“Excellent,” Miss Eriksson said. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
She reached up, and hit the button on the Bluetooth receiver hooked over her ear, and the stern look she’d been wearing became a smile as she turned to look at Jamie. “Hello,” she said, reaching out with one slim hand. “You must be Mrs. Reid. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Emelie Eriksson.”
Her nails were long, and manicured. Jamie was suddenly very aware of the messy bun she’d pulled her hair into and the lack of polish on her nails. Her errand-running jeans and t-shirt weren’t exactly up to standard either. She reached out and took the offered hand, shaking it.
“I’m Mrs. Reid,” she said, finding a smile somewhere that she hoped didn’t look as flat as it felt. “I hope everything you’ve heard is good?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Emelie said, laughing. “It’s usually in the context of ‘Jamie does x. Why can’t you do x like Jamie does? She’d have had this report in an hour ago.”
Jamie thought she should have felt bad about that, but she felt a little thrill of relief instead. If Alex was complaining and comparing her to Jamie, he hadn’t started thinking about replacing her. Which she knew, intellectually, that she shouldn’t be worried about anyway, but she couldn’t shake the fear that one day he would realize he’d married someone far below his level and go looking for a woman more suited to him.
“That’s Alex for you,” she said. “I’m sure he’ll settle down once you’ve been working here for a few more months. And speaking of Alex, I’d better go drop these papers off with him.”
“Of course, Mrs. Reid,” Emelie said. “It was lovely to meet you.”
She hurried off again, flicking through screens on the phone she’d pulled out of her pocket, and Jamie watched her go for a minute before she could make herself look away.
“No one mentioned that she looked like a Swedish supermodel,” Jamie said when she was well out of earshot, turning to look at Justin again.
He laughed, and might have said something, but the phone rang just as he opened his mouth, and he picked it up with an apologetic smile. Jamie gave him an OK sign and went to give the papers to Alex.
Her husband was in the middle of a phone call when she came in, and Jamie set the file down on his desk, leaning back against the wall beside the door with the intention of waiting until he was off the phone to say hello and maybe get a kiss. He looked up at her and smiled, but his attention was all for the call, she could tell. It dragged on, and on. Finally, she glanced down at her phone to check the time, and gave up. She hadn’t planned on being out for more than a couple hours, and it was starting to get closer to three. They could talk when Alex got home.
She tapped a hand against the edge of the desk to get Alex’s attention, and he looked up from the notes he was typing as he listened to the speaker to give her a look of silent questioning. Jamie smiled, and blew him a kiss, mouthing ‘I’m leaving.’ He nodded, and reached out for a moment to hold her hand in his, squeezing just tight enough to let her know it was on purpose. Jamie turned and slipped out the door.
Zander was out in the lobby, talking to Justin at the desk, but he paused when she walked out and offered her a warm smile. “Jamie,” he said. “How are you?”
“Not bad,” Jamie said. “A little busy lately, though.”
“I can imagine,” he laughed. He stepped away from the desk and a little closer to her, so that they weren’t practically shouting across the distance. His brown hair was neatly brushed back from his face, and Jamie thought the suit he was wearing was new. It looked good.
“I wanted to thank you,” she said. “For everything that you’re doing for the company. It’s nice to have Alex home a little earlier on weeknights.”
“And home at all on weekends?” Zander asked.
“And home at all on weekends,” Jamie agreed a little ruefully.
“Well, I’m glad that I can give him a little more time with his family,” Zander said. “I’m trying to take more off his hands, but I’m sure you know how stubborn he can be about it. It’s like trying to get a favorite toy from a dog.”
Jamie laughed. “I hope that you haven’t actually said that to his face.”
“I still have a job, don’t I?”
“I’ll refrain from telling him you said that, then,” Jamie said. “For the sake of your job.”
“That would be much appreciated,” Zander answered.
“I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to get home to the twins. The nanny is with them now, and I told her that I would be home about twenty minutes ago.” She smiled at him again. “It was good to see you, though.”
“And you,” Zander said. “I hope you’ll be dropping by the office a little more frequently in the future. We miss you around here.”
“I miss being here,” Jamie said.
“Bye, Jamie,” Justin said, waving from the desk.
She waved back at him, and at Zander, and headed downstairs and out to her car. It didn’t matter, she told herself as she pulled out into traffic. Emelie Eriksson was beautiful, but Alex was hers. He wasn’t going to go running off for some new PA, no matter how hot she was. Jamie knew that.
But it didn’t stop the jealous worry that turned in her stomach.