“Wait, you’re still talking to him?” Mia blinked, confused.
“Didn’t you get my group text? He works with me and Nad at the station.” Olivia proceeded to retell the story about how she’d ended up taking him as a fake boyfriend to her family reunion. “I really wasn’t planning on dating him. But he was so sweet, and he really wanted me to go out with him for real …” She left out the sexy parts, but the girls inferred they’d slept together. Squealing erupted across the table as the night turned to girl talk.
“You’re glowing, girl. I think he’s good for you.” Mia clapped her hands.
Thinking of Jake caused a now-familiar warmth to spread through her chest. “We’ve been spending the night on Saturdays. Kusanagi gets cranky if I leave overnight, so it’s usually at my place.” She’d had to board the cat the weekend of the convention, which hadn’t been cheap.
“How does he get along with Kus?” Nadia asked. Olivia giggled to herself.
“She’s not happy about being shut out of the bedroom, but as long as we open the door when it’s time to actually sleep, she’s fine. I think she’s learned the routine.” Thankfully, Jake had figured out that treats go a long way when it comes to her cat. Pretty soon, said cat was going to prefer Jake over her. He’d even earned what she called the “lap badge,” where Kusanagi had willingly curled up on his lap during a movie. It’d only taken a month.
“When are we going to meet him officially?” Mia reached for the chips.
Olivia bit her lip at the thought of him meeting her dearest friends. “The peewee football season is over next month, so I could bring him by for a game night after that. Once his Saturday mornings are free he’ll have more time to hang out.”
“But Fridays are girl time.” Jade whined.
“Can you get a Saturday off?” Olivia raised her eyebrows.
Jade sighed. “No… Maybe a Sunday.”
“That could work. We can plan it.”
“If not,” Nadia interjected. “I don’t see why we can’t make an exception, just once.” She sat back in her chair, thoughtfully eyeing Olivia. “Explain to me again why we can’t talk about him at work?”
Olivia laid her head on her hand. “It’s a couple of things. Number one, one of the anchors recently got fired ‘cause his ex was one of the receptionists, and she filed a harassment claim against him with HR, and Jake doesn’t want anyone to get any ideas.”
“All I hear is, he thinks you might be crazy, and wants to make sure you won’t turn on him.” Jade narrowed her eyes.
“Hey, I’m gunning for a promotion and I don’t need anyone thinking I’m sleeping my way to the top, whether we’re in the same department or not. It’s really not a big deal to me.” Olivia rubbed her arms as she remembered the other white lie they had to tell. His insistence on hiding his interest in anime made her feel uneasy.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?” Nadia was giving her the same look as Jade now.Olivia sighed and rolled her eyes at a man who wasn’t even there. “He doesn’t want anyone to know about the convention.”
“But that was so romantic!” Mia practically had hearts in her eyes. “How could he ask you to keep that a secret?”
“Because he’s afraid he’ll lose his credibility as a sportscaster. And he says the guys at work would make his life miserable.” She couldn’t meet their eyes.
“You know what this sounds like.” Nadia was talking to Jade, who nodded.
“Chad,” they said in unison.
Chad had been the quarterback on the UMD football team, who should have majored in theater, considering how well he’d played his part. He’d convinced Olivia he was into her, just long enough to get her to practically do his chemistry homework for him. The deep-rooted shame crept in as she remembered how stupid she’d been. She’d shown up at the end of the semester and been completely confused when his girlfriend answered his door.
“This is nothing like Chad. Chad was faking feelings for me so I would help him pass his class. Jake isn’t faking anything.” The tent Jake popped every time they were alone was a testament tothat. Thinking back, Olivia couldn’t remember how she’d been fooled so easily. Chad never touched her, never even looked at her like Jake did.
But her friends’ concerns had brought up old memories that were difficult to forget.
“Hello everyone, thank you for coming. As you know, it’s time for our annual harassment presentation.”
Jake leaned against the back wall of the dark conference room, his eyes dutifully trained on the projection screen where the HR representative was going through her PowerPoint slides. Every year CBSN felt it their duty to give everyone tips on interacting with their coworkers.
Don’t comment on their appearance.
Don’t make derogatory comments about their gender.
Don’t invade their personal space.
On and on and on.
