At something in my expression, Stuart gave a nervous laugh. "I'm just saying, I could use some lunch."
Through gritted teeth, I said, "We don't have any groceries."
"Why not?"
"Because we just moved in yesterday."
"Then how about a nap?"
I gave a confused shake of my head. "What?"
"A nap," he repeated. "I've got a long drive ahead. I could use the rest, you know?" He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "And you and me, we could catch up."
I leaned back. And here, I thought the sandwich idea was bad. "Are you hinting that we should…" I didn't even want to say it.
He smiled. "Hey, I'm game if you are."
I almost didn't know what to say. I was still searching for the perfect comeback when I heard a sudden screech of tires from somewhere behind me. Startled, I whirled to look.
Through the truck's back window, I saw a sleek red sports car that hadn't been there before.
I gave a little gasp.
And why?
It was because the driver of that vehicle was already getting out. And who was it?
It was Jaden Bishop, my new boss.
Chapter 17
I couldn’t help but stare. He was still wearing the suit and tie, but somehow, he didn't look half as civilized as he had back in the office. His eyes were dark, and his mouth was tight. Without bothering to shut his car door, he began striding toward us.
What the heck?
I looked back to Stuart and did a double-take. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide. He glanced around as if searching for a hole to hide in.
Under his breath, he urged, "Lemme in, alright?"
I was so surprised, I could hardly think. "In what?"
His voice rose almost a full octave. "The truck, the truck."
I couldn’t fathom why he'd say it twice, but I had no time to ask him – or to let him in, because already, Jaden was standing right beside him, blocking the driver's side door.
Unless Stuart wanted to bolt for the passenger's side, he wasn't getting in – not without going through Jaden anyway.
As if trying to play it cool, Stuart gave Jaden a shaky smile. "Oh, hey."
Jaden's voice was flat. "What are you doing?"
Stuart swallowed with an audible gulp. "Nothing."
Jaden took a single step toward him. "Is that so?"
Stuart stepped back. "Uh, yeah. Totally."
From inside the truck, I asked, "What's going on?"
It was Stuart who answered. "Nothing."
It was the same thing he'd just told Jaden. I hadn't believed him then, and I didn't believe him now.
Obviously, something was going on. But what?
I looked to Jaden. "Well?"
And of course, he completely ignored me. He was still focused on Stuart, who even now, was backing up another step.
Stuart held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I was just leaving."
I felt myself frown. Okay, it's not like I'd been happy to see Stuart. But I'd been even less happy to see Jaden, who, if anything, was a bigger jackass than my ex. And that was saying something.
Already, they'd traveled several paces beyond my driver's side door. If they kept on going, they'd eventually end up at Stuart's new truck.
And then what?
Honestly, I had no idea.
I shoved open my truck door and climbed out of the vehicle. I strode toward them, calling out, "Will one of you please tell me?"
Without looking, Jaden replied, "Tell you what?"
I made a sound of frustration. "What you're doing here for starters."
With his gaze still on Stuart, Jaden replied, "I'm checking on my investment."
Okay, that made zero sense. "What investment?"
"You."
I stopped moving. Did he just call me an investment?
Talk about insulting.
Plus, I had no idea what he meant.
I looked to Stuart. Although he was still facing my direction, his eyes were glued to Jaden. With another step backward, he mumbled, "Yeah, well, I'd better get going, huh?" He gave a nervous laugh. "Long drive and all."
As for Jaden, he took another step forward, moving with slow deliberation, like he had all the time in the world.
But to do what?
That was the million dollar question.
I stalked toward them and stopped not quite between them, since there was no room and all, but directly next to them. I looked from Stuart to Jaden and back again.
"Well?" I repeated.
Stuart cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, I'd better get going."
Hadn't he already said that?
He looked like a gazelle, who wanted to bolt, but didn't quite dare, lest he become instant dinner.
I looked to Jaden. "How about you? Do you need to get going?"
In a dangerously low voice, he replied, "Me?" He gave Stuart a cold smile. "Nah. I've got all day."
The smile did nothing to ease my worry. "To do what?"
His smile vanished. "Whatever it takes."
Well, that was informative. With a little huff, I said, "Will you please look at me?"
Slowly, Jaden turned his head in my direction. "Yeah, what?"
That's when Stuart made his move. Channeling his inner gazelle, he turned and bolted for the red truck. Moving faster than I'd ever seen him, he yanked open the driver's side door and practically dove inside. A split-second later, the engine roared to life, and the truck squealed away, leaving me staring after it.
I kept watching even as it rounded the next corner and disappeared from sight.
Well, that wasn't strange or anything.
I looked back at Jaden and demanded, "What was that about?"
In reply, all he said was, "See you Monday." And with that, he turned and strode back to his own vehicle.
I watched in stunned silence as he climbed inside and drove slowly off, leaving me staring after him.
Beyond curious, I tried calling Stuart.
He didn't answer.
I left a message.
He didn't call me back.
I sent a few texts.
I received none in reply.
It wasn't until Cassidy came home an hour later that I had any insight at all. But weirdest thing was, it didn't make me feel any better.
Chapter 18
"So then," I continued, "he says, 'See you Monday' and drives off."
Cassidy frowned. "Just like that?"
"Yeah. Just like that."
We were sitting in the living room of our new apartment. A full hour had passed since that scene outside, and I still had no idea what had truly happened.
On the nearby sofa, Cassidy looked just as confused as I felt. She said, "And you still haven't heard from Stuart?"
"No. And I've called him like ten times."
"Maybe his phone's dead," she suggested.
"Maybe." I paused. "But it was all so strange. Like for starters, how did either one of them know where I live?"
"Well, with Jaden, that's easy," she said. "I mean, you do work for him."
"So?"
"So you probably filled out some paperwork, right?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. I'm supposed to be doing that on Friday."
"Oh." She paused for a long moment and then perked up. "Wait, I know. It was their realtor who showed us the apartment. Jaden probably got the address from her."
Now, this made sense. Yesterday, before leaving their house, Jax had set us up with his own personal realtor to help us find an apartment. And that realtor had shown us exactly one place, this place.
Apparently, she'd been so certain that we'd take it, she hadn't planned on showing us anything else. And of course, she'd been totally right. We'd pounced on it like kittens on yarn, especially after she mentioned that the property owners were offering two key incentives – the first month's rent for free and a complete waiver on the security deposit.
In truth, I still couldn't beli
eve our good luck.
"Okay," I said, "but what about Stuart? How would he know where I live?"
"You didn't ask?"
"I didn't have time," I said. "Honestly, I didn't even think to ask until he was already gone."
Cassidy leaned forward on the sofa. "Wanna know what I think?"
"What?"
"I think he's got a tracking device on the truck."
"Stuart?" I had to laugh. "Oh, please, he's not that devious."
"He doesn't need to be devious," she said. "These days, they're super-cheap." She gave a little frown. "He probably has an app right there on his phone. And as you know, he did love that truck."
Oh, crap. She could be right. If she was, what would that mean? That Stuart could find me anywhere, any time? It was a distressing thought.
"But wait," I said. "The truck wasn't even here when Stuart showed up."
"So?" she said. "It was parked here all last night, right there in the driveway." She rolled her eyes. "Even Stuart would've known what that meant."
Well, there was that.
Slowly, I turned and looked toward the front of the apartment. From here, I couldn’t see the truck, but her theory did make a lot of sense – except for one thing. I turned back to her and said, "But if that were the case, he would've found me yesterday." I forced a laugh. "Or sent someone else to find me."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well, I didn't want to worry you, but…" I bit my lip. "…yesterday, he threatened to call the police. I was almost sure he meant it, too. But then, he didn't. So, I guess I should be thankful, huh?"
Cassidy made a face. It was the same face she always made whenever I said something nice about Stuart. "How do you know he didn't call the police?"
"That's easy," I said. "They never showed up."
Cassidy gave a quiet scoff, but said nothing in reply.
I gave her a perplexed look. "What?"
"Okay, fine," she said. "I didn't want to tell you, but actually…" She winced. "They did show up."
My jaw dropped. "What? When?"
"While you were in the shower."
I looked toward the rear of the apartment.
Quickly, Cassidy added, "I don't mean here. I meant at Jax's house, yesterday."
I was staring now. "You're kidding."
"I wish."
"And you didn't think to tell me?"
She gave me a faint smile. "I didn't want you to worry."
At the thought of Stuart's treachery, I sat back in my chair. "That jerk."
"You don't need to tell me," she said. "I never liked him, you know."
My head was spinning as I considered his recent visit. "Do you know, when he was here, he acted like the whole truck thing never happened? I mean, yeah, he wanted me to apologize, but other than that, he was all friendly and stuff."
Cassidy's gaze narrowed. "How friendly?"
"Get this," I said. "He suggested we 'nap' together."
"Do you mean nap-nap, or…"
"No. I mean the other kind, where you don't sleep."
"Oh." She was making that face again. "God, what an ass. What did you tell him?"
"Nothing. That's when Jaden showed up, acting all crazy."
Cassidy gave a rueful laugh. "Good thing, too."
I wasn't following. "How so?"
"I'm just saying, he probably did you a favor."
I couldn’t help but scoff. "Jaden? Oh, please."
But even as I said it, I recalled him talking to Stuart yesterday on my cell phone. Among other things, he'd told Stuart to leave me alone. Or else.
Come to think of it, he'd also mentioned something about the police, hadn't he?
And now, I didn't know what to think. Apparently, Jaden had known a lot more than I'd realized. Heck, when it came to the whole truck thing, he probably knew more than I did.
I looked to Cassidy and said, "Hey, a question. Yesterday, did he know the police stopped by?"
"You mean Jaden?" Cassidy nodded. "Oh yeah. He was the one who dealt with them."
"Dealt with them how?"
"I don't know," she said. "That's all I know. He dealt with the police and the truck."
"Oh."
It suddenly struck me that he'd gone to an awful lot of trouble on my behalf. In fact, he'd gone to extra bonus trouble, if I considered him showing up here to get rid of Stuart.
But that wasn't for my benefit. That was for himself.
Right?
He'd called me his "investment." That didn't sound warm and fuzzy. It sounded cold and businesslike.
Then again, I was his assistant, even if he wasn't terribly happy about it.
Cassidy and I were still trying to sort things out when a knock sounded at the apartment door. I looked to Cassidy and asked, "Are you expecting someone?"
She shook her head. "No. Are you?"
"Not me." As I made my way to the door, I mentally ran through the list of potential visitors. Stuart? Jaden? Jax? Cassidy's godawful mom?
But it wasn't any of those people. It was someone I'd never met – an older guy in a business suit, who introduced himself as the Bishop Brothers' head of security and then promptly informed me that he needed the keys to the truck.
"For what?" I asked.
"Mister Bishop's orders."
Mister Bishop? At the whole "mister" thing, I almost wanted to snicker. Even so, it wasn't lost on me that I probably would need to start addressing both of them in a more formal manner. They were soon to be my employers, after all.
Cassidy joined me at the door. "Which Mister Bishop?" she asked. "Jax or Jaden?"
Without cracking a smile, he said, "Jaden."
Reluctantly, I asked. "Is this some sort of repo thing?"
His brow wrinkled. "Excuse me?"
"I mean, is he taking back the truck?"
It wasn't that far-fetched. Technically, the truck belonged to him, not me. Was he was taking it back until my actual start date?
The guy looked at me like I was nuts. "Back to where?"
I tried again. "I mean, are you taking it back until Monday?"
"No," he said. "I'm taking it for a security check."
"Oh." With mixed feelings, I dug out the keys and handed them over.
As the guy turned to go, he said over his shoulder, "I'll be back in an hour."
Actually, he was back in fifty-three minutes. As he handed me the keys, I asked, "So, did you find anything?"
"Sorry, can't discuss it," he said. "You'll have to ask Mister Bishop."
This time, I knew which brother he meant. Obviously, he was talking about Jaden who – as I learned one week later – didn't care for that "mister" thing at all, at least from me.
Chapter 19
Standing in the open doorway to my new office, Jaden gave me an annoyed look. "What did you just call me?"
From behind my desk, I cleared my throat. "Um, Mister Bishop?"
Even to my own ears, it sounded strange and oddly obscene. Worse, I didn't even know why. After all, that's what everyone else called him, and it never sounded funny when they did it.
"Call me that again," he said, "and you're getting a new office." His voice hardened. "In the basement."
Well, this was just great. I'd been on the job for barely three hours, and already, he was threatening to banish me to the underworld.
It was a discouraging thought. But then, I felt my gaze narrow. "Wait a minute. Does this building have a basement?"
It was eleven o'clock, and I'd just finished with my orientation and corporate tour, courtesy of Louise in Human Resources. The building was sixteen stories high and served as the headquarters of Bishop Brothers International, my new place of employment.
During the last few hours, I'd visited all sixteen floors, where I'd been introduced to the heads of marketing, accounting, quality control, and more. I'd even had a tour of the mail room, which was located on the ground level – meaning the first floor of the building and definitely not in the basement.
Afterward, I'd been delivered to my own office, which was directly across from Jaden's. As far as offices went, I counted myself lucky. It was large and luxurious, with a comfy chair and beautiful desk. It even had lamps and pictures on the wall, plus my own little conference table nestled off to the side.
No basement office would look like this.
In reply to my question, Jaden said, "Yes. There is."
So there was a basement? I wasn't quite sure I believed him. "Really? What's down there?"
"What, you wanna find out?"
Today, he was wearing another business suit. This one was dark gray, but not nearly as dark as his eyes. His tie was red, and his shoes looked very expensive.
Funny, he looked almost civilized. But I knew better. Underneath that polished exterior were a whole bunch of muscles and tattoos – not to mention a heart made of stone.
As for myself, I was wearing a classic black dress. It was short, but not too short, and form-fitting, but definitely not tight.
It might've been just my imagination, but I was almost certain I saw a flicker of surprise in Jaden's eyes when I'd shown up looking perfectly respectable.
Really, I was just glad the movers had arrived on schedule, delivering all of my belongings from Nashville. Everything had been perfectly packed, too, courtesy of the moving allowance that had been included in my employment package.
If Jaden had asked – which he didn't – I might've told him that I had a surprisingly good wardrobe, thanks to my previous employer, a guy who felt that image was everything.
The only downside was, my wardrobe had cost me a small fortune, which meant that my credit cards were nearly maxed as a result.
Now, I was determined to pay them off – and quickly, too. But in order to do that, it was pretty important that I survive my first day without getting fired.
In reply to Jaden's question, I summoned up my sweetest smile. "I'll pass on the basement tour, but thanks for the offer."
He gave a low scoff. "You wouldn't thank me if you saw it."
I didn't doubt this for one minute. If there really was a basement, it was probably one of those electrical-mechanical things that housed no people, just stuff.
And now, I didn't know what to say. I was still searching for a snappy comeback when he said, "By the way, you've got a lunch meeting at eleven-fifteen."
One Bad Idea: A Billionaire Loathing-to-Love Romance Page 8
