Page 8 of Small Town CEO Grump

Refusing to feel sorry for myself, I began to set up a shelf displaying all of my memorabilia. I was proud of what I accomplished during that time. I had been named as one of the top prospects for Major League Baseball, and I knew that I had achieved more than most people could ever dream of. It took a lot of work to get there, and although it didn’t last for nearly as long as I thought it would, I loved getting to play the game for as long as I could.

I finished making sure everything was set for the next day, and then I checked my watch. It was a little after 10, and I knew I should get home and get to bed. Although I didn’t have to be in the office until eight, my days always started very early in the morning.

I closed everything up, and as I walked out of my office I noticed that Jenna was also getting ready to leave.

“Heading out,” I asked, turning and walking towards her.

“Yes,” she said. “I got everything done that I needed to do. My mom is with my son, and he is most likely asleep by now. He always has such a good time with my parents, and on weekends I don’t really care when he goes to bed. But tomorrow’s a school day, so I need to get home and make sure that things are as they should be.”

As I stood next to her I noticed how small she was.

“I don’t want to change the subject, but how tall are you?” I asked.

She blushed and then looked up at me, and I noticed that her eyes were a striking shade of green. I had only known a few people in my life with green eyes, but I always thought that they were so pretty.

“Five-foot-three,” she said.

“I figured,” I said. “That makes you a full foot shorter than me!”

Jenna shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I’m not very tall. I got my height early, and in sixth grade I was one of the tallest in my class. Was sure that I was going to be at least five-nine. My mom is quite tall, as are several of my aunts. My brother and dad are both about your height. But for some reason, I just stopped growing. But it’s alright. A lot of times people underestimate me because of my size, and I kind of like that.”

That surprised me. “You like that?” I asked.

“Yep,” she answered matter-of-factly. “I know it’s weird. Most people don’t like to be underestimated, but I always see it as a challenge.”

“Well, okay then,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to underestimate you.”

Jenna smiled and then thanked me for holding the door open for her as she walked out of the office.

“Well,” she said before getting into her car, “I will see you tomorrow. I planned on officially welcoming you to the office and making an incredible first impression here in the office. Instead, you found me dressed in my comfy clothes and burning the midnight oil.”

I laughed. “It was an interesting first impression, but it was still good.”

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She said she got in her car and drove away. As I watched her leave, I couldn’t help, but realize that I was feeling intrigued by that little blonde. Perhaps more intrigued than I should be.

Chapter 4

Jenna

“There,” I said aloud, happily closing out the report that I had finished. I glanced at my watch and realized I still had ten minutes before it was time to leave. The morning had flown by and it had been the type of day at work that I absolutely loved. I had been busy from the moment I got there, and I was able to work on a wide variety of projects.

I decided that I would go and see if there was anything Ryan needed me to know before the next day, or any urgent matters he needed me to take care of in the morning.

I smoothed down the front of my pencil skirt, and made sure my blouse was straight. I still couldn’t believe that he had run into me in the office the night before, and that the first time he realized who I was I was dressed in my old college clothes. He hadn’t seemed to mind, and had also been dressed very casually, but I had still been embarrassed. I was always very particular about what I wore, wanting to make sure that I was always projecting an air of professionalism, as well as competence and respectability.

I approached his office and noticed that his door was closed. I peaked in the window, but he was not meeting with anyone. I figured that he probably closed his door to get some peace and quiet after having spent the entire day meeting new people, answering questions and trying to reassure everyone that he wasn’t coming into the office for any reason other than the one he stated.

I knocked on the door and heard him tell me to go ahead and come on in.

“Hello Mr., uh, Ryan,” I said, still trying to get used to the informality of calling him by his first name.

Ryan smiled. “Close, he said. “Just drop the mister all together, and you’ll be good. You can either call me, Ryan, or if you want you can call me Jackson. Several people just call me by my last name. But we don’t need the mister.”

“I promise I will work on it,”I said.

“Sounds good,” he answered. “I know you probably didn’t come to talk about names. Did you need something?”