22
Tyson
I’m glad Jade decided to stay home with little argument. I’m furious with her for not letting me know she was in pain, but it’s not like Jade is a stranger to keeping things from me. Taking care of herself is part of Jade’s persona. She just can’t help herself. I hate the secrets. I want her to see that I’m here for her for the long run and to trust me. I’ve never met anyone who could grab my attention like her and actually hold onto it. I’m putty in her slender fingers, she just doesn’t know it. Crazy of a thought as it is, but Jade is it for me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find a woman that completes me like her. I love her. I fell hard in her solar system and now I’m just hoping she sees me. I’m vulnerable, in uncharted territory, a place I’ve never been before. If someone were to tell me I’d fall in love one day with a complicated pregnant woman with more problems than that Jay Z song, I’d hit them upside their head to knock some sense in them, but here I am.
When I get to the office, I’m not surprised to see Grayson waiting on me. “If you came for another shouting match, I’m not in the mood, especially since you don’t even have a cup of fresh brewed coffee with you,” I drawl in greeting.
“Why didn’t you let me know Jade was in pain? Don’t you think that’s something I should know?”
“Well, seeing as I didn’t even know, telling you would have been impossible. That’s even if I wanted to tell you. It’s your damn fault she’s stressed out in the first place,” I accuse and his eyes narrow in anger.
“I’m sure Jade doesn’t give a crap about Nancy working up here. Not enough to bother her, that is.”
“Are you sure? Because if that was the case, she wouldn’t have bothered mentioning it in the first place. Despite what your narrow mind wants to believe, you’re the stressor here, not me. If anything, I’m the stress relief.” I throw that jab in, knowing he’s smart enough to know exactly what I’m talking about. “If that’s all you wanted, you can get out of my office. I have a lot of work to catch up on.”
He’s pissed when he leaves, slamming my door behind him and I really can't give a flying fuck. When the door opens mere seconds later, I think it’s him again, but it’s my father who sticks his grey head inside. Despite his age, he still looks good. He’s still rounds up the ladies like he did when he was younger, just not as public, at least that was the days before Jade entered my life.
“Do I need to ask what that’s about?” he says, walking in.
“Nope, I’m sure you can guess,” I reply and I mean that. He may be old, but my dad is as sharp as ever. His skills refined over the years, which makes me wonder exactly how much he knows about Grayson’s agreement with her.
“Is he the reason why Jade isn’t here? I believe I already warned her about distractions.”
“No, I told her to take the day off. At the ultrasound, she told the technician she was in pain, so I thought it would be best for her to get some rest.”
“You really like this girl, don’t you?”
I don’t hesitate when I answer, “Yes.”
Humming to himself, he stands up and leaves, making me wonder if he thinks that’s a good or bad thing. Shrugging off my thoughts of Jade and my father, I get my case files together. I can’t slack off. Soon I’ll be running this place and I want people to know that my position here in this company was earned, not given.
23
Jade
As soon as Tyson drops me off, I lie down, intending to just get a nap in. I must have been more tired than I thought. I’m surprised I slept for hours and it’s Tyson who wakes me when he gets home from work. He didn’t look happy, and I didn’t feel like trying to pry the information from him. I’m sure I’ll find out tomorrow when I go to work.
“I bought Chinese takeout for dinner,” he says, giving me a light kiss.
“Did you order me orange chicken?” I ask, beaming over the thought of food.
“Of course,” he answers.
“God, I love you,” I blurt out until I realize what I’ve said and he suddenly goes still. “I...I mean..you...”
“I know what you meant, jewel, and don’t worry. One day, you’ll be telling me those words for real and it won’t be about food.” With that, he leans in and kisses me deeply. Before I know it, we’re both undressed, and when we finally do get to dinner, it has to be reheated, but the distraction was totally worth it.
Arriving to work the next morning, I spy McHottie waiting for me at my desk. Curious and wary of his presence at the same time, I take my time walking over. It’s too early for me to have done something, so I’m wondering what he wanted. I hope it isn’t because of why Tyson seemed upset when he came home last night.
“Here, Nichole asked me to give you these,” he grunts, handing over a familiar envelope. When I look inside it, I see the ultrasound pictures from yesterday.
“Why is she giving me these? They’re yours,” I tell him, trying to hand them back.
“Just take them. Nichole already picked out the ones she wanted and she wanted you to have the rest.” Not wanting to start another unnecessary argument, I put the envelope away in my gym bag. I missed my session yesterday, so I was going to hit the gym today for a makeup session.
“If Nancy is that big of a deal, I can have HR find me another secretary,” he says suddenly and I tilt my head regarding him. I wonder if this kind offer is McHottie’s or his wife’s doing.
“Like I told you yesterday, I don’t care who you have working for you.” I didn’t mean to sound like I had an attitude, it just came out that way.
“I’m trying to be nice here, Jade.”
“And I appreciate that, but do you really think replacing Nancy will make things better? She will come to her own conclusion as to why, with me being on the top of her list and be worse of a she-devil than she already is. You caused the problem, now deal with it. Just don’t put me in the middle of it or use me as an excuse.”
“I wasn’t trying to cause you problems. I needed help with my larger than normal workload and she was the only one besides you available, and we weren’t exactly on speaking terms.”
“Is that your excuse? We weren’t talking to one another? Whose fault is that? You’ve had ample opportunity to clear the air, but you didn’t. You took the coward’s way out and caused a bigger problem for all of us. Sure, having Nancy up here sucks, but she’s not the only one stressing me out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do,” I say, dismissing him.
He leaves without another word and I am grateful, jumping right into my work. Both Garfield and Tyson are out today for court so I occupy myself with the work I missed from yesterday and studying a book of law Garfield gave me. When a styrofoam plate of what smells like my favorite philly cheese sandwich appears in front of me, my stomach grumbles.
“I got you your lunch. I remember you saying you loved the phillies from Franks,” McHottie says, surprising me.