I didn't need Kate to feed me a false sense of what this was. This wasn't anything other than me hiring him to do a job for me. I didn't need any other ideas planted in my head. I didn't need to hear that maybe we would rush back into one another's arms and all would be forgiven. Life just didn't work that way. I cleared my throat. "All it means is that if I choose his company, he will work in my apartment for a few weeks. That's it, that's all."
The waitress dropped off our selection of food, took another drink order from us, and left us to eat. I had just put two pieces of food onto my plate when a sudden flash of light caught my attention. I glanced towards the window in time to see a paparazzi flash a bunch of pictures of Kate and me. Kate turned her attention to the window just in time to see the photographer run off.
"Fuck, they are everywhere!" Kate murmured.
"Yeah, it’s just because you are famous, unlike me. All those promises and nothing." I shook my head, drinking down the rest of my martini.
"Shut up." Kate laughed. "I assure you all that you have gone through has not been for nothing. Everything happens for a reason. I say hire Ben. You never know, it may spark some old flames, and if not, at least you get to look at something yummy for a few weeks." She winked.
* * *
After lunch I had gone to the grocery store, and now I carried three heavy brown paper bags full of groceries into the lobby of 425 Madison Avenue. I had refused help from Thomas as I entered the building, even though he said it wasn't a problem. Now I was on my way to the elevator. I hit the button and then struggled with the bags as I stood waiting, wishing that I had taken Thomas up on his offer to help.
Finally, the elevator opened, and I went to step inside when someone came out of the elevator, banging into me.
"Oh my, I am so sorry," a petite blond said as she straightened herself.
"It's okay," I said, trying to readjust my grip on the bags.
"Did you just move in? I haven't seen you here before." She grinned.
I was just about to answer her when I felt the bag in the center of the other two start tofall. I did my best to readjust,but it was too late. Not only did that bag fall, but the bag carrying the frozen food had become wet and the bottom fell right out of the bag, spilling the contents all over the floor.
"Oh my. Here, let me help you." The blond scrambled, trying to grab some cans as they rolled away.
I reached into my purse and pulled out two reusable bags that I used to use and handed one to her. She quickly started pilingthe items into one, while I did the other. Once we had picked everything up, I looked down and saw that I had four bags to carry instead of three.
"You can't carry all these on your own. Here let me help," she said, hitting the button on the elevator, the doors opening immediately. "What floor are you on?" she asked, picking up two of the bags and stepping into the elevator.
I quickly followed with the two paper bags in my arms. "Twenty-fifth."
"Oh, I live on the fifteenth. I'mSaraBeaumont."
"Hi, Sara, nice to meet you. I'm Jessica."
Chapter 11
Ben
It had been a busy day. I was doing site inspections to make sure that all the projects we had running were going smoothly. I also had a conference call with John this afternoon, who was busy running the other location, and while I knew he was capable, I still needed to be kept up to speed on everything that was going on there.
Armed with a hot coffee, I made my way up the steps to our office. The office was quiet. Julie wasn't behind her desk, so I made my way into my office. I shut the door, flipped on my radio, and pulled my sandwich out of the tiny fridge that sat in the corner. I set everything out on my desk, looking forward to twenty minutes of uninterrupted quiet while I ate.
I had barely bitten into my sandwich when Jules opened the door to my office and leaned against the doorframe, smiling at me.
"What's got you so happy?" I questioned with my mouth full.
"Didn't Mom and Dad teach you any manners?"
"What?" I asked, taking another bite. "I'm hungry," I said, talking with my mouth full just to annoy her.
Jules shook her head and laughed. She grabbed the back of the chair and sat down across from me. "So, I got a call from Jessica this morning."
I stopped mid-bite and looked up at my sister who sat there grinning.
"Okay, and?"
"You've got the job. I sent Glenn and his crew over there this morning to start the demo."