Jennifer's face fell. She pulled the phone away from her face and checked the time. It was nearly five. Biting her lip, she pressed the phone back to her ear.
"Do you think you can wait until then?" Nicole's voice was hopeful.
After a moment of hesitation, Jennifer answered. "I'll have to talk to James and call you back."
"No, don't call. Rings in the middle of practice is a no go. Send a text or something."
"Okay, will do."
"It's so good to hear you, girl," Nicole said with satisfaction. "I hope I see you tonight. You can't be this close and not see me. It won't be right."
Laughing, Jennifer agreed. "Okay. I'll let you know as soon as I speak with James. Bye, Nicole!" They hung up and the dread sped to Jennifer's gut. From what she gathered, they weren't in a rush, but they weren't looking for a nighttime flight back to Chicago either. She placed her phone into her purse and continued to pace.
What were the odds that James would be okay with waiting for two hours? What would they do? Jennifer frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. She caught eyes with the driver of the vehicle. He was dressed in a dark suit and missing the jacket, but leaned against the car leisurely. He smiled at her and tipped his head, a bald man with a flat chest.
Jennifer sighed. Maybe she was just being selfish. She really wanted to see Nicole though. It had been so long since the two of them had seen each other face to face. It had been years; but, more importantly, Jennifer needed a friend now more than anything.
She needed someone to talk to about her feelings with these two different men. It was something she didn't understand. Of course it was possible to love many different people-but the type of love in question wasn't right.
On one hand, she had a man she had known for the past five years. He just happened to be her boss. Was that right? On the other, there was a man who intrigued her more than she could ever remember anyone else doing before. This man was interested in her too. But wasn't James?
Jennifer didn't understand what was happening, but one thing was certain. For too much of the trip she felt like she was relieving the past three years all over again where she looked for any sign that she might mean something more to James than just his great assistant.
He had given her more than she could have ever asked for. There was the touching, the smiling-the sudden invitation to his life. What was all of that about? It was all the things she had prayed about for so long but two weeks too late. Right? It was too late, wasn't it? Or did this mean she had a choice to make? And it was definitely a choice because she couldn't have both right?
Jennifer thought about the drink she shared with James in his office. It seemed days away, yet she knew it had only been hours. He told her then that he stood by everything he had said on Friday. That had to mean that he still felt that way about her. That meant she had a choice. If she wanted to, she could finally have him; but was that what she really wanted?
The sound of the front door to the house opening jolted Jennifer from her thoughts. James met her eyes immediately. He smiled, but it was less enthused. She looked to Melony, who had followed him to the door. At the short woman's side was her nearly adult daughter, big breasts and all. Jennifer pressed her lips together tightly. She would never understand the younger generation, she was sure of it.
The young teen gushed at James when he paused to face her. He kissed her forehead and stroked her chin. Melony watched him with a soft smile, as if to say, "Thank you."
"Are you guys coming with?" Jennifer asked.
Melony shook her head, and her daughter pouted. "I'm afraid not, Ms. Jennifer. Maybe next time?" The woman was so sweet, Jennifer couldn't help but feel the same sentiment towards her.
"If only," Jennifer answered.
Is that what she really wanted? Jennifer looked down and scratched her forehead. She remembered Andrew's email. She should read it, maybe even call him. That would help. To hear his voice and remember; she needed to him his voice again. That would help her choose, right? Or maybe it would just confuse her even more.
"Well, it was nice to finally meet you," Melony offered again. Jennifer turned to her and smiled weakly. She gave a nod and then looked to James. He gave the stunning duo a final wave and joined Jennifer at the short steps that led to the front porch.
After another round of polite goodbyes and good wishes for their return trip, they were free to retreat into the car. Inside, James coughed into his hands and rubbed them together as if it was cold outside, but it wasn't.
Jennifer watched him and for the first time, wondered what took him so long while he was inside the house. He turned to her and met her eyes. After a moment, he beamed.
"So, are we going to pick up your friend or what?"
"Oh, yeah, that," Jennifer stuttered. Her face fell and she instinctively pulled out her phone. She stared at the blank screen. "Um, we might need to eat without her," she continued in a small voice. "She's in a rehearsal right now and won't be free until 7:30." Jennifer avoided James's eyes.
She heard him move at her side from within the car. The driver was still resting outside the vehicle calmly. At her side, James checked his watch. When he didn't say anything, Jennifer finally looked at him. For a moment, they simply watched one another.
"What are you thinking?" Jennifer asked at last, unable to read James's face.
"If we wait until 7:30, we'll have to sleep in the city."
Jennifer raised a brow. "Really? We can't fly back at night?"
"We can, but I don't do it with chartered flights. I pay by the hour when I want a jet to wait for me so the pilot doesn't usually change." James explained. Jennifer nodded in agreement, but still didn't understand.
"So why can't we fly back?" She asked at length.
"It's just a precaution I take," James continued. "You know, private jet charters have a lot of crashes and deaths associated with them," he nearly whispered the last part. Jennifer's jaw dropped.
"Are you serious?"
James shrugged. "Yes."
"And you still use them?"
Laughing, James nodded. "Of course. It's usually just because of pilot error. They don't have the same regulation of commercial flights because of the private sector," he paused, "so private pilots tend to be more subject to the wrath of those that pay for the charters. I'm pretty relaxed about it, but others really give the guys a real hard time. Not me. If they can't see the runway, I'll miss my connecting flight. It's not worth my death. If there's a chance my pilot might be tired, I'll spend the night so that he can sleep."
Jennifer nodded, but then squinted at him. "Are you just making this up to get me to spend a night with you in New York?"
James laughed loudly. "No, you can look it up, it's true!"
The only thing that had been on her agenda for the next day were interviews. At the moment, she couldn't remember what James had planned, and that was rare. Her mind was too giddy with the thought of seeing Nicole.
They met each other's gaze again. For a brief moment, Jennifer wondered if the better thing would be to just go back home and end the close proximity to James. When she opened her mouth though, she was surprised at what came out.
"I don't know," she stammered.
James frowned. "You don't know what?" He asked with an awkward chortle.
Jennifer sighed and shrugged. She could have at least picked one or the other, but the truth was that she wanted them both and was terrible at making decisions. She opened her mouth, but James raised a finger.
"What do you want to do?"
"I don't want to leave," she replied without hesitation. The truth slipped out all too easy. It unnerved him and altered the air between them. James looked her over quietly.
"We don't have to leave," he said with a smile. James ran his eyes over her. "When's the last time you saw your friend?"
Jennifer opened her mouth, but then froze. She looked away from James and searched for a window. Nicole left Chicago around two and half years after she started working for James. It wasn't likely that Nicole would have been able to make enough money to come back from the New York, but Jennifer could have saved and flown out. She never did.
"It's been a long time," Jennifer said softly, still staring out the window. A pinch at her elbow made her turn and face James. He had touched her and his fingertips still lingered against the sleeve of the blazer she wore.
"How long?" He asked again.
Jennifer cleared her throat. "Over three years."
"Wow," he whistled for emphasis, and nodded out the window. Seconds later, the driver opened the car door and slipped in. James caught his attention immediately. "What's your take on traffic into Manhattan?" James asked the man. The driver pinched a pair of dark glasses on the bridge of his nose.