When There Was You Read online

  “Sorry, I…” Chloe looked down at Jenna’s black puffer vest, then down at her own and started laughing. “Oh, matching uniforms I see.”

  “Don’t you know puffer vests are all the rage in Crawley?”

  “Seems they are indeed.” Chloe smiled back at Jenna.

  “Slightly more appropriate attire than pajamas though,” Jenna reasoned, as they locked eyes for a little while, before it became too much for Jenna. She looked around the dining room. “So, where’s Adam? I thought he was coming.”

  “Something urgent came up. He will join us later. You know boys.”

  Well the ice had been broken, now what? Jenna thought as she sat down, and picked up the menu flicking through the pages. She felt like she was on a first date, and could feel Chloe watching her every move. An awkward silence, jitters, and dumb sentences were flowing out of mouth.

  “So, food?” she finally dribbled, her mouth a desert.

  “Was thinking eggs benedict with ham,” Chloe replied confidently.

  “Ok great, make that two.” Jenna was not even sure what she had agreed to. It was all just a blur as she looked into the sea of Chloe’s eyes. Something to do with breakfast. Something with eggs. That will do. She was not in a state to make important decisions. She also matched Chloe’s coffee order with similar reasoning.

  “So, how long have Adam and you been a couple?” Jenna brazenly enquired. Well it actually just flew out of her mouth and she was just as shocked that she had asked it.

  Chloe looked a little taken aback and there was a brief silence, as Jenna watched her response closely.

  “Oh no, Adam is,” Chloe paused for a moment as their eyes met, and took in a deep breath, “gorgeous.”

  She suddenly looked shy, her face turning a light shade of pink, and looked away from Jenna, before continuing. “But we are not together. We have only known each other for a year, but we just clicked, you know? We are just friends, and agreed one drunken night that if we ever had to get out of a hairy situation, we could refer to each other as boyfriend/girlfriend. A kind of SOS call.”

  Did she just imagine it or did Chloe just call her gorgeous? No, she was insane, and clearly, she was talking about Adam. God, she was mesmerizing though. Jenna sighed internally. Feelings buzzed through her body, as her heartbeat picked up again.

  “So, do you have a boyfriend?” Man, she was definitely her mother’s daughter, peppering Chloe with questions.

  Chloe tucked her hair behind her ear. “Not since high school. That was a lifetime ago.” She wasn’t giving anything away.

  “So single?” Jenna piped up a little too eagerly as the coffee and food orders were delivered to the table with the surly little waitress darting a look to Chloe, and then to Jenna. She was now privy to this conversation.

  “Ah yes, for the last four months. I was seeing a girl for a few weeks but that didn’t work out,” Chloe explained. Gaydar was definitively on point. Ding, ding, ding. Winning bells started to ring in her head and she had to put on the best poker face of her life to hide a massive smile that she could feel bursting at the seams.

  “And you Jenna? Seeing anyone?” Chloe asked, as her stomach surprisingly knotted in anticipation. This girl was just too cute.

  “Oh no I’m single as. I think I’m a disaster magnet. And I’m also gay.”

  “I already worked that one out.”

  Jenna sipped at her coffee, too distracted to taste it. “The disaster magnet or gay part?”

  “Being gay.”

  “Did the puffer vest give me away?”

  They both laughed and time stood still for a second.

  Distracted by conversation and an underlying attraction meant that neither of them had actually touched breakfast. It was now getting cold and soggy, and started to look sad on their plates.

  “Do you want to maybe grab a drink tomorrow evening?” Jenna blurted out, without thinking through the anxiety level this would create.

  Wow, who was this new Jenna, that was bold and taking charge. She did not recognize herself.

  “Sorry I can’t.”

  Jenna’s heart sank. “Oh okay, no worries.”

  “Can we make it Wednesday? I’ll be working with Adam tomorrow.”

  “Sure, that would be great.” Jenna smiled. “Do we need coordinate outfits?”

  Chloe laughed. “I’ll message you and let you know what I am wearing.”

  And with that, their relationship had suddenly notched up another gear. Facing each other they held each other’s gaze for longer than was needed further fueling the attraction between them.

  “We should probably start on our eggs.” Chloe broke the silence, picking up her knife and fork. “We seem to have forgotten all about them.”

  Jenna was in a daze and her insides were having a party. She did not give two hoots about her breakfast. Certainly not today.

  Then as if almost on cue, Adam waltzed in through the door, glancing first at Jenna, then Chloe. “Hey ladies, did you miss me?” He looked at their plates. “So, do you recommend the eggs?”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Jenna spent the afternoon with her mom and sister zipping around town helping Hannah get ready for her college year, and having lunch at a quaint, little French bistro whilst bonding over champagne and fine cheese. Well orange juice for the under-aged Hannah, who was eighteen. Hannah was all revved up to start her degree in physiotherapy and could not wait to throw herself into study like an eager beaver. Her enthusiasm was infectious at times. She was like that with most things. Jenna found herself exhausted after hanging out with her for too long.

  Upon returning to the hotel later in the evening, Jenna spent time attending to her work. She had been amiss the last twenty-four hours, and frankly, that was not good enough, no matter how pleasant the distraction was. Despite the fact that she was on two weeks leave, she had to check in periodically. She was the CEO and needed to keep a watchful eye across operations.

  TheCom was her baby, her brainchild, and she was proud of what it had achieved in a relatively short amount of time in a niche market. It essentially assisted customers, mainly from real estate and government bodies, in developing a suite of software that would help improve the efficiency of their operations. TheCom helped customers reduce their workload by replacing workflows with a customized mobile app and superior software for data storage. The collected data allowed customers to view, analyze and report on their operations, which was almost impossible to do before.

  When she finished college, she started TheCom out of her shoebox apartment to minimize costs. The space was so small that her bed inevitably became her desk. She pulled regular all-nighters until her business started to gain some traction. With runs on the board, she was able to successfully pitch to investors, and that in turn, allowed her to hire staff and rent an office space.

  Four years on, she now had a tight group of five employees and a trendy office in downtown San Francisco, and was in the process of buying those investors out. TheCom had achieved double digit growth year on year, and she was now at the helm of a multimillion-dollar enterprise, which was looking to diversify into other industries. These were exciting times for the business, and for Jenna.

  Marley, a spritely young 21-year old, was the go-to girl on her team, and beyond her years in maturity. She had a blond short pixie haircut that matched her savvy, confident personality and a set of baby blue eyes. She was one of life’s happy people.

  She was a hipster and was always outfitted in the latest trends. She ran operations like a whippet, whipping things into shape in record speed, and Jenna could always rely on her on doing an immaculate job while she away from the office. Nevertheless, she checked in regularly with her right-hand lady.

  Jenna dialed her number in her cell. “Hey miss Marley, everything okay in the fort?”

  “Yes J, all good here. Don’t stress. We had a problem with the server dropping. I sent you an email. But this was resolved within the hour so didn’t impact our workflow.
” She continued, “what else? Our pipeline is clean. Matt and Jason have almost completed the bids for the Evergreen, and Upstart projects. Just need finance to approve costing so they can be submitted as part of the tender process. Apart from that, no new developments.”

  Jenna sighed relief. “Okay great. Just keep me posted.”

  “Of course. What about you? How are you doing in Hicksville? Any news?” she pried.

  “Well, actually, you wouldn’t believe it.” Jenna exhaled loudly. “I have met someone remotely interesting.”

  “Whaaaatttttt?” yelled Marley, who sounded like she fell off a chair, as something made a distinct thud behind her.

  “Before you get too excited, she is way out of my league. I basically pass out every time I see her.”

  “This is wonderful news! You haven’t told me you like anybody, in like forever, so this is music to my ears. And pssshhhhh, you could have anybody you want, so don’t sell yourself short.”

  Jenna laughed. “My track record begs to differ.”

  “And she must be super-hot, if you’re at pass out stage.”

  Jenna raised her eyebrows in admission. “That she is.”

  “I want a daily run-down J. You got it? I want the dirty stuff too. No skimping on details.”

  Jenna finally interrupted. “Go away and do some work, you gossiper.”

  “This is part of my work. Getting my boss a love life, so she stops bugging me at work.” Marley was back laughing at her own jokes, and Jenna couldn’t help but giggle with her.

  “You clown. Chat later.”

  Marley made kissy noises. “Bye bye lovebirds.”

  Jenna smiled and rolled her eyes, ending the call. Sometimes Marley was too much, but she needed that in her life. A little chaos was healthy.

  She like that she called her J. They had a wonderful relationship, and despite the five-year age gap, she considered her one of her closest friends and allies. She was also gay and her colorful dating life thoroughly amused Jenna. On a weekly basis, they would laugh hysterically over coffee cups as Marley regaled her with her latest tryst or disaster. Most of them eye-watering disasters. She was a wonderful storyteller.

  Jenna rubbed her thumping temples as she sat at her laptop. Right, let’s finish this off. She liked to be up to date with every facet of her business, so she ran a quick eye over their accounts, and cash flow. She then methodically cleared her inbox, replying to emails and delegating others to Marley. She authorized payments, and finished tying up loose ends on an upcoming contract with a government body that they won on tender.

  After about an hour, she was done. All in all, it had been a productive day. Her work had been the one ray of sunshine in her life and gave her purpose, helping her work through a troubled time rife with insomnia, and self-doubt. Now if only she could find that sunshine in other parts of her life.

  One area was looking up and she was excited to see Chloe Wednesday night, even just as a distraction. She was embarrassed to admit that she had in fact looked out through her door’s peephole on a few occasions to see if Chloe was there milling by the vending machine.

  She had to step up on her tippy-toes as the peephole was clearly made for tall giants, but the strain was worth it. Her peephole gave a perfect line of sight to the vending machine, but much to her disappointment, her spying operations were not fruitful and she did not see Chloe.

  She did, however, catch an elderly man in the act last night at some frightful hour after she heard a distinct rumbling of the machine. He was crouching over butt naked in his underpants, clearly desperate, and purchased three chocolate bars. She had laughed and wondered what else she would see if she stood by her peephole for an extended period.

  There was only really one person on her mind, however, and knowing that Chloe was staying somewhere in the hotel had made everything even more real and exciting. It had also put her on edge. She couldn’t help but wonder if some small part of her was thinking about her too.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Day three of testing, and Chloe and Adam began their work at daybreak with the birds. They spent a grueling day down at the Hudson Dam, refining their process of measuring water quality, and contamination levels. The pollution in the reservoir had been caused by metallic sediments, deep in the dam’s catchment, dissolving in the water. And those sediments were a by-product of decades of coal mining, which had caused extensive and lasting damage.

  While it was known that the dam was contaminated to a degree, the research paper was hoping to highlight the extent of this contamination, and create a debate as to the long-term sustainability of the dam.

  Records had showed samples from Hudson Dam had alarmingly exceeded acceptable limits more than seventy times in two years. The county had since proposed an expansion of the dam, with the local population expecting to swell to two hundred thousand in 2040. The findings of this research could help challenge that proposal.

  Chloe and Adam’s research involved running testing over a seven-day period, collating their results, drafting an impact statement and disseminating the information to relevant parties.

  Ten hours later and finally back at the hotel, the party of two had changed out of their grubby gear and were enjoying a couple of quiet dirty martinis down at the bar. Despite being largely distracted by mountains of work, Chloe had a distinct spring in her step following her random encounter with Adam’s cousin Jenna. There was something there, something electric, she recounted, as she rehashed their meeting. Surely, she couldn’t be alone in feeling this.

  Chloe had not had a serious relationship for years, and longed for something meaningful. She had a raging social life, a large gaggle of friends, and was hardly a lonely old spinster with a cat. She was out most nights, even weeknights, and did not even like cats.

  But there had been something in Jenna’s expression when they met that had felt like they had known each other a life time. Those big, deep brown eyes looked like they had countless stories to tell.

  As Adam continued talking to her, her mind drifted further and she found herself looking past him towards the entry, shamefully wishing that Jenna would make an impromptu appearance. Even if it was in her pajamas.

  “Earth to Chloe, earth to Chloe.” Adam said gently, as he waved his hand in front of a Chloe who was in a trance like state.

  “Oh, I…” Chloe stumbled, trying to collect her thoughts.

  “Chloe is there something you want to tell me? I know our project is going well, but there’s something else.” He put his finger to his mouth. “Hmmm. My powers of deduction are telling me that it may have to do with my attractive cousin, Jenna?”

  Chloe squatted him and laughed. “Why would you say that?”

  “Well, maybe the way you two couldn’t take your eyes each other this morning when I came down for breakfast. It looked like you wanted to eat each other, rather than the eggs. Or the fact that I know you are catching up tomorrow night. Jenna squealed. And well, you are both disgustingly happy for some unbeknownst reason. What could that be.” Adam widened his eyes.

  Chloe smiled from ear to ear. “Okay Colombo, well yes we are going on a date tomorrow night.”

  “And?”

  “And, I think like her.” She let out a sigh. This is the first time she was able to say it out loud. She possibly liked too her much. How could she like someone so quickly. The past few days had been a bit of a whirlwind, and her mind and body were spinning at thought of what could be.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Jenna had spent Wednesday morning with a lazy lie in. She woke up exhausted after a sex dream with Chloe had worn her out, so she felt like she had earned it. She was sweaty, her heart was racing and her panties undeniably messy. She could feel the wetness between her legs and she squirmed uncomfortably. What was this girl doing to her?

  She showered and had a double shot in her coffee, burying herself in a few hours of work as a distraction. Marley had trapped her on the phone for more than an hour, mainly gossiping about some h
orrendous internet date she had the previous night, and by the time she looked at her watch, it was already mid-afternoon.

  Jenna started getting ready for her date way too early as she was too anxious to sit still. It was also almost impossible to block Chloe from her mind. She had been pacing around the room like a nut before lambasting herself. For crying out loud, get a grip.

  She switched on some music, and made herself a strong double-shot gin and tonic, sipping at it for Dutch courage. Cold and tangy, just how she liked it. It was now an hour before they were supposed to meet and she was washed, dressed, and sitting on the foot of her bed, swinging her legs back and forth at will. She was fully conscious of how slowly time seemed to be moving. Each time she checked her watch, only one minute had passed.

  She needed to keep Neurotic Jenna in check tonight, or all hell could break loose. Her cell then vibrated on cue making her jump. It was a message from Chloe. “Black pants, black silk top and a pair of black heels.” She smiled. Smartass. She got the memo. No black tonight. She was mixing things up and stepping her look up a notch.

  At ten to six, Jenna left her room, donning a white satin camisole with shoe string straps, navy tailored slacks, and strappy heels. Her hair hung loosely over her bare shoulders, with black eyeliner accentuating her dark eyes, and red lipstick staining her lips.

  She made her way down to George’s bar for their date, which was surprisingly a hive of activity. She took a minute at the entry to breathe and scope out the place, watching guys and girls mixing and mingling, drinks in hand. Outfits were vibrant and conversation was flowing. The bar oozed ambience with woody tones, subdued lighting and jazzy music playing from the speakers. This was the perfect place for a first date. Great choice.

  The rich beams of mahogany wood that lined the walls and ceiling, added an unmistakable warmth and homeliness. She spotted some small tables with candle lighting and leather chairs, littered across the center space, and thought this was the perfect place to start their date.