She bit her lip. Then finally bit the bullet and typed back.
“Okay.”
Chapter 11
“Hey, Jordan, do you know why these don’t quite align?” Lionel asked.
Jordan swallowed his first reply. And his second. It was one thing for him to know whyXdid not matchY, but for his immediate superior not to understand rankled. Why people didn’t see how things could be done always bothered him, especially when they were paid more to know. Maybe Lionel only thought he was being paid to ensure it happened, rather than making it happen himself.
Jordan was a systems guy, all about the logistics of making things flow properly. At Donwell. With Dream Match. And in life. There was a proper order to things. Just like people. And it was clear that certain people, even if they were complete opposites, aligned well with each other, while others were best advised not to go down that path.
Still, grace in this moment whispered that he help Lionel, so he did. Lionel’s frown cleared and he sighed. “Thanks. It’s hard to remember some of these things. I keep forgetting that Emma is not here to ask about this stuff anymore.”
“She’s not been here for weeks,” Jordan pointed out.
“Is she doing okay?” Lionel asked wistfully. “I miss her.”
“She’s good.” There was no point telling Lionel that EJ had been sick last week. He’d be likely to want to go visit her, which would be the last thing EJ would want.
“Okay. Well, better get back to work.”
Jordan nodded and ducked behind his computer again, and was soon lost in the joy that was spreadsheets and coding.
But Lionel’s words kept tugging at him. Things weren’t the same since EJ had gone. He missed her. And even though they still regularly caught up, it wasn’t the same as seeing her every day. He hoped she was feeling better this week.
It was getting close to one thirty by the time he finally took his lunch break, only to see Dallas hunched over his desk, staring at something on his phone. Dallas, who didn’t mind chipping others when they weren’t working as he thought they should.
So he drew closer. “Hey.”
Dallas jumped.
Hmm. “What are you looking at?”
For all that the Bennett girls loved their Jane Austen, Jordan had always been more of a fan ofLord of the Rings.And for a moment, Dallas pulled a face much like Gollum, in a kind of sly expression that suggested he didn’t want people knowing what he knew. Or perhaps he actually did.
“Not going to tell me?” he asked when Dallas still didn’t answer. “Okay.”
He shrugged and moved on; then Dallas cleared his throat. “Have you seen this?”
Jordan swallowed a smile and paused. “Seen what?”
“Emma.” Dallas shoved his phone at Jordan. “Look who she’s talking to.”
He peered at the image, which was slightly blurry. But there was no mistaking EJ, dressed in her workout gear. He’d seen her wear that top a couple of Saturdays ago. And there was nomistaking the man she was talking to, either. His heart clenched. Eric Churchill.
Dallas chuckled. “Looks like someone’s getting busy.”
What was she doing with Eric Churchill? Hadn’t he warned her that the guy was up to no good? “Where did you come across this?”
“It’s over all social media and gossip news sites. Everyone wants to know about the mystery lady in Eric Churchill’s life.”
“She’s not in his life,” Jordan said firmly. “They’re not even really friends.”
“How do you know?”
“Because EJ and I are friends, and she talks to me about everything.”
“Are you sure about that?”
