One Breathless Night(30)

The tour lasted longer than expected since his conference call had been pushed back an hour, but Jenna didn’t mind one bit. Watching Rick interact with his colleagues deepened her appreciation for what he did, which was a lot more science than chasing storms, and showed her how important he was to everyone there. She swelled with pride watching how everyone treated him. That they liked him was clear, but they respected him just as much. Even the interns. So much for believing Rick when he talked about how they all must hate him. She had a feeling he encouraged them to rise above what they thought they could do, which was never easy, but almost always worthwhile.

“And this is where I work when I’m not on the floor,” Rick said, holding the door for her. “As a rule I don’t spend much time in here. Although lately, yeah. When I work late I call you from here.”

Jenna grinned. When he worked late... That was always.

His office wasn’t very big or glamorous: a desk, a computer with a huge monitor, some bookshelves. “Sit,” he said, offering her a chair. “You look like you’re running out of steam.”

Boy, was she ever, and the chair looked inviting. But when her gaze caught on a large framed photo on his wall, she went straight for it.

The picture was grainy, but that didn’t matter. Almost the whole frame was filled by a massive tornado, black as night, its funnel a gigantic vacuum, sucking up everything it touched. That was terrifying enough, but in the foreground, looking impossibly small and vulnerable, was a man running for his life. The more she studied it, the more it looked like...

Her heart nearly leaped from her chest. She waited until she knew her voice would work. “Is that you?’

“Yeah, I know. It’s embarrassing,” Rick said. “That was in Kansas, about ten years ago. When I was still young and stupid.”

“You were awfully lucky,” she said, astonished she sounded so calm. If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve assumed that person hadn’t survived. Not just any person. Rick.

“Extremely lucky. That could easily have gone sideways.” Rick came up behind her. He stared idly at the picture while gently rubbing the small of her back, then smiled at her. “I’m sorry about the delay. Hard to predict these conference calls with so many people involved.”

She looked into his eyes and could’ve melted right there. She wondered if he even knew he was touching her. “I’m not sorry,” she said. “This has been wonderful. Everyone thinks so highly of you. But that’s no surprise.”

He just laughed. “I think they’re all jealous that I have such a beautiful friend.”

“I seriously doubt that, but thank you,” she said, while inside, her chest tightened, and not in a good way. It made no sense. He’d given her a compliment, and yet his use of the word friend had been like a soft punch to the gut. She’d called him a friend dozens of times. Because that was what he was. So...what the hell? “I hope I get to meet Antwan.”

“You will. He’s still in the meeting. Covering for me, actually.” Rick lowered his hand. “I have to go in a few minutes, after that I promise I won’t be long. I can bring you coffee, water, soda. We’ve got pretty decent vending machines if you want to go to the break room yourself.”

“Lead on, Macduff,” she said, “or as Shakespeare actually said, ‘Lay on, Macduff. And damned be him who first cries, “Hold, enough!”’”

He leaned into her. “God, English teachers are hot.” She glanced at the open doorway. Anyone could walk in and see them. He just laughed and said, “Come on, the break room is next door.”

He pushed his door open farther, and she completely expected a group of his coworkers to leap out of the way and pretend they weren’t eavesdropping. But nope. They were all grown-ups here. In her job it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between the teachers and the students.

As she passed, he whispered, “I’m so glad you’re here.”

The ache in her gut eased. She was glad, too. Glad she hadn’t spooked herself out of coming. It was scary, though. Six whole days. But since he only had three off, it was very much like a long weekend, and they’d already done that, so what could go wrong?

The break room was literally right next door to Rick’s office. She stopped at the entrance and scanned the place. “Why can’t our teacher’s lounge be like this?” The room was bright and cheerful with nice tables, two microwaves and well-stocked vending machines.

Rick poured her a mug—a real mug, not a foam cup—of coffee. “It’s not as good as the coffee at the smart apartment.”

“Nothing is. I wonder when I’m going to stop comparing.”

“Let me know. I think it might have doomed us for life.” He checked his watch and frowned. “I’ve got to go pretty soon. If you need singles...”

He was reaching for his wallet.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Thanks. I thought I might check my email while you’re gone. Go through all my social media.”

“You can use my computer if you don’t want to do it on your phone. The password’s taped to the inside of the top desk drawer. You’ll like using it.” He grinned. “You can look at my tornado escapades on my YouTube channel. I won’t be gone long enough for you to stream a whole movie, but we do have smoking-fast internet here. Anyway, I’ve got to go.”

“Fine. Don’t worry about me. I think I’ll accept the offer and wait in your office.”

He followed her into the hall, and then all the way into his office.

“What are you doing?” she said, laughing. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll miss watching you zip through all those photos and whatever. It’s very enlightening, seeing what you like and dislike on Tumblr and Reddit and Instagram and...”

“I’m never telling you anything again,” she said, blushing. “I only use Tumblr for work.”

“Right. I suppose you can quit whenever you want to.”

“I’d watch that smug look if I were you.”

He looked at the door, and then moved closer to her. Close enough that she needed to put her coffee down on his desk.

“I like knowing what matters to you,” he said, his voice very soft. “I wish I’d had time to do more with the town house, but the bedroom’s all set up.”

“I know.” She lowered her voice. “Skype sex, remember?”

“I thought we were never to speak of that again.” He leaned in, and she could feel his breath on her cheek. “Next time, I’ll come see you. Maybe do a presentation for your students.”

“Yes. Yes, I was just thinking that. I want it to happen so much.”

“I do, too,” he said, but it didn’t seem as though he was listening anymore. He didn’t even hesitate before he kissed her.

The spell broke seconds later when a distinctly Jamaican accent said, “Stop that right now. I’ve been waiting all day to meet her. Get a room later.”

Rick stood aside. “As you may have guessed, this is Antwan Clarke.”

“And you’re the lovely Jenna,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here for a few days. Maybe he’ll actually leave at six instead of hanging out here every night. It’s not good to work so much, even if it’s good work.”

Antwan was a tall, lean, dark man with shiny black hair, black slacks, a white button-down shirt and a pair of great-looking Converse shoes. His smile was as welcoming as the rapidly cooling coffee waiting for her. “You look different when you’re not on Skype,” she said. “And leaning at a forty-five-degree angle.”

“And you’re much more beautiful in person. I’d love to speak to you more, but I have to go to the same conference call as Rick here, so maybe lunch one day before you leave?”

“I’d love it.”

Rick turned to her but he didn’t kiss her. “See you soon.”

The two men left and she finally had the coffee she’d wanted along with a big chocolate-chip cookie she had in her purse. But she was still hungry and after she’d finished checking email, she gave in to temptation. Taking her wallet with her, she stopped just before entering the break room. Was it possible she’d actually heard her name?

“She’s the one he met in Boston, right?”

“I don’t know but she’s hot,” another man said. Someone Jenna immediately liked.

“He’s taken a hell of a lot of time off. According to Bev, he’s got like weeks of vacation built up. He never went anywhere with Faith.”

“Damn, she was hot, too,” the first man said. “Rick’s getting up there. Maybe he’s looking to get serious.”

“Who knows? I was a year younger than him when I got married.”

“If I had a woman like what’s-her-name, I’d think about getting married, too.”

The men started talking about a fantasy football league, so Jenna scurried back into Rick’s office, closing the door behind her. She sat down again in front of his computer, but the screen was dark, acting like a big mirror. She needed to chill. Relax. Any other time, she’d have been preening about those men calling her hot. And thrilled they’d thought Rick was lucky to have her. She just couldn’t muster the energy.