The Wrong Girl Chapter 9 Part 2

Jake

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The next day, all that kept spinning through my mind were Olivia’s words. “She watched you a lot when you weren’t looking. She smiled at you a lot.”

But did that actually mean anything? Ellie smiled a lot in general. She smiled at everyone. It was part of why she was so damn charming—Ellie never met an enemy, just a friend she didn’t know yet.

Obviously, she was smiling more at me now than she had the first couple of weeks we worked together, but that didn’t really signify anything since she was clearly pissed at the situation then. So just because she was more comfortable with my presence now didn’t mean there was any interest attached.

But what if there was? In the military, there’s a very strict chain of command. Definitive rules on who you can date, and what happens if the person you want to date is in the no-fly zone. 

The boss is definitely in the no-fly zone.

But technically, Ellie wasn’t my boss. JJ was. And if I stayed on, it was just as likely that I would be in a different department. More than likely, if Ellie wanted to date me, too.

However, Aspen Ridge was run by people who were all basically family. Would any of them really be fine with me dating Ellie?

Just thinking about it was enough to tie my stomach up in knots.

It was baffling. There was no way this would work. I had to put her out of my mind and just hold out until I got out of this office. With any luck, in a couple of months I’d be working in a completely different building and I wouldn’t have to catch the tantalizing scent of her perfume wafting down the hall and drawing me into lurid fantasies.

Like a total coward, I stayed in my office all day, avoiding the temptation of stopping by Ellie’s for fear of doing something I shouldn’t. It was bad enough I’d agreed to help with this trivia night. Suddenly the idea of sitting in a pub, having cocktails around an untold number of other employees, was almost terrifying. It dredged up the memories of the night we met—the memories I only allowed myself to mull over when I was in bed alone—and heat crept up my neck when I remembered running my hand up her silky thigh…

“Hey, you alright?” Ellie’s voice, along with a light tap at my open door, nearly made me jump out of my seat.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. I’m great. How are you?” Flustered, I manically shuffled papers on my desk and wiggled the mouse on the computer, trying to look busy. One errant thought about her thighs and kissing sent the blood rushing to my lower half, and now I was in an extremely awkward situation. I tucked myself even tighter under the desk.

Ellie’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. “You look a little worked up. Is everything okay?”

“Yep, nope, everything is good. Did you need something?” A sweat broke out along my back, and guilt swirled in my stomach. Somehow, I didn’t think she would find it flattering that I was sitting in my office thinking about her and sprouting wood.

Her expression turned confused. “No, you just usually stop by my office in the morning and I haven’t seen you all day. I’m about to go visit the staff at the Peak 9 condos and stop in to make sure everything in Seasons is set up for tonight. Would you like to come?”

What, stand up so you could see the tent I was pitching beneath the desk? “Not today, but thanks for the invite. I need to wrap up some stuff here before the end of day.” I flashed her a wide, desperate smile, that I hoped passed for confident.

“Okay, suit yourself.” Ellie shrugged, then switched topics. “You got the slides ready for tonight, though, right?”

“Yep, it’s right here and ready to go.” I held up a thumb drive. “I’ll meet you down there. Seven, right?”

“Yeah. I’m looking forward to it. Trivia nights are usually pretty popular. It’ll be nice to have company this time.” She gave me a warm smile that made my heart thud in my chest.

Nervous energy was still racing through my veins. I couldn’t imagine spending an entire evening with her like this. In a darkened room with alcohol? There was no way I’d be able to behave myself. Best to set myself an escape plan early. “Yeah, sounds good. I probably won’t stay too late, though. I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow, so I should do an early night.”

Disappointment crossed Ellie’s face, darkening her sky-blue eyes. “Wait, what? It’s Friday night, old man. Live a little. I promise it’ll be fun.” 

“I really shouldn’t stay out too late—” I could feel the sweat dotting my upper lip.

“What are you, sixty? You sound like my dad.”

“Hey your dad is very spry for sixty, so if early bedtimes do it for him-”

“Stop right there. I don’t want to know what ‘does it’ for my dad.”

I couldn’t help laughing, the tension easing in my body. Ellie always got around my defenses. “Fine, you win. I can hardly have you comparing me to your dad. But I’m making no promises!”

“Deal.” She smiled wickedly. “I might just make a rebel out of you yet, Captain Stuffed Shirt.”

“Come on, I’m not even wearing a button-down.” I pointed to the branded polo shirt. “See?”

“Yeah, you know what I see? Ironed creases on the sleeves, you nerd. You can’t help yourself, can you?”

“I hardly think that’s a flaw. Neatness of appearance is right up there with cleanliness, and they say cleanliness is next to godliness.”

“Oh, so now you think you’re a god? Your ego knows no bounds.”

I laughed again. “Alright, fine, I give up. I’ll see you at seven, Ellie.”

She beamed in response. “I’ll see you then. Oh, you know we bill this occasion as ‘bar casual,’ right? No need to bust out the formal wear.”

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious. I’ll see if I can rustle up some overalls.”

“Perfect, I’ll dig out my daisy dukes.”

My brain temporarily short-circuited with an image of Ellie in extremely tiny shorts, but I recovered quickly. “Well, don’t go all out on my behalf. Regular cut-offs will do.”

“Noted.” She smirked. “Later.”

Heaven help me. As she retreated from my office, I mentally filed the daisy duke image of her away for another, more private time.

Tonight I had to be on my best behavior, or I would lose it completely.

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