Page 26 of Mr. February

“Mine. I’m so stupid. I’m so unused to men being nice that I read everything wrong. I threw myself at him, but he made it very clear he wasn’t interested.”

“You can’t be talking about Wade. I know he’s interested. You must have misunderstood.”

“He told me I didn’t have to worry about him coming on to me. That’s pretty damned clear,” Jenny snapped but immediately felt contrite. “Sorry, it’s been an emotional day. I’ll give you all the details later. We’ve only got a few minutes before we need to check in for the conference.”

“Oh, they have the best off-site events. You don’t want to miss them!”

“So I’ve heard,” Jenny said dryly. “I need to freshen up before we run the gauntlet again, but here are the highlights. I met Suzanne and implied he and I are dating because she’s been hanging all over him. We’re sharing a suite, because all the single rooms were booked up. He told me not to worry because he doesn’t think of me like that, and he gave me a lock for my door. Now, he’s working on a schedule, so we don’t have to interact or see each other if we don’t want to.”

Jenny took a quick breath and rushed to get the rest of it out.

“But that’s not all. While he dealt with some work, I listened to one of my audiobooks and got all nipply in front of him. He was so horrified by my breasts he forgot how to speak. Oh, and then that audiobook played over the speakers of the car while we were driving. Of course, it was on a very sexy scene, and naturally I dropped my phone so I couldn’t turn it off right away. That’s when you called.”

Gloria’s laughter rang in Jenny’s ears.

“Girl, you are hilarious! I know you’re just yanking my chain. There’s no way all that has gone on in the five hours since you left!”

“I’m considering witness protection, or I could just find a new job, I guess. That would be cheaper, but it would suck.”

“Wait, are you serious? Did that happen?”

“Yes,” Jenny’s voice rose to near hysteria. “Yes, it all happened and more. Right now, I need to pee and redo my hair and makeup in case I have to battle a gorgeous, evil witch again. I’ll call you back once I have some free time.”

“Holy shit, woman! I can’t wait for the long version of all of that. You’d better call me back. But I still think you’re wrong.”

“Wrong about what?” Jenny asked.

She was distracted. After a glance at the time, she realized she needed to get a move on it if she didn’t want Wade to think she was one of those women who took forever to get ready. Jenny sorted through her toiletries bag and suitcase to gather what she needed.

“You’re wrong about Wade. I doubt he was horrified by your breasts. As I’ve said a million times, you’ve got a great rack. He might have been embarrassed or stunned, but that’s not the same thing. The audiobook thing sounds hilarious, and I want to know more about your run-ins with the evil witch.”

“I’ll call you later, but right now—“

“Before you hang up, look in your laptop bag.”

“What? Why?”

“I got you a present, just in case you didn’t jump on my ride-a-geek plan.”

Jenny snorted, but talking with Gloria always eased her anxiety.

“I’m scared.” And she was. God only knew what Gloria would deem equivalent to a conference hookup. “Your ideas are sometimes…”

“Brilliant? Astonishing? Life-altering?”

“Outlandish.”

“Same thing. But hurry up! I want to know what you think! Actually, no, wait. Hang up and call me back on video. I want to see your reaction.”

“Oh, God. You got me a dildo, didn’t you?”

Jenny saw her blush spreading in the mirror as she said the words out loud. She could read the most provocative things in her books, but real life was a different story. Her confidence level would never let her act out her fantasies.

“I didn’t get you a dildo,” Gloria retorted. Then she snickered. “I got you a vibrator. I bet you didn’t bring anything with you.”

“I shouldn’t have brought anything like that, but I did, and now I’m being punished for it,” Jenny replied. “But it’s moot. I’m on a work trip, and now I’m sharing a suite with a co-worker. There’s no way I could possibly—“

“Oh, yes, you could. A hot bath, a glass of wine, one of your books, and you’ll be fine. I’m sure the walls are thick enough that he won’t hear the buzzing. It might be good if he did. Then you’d know I’m right about his interest.”

---