Chapter 14
JEREMIAH
My office phone lay in its cradle with my mobile right next to it. Both of them rang incessantly, but never with the call I wanted to receive. I sat back in my chair, dragging my palms over my stubble and released a deep breath.
Outside my vast office windows, time seemed to be progressing normally. Midday sun streamed in, its heat mercifully thwarted by the tint on the windows. The air was already muggy when I arrived at the crack of dawn this morning, by now it had to be so much worse.
Inside the office though, it felt like time was standing still. Monday felt like an awfully long time to have to wait to hear back from Stephanie about whether or not she wanted to take the job. I really hoped she would call sooner but forty-nine hours after her interview, because apparently I was counting them, and I hadn’t heard a peep from her yet.
I hated myself for wanting the phone to ring so badly, to hear her voice saying she would take the job. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t glancing at both phones every few minutes to check whether I somehow missed her call.
I was worse than a teenage girl waiting to hear back about a date or an actor desperate to hear about an audition. Granted, I didn’t actually know how either of those people felt in those situations because I’d never been a teenage girl or an actor, but I was guessing I was worse.
It was pathetic, but I couldn’t help myself. Hope spread in my chest every time my phone started ringing, only to be doused with each call because it wasn’t from her. It was a vicious cycle—which made me beyond grateful I didn’t feel like this often. Or never had before, actually. I hoped I would never feel it again.
Neil had her contact details. As did my human resources department, along with her job application forms. With a snap of my fingers, I could have her phone number, address and whatever else I wanted. I had half a mind to just get her details and call her myself. This waiting game wasn’t working for me.
On the other hand, calling her when she said she would think it through and let us know her decision by Monday was a mistake. I knew it all the way to my bones. She wasn’t the kind of girl I could sweet talk into giving me the answer I wanted today. Which was exactly why I wanted her so damn bad.
Well, one of the reasons.I shut that thought down immediately.
No, a phone call or even popping in to see her, which I’d also considered numerous times, would only result in me having to start the interview process all over again. Stephanie definitely wouldn’t put up with that kind of thing.
As it was, I didn’t think her accepting our offer was a sure thing. And that was a foreign feeling. This particular acceptance wasn’t merely a formality as they often tended to be. Despite the salary we offered, the benefits and the fact that she obviously really wanted the job, between the club and lunch, I’d fucked up. And she called me on it.
It left me with the feeling that she had integrity, and not the “everything has a price” kind. Real honest-to-god integrity. Combine that with her feisty nature, and she may well turn me down. Again. Fuck.
Reasoning with myself to just let it go and wait for Monday to come didn’t work, neither did throwing myself into work. We were already starting with the preliminaries on the mall project, and while I was meticulous about every detail, my concentration also suffered every time I had to do something my secretary would usually do for me.
Because it reminded me of that damn call that wasn’t coming. Of the one girl I wanted to be working with me on this who, unlike every other woman in Manhattan, was making me wait. It was infuriating. And intoxicating.
“Snap out of it,” I muttered, rolling my chair forward and wiggling my mouse to awaken my computer. Again. I’d repeated the process several times this morning.
I rubbed my eyes, willing the number of unread emails waiting for my attention to somehow become less. The bold letters sitting in the top left-hand corner of my screen, however, did no such thing. Instead, the complete opposite was happening. The number was stubbornly climbing every time I blinked.
“Just get it done,” I mumbled as I started clicking on the ones marked as urgent. With both Neil and I having rolled up our sleeves to get started on the acquisition of the mall, things were happening fast.
Within an hour, there were more than twenty documents queued for my signature. Most of them were menial, but a couple required the scrutiny of the legal team before I could sign them. I shelved those still to be signed and added a reminder to myself to discuss them with legal.
The entire process took at least double the time it used to take me when Jannie was still around.
Where the hell was a secretary when you needed her?Frustrated, I glanced at my phones again. Deathly silence met my glare.
Then, as if bending under the sheer pressure of my will, my mobile started ringing. I grabbed for it, trying not to feel disappointed when I saw Shawn’s smiling face looking up at me from the screen. Shaking my head, I ordered myself to let it fucking go.
I slid my thumb across my screen and pressed the phone to my ear determined to actually let it go this time. “What’s going on, man?”
“Lucky’s has a pizza and beer night going on later, we’re going. Don’t even try to give me any shitty excuses about work. Seven good for you?”
“I would never give a shitty excuse. I don’t even know what a shitty excuse is. Mine are always excellent.”
Shawn chuckled. In the background, I could hear someone call for him followed by a flurry of activity. “Whatever you say, but for the record, you’ve come up with some doozies in your time. Would love to give you some examples, but I’ve gotta go. Work calls my name. See you at seven?”
“See you then.” I gave him my answer without hesitation. The argument about the merits of my excuses could come later.
We ended the call, and I leaned back in my chair, grateful for the distraction. A chilled night out with the guys was exactly what I needed. Whatever hateful obsession I developed about waiting for Stephanie’s call, they would pull me out of it.
Resolute to actually start getting stuff done, I turned back to my work. It was just before seven by the time I surfaced again. Contrary to how my day started, it ended up having been moderately productive. I was getting better at wading through the corporate jargon and surprised myself when I realized a lot of what I had to do was starting to come naturally.