Ask Jake (Book One of the Whisper Series)

Thirty-One: Morning Show

The slight murmur of Adam's laugh through Angela's office door brings me immense joy. Pushing through the entry, I am perplexed to see Adam with his shirt off and Angela barking obscenities at him.

"Hi," I say.

They both turn to look at me. Adam drops the shirt he is about to put on and practically runs to me.

"Gillian!!" He shouts and before I have time to think, I am engulfed in his arms. The momentum from his embrace causes him to lift me off the ground, igniting a squeal from me.

"Adam Gradey!! Do you want to spend the afternoon in HR? You're half naked for fuck's sake!" Angela screams at him.

"Fire me!" he says, not letting me go. "Then, I won't have to do this interview." His warm, smooth skin under my hands makes my heart beat faster. He holds me in a hug for long time. I try to pull away but he holds me tighter.

"Adam? You can let me go, now," I say, joking with him. He releases me and smiles.

"I have missed you." His blue eyes and beaming smile are so much better than my memory ever recalled while I was away.

"Gillian, help him pick out another shirt. He showed up in a stripped dress shirt. What the hell, Adam? That's rule number one on TV, no stripes!" Angela declares.

I rummage through a stack of shirts on a coffee table, moving my hands around, so they can't see I'm shaking. "I like this one. It's very, New York. I say holding up a black one. Although, everything looks good on Adam," I say, purposely flirting.

Adam smiles and picks up a black undershirt from the table and pulls it over his head. I can't help but look at his six-pack abs and perfectly fit torso. Trying to avert my eyes, I focus on the shirt I'm holding and hand it to him. "Thanks," he says, lightly grazing my fingers while he takes it from me.

Adam positions himself in front of a long mirror. Standing behind him, I watch him through the glass. My eyes cannot help but look him up and down, resting back on his eyes that are looking at me with a smirk. Shyly, I look off to the side.

"Gillian, you look, so beautiful," he says, in a warm voice. "You're so tan."

"HR, Adam!" Angela jokes from across the room.

Giggling, I look back in the mirror and watching him dress. He misses a button, and moves to the next one, unaware. I glance up, to his eyes and see he is still looking at me and not what he is doing.

I laugh and say, "You need to look at what you're doing, Adam. Come here." I surprise myself by grabbing his arm and swinging him around to face me. Through my shaking hands, I unbutton and button his shirt, aligning all of them correctly. When he's perfect again, I slide my hand down about five inches over his chest, flirting and blushing. I look up into his eyes, as my hand leaves his chest. Adam's breath hitches in his throat and his eyes widen.

Adam

Angela goes over the entire interview process in the limo. I hear every word but seeing Gillian again, makes me feel how much I've missed her. Her beauty is like seeing the sunrise for the first time; she warms my skin with her genuine light.

I have to force myself to focus on Angela and her instructions for today's interview. I guess, we are letting everyone know that the real Ask Jake needs to keep his identity secret, and so I'll be answering in his stead. Gillian will have a microphone and I will repeat what she tells me.

At the news studio, we meet everyone whom will be working with us. Natalie Morales and Savannah Guthrie will be doing the interview. They asked if we needed the questions, but Gillian feels confident, so we don't accept.