Noah had been completely myopic in his quest to protect me from my boss. There was no getting past that. But his words from that stupid party game came back to me.I have a tendency to leap into things without looking and learn the lesson much, much later than I should. So much later, that getting everything turned around seems impossible.That was Noah’s weakness, one he was trying to fix. Could I let him?
I stared down at my hands in my lap. They were absolutely clammy. I realized I did want a date with him. A real one. I wanted to start over. Where I was a girl he’d just met and liked, and he was a guy who had asked me out for no other reason than to get to know me better. And maybe to get the chance to kiss him. Oh, how I wanted to kiss Noah again. That was a moment I couldn’t rewind and pretend hadn’t happened, no matter what I ultimately decided. Trying not to think about it was like trying not to think about chocolate cake when it was right in front of you, all chocolatey and delicious and—.
“Jenny.”
“What?” I glanced over at Noah.
“You okay?”
“Yep. Did you text her?”
“Yes. She’s expecting our call. So, this should be… uncomfortable. There’s no getting around that. Do you want me to talk first or did you want to go first?” He gave me a hesitant smile, but even as small as it was, I could see the dimple in his cheek on his right side. I loved that dimple.
Okay, I had to focus. No thinking about dimples. Or kissing them. Or about how he’d shaved until his skin was baby smooth. Although, I also liked him with a little bit of scruff.
I rubbed my hands together. “Let’s just rip the bandage off. You talk first. Just say I’m here so she knows.”
Noah hit the call button and put it on speaker. The sound of it ringing had the butterflies in my stomach churning.
“This is Britta.”
“Hi, Britta. This is Noah and Jenny.”
“Hi.”
There was an awkward pause after, and Noah quickly filled it. “So, I have something I have to tell you. Last year, when your boss left for another position, that actually wasn’t what happened to him.”
Britta blew into the phone. “So, that’s what this is about. I know Chandler got fired, Noah. And I know you helped with that.”
“You do?” He glanced over at me, looking as stunned as I felt. “How?”
“Um.” Britta cleared her throat. “Elena told me.”
“She did what?” I was instantly livid, and it took Noah reaching his hand across and giving me a settle down gesture for me to remember I was still Britta’s boss and we still didn’t know what was going on. I sniffed and took in a deep cleansing breath. “Sorry. I’m just trying to understand why she would tell you and not me.”
There was a long pause, and then Britta sighed. “Because I was secretly dating Chandler, okay? And it was a little bit on again off again. So when I filed a complaint against him, I was terrified and not sure if anyone would take me seriously. I was a nobody, and he was my boss. But Elena assured me she’d take care of it and I wouldn’t be the one getting fired. Especially since he was hitting on you and everyone else in there to get back at me. And also because the man is a pig.”
Noah’s eyes were so big. He made a mind blown gesture, and I shook my head at him. I couldn’t look at him right now. My mind was blown, too. There were too many things that were not the way I’d imagined them. So much I hadn’t been told. They let me storm in there today with half the information and didn’t correct that assumption. Did I want to work for a company like that?
“Were you involved in recruiting Noah then?” I asked.
“Not at all. Elena said she’d take care of the problem, and I tried to be patient and not ask questions. When Noah kept showing up and messing with Chandler I sort of figured out what the plan was and helped where I could.” She cleared her throat. “So, are the two of you, like an item then? I sort of sensed it earlier when—”
“No. Nooo,” I said, cutting her off. “We’re more like the Scooby Doo gang, solving mysteries over here and setting things right.”
“The Scooby Doo gang?” Noah mouthed at me. I stuck a finger out at him, warning him not to contradict me, which made him laugh, and made me want to laugh. But this was not a laughing matter. I was seriously still ticked off, mostly because who I was angry at kept shifting without my permission.
“Okay, well, have fun with your mysteries. Are we good then?” Britta gave a nervous laugh. “People were calling you Mary, Queen of Scots at work today because you were making all the heads roll.”
“Okay, bye.” Noah ended the call and launched over the console, not touching me, but reaching out for my tightly fisted hands with a hesitant expression. “Sorry, did you want to talk to her longer?”
“No, I think that was all I needed.”
“You okay?”
“I want to scream.”
“Do it then.”
