Chapter 9
Jenna
As I sat on the couch with my laptop and did some grocery shopping, I couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation between Lucas and his father. He was under a tremendous amount of stress, and I wondered what the hell was going on and what the problem was with the project he was working on.
After the groceries were delivered and put away, I started dinner. Roasted chicken with twice baked potatoes and roasted vegetables. Lucas had been locked up in his office all day and I hadn’t seen him since I walked in on the phone conversation between him and his dad a few hours ago. Just as I put everything in the oven, my phone chimed with a text message from Bri. I hadn’t spoken to her in a couple of weeks, even though she wouldn’t stop blowing up my phone.
“I went to your apartment to talk to you since you’ve been ignoring my calls and messages only to find out you don’t live there anymore. I can’t believe you stopped talking to me because I wouldn’t come over that night. Everything doesn’t revolve around you, Jenna. Carson told me to forget about you and that’s what I’m going to do. Thanks for being such a shitty friend.”
I stared at her message in disbelief as anger washed over me. It took everything I had not to throw my phone across the kitchen. So instead, I took a plastic spatula from the utensil holder by the stove and threw it, hitting Lucas as he stepped into the kitchen.
“Whoa. What the hell?”
“Sorry. I didn’t expect you to walk in.”
“Is something wrong, or do you just throw spatulas for the hell of it?”
“It’s nothing.” I gripped the edge of the marble island.
“Obviously, something is bothering you. I have a few minutes if you want to talk about it.”
“It’s just my ex-friend, Bri.”
“The girl you were with at the club? The one with the controlling boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“What happened? Why are you calling her your ex-friend?”
“When I found out I was pregnant, I really needed her. So I called and asked if she would come over and her douchebag boyfriend told her no because he wanted her to stay home and watch TV with him. So, she told me no. She knew I had been sick all week with what I thought was the flu, and she knew I had lost my job and was being evicted. But she didn’t care. She let that controlling freak tell her what to do. It was just the final straw. I don’t need people like that in my life. Now she just sent me this text message.” I handed him my phone.
“Wow.” He handed my phone back. “That wasn’t very nice, and I don’t blame you for being upset. But don’t let it get you down because you already have enough on your plate and the stress isn’t good for the baby, or for you.” He placed his hand on my shoulder.
“I know.” I gave him a small smile. “I’m over it.”
“Good. I have to get back to work. I can’t believe you’re cooking. You should be resting.”
“Cooking keeps my mind off things. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”
“Okay.” He walked away.
As I pulled the chicken from the oven, I heard the elevator ding, and it startled me. Scooting my way to the foyer, a man stepped out into the foyer.
“Why, hello there.” His brows furrowed.
“Hi.” I furrowed my brows back at him.
“Is Lucas home?”
“He’s in his office.”
“I’m sorry. You are?” He extended his hand to me.
“Jenna.”
“Nice to meet you, Jenna. I’m Danny. What happened? he asked as he pointed to my cast.
“I fell and broke my foot.”
“Ouch. You look so familiar to me. Oh my God.” He pointed at me. “You’re the girl who sent that guy to his knees at my club a few weeks back.”
“Yep. That was me.” I grinned. “I’m sorry.”
“Please. Don’t apologize. I’m sure he deserved it. Anyway, I’m going to head to his office.”
“Okay. Dinner’s almost ready. You’re welcome to join us.”
“As much as I’d love to, I’m afraid I won’t have time. I just stopped by to check in on Lucas.”
Lucas
I heard my office door open, and when I turned around from staring at the whiteboard, I saw Danny.
“Hey bro.” He walked over and gave me a hug.
“Danny. Hey. What are you doing here?”
“Just checking in to see how you’re holding up. Um, care to explain the hot girl in a cast who’s cooking dinner?”
I let out a long sigh as I rubbed my face with my hands.
“Dude, what’s going on? I recognize her. She’s the chick from the club.”
“Yeah. She came over last night. She’s pregnant with my child, lost her job and was kicked out of her apartment.”
“What?” He laughed.
“I’m not kidding, Danny,” I spoke with seriousness.
“Shit. You’re going to be a father?”
“Title only as far as I’m concerned. Then last night, she tripped in the lobby and broke her foot. I was at the ER with her for over four hours. It’s been nothing but one clusterfuck after another. I have her to deal with, this project that’s miserably failing, and my father up my ass making threats if I don’t get it fixed.”
“Gee, bro. I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“Thanks. But no. I can’t deal with anything other than this coding issue.”
“You’ll figure it out, Lucas. You always do.” He hooked his arm around me.
“I’m not so sure this time.”
After Danny left, I sat back down at my computer. Jenna had sent me a text message over thirty minutes ago that dinner was ready, and I lost track of time. Walking into the kitchen, I found her sitting at the table.
“I’m sorry. I lost track of time.”
“It’s fine.” She snapped. “It’s cold now so you might want to heat it up in the microwave.”
“Don’t get that attitude with me.” I pointed at her with a stern voice. “I’m a very busy man and I didn’t ask you to cook dinner for me.”
“No. You didn’t. I did it because I knew how hard you’ve been working, and you needed to eat. Sorry for caring.”
“Nobody asked you to care, Jenna. You just need to understand how much pressure I’m feeling right now with everything, and frankly, I’m going to lose it very quickly here. So, I think it’s in your best interest and mine, if you just did your own thing and let me do mine.”
“Okay.” She got up from the table, took her scooter and went to her bedroom.
I took my plate and put it in the microwave. Her attitude was the last thing I needed right now. When I finished eating the delicious meal she prepared, I decided to go and apologize to her. When I opened her bedroom door, she was sound asleep. I noticed she didn’t have her foot propped up, so I took the pillow from the floor and carefully placed it under her foot.
Chapter 10
Jenna