Assignment 2 - Embarrassment

Assignment: Embarrassment

Adam Wright sat at his desk, pretending to work on a few invoices, all the while sneaking glances at Jessie Brady. He could not understand why he was attracted to her. She seemed to want to aggravate him. He did like her spirit, the way she stood up to him, and even backed down. He doubted that their conversation about changing the way things ran at Brady Construction ended because he made her file paperwork. He assumed that with her feisty personality she would wait until Nolan returned, and get him on her side. He would have to bide his time and see how it all played out.

They worked in silence for a few hours. Every turn she made from the file cabinet to Nolan’s desk he found mesmerizing as her long, brown, wavy hair floated like autumn leaves. Every now and then, she would catch him watching her, try to suppress a smile and turn away. He would bet anything she was blushing when she turned her back. Once she had most of the stack filed in the appropriate drawers, he decided now would be a good time to take a break and get out of the office for a bit.

“Are you ready?”

Jessie turned to look at him. “For?”

He reached into his pocket, produced his cell phone, and dangled it in his hand. “Cell phone. Nolan wants you to have one, remember.” He shook his head, wondered how she got a college degree in business if she couldn’t even remember something they told her three hours ago.

“I’m ready,” she said, a phony smile on her lips.

He headed to the door, pushed it open, and waited for her.

“You know, it takes more effort to frown than it does to smile.” Adam stood in front of her, waiting for a response.

“So I’ve heard,” she mumbled.

“The cell store is just around the corner, next to the boutique. Has anyone taken you in there yet?” Adam began walking, popped his shades on to block the bright morning sun.

“Could you slow down?”

He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck looking down at the dirt lot. “Sorry, bad habit of mine.” He should have known with her small frame and petite size she could not keep up with his long strides.

Jessie made strides and caught up to him. Adam slowed his pace to match hers.

She tucked her right hand into her back pocket as they continued walking, her posture relaxing. He stopped short of the doorway to the cell store, opened the door, and held it for her.

Adam entered behind her, saw Bob standing behind the counter, ogling Jessie as she walked around. Jessie browsed the phones, and Bob’s eyes never moved from her, making Adam annoyed.

Adam moved towards him, stood in his line of sight. “Bob.”

“Adam, what can I do for you?” He leaned to the side, still trying to get a better look at Jessie.

“Need another phone.” Adam took a step to the side, blocking him a second time.

Bob snapped his blue eyes back to Adam. “Another one? Do any of you hang onto the phones you get?” He shook his head and walked to the back room.

Adam turned around and leaned his hip against the counter. Watching Jessie walking around, showing interest in a few models as she continued to pick up expensive phones, push some buttons and put it back, moving on to the next one. He imagined what Jessie’s disappointment would be when she found out she would be getting a standard model, just like the rest of the employees.

“Here you go,” Bob said.

Adam spun around, glad for the distraction of gaping at her himself. “I need a SIM and the phone set up for Jessie.”

Bob stared at him; his eyes wide before he started laughing. “Are you telling me that little thing is working construction?” He continued to laugh, his broad shoulders bouncing up and down like a basketball.

Adam shook his head, ready to speak.

“Actually,” Jessie began, moving up beside Adam. “I’ll be working in the office.

Bob stopped and rubbed the back of his neck, his ears visibly red. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, little lady. Don’t mean any offense.” He made fast work of opening the box and popping the SIM out of its holder and then turned it on. “It will need to charge overnight, but you should be able to use it today.” Bob entered information into the computer, and after a few minutes, he wrote her phone number in black marker on the card.

He handed it to her with a warm smile on his face, his eyes clearly on her breasts. “This is your new phone number. Everything you need is inside this box. If you have problems, don’t hesitate to come back and I’ll help you out as much as I can.” He put the box into a bag and handed the phone to Jessie.

Jessie took the card and put it into her back pants pocket, staring at him hard until Bob raised his gaze.
“Thanks, Bob, but I think I can handle it from here.” She turned and walked toward the door, leaving Adam to catch up.

Once outside, he started laughing. “Don’t like Bob?”

She sighed, shaking her head making her hair fly into her face. “I hate men like that. Gawking at me from a distance, treating me like a child who has to be led.” Brushing away a long strand of her dark hair she blushed. “Sorry. I’m not usually so testy.”

Adam smiled at her. Liked the rose color in her cheeks. “Don’t be. I was ready to slap him myself for the way he acted.”

Jessie’s eyebrows rose. “Were you now?”

“Yes,” Adam said. “Why are you surprised?”

Jessie walked down the street. “Could have sworn someone was doing the same thing to me at the office.” She shook her head and picked up her speed.

Adam cursed under his breath, tugged the bill of his baseball cap down over his eyes, slammed his hand into his front pockets and trudged along behind her. If there was a hole in the ground, he would gladly crawl into it at that moment.

WC:1054