A Lie of the Heart - Part 3
Masterpost | Part Two
Jared ended up skipping his morning class on Friday. He justified it by telling himself that they never really did that much on Fridays anyway and any notes they might get he could copy from Tom later. He woke up around ten o’clock and figured he should get some work done on his internship proposal before Kehoe left her office for the day. She had told him that she wanted a list of prospective locations in her email inbox by one o’clock and not a minute later. For someone so diminutive, Dr Sandra Kehoe had a commanding presence and she used it to her advantage; especially when it came to students who were easily twice her height. Jared sent the list off to her around noon and then got to work on his outline for his research paper for Dr Bodenman. He knew he had to turn that in no later than three o’clock and if he played his cards right, he could have it emailed and looked over before Bodenman left for the day.
It was two hours later that he finally sent the outline off to be reviewed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jared rewarded himself by eating the last cherry and cream cheese danish. Looking at the clock, Jared realized he had only a few hours before he needed to meet Jensen. He heaved himself off the couch and set his laptop on the coffee table. He needed to shit, shower, and shave before meeting Jensen at five-thirty.
As he got ready, he felt the familiar feeling of excitement wash over him. He wondered what Jensen would be like. At the very least, Jared hoped Jensen would have decent conversational skills. He wasn't sure what he would do if all they talked about that night was football and country music; he may be from Texas, but he wasn't a fucking hick, thanks. He had a vague idea of what the guy looked like, but who knows how photoshopped it was; everybody doctored things up these days.
All too soon, it was nearly five o’clock. He checked himself over in the mirror one last time. The black suit and blue-green tie gave him the air of professionalism but still looked relaxed enough for dinner. Glancing once more at the clock, Jared left the apartment and drove down the side streets to park behind the office building where he was to meet Jensen. He waited patiently in the lobby for Jensen, taking his time to look around at the offices where he someday hoped to work. Networking was networking, Jared figured. If tonight went well, he really wasn't above asking for Jensen's help.
Jensen heard someone milling around in the front lobby and made his way down the hall to investigate.
“Excuse me, sir. Can I help you? We’re actually closed for the day.” Jensen addressed the wicked tall guy. At Jensen's question, the guy turned to face him. Jensen was struck by how fantastically attractive he was; Jensen really, really fucking hoped it was his “date” for the night.
“Oh, hi. Actually, I’m supposed to be meeting my date here. Do you know if Jensen Ackles is still here?” The man asked. Jensen’s breath caught in his throat. Surely he couldn’t be that lucky.
“I’m Jensen. Are you, uh, Jared?”
The guy unleashed an amazing grin that managed to be both sweet-cheeked adorable and secretly mischievous
“Yeah, that’s me! It’s nice to meet you.” Jared moved forward to shake his hand.
Jensen took a moment to thank whatever gods had created this dude. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I have to say, I’m very glad I called Chad now.” Jensen took Jared’s hand. “Uh, I mean, yeah, good to put a name to a face”
“Don’t be nervous. I knew what you meant.” Jensen watched Jared's grin slide off his face, as Jared turned stiffly formal. “So, this is a dinner to show appreciation for your clients and investors, right? Anything in particular you need me to know? Anything I should be aware of in regards to your job?” Jared asked him.
“Yeah, it’s just a fancy dinner for our fundraisers. Honestly, I can’t think of anything that you would need to know aside from what Chad asked me. Once the dinner starts, most people will be talking amongst themselves and you won’t have to worry about being put on the spot. My boss, Michelle, will be giving the pre-dinner speech and I just have to give a small speech before the toast. Other than that, there’s not much to worry about. I really just wanted someone to talk to tonight.”
Jensen's mouth was running, like his momma liked to say, a whippoorwill’s rear end, Jesus, shut up he yelled at himself.
“Hey, don’t sweat it, dude. We’re going to have a good time tonight and by the time it’s over, you’ll be wondering where the night went.” Jared flashed his infectious smile again, and Jensen couldn't help but feel far less stupid. This kid was good.
“Well, I guess we should get going. It’s almost twenty of six and I’m supposed to help Michelle greet people at the door. Shall we go?” Jensen checked the time on his watch and then gestured to the door. Jared's grin came back full-force and they set off.
Jared was struck by how good-looking Jensen was. Sure, his company bio had included a picture, but obviously it was not a recent one. He had a hard time believing that Jensen couldn’t find a date for tonight. There was no way someone as attractive as Jensen Ackles could be single. It just didn’t make sense. Maybe he had some huge character flaw that no one talked about? Like killing puppies and bathing in their blood. That'd be a shame 'cause dude was smoking hot.
As the two walked the few blocks to Caldwell Conservatory, they made idle conversation. They talked about the previous weekend’s disappointing college baseball game and how they hoped the rest of the season would improve. When they got to the conservatory, Jensen was greeted by Michelle. She looked impeccable in her slate grey pantsuit and dark heels. Michelle then turned toward Jared and extended her hand.
“Hello, there. I’m Michelle Kawa and you are?”
“This is Jared, my date for the evening.” Jensen introduced him.
“Hi.” Jared smiled.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jared. I hope you have a good time this evening.” She smiled back at him. “Jensen, if you want to go inside and make sure everything is ready to go, you can. I can handle greeting people without you.”
“Sure, of course. Just let me show Jared where we’re sitting and I can come back out here.”
Jared and Jensen wound their way through the tables. “So that was my supervisor, Michelle. I’m sure she’s going to grill me on how long I’ve been dating you once we’re back to work on Monday. She’s always after me to get back on the dating scene. She’s worse than my sister, I swear.” Jensen rambled. Again. Christ, he needed a gag or something.
“You need to loosen up, Jensen. I’m here to make sure you have a good time tonight. I’m supposed to make things easier for you, not for you to worry about every little thing you say. Just relax and go with the flow.” Jared reassured him.
In he face of Jared's easy charm, Jensen felt the tension ease that was wrapping itself around his chest and took a deep breath. He directed Jared to the table where they would be sitting near the front of the ballroom. As they sat down, Jared started up some conversation about their tastes in music. When Jared started talking about Breaking Benjamin, Jensen had a momentary flashback to Rob's Arcade Fire indy-cred screed.
Jensen found himself shooting back about the wonders of country music. Mostly just to see what Jared would say. Jared laughed and said that the only thing wrong with country was that it was country. Good answer, Jensen thought. Better than, “Country is for shit kickers.” Yeah, Rob was a total catch. What the fuck had Jensen been thinking dating that asswipe?
Jared was damned good at his job, because the next thing Jensen knew, Michelle started her speech. She thanked their dedicated clients for sticking with them through thick and thin, the investors for supporting them from day one, and the employees for always putting their hearts and souls into the projects. She told them that without their dedication, Kripke and Associates would not be the company that it was today. It was a good speech, even if Jensen found himself zoning out during most of it. He glanced over to Jared at one point, and the guy seemed enraptured with Michelle's speech. Yeah, this guy was very good.
Jensen chugged his champagne, got a fresh glass, and then took the stage to lead the toast.
“I would also like to extend my gratitude to everyone in attendance, and those that are not. Without your support, none of us would have jobs. Thank you for making this company, and our lives, richer and fuller. A toast to you all. Cheers!” Jensen raised his glass to the crowd. A chorus of ‘cheers!’ echoed back as they drank their champagne.
Jensen could be pretty good himself. Thank you, liquid courage.
“That was short and to the point. I liked it.” Jared told him once he sat back down at their table.
“Thanks. I’m just glad Michelle handled the actual speech this year. I hate giving that. It’s so tedious and I always feel like such an ass.” Jensen shook his head. Last year’s speech was a near disaster. He had thrown up not an hour before the dinner started and had to grip the podium tight while he spoke, to keep from passing the fuck out. Granted, he later found out that he had the flu, but still it was an awful speech.
“I don’t know anyone that enjoys giving speeches. Well, maybe people who get paid to do it. Or like, those televangelists, who are creepy as shit, by the way. Joel Osteen scares the shit out of me.” Jared joked. Jared really did have a way of putting a person at ease and that was something Jensen envied.
When the main course was brought out, their conversation died down. Both men set to work devouring their steaks. Done to perfection, they were mouth-watering and tender. Jared made quiet little groans as he chewed the meat, savoring the flavor. Jensen thought it should be effing illegal how sexy that sounded. Jensen nearly choked when he realized that he was finding Jared sexy. Sure, the guy was attractive and totally Jensen’s type, but Jensen was also paying him to be there. Surely there was something against the rules in finding the guy you hired to be your date “sexy”, right?
Jensen was so screwed.
Jared felt Jensen’s eyes on him. He knew he was having an effect on the other man and try as he might, he couldn’t make himself behave. There was something about Jensen that made him want more. He knew it was against the unspoken rules to date a client, but damn if Jensen didn’t make him want to break those rules. He knew it was a slippery slope, but he was pretty sure that there was some mutual attraction going on between them. Maybe if he played his cards right, he could swing this appointment into a real date sometime.
After dinner, their conversation picked back up. Jensen told Jared about how Mr. Moore had wanted to build a series of townhouses near the hospital, but the land wasn’t zoned for that. He tried to keep the details light since it was a pretty headache-inducing topic for those not in the field. But Jared started asking questions about it and Jensen found himself answering them in spite of himself.
“So what did you suggest? Since he couldn’t get approval for the plot of land to be rezoned that close to the hospital, he would need to change his plans altogether, right?” Jared asked.
“Yeah. Since he wanted to build a multiple-family dwelling unit and those are prohibited in commercial-residential zones as per the zoning ordinance for the town, I told him he would either need to look into building individual houses as single-family units or scrap it completely. Eventually we settled it to three singles instead of the five townhouses, but it was a bitch to negotiate. And actually, we managed to save him more money by doing that. Including larger yards for each house made the cost of construction lower, and in turn lowered the overall cost of the project. Townhouses would have been a fucking eyesore up there, anyway.”
As Jensen rambled away, Jared watched with amusement as a look of Oh shit, I'm totally rambling again came over his face. It was adorable to see Jensen run at the mouth about his job, even more so when he realized what he was doing.
“Awesome. I would have hated to see townhouses up by the hospital. And you know they would have ended up being apartments for the college kids anyway. At least this way, whoever owns the houses has a little more control over who lives in them. I’ve seen so many buildings get run to the ground by scummy landlords looking to make a quick buck off the college students living in their places.”
Jared took a drink from his own glass of wine. He'd have to remember to thank Chad in the morning. This whole thing was awesome. Not only did he get to pick Jensen's brain, the guy was wildly attractive. It was hard to remember he was technically on the clock and not just on a pretty cool date.
Jensen continued talking about different projects and Jared continued asking questions, but Jensen could tell something had changed within Jared. He seemed more closed off now, like this was more business than it was just simple conversation. Jensen supposed that it was business for Jared. He had obviously done some studying before their appointment so that he could make appropriate conversation. As much as Jensen appreciated the effort, he wished for the easy camaraderie to come back. He tried to steer the conversation back to their mutual interests and away from planning, but every time he tried, Jared moved it right back to shop talk. It was kind of depressing; Jensen had been having a great time.
All too soon, the dessert course was over and it was nearly ten o’clock. The ballroom was about half empty, most of the guests having already left. As Jared and Jensen made their way out of the conservatory and back to Jensen’s office building, Jensen found himself wishing that the spark he’d felt was real. He was so sure that there had been something between them.
Obviously he had gotten his money’s worth since the dinner had flown by and he wished there were some reason for him to stay, to continue sharing the night with Jensen, for any reason. He internally flailed around, trying to think of a way to extend the evening. Short of, “Hey, wanna see my office?” which sounded like it was straight out of some really bad porn (not that Jensen would know or anything), he had nothing. Which totally sucked.
“I had a good time tonight, Jared. Thank you for coming.” Jensen said quietly. His mind seemed to be elsewhere.
“No problem, Jensen. It was my pleasure. If you ever need me again, please don’t hesitate to call me. My schedule is pretty open.” Jared reached into his pocket and pulled his wallet out. He pulled out a business card with his name and cell number on it. He handed the card to Jensen who just stared at it. He seemed glued to the spot.
“Yeah, sure. I might take you up on that offer.” He mumbled. Jensen seemed to realize he was forgetting something and jerked upright. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and started pulling bills out. “Shit, I’m sorry. I completely forgot. I still owe you the other half for tonight.”
All at once, the fact that Jared was nothing more than a hired piece of arm candy made itself known. Something hot and ugly twisted in Jared’s stomach.
“How much was it? $125, right?” Jensen asked, trying to get his attention.
“Yeah, yes. $125.” Jared took the money and stuck it in his pocket without counting it. Suddenly he wanted to be anywhere but there; he felt dirty, cheap, like a whore. Jensen gave him a narrowed look.
“Don’t you want to count it, make sure I’m not stiffing you?” he asked Jared, raising an eyebrow.
“No, I trust you. And even if it’s not right, Chad can easily get in contact with you to sort it out.” Jared replied mechanically. He wished they could rewind back to dinner. Things were so much easier then.
“Alright. Well, good night, then. Have a safe drive.”
Jensen gave him a slight wave and then climbed in his own car. Jared returned the wave as Jensen drove off. Normally, the weight of a stack of bills in his pocket would be a comfort; it meant that he'd eat for another week. Tonight, it felt like lead and he just wanted to be rid of it.
When he got home, he threw the money on the coffee table and went to bed. He would let Chad deal with it in the morning. As far as he was concerned, he never needed to think about Jensen Ackles again.
Part Four
Jared ended up skipping his morning class on Friday. He justified it by telling himself that they never really did that much on Fridays anyway and any notes they might get he could copy from Tom later. He woke up around ten o’clock and figured he should get some work done on his internship proposal before Kehoe left her office for the day. She had told him that she wanted a list of prospective locations in her email inbox by one o’clock and not a minute later. For someone so diminutive, Dr Sandra Kehoe had a commanding presence and she used it to her advantage; especially when it came to students who were easily twice her height. Jared sent the list off to her around noon and then got to work on his outline for his research paper for Dr Bodenman. He knew he had to turn that in no later than three o’clock and if he played his cards right, he could have it emailed and looked over before Bodenman left for the day.
It was two hours later that he finally sent the outline off to be reviewed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jared rewarded himself by eating the last cherry and cream cheese danish. Looking at the clock, Jared realized he had only a few hours before he needed to meet Jensen. He heaved himself off the couch and set his laptop on the coffee table. He needed to shit, shower, and shave before meeting Jensen at five-thirty.
As he got ready, he felt the familiar feeling of excitement wash over him. He wondered what Jensen would be like. At the very least, Jared hoped Jensen would have decent conversational skills. He wasn't sure what he would do if all they talked about that night was football and country music; he may be from Texas, but he wasn't a fucking hick, thanks. He had a vague idea of what the guy looked like, but who knows how photoshopped it was; everybody doctored things up these days.
All too soon, it was nearly five o’clock. He checked himself over in the mirror one last time. The black suit and blue-green tie gave him the air of professionalism but still looked relaxed enough for dinner. Glancing once more at the clock, Jared left the apartment and drove down the side streets to park behind the office building where he was to meet Jensen. He waited patiently in the lobby for Jensen, taking his time to look around at the offices where he someday hoped to work. Networking was networking, Jared figured. If tonight went well, he really wasn't above asking for Jensen's help.
Jensen heard someone milling around in the front lobby and made his way down the hall to investigate.
“Excuse me, sir. Can I help you? We’re actually closed for the day.” Jensen addressed the wicked tall guy. At Jensen's question, the guy turned to face him. Jensen was struck by how fantastically attractive he was; Jensen really, really fucking hoped it was his “date” for the night.
“Oh, hi. Actually, I’m supposed to be meeting my date here. Do you know if Jensen Ackles is still here?” The man asked. Jensen’s breath caught in his throat. Surely he couldn’t be that lucky.
“I’m Jensen. Are you, uh, Jared?”
The guy unleashed an amazing grin that managed to be both sweet-cheeked adorable and secretly mischievous
“Yeah, that’s me! It’s nice to meet you.” Jared moved forward to shake his hand.
Jensen took a moment to thank whatever gods had created this dude. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I have to say, I’m very glad I called Chad now.” Jensen took Jared’s hand. “Uh, I mean, yeah, good to put a name to a face”
“Don’t be nervous. I knew what you meant.” Jensen watched Jared's grin slide off his face, as Jared turned stiffly formal. “So, this is a dinner to show appreciation for your clients and investors, right? Anything in particular you need me to know? Anything I should be aware of in regards to your job?” Jared asked him.
“Yeah, it’s just a fancy dinner for our fundraisers. Honestly, I can’t think of anything that you would need to know aside from what Chad asked me. Once the dinner starts, most people will be talking amongst themselves and you won’t have to worry about being put on the spot. My boss, Michelle, will be giving the pre-dinner speech and I just have to give a small speech before the toast. Other than that, there’s not much to worry about. I really just wanted someone to talk to tonight.”
Jensen's mouth was running, like his momma liked to say, a whippoorwill’s rear end, Jesus, shut up he yelled at himself.
“Hey, don’t sweat it, dude. We’re going to have a good time tonight and by the time it’s over, you’ll be wondering where the night went.” Jared flashed his infectious smile again, and Jensen couldn't help but feel far less stupid. This kid was good.
“Well, I guess we should get going. It’s almost twenty of six and I’m supposed to help Michelle greet people at the door. Shall we go?” Jensen checked the time on his watch and then gestured to the door. Jared's grin came back full-force and they set off.
Jared was struck by how good-looking Jensen was. Sure, his company bio had included a picture, but obviously it was not a recent one. He had a hard time believing that Jensen couldn’t find a date for tonight. There was no way someone as attractive as Jensen Ackles could be single. It just didn’t make sense. Maybe he had some huge character flaw that no one talked about? Like killing puppies and bathing in their blood. That'd be a shame 'cause dude was smoking hot.
As the two walked the few blocks to Caldwell Conservatory, they made idle conversation. They talked about the previous weekend’s disappointing college baseball game and how they hoped the rest of the season would improve. When they got to the conservatory, Jensen was greeted by Michelle. She looked impeccable in her slate grey pantsuit and dark heels. Michelle then turned toward Jared and extended her hand.
“Hello, there. I’m Michelle Kawa and you are?”
“This is Jared, my date for the evening.” Jensen introduced him.
“Hi.” Jared smiled.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jared. I hope you have a good time this evening.” She smiled back at him. “Jensen, if you want to go inside and make sure everything is ready to go, you can. I can handle greeting people without you.”
“Sure, of course. Just let me show Jared where we’re sitting and I can come back out here.”
Jared and Jensen wound their way through the tables. “So that was my supervisor, Michelle. I’m sure she’s going to grill me on how long I’ve been dating you once we’re back to work on Monday. She’s always after me to get back on the dating scene. She’s worse than my sister, I swear.” Jensen rambled. Again. Christ, he needed a gag or something.
“You need to loosen up, Jensen. I’m here to make sure you have a good time tonight. I’m supposed to make things easier for you, not for you to worry about every little thing you say. Just relax and go with the flow.” Jared reassured him.
In he face of Jared's easy charm, Jensen felt the tension ease that was wrapping itself around his chest and took a deep breath. He directed Jared to the table where they would be sitting near the front of the ballroom. As they sat down, Jared started up some conversation about their tastes in music. When Jared started talking about Breaking Benjamin, Jensen had a momentary flashback to Rob's Arcade Fire indy-cred screed.
Jensen found himself shooting back about the wonders of country music. Mostly just to see what Jared would say. Jared laughed and said that the only thing wrong with country was that it was country. Good answer, Jensen thought. Better than, “Country is for shit kickers.” Yeah, Rob was a total catch. What the fuck had Jensen been thinking dating that asswipe?
Jared was damned good at his job, because the next thing Jensen knew, Michelle started her speech. She thanked their dedicated clients for sticking with them through thick and thin, the investors for supporting them from day one, and the employees for always putting their hearts and souls into the projects. She told them that without their dedication, Kripke and Associates would not be the company that it was today. It was a good speech, even if Jensen found himself zoning out during most of it. He glanced over to Jared at one point, and the guy seemed enraptured with Michelle's speech. Yeah, this guy was very good.
Jensen chugged his champagne, got a fresh glass, and then took the stage to lead the toast.
“I would also like to extend my gratitude to everyone in attendance, and those that are not. Without your support, none of us would have jobs. Thank you for making this company, and our lives, richer and fuller. A toast to you all. Cheers!” Jensen raised his glass to the crowd. A chorus of ‘cheers!’ echoed back as they drank their champagne.
Jensen could be pretty good himself. Thank you, liquid courage.
“That was short and to the point. I liked it.” Jared told him once he sat back down at their table.
“Thanks. I’m just glad Michelle handled the actual speech this year. I hate giving that. It’s so tedious and I always feel like such an ass.” Jensen shook his head. Last year’s speech was a near disaster. He had thrown up not an hour before the dinner started and had to grip the podium tight while he spoke, to keep from passing the fuck out. Granted, he later found out that he had the flu, but still it was an awful speech.
“I don’t know anyone that enjoys giving speeches. Well, maybe people who get paid to do it. Or like, those televangelists, who are creepy as shit, by the way. Joel Osteen scares the shit out of me.” Jared joked. Jared really did have a way of putting a person at ease and that was something Jensen envied.
When the main course was brought out, their conversation died down. Both men set to work devouring their steaks. Done to perfection, they were mouth-watering and tender. Jared made quiet little groans as he chewed the meat, savoring the flavor. Jensen thought it should be effing illegal how sexy that sounded. Jensen nearly choked when he realized that he was finding Jared sexy. Sure, the guy was attractive and totally Jensen’s type, but Jensen was also paying him to be there. Surely there was something against the rules in finding the guy you hired to be your date “sexy”, right?
Jensen was so screwed.
Jared felt Jensen’s eyes on him. He knew he was having an effect on the other man and try as he might, he couldn’t make himself behave. There was something about Jensen that made him want more. He knew it was against the unspoken rules to date a client, but damn if Jensen didn’t make him want to break those rules. He knew it was a slippery slope, but he was pretty sure that there was some mutual attraction going on between them. Maybe if he played his cards right, he could swing this appointment into a real date sometime.
After dinner, their conversation picked back up. Jensen told Jared about how Mr. Moore had wanted to build a series of townhouses near the hospital, but the land wasn’t zoned for that. He tried to keep the details light since it was a pretty headache-inducing topic for those not in the field. But Jared started asking questions about it and Jensen found himself answering them in spite of himself.
“So what did you suggest? Since he couldn’t get approval for the plot of land to be rezoned that close to the hospital, he would need to change his plans altogether, right?” Jared asked.
“Yeah. Since he wanted to build a multiple-family dwelling unit and those are prohibited in commercial-residential zones as per the zoning ordinance for the town, I told him he would either need to look into building individual houses as single-family units or scrap it completely. Eventually we settled it to three singles instead of the five townhouses, but it was a bitch to negotiate. And actually, we managed to save him more money by doing that. Including larger yards for each house made the cost of construction lower, and in turn lowered the overall cost of the project. Townhouses would have been a fucking eyesore up there, anyway.”
As Jensen rambled away, Jared watched with amusement as a look of Oh shit, I'm totally rambling again came over his face. It was adorable to see Jensen run at the mouth about his job, even more so when he realized what he was doing.
“Awesome. I would have hated to see townhouses up by the hospital. And you know they would have ended up being apartments for the college kids anyway. At least this way, whoever owns the houses has a little more control over who lives in them. I’ve seen so many buildings get run to the ground by scummy landlords looking to make a quick buck off the college students living in their places.”
Jared took a drink from his own glass of wine. He'd have to remember to thank Chad in the morning. This whole thing was awesome. Not only did he get to pick Jensen's brain, the guy was wildly attractive. It was hard to remember he was technically on the clock and not just on a pretty cool date.
Jensen continued talking about different projects and Jared continued asking questions, but Jensen could tell something had changed within Jared. He seemed more closed off now, like this was more business than it was just simple conversation. Jensen supposed that it was business for Jared. He had obviously done some studying before their appointment so that he could make appropriate conversation. As much as Jensen appreciated the effort, he wished for the easy camaraderie to come back. He tried to steer the conversation back to their mutual interests and away from planning, but every time he tried, Jared moved it right back to shop talk. It was kind of depressing; Jensen had been having a great time.
All too soon, the dessert course was over and it was nearly ten o’clock. The ballroom was about half empty, most of the guests having already left. As Jared and Jensen made their way out of the conservatory and back to Jensen’s office building, Jensen found himself wishing that the spark he’d felt was real. He was so sure that there had been something between them.
Obviously he had gotten his money’s worth since the dinner had flown by and he wished there were some reason for him to stay, to continue sharing the night with Jensen, for any reason. He internally flailed around, trying to think of a way to extend the evening. Short of, “Hey, wanna see my office?” which sounded like it was straight out of some really bad porn (not that Jensen would know or anything), he had nothing. Which totally sucked.
“I had a good time tonight, Jared. Thank you for coming.” Jensen said quietly. His mind seemed to be elsewhere.
“No problem, Jensen. It was my pleasure. If you ever need me again, please don’t hesitate to call me. My schedule is pretty open.” Jared reached into his pocket and pulled his wallet out. He pulled out a business card with his name and cell number on it. He handed the card to Jensen who just stared at it. He seemed glued to the spot.
“Yeah, sure. I might take you up on that offer.” He mumbled. Jensen seemed to realize he was forgetting something and jerked upright. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and started pulling bills out. “Shit, I’m sorry. I completely forgot. I still owe you the other half for tonight.”
All at once, the fact that Jared was nothing more than a hired piece of arm candy made itself known. Something hot and ugly twisted in Jared’s stomach.
“How much was it? $125, right?” Jensen asked, trying to get his attention.
“Yeah, yes. $125.” Jared took the money and stuck it in his pocket without counting it. Suddenly he wanted to be anywhere but there; he felt dirty, cheap, like a whore. Jensen gave him a narrowed look.
“Don’t you want to count it, make sure I’m not stiffing you?” he asked Jared, raising an eyebrow.
“No, I trust you. And even if it’s not right, Chad can easily get in contact with you to sort it out.” Jared replied mechanically. He wished they could rewind back to dinner. Things were so much easier then.
“Alright. Well, good night, then. Have a safe drive.”
Jensen gave him a slight wave and then climbed in his own car. Jared returned the wave as Jensen drove off. Normally, the weight of a stack of bills in his pocket would be a comfort; it meant that he'd eat for another week. Tonight, it felt like lead and he just wanted to be rid of it.
When he got home, he threw the money on the coffee table and went to bed. He would let Chad deal with it in the morning. As far as he was concerned, he never needed to think about Jensen Ackles again.
Part Four