Chapter 26
From inside the stairwell, I couldn't understand what Bianca was saying, but her tone was unmistakable. She was throwing yet another giant hissy.
Part of me wanted to hunker down and listen undetected, but I'd been downthatroad before, and I was determined to be a better person.
So I took the final step and pushed through the steel gray door that led to the nineteenth floor, where Jake's office suite was located. I spotted Bianca immediately, standing near the elevator with Vince on one side and Jake on the other.
She was facing Jake, who stood, looking bored more than anything, even in the face of Bianca's wrath.
She was screeching, "But I don't care! I insist something be done about it!"
"Insist all you want," Jake said, "it's not gonna happen. And stop yelling. You're gonna break something."
Bianca paused. "Like my voice box?"
"No. Like a window."
Bianca gave a little stomp of her foot. In a slightly quieter voice, she whined, "But he was rude to me."
Jake shrugged. "Not my problem."
"It is, too, your problem," she said. "You own the building. Don’t you care?"
This made me pause. Jake owned the building? Why hadn't I known that? I frowned. I should've known that.
Or, if nothing else, I should've guessed. He had the top two floors. He had secret elevator codes. And everyone in the building treated him like royalty.
All along, I'd been assuming it was for the usual reasons. He was rich, obscenely good-looking, and famous in his own kind of way.
But apparently, there was a lot more to this story.
Again, I asked myself, why hadn't I known?
Jake's gaze shifted in my direction, and he flashed me a grin. It was the one I loved best, the cocky one that made my breath hitch and my knees go wobbly.
I ignored my knees and tried to think. What else didn't I know?
But then, my traitorous face took over, and I felt my lips curve into a ridiculous smile, aimed straight at him.
How could Inotsmile? Jake was everything I'd ever wanted. And there he was, smiling at me like I was the only girl on Earth.
Bianca's voice broke the spell. "Andshewas rude to me, too."
I looked to see her pointing straight at me.
Sparing Bianca only half a glance, Jake said, "If she was, you probably had it coming."
"That's not true!" Bianca yelled.
Jake shrugged. "Eh, still don't care."
Bianca glared up at him. "So let me get this straight. She can abuse me all she wants, and you won't do a solitary thing about it?"
Well, that was rich.Abuse her? Seriously?
I stalked toward her and said, "Oh, so now I've 'abused' you? How?"
"Outside the building," she said, "you practically smashed that door right into my face."
