Page 18 of Jake Forever
At the thought, something in my heart twisted. Forget the job. A life without Jake? It pained me just to think about it. But it would pain me even more if I was without Jakeandout on my ass with no way of supporting myself.
"What do you mean?" Anthony said. "You think he'd fire you?"
"I don't know," I said. "But either way, I'd have to leave."
I'd seen this dynamic play out before. The job he'd been offering me had to do with my degree in Hospitality Management. He wanted me to handle the same stuff that Bianca, his previous event planner, used to handle.
There was only one problem. I'd seen firsthand how that arrangement had worked out for Bianca. Technically, Jake had been her client, not her employer. But in the big scheme of things, that distinction hadn't really mattered.
Things between them had gotten friendly – too friendly, the way it sounded. And then, when their relationship – if you could call it that – had ended, she'd gone more than a little crazy.
I didn't know what she was doing now. But if I knew Bianca, she was dying to get her old position back. And who knows? If I kept turning Jake down, maybe she'd even get it.
The whole thing was giving me a headache. Or maybe it was just a hunger headache. I glanced at the pizza box. That last slice of pizza was still there, looking surprisingly delicious all things considered.
Steve gave the box another nudge in my direction.
I gave him an irritated look. "Stop that."
He grinned. "Stop what?"
"Youknowwhat. Besides," I lied, "I'm not even hungry."
Steve looked to Anthony. "So, you want the bet or not?" He pulled out his wallet, dug out a ten-dollar bill, and slapped it onto the table. "I still say she eats it."
Anthony turned to give me a long, speculative look. "I dunno, she looks kinda tempted."
Suddenly, I felt like an animal in a zoo – at feeding time, no less. "Look," I said, "I'll save you both some trouble. I'm not eating that thing. Bet on something else, okay?"
Ignoring me, Anthony reached for his own wallet and pulled out a ten of his own. He tossed it onto the table and told Steve, "You're on."
Smiling like he'd just won the lottery, Steve said, "Sucker."
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I'd come here for a distraction. And yeah, they were providing it and all, but somehow, I'd envisioned something a little more comforting.
Like pie. Pie would be good.
My happy thoughts of pie were interrupted by Steve saying, "So, tell us. How madwereyou last night?"
I gave a little shake of my head. "Huh?"
"We saw Jake's new video," he said. "That was some crazy shit."
"You mean at the convention center?" I said. "Yeah, no kidding." I still hadn't seen the video, but if I knew Jake, itwouldbe crazy, because they were all crazy – sometimes violent, sometimes funny as hell, always entertaining, assuming you weren't the squeamish type.
Anthony's voice interrupted my thoughts. "So, who was the girl? You know her?"
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "What girl?"
"The one in the video."
I stared blankly at him. I had no idea what he was talking about. "There was a girl?"
Anthony glanced toward Steve, but said nothing.
"What's going on?" I said.
Anthony turned back to me and said, "You haven't seen it?"
I gave him an exasperated look. "Seen what?"
With obvious reluctance, Anthony reached up into an overhead bin. He pulled his small, tablet computer and fired it up. I braced myself, wondering if it was something I'd even want to see.
Five minutes later, I had my answer. And that answer was a definite no.
