jack's pov

"hey, let's go out and get some lunch. i'm starving" derek groaned, throwing his head back as we walked out of a two hour meeting.

"yeah, nando's sounds so good right now" i agreed.

"can us girls come with?" nadine voice spoke from behind me as we all stopped at the front desk.

"sure. the more, the merrier" derek shrugged to agree.

we started talking further about where else would sound great to have lunch at right now, but i was suddenly caught off guard when the elevator dinged and savannah strode out in her heels and looking inside her bag.

"oh. what's savannah doing here?" nadine curiously asked and i continued to stare over at her, skeptical to know too.

"i don't know" i replied.

"is she here to see you?" derek wondered.

"i doubt it. i mean, we're not even talking right now" i admitted. "go over there and ask why she's here".

he chuckled and looked at me as if to check if i were kidding, "what, are you in the sixth grade? should i ask if she likes you too?".

i rolled my eyes before elaborating, "she won't answer to me, man".

"don't worry, i'm going, i'm going" he held his hands up and humourlessly straightened his tie to walk over to her.

i turned my back slightly and tried to listen in with a side view.

i haven't seen or spoken to savannah
since we took lauren and the guys to the airport, and that was over two weeks ago. not communicating with her 24/7 like we used to just makes it harder for me to remember how to act around her.

derek let out a breath, "hey, savannah".

"hey" she replied and i patiently waited for her to then explain what she was doing here, but another word never happened to leave her lips.

"so, what are you doing here?" derek suddenly questioned. "are you here to see jack or?".

"no, actually, i'm here for—".

"savannah, you're right on time" my deputy boss, mr. tate approached them and said. "i'll be just a second".

he lightly and unusually comfortably squeezed savannah's shoulder then continued on to another room.

"oh. do you have a meeting with mr. tate?" derek inquired, gesturing towards him walking away.

"no, uh, me and him are going out for lunch actually" she told and i creased my brows in confusion.

derek did the same, "i didn't know that you knew each other".

"we don't, well, not really. he came to vogue for a meeting and he's practically been pestering me to go out with him" savannah briefly chuckled.

"oh, really?".

"yeah, so here i am — he's not a bad guy, so".

mr. tate promptly came back with his jacket and scarf ready in his hands.

"ready?" he asked savannah and she nodded. "so, is derek my employee that you know?".

"yeah" she said.

he started pulling on his jacket, "how do you know each other?".

savannah awkwardly touched her neck at the query, "well, derek and i have been friends for about a year now".

"and she knows jack too, jack gilinsky" derek added, although i saw her subtly shake her head at him, but it was too late. "they actually used to date".

mr. tate paused as he draped his scarf down his neck.

"oh" he chuckled uncomfortably. "if i had known, i—".

"no, it's okay" savannah quickly spoke. "that's over now, trust me".

"okay, good. so, shall we?" he held out his arm for savannah to take and she lightly smiled to say a goodbye to derek.

once they were into the elevator and had left, i sheepishly walked out from the corner.

"i didn't know that savannah was dating again" derek turned to me and said.

"neither did i" i rubbed my chin, thinking of how it would be if savannah and mr. tate officially started dating.

"and how do you feel about that?".

"how do i feel?" i repeated, practically laughing. "i'm the one who told her that we couldn't be together, okay. i feel fine".

"well, isn't savannah lucky that she's dating mr tate?" nadine walked closer towards us with her arms folded across her chest.

"why?" i questioned, knitting my brows together.

"he's drowning in money," she began to count on her fingers. "i heard he's got a huge house, tons of cars and he's going to inherit more money from his parents".

"savannah doesn't care about that type of stuff" i clearly mentioned.

nadine scoffed, not believing me one bit, "every woman cares about that type of stuff".

"but i only know him as our boss, what's he like? like his personality?" i inquired.

"he's a sweet guy — he can treat a girl right, but that's all i know" she shook her head. "why are you so concerned?".

i shrugged, "i was just wondering. savs and i are still friends, i still care".

"friends?" she repeated in surprise. "you two haven't spoken for over a week, jack".

"we've just been busy, that's all" i explained, my head going much lower.

nadine squinted her eyes, lowering her head to face mine, "you're not jealous, are you?".

"no, i'm not jealous, nadine" i insisted.

"okay, can we please go and eat now before lunch is over?" derek thankfully interrupted her interrogation.

i laughed at his pleading face, then patted his back, "yes, we can go and eat".

+

savannah's pov

once tristan and i reached the ground floor of the building, we walked outside and assuming that we were going to take a taxi, i moved my eyes around to find one until he directed my attention to the matte, black limo parked on the side.

"are we taking that?" i questioned and he nodded his head. "a limo? for a lunch date?".

"i always travel in my limo" he carelessly shrugged and i folded my arms, raising my brow at him.

"who are you? chuck bass?".

tristan took held of my hand and started walking down the steps with me, "well, at least i now know that you like gossip girl".

"do you like gossip girl?" i asked, surprised that a man like him understood my reference.

"my sister used to force me to watch it" he explained as he opened the door for me, but i smirked and struggled to believe his answer.

"whatever you say, tristan" i sang, before stepping into the car and he followed behind me.

i was immediately shocked at how big it looked inside for a limo that seemed fairly small on the outside.

there were black leather seats, all fixed with individual leather pillows, a mini bar safely stocked with a few bottles of wine, a basket of mini snacks and a miniature flat screen tv against the wall.

"this is insane" i told him, as the driver started to drive and tristan rested his arm across the top of my seat.

"and you're the first woman that i've brought in here".

"yeah, right" i disagreed, shaking my head.

"no, seriously" he reached to the side and poured us both a glass of white wine. "this is my personal limo, just for my eyes...and now, yours too".

he clinked his glass with mine, then i looked out of the black tinted windows, wondering where exactly we were going.

"so, where are you taking me?" i inquired.

"you'll see" he simply told, taking a quick sip of his drink.

we sat outside on black and white themed tables and chairs at this fancy rooftop restaurant. we had already ordered and received our food, so tristan and i started to get to know one another a little better.

"so, tell me about yourself? i'm really curious about the life of savannah brooks" he wondered and i swallowed the food in my mouth before speaking.

"well, i was born and raised in los angeles, california. since day one i've dreamed of being in a fashion profession, so for a while i worked as a writer for a small fashion column then i got offered a job for vogue".

his eyes gently widened, "wow, that must have been a huge step".

"yeah, it's funny because when i applied, i thought it was for vogue la but it was really for london and i just thought that there was no way i could turn this job down".

"so, how long have you been here?".

"about a year and a half" i nodded.

"oh, so about the same time as jack?" he pointed his fork at me slightly.

i looked down at my food, then cleared my throat and hummed to answer.

tristan started to chuckle, "did you both come here together or something?".

he continued to laugh a little until he watched my vague expression and realised.

"but that was a long time ago" i assured him. "we live separately now, we've both moved on".

"so, you two were serious enough to move to london together?" he asked.

"well, we've been friends since we were eleven so it wasn't much of a debate" i replied, before shaking my head and wanting to move on. "but enough about jack and i, tell me about you now".

"hm, let's see — i was born here, london, england, but my father's job required a lot of moving so i've lived in france, australia, new york, la, germany, then i decided that i'd just love to settle where it all started".

i rested my chin against my hand, "what attracted you to come back?".

"london's a great place. i prefer the busy city-life with all the tourists, the buildings and the monuments than the suburbs area" he explained.

"well, i can do both. the chaotic rush hours or the quiet home with a cute backyard" i told.

"almost describes you".

i creased my brows in confusion and chuckled, "what?".

"like who you are. i guess you're quite hard to figure out from afar, but when you do talk to you, you kind of just feel at ease" he softly told, causing me to smile and tuck my hair behind my ear.

"don't speak too soon though, this is only our first date" i joked.

tristan slowly licked his lips, "are you implying that there will be a second?".

"i'll decide when it's over".

"okay, but what's the verdict looking like so far?".

i laughed, "don't worry, you're on the right track" i said and he smirked at my response, before we continued eating our lunch.

+

jack's pov

days later, i had just finished copying some paperwork and walked past the break room, where i happened to overhear mr. tate mentioning savannah's name.

"...it's actually been a long time since i've been in a relationship, but i like where things are going with her" he explained.

"you're lucky, she's a real looker" a male colleague added.

mr. tate chuckled, "yeah, she is but that's not why i like her".

"why then?".

"because she's different. but i can tell that she went through a messy relationship with the way she holds back sometimes" he mentioned and i listened closer.

"do you think it was with that jack gilinsky?" the colleague inquired.

"if he was her last relationship then yeah, i think so".

"are they still close?".

"i'm not sure, but i can tell that she's trying to move on" mr. tate told him and colleague began to snicker.

"so, you're just the rebound?".

"no, she's not like that, i know it" he insisted and i slowly continued to walk away from their conversation.

i guess that i'm happy for savannah. both us still need time to heal from what happened with max and re-build our trust, so it's good that she's moving on and i'll need to do the same too.

i don't know, i just didn't expect her to move on so fast, especially not with my deputy boss. but all i hope is that he treats her right - better than we treated each other half of the time.

-

i've been so lazy lately, but chapters will be coming more frequently now since i've planned and prepared them lol.

but do you think jack will continue to stay this cool about savs and tristan?

btw, i was wondering which parts or chapters were your favourites from either the first book of affair or this one? i just wanna know so i can see where my writing was at it's best ily.

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