Free The Scientist and the Supermodel by Tara Lain Page B

Seven

    Jake sat at his desk, staring at the computer screen, a miserable lump of human. Nothing was okay. Every way he looked, he’d made a mess of things. It was three days since he’d left Roan standing in his living room, looking like Jake had kicked him in the stomach. Oh, he hadn’t said anything. He’d kissed Jake good-bye and told him he’d be tied up with a multiday photo shoot, but Jake figured Roan thought he was a shit who was using him. The real kicker was that it might be true.
    How did he feel about this whole thing? Thinking was required here, not being dragged around by his gonads. He had fucked a man. That was the truth. He had loved it, also the truth. But what did that mean, for crap’s sake? He kept coming back to this place. Was he gay? Roan said no, and he should know. If he wasn’t gay, why couldn’t he get it up for a woman these days, although God knew he’d fucked plenty of females in the past and enjoyed it? He dropped his head in his hands. He had never loved having sex with a woman as much as he’d enjoyed fucking Roan, so he was back to square one.
    “Hey, Jake.”
    Man, he was unconscious. Em had walked right up to his desk, and he hadn’t even noticed. He glanced around the lab, where three of his colleagues were staring at their own computers.
    He smiled up into those perceptive chocolate eyes. “Hi.”
    “I’ve got to leave for that meeting with the executive committee. I’ll be a couple hours.” Must be an important meeting. She’d even combed her hair. The usually messy auburn ponytail looked positively smooth.
    “Oh yeah, right.”
    She frowned. “Are you okay?”
    He tried to look devil-may-care. “Sure, fine.”
    “Bullshit, Jake. You haven’t been acting like yourself since sometime in the middle of the conference in LA. What’s going on?”
    Again he glanced around, but nobody seemed to be listening. Em was too observant and knew him too well, so he dropped the facade. “Just some kind of early-life crisis. I’m trying to sort through some things in my head, and it’s burning up some energy. Sorry if I’ve been half an employee lately.”
    “Crap, Jake, at your worst, you double the output of most humans, and I haven’t seen you at your worst since the last holiday party.” He winced, and she laughed. Then she ruffled his hair. Amazingly, he was so distraught over Roan, he barely shivered when she touched him. “I’m just worried about you, Jake. There’s nothing wrong with the family, is there?”
    Em loved his family. “No, they’re great. It’s just me; my head isn’t on straight right now.”
    “Aside from driving you to drink and never allowing you any sleep, is the job okay?”
    “Shit, yeah, Em. I love the work; you know that.”
    “And you’d tell me if you were having a work problem.”
    “Absolutely.”
    “So it’s personal.” It wasn’t a question. “I’d ask ‘who is she,’ but I guess it’s none of my business.” She waited a little expectantly, but when he didn’t say anything, she went on. “I don’t want to pry, but if you need someone to talk to, you know I’m here.”
    That was so not going to happen. “Thanks, Em. Really, I’ll try to get my ass in gear.”
    She shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.” She made a quick glance at her watch. “Crap, I’ve got to go. Just remember what I said.” She ran over to tell her assistant, pretty Mary something, then ran for the glass doors.
    Jake called, “Thanks, Em,” as she hurried out into the hall.
    There she went, the woman of his dreams. Would sex with her be as good as with Roan? His heart said yes, but his cock said sex with the green-eyed model was gonna be hard to top.
    He stared at the screen. It was bad that his personal turmoil was showing, but he wasn’t sure what to do. Obviously he wasn’t succeeding in his attempts to act normal, but of course, things were not normal. The idea of talking to somebody about it all appealed to him—as long