He made the time-out sign.
I tore off my gloves and climbed out of the ring in search of my water bottle.
Jens sat beside me. “Tell me about her.”
“Lennox is . . .” I chugged a mouthful of water. “She’s smart. Got a bit of an attitude, which is how I initially noticed her. And she’s hot. She’s got this curvy body that’s . . . amazing. We’ve been out a few times and she’s funny. She’s blunt. She’s sexy as hell. She’s lived on the wild side, but she’s settled down since then.” I liked her wild side, even though it killed me to hear why she became that way.
“Is she that wild between the sheets?”
“I imagine she will be.” I felt Jens looking at me.
“What do you mean, you imagine. Are you saying you haven’t hit that yet?”
“Nope.”
“Is that by mutual decision? Or is she one of those ‘number of dates’ chicks?”
Confused by his phrasing, I looked at him. “‘Number of dates’?”
“You know. The women who have set a minimum number of dates—three, five or even ten—before they’ll consider getting naked with you.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
“If anyone is holding back, it’s me.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” I let my head fall back against the wall. “Actually, I do know. Sex screws things up. I don’t want to fuck this up, Jens. I really like her.”
“Sounds like it.”
When he didn’t razz me or start offering lewd advice, I knew he was holding back. “Just spit out whatever you’re thinking.”
“Don’t get pissed.”
“Nothing good ever starts that way.”
“I know. Look, both Nolan and Ash cornered me at the party yesterday. They think this Lennox chick might be playing you.”
That floored me. “Why the hell would they say that? They don’t know her.”
“Evidently she’s ambitious.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It is, if her ambition is to hook up with one of the big bosses.” Jensen fiddled with the cap on his water bottle. “Did Ash tell you that he’s worked with her?”
“With Lennox? No.”
Why hadn’t Lennox mentioned it? And why hadn’t she mentioned her time in Annika’s department?
“What happened?”
“Ash didn’t go into all the details beyond saying his admin complained to Personnel and Lennox’s supervisor about her overstepping boundaries in her role as a clerical worker. Basically Nolan said the same thing.” Jensen sighed. “I hate being the one to tell you this stuff. I don’t even work at LI, so to me it all sounds like interdepartmental politics.”
“Nolan’s worked with her too? Then why did they both act like it was the first time they’d met?”
“Not Nolan personally, but Nolan’s—”
“Let me guess—Nolan’s admin has had run-ins with Lennox.”
“Yeah. More than one time. She complained to Anita. Anyway, Anita suggested to Archer that the office temp concept had run its course.”
And as per company protocol, Archer had requested an internal audit before making his recommendation.
Dammit. This was not what I needed to hear. Not because I believed Lennox had done anything wrong—but she had stirred up a hornet’s nest. Rather than the queen bee going after Lennox, she targeted the entire temp staff. “Did Nolan and Ash ask you to talk to me?”
Jensen shook his head. “They specifically asked me not to talk to you. But it felt like that reverse psychology crap. Afterward, I decided it’s much easier to get knocked on my ass all day long than to deal with the corporate bullshit.”
At least I could laugh at that.
*
Two knocks sounded on my outer door, and then Jenna strolled in. “So I hear you came out to your family this weekend.”
I looked up from my computer. “Did you get to yell at your husband first thing this morning? Is that why you’re in such a good mood on a Monday morning?”
“And you’re in a lousy mood considering you took Miss Greene to the Lund family shrine yesterday.”
“How’d you already know that? It’s barely nine in the morning. And we haven’t told anyone besides my family.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how stupid that statement was. “I assume Maggie is the culprit.”
“No, sir, your mother is the culprit. Maggie is just the air horn that your mother chose to make the announcement.”
“Please get me the bottle of Laphroaig out of the cabinet. I’ll need something stronger than coffee to get me through the morning.”