After Jorge and I had made love the other night, I passed out and dreamed about him. The two of us were having a picnic in a park, feeding each other strawberries while Chase and Margo were there with Joanna. We didn’t talk too much, and what few words we did say I couldn’t remember. But I did remember feeling as though I were in love with him.
I focused my attention back on Guadalupe, who discussed some new types of facials the spa would be offering. Not that any of it affected my job, since I did all of the accounting. But it was good to know for when I scheduled a treatment for myself.
After the meeting, I went back to my office and resumed work as usual. My fingers started hitting the keys a bit harder than necessary, and I realized that it was purely out of jealousy. I was jealous that Jorge had spoken with Ria the other morning, even though I—and probably all of the neighbors—could tell that he was ending things with her. Even when he said to me that it was over, while we drank our coffee, I could tell he was serious. He would do just about anything to altogether remove Ria from his life.
But he also seemed a bit distant, as though he were hiding something. Would Ria require one more romp in the sack before leaving the company?
Stop being so paranoid. You’re just two friends who sleep together.
Except I had never been that type of woman, nor did I think I had it in me to become one. How much longer could I keep having sex with Jorge without a firm commitment?
While I was typing away on my keyboard, Margo poked her head into my office.
“If you pound on those keys any harder, the paintings on the wall will fall off.”
I motioned for her to come inside my office and sit down. “What brings you in today?”
“I was in desperate need of a facial, and I just overheard Yuslan talking about their new ones. They sound even better than what I just had done. Why do you seem so tense, though?”
I powered off my monitor and shut the door. “All right, this has to stay between us. You know how Jorge has had an ongoing relationship with Ria?”
“Oh, yeah. Jorge was at our place when you called him the other night. Did you look into that whole embezzlement issue for him?”
“Yup.”
“Now I know why he called Chase so early yesterday morning. I meant to ask him about it before I left for my appointment, but he had a conference call.”
“Anyway, Ria has embezzled nearly a million dollars from Jorge’s business. He’s suspected it for quite some time, but because they were having sex didn’t push the issue.”
Margo’s mouth fell wide open as she gasped. “A million dollars? That’s insane! Granted, a million isn’t much money for Jorge, but that’s not exactly chump change. Thank God you caught it for him.”
“I was hoping he’d get his lawyers involved, but apparently he just wants to buy her out of her partnership with him.”
Margo picked up on how tense I was, despite my best efforts to conceal it. “Well, I wouldn’t get too upset about it, Ginger. You did him a favor, and he’ll probably come to his senses and have his lawyers take care of it. I’m not sure why he wouldn’t automatically go that route.”
“Because he’s worried that it’ll take too long, and with all of her connections in the diamond business, she can really screw him over. I told him to just hand it over to his lawyers, but he just had to call Ria yesterday morning!”
Calm down, woman!
“Ginger, why are you getting so upset? She didn’t embezzle money from you.”
I nodded while staring at my desk, not wanting to admit my real reason for being so angry. “I just hate seeing my friends being taken advantage of like that.”
Margo folded her arms while leaning back in the chair. “Did you spend the night at Jorge’s the other night?”
I couldn’t bring myself to look into her eyes.
“I knew you two would get together again! So, that’s why you’re so upset. You’re worried about something happening between him and Ria.”
I finally looked up at her and nodded. “And why wouldn’t it, Margo? They had the same type of situation that we do: friends-with-benefits. And Jorge has never been in a serious, long-term relationship. I played right into his hands, didn’t I?”
Margo shook her head while leaning across the desk, her long, gold necklace hitting its surface. “Ginger, people change over time. I don’t think you should jump to any conclusions regarding Jorge and Ria, especially since he seems so into you.” She held up my wrist, pointing to the diamond tennis bracelet. “Do you think he would have gotten that for you if he didn’t have feelings?”
“Really, Margo? He’s a diamond broker. Of course, he’d get that for me regardless of his feelings. It’s an instant pass into my panties.” She let out a sigh while leaning back in her chair. “All of this is my fault too. I never should have slept with him, Margo. Look at this beautiful office that Guadalupe gave me! This is my dream job, and all I can think about is some woman in Belgium sleeping with Jorge.”
“Try not to think about it too much, Ginger. Something tells me that Jorge is going to change his ways because even Chase says that he seems to be maturing. Just give it some time. Maybe you should try working from home for a while too. I’m sure Guadalupe wouldn’t mind.”
“That would only put me closer to Jorge, and right now, I think I need some space. Although, he’s probably at the office today.”
