Ah, fuck, I shouldn’t have said that.
Jean licks her lips, and they quirk upward into a suggestive smirk.
“Hmm, I like a strong man on top.”
And there it is! I’ve left that door wide open, haven’t I?
“I bet you say that to all the men.”
“Only the ones I want to eat.”
I’ve had a lot of weird and awkward encounters with Jean over the years. It has basically become our thing at this point.
But this one right here? This takes the fucking cake.
“Luckily for you, this time, I’ve already got a dinner date planned with a couple lovely prospects from Italy. I do want to thank you for getting my bag ready for me though.”
“Your bag? Oh, your bag!”
This is the part where the awkward factor gets dialed up to eleven.
Jean reaches out and takes her bag from my grasp. Her hand lingers on mine for longer than needed, and I catch her bite down on her lower lip.
“So kind and thoughtful of you to get my bag for me.”
“Yes, well, about that—”
“We’ll have to catch up soon, darling. But, I really must run.”
Jean hangs up on her assistant and opens her bag, never taking her hungry eyes off me while she does, and drops her phone into it.
She flashes me a wink, not even realizing what she’s done, and walks past me to go meet her next victims.
I’m really not looking forward to the next time I see her after this.
Now that the Queen of the Cougars is gone, I can get after Elsa.
I rush for the stairs like I’m the Coyote chasing the Road Runner, only I plan to succeed where my cartoon counterpart has failed time and time again.
I’m leaping down half a flight of stairs at a time. At this rate, I’ll be able to catch Elsa in the lobby in no time.
But when I reach the lobby, I don’t see Elsa.
I wait for each elevator to open up, and she’s not in any of them.
Now I’m annoyed, frustrated, and angry.
This is not how I wanted to spend my day.
My fingers slide through my hair as I let out a heavy sigh. I turn to go back upstairs when I come face to face with the last person I ever wanted to—or expected—to see.
“Hello, Tanner. We need to talk.”
Jackson fucking Halo, former owner of Crooked Halo—and my former boss.
Apparently, fate decided to show me that things can always get worse.
“Look, Jackson, I’m kind of busy right now, and I have no time to talk, or walk down memory lane, or do anything else that you came here for.”