Ch. 5
1836 Words
The day was over quickly and she got another email from Shawn asking if she could call him. Instead of calling him she sent him a message from her phone so he would have her number directly. He immediately texted back asking if he could take her to dinner.
She sat at her desk staring at her phone. He wanted to go to dinner already? Should she accept? Would she seem desperate doing that?
He texted her again, “this won't count towards the date if one of us loses.” He said.
She smirked and chuckled, “very well. Dinner sounds nice. Do you have anything in mind?”
“I’ll pick you up at eight.”
“See you then.”
Jena quickly hurried to her car and home to get ready. She had about thirty minutes to change out of her work clothes and into something else. However, looking at her closet she realized she didn’t have many things to wear aside from business clothes and work out clothes. The sudden realization hit her that she didn’t get out much…at all. She didn’t have any friends, unless you could count Jeromy. She grabbed some plain work pants, and found a blouse that she could wear untucked. Found some heels that she bought one day on a whim that looked good that weren’t business related, and then found some earrings and a necklace that weren’t too fancy. Looking at herself in the mirror she still looked like it was a business date. Letting her hair down made it seem less so but she suddenly felt vulnerable doing that. She wasn’t someone that let her hair down.
Looking at the time there was nothing else she could do and decided to leave it down and head downstairs. As soon as she shut the front door a car pulled up and Shawn quickly got out and went around the car to open the door for her. She smiled at him and slipped inside. He was dressed in a nice pair of pants, and a button up black shirt with a few buttons undone in the front. She had to admit that he was rather handsome and it made her blush a bit.
As though sensing her blush he smirked a bit and started backing out of her driveway.
His car was a black four door sedan. A newer model, and very luxurious. Similar to her own. They headed into the city and towards a nice diner. As they parked he got out and was about to open the door for her when she opened it herself and got out. “I would have gotten that for you.”
“You don’t need to do everything.” She said to him. “I am not a princess.”
“You are to me.” He said quickly and then just as quickly turned from her. He clearly hadn’t planned on saying that. He passed his keys off to the valet and they went inside.
They were immediately given a seat in a small room off to the side. She knew that one needed a reservation to get a small room like that. “It’s hard to get a room here.” She said to him as they sat down.
He smiled and nodded, “I pulled a few strings to get this.”
“Trying to impress me?” She gave him a curious look, “what would you have done if I had said no?”
“Yes I am, and I was desperately hoping that you wouldn’t.” He said to her.
“Oh? Have I caught your interest that much?” She asked him.
The waitress came in to take their wine and food orders. Once they were finished they passed off the menus and he looked at her with a smile. “Of course. You are beautiful, smart, charming, funny, and my mate. What’s there that wouldn’t interest me?”
She hadn’t been expecting that and didn’t know what to say.
Shawn laughed a little, “I didn’t think you could be caught off guard.” He said to her.
The wine was brought out and she took a small sip, “a rarity I assure you.” She said to him.
“You are amazing you know, that shouldn’t catch you off guard.” He stated to her.
Jena blushed again and took another sip of wine, “maybe you are just blind by the whole mate thing.” She said to him.
Shawn shook his head, “I know when something or someone is amazing or not. I’m not blind. I think you are just unaware of how you affect people.”
“What do you mean?” She asked him curiously.
“You hold yourself with such grace and poise. It’s clear you hold a lot of authority and respect from others. You don’t like to be caught off guard, and you like to be in control over everything. Much like how Steven does.” Shawn stated.
She felt a small rock hit her stomach thinking about Steven.
“Don’t fault him for his demeanor. I am sure you can relate to how he acts.” Shawn stated.
Jena nodded. “It doesn’t change the fact that he seemed very disinterested in finding his mate.”
Shawn sighed, “he thinks a mate will cloud his judgement. Distract him from accomplishing his goals. He wants to make our clan stronger and more powerful quickly. He is afraid of losing and what that could mean for us. If we fail now, we will lose everything.” He said sadly.
She looked at him curiously. “Did something happen?”
“The neighboring clan that killed our mother, has been moving into our territory. That’s why we are here, unfortunately pushing into yours. We had to move back to save as many lives as we could. We have nowhere else to go and if we don’t make our stand here then we are finished. They will take what’s left of us and claim our people. They aren’t kind either. They are sure to kill everyone instead of saving them.” Shawn stated with anger in his voice.
Jena looked at him and she understood. “I am sorry that this happened to you guys. I can understand. If I hadn’t staked claim when I did, this whole place would have fallen apart and another clan would have moved in and claimed us. I want to make us stronger so we don’t have to worry about that.” She said to him. Suddenly she was feeling guilty for challenging them like she did. If she fought against them too hard, then they would be destroyed. She didn’t want that.
He looked at her and gave her an all knowing smile. “I can see that look on your face. It’s similar to my own. Please don’t take what I said to heart and lose the challenge you set between our companies. It wouldn’t be fair to Steven who is trying so hard to win. He likes a good challenge and this will be good for him. I think he needs someone to test him and put him in his place. To show him that he can’t control everything and that is okay.”
She looked at him curiously, “you want me to continue challenging you?”
“Of course. We should be inspiring each other and lifting each other up. I am not here to get you to do anything when it comes to our challenge. I am simply here to enjoy a nice meal with you and get a chance to know my future mate. That is all.” He stated.
Jena blushed again and heat rushed through her. No one had ever made her feel this way and the way he was sitting and the way he said that made him seem so much more mature and attractive.
“So,” he paused a moment trying to direct their conversation elsewhere, “what do you do in your spare time?”
She took a bite of her food and used that moment to think about it. What did she do in her spare time? She had a routine, and nothing in her routine allowed for her to take time to do anything other than work, and prepare for work, or take care of the pack. She swallowed hard and it became hard to look at him as she realized just how little she even knew about herself. “I don’t really have spare time.”
“Everyone has spare time.”
She didn’t respond.
“Do you seriously just work all the time?” He looked at her skeptically.
Jena took another bit of food and shrugged.
He sighed, “run me through your day.”
She suddenly felt like she was being chastised and gave him a small glare, but still told him what she did on a regular basis. “I wake up, go for a morning jog, take a shower, eat a quick breakfast, and go to work. After work, depending on the time, I do a small work out, listen to some business podcasts and I make dinner and prepare my breakfast, and then I go to bed.”
“You don’t watch anything, or read anything else?” He asked her.
Jena just shook her head.
“What about the weekends?” He asked.
She thought about it a moment, “I do my usual morning routine, then I sit at the computer and gather data about whatever I am working on so I am prepared for Monday.”
He was quiet for a moment and looked slightly annoyed. Then he took a deep breath and looked at her, “we need to get you out more. After we eat I am going to take you someplace.”
She looked at him curiously. “What do you have in mind?”
He smirked, “we can start with a trip to the mall. I have a feeling you haven’t done anything for yourself in a while.”
“Mall?” She asked curiously.
He signaled for the check and paid before she could insist on paying for her half. Then he took her hand and led her out the door and back towards his car. “The mall nearby has everything you could possibly need.”
He didn’t say anything more as they drove up the mall.
- Writer
