Page 38 of Unofficial

"Good morning," Tiffany says, her eyes narrowed. "You look weird."

Stopping, Jess stares back at the woman behind the receptionist desk. "Excuse me?"

"I don't mean to be mean, but-"

"Jess! There you are!" Paul says and hurries over to her. "I tried calling you this morning, but I just got your voicemail."

Her eyes look at the clock, and she's still fifteen minutes early. "Sorry, my phone died this weekend, and I didn't notice. Is everything okay?"

He leads her to her office. "We have a problem with the pizza place project."

"Tony's Pizza?"

"Yep."

Closing her eyes, she sets her bag down on her chair before letting out a sigh. "The Historical Society?"

"What else would it be?" he asks with a roll of his eyes.

Grabbing her phone, she plugs it into the charger she has on her desk and grabs her laptop. "I suppose we should schedule a meeting with them."

"Oh, they're here. And they won't talk to anyone but you. Ironic, since I own the company, but I don't really like them much anyway. Have fun."

Jess watches him walk away with a smirk on his face, and she groans. She changes her mind and decides this is not the way to start a Monday. Squaring her shoulders, she walks into the conference room to find the five people she normally only speaks with on the phone waiting for her. None of them look particularly happy, and she just prays she has enough willpower to get through this without screaming.

After a three-hour meeting, Jess finally makes it back to her office. The committee was adamant things needed to change, and they put her through the ringer as they shot down almost every solution she came up with to their concerns. She hadn't even had a chance to check her email, and she groans as she opens the program to find fifty-seven unread messages.

"For crying out loud," she mutters.

She checks her phone to find it fully charged, and she turns it on. She has three missed calls in her notifications, and she expects to see her mother's name appear. Her mother has an irrational response to any type of stress, and she will call multiple times for an emergency that turns out to be nothing more than an annoyance. Instead, her jaw drops as she sees the name.

"Saturday night? Kade called three times on Saturday..." Her hand presses against her stomach as it rolls. "He's the one who called when..."

What the hell are the odds he'd call when she finally went to bed with Landry? Only she would have this type of luck. But three calls? Was something wrong? It's not really her place to be concerned with his life anymore, but she can't stop from worrying.

"What if it was something with Drew's kids?" she asks aloud. "No, no, stop it, Jess. You don't have a right or an obligation anymore."

Paul pops his head into the office. "Did you say something?"

Jess jumps. "No, just talking to myself."

"How'd it go in there?"

"Thanks for throwing me to the wolves alone. That was very considerate of you."

He just smiles and winks. "I knew you could handle it. I'm going to order in lunch for everyone. Any requests?"

Like she can eat right now? "No, whatever you order will be fine."

Narrowing his eyes, he fully steps into her office. "Jess, what's wrong?"

Confusion. She is utterly and overly confused. "Nothing. I just need some air, I think. This was more than I bargained for on a Monday morning, and I feel a little foggy. I think I'll take a quick break and walk around the park. I'll be back."

"Are you sure?"

She stands and walks to the doorway, her phone in hand. "I'm sure. Call if you need anything." She walks a few steps down the hallway before turning back to look at him. "For lunch... just no onions, okay?"

Paul laughs, seemingly satisfied she's okay. "You got it."

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