Lost and Found (Growing Pains #1)(13)

A few months went by in that way; she chatted with Sean, and she allowed herself to laugh and loosen up, but she tried to maintain distance. She did not want to get taken for a fool. She didn’t want to end up like the other girls, and she wanted to steer clear of the rumor mill.

Arriving at 7:15 a.m. on a chilly Friday in early December, Krista grabbed her mug and headed to the break room. She was a bit early to see Sean, or anyone else, but she couldn’t wait like she usually might just to catch a snippet of his conversation. She was dead tired from watching Ben work on that blasted painting.

She couldn’t help it; watching him work was kind of funny. The kid really got into it. It was like a modern dance. He used his whole body to portray whatever thought or feeling was going through his head, and then furiously put paint to canvas. He had colors and brushes everywhere. He had Abbey nearly foaming at the mouth. But he would finish the painting or be damned. He’d basically told Abbey so. And since he was right about the roommate situation, Abbey sat and took it.

As Krista crossed the threshold of the break room, lost in her own world, she realized there was already someone in there. It was when she was ten feet away that a bucket of cold water overturned atop her head.

Sean was standing in front of the coffee pot with a girl from Accounting. The girl was pretty-ish in an overdone sort of way, and she was enthralled. She stood with her body slightly bent toward him, allowing him visible access down her shirt. The way his body leaned into her, and the minimal space between them, it was clear he was taking her up on her offer. Their faces were only inches apart, their lips too close for even the best of friends.

As Krista stood and stared, dumb-founded, he reached his hand up to trace her jaw, then let it fall to her heaving chest. Krista watched in horror, like a car accident in progress, as he lightly traced the outside of her boob.

A thrill of pain consumed her. She remembered that lust-filled look; she saw it on Jim often when he checked out other girls right in front of her. There was no interest, no soft light of intimacy, no sharing of mutual respect. Last night Sean got a piece of ass, and the morning after he was making the most of it, possibly putting this chick in his pocket for a booty call at a later date.

Krista’s heart dropped. She couldn’t say why a pallor settled over her, but as Sean leaned in, letting his lips graze against the woman’s ear, Krista couldn’t help the sick feeling that twisted her stomach.

Thanks for the proof, buck-o. Not a moment too soon.

Wanting to get her coffee and get out of there, Krista cleared her throat behind them.

Sean’s head snapped up, caught her eyes, and then he jumped away from the woman, a guilty expression crossing his face before his features smoothed over. His latest conquest, on the other hand, superhumanly shot spears at Krista out of her eyes. Then she made a show of taking her sweet time, not politely getting out of Krista’s way.

“What have we here?”

Krista spun around, not expecting company from behind since the main attack was head-on.

A guy in his early thirties was standing at the mouth of the break room holding a coffee mug in one hand and a keyboard in the other. He had a brown crew-cut that bespoke the armed forces, and brown eyes. He was fairly average-looking.

He was taking in the scene, much as Krista had done a second before. He had a sneer as he said, “Ah, I see you two found each other. How nice. Drunken night?”

Sean leaned against the wall, sparing another guilty look in Krista’s direction before catching himself and turning to the newcomer with nonchalance. “Jacob, what brings you out of your hole? I thought IT had coffee behind lock and key?”

Oh no, Jacob! Rachel’s warnings came back to Krista in a flash. She was to not attract his attention in either a positive, or negative, light. Basically, she needed to be courteous, but forgettable.

Which would be easy for most people, but given Krista’s innate ability to mortify herself when she got nervous or came under pressure, the prospects were worrying.

“I don’t believe I’ve met you.” Jacob had turned toward Krista with a confident smile.

“Oh, hi, I’m Krista. I’m in—“

“Research, yes. I authorized your log-in. Nice to meet you. I’m Jacob. IT manager.” He stepped forward to shake hands, nearly clubbing her with the keyboard.

Krista jumped backward and felt Sean’s hand on her lower back, keeping her from hitting the coffee pot. She ignored the tingle from his touch and shied away immediately.

“Sorry about that!” Jacob laughed. “I was just up here to change out a keyboard. Thought I’d stop in for some second-rate coffee on my way back down.”

“I’ll see ya later, Sean… Or were you heading out?” The girl from Accounting moved to exit the room. It was clear she wanted Sean to follow her.

“Sure, Theresa,” Sean said smoothly, staying where he was and looking at Jacob.

Jacob sneered at Theresa in a knowing way, having her hurrying from the room. He then looked back at Krista expectantly.

Apparently dialogue was in order.

Trying to stay in the gray zone, she complied with, “You have better coffee than this?” She laughed and rolled her eyes. Hopefully he realized she was being sarcastic.

“Hah! Way better. We have Starbucks brewing downstairs. This stuff is crap!”

“Then why do you drink it?” Sean asked dryly, taking a sip of his own coffee as he lounged against the wall.