Chapter 36

Hal

Hal gathered up the droplets of water off his skin with a towel and then roughed it over his hair, hand drying it as best he could. He noted vaguely that it was getting a bit long and hard to manage, and he knew he would have to schedule a trim for it soon. He would toss around some items in his schedule and set up an appointment with his usual barber.

When he was dry enough, he put on a T-shirt and a pair of boxer briefs and jeans. He ran his hands through his hair to tame it and then sat down on the edge of his bed. Taking his phone from his nightstand, he shuffled through his contacts until he came upon the most recently added number. Jesse’s number.

Hal bit his lip as he considered calling her. She had made it clear that she didn’t want to be contacted on her work phone any longer, and he took that to mean she didn’t want to keep getting disturbed while she was trying to work. So, in spite of his desire to speak with her, he held off. He didn’t want her to feel like he was smothering her, even though he really did crave her nearness.

Hal had done everything in the world to distract himself. He sorted through all his finances, he checked out some potential investments, and finally, he had gone running and worked out. Now that he was out of the shower and feeling refreshed, it was past five.

Hal was sure that Jesse would be off work by then. So, he took a deep breath and clicked the call button. He held his breath as the phone rang several times. It kept ringing, and ringing, and finally, Hal couldn’t take it anymore, and he hung up. He let out a whoosh of air, and he suddenly felt like a foolish schoolboy.

He vaguely wondered if she had given him the wrong number. He knew he shouldn’t be so worked up about a girl, but then again, this wasn’t just some girl. Jesse had come to mean more to him than he ever would have anticipated.

He would never tell Jesse this, but he had actually vowed never to love again after he had lost his first love, Olivia. At the time, though, he thought he would never be capable of love again. When he met Jesse, however, everything had changed. He was like an entirely different person that he thought had completely died after everything that had happened with Olivia.

He felt the same spark of initial attraction, and then the warmth of something deeper. At first, he had been eager to deny it. But then, he realized that there was no reason to continue to deny himself such a pure and wonderful feeling. He had to mature enough to realize that he couldn’t simply go through life in a bubble without feeling emotions. Especially now that he had met Jesse.

Now, though, he realized that Jesse doubted the sincerity of his feelings for her. He could hardly blame her for it. Celebrities like him did have a tendency to use girls for their ends and then toss them aside like so much trash. If he was in her position, he knew that he would be hesitant as well.

Hal racked his brain trying to think of ways that he could prove to her that he genuinely cared for her. He didn’t want to scare her away with the word love. He knew he had to prove it with his actions before words could ever come into play. She was a writer, after all, and she knew just as well as he did that words were the ultimate weapon for manipulation.

No, he had to find another way. And for now, that way was to simply stay the course and prove to her that he could take things slow and that he was not solely interested in her for physical reasons. Though he most certainly was interested in her for those reasons as well …

Hal was suddenly torn out of his thoughts by the ringing of the phone. He quickly snatched it up and was thrilled when he read Jesse’s name on the caller identification. He didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Hey, Jess,” he said eagerly.

“Hal?” she asked.

“Yeah …” He laughed lightly. “Who else?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Jesse said, and he smiled as he imagined the blush that was spreading across her cheeks at this very moment. “I just didn’t recognize the number so I didn’t really know who to expect.”

“Well, it’s me,” Hal said easily. He couldn’t keep a ridiculous smile off his face. He was elated just to be talking to her, even if only on the phone.

“Sorry I didn’t pick up,” she said. “I was taking a bath.”

“A bath?” Hal perked up a bit at that information. He couldn’t help himself from imagining her still damp skin with a towel wrapped around her middle with her hair still dripping down her back. He felt his cock stir a little at the imagery, but he quickly abandoned that train of thought so he could focus on his conversation.

“Well, I mean—I got home early, so …” Jesse was stammering nervously, and he knew that she was embarrassed to have disclosed that information to him so flippantly.

“Well, I certainly hope you enjoyed it.” Hal chuckled, eager to relieve her of her embarrassment. “You said you got home from work early?”

“Oh, yeah …” Jesse trailed off, and he detected an odd note in her voice.

“Any particular reason?” he prodded, though he suspected it was because she had been able to breeze through the substandard articles she was being given.

“Actually,” Jesse laughed lightly. “I quit.”

Hal’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe what she had just said.

“You what?” he whispered into the phone, his excitement almost through the roof.

“I went to Elaine and demanded an apology.” Hal smiled brightly as she explained. “And I told her that if she refused to give me one, then I wasn’t going to be able to work in that sort of environment. So, she basically insulted me up one way and down the other and told me to take it back, and I wouldn’t. So I wished her the best and left.”

Hal’s cheeks hurt from how much he was smiling. Everything was working out more perfectly than he could have ever imagined. He was ready to take Elaine down, and now with Jesse out of the line of fire, he would have no trouble stirring up some dirt on Elaine and ruining her reputation in the industry. Her world was going to come crashing down around her. Now, it was simply a matter of time.

“I wanted to tell you earlier,” Jesse went on. “But I didn’t have your number in my phone. But I have it now, so in the future, I’ll be sure to give you a call … if I ever quit another job …”

Hal smiled as she started to ramble, and he knew she was probably fidgeting from nerves.

“Jess, that’s incredible,” Hal said. “There’s nobody in the world who actually has the kind of guts it takes to stand up to your boss and then actually follow through when you threaten to quit.”

“Yeah, well …” Jesse laughed nervously. “Now I have no job security, no benefit, and I don’t know how I’m going to keep paying my rent. But I have to say … I do feel really good.”

“I’m sure you do,” Hal said warmly, happy that Jesse had found the courage to take her fate into her own hands.

“And I have to say,” Jesse started. “Thank you.”

“Me?” Hal laughed aloud. “For what?”

“For telling me that I’m worth more than what Elaine says,” she said softly.

Hal felt his heart melt.

“You didn’t need me to tell you that,” he said with warm certainty. “You would have figured that out for yourself in no time.”

“Well, in any case,” Jesse said. “Thanks for speeding up the process.”

“Anything for you,” Hal said gently, and he absolutely meant it.

A silence stretched between them, and he hurried to end it before Jesse felt uncomfortable.

“So,” he said broadly, “are you planning on celebrating your freedom?”

“I am actually,” she said, her tone much more perky. “I’m going over to Mark and Tony’s. You know, those guys next door.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember them.” Hal nodded, though she couldn’t see. “They’re not too fond of me.”

Jesse laughed.

“They’re just overprotective,” she said lightly. “Yeah, I’m going over there. We’ll probably throw a few back, and I’ll give Tony the firsthand account of what happened in the office.”

“Be sure to let him know what a bitch she is,” Hal growled.

“Oh, he already knows,” Jesse said emphatically. “He hates her. He thinks she puts way too much on Mark’s plate. Which she does.”

Hal narrowed his eyes at that information.

“Interesting,” Hal murmured, tucking that knowledge away for safekeeping. “Well, I won’t keep you from your friends.”

“Oh, wait!” Jesse said suddenly.

“Yeah?” Hal asked, suddenly on high alert at her change in tone.

“We got so caught up in talking about me I forgot to ask why you called me in the first place!” she said, laughing lightly. Hal smiled at the sound.

“Well, relax,” Hal said gently. “I just called to see what you’ve been up to.”

“Oh,” Jesse said. “Well … thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Hal laughed. “Have a good night Jess.”

“You too,” Jesse said. And then the phone went dead.

Hal smiled down at his phone and shook his head, amused.