Chapter 21

Jesse’s mind whirled, and for a long moment, her mouth merely moved as she struggled to come up with words to reply.

“Hello?” she heard his voice from the other line, and she quickly assembled her scattered thoughts.

“Yes, hello,” she finally replied. “I’m very well, how are you?”

“Fairly well,” he said in a slow, relaxed, drawl. Jesse couldn’t even imagine how it must feel to be so relaxed.

“That’s very good to hear,” Jesse said, struggling to find words to say.

“I’m sure,” Hal responded from the other end, and Jesse could hear the slight amusement in his voice.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Jesse asked, wondering why on earth she was receiving this phone call from him.

“No, not really,” he answered easily.

“Oh,” Jesse blinked. A moment of silence stretched between them over the line, and Jesse felt her heart beating hard in her chest.

“So, I heard we made the papers,” Hal said, humor dripping from his tone. Jesse felt a blush spread over her face.

“I suppose,” she said, feigning a lack of care.

“I’m sure Elaine was just thrilled,” Hal said, sarcasm clearly evident in his observation.

“Well, it was a bit of an interesting development,” Jesse said, trying to keep her tone disinterested.

“Oh, is that so?” Hal said from the other line, and Jesse could hear the edge of irritation in his voice.

“Yes …” Jesse confirmed, somewhat perturbed by his irritation and confused about its source.

“Was that all it was for you?” he pressed her. “An interesting development?”

Jesse frowned, perplexed by his irritation and indignation on the matter.

“Would you rather it be something else to me?” Jesse returned.

“Well, it certainly was for me,” Hal said simply, and Jesse was yet again taken aback, and she blinked as she tried to come up with some sort of reply.

“Well,” Jesse replied awkwardly. “I’m glad you feel that way.”

“Are you?” Hal asked, his tone gradually growing in irritation. “I’m really getting the feeling that I’m barking up the wrong tree over here.”

“I’m sorry,” Jesse shook her head. “This is just a little strange.”

“Strange?” Hal asked, seeming to relax a little. “How so? It’s just a phone call.”

“Well, maybe for you,” Jesse explained with a nervous laugh. “I mean, you’re you, and I’m me.”

“Well, I didn’t expect to be anyone else when I called you,” Hal said, his voice one again calm and relaxed. “And I had hoped that you would be you as well.”

Jesse gave a shaky laugh and again searched for words with which to reply, but she could find none.

“Well, anyway,” Hal cleared his throat on the other end of the line. “I was just curious to see what your reaction was.”

“Oh,” Jesse replied simply. “Well, I guess that was it.”

Jesse felt a little bit awkward from stretching the truth. In reality, she had been stressed beyond belief and even worried that she would lose her job because of this. She vaguely wondered if he had been just as worried about his image as she was about her job.

“Yeah,” Hal said slowly. And another silence stretched between them.

“Well,” Jess said somewhat uncomfortably, “I guess I’ll let you go then.”

“Right, right,” Hal said with certainty, and Jesse could picture him nodding.

“Thanks for the call,” Jesse said, her tone polite. “It was a pleasure, as always.”

“No problem,” he said. Again, there was a silence, and Jesse wished he would just hang up the phone.

“Okay, goodbye then,” Jesse said and moved to hang up the phone.

“Jess?’ she heard Hal’s voice, and she put the phone back up to her ear.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I actually have a question for you,” Hal said, his tone carrying slight concern.

“What is it?” Jesse asked, once again glancing around the office to make sure that nobody was looking her way, though she hardly imagined it was possible for people to hear her conversation on the phone.

“Well,” Hal said, and Jesse could hear some hesitation in his voice. “I was actually wondering what you were doing today after work.”

Jesse blinked in surprise and once again looked around to ensure nobody was trying to listen in on her phone conversation.

“Well,” she said, still somewhat off guard, “I didn’t have anything in mind, to be honest.”

“Perfect,” Hal said from the other line, his voice much brighter. “Well, perfect for me anyway.”

“Is it?” Jesse pressed, her heart rate accelerating as thoughts ran through her mind.

“Yes,” Hal said immediately. “Well, hopefully anyway.”

“Right …” Jesse said, as he still had not elaborated.

“You see,” Hal said, “I was hoping you would be able to join me for this small social gathering I have to attend. Not overly formal, more casual.”

Jesse listened, and as Hal went on, she felt her heart beating faster. Was he asking her out? She knew she had to at least try to play it cool or she would come off as a completely easy conquest.

“What do you mean by social gathering?” Jesse inquired, trying her best to sound reluctant. “And what do you mean by small? Only a hundred people? A thousand?”

Hal laughed at her from across the line, and Jesse felt warmth in her stomach.

“Much smaller,” he said, his voice still warm from his laughter. “Just a couple of friends of mine if you must know.”

“I see,” Jesse said, still working very hard to come off as overly intrigued right off the bat. “Well, I’m just not sure …”

“You’re not sure?” Hal said, sounding mildly offended, which served to amuse Jesse more than a little.

“Oh well, I mean it’s just a little sudden,” Jesse offered up as an explanation.

“Well, I would have asked you sooner,” Hal said, and she could hear the irritation that had crept into his voice. “But before yesterday, I didn’t even know I wanted you there.”

Jesse was silent for a moment as she took in his words. She couldn’t help feeling a little flattered by what he had said, and she wondered if he was being sincere. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little guarded, and she decided it would certainly be best to simply proceed with caution.

“Well …” Jesse sighed, and she shuffled a few papers around on her desk to delay her response and hopefully keep Hal on edge. “Actually … you know—do you think I would even have a good time?”

“I would personally make sure that you had a very good time,” Hal said, his voice slightly dark.

Jesse gulped, and yet again, silence stretched across the line.

“In that case,” Jesse said, a little more softly. “I would be delighted to go with you.”

Jesse heard Hal release a pent up breath and a chuckle from the other end of the line.

“Great,” he said, his tone sounding much brighter. “I can come by with Adam and pick you up at around seven.”

“That would be nice,” Jesse said, and a smile lifted the corners of her lips. “And you remember where my apartment is?”

“Come on now,” Hal chided her good-naturedly. “I was drunk, Jess. Not that drunk.”

Jesse laughed, and she felt a flutter in her stomach at his nickname for her that he was beginning to use ever more often.

“Besides,” Hal spoke up again. “If I forgot, Adam would be able to remember.”

Jesse could clearly hear the humor in his voice, and she laughed in response to him.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll find your way there somehow,” Jesse said, feeling a warm sensation in her center.

“I hope so, at least,” Hal said with a chuckle. “So, seven?”

“Yeah, sounds great,” Jesse said pleasantly.

“Perfect,” Hal nearly purred. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

Jesse could clearly hear the sincerity in his voice, and she felt a soft shudder roll down her spine.

“Me too,” she said and hung up the phone.

Jesse sat silently at her desk and let her mind whirl. She wondered vaguely how on earth any of this had ever happened to her. She could feel her excitement for the upcoming night slowly but surely building up within her.