I Hate You, Mr. Boss-Man [18+]

005

My eyes found my reflection as I stood in front of the mirror, hiking down the tartan blazer from the lapels. My attention flickers to the slacks and heels. I blow out a breath, feeling somewhat guilty about all the money Jesse must have spent. I run my fingers through my hair, trying to fluff out the dampened mess of my hair since I didn't have any of my stuff, I was going to have to settle with a low bun.

A soft knock emits through the door, and my eyes snap to it immediately. "Yes?" I answer, pulling off the elastic from my wrist, preparing to tame my hair.

"It's Sonja!"

I drop my hands, the sound of my heels clicking against the hardwood as I make my way to the door, twisting the knob and pulling it open.

"I'm heading out, mademoiselle," Sonja informs, clutching her handbag strap against her shoulder so that it wouldn't slip. "I just wanted to make sure everything fit." She let her eyes travel, taking in her choice of clothing. "I was right," She nods to herself, "Tartan is definitely your pattern."

I flash her a smile, glancing down at my outfit. "You have a great eye, Thank you, Sonja."

"Of course, ma belle. Do you need anything before I go?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "You've done more than most, It was really nice to meet you." I outstretch my palm for her to shake but instead am hurled into a hug. I choke out a breath, almost laughing at the suddenness.

"It was lovely to meet you!" Sonja exclaims as she drops her arms, taking a few steps back. "I hope to see more of you in the future, yes?"

"Uhhh..." I drag, shrugging my shoulders. "Let's hope for my job's sake, we don't meet again under these circumstances."

With a shake of her head and a smile, Sonja waves one last goodbye and heads down the flight of stairs.

My steps trail back to the mirror, continuing to try and wrap my hair. Indistinct chatter fills my ears, Jesse's voice deeper than Sonja's. From what I could tell. He must've been back from said errands and hopefully the coffee he promised. Pulling out a few strands to frame my face, I finish up and gather my belongings, making sure to get the bags and shoebox together to take downstairs. The sound of the door slamming shut echoed throughout the condo, my heels being the next loud thing as I head down.

"Looks like I came just in time," Jesse states, pulling the paper cup from the carrier. Gently setting it down, he slides the cup across the counter. "For you," He adds, his eyes flickering down to the bags in my hands. "You can leave those on the counter. Sonja will take care of it later, speaking of her...." Jesse lets his eyes wander, taking in my appearance, almost nodding in approval. "She has good taste, you look good."

I nod, sauntering over as I begin to place them flatly against the marble. "I just uh...." I trail, my eyes shifting to Jesse's as I watch him take a careful sip of his coffee, trying to ignore the subtle compliment that had my cheeks heating furiously. "I wanted to thank you, for the uh...clothes and the shoes. You didn't have to, you know?"

Jesse takes the rim away from his lips, his expression scrunching in confusion. "I did tell you that you threw up all over your clothes, right? I asked Sonja to take them to the dry cleaners."

"Right," I nod as the reminder is recollected. "And the shoes?" I ask, glancing down at the Suola Su Kate heels. I'd have to make a mental note to keep them clean so he can return them because there was no way in hell I was keeping a pair of twenty-five hundred dollar shoes.

"You broke a heel," He answered, shrugging nonchalantly as he glances down at his watch. "And you're not about to go barefoot to work. Speaking of, we should get going." He murmurs, bending down to scoop up his briefcase from the ground.

Nodding my head, I swing the strap of my bag over my shoulder, reaching into my pocket to fish out my phone. "If I start walking now," I whisper to myself, reading the time on my screen. "I could get there by eight..." I lift my head, meeting the confusion plastered on Jesse's face.

The only thing I could pick up on his face was as if he were calling me stupid. "What?" I mumble.

"You think I'm gonna let you walk to the office?" He asks incredulously. "DO you know how far it is from my place? If you're late on days when you walk from your place, what makes you think you're gonna make it on time from mine?"

I render silent, staring at him in confusion, and from my lack of movement, I could tell he was growing impatient. "Well?" He presses, his shoe tapping in anticipation.

"How do you know where I live?"

His foot stops tapping against the tile, "Huh?"

"You just said that I'm late when I walk from my place," I remind him, earning a slight nod. "How do you know that?"

"Seriously?" He asks, a ghost of a smile appearing on his lips. "You're seriously asking me how I know where you live?" Either there was something I was missing or I'm just plain dumb.

"Yeah,"

Jesse could almost laugh, softly shaking his head as he goes to open his front door. Splaying his hand out, he gestures me through first. "Don't forget your coffee." He chokes out, a slight chuckle coming through as I walk through the door, waiting as he locks his door behind us.

"Am I missing something?" I grumble, my brows furrowing as I fold my arms over my chest, still holding the cup in my grasp.

"I mean unless I'm mailing your checks to a different address," He replies, grinning from ear to ear as we settle into the elevator. Jesse pushes the button to the lobby. "Then we're gonna have to update that information, no?"

I go to open my mouth, about to reply with some sarcastic comment but, I settle with silence, snapping my lips shut. The sound of my loud ringtone startles us both as my phone begins to ring. "Sorry," I utter, taking my cell from my purse and answering it quickly to end the ringtone. "Hello?"

"Katherine Dahlia Stratford!"

Quickly, I pull the phone away from my ear, cringing at her tone. My eyes flicker to Jesse, wondering if he could hear Jennifer.

"Who the hell is that?"

"Jen," I answer, waiting for her rant to end. "My best friend and roommate." I hated when she used my full name. It was way too formal and sounded like I plucked it from a tv show. I cautiously place the phone back to my ear. "Calm down, please."

"Where in god's name are you?!" She exclaims, I knew that she was pacing. "You don't come home, you don't call...what am I supposed to think? You could've been kidnapped or left for dead for all I knew and you want me to calm down?"

"Are you done?" I ask flatly, exhaling deeply through my nose, waiting for the call to go quiet. "I promise that I'm fine, Jen. I may have had a drink or two last night and uh...well the details aren't important but, know that I'm okay and I'm heading to work right now."

I could hear Jen blow out a breath as if the worry had calmed. "Good, I was just worried. You usually call so...I'm glad you're okay."

"I am."

"I also wanted to ask, why does Karen keep blowing up my phone? I'm getting bombarded with texts and random calls that she keeps hanging up on every time I answer."

"I don't know but, I gotta go!" I chime, "See you at home?" And before she could answer, I hang up the phone, shoving my cell back into my purse. "Sorry about that," I breathe, "She can be a bit...anal at times."

"Don't worry about it," Jesse says softly, brushing off the apology. "She cares about you, I know I would react the same way."

I frown softly before tilting my head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Noticing my expression, Jesse straightens out his posture, clearing his throat as the dial chimes above us and the elevator doors open. "Let's go."