Chapter 3

Lunch wasn’t that bad,in the beginning.Jaiden had chosen a sandwich shop about two blocks away that had wide tables where customers could eat and work,which was what we did.

The cashier flirted outrageously with him,as did the guy who made his sandwich.By the time we sat at our table,he looked annoyed.

“You seem to have a fan club wherever you go,”I said jokingly before biting into my bacon guacamole.Yum.

“I suppose I should be used to it by now,but it still gets on my nerves.”That surprised me.

“You don’t like being adored by men and women?”I’d never experienced that,myself.

He took a bite of his Cuban sandwich and chewed for a bit before replying,“I prefer to be adored by one person,and it needs to be real and not based on looks,my Armani suit,or my bank account.”Huh.

“I see.”

We finished our meal before delving into the documents Jaiden had brought with him.This time,I made sure to pay attention to what he was saying,though it was distracting as hell being so close to him.

When it was time to go back to work,I thanked him for lunch and grabbed the folder we’d been reviewing.Unfortunately,when I stood,I bumped into one of the customers who’d been typing on her cell phone with one hand and carrying her sandwich in the other,her drink held under an armpit

The drink went all over my suit,and in the ensuing madness,I stepped on her sandwich and skidded on the floor,landing on my butt.All I heard was laughter and the screams of the woman calling me an asshole and saying I needed to pay for her meal,and so on.

Somehow,the folder remained dry.I got up,noting the state of my attire,and decided it would be best to go to my apartment,which was only a few blocks away,and change.I looked up to see Jaiden pacifying the woman,charming her with his smile and buying her another meal.I left them to it.

I returned to my desk forty-five minutes later,freshly changed and ready to put the debacle behind me.I didn’t even want to know what Jaiden thought of me right now.

“You’re back late.Something happen at lunch?”Heather asked,her smirk informing me that she already knew.God,how many people from the company had been at the sandwich shop?

“Nothing more than the usual,”I mumbled and focused on my computer.When I tried to get to the Finance drive on the server,I remembered that I needed to get IT to give me access.At least it gave me an excuse to get away from Heather for a few minutes.

I headed for the first floor where IT was housed and found Melvin,the guy everyone went to for help.I hated him because,as good as he was,he was a mean sonofabitch with a caustic tongue.At least I knew he wasn’t just picking on me.He did it to everyone.

“What’s up,Awkward Al?”was his usual greeting,and he didn’t disappoint this time.

I rolled my eyes.“Need access to Finance on the server.I’m working with Jaiden Greyson.”

“Oh,yeah,I got an email from him.Give me a sec.”He set aside the tiny screwdriver he’d been fiddling with and typed on his keyboard for a minute.“You now have access to Finance,”he said as he pressed the“Enter”button.He swung around his chair and grinned at me.“So,you getting up close and personal with the new guy?”

“What—no!He’s my boss,and I just met him.”This was turning into a very surreal conversation.

“Wouldn’t blame you if you did.That man is all kinds of fine.But you really need to work on the klutz and the confidence,man.I used to be just like you,when I was a teen,but I learned fast that being mean got me respect.”

At my dubious expression,he said,“Well,it keeps people at arm’s length,anyway.And who are you to judge me anyhow?You should try something new,like maybe lose the bowties and try to find a suit that fits you.If you want,I can get my boyfriend to give you a discount.He works at a men’s clothing store.”

I gaped at him.“You have a boyfriend?”

He winked.“Wonders never cease,right?”He swung his chair back around and picked up his screwdriver again.“Get lost,Awkward Al.I’ve got work to do.”

I left quickly and got back to my desk,focused on impressing the hell out of Jaiden and thinking up ways not to be a total failure in front of the man.This would take some doing.