“So I have to ask you, what’s up with your friend?” Jack asked.
“Oh Jocalyn? Nothing she just gets super excited, very easily.” I said.
“No I mean your other friend, the actress.”
“Oh god no, she’s not my friend, she’s just a pain in the ass, “I said before I had a chance to think, “I’m sorry, I meant she’s one of my clients.”
“No I think you were right the first time. She seemed awfully demanding. So, what did she want you to run out and get her an expensive bottle of champagne so she could toast to herself and all of her wonderfulness or perhaps a golden commode?”
“Actually she wanted me to get her a date with you.” I looked over at him to gage his reaction.
He looked amused. “So were you going to?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Uhhh no sorry not interested. Stuck up actresses really aren’t my type.” He said.
“I’ll remember that.”
“Be sure you do.”
I wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. There was a part of me that wanted to jump up and down and yell out “Oh thank god!” but I thought that might seemed a tad overexcited and eager and maybe a bit of a turn off.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.” He replied somewhat cautiously.
“What’s this nonsense about Dean and Noah breaking barstools and someone’s leg by doing flips off of a bar?” I turned slightly in my seat to look at him but he kept his eyes on the road in front of him, although the corners of his mouth turned up into a grin.
“The barstool was knocked over, but it didn’t break. As for the leg......well everyone told that guy to stand back.”
“Any chance you could tell me what possessed them to do flips off the bar in the first place?” I asked.
“So what brought you to London?” Jack asked changing the subject.
I hesitated before answering. I hated this question because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell anyone the whole story, let alone Jack. I mean, I haven’t known him that long. I wasn’t sure what he thought of me, but I knew I didn’t want it to include baggage of any kind. I decided to opt for the shortened, drama free version.
“Well I was at a point in my life where I was ready for a change and my company had an opening here so.....” I said.
“How do you like it so far?” He asked.
“So far I think I made a good decision. I mean I miss my family, especially my sister Abby and my best friend Noelle, but I don’t regret the decision I made to come here. Anyway I kind of like it here.”
Jack pulled into a parking space in front of our building and walked around to open the door for me. He grabbed my hand to help me down and I couldn’t help but notice how warm his hands were. I tried my hardest to get down as gracefully as I could, but even with someone’s help, I knew that was just wishful thinking. Just as my left foot hit the ground, the rest of my body decided it couldn’t wait to get down and I stumbled forward. I probably would have taken Jack down with me, but luckily he has quick reflexes and he braced himself to catch me.
“You are a piece of work.” He said with an amused voice.
“Hey everyone has something that they are good at. I happen to be the master of clumsiness.” I said with mock annoyance.
“Well I’m not gonna argue with that!” He laughed.
We walked up to the building in silence. Jack held the door open for me and we headed to the elevator. When we reached our doors, we both turned towards each other and began to talk at the same time.
“Go ahead.” I said smiling at him.
“Ladies first.” He replied.
“I just wanted to say you guys were really good tonight. I had a lot of fun.” I said.
“Well I just wanted to say that I’m really glad you came tonight.” Jack said.
“I am too.”
We stared at each other for a moment. I didn’t want to leave him and I got the feeling he felt the same way.
“Well.....I guess I’ll see you later?” He asked.
I nodded and we both turned to go into our apartments.
Chapter Five
As soon as I got to work Monday morning, I tossed my stuff into my office and ran over to Jocalyn’s desk. She was barely able to sit still and I was sure she had been waiting for me to come in.
“So, what happened with you and Dex after you left Saturday night?” I asked her.
Jocalyn started giggling. “Well we went back to my place and he left this morning. We’ll just leave it at that! What happened after I left?”
“Nothing really, Jack gave me a ride home, but that’s about it.”
“Oh my god! No way! Are you dating? Did he give you a good snogging?”
“Snogging?”
“You know, kiss, make out, what have you.”
“No.”
“To which question?”
“Both.”
She seemed deep in thought for a minute.
“I bet you will though and then we could double date! Oh my gosh! How much fun would that be?”
“Tons.” I tried to picture the four of us on a double date. I felt like we would have to go somewhere where talking was not necessary since I was ninety percent sure Jocalyn would dominate any and all conversation. It’s not her fault. She’s just chatty and excited. Like an overly caffeinated cheerleader.
At that moment, Jonathan’s office door opened up. He stepped out and started walking our way. I almost turned to run into my office, since I wasn’t supposed to be hanging out at Jocalyn’s desk chatting. Then I remembered Jonathan was laid back and most likely didn’t care what I did as long as my work was getting done.
“Good morning ladies. Staff meeting Chloe. Five minutes. Conference room C.” He said without even stopping.
I raised my eyebrows at Jocalyn before heading to my office to grab a notebook and a pen. I settled into a seat between Wes and Skylar. We sat there and chatted about our weekends for a few minutes while we waited for Jonathan to come in.
“Okay everyone. Just a few things real quick,” Jonathan said, “First off we were invited to attend a Charity Christmas Ball the second weekend of December. This is a plus one invite.”
Wes leaned in front of me, looking at Skylar.
“Wanna go?” He whispered.
She nodded her head.
Jonathan moved onto his next topic but I wasn’t really paying attention. I had already started daydreaming about what I was going to wear to the ball. Satin was nice, but I really loved chiffon. Should I do floor length or knee length? I have to think of a color too, but not red or green. It’s kind of cliché to wear red or green to a Christmas event. Blue’s a good color. I started to picture myself in a blue ball gown, with an overlay of silver shimmer and a full, poofy skirt. Then I realized I was picturing myself as Cinderella and -
“Uh Chloe.....you okay?”
Wes and Skylar were staring at me with matching looks of amused confusion on their faces. I looked around and realized that the room had nearly cleared out. How long had I been daydreaming?
“Yeah fine, sorry I got sidetracked.” I said.
I had four messages waiting on my desk for me when I got back to my office. Two were from tabloids wanting to know if it was true that Julissa and Kyle were getting back together. One was from Marleigh Tomkins saying that she heard the guy from the other night now had two broken legs and had been hit by broken barstool debris in a very unfortunate area. I was surprised to hear Jack’s voice on the fourth message. The sound of his smooth British accent made my heart rate accelerate.
“Good Morning Chloe, Jack here. I was wondering if you were free to hang out Wednesday. We could get some dinner. You pick the place, anywhere you want.”
I decided to call Jack first before trying to deal with Julissa or any tabloids. I punched the number into my desk phone and Jack answered on the second ring.
“Hello?” God his voice was sexy.
“Hey Jac
k, It’s Chloe.”
“Chloe! So you free Wednesday?”
“I am.”
“Great so where do you want to go?”
“I don’t really know what’s around here.”
He laughed. “Right.....Do you like Italian? I know this great place.”
“Italian is my favorite.”
“Alright then, how does 6:30 sound?”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Alright, I’ll pick you up.” He laughed.
I smile as I hung up the phone. Glancing down at the other three messages, I decided they could wait until after lunch. I grabbed a salad and a green tea from the café and took them back upstairs. Skylar was perched on the edge of Jocalyn’s desk talking. They stopped and stared at me as I approached them.
“Spill it.” Skylar said studying my face.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“Look at the ridiculous look on her face. I bet it’s about a boy.” Skylar said to Jocalyn.
“Oh is it Jack? Am I right? Oh I bet I’m right. I know he called you; I put him through to your voicemail. ” Jocalyn said proudly.
“Jack? Jack Riley? Chloe you better sit your butt down and divulge some information.” Skylar demanded.
I pulled up a chair and told them about my earlier conversation with Jack.
“So is it like a date?” Jocalyn asked.
“No I don’t think so.” I said.
“Wait so he called and asked you to dinner, you accepted and he’s picking you up.....explain how this is not a date.” Skylar said.
“Well for starters he didn’t ask if I want to go out on a date. He asked if I wanted to hang out and he is barely picking me up. He lives across the hall from me.” I noted.
“Well what if it turns out to be a date?” Jocalyn asked.
“Well that would be fine. I’m pretty sure he’s just being friendly though. He knows I don’t have many friends here.”
“What are you going to wear? Are you going to kiss him? I bet he’s a great kisser. I bet he uses loads of tongue and everything. ” Jocalyn said.
“I have no idea.....to any of that.” I said.
“Well we want to hear all about it on Thursday.”
“Alright, I promise to give you all the dirty details but for now I have to go call the diva.” I said rolling my eyes.
I sat down at my desk and dialed Julissa’s number.
“Julissa Patton’s phone. Willa speaking.” A woman answered; her voice was the perfect mixture of snob and boredom.
“Hi, May I speak with Julissa?” I asked.
“No one talks to Julissa.” She snorted. You would have thought I asked to speak directly to the Queen or something.
“This is her publicist, Chloe, and I need to ask her a question.” I said rolling my eyes.
“I’ll try to have her return your call. Try to keep in mind she is terribly busy.”
Willa hung up the phone before I had a chance to say anything else.
I called Kyle next. I figured I might as well get his side of the story while I wait for her.
“Yo.” A man’s voice said.
“Kyle?” I asked.
“Possibly.....who’s this?”
“It’s Chloe Carver.”
His silence made me wonder if he was quickly trying to remember the name of whatever random girl he was with last night.
“Your publicist.” I said with a slightly annoyed and disgusted tone.
“Hey there gorgeous! What’s up?”
“You tell me. I got a call from a couple of tabloids wanting to know if you are with Julissa Patton.”
“Hah! She wishes.”
“They are saying that the two of you were seen together in Maui two weeks ago.”
“Have you talked to her yet?” He sounded a bit nervous.
“No I can’t get past her assistant.”
He snorted. “That figures. Look Chloe, I’m gonna be honest with you. I was in Maui then, but I wasn’t with Julissa.....I was, uh I was with her...uh...her sister.”
“Oh god Kyle!” I said pinching the bridge of my nose.
“I know it sounds bad. No one knows though so you can’t say anything.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks beautiful. You’re the best.” He said before we disconnected.
By the time I left work for the day, I still hadn’t heard from Julissa. Not that I expected to really. She was, as Willa told me, very important. I bet she wasn’t doing anything at all. She was probably just lying about shouting out demands at people.
As soon as I got home, I called Abby to tell her about my dinner invitation.
“Oh do you think it’s a date?” She asked excitedly.
“I don’t know. Jocalyn and Skylar from work both think it is, but I don’t want him to think that I think it’s a date if it’s not.”
“Right but you want him to know you’re interested.”
“So you see my dilemma.” I sighed.
“What are you gonna wear?”
“I have no clue. What kind of an outfit is appropriate for a dinner that may or may not be a date?”
“Hmm, well you could wear dark colored boot cut jeans, that’s boot cut Chloe, not flares. I know you like the flared leg, but it’s too casual. Then wear a sexy top that way if it’s a date you look fantastic, but if it’s not a date, he’ll wish it was.”
“Okay,” I said laughing, “Hey listen, I have a Christmas charity ball thing to go to while you’re here so bring a fancy dress.”
“Awww you need a date and you thought of me. I don’t know if that’s sweet or pathetic. You aren’t gonna ask your new boyfriend Jack?”
“He’s not my boyfriend and besides I’m not leaving you here by yourself after you’ve traveled so far to come see me.”
“You don’t have to babysit me.”
“I know that but I won’t have any fun if I know you’re sitting at my house by yourself.”
“Alright, but you’re sure you want to take me and not some hot guy?”
“Positive.”
“Okay, well I gotta go but I’ll see you in a few weeks!”
I pressed the end call button on my cell phone and decided to see if I had anything decent in my closet for my maybe date or if I needed to go shopping tomorrow night. I bypassed my collection of flared leg jeans, as my sister instructed me to, and went straight for the boot cuts. I have about eight pairs of boot cut jeans and I pulled them all out to try on. I couldn’t decide between two pairs but then I thought about how Abby said to make him wish it was a date even if it’s not. That thought made my decision easier. I decided to go with my dark denim boot cut jeans that made my butt look amazing.
I stood in my closet and stared at my shirts. I tried nearly every single shirt on and had finally decided on a sleeveless black silk top with a deep V neck, when I happened to catch something out of the corner of my eye. It was an amethyst colored, knee length strapless dress that I loved, but had never worn. Now I was stuck. I still wasn’t sure if this was a date. The dress screamed date night.....Maybe I should ask Wes for a male opinion.
~*~
When I got to work the next morning, I dropped my stuff off in my office and went right over to Wes’ office. Wes and Skylar were sitting close together, talking quietly. I knocked on the door and they both jumped, quickly moving apart.
“Hey Chloe, What’s up?”
“I need a guy’s opinion on something.” I said as I sat down next to Skylar.
“I’m your man then. What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is that she has a hot date tomorrow night!” Skylar said, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Hot date? Who with?” Wes asked.
“With Jack Riley and I don’t know if it’s a date or not.” I said.
“How do you not know if -” Wes started.
I held up one hand to cut him off. “He asked if I want to hang out and.....well it’s complicated. Can I just tell you my
issue?”
“Sorry go ahead.” Wes said, folding his hands together on his desk.
“Okay well I’m not sure how to dress. I have two completely different outfits, one is very much a date outfit and the other one could really go either way. I don’t want to wear the date outfit and have him think that I think it’s a date if it’s not a date, but I don’t want to be underdressed either. Are you following?”
Wes’ eyes got really big and his forehead wrinkled as he raised one of his eyebrows. I stifled back a laugh upon seeing the horrified look on his face.
“So glad I’m not a bloody woman,” Wes said shaking his head, “What do these outfits look like?”
“One is dark jeans and a silky black low cut shirt and the other is an amethyst colored strapless dress.”
“Do you even have to ask? I say definitely the strapless dress.” Wes said without a second thought.
“Is that okay even if turns out that Jack invited me out just as friends?”
“Trust me, he won’t care.”
Wes’ phone buzzed and he pushed the call button. “Yes Jocalyn.”
“Could you tell Chloe that Julissa Patton is on the phone?”
“Thanks Jocalyn.” I said as I stood up.
“What the hell color is amethyst?” I heard Wes ask as I walked out.
“Purple.” Skylar and I said at the same time.
As I approached my desk, I took a deep breath before answering my phone.
“Hi Julissa, how are you?” I asked.
“I only have a minute since you had me on hold for so bloody long. What DO you want?”
I wished I could reach through the phone and shake her or pop her upside the head.
“Well I got a couple phone calls yesterday wanting to know if you were with Kyle Anderson.”
“And?”
“Well I thought I’d check in with the both of you before I responded.”
“I bet he started the rumor.” Julissa said.
“Actually he told me it’s not true.”
Fall into my Heart (The Subzero Series, #1) Page 5