“Stop worrying.” He squeezed my leg and smiled, making a turn into the underground parking structure at Williams Tower. “I promise. I’ve got all this covered.”
Confused, I looked over at him when he parked and reached for my seatbelt when he reached for his. Placing a hand over the buckle, he said, “Stay here for now, please?”
Taken aback, I frowned. “What? Why?”
A quick look at the clock on his fancy navigation screen told me there wasn’t much time left before I would officially be late. “I don’t have much experience yelling at my boss’s boss, but I don’t think the correct approach is to be late for work on the very next time you go to the office.”
Jeremiah laughed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m going up alone to handle something. I’ll explain everything when I get back.”
“What are you going to do?” I stopped talking when he winked and loped over to the elevator after closing the door on my question. “Jeremiah!”
I knew he couldn’t hear me, but I was so frustrated that his name just popped out. With a huff, I collapsed back against the soft leather seat and watched as the elevator arrived. Jeremiah chatted with the other employees taking it with him as if he’d known them for years. I didn’t know what it was, but I was missing something this morning.
He was smiling widely while talking to a confused looking guy in IT when the doors slid shut. Welcome to my world, buddy.
Evidently, I wasn’t the only one who didn’t quite know what to do with our boss’s cheery demeanor this morning. Yesterday when he dropped me off at my apartment, he was happy and relaxed after our weekend together, but this was on a different level.
He left the car running for me with the radio on. The morning show host invited listeners to call and weigh in on a debate about a new diet trend, but I tuned him out. Five minutes later, Jeremiah still wasn’t back and nerves were creeping in. What was he doing up there? And why did I have to stay in the car while he did it?
While we’d been together over the weekend, we kept the work stuff to a minimum. Neither of us wanted to ruin our bubble of bliss with the outside stuff threatening to burst it at any moment.
What we did talk about briefly was Jeremiah’s father. He told me not to worry and that he wouldn’t let his father near me, but I was worried anyway. The feeling was magnified because I had no idea what was going on upstairs or why.
Several times, I considered leaving the car and going in to see what was going on, but I didn’t do it. Jeremiah must’ve had a reason to ask me to wait and as nervous and curious as I was, I trusted him.
Another ten minutes later, I was practically vibrating from being so tense. I couldn’t sit still anymore. My leg was hopping and my fingers drumming on the center console. The radio show host had moved on playing “rise up and shine” music and was joking with his co-hosts about the latest in a long line of scandals involving a local congressman.
Turning down their banter, I decided to call Tiana. She would still be at the apartment. I was counting on her to be my voice of reason.
“Did you forget something?” she asked instead of greeting me. “I’m only on in a few hours, so if it’s important, I can bring it over to you. Fair warning, it will cost you in wine and chocolate. I’m desperate to finish this book I’m reading.”
“I didn’t forget anything,” I said. “Unless you have a make-things-make-sense machine lying around somewhere.”
“Hmmm,” Tiana said. “I have a magic eight ball lying around somewhere. And my vibrator has helped me clear up a few things over the years.”
“Oh, my god.” I laughed, grateful to feel some of the tension sliding from my shoulders when I did. “I don’t think a magic eight ball is going to have the answers for this. And I definitely don’t need your vibrator.”
“Didn’t think so.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “Since you spent the weekend with that insatiable man of yours.”
“He’s not...” I trailed off, not about to lie. I’d told her enough for her to know I hadn’t exactly gone without over the weekend. “I wouldn’t need yours anyway. That’s not what this is about though.”
“Oh?”
I sighed, fiddling with the ends of my ponytail. I’d pulled back my hair this morning, tying it in the only version of a high, sleek look I could manage. I wore a simple black skirt and jacket combo I bought with my first paycheck and paired it with a white blouse. I was hoping looking the part would somehow work in my favor if I pleaded for my job when Jance confronted me.
I doubted it would work, but a girl had to try.
“Something’s going on with Jeremiah,” I said, keeping an eye on the elevator in case he returned. “He’s being really weird.”
“Weird how?” she asked, her tone serious now. “Do you think he’s freaking out after asking you to be his girlfriend?”
I shook my head, even knowing she couldn’t see me. “I don’t think so. He’s not being weird like that. He’s...”
How did I say ridiculously happy without making it sound like there was something wrong with people being overly happy when they just started dating someone new? “He’s wearing jeans, and when we got to work, he told me to stay in the car. He also said we wouldn’t be here for very long.”
“Maybe he wants to take you on another date day?”
“After we’ve both been out of the office for a week? Doubtful.”