Chapter 33. Toxic humor
Jackson looked at me in silence for a moment.
"It's not an ambush, I just..." I shook my head and raised a hand in the air to stop him from talking.
"Should I call the other department heads and ask if you summoned them to this emergency meeting?" He fell silent for a few moments and couldn't give me an immediate response. "Then, since this emergency meeting during my lunch hour never existed, I think you should make it up to me, right?" His cheeks flushed, and I couldn't help but smile. "I mean, it has to be a big and juicy... steak." Jackson got up from his chair and started pacing back and forth, probably thinking of a way out of this. After a moment, he stopped and looked in my direction.
"Um, I just found out everyone went out to lunch and..."
"Jackson..." I used my "Don't even try" tone, and he shook his head again.
"I'm being honest."
"Liar." He raised an eyebrow, astonished. "Has no one ever called you that?"
"You called me a liar," he exclaimed, very surprised and at the same time with a tone of feeling offended.
"Well, if I did, but..."
"Your lack of food makes you say things that aren't true." I raised an eyebrow; now he was trying to grasp at straws, but since I was hungry, I'd let it slide. Then I remembered what Maxine told me before she left, that moment when my discomfort surfaced.
"By the way, weren't you going out with Maxine to check out some properties?" He furrowed his brow.
"No, she said she would go alone from the start of the meeting." He stopped what he was going to say next, and his face showed he was deep in thought.
"She emphasized that you two were going to check out the properties and then..." I stopped my words, irritated again as I remembered the way she said it, how her face showed excitement.
"'And then...'" Jackson prompted me to finish my sentence.
"Well, that you two were going to have lunch," I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. "She boasted quite excitedly that you two often ate together at that steak place." Jackson raised his eyebrow again.
"I've never had lunch with her at a steakhouse..."
"'Johnson invited me to lunch after checking the properties, so we both won't be at the office...'" I mimicked her comment. "'There's a restaurant near those properties that serves the best steaks...'" Then I stopped when I saw Jackson's face like, "Did you just imitate Maxine?" "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Maxine told you that?" I nodded. "From the way you imitate her, it seems like it bothers you that she told you we were going to eat together..." Now I was the one blushing from his words.
"Do you think I'm jealous?" He pressed his lips, probably trying not to smile. "No." I emphasized. "Besides," I cleared my throat, "we agreed to be friends, right?" Jackson didn't answer and sat down in his chair next to me. "Jackson?"
"What?" He didn't look at me. "Are we going to be friends?" I subtly emphasized, and he slowly turned his face toward me, looking like that seductive type with sensual music in the background in a sexy scene... Oh my God, what's happening to me?
"Yes, I shook your hand to seal that we'd be friends."
"Ah, good," I cleared my throat again. "Then," I looked at my watch. "Shall we eat? You treat because of this emergency meeting you made up." I sounded amused, and for the first time since we entered the meeting room, he smiled discreetly to himself.
"I didn't make up any fake meeting," he paused, "you said you'd pay for the next meal. Remember?" He said in my direction as he stood up.
"Oh, fine, I can pay, but let's eat soon, or I'll strangle the first person who crosses my path right now." I said the whole sentence as I gathered my folder and stood up. He stepped in front of me, and I looked up at him and laughed. "You're funny, Jackson."
"Not as much as you with that big steak sign saying not to mess with your hunger." He opened the meeting room door, and we walked together to the elevator.
"No, you win with this emergency meeting thing." I defended myself.
"There was an emergency meeting, did you see the water bottles at each seat? If you don't believe me, you can ask my secretary." I narrowed my eyes.
"Fine, if there was an 'emergency meeting,'" I made air quotes, and he shook his head. "If we're going to be friends, you should know I have a very toxic and fun sense of humor." I pouted, the elevator arrived, and the doors opened. "I know an Italian place two blocks from here, does that sound good?" He made a face and shook his head.
"I want steak," he said, pressing the elevator button to close the doors in front of us.
"But since I'm treating..." he interrupted me by standing in front of me, with the doors at his back.
"Then I'll treat, I'm not in the mood for Italian right now."
"Fine, you treat." He smiled triumphantly, stepped aside, and I noticed he was amused.
We reached the lobby, and the security guard was waiting by the main doors. As we approached, he handed Jackson something, and I saw it was a set of car keys. He let me go first like a gentleman, and I followed him to the curb where I heard a car alarm, and the car behind the armored SUV flashed its headlights. "Is that your car?" I sounded surprised to see a new Bentley. "Is that the new Continental GTC model?" He smiled. "It's not even on sale yet..." He gestured with his hand as he opened the door for me to get into the passenger seat.
"So you know about cars," he said when he saw me settle into the seat.
"You don't know many things about me," I said challengingly.
"And it will be fun discovering them..."