Her work phone buzzed and she picked it up quickly, needing something to get her mind off the stupid little things in life that were sure to drag her down.
"This is Jamie."
"Hey. It's Barton. I don't have the information on whose ID this is just yet, but the approver is Alex, so I think you're safe." He chuckled. “Saves someone getting fired today.”
"Oh good. I was starting to get worried. Maybe just finish looking into who he approved it for, and let me know. It's just a weird addition to our accounts that I need to explain in case we get audited. I would just ask him, but you know how busy he is. He won’t remember doing it." A smile pulled at her cheeks. It was good to know that maybe there was nothing to be worried about. That meant Gina or Paul hadn't been involved in anything criminal.
"No worries. I'll hit you up later, or leave you a message if you're out. We're working late tonight." He grumbled something under his breath as Jamie chuckled.
"We do that all the time. Thanks for your help."
"Anytime."
* * *
"Damn, I needed this." Jamie slid into the booth across from Gina at their favorite pub down the street from the office.
"Me too. This has been the week from hell, and Alex has been a nightmare. I'm not sure what's going on with him, but we're going to have to figure out how to lessen his stress or workload. I know he's been better with you, but I think he decided just to pile all of that crap on top of me.” Gina rolled her eyes.
"That's not good." Jamie reached across the table and rubbed Gina's arm. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. He and I have been working together for a long time. We'll figure it out. I just hope we hurry up. I'm not putting up with too much more of his stressing over little things that don't matter." She pulled out her phone, checked it and dropped it back into her purse.
"Ladies. You here for happy hour?" A cute server stopped beside the table and gave them a sexy smile.
"Yes. Are you part of what's on the menu?" Gina asked and lifted her eyebrows.
Jamie laughed as her cheeks warmed. "Damn, Gina. Really? We haven't even started drinking."
"Really, girl. Really." Gina pulled the menu up to her face. "Gin and tonic with a lime and a cherry."
"I'll have the same." Jamie put her menu down as the guy stood there a few more minutes, obviously trying to come up with something for his rebuttal.
"It's okay. Don't respond. Please. Don't feed the bear." Jamie patted the guy’s arm and turned back to Gina as he chuckled and walked off. "So what was going on today? I didn't want to get in the middle of your drama, but it looked bad."
"He's pissed that I'm dating one of our shareholders, but I'm a single woman, and the man is sexy, older, and has loads of cash. Why wouldn't I take him up on taking me out?" Gina's voice rose a little.
"Hey. Inside voice." Jamie gave her a cheeky grin. "Who?"
It wasn't a surprise at all to hear it was Nicholas. He had asked Jamie before Alex and she had become something, and then had tried hard to wedge himself between them after they had. He respected Alex as a businessman, or pretended to. It kind of irked her that Nicholas had hopped from her to Gina. She pressed her lips tight. That sounded really snotty. She didn’t mean it like that, but saying it out loud would only come across one way. She smiled, happy for Gina. "Oh, nice. He’s a good-looking man." Jamie reached up and took her drink from the server. She ordered a few half-priced appetizers and turned her attention back to Gina.
"Thank you! I don't see why my love life should be any of Alex's business. He just has something against Nicholas. It drives me nuts." She took a long sip of her drink. "He needs to get over it. If he thinks he can tell me who I can go to dinner with and who I can't... he's lost his mind."
"That doesn't sound like Alex. I wonder what has him all fired up." Jamie let out a long sigh and pressed her lips to the tiny straw that danced around in her drink.
"I don't know, but maybe you can talk to him." Gina pulled out her phone and checked it again.
"You waiting on a call? Get off your phone." Jamie smiled as Gina glanced up.
"Nick's supposed to text me a time for dinner. We're going to this fancy new place in The Heights tonight. I honestly can't wait. I've been wanting to go forever, but it's just too expensive for me." She shrugged and dropped her phone back into her purse.
"I hope you have fun." Jamie paused, trying to think through if she really wanted to bring up Annette, and landing on a resounding 'yes'. "So I saw Annette in the office today. What was that all about?"
"Oh, I know. I swear that girl is nothing but trouble." Gina pulled the straw out of her drink and lifted the glass to her lips, draining half of it. "I don't know why Alex even lets her in the building. She's a needy bitch, and not even part of his life anymore.” She shook her head as she spoke, making Jamie laugh. “I think it's because her daddy's so powerful."
"Really? But what does she need with an investment banker? Her account with us was closed down last fall." Jamie tried to hide just how much seeing Annette was affecting her.
"Yeah, but she booked the appointment under the guise of wanting to talk about the tax implications of closing down the account and making a pretty penny on the sale of her stocks." Gina rolled her eyes. "I don't think Alex would have anything to do with her, but if he should have mentioned that she was coming by. You should bring that up with him for sure. When you bring up my dating life. Throw all that shit into one bucket and toss a match on it." She swung her hand up as she imitated the action, nearly spilling her drink.