“Long story for another time.”
He walked over to me and gripped my shoulders. “I can’t believe this. I just can’t. I have a ton of calls to make and I have to bring my team in.”
“And I’m going home to lay down. I’m exhausted.”
“I don’t know what to say but thank you. I’m at a loss for words, but we’re going to discuss this when I get home.” He kissed my forehead. “I’m going to walk you down to the lobby and have Thaddeus drive you back to the penthouse.”
“I can get down to the lobby by myself. You just go do what you have to do.”
“Are you sure? I can have Andy walk you down.”
“Oh hell no. I’ve had enough of him for one day. I’m fine, Lucas. Just go take care of business.” I smiled.
He pressed his lips against my forehead before we walked out of the conference room.
“Be careful. I’m calling Thaddeus now. You just go down and wait for him.”
“I will. Good luck.” I grinned.
He gave me a wink as he ran down the hall.”
Chapter 11
Lucas
I was still in shock. How the hell did she do it? How did she know? My team was just as ecstatic as I was, but I didn’t take the credit. I couldn’t, and I told my team who Jenna was, minus the fact that she was having my kid. That was nobody’s business, and I wasn’t ready for anyone to know until I figured out exactly how things were going to go.
I left the office around five. Earlier than I normally did, but I needed to talk to Jenna. I stopped and picked us up some Chinese food for dinner. I didn’t know what she liked, so I ordered a few different things. As I stepped off the elevator and headed towards the kitchen, I found her sitting on the couch with her foot propped up watching a movie.
“Hey.” She smiled.
“I brought us some Chinese food.” I held up the bag before setting it on the island. “I really hope you like Chinese.”
“I love it. Thanks.” She grinned as she got up from the couch and took a seat at the kitchen table.
I unpacked the bag, set the boxes of food on the table and grabbed a couple plates and silverware.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I just picked up a few different things.”
“Actually, I love everything you got. Thanks. I’m starving.”
“Didn’t you eat today?”
“Not really. I spent the morning in your office figuring out what was wrong with the coding, met you at your office, and then I came home and crashed for about three hours.”
“You need to make sure you eat.”
“I know and I’m making up for it now.” She smiled.
I sat down across from her and plated my food.
“And now we talk.” I looked at her with seriousness.
“Yep. Guess we do.” She looked down at her plate.
“Who are you really? Because I knew from the moment I met you, you weren’t secretary material. You sat down and figured out why my coding wasn’t working in a matter of what? Four hours?”
“Two.” She glanced up at me.
“Okay. Two hours. You did what neither me nor my team could in the last six months. And let me tell you something, my team is one of the best.”
“Obviously not.” She bit into her egg roll.
I cocked my head as I narrowed my eye at her. She knew I was serious.
“Okay. Okay.” She wiped her mouth with her napkin.
“My name is Jenna Larson, and I’m from Massachusetts. My I.Q. score is 165, and I graduated from M.I.T.
“165? Are you kidding me? 165 is at a genius level.”
“Yeah. I know.” I rolled my eyes.
“So let me get this straight. You’re a genius, you have a degree from M.I.T. and you were working as a secretary making practically nothing? And you’re homeless?”
“The pay wasn’t all that bad. And actually, I have two degrees from M.I.T.”
“Okay. Wait a minute.” I set down my fork, got up from my seat and poured myself a much-needed drink. “What the hell are you doing? Why aren’t you using your true potential to make something more of yourself? Do you have any idea the money you could be making and the lifestyle you could be living?”
“People treat you different when you’re a genius. Some are ass kissers and users, and some are just pure evil and jealous. I’ve dealt with it my entire life. That’s why I don’t tell anyone about me and that’s also why I choose to live a simple life. It’s not about money for me, Lucas. It’s about people and the relationships I form.”
“And what about your parents? You said they disowned you? Why?”
“I was nothing more than a trophy they showed off. Everything revolved around my superior brain. When we’d meet people, they would introduce me as their ‘little genius.’ Not their daughter or by my name. Everything in my life was a competition, even if I didn’t want it to be. I had to be better than all the other ‘geniuses.’ Science competitions, math competitions, physics competitions, swimming competitions. Every damn competition out there I was signed up for against my will. I just wanted to be normal. But I was robbed of a normal childhood. All I wanted to do was play outside with the other kids in the neighborhood. But I was forced to sit inside, studying and reading because that’s what ‘geniuses’ did. I wanted to attend a regular school where the normal kids went. But that was out of the question because what kind of parents would they be if they sent their genius child to school with the unintelligent and mediocre kids.”
“I’m sorry, Jenna. I had no idea.”
“I didn’t ask for this kind of intelligence and it sent me to some pretty dark places when I was younger. I was depressed, anxious, and practically suicidal at one point. My parents sent me to a therapist and I really liked her. I felt a connection to her. But when she mentioned to my parents that they were the cause of my issues, they made sure I never saw her again. After I graduated from M.I.T., I told my parents that I needed a break and I wanted to take a couple months off and travel around Europe with the money I had saved up over the years. They didn’t like the idea, but they knew they couldn’t stop me. I needed that time alone to really reflect on my life and to figure out who I really was behind the ‘genius.’ A couple months turned into a year. It was when I was in Italy that I met Bri. Her grandma lived there, and she was spending the summer with her. It was at the tail end of my travels, so I flew back to New York with her and then I rented a car and drove home to Massachusetts. I’d missed three interviews with large companies with a starting salary of $200,000 a year. My parents were livid, and my father told me I was stupid. A parent should never tell their child they’re stupid, but to me, it was the best thing he’d ever said to me. After that, I packed my things, and they told me if I walked out their door, I was never welcomed back, and they would cut me off.”
“When was the last time you spoke to them?”
“A year and half ago.”
“After I left, I drove to Florida and stayed there for about six months and got a job working in the billing department of a car dealership. I wasn’t really happy there and that’s when Bri told me she was moving out of her parents’ house and asked if I’d consider moving to New York and share an apartment with her. So, I sold my car to the dealership, hopped on a plane and here I am.”