a high school freshman with a crush on the senior quarterback. In a lot of ways, the situation was indeed similar, except that it was magnified tenfold.
Jesse also couldn’t clear her mind of the compliments and optimism that Elaine had expressed to her about the potential of beginning a relationship with Hal. She would never have wasted time even thinking about that if Elaine hadn’t said something about it. Now, though, it seemed that it was all she could think about. She imagined other photos of them making their way into the papers. Maybe at dinner, or maybe just taking a stroll along the sidewalk.
Even at the mere thought of it, Jesse felt warmth rise up in her stomach, and a small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. She hadn’t experienced what it was like to have a crush in a very long time, and her employer even said that she might have a legitimate chance.
All of a sudden, something snapped in Jesse’s brain, and she felt exceedingly foolish for having those thoughts.
Jesse looked around to see if anyone had noticed her—as if they could somehow read the contents of her thoughts and daydreams. Of course, nobody found anything out of the ordinary, and all of her coworkers were busily typing away at their desks.
Jesse sighed and resolved to finish her sandwich and get back to work. It did not take her long to finish the small meal, and then she was eagerly typing away. Jesse found as she worked, though, that she surely did not need as much time as she had originally anticipated to finish this article and that she could likely have it edited and ready to publish by the end of the next day at the absolute latest.
Jesse felt a little disappointed with her work and annoyed that she had let her momentary reaction to an emotional story compromise her entire article, and as a result, the progress of her career. The more she dwelled on it, the more irritated she became. She huffed to herself and shook her head as she read over the article. She wanted to take a break and perhaps work on something else. Unfortunately, she had no other obligations, as she had expected to be entirely engrossed in this project for a much longer period of time.
Jesse had little choice but to press on and keep working. She found herself constantly looking over at the clock on her desk, praying for time to move faster so that she could at last go home. Finally, there was only an hour remaining until she could do just that.
Jesse propped her elbows on her desk and buried her face in her hands. She rubbed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was becoming increasingly frustrated and put out with her situation, and she would have considered just taking off early if it hadn’t been for her escapade the previous day. Unfortunately, she really felt that option was not on the table.
Jesse was about to resume her work when her office phone rang. Again, she was somewhat perplexed that she was being called there, but she answered it anyway if only to quiet the ringing of the phone.
“This is Jesse Clarke at the Edge,” she answered as cheerily as she could muster.
“Hi there, Jess …” Jesse sat bolt upright as she recognized the voice of Hal Roberts. “How are you doing today?”
Chapter 21
Jesse’s mind whirled, and for a long moment, her mouth merely moved as she struggled to come up with words to reply.
“Hello?” she heard his voice from the other line, and she quickly assembled her scattered thoughts.
“Yes, hello,” she finally replied. “I’m very well, how are you?”
“Fairly well,” he said in a slow, relaxed, drawl. Jesse couldn’t even imagine how it must feel to be so relaxed.
“That’s very good to hear,” Jesse said, struggling to find words to say.
“I’m sure,” Hal responded from the other end, and Jesse could hear the slight amusement in his voice.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” Jesse asked, wondering why on earth she was receiving this phone call from him.
“No, not really,” he answered easily.
“Oh,” Jesse blinked. A moment of silence stretched between them over the line, and Jesse felt her heart beating hard in her chest.
“So, I heard we made the papers,” Hal said, humor dripping from his tone. Jesse felt a blush spread over her face.
“I suppose,” she said, feigning a lack of care.
“I’m sure Elaine was just thrilled,” Hal said, sarcasm clearly evident in his observation.
“Well, it was a bit of an interesting development,” Jesse said, trying to keep her tone disinterested.
“Oh, is that so?” Hal said from the other line, and Jesse could hear the edge of irritation in his voice.
“Yes …” Jesse confirmed, somewhat perturbed by his irritation and confused about its source.
“Was that all it was for you?” he pressed her. “An interesting development?”
Jesse frowned, perplexed by his irritation and indignation on the matter.
“Would you rather it be something else to me?” Jesse returned.
“Well, it certainly was for me,” Hal said simply, and Jesse was yet again taken aback, and she blinked as she tried to come up with some sort of reply.
“Well,” Jesse replied awkwardly. “I’m glad you feel that way.”
“Are you?” Hal asked, his tone gradually growing in irritation. “I’m really getting the feeling that I’m barking up the wrong tree over here.”
“I’m sorry,” Jesse shook her head. “This is just a little strange.”
“Strange?” Hal asked, seeming to relax a little. “How so? It’s just a phone call.”
“Well, maybe for you,” Jesse explained with a nervous laugh. “I mean, you’re you, and I’m me.”
“Well, I didn’t expect to be anyone else when I called you,” Hal said, his voice one again calm and relaxed. “And I had hoped that you would be you as well.”
Jesse gave a shaky laugh and again searched for words with which to reply, but she could find none.
“Well, anyway,” Hal cleared his throat on the other end of the line. “I was just curious to see what your reaction was.”
“Oh,” Jesse replied simply. “Well, I guess that was it.”
Jesse felt a little bit awkward from stretching the truth. In reality, she had been stressed beyond belief and even worried that she would lose her job because of this. She vaguely wondered if he had been just as worried about his image as she was about her job.
“Yeah,” Hal said slowly. And another silence stretched between them.
“Well,” Jess said somewhat uncomfortably, “I guess I’ll let you go then.”
“Right, right,” Hal said with certainty, and Jesse could picture him nodding.
“Thanks for the call,” Jesse said, her tone polite. “It was a pleasure, as always.”
“No problem,” he said. Again, there was a silence, and Jesse wished he would just hang up the phone.
“Okay, goodbye then,” Jesse said and moved to hang up the phone.
“Jess?’ she heard Hal’s voice, and she put the phone back up to her ear.
“Yes?” she asked.
“I actually have a question for you,” Hal said, his tone carrying slight concern.
“What is it?” Jesse asked, once again glancing around the office to make sure that nobody was looking her way, though she hardly imagined it was possible for people to hear her conversation on the phone.
Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance Page 45