Now, and in the damn bathroom, she thought. Which you regret, and I do not.
Carl was their server. As he whisked away their salad plates, two painfully thin blondes who might have been twins set down the steaming entrees. Worth had ordered almond-crusted salmon, with roasted brussels sprouts. Damn his excellent choices.
Worth bent his head a little and breathed in the understated fragrance of the steam rising off his plate, grunting with appreciation. He took a small bite of salmon, closing his eyes. "Mmm. That is superb."
Jessica sat across from him, aware that she wasn't eating. She was watching him eat, and the view was more satisfying than the calories. She shook herself a little and took a bite herself. "Quite nice," she murmured.
"But back to business." He wagged his head. "I want you to be a columnist. My father loved writing columns. He also loved finding good columnists, and even though we're a monthly publication, I want to do sort of the same thing with you. I mean, I want you to write a column. Not exclusively, of course. You'll still work on features too, here and there."
"A column about what, exactly?"
"Anything you want!" Worth's eyes twinkled. "Well, within reason. Let's just start and see what happens. If something doesn't work, I'll tell you. How does that sound?"
Jessica was amazed to hear herself ask if there would be a reduction in her paycheck. Columns were shorter than feature stories. She couldn't afford to get less per month, however, not unless she moved in with—Eric, you idiot. Your boyfriend's name is Eric.
Worth smiled and nodded. "I understand your concern. Less overall copy, less pay. But no, you'll get the same pay as you have been until we see how it goes. If you're as good a columnist as I think you are, I envision an increase at some point. Great columns tend to build a loyal following—good for business. But we'll see."
Jessica let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Perhaps she should square a few other items while she was on good footing. "The flowers are beautiful. Thank you."
Worth looked up at the ceiling and gave a strained, comical sound of anguish before smiling a little sadly at her. "I meant what I wrote on the note. I overstepped. I don't know what came over me." He threw up his hands in mock surrender. "I have never done such an outlandish thing in my life. The stuff of lawsuits these days and for good reason—although I did ask—no, I'm not making an excuse. I was wrong. Bad form, my father would say."
I'll bet your mother wouldn't, Jessica thought, not if her husbands drop dead in ecstasy right and left. "Apology accepted," she said stiffly.
Worth gave an understated nod. "I didn't realize, of course, that you were there with a date. I hadn't seen the two of you together. Or maybe I saw what I wanted to see. Anyway. Thank you for kindly letting me off the guilt train." Before Jessica could respond, Worth shifted gears. He had been transparent, even vulnerable, in his laughter, with that groan. Now he was the editor again, all business. "Tell me about Eric, Jessica. How did you meet?"
It was a special kind of agony, talking about Eric while trying not to think about her proximity to those hands, that mouth. He'd brought up the party, and now it was all Jessica could do to not slide right off the booth. Could he not see that she was flushed?
As she played with the brussels sprouts on her plate with her fork, Jessica told him that they'd graduated together and known each other for years, had lost touch when she went to college. They'd met again outside her apartment building not long after she'd moved in. He was bent over, repairing a stone-faced pillar that had been damaged by someone pulling into the complex after one too many drinks and she'd called out her car window to say that it looked so much better now.
"When he stood to thank me, I recognized him, of course. One thing led to another," she said. "That was a few years ago."
"Years," he frowned slightly. "But you're not engaged?"
Jessica's heart sped up a little. "No. It really hasn't come up." Bathroom Guy had certainly come up in a hurry. Stop it!
Worth continued to chew as he looked at her, waiting for her to say more. When she didn't, he looked away and picked up the nearby dessert menu, studying it. Jessica launched into deep yoga breathing. Still, he read the menu. This is horrible, she thought. Stress, stress, stress. Without realizing it, she closed her eyes tightly and launched into Lion's Breath. Just as her eyes bugged out and she stuck out her tongue, she caught Worth's eye.
"Are you feeling okay?" Worth asked ruefully, his eyes twinkling as if he was quite familiar with yoga. "Is the salmon not agreeing with you?"
Instantly, Jessica's tongue retreated as her cheeks grew hot. She took a long sip of water. "I'm fine. Yoga breathing for stress. I mean, the salmon is fine." She glanced at her watch. "I really should be going back upstairs. Have to earn that raise and whatnot!"
"I'm sorry to be the source of any stress, Jessica." Worth stood as she did, the epitome of good manners.
Darn it, she thought. He'll never overstep any boundaries again and I'll live the rest of my life thirsting for a drink that's
