First Meeting
Jordan
“Hey, do you mind taking this up to the top floor for me? I’m on my way to lunch, and you know how Paige is with food,” Ryan says, holding out a folder.
I look over his shoulder and see Paige hitting the button for the elevator, then impatiently hitting it three more times in a row.
“Yeah. She’s hangry as hell,” I say, taking it from him and shaking my head.
She’s got that man all kinds of twisted. I’ve never seen him so far gone before. But he looks happy as hell, so I guess I can’t be mad. Deep down, though, I’m really just salty.
I’ve never had anything even close to the look Ryan has on his face. It eats me up even more when I watch him walk over to Paige and put a possessive hand on her hip. I have to look away, because it makes me so envious and angry. I’m a goddamn virgin, for crying out loud. Not that anyone would know that. I don’t talk about my personal life much at work. I don’t really talk about much of anything. I keep to myself, and I like it that way.
At least that’s what I keep telling myself.
Shaking my head, I stand up, deciding to take the folder upstairs now and grab lunch after. No sense in putting it off. I hop on the elevator and scan my card so I can go straight up without stopping.
On the way, I think about what I’m going to eat and then about seeing Pop this weekend. I need to make sure he’s got his posts in for the garden. He’ll be ready to put his tomato plants out any day now.
When the elevator doors open, I take a step, then stop dead in my tracks.
I’ve been up here only once before, and the desk was empty then. I just had to drop the paperwork the CEO was asking for and leave. But this time, there’s a woman sitting in front of me, and every cell in my body has just been electrocuted.
Her dark brown hair is in a knot at the back of her neck. She’s tucked away a few loose strands to keep them out of her eyes. Her black-framed glasses are on the edge of her nose, and she pushes them up as she reads over something on her desk. Her hand scribbles a note with a pen she’s holding, and I think about how delicate those fingers are. How small they would look pressed against my bare chest.
She hasn’t looked up to notice me, yet everything in my world has suddenly been swept away by a tsunami. How did she not see it happen? One second I was normal, regular Jordan just like every day before. And then I was hers. There’s an invisible line that’s just tethered me to her, and I’m forever a changed man. My insides have genetically mutated into a man made to become hers. On the outside, though, nothing has changed.
The doors to the elevator try to close and end up squishing me. I let out a grunt, pushing on them to make them open, and step off the elevator fully. When I look back to her, I see she’s staring at me.
Chocolate-brown eyes meet mine, and my mouth falls open. Jesus Christ, how can one woman be so beautiful? Is this legal? Are there petitions going around to ban this sort of attractiveness? She can’t be real.
“Can I help you?” she asks, smiling at me like an angel.
Her lips are kind and indulgent, and God help me I want to ravage her like some sort of romance hero. I want to reach over and push everything off the desk, then crawl over the top of it and claim what belongs to me.
She clears her throat, and I blink, realizing I’ve just fallen down a rabbit hole of total desire.
“A file,” I say, and her perfect brows draw together in confusion. I lick my lips and try again. “I’ve got a file.”
“I can see that,” she says, looking down at my hand and then back to me.
There’s a list forming in my head of illegal things that I would do in order to have those eyes look at me for the rest of my life.
“It’s for Mr. Osbourne,” I say, taking another step forward.
She stands up from her desk, and God she’s so short. I bet if I were on top of her she’d disappear under me. The thought sends a warm tingle down my spine, and then my mind wanders to how easy she would be to pick up, how slight she is compared to me. I could protect her and keep her safe without much effort.
I blink and see she’s got her hand out, waiting on the folder, but she must have been in that position for quite some time because she drops it and walks around the desk to take it from me. I feel the file slip from my fingers, and panic begins to take over. I’m not ready to leave.
“Hmm. This is the Lannister folder,” she says, flipping it open and thumbing through the pages.
I clench my fists so tight my knuckles turn white as I itch to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I swear this deal is going to be a pain in my butt. I can already see it. It’s got to go back to Stein and he’s always avoiding my emails. I know most of the time I’m just hungry, and you know what they say about not eating. It makes you more irritated. Hangry, that’s it!” She looks down at her watch and then back to me. “I’m about to starve to death. Do you want to go downstairs to the cafeteria and eat with me? I don’t know you, but you work here, and there’s never anyone on this floor to go with, so I thought I might as well ask the only other person I’ve seen. Are you hungry, or did you already eat?”
Her voice washes over me, and I stand there like an idiot. She asked me a question, but she’s going a million miles an hour and I don’t know where to begin. I think I must nod, because she smiles at me, and I want her to keep doing it.
“Great. I’ll grab my wallet. Oh, and let me make sure the coffeepot is off. There’s nothing worse than the smell of burnt coffee. I forgot once and left just a tiny amount in the bottom, and the warmer was still on. It scorched the bottom of the pot, and it took me a week to get the smell out. And it’s not like you can just open a window on the top floor.”
She flits around the office, and all I can compare it to is a bird. She’s talking nonstop, but I love it. The sound of her voice, the way she’s buzzing around the room. It’s like she’s a tiny tornado of love that’s been sent to turn my world upside down.
She comes over beside me when she’s done and looks at me expectantly. “Ready?”
I guess I nod again, because she hits the elevator button and we step on.
“Oh, I’m Jay, by the way.”
“Jordan,” I say, and she smiles even bigger at me.
Could I repeat my name to her over and over? Would that be weird? I just want to see her smile like that forever, and I don’t care how it happens.
Her voice fills the elevator as she talks about what will be down there to eat today. How it’s gotten so much better since Mr. Osbourne had the whole thing redone. I listen, not wanting to miss a word, but having a hard time concentrating when the woman of my dreams is inches away from me. I’m trapped in a metal box with the person I’ve been waiting my whole life for, and I can’t do anything about it. This is truly what torture is.
“Oh good, the line isn’t long,” she says once we exit and grab trays.
She piles her plate high with food, and I’m actually impressed. I love a woman who can eat, and for someone her size, she isn’t afraid of food. I put extra on mine, thinking about what she’s going to eat after she’s finished with hers. What if she gets hungry later? Who will provide for her?
Then the thought that she might have someone in her life makes me livid. I look down at her finger and don’t see a ring. She could be married, but if a man were with her and not smart enough to mark her as taken, then he doesn’t deserve her. I never thought about breaking up a marriage before, but there seems to be a time and a place for everything all of a sudden.
“Husband?” I ask as we stand in front of the soups.
“That’s a weird choice,” she says, looking down in all the pots.
“Do you have a husband,” I ask, and she lets out a laugh.
“Oh!” she says, and waves her hand. “The Italian wedding soup. I see what you did there. No, I’m not married. You?”
I shake my head, and she smiles. “Well, I guess it’s good we’re friends now. We don’t have to eat alone.”
She takes her tray to the cashier, and the word friends echoes in my ears. Hold up. Did she just send me directly to friend zone? I didn’t get to pass go or collect a phone number at least? How is she not holding herself back from ripping my clothes off? Am I the only one who feels what’s happening right now?
I look around the room and see everyone going about their day. I want to slam my tray down and ask why the hell no one notices that I’ve just fallen in love with the most beautiful woman in the world. How come this isn’t headline news?
“Jordan?” Jay says my name, and suddenly I’m putty in her hands.
I walk over and set my tray down beside hers, pulling out my wallet. “I’ve got this,” I tell her, and hold out my money for the both of us.
“That’s so nice of you. Thank you,” she says as we walk to a table in the corner. “I didn’t ask you so you’d treat me.”
“Friends,” I say, rolling the word around on my tongue. I sound like fucking Tarzan learning English with her.
“Sounds good to me,” she says as she reaches her hand over and pats the top of mine.
I sit frozen as she takes her hand back, and I want to reach out and yank it over to me. I want to take it and press it to my face and tell her all my deepest, darkest secrets.
“Oh wow, this soup is awesome. Good choice.”
I watch her eat and then talk to me. She’s completely comfortable, and I could sit here for hours. The sound of her voice is like music, the most beautiful symphony I’ve ever heard. Her eyes see straight into my soul, and I can’t look away.
“Aren’t you hungry?” she asks, looking between my full tray and hers, almost halfway finished.
As if she’s given me a command, I do as she says and start to eat. When she starts telling me all the places in the city she loves to eat, I make mental notes about each and every one of them. Why didn’t I bring a pen and paper? I don’t want to forget anything.
I make it my life’s mission right then to make sure that I know as much about her as I can. To absorb every little detail so that when I make her mine, I’ll also make her happy.
My tray is almost empty, and I’ve got an extra cookie for her on it. I pick it up and put it on her tray, and the beaming smile she gives me is almost enough to do me in.
“You know the way to a lady’s heart,” she says, taking a bite of it.
Food is the way I’ll make her fall in love with me. My pop always told me that was the secret of his happy marriage to my mom. He kept her fed and remembered all her favorites. Could it really be that simple? I’m starting to think the old man was right.
She glances down at her watch, and her eyes get big. “Damn, I’m late. This was so nice, Jordan. I’m glad to have finally made a friend at work. Do you want to do lunch again tomorrow? I don’t think I have anything planned, but sometimes my calendar shifts around. I could always email you since I know where you work.” She laughs at her own joke, and I just nod dumbly. “Okay, perfect. I’ll shoot you an email tomorrow. This is always quick and easy for me, so is the cafeteria okay?”
I nod again, and this time she gives me a shy smile. “I know I talk a lot. Maybe next time I’ll let you get a word or two in.”
She clears up her empty tray and waves over her shoulder as she heads for the elevator.
I don’t know how long I sit there, but it must be a while because when I look up, Paige is standing over me.
“Seriously, Jordan? I had to check the camera to find you.”
“Sorry, I was having lunch,” I say, and stand up to see the room empty.
“Yeah. And now it’s time to go,” she says, looking at me like I’m an idiot.
Sure enough, the sun has set, and I’ve been sitting here all day thinking about my brown-eyed beauty and how I’ve just met the woman I’m going to marry.
“Hey, you okay?” Paige asks as we leave.
“Yeah,” I say, smiling. “I’ve never been better.”
Her eyes narrow, and then they get big. “Oh shit,” she exclaims, shaking her head. “I know that look.”
“What look?” I ask.
She laughs mirthlessly. “Sorry, buddy. I hate to be the one to tell you, but you just got claimed.”
I feel the smile pull at my lips, loving the sound of it. Jay definitely claimed me.
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