MEGA-AX1 The Inferno

by LaShawn Vasser

  “I know enough that I want to know more. Now stop complaining and help me out.”

  “I can’t make any promises. I’m dead on my feet.”

  Michael smoothed his hair back and made sure his clothing was in place, “Fair enough. Whatever you can do, I’ll appreciate. You might want to spruce up, Jessie’s gorgeous.”

  Brian gave Michael an icy stare and didn’t move to fix anything. Once Michael felt he had all of his clothes and hair in place, he knocked on the door. When he didn’t hear anything, he gently opened it and they went inside.

  Both Jessie and Téa were lying on each end of the sofa sleeping. Brian knew that the friend was attractive. He’d seen her from a distance and saw her turn away all those guys trying to hit on her, including that actor. But looking at her now made his mouth water. She was lying on her side using one of her arms to support her head. Her skin looked as smooth as warm caramel. Brian could only see part of her face because it was partially hidden behind all of those wild curls. It had been pulled up at the party. It must have fallen down while she was sleeping. Those shapely legs were pulled up and bent at the knees. The dress had ridden up so much that if she moved just an inch, Brian would know her more intimately than she’d probably like. Once Brian realized he was staring, he turned his head toward the window.

  Michael saw it all and it wasn’t lost on him that Brian was checking her out. He would just file that information away for now.

  Michael kneeled down in front of Téa before gently pushing a wayward strand of hair from her face. Her eyes fluttered open. Jessie was a light sleeper so when Téa moved Jessie automatically woke up.

  The sun was trying to peak through the curtains.

  “Good morning. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you.”

  Téa blinked a few times, trying to remember where she was, then gave him a brilliant smile. “Well, I usually don’t sleep over on the first date. But since you’ve convinced me, I should at least get breakfast.”

  Jessie on the other hand felt exposed. The little black dress had ridden up and fallen down in all the wrong places. She quickly tried to get herself together. Her hair was a mess. Where were her shoes? She couldn’t believe she’d fallen asleep in a stranger’s home.

  Once Jessie had gotten her bearings she noticed another gentleman standing quietly in the study with them. It was obvious he was Michael’s brother. They looked so much alike. But where Michael’s features were softer, his brother’s features were much more intense. His deep-ocean blue eyes connected with Jessie’s, and she felt that all elusive zing in the pit of her stomach.

  Michael stood up. “It was so crazy last night that I didn’t get a chance to introduce you to my brother. This is Brian Wright. Brian, this is Téa Carlisle and Jessica Ramsey.”

  Brian could tell the moment Téa recognized him.

  “Good morning, it’s nice to meet both of you.” He didn’t sound genuine but as if he was greeting his one hundredth fan. Yes, he was definitely going through the motions.

  Jessie’s hair was probably all over the place and lord knew what else was out of place. She wasn’t in the mood to meet anyone, especially someone who made her feel a little unsettled. He also didn’t seem as if he were in the mood to meet them right now either.

  Téa seemed oblivious to the undercurrents going on around her. She stood up and reached out her hand to Brian. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

  Jessie got up as well, but her knees were feeling a little wobbly. Surely it was because of the position she’d slept in and not the warmth of his hands when they touched hers. Jessie needed to get it together. He was just a man after all. This whole scene was madness. They should get the hell out and head back to Téa’s condo.

  Téa cleared her throat and Jessie realized she was still holding on to Brian’s hand. She probably turned three shades of red. She quickly released his hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too….I’m sorry but is there some place where I can go to freshen up?”

  Brian was just as uncomfortable as Jessie. He gave them directions to a spare guest bedroom that had its own bathroom.

  As soon as Téa and Jessie were alone inside the bedroom, Jessie closed the door and snapped.

  “Téa this is the most irresponsible thing we’ve ever done. Let me re-phrase that, this is the most irresponsible thing I’ve ever done. I can’t believe I let you talk me into coming here last night!” She hissed at Téa, “We fell asleep on his sofa. Do you know how dangerous that was? We don’t know these men from Adam. You can stay if you want to, but I’m getting the hell out of here.”

  Téa knew that Jessie was going to overreact and be a little upset. But, she was over the top this morning. Téa wondered if it really was because they were being a teensy weensy bit irresponsible as Jessie felt the need to have a plan for everything and didn’t know how to just live in the moment. Or, was Jessie slightly attracted to Brian? Jessie had held his hand for just a little bit longer than necessary. That would definitely freak her out. Téa couldn’t be exactly sure what attraction looked like coming from Jessie because she kept all of her emotions bottled up for the most part. What Téa did know was that she needed to calm her down.

  Téa walked over and looked at herself in the mirror before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t look too bad.” Then, she turned around and leaned against the armoire. “Jessie, I think we can tell the difference between a crazed murderer and Michael and Brian. If we can’t, then we need to get out of the business we’re in.”

  Jessie tracked across the bedroom into the bathroom and all but yelled, “Téa you think everything is a joke, but this is not funny.”

  Téa walked into the bathroom, too. “You may not know Brian Wright from Adam, but the rest of the world does.”

  Jessie took a look at herself in the mirror. Her mascara was smeared and her hair was all over the place. Just as she suspected, she looked like a raccoon. She found brand new toothbrushes, toothpaste, and washcloths under the sink. She handed one of each to Téa, turned on the water, and started washing her face.

  Underneath the towel Jessie sounded muffled, “What are you talking about Téa?”

  Téa was just about to brush her teeth, “If you would take a look at the world around you sometimes you would have recognized that Brian Wright is the Brian Wright.”

  Still looking dumbfounded Téa continued to explain. “He won an Oscar a couple of years ago for that movie…I think it was called “Planet Zero”, and he’s been in a ton of other films. He is what some would consider Hollywood royalty. So, I highly doubt with his high-public visibility he’d be an ax murderer. Plus, he’s cute.”

  Jessie turned off the water and rolled her eyes. “Cute or not, famous or not, it’s pretty obvious he’s equally uncomfortable with us being here.”

  Téa was aggressively brushing her teeth until Jessie’s last remark. She looked as if she’d just gotten a hold of some world-changing technology. “So you think he’s cute?”

  Jessie was annoyed. “I’m uncomfortable. I’m in a stranger’s home wearing a barely there outfit, I’m tired, and I’m hungry. I’ve played this game with you long enough. Why can’t you two set up a regular date like normal people?”

  Téa looked horrified. “You know there is nothing about me that is normal. Normal is boring. If I were normal you and I wouldn’t even be friends.”

  A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Jessie wasn’t going to go open it. She stubbornly started to brush her teeth. “Your guy, his house, you open the door.”

  “Fine. I look great in the morning anyway.” Téa went to open the door. Michael stood on the other side holding a bundle of towels.

  “I thought you ladies might need some fresh towels.” He moved and whispered into Téa’s ear but loud enough for Jessie to hear, “Did you manage to convince her to stay for breakfast? I heard you in the hall. Brian is an excellent cook.”

  Both Michael and Téa turned in Jessie’s direction waiting for
her approval. They had a clear view of her in the bathroom and her of them as she continued brushing her teeth.

  Jessie rubbed her forehead. Téa was taking this do anything for you to its limit. It was obvious she wanted to stay, and Téa knew Jessie wasn’t going to leave her there alone.

  Téa was going to owe her big for this one. “Fine, but we’ve got to get on the road right after breakfast.”

  Michael flashed a wide smile, “I’ll let Brian know to make extra pancakes. He loves to cook and is glad you guys are staying. Did you need some other clothes to change into? I’m sure I can find some sweats and t-shirts.”

  Téa took the towels from him, “Thank you, but we have a change of clothes in the car.”

  Michael raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s not what you think. Jessie and I sometimes have to do overnighters for our job. We both keep a backpack full of things we might need. A change of clothing is one of them.”

  Michael seemed pretty satisfied with that answer and relaxed in relief. “Okay, then I’ll see you both in the kitchen in thirty minutes.”

  Téa got real close to Michael. She positioned her head so close to his that she was a breath away from touching his lips. Then she whispered, “Sounds good.”

  Chapter 8

  Brian was in the kitchen making breakfast when Michael came down, fresh from taking a shower.

  “How is it that you roped me into making breakfast when I should be upstairs sleeping?”

  Michael went over by the stove and grabbed a sausage. “Oh…I don’t know…maybe guilt? If I remember correctly you made me wait outside in the car for almost twenty-four hours when you were dating that red-headed actress. You’d mentioned something about you’d only be gone a few minutes.”

  Brian turned around with the spatula in his hands. “I think this pretty much means we are even.”

  “Almost, I still need you to keep Jessie occupied. Then, we’ll be even. If it were up to her, they would have been gone last night and definitely on the road right now.”

  “She sounds like a smart girl.”

  Michael tossed the last piece of his sausage in his mouth. “Well, they’ll be down any minute so keep making them flapjacks.”

  “By the looks of those ladies, I’m surprised they even eat flapjacks.”

  “You should know better than anybody not to judge a book by its cover.” Michael took a look around the kitchen. “The party planners did a really good job of cleaning this place up last night.”

  “Yeah, you better be glad they did because if they hadn’t, you would be taking two lovely ladies out to breakfast whether I owed you or not.”

  Just as Brian was finishing making the scrambled eggs, Téa and Jessie walked into the kitchen. It was a beautiful eat-in with restaurant-style appliances. The sunlight was beaming through the skylights and the patio window opened onto a large deck that sat over what looked like a man-made pond.

  The view was soothing, but Jessie was starving. She hadn’t really eaten anything since late-afternoon yesterday. All she could think about was having some of that fresh fruit and those pancakes.

  Téa and Jessie had changed their clothes. Téa was wearing fitted jeans and a t-shirt while Jessie was wearing fitted jeans and a sweatshirt. Jessie also hid her hair underneath a baseball cap. Her face was free of all makeup. She was as beautiful without makeup as she was with it. Téa on the other hand wasn’t wearing a lot of makeup but did have on a little bit. Brian was impressed that Jessie hadn’t tried to impress him. If anything, she looked as if she didn’t want to be bothered. The two ladies couldn’t be more different if they tried.

  Jessie sat on the stool next to the island. “Thank you for making breakfast. It seems your brother has a way of making you do things you probably didn’t want to do just as Téa does with me.”

  Brian smiled at her, and for the first time it seemed genuine. “No problem. Almost anything for the ones you love right?”

  Téa picked up a sausage from the dish just like Michael had earlier. “Hellooo! We’re standing right here.”

  Brian finished the eggs and put them out on the island with the rest of the food. “Breakfast is ready.”

  Everyone engaged in chitchat as they made their plates and sat around the island. Brian was actually very witty. Jessie found it easy to talk with him.

  Brian wanted to get to know Téa a little better, too. Michael seemed to be genuinely interested in her, and they had both had enough of the opportunists. “Téa, Michael hasn’t told me very much about you. What do you do?”

  Téa took a sip of her orange juice before answering. She knew this was somewhat of an interview. “You could say I’m somewhat of a geek. I work for Jessie playing around with computers and stuff.”

  Brian turned to Jessie, “You own your own business? What kind is it?”

  Jessie put down her fork, “I own a Network and Security Management company called Ramses.”

  Michael was thinking the same thing as Brian, “I’ve never heard of Ramses. Where is that based out of?”

  “We are based out of Phoenix. I actually live in Phoenix. Most of our clients are referral only unless you know some of our clients you probably wouldn’t have heard of us.”

  “So, is this like home security or something?”

  Jessie smiled coyly, “Or something.”

  “So, if I wanted to hire you for a new home security system, could you help me out? The paparazzi are out of control.”

  “Sure, I could give you some recommendations.”

  Michael and Téa were engrossed in their own conversation. They finished their breakfast and decided to take an early morning walk.

  Jessie picked up her plate to put it into the sink, “Brian breakfast was really good. Thanks again. I can be a real bear before breakfast.”

  “Yeah, me too. I’m just glad you ate it. Most women are so concerned with their figure that they forget how to enjoy their food.”

  “Well, I can’t say that I eat like this all the time. Fitness is very important to me, but I do enjoy good food.”

  “So how long have you known Téa?”

  “Are we still in the interview process or are you actually interested?”

  “Maybe both. Would you like to go out on the patio? It looks beautiful.”

  Brian and Jessie walked out onto the patio. There was a little bit of a chill in the air but it had the makings of a truly beautiful day.

  “My brother seems to be really taken with Téa. Naturally, I’m a little concerned. They’ve known each other for all of twenty-four hours maybe.”

  “What, you don’t believe in love at first sight?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Neither do I, actually. Look, Téa is a wonderful person. I’ve known her for more than eight years. Of course I’m biased because I love her like a little sister. She has great instincts and believe me, we’re typically so busy with work that we rarely have time to hang out like this. As a matter of fact, the next couple of days will be like a vacation to us.”

  “Well, I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward. It’s just that in my position I can’t be too careful.”

  “No, you can’t.”

  Brian was relieved that she didn’t seem to be phased by his celebrity. It was also nice to have a conversation with a woman without any pressure or expectations. He could understand why Téa and Jessie were best friends. They seemed to be equals, but where Téa was all fire Jessie seemed to be just cool enough to keep things calm. It didn’t feel as though she would rattle easy.

  Brian threw some bread crumbs out to the doves on his pond. “So Téa told you?”

  “How did you know that I didn’t know who you were?”

  Brian laughed out loud and flashed that smile, “I can read people within two seconds of meeting them. I knew immediately that you didn’t know who I was. Just like I knew immediately that she did. It was hard to believe that you didn’t know but honestly pretty refreshing.”

  Jessie’s
stomach did a little flip again. “Well, I’m normally pretty quick on my feet but I’m exhausted. I’ve had about seven hours sleep in the last seventy-two hours so I’m not as alert as I usually am.”

  When Téa and Michael came back from their walk, there weren’t going to be any more excuses. They were leaving. Jessie was tired and needed to get her bearings.

  “Me too. I haven’t been asleep in the last eighteen hours. If I ever make it to my bed, I don’t know if I’ll wake up in this lifetime.”

  Brian’s cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the number. “Excuse me. I’ve got to take this call.”

  “Hey, sweetheart. Michael planned the party. I’m sure it was a mistake that you weren’t invited.”

  Jessie turned and looked out over the pond trying to give Brian a little privacy. She was a little disappointed that he was possibly seeing someone.

  “Look…I’m in the middle of something right now, can I call you back? Ok…You too.” Brian disconnected the call. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s no problem. Girlfriend?”

  “Not really.”

  Jessie looked at him a little skeptically. He was off limits and that was fine. She didn’t have time for anything other than a friendship anyway.

  “So, you said you could help me with my home security. Does that offer still stand?”

  “Sure.”

  “Great, I can show you around the house and property until Michael and Téa get back from their walk.”

  They spent the next hour or so walking around his property and inside the house until Téa and Michael finally returned. Michael and Téa reluctantly said their goodbyes but made plans to get together later on in the evening. Finally, Jessie and Téa were on the road to go home.