Haze, Andrea Wolfe [english novels for beginners txt] 📗

was only kidding, I swear. I'm not mad at all. That's really awesome. Did you see anyone famous?"

His question ejected me from my funk. "Stacy Levons!" I shouted it loud enough that he jumped.

"Holy shit. Isn't she his ex? Was it weird?"

"Yeah, she is. And no, not weird at all."

Jesse gave me a warm smile. "Shit, and a private jet, huh?"

"It was surreal. And surreal is the understatement of a lifetime."

I went on and on after that, spilling the whole exciting story to him, minus the obviously private details. He sat and listened, a look of pure fascination on his face. I also omitted the detail about the record label employee at the party, wanting to give myself some time alone with that. Something told me I already knew what Jesse's perspective would be.

"That's so awesome, Effie," he said. "Just a spur-of-the-moment trip to the other side of the country. I kind of feel bad for my initial skepticism about this guy." His revision of history helped to put me at ease.

"He's just—" What did I want to say about him? I mean, my unfiltered mind used the word perfect, but I wouldn't say it aloud right now. "Just awesome."

His lips curled into a wry smile. "I hope Laura says that about me when I'm not around."

"Oh, I'm sure she says a lot more than that," I chuckled.

"Damn, should I be worried or something?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I think you've got nothing to worry about." I smiled back at him and stood up. "But listen, I've got to finish some things before work tomorrow. I'm gonna leave you to these papers here, okay?"

"Sounds just fine. If I don't see you again, goodnight, Effie."

I was thankful to have found a roommate like Jesse. He genuinely seemed to care, even though there was no real reason for him to.

Despite the fact that Jack and I had showered that morning, I showered again, happy to see my familiar dank bathroom interior. It wasn't terribly nice, but it had character—and a leaky faucet and improperly sealed shower walls. I pushed all of the bad things out of my mind and just relaxed in the steam.

I wanted a clear head going into the next week. And little did I know, I was going to need it more than ever. The weekend had been beautiful, almost like a vacation away from the world. Things were progressing fast with Jack, and I wouldn't obsess over the details anymore. I just wanted to ride along.

Honestly, I didn't give the situation much thought that night. After the shower, I threw on an episode of 30 Rock and passed out before it ended.

Chapter 18

Having never been fully stable and happy in my adult life—I had been close, but never fully there—I had no idea what happened to emotions during those good times. Did happiness bring patience and calm along with it? Was there ever a state that you could be in that would shield you from a dangerous world?

An emotional safe house? A place where nothing could penetrate your outer, exposed layers?

The closer I got to work, the more my body rejected the notion that everything would be okay. I regretted not giving the situation more thought, more delicate consideration the previous night. It felt like a blunder on my part.

You'll be fine.

It was as if I had the cartoon devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. The first sip of my latte burned my lip, startling me and giving me the impression that the devil was about to come in first place. Dammit.

As I walked up the stairs to my floor, I considered what I knew and what might happen. At the very least, Jack had said he wasn't going with MCI, which meant that Sam would probably be upset. There was also the situation with that loser, Dan, the one Jack had encouraged me to ignore. Jack had seemed less than sympathetic about Sam's situation, but he seemed to act like Sam had an acceptable reason for being so pessimistic.

I walked past the windows where I had first spoken to Jack over the phone, my stomach immediately reminded of the sharp tension I had felt as I waited for his call. God, those gifts paired with Sam's volatile reactions had been somewhat priceless in retrospect.

It had been a simpler time then, but not by much.

Our office looked normal for a Monday morning. Everyone was busy, and I didn't see Sam around. I walked over to my desk and took a seat, intending to catch up on email. My network password didn't seem to work no matter how many times I typed it in.

No big deal. They sometimes upgraded computer stuff on the weekend when everyone was out of the office. I'd just have to notify one of the IT guys. It would probably only take a second for them to reset the password.

I sat there quietly for a few minutes, looking at the clock and idle other than sipping my latte. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sam charging into the office, his face unshaven, his shirt a wrinkled mess. His eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn't slept at all.

He came straight to me. "Jacobs?" he asked. It wasn't a properly phrased question, so I moved on.

"Hey, Sam." I said. "My password won't work."

He winced at me, his face a look of total disgust. "Oh, your password won't work, huh? What a fucking shame." I smelled alcohol on his breath. Two minutes in and I already knew this was going to be an unusual Monday.

I looked around the office, realizing that we were starting to attract attention. "Sam, I don't get it. Can you please settle down?"

"Jack Teller's people notified me that the fuckin' deal is off. Doesn't that just piss you right off? It's like someone on the inside fucked it up for us. I know he was going to go with us."

I spoke without even realizing, catching