“Shhh,” she smirks. “You’ll give me a bad name. I’m not that bad.” She sits silently for a moment while I begin to organize myself for the day ahead. “Well, he’s a lawyer, and he certainly knows his way around a room … if you know what I mean.”
“I knew it!” I shout after a gasp. “You brazen hussy, you. Are you going to see him again?”
She beams back at me. “Yes. Tomorrow night. He’s taking me out to dinner.”
I’m grinning from ear to ear for her. “Wow, you must really like him if you’re letting him take you to dinner. So tell me all about him. What’s his name?”
She pauses for a moment. I get the impression she’s debating whether or not to tell me. Eventually, she speaks. “It’s Jerry Maguire.”
I spit my coffee out and frantically grab some tissues off my desk to wipe my mouth. “Seriously? You must be kidding me, right?” I manage to say without choking to death.
She sighs, looking kind of embarrassed. “I’m not kidding. His name is actually Jerry Maguire.”
I gasp again. “My goodness, he must get a lot of ribbing about that from the people at his law firm.”
Jessie taps the end of her pencil on her lips. “Yeah, he does actually. And the worst part about it is he actually looks a little bit like Tom Cruise.”
I think I might have a heart attack. It’s way too early in the morning for this.
“I must meet him, Jessie. This is something I have to see!”
She gives me that same devilish grin again as she sweeps her auburn locks away from her perfectly rounded face. “We’ll see. Let me get through dinner first and see if he’s worth a third date.” She pauses a moment, regarding me. “Speaking of which, there has been very little action in that department as far as you’re concerned, young lady. Why aren’t you putting yourself out there, girl? I know Tony would appreciate it. Actually, the majority of the police station—unmarried or otherwise—would appreciate it if you put out for once.”
“Jessie! You can’t say things like that. Besides, that’s not even true,” I reply, blushing.
She sighs and rolls her eyes. “You would have to either be blind or stupid to believe that, and I happen to know you aren’t stupid. Have you even looked at yourself in the mirror recently? It makes me want to vomit, actually. I totally hate you and your British accent.”
I feel stunned by her confession, but she’s smiling at me, seemingly oblivious. I can’t believe that a woman as beautiful as Jessie could possibly feel this way about me—even if we do look very different from each other. She has auburn hair and brown eyes; I have blonde hair and blue eyes. Jessie is petite; I’m five-foot-eight with curves. As for my British accent, it stems from the fact that I was born and raised in London until the age of eleven. Then, my mum met and married an American accountant. Before we ended up in Virginia, we’d moved to New Jersey, following that accountant. Just the thought of those early days sends shivers down my spine and makes my stomach twist with nausea.
“I wish I had your breasts.”
With that, I’m quickly snapped back to the present and my conversation with Jessie. “I think they’re too big, personally.”
She snorts in disgust, then turns her chair back to her desk. “You’re coming out tonight, aren’t you?”
I turn and look at Jessie’s back. When I don’t answer straight away, she swings her head around and looks at me expectantly. “Yes, Jessie. Even Jake is coming.”
Her chair is soon moved back around as Jessie faces me again. “Mr. Boss-Man, huh? That means we will have to behave ourselves,” Jessie says, pouting a little.
“He said he wants to keep an eye on Tony. He thinks that if he has a few too many, he may make unwanted advances towards me.”
Her posture picks up. “Yet another man who wants you. And he’s shacked up with your mother of all people.”
I gasp at her comment. “Don’t be so silly. Besides, he just made a comment about his fatherly instincts this morning. I nearly puked.”
She stares at me for a second and frowns. What on earth is she thinking now?
Then, suddenly, her eyebrows rise. “Have you thought about it?”
Confused, I reply, “Thought about what?”
She has that impish grin back on her face. “You must have. I think every female in this station has had at least one thought