How Times Change

Chapter 7

Two weeks past that afternoon and Jade had finally come to grips with the notion that what she’d done was right. She’d asked Lucas not to call, to give it time to heal so she could make sense of it and he could see all the why of it, and he hadn’t.

In the silence in her head, Jade had thrown into her work like nothing she’d ever done before. Trexgora was a success, the trial board had given it the thumbs up after some research cleanup, and Jade was now in a position to become one of the youngest headliners on Science Weekly ever. It was the culmination of four years of blood, sweat and tears, for her and for Kristen, but Jade couldn’t find it in her to celebrate.

At the Dynamo, San O’s newest metro pub, she and Kristen were supposed to be feasting on the rewards of their work.  Instead, Kristen’s BLT was history and Jade’s Cali chicken wrap was still mostly intact, barely showing a dent. Kristen, bless her, hadn’t pushed Jade during the lead up to the trials. Now, though, with the pressure off, Jade knew it was coming.

Almost on cue her dark eyed friend spoke up. “Jade, it’s about time you came back to me babe. You haven’t knocked me down about my surfer boys yet this week.”

Jade smiled weakly at that. “I know. I wouldn’t have much to say – not batting a thousand myself on the man front right now.” She felt a little pang at that and a quick flash of Lucas’s green eyes ran through her head. She shook that off. “I’m just not me yet Kris. Sorry.”

Kristen leaned back, sighing. “I know Hun. You were what, a week, mooning over that Aaron guy? Two weeks is serious business.” Kristen snagged the last bite of her sandwich with gusto. “We need to get you moving babe.”

Jade processed what that meant. ‘Moving’ to Kristen meant playing the field, testing the waters. She just wasn’t ready for that. Jade knew it was dramatic, but she wasn’t sure she ever would be. “Kris, thanks, but it’s going to take me awhile. This one was-“

At that moment, her phone vibrated from the table. Without much life to the movement, she lifted it, fully intending to send anyone short of the President at Genexco straight to voicemail.

It was Lucas.

Jade’s heart jumped three beats, and it must have showed in her eyes because Kristen shot her a shrewd glance. “It’s him isn’t it?” The phone buzzed in Jade’s hands her scared expression confirming anything Kristen needed to know. For once, Kristen decided to be wise. “Here’s your chance babe. Make it work or let it go. Answer it.”  With that, she fixed Jade with a no excuses glare. “C’mon. Do it or I’ll do it for you.”

Jade knew that was true. Hoping for one more buzz and then a stop, instead what she got was Lucas still waiting for her to pick up. She’d tried so hard to bury this, to pretend this was the right thing- if he called she’d said she’d let it go. Instead-

“Hello?”

“Jade!” Lucas’s voice was full of something, excitement, happiness- something. It made her want him right then and there, right in front of her. No JJ. “I didn’t think I’d get you JJ- we have to talk!”

She remembered that voice. It was the same voice, less the teenage squeak that had told her about the computer he’d built and the radio he’d made. It was all ‘you are not going to believe this, but’. What was he up to?

“Lucas I told you to give me some time…”

“I did. Two weeks is time!” The boyish good humor was back and it broke her heart that he didn’t understand. Before she could tell him that he spoke up again. “JJ. Turn around.”

She froze and looked up at Kristen, who was hiding a smirk behind her napkin and pointing over Jade’s shoulder. She turned in her stool slowly and terrified.

And there he was, Lucas in all his glory, the beach wind coming up from the Los Osos valley roughing up his unruly black hair. Through the plate window, not more than fifteen feet away, he was smiling and waving at her his phone pressed to his ear. “Hi JJ!” The disconnect of him in her ear and in the flesh in front of her had her stomach lurching.

“Lucas, what the hell are you doing here?” He pointed at the phone, closed it, and waved at her beckoning her outside. Jade turned to Kristen.

“That’s Lucas?” She shot Jade a look of ‘what have you been thinking?” Babe. Go. Go right now. I’ll settle this up.” She shooed Jade out of her seat. In a moment Jade found herself walking down the sidewalk with a barely contained Lucas. His energy level was through the roof, crackling.

Jade kept her head down prepared and unprepared for anything. “Lucas. What are you doing here? No, wait- how the hell did you find me?”

Lucas laughed at that one. “I just told the receptionist I was with the review board with some important info on your trial.” He leaned in, fake concern written all over his face. “You know, you really have to hire better receptionists…”

She shook that off. “Fine. You found me. Why Lucas?” She pulled him to a stop. “Why are you here?”

He let her halt him as they came to the intersection where Casa Street ran into San Rosa Park. He took her hand and pulled in a deep breath. “I got a promotion!”

That made no sense to Jade- “Wait, wait, you own TonPay…”

“Owned.” He cracked a wide smile. “Owned!” Seeing the blank look on her face, he pulled back a step. “They were going to pull out of the whole thing JJ. Leave it all in my lap after all that leverage. So did the only thing I knew how. I took the slap on the butt you gave me.” He raised a sarcastic eyebrow. “And I turned it into motivation. I called up the CEO himself. Told him I’d fired my lawyer- true- and we needed to talk. He listened, bless him. He got what I had at stake in the company that it wasn’t all about the money with me- and he made me an offer.”