Page 4 of Mr. February

Gloria snorted the sip of coffee she had just taken, and Jenny tossed her long, shiny hair over her shoulder in a flirtatious manner.

“Yeah, I got it going on.” The two women tittered before Jenny continued.

“I’ll pass on the hook-up. I’d rather be single. Besides, I’ve got my own BOB; that’s all I need. If a guy’s not going to take the time to figure out what I like and what gets me off, relationship sex is just masturbation with extra steps. I’ve never had an orgasm with a guy, and I don’t think a hookup is going to change that.”

Gloria held up her coffee cup, and Jenny tapped it with her own.

“Amen. Nobody should have to put up with mediocre sex and crappy behavior, but I still think a hookup app is a good idea.”

Chapter 2: He Was No One’s Prince Charming

WADE

“You should get on one of those hookup apps, not a dating app. That way, you’ll be too busy rolling around in bed with other guys when Chad comes sniffing around again, and you won’t accidentally fall back into bed with that loser.”

At Gloria’s words, Wade Edison froze on the cusp of entering the break room. He just left a meeting with his boss, Elizabeth, whose office was down the hall behind the break room. As a result, he was only steps away from a cup of much-needed coffee, but he was also able to eavesdrop without being seen.

Though he couldn’t see Gloria, his hearing was excellent. She was likely talking to her close friend, Jenny. Wade waited with bated breath for Jenny’s answer. In particular, he wanted to know if she agreed to her friend’s suggestion. He hoped Gloria’s words meant Jenny was single.

He listened for a minute before he realized he needed to leave. If he didn’t, he was going to storm into the room and demand thenames of the assholes who told Jenny that bullshit about being too fat. She was soft and gorgeous and perfect.

God, if she only knew the number of nights he’d dreamed about her. It was embarrassing when he could hardly bring himself to talk to her. He never wanted to be the creepy guy who made a female co-worker uncomfortable, so he often avoided her unless she spoke to him first.

But that didn’t stop him from hoping he’d run into her as he went about his workday. It didn’t prevent his imagination from creating scenarios where he asked her out, and she agreed.

Jenny was sunshine and light, and everyone at the office adored her. She wasn’t like her predecessor, a dour, humorless older man. George kept to himself and acted like they were all beneath him because they played with computers all day while he dealt with the important financial affairs of the company.

No, it was a great day when their old finance head retired, and Elizabeth brought Jenny on as George’s replacement. Not only were their reimbursements handled quickly and without fuss, but she improved morale around the office with her cheerful personality.

There were more women at In-Tech than at other tech firms Wade had worked at, but most of them were so focused on being seen as equals that they never relaxed or tried to make friends. Jenny and Gloria were both exceptions to that, Jenny because she was so gregarious, and Gloria because she didn’t give a shit what anybody thought about her.

Even cranky old George liked Jenny, and he didn’t like anybody. George gave the first smile Wade had ever seen from him when Jenny gifted him a homemade cherry pie at his retirement party the week after she started.

Wade knew he had it bad. His best friend, Kyle, got a kick out of ragging him about his crush. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if his whole team knew about it. She was out of his league, but theywere all in the same boat: geeks, nerds, and awkward misfits one and all.

It would be beyond embarrassing if someone caught him eavesdropping. He pushed his long hair out of his face and adjusted his glasses. If he pretended to be looking at his phone, he could listen for a bit longer.

He should go back to the office he shared with Kyle or check in with his team. They’d been working on an issue when Elizabeth messaged him to discuss tomorrow’s staff meeting.

Now he remembered why he needed a pick-me-up.

Due to last-minute oral surgery, Kyle was unable to go to a conference with him next week as planned. His boss asked his opinion about Kyle’s replacement so she could announce it at their all-hands meeting tomorrow.

Everyone on his team was already committed, and he worried Elizabeth would stick him with Jeff. Wade hated that guy, and that was an understatement. He would have preferred George to that skeezy jackass. His sigh seemed too loud as he walked into the lunchroom, but apparently it wasn’t as loud as he thought.

“Nobody should have to put up with mediocre sex and crappy behavior, but I still think a hookup app is a good idea.”

Gloria’s voice sang out as he crossed the threshold into the breakroom. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jenny’s face flame bright red when she realized he overheard Gloria’s declaration. Wade didn’t comment, but his eyebrows shot up. He didn’t want to embarrass Jenny, but he was curious how this would play out.

“It’s from a book!” Jenny burst out. Gloria looked at her askance, but Jenny kept going. “Gloria and I were talking about a scene from a book and how she would have written it. Because it wasn’t very believable.”

A smile poked at the corners of his mouth, but he squelched it. If he hinted that he knew what they were talking about, Jennywould flee; he had no doubt about that. Even though he could stare at Jenny all day without getting bored, he purposefully shifted his gaze to Gloria.

“Is that so? Do you write romance novels in your spare time, Gloria?”

“No, but I could. Haven’t you ever read a book and knew you could do a better job because the author had a good idea but made a mess with it instead?”

He nodded. “I have, and there’s a whole industry around fan fiction.”

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