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Paige
***
“Welcome back, Paige!” Jill greets me all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I walk into the office on Wednesday morning. She’s always so chipper.
I carry my twenty ounce cup of coffee in one hand and my briefcase in the other. “Good morning, Jill,” I say, smiling at her. I continue hustling, heading straight for my office. I’m not in the mood for small talk, and I sure as hell don’t need her to start assuming shit.
Wait. Am I overreacting? What would she assume? As far as anyone knows, I was sick. Jax is the only one who received the candy gram, but he has no clue it’s from me. At least, I hope not.
Once I reach my office, I unlock the door and try not to look over my shoulder toward Jackson’s office. He may or may not be in there, but I don’t want to make any type of eye contact with him just yet. I need to prepare myself... just a little bit longer.
Once I walk in, I’m greeted by a shitload of folders scattered across my desk. Some are in stacks, practically reaching the ceiling... OK, I’m exaggerating a little, but still... this is ridiculous; I’ve only been out two days.
I move the files to the side and then place my bag and coffee down. After that, I plop down into my chair, inhaling deeply. I try not to, but I can’t help but look right into where Jackson’s office is. Lucky for me, he’s not in yet.
I let out a huge sigh of relief as I begin organizing the files on my desk. After a few moments, I log into my overflowing email account. Once it looks somewhat tidy, I take my first sip of coffee. I usually don’t bring in my own, but since I’m desperately trying to avoid people today, I decided to make sure I had some. The less I’m walking around aimlessly in the hallways, the better.
I pick my coffee cup up once more to take another sip, but I’m suddenly thrown off guard.
“Knock, knock...”
I slowly look up from behind my coffee mug. I know that voice. I could make it out in a crowd of thousands of people. That sexy, low voice... It could belong to no one else but Jackson Fierce.
As my eyes meet his, I take a quick gulp of the sip I had just taken and place my cup down onto my desk.
He chuckles nervously and takes two steps inside my office.
“Jackson. Good morning,” I say in a quiet tone.
“Hey, Paige. Feeling better?” He continues walking ‘til he reaches my desk. Damn, he looks good. The fact that no modeling agency has ever asked him to model business suits for them is beyond me. The way they fit on him like a glove makes my mouth water. He takes a seat in the chair opposite from mine and smiles at me.
Fuck, am I drooling?
I quickly put my hand up and pretend to lean my head on it, but I’m low-key wiping the corner of my mouth to check for drool. Nope, no drool, thank God.
Wait, did his eyes just dip from my eyes to my chest? I must be seeing things.
“Yes, thank you. I am. Must have been like a forty-eight hour bug or something, you know?” I lie, thinking of anything to save my ass.
He furrows his brows. Yeah, he’s not buying that. He’s not stupid, and I know that.
“Yeah. Sure... I hear something’s going around.” He adjusts his tie and then says, “Well, the main thing is that you’re better now. We are swamped with cases we need to take care of.”
“I know. I had just signed in and noticed my inbox was beyond full. Not to mention the thousands of manila folders stacked up like mountains and spread out across my desk welcoming me when I walked in.”
He chuckles, and I’m transfixed. God, I love the sound of it.
OK, I really need to get a hold of myself.
He nods his head. “This is why I try to not ever get sick.”
“Exactly.”
He offers me another smile and then goes to get up. Fuck, as nervous as I am knowing that the candy gram was delivered to him, I still don’t want him to leave. “All good on your end?” I try, stalling.
He goes to say something, but then suddenly stops.
“What? What is it?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Nah, no. Forget it, it’s nothing.” He spins around, starting to walk out the door, when suddenly, he flips right back around and takes his seat again. “Well, yeah. Actually, I do want to ask you something.”
Oh, fuck. He knows! He knows, and I’m going to die!
“Y-yeah?” I swallow hard, sweat beads beginning to form on my forehead. My right leg bounces uncontrollably, and the butterflies in my belly begin going nuts all over again.
Get it together, Paige! Get it together!
He squints his eyes and then begins talking in a hushed tone. “So, I received this really interesting piece of mail yesterday when I got home from work.”
Oh, my God... he knows it’s me. He’s going to confront me and ask me if I’ve lost my goddamn mind. I know he’s going to tell me I’m crazy. We’re just friends... co-workers, after all.
“Oh?” I hesitate. What more can I possibly say? That I know exactly where he’s going with this and that I’m really sorry? Maybe I should just apologize and tell him it was all my crazy friend’s idea? Oh, my God... this seriously cannot be happening. This cannot be my life. Ugh!
“Yeah...” he leans in closer and continues in his low voice. “It’s actually really sweet... it was like a love note with a lollipop attached to it... I can’t think of the word...”
“Candy gram?” I suggest.
“Yes! That’s it! A candy gram! That’s exactly what it was! Shit, Paige... if I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was from you!”
Now there’s a thought...
He chuckles again, and I join in, giggling nervously.
I wait for him to say more because right now, I’m at a total loss for words. But thank God, he doesn’t know it’s from me. He doesn’t even suspect me. I should definitely be feeling relieved, but knowing that he’s going to see me there at the proposed meeting location tomorrow, I still feel like I’m hyperventilating.
“Oh, I see,” I add.
“Yeah, here. I’ll read it to you.”
Oh, fuck. Shoot me now. I think my cheeks are bright pink by now. How am I going to ever survive this day as well as tomorrow night?
He pulls out his iPhone and begins looking through it. I look over and see he’s opened up his camera roll. Great. Of course, he took a picture of the damn thing.
When he finds the picture he’s looking for, he sits back and begins reading for me to hear.
“Your secret admirer wants you to know, that she has been wanting to hold you so. The feelings she feels for you are so intense, she hopes you’ll soon bring her happiness. Enjoy this treat, a special lollipop, that with each lick and suck, you will make her heart stop...” He stops reading for a moment to look up at me. “Isn’t that kind of kinky?” He chuckles, shaking his head but doesn’t wait for me to respond. He picks up right where he left off.
“Listen, there’s more. So if you indeed get a sugar rush, meet her on Valentine’s Day, and find out who’s your special crush. Jackson Fierce, your presence is required on Thursday, the Fourteenth of February 2019 at the Harborstone Pier at seven p.m. sharp.” Once more, he looks up at me and says, “Isn’t that funny? That’s one of our favorite spots.”
I giggle nervously yet again. “Yeah... funny.”
“Wait, there’s a bit more. You, along with nine other singles will be assigned to a table to enjoy a fun night of painting and devouring the sweetest treats. Candies and chocolates will be spread across the tables while you paint the gorgeous scenery over the pier. The one who sent this candy gram to you will be there, sitting across from you. Do not disappoint your secret admirer and crush her dreams. Give in to your sweet tooth...”
He puts his phone back into his pocket and then says, “I can’t for the life of me figure out who it’s from.”
“Yeah,” I say.
“Well, I was hoping you would be able to help me. It just says secret admirer. I have no idea who it could be, but since we’re so close, and you pretty much know everything about me, maybe you can help me figure out who it is before I meet her tomorrow... whoever she may be.”
I take a sip of my coffee. I need the warm beverage to soothe me right now because I’m going to lose my shit. “I-I really don’t know, Jax.” Trying to turn the tables on him because I don’t like the spotlight on me, I ask, “Do you have any suspicions at all as to who it might be from?”
“Yeah, I’m not sure.” He turns his head around to look toward the receptionist’s desk and then says, “I was thinking Jill. She’s always super nice to me... smiling and all. I can’t tell if she’s flirting with me or if that’s just how she is with everyone.”
Fuck, I can’t have him thinking Jill likes him. What if he then begins liking her? I’ll lose any chance I may have with him. She’s so pretty and sweet, I would never stand a chance. Someone like me against her? Yeah, right.
“Are you serious? No way, that’s just her personality. She’s sweet and always smiling at everyone.”
“Hmm, you’re right.” He stops talking momentarily before saying, “I do have another suspicion.”
Fuck, please don’t say me... please don’t say me.
“Yeah?” I ask.
He nods his head three times. “My best friend’s sister, Candace. I think I’m going to give Tristan a call right now.”
Candace? I don’t know Candace. I know his best friend is Tristan, but I’ve never met him. I’ve only heard him talk about him every so often. Who is Candace, what is she about, and what does she look like? Fuck, I wonder if I just pushed him into the arms of another woman.
He rises from his seat and smiles at me. “Thanks, Paige. You always know how to help me. You are a great friend.” He turns around and walks out of my office.
A great friend...fuck. I’ll never be anything more to him. He doesn’t see me as anything else. But, on the bright side, he doesn’t suspect me. And until tomorrow night, when he sees me at the pier alongside the other couples Single Status hooked up, he’ll have no freaking clue.
Mission one: accomplished.