“Jenna, it’s not like that at all.” He reached for my hand, but I pulled away.
“Or maybe we were both lonely,” I babbled, backing toward the door. “Can I have my phone back, please? I’ve left you instructions on where to ship those boxes. I’ll meet you at the Lightspeed event tonight. Make sure that you drive that hot red car and pose for the photographers on the way in. Be sure to wave to Cliff.”
“At least let me pick you up,” he said quickly.
I shook my head firmly, taking my phone from him and dropping it into my purse. “That’s okay, thank you. I’ll meet you there half an hour after it starts.”
“Jenna, please...”
Spinning on my heel, I left, walking quickly down the street to his warehouse to get my car.
Wiping away tears with the back of my hand, I didn’t know why I was so upset. Andrew had acted like a perfect gentleman, as if we could possibly be in a real relationship.
No. It was absolutely ridiculous. He was a CEO. A billionaire, probably. Actually, definitely, if my research into his company was correct. He owned at least half of it since he only had one sibling, and there was no mention of other investors. They’d been incredibly successful over the last few years.
Andrew needed a woman who could fit into his life. That just wasn’t me, and he knew it.
As I unlocked my car in the otherwise empty lot, I heard a shuffle behind me. Spinning around, Terry was standing there, studying me.
“Good morning,” I said. “How are you?”
“Good, thank you,” he said stiffly. “Did you have a good night?”
“Yes.”
“Are you mad at me for being paranoid and asking Andrew to hold you hostage?”
My shoulders dropped and I managed a smile. “No, I’m not angry.”
He took a step closer, the fingers of his left hand fluttering as if he were playing an imaginary piano.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. But I wasn’t sure whether Andrew realized how much he likes you. He’s a bit weird with people, sometimes.”
“How do you mean, weird?” I asked.
“He comes across as really cold, sometimes even stern, when he’s nervous or thinking too hard,” Terry said, with an adorable smile that softened his angular face. “He works really hard at keeping the world away from me, but sometimes that means he has to reschedule things, and go along with my odd reactions. It’s not always his fault.”
“Thank you for telling me that,” I said softly. “But Andrew and I don’t really belong together.”
Terry’s face fell. “But he likes you. A lot. Way more than any of the other girls he dated years ago. I can’t really read most people except my brother, and I can read Andrew better than anyone. I was watching him on the security camera in his office, and he actually cleaned before you came over.”
My eyebrow raised. “What else were you watching on the security cameras?”
He smirked, staring down at his bright green sneakers. “If I did accidentally see anything, I promise that I looked away immediately and deleted that section of the footage so that it didn’t get archived.”
“What makes you think that he really likes me?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking, even as I was realizing that Terry was a good guy to have on your side.
Terry grinned. “He’s trained himself to be super controlled in meetings, but he always gets a bit jumpy before you arrive. He also uses a different tone when he says your name.”
A torrent of sparks swirle
d in my belly. “Well, that’s sweet, but Andrew belongs with a girl who is more his style.”
His wavy hair shook as his head tilted back and forth. “No way. He’s always liked sweet, pretty girls. Smart girls, that he can really talk to. He doesn’t always listen to people very well, but he’s focused on every single word you say.”
This was a lot to take in when I hadn’t even had coffee yet. I was touched that Andrew’s brother approved of me, but I didn’t have time to think about that.
“How about this, Terry,” I said, smiling at him. “We’ll get through tonight’s event, and make you guys look like superstars. Everything else can wait until tomorrow, deal?”