"Are you thirsty? Where are my manners," he stood and moved to the miniature bar built along the wall of his office. It sat to the left side and was always stocked with fresh juices for light mixed drinks, or heavy mixers to handle bad news.
"Now, if I remember correctly, you don't do commercial grade coffee, but would you like some juice or water?" James called to her over his shoulder.
Jennifer's eyebrows pinched at his words. Since when did he know what her preferences were? "Maybe some juice."
"Orange juice?" James chuckled. "How about a mimosa?" Jennifer couldn't help but grin. She eyed James carefully.
"What are you up to?" She asked him carefully, watching him as he turned to her with a genuine frown.
"What? What do you mean?"
"You," she chuckled slightly and shook her head as she tried to form words. "You're acting differently. You're not normally like this. Is there something you're not telling me?" James ran his eyes over her face thoughtfully. He stilled for a moment, and then suddenly shook his head.
"Not that I know of. It's just been awhile since you and I have shared a loose drink. Why not today?"
"Sounds like we have a pretty big fire to put out," Jennifer reminded him calmly.
James nodded, and lifted the bottle of water he had carried in his hand back to his mouth to finish off the rest of the contents. The skinny bottle was only half-full when he had initially reached for it. Now it was empty.
He dropped it into the wastebasket and crouched in front of the refrigerator. He pulled out a container of orange juice and half-empty bottle of Barefoot Bubbly and stood as he closed the door.
"I know it's not the best champagne out there," James remarked, "but you know I hate a fruity wine to go bad," he reached for two glasses hanging along the glass rack of the bar and set them down on the marbled surface.
"Why don't you come over here?" James asked, keeping his back to Jennifer. The bar consisted of a minifridge with a wine and glass rack to the right of the bar. To the left was a hanging counter with three stools to enjoy the drinks.
Standing, Jennifer held her hands in front of her and approached a stool to the left of the bar cautiously. It wasn't that she hadn't been asked to share a drink with James before. They had on many occasions. If all their time had been work and no play, the feelings she had grown to have for him might very well have been delusional.
What bothered her was that he had a knack and unusual ability to relax around her in a way she had never seen before, but still keep her at a distance. His walls were always up. Although his banter still seemed easy and loose, there was just something different about it. She felt like those invisible walls that had always been a silent reminder for her to keep her distance were gone. Like they had simply vanished over the weekend.
Jennifer didn't want to lie to herself and say that she wasn't happy about it. Somewhere, some part of her was overjoyed beyond belief; but there was another part of her, a more rational part, who approached this new side of James with caution.
Five years she had worked for the man and never had she known him to forgo formalities. He was a shark. That's who he was: James Melone. He was incredible at what he did and many, like herself, admired him for it.
Taking a seat pensively, Jennifer took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. She felt her body ease at the sound of the pouring juice and wine.
James finished by setting the bottles down on the counter top and handed Jennifer a glass. She took it with a pinch of her forefinger and thumb and held it tightly. She held James's gaze steady. He smiled at her, and then squinted his eyes playfully.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked in a voice that made Jennifer's skin crawl. She was starting to remember why she had fallen so hard for him.
Chuckling, Jennifer shook her head with reservation. She lifted the glass to her lips, eyeing James over the rim and took a sip. It was delicious. His eyes sparkled at her. He chuckled, shoulders heaving with the action. Lifting his own glass to his mouth, James paused.
"Do you remember the last time we had mimosa's together?" He asked the question before taking a swig of the drink.
Jennifer smiled and nodded. Of course she remembered.
"It was the opening night of Robert's sponsored band, wasn't it?" Jennifer asked the question as if she didn't really know the night he was referring to.
James nodded. "Yes, Mr. Field's gave me two complimentary balcony level loges. Remember that?"
With a soft smile, Jennifer nodded. The tickets were for James and Katie. Except Katie had missed a flight from Fresno and wasn't going to make it in time. In an effort to still honor the tickets, James asked for Jennifer to accompany him.
It might have been an awkward night if Jennifer hadn't already known the tension in his relationship. There wasn't much that James had to say in order to explain.
At the time, one of their highest-paying clients was sponsoring a debut gig at The Chicago Theatre. The partnership would help everyone involved and they had come to James looking for ways to boost their presence and reach. With the help of PR and the local news, they were able to launch something successfully for the young company who had chosen to invest heavily in the debut singer and musician. The owners would be there, they expected to see James, even if the tickets were complimentary.
He could have gone by himself, but the whole purpose of handing out the two tickets was also a nice gesture of thanks for the work that the company had done. These tickets were meant to be enjoyed. It was important for James's presence to be there, and not alone, but with someone else, preferably, a female. That's where Jennifer had risen to the occasion, but like it was a terribly difficult thing to do.
They received special catering throughout the event and were interviewed by local reporters covering the evening. Several professional photos were taken with the singer before and after the events. The whole thing was incredibly glamourous-Jennifer didn't understand how any woman attached to James's side would miss such an opportunity. But Katie had.
She was a flaky woman, or so it had seemed at the time. She didn't really like commitment and definitely didn't do well with appointments and a schedule. She liked to be free-but James was all about schedules and time slots.
Jennifer broke the eye contact as she remembered that she never gave James his morning run down. She lifted her eyes and met his gaze after some time. He was still watching her closely.
"So how about your schedule? I never looked over your engagements for today or the rest of the week," Jennifer admitted. She cleared her throat and turned the glass in her hand absently as she met James's eyes. The professional mode switched back on. "I'm assuming that this new turn of events have changed the priority of things."
Reality dawned on James slowly. After a few seconds, he dropped the rest of the mimosa into his mouth and swallowed. He forced a cough and cleared his throat as he stood.
"Yes, thank you for getting me back on track. I need to know how it's coming along with a new hire. Do you have anyone singled out?"
"To take the scheduler position?"
James nodded quickly. "Yes. If Larry doesn't sweep this mess up, we might all need to head back to Colorado to do some damage control."
Jennifer realized the statement was apparently meant as something negative when the smile dancing across her lips was met with disdain. She had pleasant memories from the mountainous state. Particularly, she smiled the most at the ones of climbing through the flying-insect infested forest towards the enchanted waterfall. She would love to go there again, especially, if it meant guaranteed one-on-one time with Andrew.
"That's not an option," James clarified quickly. Jennifer's smile dropped. "Although Seogen and Carnal are on top priority right now, it doesn't mean we can neglect those that came before them."
"Rocket Panda," Jennifer said with a nod.
"Yes, and all the others too. We're coming up on the quarterly review for several of our clients and we're going to need to start drafting something soon for them."
"You mean a re-evaluation of the fee schedule and contract?" Jennifer asked as she lifted the glass to her lips again. She had barely taken a sip and still had more than half of her mimosa swirling around in the cup.
James nodded. "I want you to hire someone within the next few days if you can."
Jennifer's eyes grew wide. She hadn't even conducted initial interviews. She opened her mouth to speak, but James held up a hand quickly.
"I need someone here to handle my appointments by last week."
"But James, we received over 100 applicants for the job posting. I didn't even make it public!" Jennifer countered.