7th Floor West | JF

Chapter 32

"Hey!" I yelled, laughing as I playfully punched Haskell on the bicep. All the writers laughed, and I countered John's remark by saying, "At least I don't have to wear a panda suit in front of the country... By the way, I can coax Jimmy into making you dance so much more if you want." I smirked as the other writers looked at John intently. He smiled and said, "Fine, Meg. It's even... For now." He whispered the last part in my ear as he passed by me. I smiled widely, knowing that I had won this time. I grabbed my coffee and walked towards the elevators in Rockefeller Center, and I took them down to the ground floor to go all the way downstairs for some food. I walked down the halls and stopped at a little café, and I grabbed a salad and another coffee. I sat down at a table, and as I began to put Caesar dressing on my salad, I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Meg- mind if I sit here?"

It was Seth.

"No, not at all!" I said, smiling. I had missed Seth a lot... I haven't really seen him since I had to move back in with Jimmy. I began to pick at my salad, and Seth asked, "So, any idea when they'll be done in your condo?" I shrugged and replied, "They've been saying a week or two, but I'm not sure." He nodded as he ate a club sandwich. "How's the show been?" I asked him. He smiled and said, "It's been great. I love it so much!" I smiled at how excited he got. Late Night was near and dear to my heart, and I was so happy that Seth had inherited it after Jimmy. I saw my phone light up, and it was a text from Deej.

Hey, where are you? Jimmy's been looking for you for a while and he can't find you.

I sighed and picked up my phone. "You okay?" Seth asked me, and I chuckled. "Yeah, Jimmy's just being overprotective and annoying." I texted Deej back saying that I was in the food court, and I suddenly got a text from Jimmy.

Where are you?

Seth must have seen the frustration on my face as I put my phone down. I didn't want to reply to Jimmy, but I had to. "Hey, he's just looking out for you. It's what big brothers do." Seth smiled lightly, and I sighed. "I just wish that he'd realize that I'm old enough to make my own decisions and be on my own. He still treats me like I'm 16." Seth put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Brothers are always looking out for their sisters. It's always gonna be that way. It'll annoy you at times, but he loves you and he wants to take care of you." I thanked Seth for his advice, and he said goodbye as he grabbed his coffee and headed upstairs.

I finished my salad, and I took my coffee with me as I headed towards the elevators. I showed my employee ID card, and the security let me go. I pressed the button to go up, and the elevator began to move up. As I felt it stop, the doors opened.

I was face to face with Jimmy.

"Where have you been?" He asked me, panicking. "Will you relax? We had lunch break and I went downstairs to get a coffee and a salad." Jimmy grabbed my wrist and briskly walked us to his office. He shut the door behind him, and I exclaimed, "What's your problem!?" He sat on the edge of his desk as I stood a few feet from him. I could tell that something was bothering him. I softened my voice as I asked, "Jimmy, what's wrong?" I approached him and stood directly in front of him.

"I... I... Nevermind..." He was hesitant. I gently grabbed his hand and squeezed it, saying, "I'm here for you, Jimmy. You know that." He smiled slightly, and he slipped his hand out of mine. "What's wrong?" I asked again, and he sighed.

"I've just been so stressed with work and I need hiatus to come faster... I feel bad leaving Nance to take care of both Win and Fran, and then the show is chaotic right now... I'm just stressed, Meg. I'm really stressed." I thought for a moment.

"Hey, how about after the taping, we go play some mini golf? Just you and me." I saw him smile slightly, and he said, "That sounds great." I walked towards him and wrapped my arms around his waist, and he hugged me back. "You're the best, Meg." He said, leaning against me.

•

"Four!" Jimmy yelled, as we were on the last hole of the game. I laughed as he sent the golf ball up past the windmill, and surprisingly, got it in the hole in one shot. He turned to me, and, smiling like an idiot, said, "Beat that!" I shook my head and took my turn- a hole in one, just like Jimmy. We looked at the final score, and Jimmy had won by 4. We got into his truck and left the mini golf place.

"That was fun." He said, smiling. I smiled and replied, "Yeah, it was. Do you feel better now?" He took a deep breath and said, "Yeah... I do."

I heard Jimmy's phone go off, and it sounded like it was the calendar app. As we approached a stoplight, he grabbed his phone from the middle compartment and looked at it. He looked at it for a few seconds, put it down, and then looked at me.

"Meg?"

I looked over at Jimmy.

"You knew that you had your intake with the counselor today, didn't you?"

I looked out the window, avoiding Jimmy's question. He already knew the answer. I heard him sigh in frustration, and I knew he was angry.

"So you knew that, but you still took me out to go mini golfing. Why'd you skip it?" He asked me, and I sighed. "I don't need to talk to someone, Jimmy. I wanted to make sure that you were okay." Jimmy continued driving as he said, "Meg, I appreciate that, but I also want to make sure that you're okay."

"Jimmy, I haven't had that much fun for a few months. I needed to let loose and have fun. I feel a lot better right now. Can we just keep it that way?" Jimmy parked our car in the driveway of the house and said, "Fine... But we're not done talking about this. I'll talk to you after dinner."

Oh boy.