“Can you come to my office? We can talk more here, or, better yet, come to the café next to my office. I’ll buy you lunch. We can talk about everything.”
When Jenn arrived, Andrew was waiting for her in a secluded booth in the corner of the room. The café was largely empty, but Jenn appreciated the privacy of a corner table anyway. She felt her eyes dried of all their tears and her heart was too heavy to comprehend anything anymore. Throughout the lunch, Andrew only listened to her, barely saying a sentence or two the entire two hours they spent together. Jenn lost control of herself and spilled everything she was feeling.
By the end of it, when Jenn was out of words to say and out of tears to cry, she stared at the table. Andrew reached across the table slowly and grabbed her hand timidly. “Jenn. I appreciate you telling me this, and I want you to know I’m here for you. I’m here for you as an attorney and a confident, and I hope you can trust me as a friend, too.”
Jenn sniffed. “Thank you and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dump all this on you. It just happened so fast and I...” she trailed off, shaking her head overwhelmed by it all.
Andrew stood up, holding out his arms.
Jenn was surprised, but stood up to meet him.
He approached her awkwardly, but put his arms around her and patted her quickly on the back in a loose hug.
She was cold, and she appreciated the warmth his body provided against hers. She could feel the tears starting to fall again but clenched her eyes shut even tighter, trying to ignore them, trying to pretend she had nothing to cry about. “Thank you,” she whispered. They separated and Andrew gave her another smile before they both left the café.
When Jenn returned to her car, she pulled out her phone: four missed calls from Steve, and one voicemail. As soon as she saw the icons on her screen, her anger returned, and she threw her phone down on the passenger seat and held her head with her hands. I can’t deal with this right now. I just can’t. She breathed deeply a few times and managed to maintain her composure. She didn’t even feel nervous when she dialed his number to call him back; she felt empty and disappointed.
He answered impatiently. “Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer my calls?” The tone of his voice was sharp and hateful, and she immediately felt annoyed with him all over again.
“I was out to lunch.”
“With whom?”
None of your business, Jenn thought, and for a split second, she debated saying it aloud, too. “I met with Andrew.”
“Your attorney, Andrew what’s-his-name? Jenn, what is there to discuss? You saw the settlement — remember, my father increased it, too.”
“I don’t know, Steve....
Steve could feel his blood pressure rising, but he knew he had to hold his tongue. “Jenn, this is your decision. You shouldn’t have other people making it for you. If you want to understand more of what it is, I can have Bill explain it all to you.”
“No, I’m fine with Andrew.”
“You sure are.” Steve clenched his eyes shut; his reaction had been a gut one and he knew immediately he shouldn’t have said it, but it was too late now.
“Excuse me?”
“You’re just spending so much time with him, that’s all.”
There was a pause. “What are you saying, Steve? You don’t want me to consult with my attorney?”
Steve sighed, exasperated. “That’s fine. I just think he’s... inadequate for this situation. You should really talk to Bill—“
“Steve, no. I’m happy with Andrew. Please don’t bring it up. I don’t want to talk about it.” Jenn hung up the phone. Her drive home was long and uncomfortable, solitary as it was. She wanted nothing more than to lie down in her soft, warm bed and close her eyes, forgetting about everything that had happened recently. Everything good in her life had gone sour so quickly. She wanted it to be over but she didn’t know how to make that happen.
That night she dreamed of a childhood birthday party, where she was surrounded by friends and family. Her parents decided to give her a new golden retriever puppy, which she was delighted about and started to reach for it to pet its long, soft fur. As she reached out with her small, chubby arms, the puppy looked straight into her eyes with bright green eyes, stuck out its forked red tongue and began to transform. Jenn watched with growing confusion and fright, as the puppy lost its fur and grew scales and morphed into a snake right in front of her eyes. When she looked around, suddenly she was completely alone and the snake was closing in around her, wrapping her tighter and tighter until she couldn’t breathe anymore and the world went black.
Jenn woke up in a pool of her own sweat. She hadn’t had a dream like that since she had visited Dr. Blake; she just managed to push those images out of her head after a week, but today’s stressful events pulled them right back in again. She was in no mood to speak to anyone — except for one person. Feeling slightly guilty, as soon as the clock struck 9 a.m., she dialed Andrew’s number again. When he answered, she immediately regretted wasting his time.
“It’s Jenn. Sorry. I just— Steve and I had a fight again last night. He thinks I’m spending too much time with you and I should switch attorneys. It’s ridiculous.” Jenn talked for several minutes straight. “I’m sorry. I’m ranting again. I’ll let you go.”
“Wait, Jenn—” Andrew butted in. “Don’t worry about it. I can’t give you relationship advice, I’m sorry, but here’s what I will say. I think he’s leading you astray because, well, he’s the next in line for the hospital’s throne. I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you want to hear. I think it’s accurate. He’s pressuring you.” He paused and waited for Jenn to respond, but she said nothing, so he took a deep breath and went on. “Jenn, $500,000 is still a drop in the bucket compared to what we can get you.”
“I don’t care about the money,” Jenn burst out. “I mean, I do. I’ve reached the point where I just want people to know about it. I don’t want to be quiet about it.”
“I know. That’s what I’m here for. We’re going to go after them. The other partners here think I’m crazy for wanting you to do it, too, but I think you can get a ton of exposure and get exactly what you want.”
“Really?” Jenn perked up. Andrew’s excitement was the best thing she’d heard all day, and she couldn’t wait to visit with him and hear his ideas again.
“Yeah. I’m going to be out of town this weekend. I have a potential witness to interview — another victim of Blake’s — but I’ll be back on Monday. I hope to get a lot done and a lot more support in the next few days, but come by at the end of the day on Monday and we’ll talk.”
“Okay, that sounds... great.” Jenn suddenly felt very light, like her emotional burdens had lifted just by hearing Andrew’s soft, reassuring voice. When they hung up their phones, she felt a strange nervousness in her stomach; it was a pull, an ache that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. As the hours and days passed since she last talked to Andrew, she realized Andrew caused those feelings: the butterflies in her stomach, the giddy excitement of having strong feelings for someone. Monday couldn’t come quickly enough.
Chapter 5
Jenn stayed in her bedroom for most of the weekend, calling Kenzie on the phone now and then — she had returned to L.A. a few days earlier — and reluctantly accompanying her parents to church social events. Mainly she wanted to be alone, and she spent most of her time listening to music and working on unfinished pieces in her sketchbook. Steve called her twice every day, but Jenn never picked up. She was debating whether to end things with him, but she didn’t want to expend the effort to debate it with herself now; she wanted nothing to do with him. Maybe absence will make the heart grow fonder, she thought with dull hope. Steve was acting unforgivably, she thought, and she couldn’t afford to wait any longer to see if his character would change. He was totally different to her now.
On the other hand, she knew everyone was involved in a stressful situation, and she wasn’t sure if what she was feeling was genu
ine or just due to the current situation. In any event, she was pleased to have the house to herself for a few hours on Monday afternoon before heading to Andrew’s office. Jenn took extra care with her outfit that afternoon, standing in just a towel in front of her full-length mirror as she held up countless clothing items to decide what to wear. Form-fitting khaki pants? Too business casual. A dress above the knee? No, too eager. What about this high-waisted skirt and loose blouse? That looks cute. She put in a pair of dangly silver earrings and a matching bangle bracelet and stood inspecting herself happily in the mirror for several minutes. This was the most energy she had had in days.
The office was empty when Jenn walked in. She peered around the corner, but only every other hallway light was on, and as she tiptoed slowly down the hallway, her shadow danced oddly around behind her. Andrew’s door was open, and as Jenn approached she swallowed once and then stepped over the threshold. “Hi.”
“Oh!” Andrew jumped; he hadn’t heard her come in. “You scared me.”
“Sorry. Are you usually here this late?”
“Not usually. Sometimes the other guys stay, but I— I wanted to make sure I had time for you.” He blinked and looked away. Jenn, too, was embarrassed.
“Well, thanks,” she said. “I’m just so fed up with Steve. He keeps saying these things about you and me, and he doesn’t trust me at all. He’s telling me what to do and I can’t take it anymore.” Jenn’s breath was starting to quicken, and it became more difficult for her to catch it; she leaned back in the chair opposite Andrew and closed her eyes. A soft groan escaped her lips.
Andrew watched her concernedly. He had no idea what to do. He was upset seeing her like this, and he knew he could never understand what she was going through.
He wanted her to let him in. He wanted to help her in any way possible, and he recognized this was a crucial point in proving he cared about her. He stood slowly and walked around the other side of his desk, where he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He mentally cringed at the move, and made to move his hand away again.
Jenn reached up and put her own hand on top of his; she turned her head to look at him, and their eyes locked in an intense connection of understanding and passion.
“Jenn, I...” Andrew couldn’t speak above a whisper. Her eyes were boring into him, and he felt exposed. “I have to tell you this. I think I ... I’m feeling certain things for you. I... can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Me either,” she whispered back, to his shock. She stood from the chair, grabbing his hand tighter with one of her own and reaching across the desk to his lamp and turning it off. Now only the light peeking through the fibers of the window curtains lighted Andrew’s office, and the two figures stood together in the dark.
Andrew stepped forward. He ran his hand down her arm and lifted it up to her face, where he brushed her hair back. Her skin tingled at his touch. At that moment, she knew he was more than just her attorney, and she wanted him more intimately more than she wanted him as an attorney. She put her hands behind his neck and pulled him close to her, meeting his lips with hers gently and passionately. Without thinking, as their tongues danced together, her hands found the top button of his shirt, and she started working her way down, pulling his sleeves over his shoulder.
His body pressed against hers, and as they groped at each other’s clothes, Jenn began to feel more pressure coming from below his waist, as his erection grew against her thigh. She ran her hands lower and found the bulge in his pants, and tried to unbuckle his belt but the darkness and their excitement made her fumble. “Here,” Andrew whispered, and tried his hand at the buckle. He was nervous too, and his hand slipped. Jenn giggled, which first made Andrew nervous but then he let out a chuckle too. Their hands worked together until his pants were pushed down and his cock had sprung up.
Jenn reached down to touch it — but only to touch, to tease. She was aching with anticipation, and she turned away from him and pulled her skirt up and her panties down, while she leaned on Andrew’s desk. Andrew ran his hands around her stomach, her hips, and her thighs, giving her soft kisses on the most tender parts of her body. She reached back forcefully and lined his hips up with hers, his cock pushing between her legs. Nervously, with one hand on Jenn’s inner thigh, he tried to guide himself inside of her, but in his excitement, he slipped out, and Jenn reached down to gently guide him in herself, smiling secretly.
The sudden burst of pleasure that went through Andrew was unlike any he’d felt before; he’d been with other women, but there was something more about Jenn he’d never experienced. Her pussy was wrapped around his cock so warm and tight that the tingles he felt were already enough to push him over the edge of orgasm, and the desk the pair leaned on shook with both their weight on it. In just a few thrusts, Andrew was spent. His legs were pressed tightly up against Jenn’s ass, and he leaned forward, breathing heavily, to grab her around the waist, breathing heavily. They stayed like that for a few moments and Andrew he panted out an apology for coming so soon. “No, that was perfect,” Jenn whispered back to him. She leaned against him on the chair in the corner of his office, and the two sat there together for a moment. After a while, when Jenn could tell Andrew’s breathing had slowed again, she reached down to his cock and started to play with it again. It didn’t take long for Andrew to feel the same excitement that Jenn did, and soon, swelling with confidence, Andrew pulled her up and turned her toward him.
Jenn felt more aggressive, and she went in for another kiss with gusto, pressing her lips into his so hard that he took a step backward. Her hands were caressing him everywhere, and she started exploring his body further with her tongue: from his lips, to his neck, to his chest, working her way farther south until she felt his semi-erect member in the palm of her hand. Her body couldn’t wait to feel him. Remembering the things Kenzie had told her before, she crouched down to her knees, and took him in her mouth, kissing the tip of his cock and putting more into her mouth bit by bit. Her heart beat faster; she thought her inexperience here might prove awkward, but the more she stroked her mouth and hands on Andrew, the more she enjoyed the power she had over him. She felt him getting bigger and harder as she stroked. Andrew moaned softly from above.
After a few minutes, Andrew pulled her head away, took her hand, and laid her on the couch lining the wall. He poised himself over her and pulled her body close to his. This time he was ready; he penetrated her with no trouble, and her whole body bucked up and down when she felt him go inside her. Andrew took his time; he went slowly and gently, pleasuring every inch of Jenn’s body, hard thrusting now and then alternating with soft kisses and gentle finger movements. Soon she couldn’t take it any longer, and a spasm of pleasure surged its way through her body. Then she reclined on the couch, her breasts rising and falling gently as her breathing slowed.
When she opened her eyes, she could see the out line of Andrew’s body standing in the darkness above her. Once they both had recovered, he approached her again and laid a sweet kiss on her lips. She smiled all the way home.
When she reached her purse again in the car, she was annoyed to find Steve had called her multiple times again. Her happiness subsided, but only for a moment; she had very little respect for Steve at this point. Still, she was slightly concerned, she texted Andrew anyway: “Steve called twice.” Almost immediately came the reply: “You should talk to him.”
Jenn crinkled her nose. “What do I say?”
“Say what you feel.”
It was as if Andrew had put more than his dick inside her, because Jenn felt her gumption swelling as well. She knew she should talk to Steve in person, but she had no idea how he might react, so as she drove out of town, grinning stupidly, she dialed Steve’s number for what she hoped would be the last time.
He answered gruffly. “Jenn, we need to talk.”
“There’s nothing left to say, Steve.”
“What do you mean?”
“You made it very clear that you care more about pr
otecting the interests of your father than you do about protecting me. I never meant anything to you, did I? You just used me like everyone else at that fucking hospital.”
“Used you? My family and I have been nothing but kind to you in all of this, offering to take care of you and pay for you, and now you’re going to say this bullshit? After all we’ve been through together, and you’re still going to try to ruin me?”
Jenn was livid. “Ruin you? Thanks to you family, you ruined my life. I was raped, Steve, and now it’s like you’re raping me all over again by pushing me to take this settlement. All you want is control. And I won’t give you what you want.”
Steve’s voice softened. “Jenn, baby, let’s talk about this in person. We can work this out.”
Jenn’s voice retained its steely resolve. “No. There’s nothing to work out. I don’t want to see you or your family ever again.” Without another word, scant another breath from the other end, Jenn hung up the phone and breathed a deep sign of relief.
Steve thought — too hopefully — that the call had been lost and stood there in silence, reeling in Jenn’s harsh words. He had never heard her speak with such venom before. He didn’t know how to process it all, but his fingers moved almost automatically to dial his father’s number.
“Dad?” he said simply, when a voice sounded at the other end of the line. “Jenn and I broke up. It’s over.”
Jenn could scarcely believe it. She felt instantly free; another burden lifted. She immediately texted Andrew, “Called Steve. We’re done.”
He replied immediately again, “Great news. Come to my office first thing in the morning. We have work to do.”
Jenn awoke the next morning feeling completely invigorated and ready to start a new battle without the strings of a puppet master controlling her every move. When she arrived at Andrew’s office at 8:30 a.m., she was pleased to see he was the only one there again. She walked in with her head held high. The last time she had been here, the hallways had been dark and empty; now they were filled with light. Jenn felt alive.
Kane (Alexander Shifter Brothers Book 1) Page 28