Chapter 24: TRIP DOWN THE AISLE.
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Alex’s POV;
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I looked for Anna, she was in-charge of everything, and I wanted to directly hear from her how things were moving along.
Jensen had left me to handle everything, admitting he was hardly an expert in planning social events. I don’t know where he wandered off when he got an important phone call. He probably went to see David.
I knocked on her office door and entered when I heard a faint “enter.” Anna was a woman in her early thirties, she was petite but intimidating in a refreshing way. Her dark eyes were mysterious and she commanded attention with the way she moved.
She smiled as soon as she saw me, welcomed me with a hand shake and asked me if I had lunch, when I answered no, we decided to talk over food. She knew me well enough and I liked talking about events with her, she clearly knew what she was doing and I could learn a lot from her. Her aura was warm but authoritative.
I discussed briefly about the catering and art exhibitions with Anna, she told me that many artists wanted to auction their art for charity. “There are so many, we need to prioritize and put a limit.”
“How much space can we make available?” I questioned, already making calculations in my mind.
“I think there are a total of five exhibit halls, excluding the staging area. Only two of them are circular though, and one is being used for catering.” She told me.
“Right, okay…So we can use the other one for sculptures and the other three can be used for wall art and paintings. Let them know we don’t have much room for huge sculptures.” I told her.
“We can’t use the corridors, and we don’t want to cramp up things too close, maybe we should tell someone to make measured calculations.” All major things were shortlisted and it was only a matter or presentation.
“I know the lake is off limits… but wouldn’t it be nice to include it just for sightseeing, it’s going to be a full moon on the night of the event and the lake will look beautiful…the guests will like that” Anna suggested.
It wasn’t a bad Idea. “I’ll see if it’s possible.” Anna smiled at me widely.
We’ll have to take some necessary precautions, but it’s definitely doable.
When I started walking towards the lake, out of nowhere Jensen fell in step with me. “Everything good?” He asked.
“Looks like it… I wanna check if the lake can be included for sightseeing.” I told him.
“It’s possible… ” He agreed. We stopped as we approached the edge. “People would probably click a bunch of pictures and most definitely start a new hashtag, actually that’s not bad for marketing.”
I chuckled, not surprised at his businessy thinking at all.
Water was clear and still, the mirror-effect of the clear waves reflecting the grey clouds and the surrounding trees. It was beautifully silent.
“Do you think it’ll pour?” Jensen said, looking at the clouds above.
“I think so… ” I shrugged. “I think we need to construct some kind of protective edge so that no one would fall in or try to jump.”
“Do you think I should hire a lifeguard, you know… just in case?” He joked, sounding serious.
I laughed, “maybe…”
Jensen bent down to pick up a pebble, he then sent it soaring on the waves, the stone skipped four times before it sank to the bottom, he smiled happily. There was something very simple in that act, it was pure and innocent, like childhood vibrance.
I looked in awe. “I always wanted to do that.” I admitted.
He handed me another pebble, “try it.”
And so I did, I tried to mimic what he did and released the stone, it dropped causing ripples but didn’t skip even once. Jensen looked amused. “There’s definitely room for improvement.”
“Forget it, I’m terrible.” I looked down at my boots in disappointment.
“No…. You’re just doing it wrong.” He said.
“Thank you, captain obvious.” I said sarcastically.
He rolled his eyes, picked up another pebble and gave it to me, he adjusted my fingers around the sharper edges. “Hold it gently” His hand pretty much enveloped mine shooting tremors throughout my body, my heart started beating faster and I was hardly listening to what he said. His close proximity was very distracting.
“It’s about how you release it, and the angle you allow it to slip, try to spin it, if possible.” I had no idea how to do all that. I nodded anyway.
“Okay…” When he pulled his hand away, I missed having him close. I tried to do what he asked, trying to imitate his actions and incorporate his instructions.
This time the stone skipped twice before it sank. I smiled.
“That wasn’t so hard….was it, see you’re a natural.” He flattered.
“Shut up.” I mock glared.
We both stood there, skipping stones at the side of the lake and laughing at corny jokes when suddenly it began to rain and like two deers caught in headlights we both turned to look at each other, before we looked around for some form of shelter.
“Over there!” Jensen pointed at an arch like construction between two closely spaced sets of pillars, it was like a corridor that made access easy for two separate structures and we rushed to get under it. It was not very broad but we could both stand comfortably as rain fell on either side. There were doors on both the buildings below the structure that acted as our roof.
Soon we realised it was a mistake to come here as the rain intensified and came down harder now, lightning lit up the sky every now and then followed by loud thunder and we were probably stuck here for hours.
We should have ran towards the parking lot to our car instead, that way we would have been only a little wet and quickly warmed up but now if we tried stepping out we’d be drenched in seconds.
I could tell we both were thinking the same thing but no one said anything about the lost opportunity as we now suffered the cold temperature and moist air that surrounded us.
“There’s no point in building anything around the lake if it rains like this on ‘the day'”. Jensen said. “Thankfully the party is indoors.”
“Yeah, this is a little inconvenient… ” I said, a smile was prominent in my voice as I looked at the pouring rain.
Jensen scoffed, “It’s always inconvenient.”
“No need to sound so worked up, it’ll probably slow down in an hour or so.” I said, trying to reassure, but I was amused.
“Hopefully…” He said, “I’m not a huge fan.”
“I’m not surprised.” I commented.
There were a couple of stairs at both the doors, we chose one that was locked and settled down next to each other. I kept my phone and keys next to me while Jensen sat on the other side, our legs almost touched, I could feel his warmth with how close he was.
“What do you mean you’re ‘not surprised’?” He frowned. “Why did you say it like that?”
I fought a smile, “you’re always so tied up with work, work, work, so of course it makes sense…” He frowned deeper and then looked far into the pouring rain.
“You make it sound like a bad thing.”
I continued, “I always thought that whenever it rains, it forces you to take a break from everything and just pause to appreciate what you have, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing is suddenly less important.” I smiled thinking back, “When I was a kid, it was always family time whenever it rained, we all played charades or some other dumb game and shared hot chocolate. It was amazing…”
“Not everyone has time to ‘pause’ some of us have work to do or other people’s paychecks will suffer.” He said defensively.
“Did you just admit that you have no life outside of work?” I teased.
“I never said that…”
“Not in so many words” I interrupted.
“I just meant there are priorities.” He argued. He may have bigger fish to fry but my point still stands.
“Well they should not be at the cost of living your life….there should be more to life than boardrooms and business deals.” I thought out loud and he just looked at me as if he was considering something.
“You say that now…. but in reality you gotta do what you got to do.” He nodded almost to himself.
“Yeah, there are responsibilities always…to business, family and that’s important too, but you can’t always put everything else before you….live a little.” I said, in a slightly mocking but teasing undertone as I bumped his shoulder with mine.
He chuckled, his grey eyes the brightest I’ve ever seen, “I didn’t think I’ll hear that phrase after college and at the time guys just wanted to get me drunk and smoke pot.”
My eyes widened at his words “Wow… someone had some wild college days.”
“Don’t we all…. but I said that’s what they wanted me to do, not that I did, much to Josh’s chagrin.” He explained and I laughed at the picture he painted. I could totally imagine an absolutely distressed young Josh in a pickle since his best friend refused to be his wingman.
“I can see that…” I said “you must be the responsible one.” He totally was, I can’t imagine him any other way.
“Well someone had to drive…” He shrugged.
“So is that still the case, if someone at the bar asked you ‘what’s your poison?’ what’s gonna be your answer….. orange juice?” I joked, my laugh spilling as much as I try to keep a straight face.
He looked mildly surprised that I actually remembered that, but there was no way I was ever going to forget, he had the most bizzare choice, it was bound to stand out.
“If you must know…. I sometimes opt for scotch, but I only drink when everything’s gone to shit.” He admitted.
“Oh, you mean like the worst case scenario… like doomsday, or the armageddon…. or god forbid if it rained.” I said amusing him with my exaggerated sarcasm.
“Absolutely…., You know me so well already.” He agreed laughingly.
“You say that now, but you gotta admit that rainy days have their own charm…. tell me did you or didn’t you ever curl up with a coffee reading a book on a particularly rainy day, have someone take care of you when you got sick because of the rain, or listen to the sound of rain interrupted with thunder and thought it was musical, or even looked outside after it drizzled and found everything looking beautiful and smelling fresh and just felt better you know like everything’s been washed clean….”
He shrugged, almost reluctantly, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. “I never knew you were such a romantic….” He said it like he was making another one of his observations, while he looked right into my eyes.
I looked away and probably blushed, “How come you manage to sound cynical even as you talk about romance…?”
“Just trying to keep it real and that way it’s not disappointing.” He shrugged, like he genuinely believed that, and to a degree I agreed with his words, In fact I felt the same.
But hearing him say that made me wish he felt differently….that I felt differently and that one of us could change the other’s mind or at least tried to.
“You sound certain and I’m not sure if I should be worried.” I replied.
“Worrying is a waste of time, maybe prove me right, I’ll appreciate it better.” He said, making me laugh. Someone else would have said ‘prove me wrong’ but not him of course.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I mumbled. A few silent moments passed, the sound of falling rain continued but slowed as we sat there, comfortable in each other’s company.
“The charity event… do you think it’ll be good?” I asked him. “I-I don’t even know what to expect… ” I said, finally voicing my worried thoughts about the evening.
Jensen looked at me curiously “Is this your first time attending such an event?”
Oh, oh…busted.
“No, but it’s the first time I’ve planned it myself, that’s a lot of added pressure…” I admitted. “People will expect it to be perfect….what if something goes wrong?”
Even the thought of it was stressful.
And I forgot to buy a dress for heaven’s sake! I was massively screwed if it wasn’t for Kate- bless her soul.
Dad and Kyle had wanted me to accompany them to such events in the past but I had always refused. Now I’m regretting it.
“It’s going to be fine, you don’t need to worry about it” Jensen said, almost nonchalantly.
“That’s easy for you to say…” I muttered, my mind already thinking of all the worst things that could possibly go wrong.
“I’m sure you’re going to make a great first impression as an event planner.” he said, trying to reassure as he met my gaze with a barely concealed mirth.
“I might trip down the aisle at the grand entrance. How’s that for an impression?” I said playfully.
Jensen’s mouth twitched, he was most definitely fighting a smile. “If that happens, I can always pretend to drop dead, you know… just to get the focus off of you.”
I liked how he said something which I never anticipated and I knew I wouldn’t have it any other way. I grinned at his insane suggestion. “How considerate.” I realized we had slowly moved closer and faced one another over the course of this conversation.
“So I’ve been told” he winked at me and I was more than a little bit taken aback by that action, it made me feel something bittersweet and made my insides flutter.
“Alex…” His voice was soft, almost a whisper “I want to ask you something.”
“What?” I asked, sensing the sudden shift in his mood, he leaned in a little bit and I held my breath unknowingly.
“And please do consider that I’m willing to drop dead for you before you say anything.” He added, making me chuckle.
“Would you like to be my date for the charity event?” He asked, gazing deep into my eyes.
Did he just say that? Did I hear him right?
I froze, not expecting any of those words, I knew he awaited a simple ‘yes or no’, but it wasn’t that simple.
It was way too complicated and absolutely unreal. Before I could fully register his words and allow my heart to soar, reality set in.
I felt my gaze drop from his face and I looked down at my hands in my lap. The silence stretched with every passing moment.
“I can see you’re over-thinking” He said. “Hey, look at me… ” I looked anywhere but at his face, trying to compose myself.
My defenses were crumbling when he spoke to me that way.
I felt a myriad of emotions coursing through my veins, a mixture of joy and sadness and hope and possibilities tied with disappointment and impossibility. I wanted to speak but suddenly my mouth was dry.
“Jensen, it won’t be appropriate…. I don’t think we should-” He was my boss, this was ridiculous. All my walls came around me to protect my heart from the hurt I was about to cause.
“Don’t think of all that.” He said firmly, his eyes were despondent and weary for once. When he reached for my hand, I struggled to let him understand what I felt, his touch was feather light and warm as it wrapped around my fingers and my eyes hastily flickered up to meet his.
“How can I not…?” When it was all I could think of. “Even if it’s just a date, people will talk and it’ll be difficult to work together when our personal and professional lives are so closely intertwined.”
“It’s not just a date, it’s so much more than just a date-” That almost made me smile. I forced myself to pull my hand away, and hugged myself, almost like I was subconsciously protective of what was about to come.
“Even so Jensen…. I can’t.” The quiver in my voice was evident, but my mind made up…. It was made up long back before he even asked me this question.
“Do you think I make a habit of asking out my employees?” He raised an eyebrow, looking at me meaningfully, his voice was dejected and low.
“You and I- we shouldn’t, it’s not okay, my colleagues will resent me and I’ve only just earned their respect. I’ll get called out for favouritism, my work will lose credibility and even if I decide to not let it get to me, it still would.” I shook my head, thinking about how disastrous it could be.
“I understand all that but-” He cut himself off sighed, exasperated as if knowing that I wasn’t going to change my mind. “Can you at least think about it….”
“I don’t want to lose my job Jensen, if this ends badly-” He interrupted me.
“Why are you thinking about that? You are not going to lose your job.” His eyebrows puckered making hard lines appear on his attractive face, it was the opposite of his laugh lines, I didn’t like them one bit.
“You don’t know that…” I trailed off. He ran his hands through his dark hair in frustrated defeat.
“Alright, fine… can’t you at least accompany me as a friend?” He looked at me expecting a positive reaction, even though he looked resigned.
“As a friend? I don’t know….” I said not wanting to deny straight away but seeing no other alternative.
“Come’on Alex, am I not good enough to be your friend?” He looked truly disheartened.
“You know that’s not what I meant.” I pressed my lips in a thin line.
God I hated this!
“Then what’s the problem in being my date? A friend date?” He smiled a little at how stupid that sounded, but he still wasn’t backing down…so stubborn, just wouldn’t give up.
“As friends?” I repeated his words, wanting him to realise how idiotic they sounded.
“Yes. Just friends.” He confirmed.
“Alright.” I reluctantly agreed and the smile that appeared on his face was the prettiest sight I’ve seen in a while… it extended to his eyes and originated from somewhere within.
“You’ve agreed. No take-backs.” He said, making me blush. He quickly got to his feet and offered me a hand, “let’s go!” I could hear his smile in his words now and in the way he relaxed.
I took his hand in a daze as he helped me up, and realised the rain had finally stopped and it was amazingly silent. It was quite late too, the whole day had gone by. I was supposed to meet Kate at seven!
After telling Anna all the necessary arrangements, updates to the lake scenario and other changes we both left in a hurry.
Jensen pushed his hands in his pant pockets as we walked to his car, looking around he said, “maybe you’re right, rainy days do have their own charm” He winked at me and continued to walk.
Next to him I fell in step, doubting and second guessing my decision but smiling nonetheless. Now he agrees with me?
“You wanna drive again?” He asked as his car was brought out front.
“Actually no, I’m not going back to the office, I need to meet Kate at the, never mind- I’ll take an Uber.” I told him and rounded the car to get to the other side.
Jensen looked at me over the roof of the car as he rested his hand on the side. “Where?” He seemed genuinely curious about what I was about to say as he peeked from under his eyelashes to look at me
“Apparently… I need to get a dress. ” I ended lamely.
“Would you look at that… you managed to push it right till the eleventh hour” he commented as his lips painted a soft smile, and nodded in a way that said ‘quite an accomplishment’.
“Well… not quite, but anything to avoid shopping” I said, already cringing at the thought of it.
“Aren’t most women supposed to enjoy such things?” He asked quizzically.
“I’ve heard something like that, but…guess I didn’t get the memo” I shrugged.
He chuckled. I tried not to make it too obvious that I was staring. A smile had landed upon my own lips.
This felt different, talking to him, all laughing and joking without caring about anything else, almost like we really were friends. When did this happen? When did we go from frenemies to this, whatever this was?
“Do tell me the color” he suddenly added.
Sorry what?
Apparently he saw the question in my expressions, he rolled his eyes, and then elaborated “of your dress.”
The color of my dress? “And why’s that?”
“Guess you didn’t get the memo for this either….” he muttered. “Since you’ve agreed to be my date, aren’t I supposed to match the tie with your dress? Wasn’t that one of the rules in the invitation cards…”
Obviously! Why didn’t I think of that.
It’s all very cliché if I do say so myself, but it wasn’t my decision, it was a tradition.
“Right. Sure… I’ll let you know” I muttered, a little embarrassed at not remembering that particular detail.
“Come’on, I’ll drop you wherever you wanna go.” He offered, and after giving it a thought I settled in doubting if it was a good idea to inflict an awkward car ride upon myself.
He started driving and we talked, It wasn’t awkward at all, we fell swiftly back into a friendly banter and aimless conversation as usual, we cracked jokes and made each other laugh and soon he pulled up at the address Kate had sent me. It was a boutique that looked quite extravagant.
“Okay so… I’ll see you tomorrow.” I said, as I unbuckled my seat belt and stepped out.
“That you will. Have fun shopping.” Jensen chuckled.
“I’ll try not to shed tears” I called back, just before the car door closed behind my boots and he drove away. The sound of his engine grew fainter as he moved further away.
It was gonna be a long evening.
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