"Processing the day or a certain someone?" Jenna asked. Her glasses made her face look smaller than it was and, for some reason, gave her a childlike look.
Her mouth fell open, and she could feel her heart thump in her chest. Jenna knew. Somehow, she'd found out and now all her hard work was going to be ruined.
"Apollo can be … hard to know," Jenna said but seemed to be having a hard time. "He just seemed so sure that he and Hannah were supposed to be together."
Val breathed a sigh of relief and then frowned. "Hannah?"
Jenna nodded, and her cute curls bounced around. "She's with Lucius."
A good number of the men she knew something about, but the women were mostly a mystery to her.
"But he wanted to be with Hannah?"
Something in her chest hurt to even say it, and it didn't make much sense to her. She didn't have feelings for Apollo. Not real feelings. Sure, he kissed like the devil, and through his clothes, Val was pretty sure he had a body to match the kissing, but that was just physical attraction. There was no way she had feelings for him. At least those kinds of feelings. Pity. That's what it was.
"That's what the men are saying at least." Jenna sighed. "If you can believe it, he used to be really friendly. He was probably one of the friendliest ones here. But something changed in him."
Val thought on that. She couldn't picture it. He seemed to always have a scowl on his face, irritation radiating off him. The thought of him smiling was almost weird for her. She didn't know if she even wanted to see him smiling genuinely. It would likely involve him standing over someone he'd just kicked the shit out of.
"What about you?" Val asked. "I've seen you with the dark-haired one."
Jenna snorted loudly.
"Rem? No." Her body language was snappish and almost hostile, but still, there was something sweet that lingered behind all that. Not love but something. "There's no way that egotistical, smart ass would ever … " Jenna took in a slow breath. "These men aren't for me. Besides, I've got my uncle to care for."
Val nodded, although she didn't really understand. For someone who didn't want a relationship, Jenna seemed to be spending a lot of time with one man.
Jenna stood and walked to the kitchen. Val followed. This was the best opportunity for her to get information without looking too suspicious.
"What about the other men? Do they have women? I met the doctor," she said slyly. "Is she with Sol?"
Jenna laughed loudly. Her eyes twinkled, and Val couldn't help but smile back. For being a mousy little thing, she sure had her moments.
"Not even close." Jenna grinned. "Rachel is with Marius. We were all a bit surprised when you were paired to work with Apollo. He's not really much of a computer guy, and Marius is usually the one they call."
Jenna opened up a few cabinets and pulled out some meat from the fridge. Val watched as Jenna started dinner with a sure hand. She quickly chopped onions on the cutting board and then swept them into the hot pan with oil.
"I kinda got the feeling that Apollo might be on babysitting duty because he was in trouble," Val said and sat in the chair at the breakfast nook.
Jenna glanced at her from the corner of her eye. Despite her appearance, she was a woman who noticed details. All Val could hope was that she didn't notice too many details about her.
"He is," she said and sighed. "Sorta. If he could just control himself a bit more."
Val frowned. "He's known for not keeping his hands to himself? I knew it couldn't be the first time."
Jenna turned fully to face her now. A clear expression of shock on her face.
"He's harassing you?"
Val looked to the side. She could already feel the heat as it flamed her face. "I wouldn't call it harassing," she mumbled.
Jenna shook her head and snickered a bit. "No," she said and turned back to her pan. "I suppose you wouldn't."
Val could feel her neck turning red from the embarrassment. Of course, Jenna hadn't been talking about him messing with women. His hot temper was the trouble.
"Well," Jenna gave a little laugh as she dropped the ground beef into the pan. "At least we know being assigned to you was the right decision."
She turned to look at Val and gave a warm smile. "You are just right for him."
Val's stomach did a little flip. Part of her was happy to hear that, but the other half knew that this wasn't what she was seeking. She opened her mouth to protest but stopped when Jenna suddenly handed her plates.