Page 41 of On Broken Wings

“I got something going on this morning. Wasn’t paying attention when I got dressed.” He sounded almost annoyed that I asked.

“Ok.” I lifted the coffee to my lips, and sipped.

“I’m sorry.” He sighed. “Just a lot on my mind right now.”

“Do you want to cancel tonight?” I hoped he’d say no because I was really looking forward to it, but I also didn’t want to keep him from something important.

“No.” He finally lifted his eyes to meet mine. “Taking you out tonight is going to be the highlight of my day.”

“I’ll see you at six then.” I grinned as I rocked up on my tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Evan seemed shocked, and rightfully so. I’d never done that before, but I’ve been getting braver lately, and I was trying to live my life, something my brother has been pushing for years.

“I’ll be there.” He pushed off the wall. “I really gotta go.”

“Have a good day.” I waved as I all but skipped up the steps and into the building.

ooooooooo

“Tell your boyfriend he shouldn’t be lurking in the shadows at a security firm.” Mark stepped into the hallway, startling me, as I came in to the building.

“Sorry.” I cringed.

“He shouldn’t be hiding if he’s got nothing to hide.” Mark disappeared back into his office and slammed the door.

“Oookay.” I furrowed my brow. I had no idea what was going on there, but Mark had always been the quiet type. He didn’t cause waves, and was fiercely protective of his girlfriend. He never barked orders at me.

“Ignore him. He didn’t get laid last night,” Dev called as he began walking toward my desk.

“But…” Mark poked his head out and shook it before disappearing again.

“You’re not doing anything wrong, Jenni. We love having you here. Just try not to loiter by the building.”

“I won’t. I’ll tell Evan to stop showing up here.” I lowered my voice to almost a whisper. I don’t know why it was a big deal, and I was sure that Evan wouldn’t stay away no matter what I said to him. He’d never stayed away in the past. Why would he start now?

ooooooooo

Evan

“We’re meeting at ten,” Michael barked into the phone. I’d just woken up, and my brain wasn’t working at top speed yet.

“I’ll be there.” I yawned as I rubbed a palm down my face. It had been a long night. I’d followed Dean to see where he was selling, and had almost run into Dev. I wasn’t far from his office, and I wondered how right he’d been about me being seen there and blowing my cover. What if Jenni had been leaving at the time?

“Don’t be late. Vince has more product.”

“I said I would be there.” I sighed. “Why wasn’t I on this buy?” I was angered at the fact that buys were happening without me. I was never gonna get this sting set up if I kept being left out of the loop.

“I went in your place. Boss seems to like me better.” Michael chuckled.

“I’m sure he does,” I thought to myself. Michael was always trying to get me out of the picture because truth be told, I was more liked by Vince than him. “Who made that call?” I growled.

“You don’t need to worry about that. Just be at Sal’s at ten.” The phone clicked, ending the call, and I rolled to my back in the bed.

As I lay there, I stared at the ceiling. I usually brought Jenni coffee in the morning. How the hell was I going to do that if I was at Sal’s? I couldn’t stand her up. We were supposed to go on a date tonight. I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize the way things were. We’d been doing really well lately, and were finally moving in the right direction. I almost kissed her last night, and I asked myself the entire drive home why I didn’t.

“Fuck it,” I muttered as I quickly climbed out of bed. I’d think of something. I was not missing either of these things today. I grabbed my usual black attire and shuffled to the bathroom for a quick shower.

ooooooooo

When I left my apartment, I rushed to the coffee shop to get Jenni’s caramel latte, and then headed to Ford Stevenson. It wasn’t far from where I needed to be, so it didn’t take me long to get there. I parked on the street, and then quickly moved between the buildings. The shadows would help hide me, and I could wait for her without worrying about being seen by someone I shouldn’t be.

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