By the time the meeting was over, Rory found himself unexpectedly invested in Jude's future plans for his business.
He picked up the final coffee cup before tying the last trash bag and tossing it into one of the large bins that had been brought to him after the meeting ended.
Rory never got a chance to meet Jude's eyes once the man looked away and started paying attention to his meeting. Even after it ended, Rory found himself searching the crowd for the CEO so that he could sign the order form and allow Rory to leave.
However, that plan did not go over well.
It was almost eleven by the time Rory finished cleaning.
With a sour face, he realized that his lunch break was now and it was against company policy to drive the van anywhere except for work deliveries.
He called Nix while he took out the order form Jude needed to sign.
"Hey," he greeted when Nix picked up. "I was wondering if you could clock me out for my lunch break and then clock me back in when I'm on my way back."
"That sounds good," Nix replied with a sigh. "I'm sorry for making you do this, but it's not often we get such a large order from such an important company. It was great PR for us. Did you at least enjoy yourself?"
Rory rolled his eyes while lying and saying he enjoyed the four hours it took for him to deliver coffee.
With a quick goodbye, Nix hung up to take another order.
Rory grabbed the dolly he used and rolled it out to the elevators and set it against the wall. He then went to search for Jude.
After a few missed turns and a waste of five minutes of his lunch break, Rory finally found the man's office and knocked on the door rather rudely.
A harsh, "Come in," caused Rory to fling the door open rather harder than normal.
He saw Jude leaning against one of the windows while staring down into the busy traffic of city life. "I need you to sign this." Rory stated without preamble.
Jude slowly turned around, offering Rory a playful smile. "Why would I sign that?"
Rory's mouth fell open. "It's proof that you received your order and it will also allow us to charge you without any legal issues."
"What would I get in return?" Jude asked, closing the distance between them like a predator.
Panic started building in the back of Rory's head. While he didn't view Jude as a bad man...yet...he really didn't want to be caught in one of those typical situations where the CEO sways the innocent to his side before a crappy love story takes place.
Besides, he wasn't even sure he liked men as more than something attractive to look at.
"Coffee for two!" Rory all but screamed before Jude could close the last three feet between them.
Rory was surprised when Jude actually stopped, a look of amusement crossing his features. "I'm sorry. I don't understand what you mean."
Ignoring the sweat that had built on the back of his neck, Rory replied, "Coffee for two. That's what you get in return. Free of charge. My treat. You can bring whoever you want."
Jude raised an eyebrow. "Could I bring you?"
Narrowing his eyes, Rory said, "I suppose so."
"Great," Jude exclaimed and held out his hand. "I'll sign that piece of paper now."
With an obvious sigh of relief, Rory handed over the piece of paper and waited impatiently for Jude to sign.
"Oh, I'll also need your personal phone number." Jude stated, handing the signed order form back.
"Why?" Rory slipped the form into the designated work folder.
"So I can set up our coffee date." Jude deadpanned.
....
"Did you say date?" Rory demanded, meeting those cold, blue eyes.
Jude smirked. "A slip on my part. So. Are you a man of your word?"
Irritation grew inside Rory as he pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down his name and cellphone number before handing it over to Jude.
"I ask that you schedule two days in advance so that I can see if my schedule is free." Rory all but growled.
"Excellent. I'll be sure to arrange it soon." Jude replied, his smile soft.
Rory stared at the man a moment longer before giving a wave and leaving the building, furious that he only had thirty minutes left for lunch.
Comments (5)
See all