Chapter Eighteen
Jay
A few days have passed, and I hate the little cloud that’s hovered around Jordan. The doctor has given his father a good prognosis, but Jordan is still worried. They said the swelling is going down, but not as fast as they’d like. But for a man his age, it’s to be expected. They hope to be able to wake him up from the induced coma this weekend and see the full extent of the damage.
I think that’s Jordan’s biggest fear, that his dad will wake up and he won’t be the same. We’ve spent every chance we can at the hospital, staying for only a few moments at a time. I came back to work yesterday after Jordan insisted. I told him that I could take off as much time as I needed in order to be with him, but I think he wanted one of us to be productive. Sitting around worrying all the time wasn’t doing either of us any good. Only now I’m sitting at work and worrying.
My afternoon consists of taking notes in a meeting with Miles and Mr. Spencer. I didn’t tell Miles about what happened the last time he was here, and I don’t plan to, unless another situation occurs.
Miles has sent me an email to let me know what they’ll be covering in their meeting, and I see it’s got the Lannister file included. Clicking on the folder, I scan back through the documents to see why this one thing keeps popping up. Some of these documents have details on overseas deals that having nothing to do with us. I can’t imagine why either of them would be talking about this, especially when the company that’s processed this request also deals in foreign ammunition production. Osbourne Corp. doesn’t contract with anything like this.
I click on the email and start to reply when my cell phone rings. Thinking it might be Jordan, I pick it up on the first ring without looking to see who it is.
“Oh my God, Jay, what kind of disgusting mail-order service are you a part of?!” Summer screams into the phone.
I rub my forehead and try to push away the migraine I know she’s about to trigger.
“It’s just my monthly snack box order. Put it to the side and don’t eat it if you don’t want to. I can come by and pick it up later. You know, opening someone else’s mail is a federal offense.” Jesus. Who knew she was going to be this much trouble? Oh, wait. I did.
“Are you shitting me, Jay? There’s a dead fucking bird in this box.”
“What?” My voice is barely above a whisper.
“I wasn’t going to open your mail, because I’m not a complete asshole. But this one was starting to smell, so...” She lets that sentence hang in the air.
“I’m coming over,” I say and hang up the phone.
I poke my head into Miles’s office and say I need to head out to take care of some errands. I don’t know why, but I don’t want him to worry.
“You know you don’t have to tell me. And you can take all the time you need,” he says.
I nod and duck out, grabbing my bag and hitting the button for the elevator. Just as the doors open, Mr. Spencer steps off in such a way that I can’t step on.
“Miss Rosie.” He says my name wrong on purpose, and then licks his lips. “You know I was hoping I could make it right after our last run-in.”
He leans in close to me, and I have no choice but to stand there. I can’t get around him, and he’s too big for me to physically push out of the way.
“How about I take you out to lunch? Or maybe dinner? We could go to my place. The view from the penthouse is spectacular.” He brings his hand up to my shoulder, and I move to the side to avoid it.
“I need to go. I have a family emergency.”
“Oh, is everyone okay?” He feigns concern. “Can I offer you a ride?”
“No, thank you,” I say just as Miles comes out of his office.
“Is everything all right?” he asks, and when Mr. Spencer looks up, I duck around him and hit the button. I don’t hear the rest of the conversation as the doors close, and I slide the card Jordan gave me to take me directly to the first floor.
Jordan. Shit.
I was supposed to have lunch with him today. He isn’t back to work yet, but I thought it would do us some good to have lunch in the park. Get some sunshine and help him relax.
I pull out my phone and send him a quick text telling him my sister needed me to go by the apartment and I may be a little bit late.
Jordan: Want me to come with you?
Me: No, it’s fine. You know how she is. I’ll take care of it.
Jordan: Okay. I’ll see you after. Better have my kiss ready.
I can’t help but smile. He always knows how to make me feel better.
Me: Always.
I send twenty kiss emojis and think that maybe it’s overkill, but I don’t care. He can have as many as he wants.
We haven’t done anything sexual since Sunday morning before we left his place. At night, we just hold one another. Sometimes he holds me and sometimes I hold him. I know he needs comfort these days, and I try to respect that. No matter how much my body begs for more.
By the time I make it to my apartment, my sister is in hysterics. She’s such a ditz she thinks I ordered this for some kind of séance.
“Summer, in what world would anyone want a dead bird? Let alone find a place that delivers it!” I shout as she goes on and on about how I’m the reason there’s so much negative energy in this space.
“You really need to clean your chi,” she says, crossing her arms and looking at me like I’m a disgrace.
“Just...just call the building security if you have any more problems like this, okay? This isn’t a normal delivery for my house. How did you even get it?”
“It was sitting outside your door,” she says over her shoulder as she walks away from me. “Lock up on your way out.”
I take the box with the dead bird and bag it. There was no note or return address, and the fact that it was outside the door makes me really nervous. How could someone just leave this outside my door? Is this some sort of sick joke?
I walk down to the front desk and speak to the doorman that’s there. He doesn’t have any information and says he can request the camera footage if I fill out some forms. I don’t have time, but I take them with me, saying I’ll drop them by later before his shift is over.
He takes the bag and says he’ll dispose of it and contact the building management to see what they can do.
It’s not much to go on, but at least it’s something. I should tell Jordan about it, but with everything that’s going on with his dad, I don’t want to add to his stress. I know how protective he is of me already, and I can’t imagine this would make it any better.
By the time I’ve got all of it taken care of, the sky has opened up and it’s pouring rain. I’m in a cab halfway to the park when I get a text.
Jordan: Looks like our picnic is once again ruined.
Me: At least this time I didn’t kick you in the balls.
Jordan: There’s that silver lining I was looking for.
Me: Want to meet at the cafeteria at work?
Jordan: Don’t think I can make it across town in time. I’m going to head to the hospital. I’ll see you after work.
Me: Okay, tell Pop I said hello.
Jordan: XOXO
Disappointment hits me as I tell the driver to take me back to Osbourne Corp. Could this day get any worse?