Fate - Jimmy Garoppolo

Chapter 4

"Jimmy?" Isabelle breathes out, eyes wide and shocked to see him in front of her.

"Isabelle..." He said, standing up and facing her.

"I...I thought—um, sorry, I just didn't expect to see you here." She managed to say, still standing at the door.

"Yeah, him and his agent came to talk about some details with John and they came by to chat a bit with me." Kyle said, his heart aching for his daughter.

It's then when she noticed Eric, his agent, sitting with them. "Hey, Eric." She said, forcing herself to at least smile towards him, given the situation they were in.

"Hey, Isabelle. It's nice to see you again." He replied, eyeing her and Jimmy as she nodded at him.

The air was thick with tension and awkwardness. Anyone could feel it and it wasn't pleasant. Isabelle looked at her father, not wanting to make eye contact with Jimmy more than she already had to. "I just came by to remind you of our dinner tonight. I got everything finished with the guys outside so I'm going to get going."

"Alright, sweetheart. I'll see you this evening."

"Bye Eric, bye James." She spoke, glancing at him for a moment before quickly turning around and closing the door behind her, letting out a breath she didn't know she held. She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut, and counted to ten, trying to calm herself.

This was not how she expected her first time seeing him again to go. This was the opposite of how she wanted it to go. She hated the tension and awkwardness. She hated the way he said her full name and not the nickname he gave her. She hated how his eyes were able to make her insides go crazy, even if they locked with her own for a few seconds. She just hated how he was able to make her feel in such a short span of time with being in the same room.

She pushed herself off the door and started walking towards her office before she heard her name being called. She stopped in her tracks and completely froze.

"Isabelle." His voice sounded throughout the hall.

She took a few seconds to collect herself before turning and looking at the man she loved with all her heart. "James." She spoke, looking anywhere but at him.

She could hear his footsteps as he walked closer to her and stopped in front of her. "H-How are you doing?"

"Fine. You?"

"Does it have to be awkward?" He cut to the point, not wasting a second.

She finally looked at him and saw the look in his eyes.

That longing look.

That pleading look.

"No...I just wasn't—"

"I didn't mean for it to happen this way, honestly."

"You could have said you were coming. Given me a heads up, maybe?"

"Why? So you can fake a sickness and not come into work while I'm here?"

"I wouldn't—"

"You would." He said, folding his arms across his chest and giving her the 'I know you' look.

She sighed and focused her gaze on him again, this time actually taking his features in. Jimmy was always good looking, whether it was during their college days or even after, he never failed to look completely and utterly handsome in her eyes and in many others' as well. But there's no denying that he definitely grew and he grew in all the right places.

His jawline was as sharp as they can get, with a slight stubble, making him look a bit tanner than usual. She always liked the beard on him, no doubt. His eyes were a bit greener today, probably because of his olive colored shirt that was hugging his body just perfectly.