My fingers were talented enough, but compared to the real thing? Not hardly.
By the time I finally crawled out of bed, I'd replayed last night's events two times and was craving a third.
What the hell was wrong with me?
He was wrong with me, that's what.
But it wasn't until I rummaged through my purse and discovered the metal-head T-shirt that I realized I'd need to pop into the office, even though it was a Saturday.
In all of last night's excitement, I'd forgotten to leave the shirt on his desk. Part of me said to forget it. But the other part – the oh-so sensible part – assured me that it would be weird to not leave it.
After all, it was my turn.
And besides, I wanted him to know that nothing had changed. With the sex out of our system, we were officially back to our regular employee-boss relationship.
It was such a perfect plan.
Unfortunately, it failed miserably sometime around noon when I swung by the office, only to find him there alone.
One thing led to another, and we ended up deciding that the deal didn’t truly start until Monday morning, so there was no harm in some Saturday fun, right?
Saturday fun led to Sunday bliss, and by the time Monday rolled around, I was having serious doubts that I'd ever be able to resist him again.
It didn't help that he'd broken with tradition by leaving something for me to find on my desk, even though it wasn't yet his turn.
It was a snack wrapper from the same brand of candy bar that we'd shared on Friday night. Like everything else, it was annoying and funny, and made me smile in spite of myself.
But it wasn't until I actually picked up the wrapper – and realized there was something inside – that I actually laughed out loud. It was a pen, not my pen, but rather a new pen, still in its original packaging.
According to the promotional text, it was something called a tactical pen, supposedly for self-defense. But that wasn't the thing that made me laugh. It was the huge text proclaiming it to be virtually indestructible.
And it wrote beautifully, too. I knew this because it became my new favorite writing utensil – not for sentimental reasons, I told myself, but rather because it really did hold up to tons of abuse.
After that initial week, Jaden and I fell into a crazy new pattern. Every Friday, I'd announce that I didn't work for him anymore, at which point, we'd fall into each other's arms, or onto the desk, or into his bed.
Yes, I did spend an obnoxious amount of time at his house, usually sneaking in or out, to avoid running into Jax.
The whole thing was surprisingly easy.
Their house was massive, and aside from the common kitchen and living areas, each brother had his own wing. Plus, Jax spent a decent amount of time out of town, which gave me and Jaden run of the house in his absence.
The weirdest thing was, it wasn't just sex. We played video games, swam in the ocean, and even made sandwiches together.
And yes, we teased each other like crazy.
In truth, I was having the most fun I'd ever had. And if things were just a little better at work, I might've found absolutely nothing to complain about.
But the sad truth was, my co-workers were still avoiding me, and now, they technically had a reason, whether they realized it or not.
I was sleeping with the boss.
Still, it didn't feel that way. It felt like something else. I just didn't know what.
And maybe, neither did he.
Chapter 50
"Favorite food," Jaden said.
I so didn't want to say. With Jax out of town, Jaden and I were lounging out on the back patio of their beachfront mansion. It was a Friday evening, and we were watching the sun glimmer off the water.
In reply to his question, I tried for a casual shrug. "I don't know. I like lots of things."
He gave me a look. "You are so full of it."
I tried not to laugh. "I am not!"
"Yes, you are. You just don’t want to admit it."
"Admit what?"
"That you've got a thing for sandwiches."
Okay, I did like sandwiches. In truth, I'd always liked sandwiches. When I was a kid, I'd been all about the peanut butter and jelly. But over the past few years, I'd branched out into all sorts of things – ham and cheese, pastrami on rye, turkey clubs, and the occasional meatball marinara with double parmesan.
Just thinking about them now made my mouth water. Trying not to show it, I said, "Yeah, I guess they're okay."
"Just okay, huh?"
"Yeah. Just okay."
He leaned back on his chaise lounge. "Oh, so that's why you make me order them."
I rolled my eyes. Like I could "make" him do anything.
Still, I knew what he meant. We ordered takeout all the time, even from places that supposedly didn't deliver. And Jaden almost always let me choose the restaurant.
And now, I didn't know what to say. In truth, I had been picking a lot of sandwich places.
When I said nothing in reply, his eyebrows lifted. "Unless you're doing it for me."
I laughed. "Oh, stop it. You're the one who makes me pick."
He gave a low scoff. "That'll be the day."
"What do you mean?"
"Like I can make you do anything."
I gave a little start. This happened a lot, where he'd say something that I'd just been thinking – except that he'd have it all backwards, directing it at me instead of at himself.
As far as the sandwiches were concerned, I hadn't even realized I'd been going so heavy on them until today, when he'd started giving me a hard time about it.
Funny, he was always giving me a hard time.
And now, he was looking too darn satisfied for his own good.
I tried to glare. "What's that look for?"
"I'm just saying, we can order anything, lobster if you want."
This was true. Not only could he afford it, he could afford to have it delivered, probably on diamond plates with gold silverware.
But that was beside the point. "Yeah," I said, "but I don't like lobster."
"Uh-huh."
"I don't," I insisted.
"You liked that lobster sandwich."
I felt my gaze narrow. "It was a lobster roll, not a lobster sandwich." And yes, it had been quite delicious.
"Call it a roll all you want," he said. "It's still a sandwich."
"Well…" I hesitated. "Maybe it is to some people, but so what?"
His mouth twitched. "I'm just saying, you should admit it."
"What, like I've got a problem?"
He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Not with me. I'm a fan. But hey, if you want to hide your addiction—"
"Addiction?" I sputtered.
"Yeah. If you wanna hide it, maybe you should change it up once in a while, order something else." He paused as if thinking. "Like a chicken dinner."
A chicken dinner?
Like that day of our first lunch?
At the time, I'd tried to order a chicken dinner – not that I'd succeeded.
Oh yeah – he was definitely taunting me.
I didn't know whether to laugh or throttle him. "A chicken dinner, huh?"
He gave a tight shrug. "Just talking strategy here."
In reply, I grabbed a nearby throw pillow and hurled it toward his head. And of course, just like he always did, he batted it away without so much as a flinch.
"Hey now," he teased, "there's no need for violence."
"I'll give you violence," I muttered.
In what felt like a change of subject, he said, "So what's the deal with Hawaii?"
I wasn't following. "What do you mean?"
"You mentioned it a while back."
I tried to think. And then it hit me. During that awful conversation about transferring me to a new location, I'd made some crack about wanting to go to Hawaii.
At the recollection, my stomach clenched. He wasn't thinking that again, was he?
As if
reading something in my expression, he said, "In case you're wondering, the answer's no."
"What?"
He gave me a wicked grin. "You're not going anywhere."
I couldn’t help but smile back. Still, I had to give him at least some grief in return. "How do you know?"
"Oh, I know."
"You can't," I said. "You're not the boss of me. Remember?"
After all, I'd "quit" just a few hours ago. Sort of.
It was an old joke, but it never got old, at least not as far as I was concerned.
He said, "So, are you gonna answer the question?"
"About Hawaii?"
"Yeah. That."
"Well, you know my dad was stationed there, right? I guess I just really liked it, that's all."
I didn't bother rehashing my family history, because I'd already told him most of it in passing – how I'd been an Army brat, and had moved from place to place while growing up. One of those places had been Hawaii, where I'd spent some of the happiest years of my childhood.
And now, I was here.
With him.
At the thought, I took a quick glance around.
I was sitting on the back patio of a palatial beachfront estate, complete with its own palm trees. From here, I had a view of the ocean, along with an even closer view of the home's owner, who was pretty spectacular, too – well in some ways, anyway.
Other times, he was a royal pain.
When I looked back to Jaden, he said, "So Hawaii – it's your favorite place, huh?"
It was an odd question, and I gave it some thought. In truth, my favorite place at the moment was right here, with him, not that I'd admit it in a million years.
Dodging the issue, I said, "Well, it is pretty nice."
And it was. Back when I'd been growing up, I'd fallen in love with the sun and palm trees, not to mention the sight of the ocean so breathtakingly close.
But now, Hawaii was the furthest thing from my mind. I asked, "How about you? What's your favorite place?"
He shrugged. "Here's nice."
I gave him a long look. Was he joking? Honestly, I couldn’t tell. I protested, "That's no kind of answer."
"Why not?"
"Because you didn't even think about it."
"Who says I have to?"
"Me. That's who."
He grinned. "Yeah? Well, too bad."
With another pillow toss, I said, "You're impossible. You know that, right?"
And he was.
In a million years, I'd never figure him out. Like tonight for example, we'd been hanging out for a couple of hours and hadn't yet jumped each other. It was unpredictable, and I liked it.
There were nights we'd have sex like two or three times, and other nights, we spent most of our time doing something else entirely.
At my insistence, all of this was a total secret, even from Cassidy and Jax. I had my reasons, most of which I didn't want to discuss. For once, Jaden didn't argue, and it was easy to guess why. No doubt, he was just as eager to avoid discovery as I was.
For secrecy's sake, we never went out. And for reasons that were a whole lot more complicated, we never talked about the future. But of course, I reminded myself, there was no future, as he'd told me on that very first night.
So for now, we were enjoying what we had and keeping it just between us.
Still, I realized that people always knew more than they let on. This included Jax, who couldn’t have been truly blind to the fact that something was going on between me and his brother.
After all, Jax wasn't stupid. And neither was Jaden, even if he could still be a total jerk as he revealed yet again one Wednesday morning.
Chapter 51
"No you're not," he said.
We were standing in his office, and I'd just mentioned in passing that on this upcoming Saturday, I'd be helping Cassidy retrieve her things from her mom's place.
But now, he was telling me that I wasn't. Was he joking?
I shook my head. "Excuse me?"
From the look on his face, it was no joke. "You heard me."
Yes. I had. But I didn't know what exactly he was getting at.
A few months ago, Cassidy had moved in with her mom for one single week. Since then, she'd been having all kinds of trouble getting her stuff – mostly clothing and other essentials.
But finally, after weeks of delays and excuses, her mom had agreed on a scheduled time for Cassidy to stop by. That time was this Saturday at noon.
All Cassidy needed now was a truck and someone to help her. That someone was me, and I had no intention of letting her down.
I gave Jaden a look. "Yeah, I heard you, but I have no idea what you're getting at."
"Alright, I'll spell it out." His voice hardened. "You're not going anywhere near that place."
My jaw dropped. "And why not?"
"Because she hangs with the wrong kind of people."
I stiffened. "You don't mean Cassidy?"
"No. Her mom."
"Oh." On this, I was in total agreement. As far as I could tell, the woman made her living by trading her charms for money. It was one of the reasons that I'd been so horrified when Cassidy had decided to move in with her. "Maybe she does," I said, "but that doesn't matter. We'll only be there for a little bit."
"No. You're not gonna be there at all."
"Why not?" I demanded.
"Because you're working."
"This Saturday? I am not."
"Yeah," he said. "You are."
"But you never mentioned it."
"So I’m telling you now."
I felt my gaze narrow. "Do I really need to work? Or is this some sort of excuse?"
"Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters," I said. "I need to know."
"No. You don't. The only thing you need to know is that you're busy Saturday."
I was glaring now. In reality, I'd been busy every Saturday.
With him.
Was that the problem? That he didn't want our fun infringed on?
If so, I didn't like it. Regardless of whatever was going on between us, there was no way I'd abandon a friend when she needed help.
I edged closer and lowered my voice. "So what is it? Are you worried it'll take away from…" I hesitated. I really didn't want to spell it out, especially here at the office. As a rule, we kept our personal relationship separate from our work relationship, and I was very determined to keep it that way.
Oddly enough, this was the first time there'd ever been a real conflict.
Jaden said, "I'm not worried about anything, because you're not going."
I made a sound of disbelief. "Are you telling me this as my boss? Or as something else?"
"Both."
"You can't be serious."
"Alright, if it makes you feel better, I'm telling you as your boss."
Was he crazy? I didn't feel better. I felt worse. "So you're serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
No. He didn't. But I'd known that already. I crossed my arms. "So tell me, what's so important that I have to work?"
"I'll tell you Saturday."
This was too maddening for words. Trying hard to keep my voice under control, I said, "You know, I don't appreciate power trips."
"Yeah. And I don't appreciate carelessness."
"Oh come on," I said. "You're just bossing me around because you can."
"No, I'm 'bossing you around' because you don't know trouble when you see it."
I gave him a good, long look. "Oh, I know trouble, alright. And I'm looking at him now."
"Yeah? And we know how well you avoided that."
His words stung, and I drew back. He was right and wrong all at the same time. Yes, I'd utterly failed at avoiding the trouble that was Jaden Bishop. But did he have to rub it in?
I wasn't liking any of this.
And now, I had a choice. I could either let down my friend or risk losing my job. I paused. Or maybe not.
Very caref
ully, I said, "And what happens if I don't show?"
"If you mean Saturday, forget it."
"What are you saying? That you'd fire me?"
He didn't even hesitate. "If that's what it takes."
My mouth tightened. "And then what?"
"What do you mean?"
"On Monday, will you hire me back?" After all, that had been the pattern, even if it had been only in jest.
Jaden replied, "I wouldn't count on it."
A low scoff escaped my lips. "Thanks a lot."
"You're welcome."
My thanks had been purely sarcastic, as he surely realized. And now, I didn't know what to do – about Cassidy or Jaden.
Oh sure, I respected that he was my boss here at the office, but this situation felt totally wrong, like he was dictating what I did in my free time.
The jerk.
We argued back and forth until it became painfully apparent that neither one of us were going to change our minds. The argument ended only with me storming off to the ladies room before I lost my temper entirely.
I returned to my office a few minutes later to find a familiar male figure waiting just outside my office door.
But it wasn't Jaden. It was Jax.
Without preamble, he said, "The Saturday thing, it's covered, so forget it, alright?"
My gaze drifted to Jaden's office. His door was open, but I saw no sign of him. Still, it was pretty obvious that the brothers had been talking.
I looked back to Jax and asked, "Do you mean you found someone else to work for me?"
"No. What I mean is, I'll be the one helping Cassidy."
I bit my lip. "Did she ask for your help?"
"No. But I heard she needed it."
Again, my gaze strayed to Jaden's office. "Did you volunteer? Or did someone else ask you to do it?"
Jax said, "Does it matter?"
By now, I was beyond tired of that question. "Actually, yeah, it does."
"Why?"
"Because Cassidy asked for my help, not yours." I sighed. "Look, I don't want to be rude or anything, but don't you think she'd feel a little funny?"
He frowned. "Why's that?"
"Well, you know how parents are. They can be…" I hesitated. "…embarrassing sometimes."
When it came to Cassidy's mom, this was huge understatement.
Jax said, "You're forgetting, I already met her."
One Bad Idea: A Billionaire Loathing-to-Love Romance Page 22
