Chapter 4 – Scott
Leaving The Ground Bean had me feeling strange. There was a moment where I’d shared a bit too much with Jesse, and I didn’t like the response. I’d said something that seemed to bother her, but I wasn’t sure what. While she tried to hide it, I knew that I’d made her cry. I just didn’t know why, and I felt horrible about it. Remembering what she had said about life being too short, I had a feeling that she was thinking about her dad. The reminder made me feel like crap, and I cursed my father again for the job that he had me doing. I was supposed to be running the company, not working out side deals to make him more money.
I kept telling myself that I should refuse. It was the right thing to do, but I still wasn’t sure that I had the guts to do it. I should, of course. I was in a good position to tell him how it was going to be. If he was anyone else but my dad, I would have. But instead of telling him how I really felt, I just called him with a heads-up. She still wasn’t a good mark in my eyes. After ten minutes of trying to get him to believe me, I gave up and promised to keep checking into it. I was starting to think that nothing I said was going to be enough to keep him from his plan.
As I got to the office, my thoughts were with Jesse, as they always seemed to be as soon as I left her. It was impossible to not think about her, and it was becoming a habit. I didn’t know if it was a problem yet, but I didn’t much feel like myself. I knew others felt this way sometimes, but I’d never had so many thoughts about one woman. It was foreign to me, and it was starting to affect my concentration at work. I was sure that I was a moment away from dropping the ball, something that I didn’t want to do in front of my father.
Waiting for him to call, I knew that I was going to have to keep my composure. It was one of those mornings that I wished I hadn’t said yes to the CEO job that I had now. It was one of the days that I was wishing for another life, one that didn’t involve any of this.
“Good morning, Scott.”
“Morning, Caroline. Has my father called yet?”
“No, sir. He had his secretary call and she left a message. He wants to meet you for dinner tonight.”
The invitation was one that I wasn’t expecting, and I had to wonder what he wanted. Why were we meeting at all? Most of our business was conducted over the phone and through people like Caroline. It sent a ping to my brain. I was going to have to make sure I was on my toes. Dad was up to something.
“Very good. Just leave me the specifics, Caroline. I’ll be out of the office most of the day, so if you need to get a hold of me, just call my cell.”
“Sir, what about the meetings you’ve scheduled?”
“Cancel them.”
She gave me a look, but closed the small gap in between her lips when I waited for her to say something. I was still perturbed about the incident with dad before. If I could have, I would have gotten rid of her in a heartbeat, but I knew that it would just draw Jackson’s ire and I would never hear the end of it.
“That’s all, Caroline. Thank you.”
Speechless, she backed out of the room and closed the door behind her. Getting up from my chair, I glanced around, deciding that there was nothing I needed before leaving the office myself. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I was almost positive where I would end up about closing time later that afternoon.
***
“Okay now, Scott. I know the coffee is good, but twice a day?”
Jesse was smiling at me. I’d waited in line almost thirty minutes to see her smiling face, and I wasn’t disappointed. The sight was worth every single moment that I’d stood outside. Her red hair was pinned up, but that late in the day it was no longer neat. Instead it was piled high and some fell down around her shoulders. I wanted to push my fingers through the silken strands, but I had to resist the urge. I didn’t want to move too fast and change anything. She wasn’t in my arms yet, but I was sure that it was just a matter of time before she was. I wasn’t going to do anything to mess it up.
“What can I say? I can’t get enough of it.”
“The coffee?”
Her green eyes were dark, and I could see that there was more than a smile in them. She was coming around. As I watched her bite her lower lip, I knew that she was starting to think of me in a different way. I really liked that.
“No, I think it’s the atmosphere that keeps me coming back.”
I could tell that she was holding her tongue as she looked around. “Well, it is nice. Do you want something else today, Scott?”
I shook my head. For some reason, I couldn’t get the question to come out of my mouth. Instead of asking what I’d come there for, I ordered something else. I wasn’t even hungry, but it gave me time to get myself together. This wasn’t like me. I didn’t get nervous, not over a woman. Why was Jesse so different?
Without an answer, I waited for her to ring me up, and I watched her try to avoid my eyes. Melissa was smiling at both of us, and I could tell that she knew what was going to happen. It was like only Jesse was oblivious to the fact that I wanted her. Everyone else seemed to know it, so why was it so hard to get through to her?
“Are you busy later after you get off?”
Jesse shook her head without looking up at me. “Not really. I’m going to go home with a good book and a glass of wine.”
“I think you can come up with something better than that.”
Jesse finally looked up and met my eyes. “Like what?”
“Dinner with me?”
“With you?”
I didn’t like the way she said it all incredulously, like there was no way that she would go out with me. Was she really going to turn me down? I couldn’t remember a time in the past ten years that I’d been turned down.
“Yes, with me. It has to be better than a book and some wine.”
“I’m reading a really good book right now. Maybe another time.”
Jesse smiled up at me and handed me the bag that had my order in it. “Have a good night, Jesse.”
She had politely brushed me off, and I was trying to decide what I was supposed to do with that. Jesse had turned away and was going back into the kitchen, leaving me a little slack jawed and confused. Had she really just turned me down? For a book?
To be continued in Part 3…