Heaven // Ryan Tedder

Chapter Sixteen; Everybody Loves Me

Meanwhile, Joshua drove down the streets of LA, the roof of his Mustang down and his sunglasses on as the bright afternoon sun shone on his face. His slicked back hair was becoming messy with the wind, but it was nothing a quick smooth over with his hand couldn't fix.

He had a break from work, for once, so he decided that he'd head to the restaurant and possibly get a bite to eat with Janelle.

He was quite proud of himself; he had her wrapped around his finger again. He knew that she hardly had any friends, and she only ever really talked to Abby. He was glad that he was all she needed in life. His friends thought he was great for keeping her as tied down as he did. Even if he was to cheat, he knew that she'd always come running back to him. He was all she had known since college, and it would be hard to just let go of him so easily. It would be difficult for her to say goodbye, so he knew he'd always have her; no matter what he did.

As he made it to the street that the restaurant was on, he groaned, seeing that there were hardly any parking spaces. He knew one thing, and that was that he definitely wasn't letting his car get scratched. He'd go park it in a garage and walk back just to avoid that. Which is just what he did.

It cost him an extra fifteen minutes, but that didn't matter much to him. He had about an hour-long break, so he still had enough time to drop into the restaurant, say hi to Janelle, and grab a salad.

He began to walk from the parking garage to the restaurant, which wouldn't take him long, as it wasn't very far. Besides, he didn't mind getting some steps in if it kept him looking nicely fit.

He pulled his phone out of chest pocket of his suit, deciding to send Janelle a quick message. He typed it out as he walked, occasionally glancing up from his phone to look in front of him.

Babe, I'm gonna show up at the restaurant in a bit. Can you order me a salad?

He slid his phone back in his pocket as he continued to walk. By the time he made it to the building that the restaurant was in, he still hadn't gotten a text back from his girlfriend.

No matter, he thought to himself. He could always just surprise her.

As he walked up to the restaurant, he happened to look in the window, just in time to see Janelle sitting in one of the corner booths.

He smiled to himself, before walking over to the door, reaching for the handle. Just then, though, the door opened. The man who opened it gave Joshua a small smile, before holding it open for him.

Joshua nodded, before stepping past the man and inside the restaurant. He made his way over to the corner booth, where Janelle was still sitting, sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Hey, Babe." He said, giving her a charming smile.

She looked up. "Oh, hi, Josh." She smiled at him as he slid into the seat in front of her.

He bit his lip for a moment. The seat was warm. Had someone been sitting there with her before? He shook off the thought. Surely not. Janelle didn't ever talk to anyone.

"You know, I am really hungry." He said, looking up at his girlfriend. "I can see you're on your break, but do you mind ordering me a salad?"

He could tell by her face that she was wondering why he couldn't just do it himself, but she instead smiled a little, nodding. She stood, walking away from the table.

Joshua smirked to himself. Wrapped around his finger.

As he waited for her to come back with his food, he began to fidget a little, occasionally glancing at his watch. He didn't have much time left to be there, and she was taking quite a while.

He tried to keep himself distracted, so he decided to reach over and pick up her coffee. He was sure she wouldn't mind if he took a sip. He was just curious as to what flavour she had ordered.

He lifted it up in his large hand, taking a sip of it.

Caramel macchiato, he thought. That was odd. He could've sworn that she hated caramel.

He set the cup back down in it's spot, before something caught his eye. On the cup, there were the initials 'R.T.' He knew that they were initials, because he had been to that coffee shop. They put your name on your coffee cup so they can leave it on the counter and not get it mixed up with others.

He of course knew that Janelle's initials weren't 'R.T,' and neither were Abby's, the only person who'd probably be bringing her coffee.

Not to mention that the seat was already warm when he got there. Was someone bringing Janelle coffees? That meant she had a friend she wasn't telling him about. Why was she hiding it from him? Who exactly was this person?

"Here's your salad." a voice broke Joshua out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Janelle setting a bowl of salad in front of him.

"Ah, Thanks." He gave her a nod before she sat back down in front of him. She picked up her coffee again, taking a long swig as he watched her.

He picked up his fork, taking a bite of the lettuce from his salad. "So," he mumbled through the bite in his mouth. "Who's the coffee from?"

"The coffee?" Janelle seemed to have a bit of panic in her eyes, which he was good at reading. "Um, Abby brought it to me."

"Really?" He asked, taking another bite. "How is she?"

Janelle swallowed. "She's Alright."

"Did she sit and talk with you for a while?" He began to interrogate her, a slight smirk on his face.

She shook her head. "She had to get home to Kenneth."

She was clearly lying to him, but why?

He'd have to do some investigating. Because if she was cheating on him, he'd want to know.