Maxwell’s knowing laugh made her cheeks flame with heat.
She turned back to her screen, shaking her head at the soft laughter from Jenny that followed. A new email pinged into her inbox and her heart stuttered. The subject line showed it was the staff vacancies bulletin the HR department sent out every couple of weeks, and she knew there was every chance this one would include details of the production manager role made vacant by Derek’s departure.
She glanced up.
Maxwell was busy packing up his bag; she knew he was headed uptown to a TV studio.
Jenny was by the coffee machine, laughing with the guy from the mail room.
Olivia couldn’t help but smile—everyone seemed to love Jenny and her irreverent humor.
Turning her gaze, somewhat reluctantly, away from Jenny and back to her screen, Olivia clicked open the email. There were three vacancies listed and, sure enough, one of them was production manager. She opened the attached link to the job description on the HR internal website and read through it, her heart pounding.
It sounded like a great role, something someone could make their own. It also seemed as if they’d taken the opportunity of Derek’s departure to overhaul the position, and it had definitely been upgraded. The list of responsibilities included four things that Derek had never done, three of which Olivia did not have experience of, either. However, she did meet all the other criteria for the role.
Should she apply? Would it make her look foolish in the eyes of HR and the production team senior management if she did, given how relatively little time she’d been at C&V? But then, Zoey had made it clear they should all consider applying once it was advertised.
Of course, there was another factor, one that, to Olivia’s surprise, she found more important.
Jenny.
If Olivia applied for the job, would that send a message to Jenny that their relationship, albeit a shiny new one, wasn’t important? Because if by some chance Olivia did get the job, she and Jenny could no longer see each other. The thought of relegating Jenny to second place over her career did not sit well with her. Yes, she wanted to progress in her career. And yes, she’d been frustrated at her lack of opportunities since coming to New York. This job, if she got it, would put paid to all of that, and could seriously kickstart the kind of career she wanted here. But at what cost?
“You okay?”
Olivia looked up and blinked.
Jenny stood before her, her head tilted, a small frown on her face. “You’ve got a full scrunchy face going on. Everything all right?”
Olivia sat up straighter. “All good.” Wait, there weren’t supposed to be any more lies, remember? You promised to always be honest with her. She sucked in a breath. “HR just sent out the details of the new production manager’s job.”
Jenny stepped closer. “They did, huh?” Her tone was casual, but her eyes gave away her concern.
“Yes.”
“How does it sound?”
Olivia licked her lips. “Good. Very good, actually.”
Jenny walked to Olivia’s desk and perched on the edge. “Will you apply?”
“I…I’m not sure.”
“Because of us?” Jenny asked in a whisper.
Olivia nodded.
To her surprise, Jenny’s face lit up with a wide smile. “Thanks.”
“Wh-what?”
Jenny made to reach for Olivia, then seemed to remember where they were and stopped herself. “The fact that you’re even taking me—us—into consideration is kind of awesome. So, thanks.”
“Of course I’m doing that.” Olivia managed to keep her voice low, but it still vibrated with intensity. “What we’ve started is hugely important.”
“It is.” Jenny leaned a little closer. “Trust me, I feel the same. But at the same time, I don’t think either of us should give up a career opportunity just because we’ve started seeing each other.”
“But what would we do if I got the job?”
Jenny shrugged. “We’d figure it out.” Her words were casual, almost throwaway, but there was a tension in her shoulders and worry in her eyes. “Besides, I’ve got my own thinking to do about career stuff.” She looked around to make sure they weren’t overheard. “I’m not completely sure my future is with C&V.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I spoke with Adrienne the other day. She said some things that got me thinking.”
“Nice things?”
Jenny blushed, and it was adorable. “Lots of them. But, after what my parents did, I’m not a person who handles change very well, so it’s not easy to think about moving on.”
She looked embarrassed by the admission and Olivia itched to hold her hand, link their fingers, and rub soothing circles on Jenny’s hand. “I understand. But look, nothing is going to happen instantly. We’ve got time to think this all through.”
“We have.” Jenny seemed to make an effort to sound cheery. “And in the meantime, I think you and I have another date tonight, don’t we?” She waggled her eyebrows.
Olivia laughed, then playfully pushed Jenny off her desk. “Back to work, Ms. Quinn. Stop distracting me.”
Jenny leaned down so that her lips were close to Olivia’s ear. “Trust me, I have much better ways of distracting you than that.”
Olivia swallowed hard. “I don’t doubt that for a moment.”
They held each other’s gaze for one intense moment before Jenny stepped back, cleared her throat, and walked back to her desk, shaking her head as if coming out of a daze.
Olivia sighed, sternly told her libido to pipe the heck down, and went back to her work.
Chapter 32
Jenny didn’t know whether to be happy or not about the fact she hadn’t been in the office all week. She and Olivia had been dating—on the down low—for nearly three weeks now, and it was going well. So being away from the office was, on the one hand, difficult when all she wanted to do was stare dreamily at Olivia at her desk.
Olivia had this cute way of biting her lip when she concentrated that had Jenny completely mesmerized whenever she did it. She also continued to wear skirt suits to work, despite
