Flirting with the HR Girl

Chapter 52

Jennifer's phone buzzed on the desk. It was a text from Austin asking her to go to lunch. She quickly texted him back that she couldn't because she was too busy. She felt a small pang of guilt but knew that she couldn't be around him right now. She couldn't look him in the eyes and not tell him what his cousin had done. She couldn't sit there and pretend like their evening of romance hadn't ended in a nightmare for her friend. She knew none of it was Austin's fault, and she would never blame him. But she could still be frustrated with the entire situation.

She sat down and tried to work but had to randomly get up and pace the room again. She didn't know how Selena was faring downstairs. She was this upset, and it hadn't even happened to her. But it happened to someone she loved. And she would give anything to never see pain like that in Selena's eyes again.

When Cynthia showed up that afternoon, the first thing Jennifer wanted to do was tell her about Todd. But she clamped her mouth shut and moved to the opposite side of the desk. She had all the documents ready for Cynthia to meet with Selena.

"I think I've got the big break in our sexual harassment case," Cynthia said as she unpacked her things. "I'm not quite ready yet but I think I'm going to have you help me with it because it would be good experience for when you're a manager."

"That would be-" Jennifer didn't want to say great. It wouldn't be great. Someone was getting hurt. "A good thing I guess."

"You guess?" Cynthia said, removing her red hat and fluffing her hair. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just think maybe there are other people at the store you need to look at," Jennifer said wondering if she could just hint in Todd's direction.

"Yeah, like who?" Selena said had come up behind her and made her jump.

"Oh, I don't know if there was anyone in particular," Jennifer said looking at the floor and feeling guilty that her friend heard her. It had been less than two hours since she had promised to keep her friend's secret.

"Alright then, if you will go down and send Ellie up, we can get started," Cynthia said dismissing Jennifer and waving Selena into a chair.

She closed the door behind her. She found Blanche's granddaughter not even behind a cosmetic counter but out gossiping with one of her friends in the shoe department. She told the young woman that she needed to be seen upstairs in HR and the other girl quickly scurried away. Heading to the back of the store towards the escalator, she didn't see Austin until he was standing next to her.

"Hey," Austin said. He had no idea. He had no idea what it happened to her best friend while they had been having such a great time.

"Hey," she said hoping that she sounded okay because she didn't want him to suspect something was wrong.

"I got this thing called a kitty harness to help give Zack his pills," Austin said pantomiming what looked like a cat straitjacket across his body.

"Really?" Jennifer let a genuine smile slip. "You don't think my blanket burrito system is good enough?"

"I just thought you could use an upgrade," Austin said, and the warmth of his body made her calm down just a little bit. "What if I bring it over tonight?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said unsure of how the night would go. Would she be spilling secrets she shouldn't or dropping her panties when she shouldn't?

"Oh, come on. I really think that this thing will help you with him," Austin said, genuinely caring about her and her pets. Her resolve softened a bit, and she decided that she would just have to have sex with him that night instead of talking to him.

"Okay, but you're not staying the night," she said the words may be a little too loudly and they both looked around.

"On a school night?" Austin said raising his eyebrows. "I would never dream of it."

He sauntered away and she couldn't help but smile. And the in knot her stomach started to loosen again. It was amazing how just talking to him did that. She would help Selena, but she could be with Austin, too.