Awkwardness set in as the doors slid closed, so I did the only thing I could do—held my breath and stared up at the illuminated numbers, willing them to move faster.
The entire encounter probably took less than twenty seconds, but by the time the doors opened, I desperately needed air. Jack again put his hand out. “After you.”
I started to take a step, but a hand at my elbow stopped me.
I turned to look at the man holding it. “I’m going to the morning briefing.”
“We have an appointment this morning,” Jagger said.
Jack was still standing next to me, waiting for me to get off the elevator. The boss glared at him. “Youmay go.”
“Uh…” Jack’s eyes flickered between Jagger and me. He seemed hesitant to leave me alone, but I didn’t want this to turn into a scene, so I smiled and tapped my temple.
“Silly me. I completely forgot I’m supposed to meet with my mentor. Probably not the best thing to do on the second day of my internship.”
Jack gave me a look, and I got the feeling he didn’t believe me, but at least he stepped off the elevator. “I’ll see you around.”
I continued staring straight ahead until Jagger pressed the button for the top floor, and the elevator doors closed. Then I yanked my elbow from his grip. “What are you doing? We don’t have any appointment, and you just made me look like a jerk.”
“I told you to figure out what you wanted, whether you preferred I step back from the mentorship program or not.”
“So? That doesn’t mean you can manhandle me in the elevator!”
“I didn’t manhandle you.”
“You grabbed my elbow and told Jack I had an appointment, which we both know is not true. What else would you call it?”
Jagger’s eyes swept over my face. The stern façade he’d had since he saw me with Jack fell away. Both his face and tone softened. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
I sighed. “You didn’t offend me. Just…just don’t do that in front of people who work here.”
The elevator doors opened at the next floor. Thankfully, no one was waiting. Though at the last second, a wing-tip shoe slipped between the closing doors and they bounced back open. The owner of the foot attempted to step inside, but Jagger showed him his palm.
“Wait for the next one.”
The guy’s forehead wrinkled. “Uh... Okay. Sorry.”
Jagger leaned forward and pressed the button for the top floor, though it was already illuminated. I waited for the doors to slide closed once again before speaking, since the man he’d just rejected was still staring at us.
Once we were alone, I turned. “Why did you do that?”
“You told me not to touch you in front of people who work here. He works here.”
I wanted to be pissed off, but he was dead serious. For some unknown reason, I burst into laughter. “You don’t care about making people uncomfortable, do you?”
He stilled. “I’m making you uncomfortable?”
“Not me!” I flapped my hands in the air. “That guy you just barred from the elevator.”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “Let’s just go speak in my office.”
Neither of us said another word as we rose to the top floor, got off the elevator, and wound our way through a series of halls to get to the big corner suite. Jagger closed the door behind us. I took the same seat as yesterday, but he didn’t this time. He moved the guest chair beside mine and turned to face me head on.
“What have you decided?” he asked. “Do you want me to recuse myself, or do you want me as your mentor?”
I’d been feeling prickly, but being this close to Jagger made me feel something entirely different. Electricitycrackled inside of me. “I probably should ask you to recuse yourself.”
Today’s bespoke suit was navy. It brought out the color of his eyes more than usual—and that was saying something, because his irises were the color of an Alaskan glacier. Our chairs were set two feet apart, but Jagger’s long legs were only inches from mine. It made me want to lean forward and brush my knees with his, just to see how he reacted.
