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She returned his smile and pulled from his touch, letting her fingertips skim across his before she stepped away. Following April's route, Jewell went through her office, and out the door April had come in. Mr. Traynor stepped toward Benjamin's office door as Jewell came out behind April's desk, and their eyes met as he reached for the knob. He offered Jewell a cryptic smile that she couldn't interpret, and it chipped away once again at the ease Benjamin had tried to instill before she left the office.
Jewell released a slow breath. "I'm going to the break room to see if there's any coffee left. Can I get you anything?"
"Um, actually, I'll walk with you."
April fell into step with Jewell. They didn't say anything until they reached the common break room for the bullpen, and Jewell had poured a cup from the coffee of undeterminable age and sat at one of the tables. She had managed to ignore her exhaustion while in the office with Benjamin, but now—seated—the exhaustion sat on her shoulders and tensed her neck, making it a challenge just to keep her head upright. She poured extra sugar into the cup to counteract the age of the brew, added some creamer, and braced herself as she took the first sip.
"Oh, that's nasty," she groaned, wincing as she set down the cup. "A long cry from Dunkin'."
April had bought a bottled juice from the vending machine in the corner and twisted off the cap with a pop. "You look wiped out."
"I didn't get to sleep until around three," Jewell said, forcing down another swallow of nasty coffee. "And I fell asleep on the couch." Curled up against your boss. "Which is why I never heard my alarm."
"It's funny. Mr. Roth was on time, but he looks more exhausted than you."
Jewell just gave a noncommittal hum against the edge of her coffee cup, forcing down more of the sweet sludge. She couldn't take the burn anymore and pushed the cup away. "What did Mr. Traynor want to speak to Mr. Roth about, do you know?"
"Not specifically, no. He came out of Mr. Burke's office just before he came across and said he wanted to see Mr. Roth when he had free time. That was right after you arrived. He just said he wanted to speak to Mr. Roth privately about some concerns Mr. Burke expressed."
"He didn't say what kinds of concerns?"
April tilted her head, studying Jewell. She hid from April's scrutiny behind her mug. It was either drink the coffee or reveal too much on her face. April twisted the cap back on her bottle of juice and set the bottle down with a thunk. She sat back and crossed her arms, pulling her lips together in a pursed scowl.
"What?" Jewell asked.
"What happened yesterday?"
"I don't know?—"
"Yes, you do. You know what I mean. I know about the fight with Mr. Roth, but then what? Then Mr. Burke shows up and leaves minutes later looking pissed, excuse my French. And you weren't right the rest of the day, Jewell. Then this morning? Maybe it's none of my business, and you can feel free to tell me so, but a lot of rumors are flying around here?—"
"What kind of rumors?"
"I asked first."
Jewell set down the now empty coffee mug, already feeling an acidic hole burning through her gut, and matched April's position slumped in the chair with her arms crossed. "Okay, fine. When Mr. Burke showed up, he made some…comments," she paused, clearing her throat as heat rose in her cheeks again. "Comments I didn't appreciate, and I told him so."
"Comments about the rumors?"
"You've got to answer my question." Now she'd know if Burke lied about the rumors, or if he hadn't lied and Jewel and Benjamin really were the topic of the company rumor mill.
Of course, ironically, the rumors weren't completely untrue after this morning.
"You sure you want to hear the torrid details?"
"I've already heard some from Mr. Burke. Fill in the details for me." Jewell sat forward, linking her hands together on the tabletop. "April, I don't want anything going around that could jeopardize my career here, or Mr. Roth's."
"Fine, but you won't like it."
CHAPTER NINE
With a twist and a tuck, Jewell managed to tame her hair into a french braid, clipping the plait at the base of her skull with the barrette she'd worn at her crown earlier in the day. It wasn't as formal as she usually wore, but after hearing the litany of stories and rumors April had reluctantly shared, she refused to give the horde of gossipmongers any more fuel for their fires. Her hands shook a little as she smoothed her fingers over her hair, wispy tendrils already falling around her face. That's what she got for improvising.
She huffed out a breath and patted a damp towel against her blotchy cheeks. Her face and neck had been in a constant state of flushed since April started talking, leaving her mottled and looking like she'd spent the last fifteen minutes crying.
That wasn't about to happen. She refused to allow Kevin Burke, or anyone else who wanted to listen and propagate his innuendo, to get to her enough to bring tears. She had done nothing wrong, nothing to be ashamed of, and nothing she would regret.
"Take that, Burke," she mumbled, tossing the clump of wet paper towels in the trash.
