Watch Over My Life: Emotional Love Story (What Will Be Book Series)

by Laura Ashley Gallagher

Jessica huffed loudly in defeat. Her friend was right, and she hated to admit it, but nothing about work today was normal. Lord above, she almost had sex with Jake on the office table.

  Not normal.

  And she had been thinking about him all day long without a single break. Anytime she tried to concentrate or think of something else, his face, or images of last night jumped around in her mind.

  “See? I told you I was right.”

  Jessica bit down on her lip, feeling the blood pulsing under the skin. “What have I done?” she grumbled, sinking into the chair.

  “Well, if you want my advice, why not keep it going and get the most of him? Show him exactly what you’ve got. But honestly, I don’t think he is going to let you go, Jess. I know he likes you. I have never seen a man look at a woman the way he looks at you. You walk into the room and it’s like you are the only person he sees. But you are too damn stubborn to see it, and too scared to let someone in. But that’s you, I guess. You never were the emotional type. ‘Emotion is for girls’, you used to say.”

  “I don’t think you could be more wrong about him liking me. But I will figure something out,” she assured herself. And she was hoping she would soon because otherwise, she was afraid she would end up on an office table somewhere. She knew it didn’t even have to be a table. The floor would have been more than enough.

  This was going to be a hell of a week.

  Chapter Four

  That night she tossed and turned until she was dizzy. The covers were too hot; the air outside was too cold, and everything was simply wrong. Every time her eyelids gave way to the tiredness, she would wake again, dreaming about random scenarios she couldn’t remember.

  She leaned her heavy head towards her clock. It was 6:30 am. Time to get up, she decided. For once she would have a head start on the day.

  She opened her curtains to a thin sheet of frost covering her window. The sunlight breaking through the clouds reflected on it like tiny crystals, and shone in rays of light throughout her bedroom, dancing in a proud outburst of colours on the walls. She opened the window a little, letting the bitter morning air caress over her skin. It stung, but it woke her with a violent shiver as goosebumps played along her skin.

  Jessica stumbled towards the bathroom and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she turned on the shower to the hottest temperature she could handle. Slowly, she made her way in under the sprays, letting the hot water relax and soothe her aching and tired muscles.

  She didn’t know how she was going to face today, let alone get through it till the end. She was hoping she could avoid him; maybe duck her head or sneak into the nearest bathroom when he came her way, but she knew it would be difficult. She had to drop off the book she had been working on, and she had thought this one out.

  She had a plan; she was just going to walk in, leave it on his desk, and walk back out. Simple. She could do it. She had to do it. She couldn’t leave herself as vulnerable as she did yesterday. And she was starting to believe Sharon when she said nothing was going to be the same. She had no other choice. She was going to try her hardest to make it right. She wouldn’t let other people know what they both did. Jessica was respected in her job, and she fully intended on having it remain that way.

  She dried her hair, letting the natural curl settle into the ends. Jessica dressed quickly into grey suit pants and a white shirt. After gulping down a cup of coffee, she grabbed her bag and stuffed her keys and the book into it.

  The drive to work didn’t take too long. She had left earlier than usual, so the traffic wasn’t as heavy. It was quite calm for a change. And that, for once, was a bad thing. She needed distractions. A mother shouting at her children on the school run; a young girl failing to apply her makeup at a traffic light; anything to keep her occupied. But not today. Today, she got quiet streets and her agonizing thoughts.

  Fantastic.

  She parked her car in the nearest possible space, gathered her things, and headed towards the entrance. Deciding to take the elevator instead of fifteen flights of stairs, which, at that moment, were not looking all too appealing, she stood there and waited for the doors to open. Amusing herself by silently counting down the floor numbers displayed above the elevator.

  Finally, the enormous steel doors opened for her to step inside. She leaned her back against the wall, rested her tired eyes, and listened to the ridiculous music being played quietly in the background. But just as the doors were about to shut, a hand stopped them violently and her worst nightmare stood to look at her; a smug grin placed upon his face.

  “I knew it was you. I would know you from behind any day.”

  She noticed him wink from the corner of her eye, but she refused to meet his gaze.

  “Come on, lighten up. I’m joking.”

  At that moment, she thought a need to glare at him with so much intensity, that if looks could kill, he should have been sprawled across the floor.

  “I don’t find it funny, so not today Jake,” she said, gritting her teeth in her best attempts to hold back the anger ready to boil over. “Can we just work as normal, please? Forget about the other night?”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “It is.”

  “Fine,” he agreed.

  But his agreement was a lie, of course. This was Jake Williams. What did she expect? He would not give up that easily. He never did. He leaned forward, pressing his thumb against the red button. Jessica felt her heart skip a few beats before it began racing in her chest.

  Isn’t that the button that stops the elevator?

  The metal box they were standing in came to a sudden halt, making her jolt a little, but her feet remained planted firmly on the ground.

  “Christ, Jake, what are you playing at?” she shouted, but it felt like something trapped her voice, suffocating in her throat from feeling her heart race deep in her chest. She tried to move around him in her best attempt to press the bloody button and make the elevator move again, but he blocked her. He didn’t care that he was making her legs feel like jelly, or that her heart was beating so loud she could have sworn it was resonating all around them.

  In her mind, she cursed herself because she had a sudden, animalistic urge to wet her lips with her moist tongue.

  Keep that stupid tongue inside your mouth.

  He scanned her face until his eyes landed on her lips.

  Bad idea. Bad idea, she screamed in her head, her palms instinctively grabbing the metal bar behind her for support. Her pulse felt like bullets now, and her breathing? She didn’t think she had any. It scared her to breathe around this man. But she wanted that man so much, and he had put her exactly where she didn’t want to be. She wanted to say something, but she felt like her voice had gotten stuck in her throat somewhere and she couldn’t find it.

  “You’re beautiful,” he whispered in that painfully sexy voice of his, and in one sudden movement, he crushed her with his kiss.

  She couldn’t stop him, and the worst thing was, she didn’t want to. He cupped her face with his hands and pushed her back, pinning and lifting her against the elevator wall. His tongue grazed her full bottom lip, begging for entrance.

  She let him! She really was insane.

  His tongue slipped inside, exploring her mouth. Then his kisses travelled from her mouth to her neck and back up along her jawline. Her breathing became more frantic.

  Yes, she finally learned to breathe.

  This wasn’t right. She hated this man, didn’t she? Why was she even questioning it? Of course she hated him. Here she was, pinned against an elevator wall by the same man she lost sleep over the night before. The same man she gave out about so many times.

  Jessica wondered how many other women he had pinned against this elevator wall before because he seemed to be an expert at it.

  With that thought, and refusing to be a number to him, she found the strength to move her hands to his chest, and as much as it killed her to do it, she pushed him away. When he gently set her back on her
feet, her chest was rising and falling madly, and it took every ounce of power she had not to pull him back.

  “We have to stop this, Jake,” she uttered quietly, out of breath from the excitement and the pleasures of having him touch her. For a minute, she felt alive again, but she couldn’t allow this relationship, or whatever it was, to go any further.

  “We do,” he agreed, his eyes searching hers. “Sorry, a moment of weakness.” His voice was crisp as he pressed that dangerous red button.

  The elevator began moving again, but it felt like forever to Jessica before it stopped at the 15th floor. She took three deep breaths, trying her best to calm her pulse until finally the elevator stopped and the doors opened slowly.

  “I have the book with me if you want it now?” she offered, holding the door.

  “No, bring it to my office.”

  Her face flushed of its entire colour.

  “Don’t worry, Jess. There won’t be any funny business,” he promised with one of his breath-taking smiles. She just nodded and walked away; trying to catch her breath.

  “Good morning, Jessica.” Sophie, the secretary, smiled as she walked past. “Are you feeling okay? You look a bit flushed.”

  Jessica could feel her cheeks burn with embarrassment. “Yes, I’m fine, just a bit warm,” she explained.

  Quickly, she walked to her office, leaving a confused Sophie behind.

  It was all too risky. She had to stop it. She could not and would not let that happen again. It was too dangerous for them both.

  She jumped, feeling her phone buzz in her bag. It wasn’t until she went searching she realized she was trembling. It was a text message from Sharon.

  It read:

  You can do it. Resist the temptation.

  Awful timing. You could have texted me ten minutes ago. It would have warned me not to get in the damn elevator.

  Sharon’s reply was almost instant: Excuse me? What did you do in the elevator? And I thought you were the quiet one.

  Nothing happened; I promise. It’s what almost happened. Anyway, I must go. I will tell you later. Duty calls.

  She slipped her phone back into her bag and sighed with discomfort when she saw the book staring her in the face. It only meant one thing. She would have to bring it to him.

  It took her two hours to work up the courage to go. What happened in the elevator complicated her plan of just walking in and out of his office.

  She stood up, her legs feeling like water, and took the book, walking swiftly out of her office. She looked confident, as always, but she didn’t feel it. Not one bit. As each step brought her closer to him and that goddamn office table, she could feel her heartbeat insanely fast.

  But there was something she hated even more than her heart doing gymnastics. It was butterflies. She felt like a teenager. Those stupid butterflies in her stomach fluttered around, making her breath catch in her throat. She would trample all over those butterflies if she could.

  Smiling, she turned into his office but made a sudden halt. A man was sitting in the chair on the other side of his desk. A man she recognized. His blonde, sandy hair cut short, and his blue eyes were prominent against his tanned skin. She would recognize those eyes anywhere. It was like looking in a mirror. A wide smile gripped her face.

  “Oh my God, Pete, what are you doing here?”

  He stood up, hearing her voice, and the urge was too strong not to run into his arms.

  “Hey little sis,” he said, kissing her forehead. “I came in to see both of you. Don’t worry, I was going to see you first, but I met Jake on the way up and we got talking. I was just about to leave.” He looked guilty.

  “You are a horrible liar,” she teased, slapping his arm. “I thought you were in Spain?”

  Her brother travelled a lot. He taught English to students from all over the world.

  “I was. The kids are on holidays, so I said I would make a surprise visit home to see everyone.”

  “Well, it’s good to have you back. I missed you.”

  He pulled out a chair before sitting down again.

  “Sit. I haven’t seen you in months.”

  “I have to get back to work. Call by my office when you finish here, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “Jake, I have the book ready for you.” She forced a smile, trying to look normal; like she didn’t sleep with him, and his tongue wasn’t back her throat a few hours ago.

  She laid the book down on his desk.

  “Thanks, Jess.” He winked like he always did. He was a better liar than she was.

  “Maybe you can help me, sis,” Pete said.

  “With what?” she questioned, looking confused.

  “See, we were sitting here, Jake and I, and he had the biggest grin on his face. I know for a fact he is screwing someone. He just will not tell me who. Have you any idea?”

  She almost choked. Her eyes became wide, and her face got hot. She looked at Jake, who looked composed, but she could see in his eyes he was just as terrified as she was.

  She shook her head. “How the hell would I know that?”

  “You do work with him, Jess. There must be someone you know about?”

  Was this all a joke? Had Jake told him what they did?

  Never.

  They might have been best friends, but she was still Pete’s little sister, and Jake knew what it meant. Pete would not have thought twice about jumping across the table to him.

  “Whoever he has sex with is none of my business. Jake could have sex with everyone in this building; I really couldn’t give a shit,” she stated, keeping her cool.

  Was that a pang of jealousy she just felt?

  “Calm down, sis. It’s not like it’s you.”

  They both gulped, and she could hear Jake swallow his nerves.

  “I see you two haven’t gotten over your differences then?”

  She rolled her eyes. “It’s me and Jake. Will we ever get over our differences?” she stated casually, knowing her brother already knew the answer.

  “Whoever she is, she must be one hell of a sex buddy, because he was smiling like Barney when I bumped into him. You can’t mistake the bounce in his step. Hope that girl knows what she is getting herself into.”

  “It’s okay, Pete. This one is feisty. She can handle herself. I don’t think I will bother her much, even if I try,” Jake laughed, moving his gaze from Pete to Jessica and back again.

  She was living in hell right now. Out of all the things that could go wrong, this was it. It was like some sick scene from a stupid comedy.

  “Come on, will you tell us who she is? I must know her if you’re not telling me,” Pete persisted.

  Mother of pearl. Would he just give up? She thought.

  “Believe me, you don’t know her.”

  “Give me a name at least,” Pete almost begged.

  “Believe it or not, her name is Jessica.”

  She could feel her mouth dry out like the desert.

  “I didn’t catch her second name.”

  “Typical,” Pete huffed through his laugh. “I don’t know her then because the only Jessica I know is you, little sis.”

  She smiled nervously in response.

  “I’ll be back in a sec. Nature calls,” he said, leaving the room.

  When she knew he went far enough not to hear her, she turned and glared at the troublemaker, sitting comfortably behind his desk.

  “What was that about?” she stuttered, frustrated.

  “Don’t worry, Jess, he doesn’t know.”

  He was too confident. Too cocky. And he was getting on her last nerve.

  “My brother is a smart guy, Jake. He can put two and two together and get four,” she snapped.

  She was pacing now. Jessica never paced unless someone had ticked her off. And it was extremely hard to tick her off.

  Then he started laughing. A loud, booming laugh and her eyes travelled to his hard chest. Christ, this man was driving her crazy in every way possible.

>   Did he find this funny?

  His voice echoed against icy walls and pushed its way into her ears, crashing down on her tolerance. Her hand tingled with the urge to slap him.

  “Calm down, okay? He suspects nothing. As far as he knows, you hate my guts.”

  “I do hate your guts,” she spat, shaking her head. “Tell Pete I had to go and to call by my office when he is done,” she told him before storming out of the room.

  That man did weird things to her emotions. One minute she wanted him, another she hated him.

  It was times like this she needed a cigarette. She had not smoked since she was eighteen, and this is what he was doing to her.

  Air. She needed fresh air. It wasn’t nicotine, but it would relax her trembling hands.

  When she got back to her office, her brother was waiting for her, being nosy and rummaging through her stuff. But despite that, she suddenly felt calmer.

  The rest of the day passed quickly for her, but it was mainly because she spent most of it talking to Pete.

  That night she went to bed, her eyes feeling heavy with tiredness, but again she couldn’t sleep. She tried her best to keep her eyes shut and breathe evenly. Confused, she glanced towards her bedside locker, watching her phone flash, lighting up the room. She picked it up.

  No caller ID.

  She flipped the cover open.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey.”

  She heard a deep voice and recognized it almost immediately.

  “Jake? Is that you?” she questioned, playing dumb.

  “It’s me.”

  “Jake, what do you want?” she asked, her voice sounding tired, but she wanted him to think she was sleeping, and he had just woken her.

  “See, I was at home and you popped into my head. And I thought we were both at home alone when we could do different and better things together.”

  She stood up and walked to the living room. She could feel the cold air sweep across her bare legs and arms.

  “We both know the other night was great, and I know for a fact you want it to happen again as much as I do.”

  “Cocky much?” she grunted and could hear his breathy laugh on the other end.

  “I was thinking, we should make use of our time.”