Page 66 of Written By a Woman

“What do you normally like to listen to?” Signe pressed.

Jacqueline’s body tensed, before she met Signe’s eyes, “I don’t know, a little bit of everything I guess.”

“Speaking of music, want to hear my latest Taylor Swift theory?” Jamie spoke up, giving Jacqueline a friendly smile as she waited for our answers.

Signe gave up her interrogation of Jacqueline’s music preferences, settling in her seat and giving me a look as if we were both in on some sort of secret.

I just stared at her, hoping for some sort of explanation, before she smirked and turned away, focusing on the conversation happening around us. So, I looked back at my food, quietly listening to the women chatting around us. I noticed while sitting at the table, observing the women chatting, how Jacqueline seemed to relax a little bit more as time passed.

She wasn’t nearly as talkative as Signe or Mary, but she still seemed less…stiff.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket as the conversation ensued. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I saw that my family text thread was going off as my mother tried to plan dinner with my sisters and Ben.

As well as the separate sibling chat that I had with Raina and Salma.

Raina: Any updates on Red?

I smirked before thumbing back my response.

Me: No. Go away.

Raina: But I want to know if anything is happening, because she’s still posting about the book. Did she tell you about it at all?

I furrowed my brows.

Me: No, not yet.

Salma: Do you need some advice on how to woo a lady? Small, casual touches go a long way if done correctly, is all I’m saying.

Me: I think I’m capable of wooing all on my own, thanks.

I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest at the question, remembering all of the times in the last few weeks that Signe had laughed and gently tapped my arm with the back of her hand. A few days ago, I said something to her laced with heavy sarcasm, and I’m upset that I couldn’t quite remember what it was that I said because it made her bend over laughing as she grabbed my forearm to brace herself.

I was too distracted beaming from the grip she had on my arm to remember what made her laugh so beautifully.

“Is our conversation boring you?” I heard Signe ask from my side. I quickly checked the time and closed out of the text thread, shifting in my seat so I could slide the phone into my jeans pocket.

“No,” I replied with raised brows, “I would much rather discuss Taylor Swift theories than get ready for my next meeting.”

“I could write down the notes from this important discussion for you to review after your meeting,” Signe winked at me, and I couldn’t stop the jump in my pulse from the sight even if I wanted to.

I nudged her arm with my elbow, a move I hadn’t done a ton in the last few weeks but was thrilled to find an excuse for whenever an opportunity arose, “I expect a full debrief on why Mary thinks every song in her newest album is about that one guy from that one band in an hour.”

Signe gave me a thumbs up along with her bright smile, making Mary and Jacqueline chuckle at our plan. Jamie’s eyes bounced between us, a small grin on her lips.

“Enjoy your boring meeting,” Signe wiggled her fingers at me as I stood up from the break room table, turning back to the discussion with the other women.

I met Jacqueline’s eye behind Signe’s back, a look on her face that I couldn’t decipher, and decided that I didn’t want to. The last thing I needed was for the head of HR to sniff out my inappropriate crush on our office manager. Jacqueline was loosening up the longer she worked at Sun Steer, but I didn’t want to make her suspicious since I had already directly asked her about the ethics of workplace relationships.

I nodded politely in farewell at her, and excused myself, shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans and wondering how much longer I could keep my attraction toward Signe a secret.

ChapterFifteen

ZAID

Even though Iassured my sisters that I knew how to woo a woman, the reality was, I had no idea what I was doing most of the time I interacted with her. My only hope in flirting with Signe in a way she appreciated, was by researching what women like Signe liked online.

I would rather shave my entire body with a dull razor than admit to my sisters that I probably could use some advice, and I didn’t want to encourage them to take a page from our mother’s book and insert themselves into mine and Signe’s hypothetical relationship.

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