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Jade froze in place as coffee and confections landed on Jace, on herself, and on the floor. Her eyes widened in shock as reality hit her - she'd just made a mess all over her boss! He would never forgive her for this, especially on such a big day! She reached across his desk and grabbed a bunch of tissues in hopes of dabbing at his delicate suit and shirt before they had the chance to get completely ruined.  "I-it's all my fault," she said quickly, her apology flowing out what was most likely too little too late. She pulled back from dabbing with the Kleenex as he began to promptly strip himself as if he wasn't aware that she was in the room. She took a step backward and threw up her hands to cover her eyes, wondering if this was a test to see if she would try and sneak a peek. "For crying out loud," she mumbled as she lowered her hands, hearing him stop the ruffling of the fabric. "Towels," she said aloud finally, "yes. Those would be, um, very helpful." She turned her lips into a small smile, hoping to appear very apologetic. She wasn't sure why he felt the need to undress so quickly - once the initial burn of the coffee was done he very well could have managed to survive while keeping his expensive dress shirt in tact and on his torso. She turned her body and began to scan the walls for an item that she hadn't noticed before - something, anything that would keep her thoroughly flushed face from alternating between his sculpted body and his beautiful eyes. She finally managed to notice a certificate with his full name written in elaborate script across the top. University of Nevada Las Vegas and Jace Frederick Barker were the two items that caught her attention. He graduated from the same school she was attending and his middle name was Frederick?! She tried her best to stifle a laugh at what she had read, but when she turned around she found him bent over his desk as he tried to speak into the intercom. First his torso and now a full view of his behind? Did he want her to have an emotional breakdown today?

Owen made his way through the line and bought a treat for himself and one for Jenna. He knew that it was a big deal for him to ask her to come all the way out to pick him up, so he figured he may as well make it worth it to her. He then proceeded to grab his luggage from the pickup area and head out to the front of the airport. He waited anxiously for her to arrive and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her roll up to the valet line. He made sure he had all of his things together before he ran out to the car, opening the door so quickly he nearly ripped it off of the car frame. His eyes widened when he saw some of the clutter in the back seat. He decided not to say anything about it, simply for the lack of time. He found an empty spot on the seat and threw his things inside. He ran around to hop into the passenger's seat. He buckled up as she began to drive away. "Here, I got these for you," he said, "I hope you like airport food." He shrugged, placing a cup of her favorite cappuccino into the cup holder and extending a handful of cake pops in her direction. "I know you like these, and I do too, so if you don't feel like eating all of them I'd be more than happy to take them off of your hands." He smiled as she took one to snack on. He looked over and saw that her hair was more voluminous and shaken-up than usual, with her shoes kicked off and resting on the floor in front of her seat. "Were you dancing while you were driving, Jenna?" he asked her, trying his best to avoid letting out a chuckle. "Do I need to ask you what song was playing or is it better that it remains classified?" He glanced back out the windshield as they made the short drive back to the office building. "And by the way, thanks for coming out here to get me. I knew if I asked anyone else it would be like pulling teeth, they all make such a big deal out of the small stuff it seems like." They sat in silence for a few more minutes before they arrived at their destination. As they got out and he collected his things to head inside the building, he asked, "Do you have some time later to swing by my office? I think we need to discuss some things..."

didn't they like break away and start a new band recently? i'm not sure if they've released anything, maybe it was just a twitter rumor or something.

i remember making copies of their CD for all of my friends in middle school lol, we were all huge fans

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Jade spun around on her heels to face Jace before she had the chance to completely exit his office. "Sure, what can I do to help?" she asked, leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms over her chest. She furrowed her eyebrows ever so slightly when he didn't speak for a few moments. They just stood there in his office, awkwardly glancing at each other after he had spoke. "Jace, you in there?" she joked, letting out a quick nervous laugh. She was finally able to analyze his facial expression and it appeared that he had made a verbal faux pas in that the words had slipped from his mouth before he was consciously aware of what he was saying to her. As she stood there, wondering what had made him slip up with his words, she tried to think about what had made him so distracted. It had been brought to her attention that he wasn't on top of his game, according to some of the other interns (mostly Peggy), but as far as she was concerned, he was still signing major deals and doing his job the way it was meant to be done, so it wasn't any of her business. She didn't know much about his personal life, other than the fact that he wasn't a big fan of golf and he preferred strong coffee over the weak stuff. It suddenly hit her what could have been making him so preoccupied. What if Peggy was constantly making these remarks because she was fooling around with him? After all, she wasn't really good at her job but seemed to always have a reason to talk to him! The two probably were uncomfortable together when Jade was in the room because they weren't able to act naturally! Was he giving her an unfair advantage? What would he ever want to do with her, especially after making such remarks about her presence? "I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, shaking her head, "I must have misheard you, I thought you called out to me." She tried her best to help him cover up the mistake that he had supposedly made, but after just a second had passed she felt that she had likely made the situation even more awkward than he could have ever intended. She needed to get out of there and clear her head before any images of Jace and Peggy together could begin to flood her vision. "My apologies, once again. Goodbye, Jace."

 

Owen rolled his eyes and let out the smallest of sighs at her passing the hot potato onto his lap. He wanted to tell her to cut the crap as he ran a hand through his hair but he was afraid that might upset her or make her even more timid to answer his question. "Please don't act like you don't know why I'm asking. After how things have gone between us these past few days - and weeks, I guess - I just want to know where we stand." He shrugged his shoulders, nervously fiddling with his shirt at the nape of his neck. He wasn't particularly used to having this conversation with women; in fact, it'd been a while since he'd even considered being in a relationship. A few years prior he was badly abused by his girlfriend and threatened to swear off dating entirely. He had just recently started thinking about the idea of spending the rest of his life with a woman and was quite eager to get the process going. "I want to know if I'm allowed to compliment you on your blouse or tell you that you've got a run in your pantyhose, which I'm hoping you realize that you did the other day." He frowned as he noticed how she began to fidget uncomfortably in her seat. That wasn't his intention at all, to make her uncomfortable in any way. In fact, he wanted her to realize that if she did have feelings for him that they were in fact mutual and not unrequited. "Am I allowed to tell you that I've bought movie tickets for the two of us tomorrow evening or do I need to find someone else to enjoy the show with me?" He pursed his lips, hoping she would pipe in at some point. He noticed that her gaze was focused on his name tag on his desk, rather than on his eyes. He wanted to look into her deep baby blue eyes and find out what she was really feeling, as she wasn't willing to tell him herself. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, are we going to continue to ignore what's going on between us or are we going to seize the day, of sorts, and start calling ourselves by our first names? Are we going to actually interact outside of work more than once a week?" He let out a deep breath. "I'll take the first step, just to test the waters, you know? Jenna, would you like to go to dinner and a movie with me tomorrow night, perhaps stay the night at my place?"

i think Like Whoa was mine but Rush was easily my second favorite.
omg i spent way too many days dancing to their music on my trampoline. those were the days.
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Jade pursed her lips, glad that he'd finally come back to his senses. She was worried that she would need to light a few strong candles down the hall and perhaps hold a witch-y voo-doo session to get him snapped out of his thoughts. She let out another nervous laugh at his comment about the aspirin. The last thing she needed was a boss desperate enough to consume expired medicine. She came back in and sat down at the seat in front of him, feeling a bit more relaxed now that he was "all there". She listened to his question and gathered her thoughts. How was she supposed to answer a question like that? Wasn't it a bit unfair that Jace would be the one to know her answer? Suddenly, the survey didn't seem as reliable as she had originally thought. Of course, she didn't want Jace to notice her realization so she bit her lip as she faked a moment of deep thought. After all, she had been noticing the way that Jace had been looking at her lately. She knew that when she went to hand him coffee, his eyes sometimes locked on the way that her jacket hugged her waist or how her skirt sat on her hips. He called her into his office to fix some of the things that he obviously knew how to do himself, like raising the height on his official big-wig chair or helping him lift some old veterinary textbooks up onto a shelf, even though he was significantly taller than she. Feeling a little bit bold, she decided to plant a seed into his mind. This would definitely get him reeling inside, whether he was truly asking this question for a survey or for his own interest. "Well..." she began, trying her best not to beat around the bush, "I don't believe that I'm necessarily involved, but I do think that there is something going on, yes. I'd rather say yes than no, just to be sure and cover all of the bases." Her eyes widened at what she had said. "No pun intended," she added with a short giggle. "I mean, I guess it doesn't quite get in the way of things here, per se, but if it continues to develop then it may cause quite an uproar, I simply don't know how else to put it." She smiled warmly. "Does my answer satisfy what you're looking for? Are there any other questions to which I am asked to respond?"

 

Owen frowned deeply at Jenna's response. He certainly hadn't expected to be rejected, especially for such a reason. If anything, she was the one that was perfectly okay with going out to dinner in the first place. In fact, as he recalled, he'd had to tell her to tone it down a few notches once or twice to ensure that things hadn't gone out of hand. He couldn't deny the electricity that he felt when she touched her hand to his, as cheesy and unoriginal as it had sounded. He knew that she would regret turning him down sooner or later, but his competitive edge in him preferred that it happen sooner. So she didn't want a physical relationship with him. That much he could get over, sure, although it would be tough to imagine not being able to get to know her. "Do you know how many doors I could open for you, simply because I got to know you? Jenna, I just want to find out more about you. I find you very curious and inquisitive, emotional but headstrong. I want to be able to help you out in any way that I can, but I can't do that if you completely shut me out. We don't have to jump right into things - we don't have to go off the diving board without testing the water first - I just want to start somewhere. That's all I'm asking." He shook his head. "I'm not looking for anything physical right now, please be aware of that. I want you to know that I'm on your side and I want to help you get places, which is something that I can't do if you back yourself into a corner." He drew in a deep breath as she went to exit the room. "Think about it, Jenna. You always know where to find me." When she finally left, he rolled his eyes, embarrassed as to how he had acted. He just ruined what little they had between them in a matter of minutes, and now they would never get anywhere further. He slammed his fist down on his desk and quickly reached to pick up his phone. "Hi, yes, can I speak to someone about obtaining the records of a Jenna Sparks?" he asked the lady on the line after dialing the phone number of the university that Jenna was attending. "She's a junior at your school and has been one of my employees for a few weeks now, I want to get some more background information on her." If she wasn't going to give him anything, he was going to use everything in his power to find out what he could on his own. 

Jade sighed heavily, pondering how to answer his question. Was now the time to give an offhand answer or did she want to let him figure things out for himself? Yes, that's what she would do - make him do all the work, just as she had done with the first question. "No, sir, I'd be happy to answer," she began. "What I mean is that from what I gather, having worked here for a little while now, relationships are frowned upon between coworkers, no matter what their rank or position. I wouldn't want to cause a disruption in the office, so this relationship needs to be shifted outside of my career now more so than ever." She smiled once again, just a slight expression. She adjusted in her seat a little bit as she watched him jot down a bunch of chicken scratch on his notepad. Ah, now she knew exactly where this was going. She hoped that her answers to his questions would be the elbow in his ribs, of sorts, that would kick-start whatever he was up to. She saw the sparkle in his eyes and could probably have heard the gears grinding inside that maniacal head of his. She'd had feelings for him for a while, yes, but she would never admit it directly to him. She had no reason to do so - it wasn't exactly evident that he felt the same way towards her. If he did, he was doing a damn good job of hiding how he felt. Maybe that was something that he took pride in? It seemed as if he was secretive about certain things - his family and friends, for instance, that she knew nothing about. He didn't have pictures all over his walls like he did with his numerous certificates, degrees, and diplomas. Pictures of him with corporate sponsors and other people that had made such an impact on his company. But nothing of the ones that he loved. She wondered what he went home to every night. Did he live alone in a house that he didn't even have enough furniture for? Or did he go home to a shady little shack with his girlfriend and a mangy dog? "And thank you for the compliment, I try my best to maintain balance in my life. I'm not a huge fan of surprise so I like to know what other people think of me right off the bat. I'm pretty impatient." She paused, catching herself. Now she looked like the girl from high school that you had to knock out at the lunch table just so she would shut up. Her face turned pink as she grew more embarrassed and self-conscious by the second. She cleared her throat before she spoke again. "Sorry, I'm officially rambling now, I bet that's not your intention, correct? But I do have one question for you," she added, "if you don't have any more for me. Will my answers remain anonymous, as in they won't be traced back to me?"

 

Owen nodded as he scribbled down a few notes on a piece of paper beside his computer. "Thank you so much for your help, miss," he said as he wrote, "I'll call back if I have any more questions for you. Thanks again." He hung up the phone abruptly, grabbing the piece of paper and pecking the address into his computer's search engine. His eyes widened when he realized how he and Jenna had grown up mere minutes away from each other. According to Google Maps, he used to buy fresh produce every Sunday morning from the little market on the corner that her parents had owned! He decided that it was fate that they had been brought together. Being a good five years older than she, they had never attended school together and he was an only child. It was entirely possible that they had never run into each other until now, something that he assumed was done by complete destiny. He ran his hands through his hair as he shut his eyes for a few moments to take this all in. His phone rang too soon and he picked it up to find that his receptionist had penciled him in to attend a meeting since he was already home from the east coast. He cursed under his breath and told her that he'd head to the conference room right away and that he'd be bringing a guest. He slid his jacket back on and stuffed his cell phone into his pocket before he exited his office and headed down the hall. He made his way through the common area and over to where he could find Jenna sitting quietly at her desk. "Come with me," he said, leaning against the imitation wall that separated her cubicle from the others, "I need someone that has actually been doing work this past week, I don't know what's been going on around here that Claire would need to arrange for a meeting." He waited for her to spin around in her chair before he gently grabbed her by the wrist. "We don't have much time, let's get going." They made their way to the conference room together. When they found themselves alone in the room, he went inside and shut the door after them. He didn't let her travel far before he stopped her in her tracks, placing his hands on her shoulders. "We need to set up some rules here, Miss Sparks. You will not speak unless spoken to. You will not talk badly of your coworkers and you will - oh, dear..." his voice trailed off as he used the tip of his thumb to carefully wipe off a spot of lipstick that had found its way onto her chin. He pursed his lips lightly, letting out a deep breath and withdrawing his hands from her as he found he may have gone too far. As far as he knew, what he had just done wasn't exactly acceptable.

Jade nodded. "I see exactly where you're going with this, sir. Dismiss any rumors before they can be created, that's what I understand," she concluded. "I thank you for allowing my name to be excluded from anything that gets published, it would also benefit everyone else here. We don't want newspaper photographers barging down the doors looking for me, the author of the statement, do we?" She displayed a small smile but nervously shifted in her seat when he appeared behind her. She stood up quickly, feeling a bit awkward as she wasn't sure how she was to excuse herself from the room. "Thank you so much for this opportunity, I'll get started right away, Mr. -- uh, Jace," she said before giving him a brief wave as she entered the hallway. She shook her head in disbelief as she realized a few things. For starters, he always seemed so open with their relationship - if that's what you could call it, but yet, she kept catching herself remaining entirely professional, even when he asked her to loosen up a bit. She flipped some of her hair out of her face as she made her way back to her desk. Her eyes widened when she approached her computer and found it nearly entirely demolished. The screen had been shattered, sticky substances poured all over the keyboard and the mouse lay disassembled into a million pieces on the floor. She picked up the monitor and turned it around, wondering if she'd been a victim of the latest crime spree in the building. She had heard days before that interns were stealing the computer cords and selling them online, as they were worth a lot of money (apparently - she had no clue what they did, let alone what they were worth), but she figured that it was just a rumor that circulated around the water cooler each morning. She viewed the serial code on the back of the monitor and found a sticky note that read "Have fun with this one - Peggy". Furious, she ripped off the sticky note and charged down the hall to Jace's office, her thoughts clouded as she was unsure who to report the incident to. "We have another problem on our hands," she proclaimed loudly as she walked into his office, finding him casually playing on his computer at his desk. She walked up and handed him the sticky note. "Are you entirely sure that she walked away after we had our conversation?" she demanded, taking a seat in the chair that she'd been settled in only minutes before. 

 

Owen couldn't help but laugh at her remark. "And I'm the one treating others like children, okay," he mumbled. He drew in a sharp breath as her delicate hands made their way towards his upper thigh. This is officially war, he thought to himself, she's not getting away with this one. "Fighting fire with fire, are we?" he said as she approached her seat. "That's how this is going to go?" He cleared his throat as he took his own seat beside her after shaking a bunch of clammy hands. He didn't realize he was making a bunch of older business men, likely much more advanced and wise than he, nervous as they were probably shaking in their boots. "All I ask is the same from you," he whispered in her ear before the meeting began. For roughly an hour, the group discussed a deal that was in the works to combine Owen's company with another large corporation that would mean cheaper prices for veterinarians hoping to buy medicines through the pharmacy that he was in charge of. It all seemed like a good deal until they got down to the last items on the list that were to be addressed. The one idea that stood out to Owen was that while the deal was to be implemented, only essential staff were allowed to work for the company in order to avoid any chance of an impromptu snafu. This meant that in a matter of days, unless he got the ball rolling immediately, Jenna and the other interns would have no more internship opportunities at his company. His face went pale as the idea was announced, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Jenna stiffened in her seat. He panicked - he should have never brought her into the room, if he had known this was going to end on a bad note. Clearing his throat in an attempt to snap himself out of his thoughts, Owen rose from his seat and thanked the man that was to be processing the deal with one of his signature strong handshakes. The room soon emptied except for he and Jenna, who stayed behind to 'clean up the room', at least, that's what he told the men as they filed out of the room. He turned to face Jenna, who had her face buried in her hands. "I've got an idea, Jenna, I'm not going to let them take away all of you at once," he told her, propping himself up on the table with one elbow. "I would welcome you into the company with open arms, but as you want to be treated like a professional, I'm going to have to take a different approach." He paused as he stood up from his seat and began walking towards the door, motioning for her to follow along after him. "Why do you want to be an official employee for Thatcher Pharmaceuticals? I'd appreciate if you'd turn in your paper by the end of the day - I ask that you personally deliver it to my office before you leave." He went to exit the room but quickly turned his head back around to add, "And thank you for remaining silent. Seems like someone knows how to listen to at least one rule."

Jade chewed at her lip as he read the sticky note. "I can promise you that I'm unaware of why she is acting in such a way, sir," she told him, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her blouse. "I couldn't tell you the first thing about her, besides what she puts on as a show for the public." She coughed, realizing that her comment may have been a bit rude. She drew in and let out a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. "The decision that you choose to make regarding her employment will not alter my behavior whatsoever, I can assure you that much. However, for Peggy, there's no way for either of us to predict her reaction to how you handle this... 'situation'." She ran a hand through her hair, realizing how flustered she truly was. "If you'd really like to know, I guess I can tell you what I believe is the reason for all of this commotion. It seems as if Peggy is jealous of what little interaction that I have with you. I'm sure that after seeing how she reacted to my presence this morning you can confirm my suspicions." She pursed her lips as she contemplated his proposition. "Oh, no, that's alright, I don't want to get in the way of your work," she said eventually. In all actuality, she didn't quite fancy the idea of him peering over her shoulder as she pecked away on his keyboard. The idea that she would be surrounded by the tantalizing aroma of his cologne was enough to send her mind into a frenzy. "I'm sure that there's a desk on the next floor that will be available for my use." When he seemed saddened by her rejection of his idea, she frowned and gave in. "Alright, I guess I can work up here. If I can go ahead and create the statement in your word processing software, it'll be easier for you to use for the purposes that you intended. That way, we won't have to worry with exchanging emails of formatting and such." She shrugged, hoping that was she was rambling about made some sort of sense to him. She figured that she would just have to work quickly and efficiently to avoid the temptation of staring at him all day long instead of completing what he had asked her to do.

 

Owen smiled at Jenna's enthusiasm. "Don't let me down on this one, Miss Sparks. I want what's best for you, just as you should," he told her as they exited the room. He shut the door behind them and went back to his office, taking a seat in his chair and basking in all of his glory. Things were looking up, despite how the deal would be changing the work place. He went back to work, typing away at a memo to all employees of Thatcher Pharmaceuticals. 'Those who will be offered permanent positions have already been contacted. Unfortunately, if an offer has not been extended to you, your internship will be terminated at 0800 hours on Monday, August 18th.' he wrote. At the end of the memo, he had the idea to suggest for his receptionist to set up a meeting with the chief officers of the company and all of the interns for the next day, which was Thursday. This would be a chance for interns to ask any questions, or perhaps get down on their knees and beg for an offer. He sent out the memo and moved on to typing up a flyer that would provide information about the meeting. Once it was completed, he printed out a copy and headed out to find Jenna. "Could you make some copies of this and post them up around the building?" he asked her after arriving at her desk. He handed her the paper, a warm smile on his face. He tried his best to remain calm as he looked around nervously at the others while they began to check their emails. "I suggest that you get on it right away, Jenna, I can provide you with extra time to complete your current project if the need arises." He nodded once she agreed to the task. "Thank you, Miss Sparks," he said before quickly exiting the area and heading towards the elevators. He was in need of a strong cup of coffee to help him finish out the work day, and he was completely and utterly afraid to ask any of the interns to prove him with a drink. He was afraid that he'd be poisoned with deadly sugar cubes or treated to a drink with milk that had been coincidentally spoiled. He arrived on the main floor and headed towards the coffee station, proud that he'd arranged for free coffee for himself throughout the day. He purchased two chocolate chip muffins and snacked away on one of them as he returned to his floor. He stopped by Jenna's desk and sat the muffin down beside her work area before escaping from the area. It was no longer quiet in the corridor, but it wasn't unruly either. That meant he only had a short amount of time before mass chaos would break out.