Haze - By Andrea Wolfe Page 0,115

up, he tossed a ten-dollar bill in the tip jar and walked to me with two mugs. "Here," he said, handing me a drink.

"What is it?"

"Just coffee. Black. They have a really nice French roast here. This batch was roasted today. Fresh as it gets."

"I'm not really a black coffee sort of person," I pleaded.

"Yeah, because shitty coffee isn't any good. Try it. I made her make a new pot."

As usual, he was right. It was a lush variety of fruity chocolately flavors that all came together in this one glass of hot liquid. I almost spit it out because of how surprised I was. "What the fuck am I drinking, Jack?"

His wry smile was as delicious as the drink. "People never drink any good coffee. Believe me. Some people live their whole lives drinking garbage. But this, this is bliss."

He was right in every possible way. I was sitting here in New York City, relaxing with Jack, sipping fresh coffee in the middle of the day—and everything was going to be all right.

Jack suddenly switched gears, his face becoming serious. "Effie, I just wanna say something."

"I do too," I interrupted.

A quizzical look emerged on his face. "Who goes first then?"

"Flip a coin?" I suggested.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a gold dollar coin. "My lucky coin. A very famous person gave me this."

"Does that mean I'm gonna lose then?"

"There's a fifty-percent chance you'll lose. Heads or tails?"

"Heads."

He flipped it. I won.

"I want to work for you," I blurted out, my voice cutting off abruptly.

"You do?" he asked, cocking up one eyebrow.

"Yes. That's my decision."

"Well, shit," he said, resting his head on his hand.

Oh great, what now? Had he given away the job or something? Was this all just a fluke? "Well, shit what?" I asked.

"I was going to tell you that MCI is most likely just giving you your job back so you won't sue them. And I was going to once again recommend that you walk away and, well, work for me." He righted his posture, and grinned. "I'm selfish. I want you all to myself."

I leaned across the table and grabbed his neck, pulling his face—and lips of course—against mine. I dominated his mouth, dominated his tongue with my own. Both of us tasted like coffee, and that was fine by me.

"I feel the same way," I said after lowering back into my seat.

"You want you all to yourself? And I thought I was the narcissist."

I giggled. "Shut up, Jack. Also, I love you too."

He wrapped his fingers through mine and closed them tightly. "Good."

This was a brand-new start, and it really didn't seem that anything could go wrong.

Chapter 21

Fuck, life was good.

It had been about two months since I started working for Jack—the HR guy seemed really disappointed that I turned down the reinstated position; I stuck to my ground anyway—and it was everything he had promised it would be. Challenging, fresh, and unique. I had my own desk and my own work area at the label. I didn't feel burned out when I went home, and having a hot as hell boss sure helped with that.

Quite frequently, I had Jack for lunch, and yeah, he could be quite tasty...

Fancy dinners embellished with champagne and rich desserts became the norm. I did more spontaneous fun things than I had ever done in my life. I spent more time in hot tubs than ever too, a routine that was, well, great.

Although we had taken it slightly easy, practicality was starting to suggest that I just officially move in with him. I really didn't own much, and I felt bad that I was rarely ever in my apartment. Most of my outfits had already made their way over to Jack's closets, so the need to return home became less and less pressing.

Jesse frequently sent texts to remind me that he missed having me around. I felt guiltier every time I received one, but even when I did stop home to grab something, it never matched his schedule. At the rate I was going, it just wasn't going to work.

So anyway, this weekend was going to be big. Lexy was having her nearly sold-out CD release party at a twenty-one hundred capacity concert theatre, a gigantic show for any beginning artist. She had been blowing up ever since my first date with Jack, her single approaching the top of the charts. College radio had stretched her influence even further—and Jack couldn't have been any happier about the