by Lexy Timms
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" she huffed, and crossed her arms over her chest, moving to the other side of the car. "Take me home and don't say another word to me."
"Jamie. You have to see it from my point of view. You were rubbing his back, and have been basically cuddled up to him since we got here."
"You're out of your mind." She wiped at her tears as they started to drip onto her cheeks. He was the ass she imagined him to be. "Remind me the next time I want to make you feel better not to hit my knees for you. Nothing like sucking a man's dick, and then have him call you his secretary instead of his woman; extreme confidence-builder there."
He touched her leg and scooted closer. "Stop it. That's horrible. You know how I feel about you."
"Yep. I sure do." She didn't say another word, but watched the world go by outside the window. He was an asshole, and she didn't want to clear things up about what she and Mark had been doing. The fact that his world was falling apart was enough to glean him a friendly hand on his shoulder from anyone. It should have been Alex who did it, but Heaven forbid he act out of character around his brother. Heaven forbid he care.
They flew home in silence, the hot love-making session having been put on hold. Their relationship was a freakin’ yo-yo. It did feel like they were teenagers again. She didn't have much to say as they sat in the back of the car, either, though Alex reached out and took her hand about halfway home. She didn't push him away, but she didn't give much thought to making things right either.
His phone buzzed and accidentally connected to the car stereo as the message from his caller was recorded.
"This is Alex Reid. I'm away from my phone. Leave your name and a short message and I'll return the call when I can."
A loud beep sounded.
"Alex," the voice was sexy and a little too familiar. "It's Annette. I need you to call me when you get this, baby. It's really important okay? No ignoring me to make me jealous or sad. I need to talk with you. Its business-related and I know how much you love business."
The message ended and Jamie's stomach tightened. He was worried about her and Mark? That was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. She only saw Mark when she was with Alex, and that had been a total of three times, maybe four with all they had going on over his father. She jerked her hand out of his.
Annette, on the other hand, was an old lover who just wouldn't drop out of Alex's life. The thought of him calling the red-headed minx back left Jamie broken even more.
“That was nothing.” Alex reached for her hand again. "Hey. Talk to me."
"Really? What do you want me to say?" her voice was soft and laced with pain.
"Tell me that nothing is going on with you and Mark."
She snapped her attention toward him. "Is that a joke? Of course nothing’s going on! He's your brother, Alex. He's filing for divorce and having money problems. He wants a relationship with you and misses your father. I was just telling him that we were here for him. Excuse me for fucking caring for him. I'll make sure to steer clear in the future."
Alex sat quiet for a long moment. He sighed and spoke quietly, "I didn't know that, Jamie. I'm sorry. I was in the wrong."
The car stopped and she opened the door, moving away from him. "Yeah. You were. Have a great evening, Mr. Reid. Your PA will see you in the office tomorrow."
"Don't do this," he called after her, but she slammed the door regardless. All she wanted was to comfort him, to offer her a piece of her heart and all of her shoulder to lean against. Some good it did...
They were not meant to be together. That much was clear.
Chapter 9
She was still angry the next morning when she got up, but she tried to ignore it. They were meant to be together. They would just have to work things through; there was no other option. She wasn't interested in working for anyone else, and she certainly didn't want anyone else in her bed or in her life.
Her father sent her a text to see if she would be able to join him for breakfast. She agreed, though the thought of any more drama was a bit overwhelming.
She drove to the small diner he loved best as bitterness over the business trip with Alex tore at her. They were supposed to have spent quality time together the weekend before and again in Philadelphia, but they hadn't. Something always had to come up and, as of late, it was him and his shitty attitude.
Getting out of her car, she slammed the door a little too hard, which got her a look from a young couple standing beside a nearby car.
"Sorry. Door sticks." She shrugged sheepishly and moved into the rich smells of maple syrup and coffee.
Her father stood and waved; the smile on his face was a delight after the shitty night.
"Hey, pumpkin." He moved toward her and pulled her into a warm hug. "Why are your eyes puffy?"
"Can you tell? I tried hard to get them to go back down, but I guess a long night will always show up in one way or another." She sat down and turned the coffee mug over in front of her. A waitress stopped by almost immediately. Jamie ordered chocolate chips pancakes with pecans and extra butter and her father got the same.
"Something’s wrong. Talk to me." Her father reached across the table and touched the side of her arm. "Guy troubles?"
"Always guy troubles." She fixed her coffee and let out a long sigh. "Let's not talk about me. Let's talk about you."
"Okay. Well, I wanted to see you to let you know that I'm filing for divorce. I'll be getting a place in the city, and it has two bedrooms, so if you need a place to stay there is always room for you with me." He smiled warmly.
Jamie glanced up and really studied him, finding his complexion clearer and healthier than she had seen it in years. His time with her mother had been good for a long time, but the last five or six years, he'd starting looking worse and worse.
"I'm glad. I’m sorry things aren’t working between you and mom, but to be honest, you look really good, Dad."
"I feel good." He lifted his arms in the air and stretched. "I'm sick of being beaten down and kicked around. I'm going to spend the rest of my days with someone who really cherishes me, or alone. I'm happy going at life by myself."
"Me too, actually." She admitted.
"You're too young to be cynical," he laughed, and moved back as the food was delivered. "Wow, that was fast."
"This place is always good about getting the food out quickly. It's one of the reasons I love it so much." Jamie dragged her finger through the syrup on her pancakes and licked at it. "This homemade syrup is the other."
The laughed and talked through her father's next steps as they ate breakfast together. By the time they were done, she felt better; more centered and grounded. She was a good woman, and the issue didn't rest with her worth, but with Alex's understanding of how to really treat a woman, and accept a good one in his life.
She was ready to have a sit-down meeting with him to really lay things out on the table. He'd spoken several times of taking their relationship to the next level. She was more than ready to make it happen.
Jamie was surprised to see Paul gone for the day, and a note that Mark had left her a message. He seemed in good spirits, and calling him back would be rude, even if Alex wouldn't approve. There was nothing but a comfortable budding friendship starting between them. If things worked out with her and Alex, Mark would be her future brother-in-law. An already established relationship with him was smart.
She got up to close her door before calling him back. Alex was out, so there was no concern about him walking in on her, but Mark wouldn't be calling about anything that wasn't confidential or personal in nature.
"This is Mark."
"Hey. It's Jamie Connors."
"Hey, Jamie. You guys made it back safe and sound then?"
"We sure did. I just walked in from having breakfast with my dad. Crazy times."
"Oh, yeah? What's going on?" He coughed softly.
"My father is finally fed up with my mom. He's filing for divorce. It's a good and bad thing,
I guess, but don't let me bore you. Tell me why you called."
"Divorce seems to be in the damn water. I'm sorry to hear that. You know I'm here if you need someone to talk to, though I bet my brother would be a strong shoulder to lean against too."
It warmed her to hear Mark push her toward Alex. He really was a really good guy. Too bad Alex hadn't figured that out, though she understood the tune of past hurts all too well herself.
"So what's going on?" Jamie asked.
"I wrapped up the estate sale yesterday, and everything went well. We sold a lot of the larger items, which helps with cleaning up the place and finally closing everything down."
"That's great news. Do you want me to talk with Alex about him coming back up to help with the final clean up?" She pressed her pen to her lips and sunk back into her chair.
"No. I can get it. I'm thinking I'll come in on Saturday to have those papers signed in the next few days. I would have told Alex just to hang out if I'd known how fast they wanted to move with everything."
"I wish we had known. I hate for you to make a trip up here."
"It's all good. I could probably use an excuse to get the fuck out of here for a while anyway. It's less than amicable at home right now." He snorted. "I'd be searching for a reason to visit if this hadn't come up."
"I'm sorry about that." She shook her head as sadness rushed through her. "I'll talk with Alex about the papers and seeing if you can just stay at the house with him. I live on the property, so we'll have dinner or something while you're in as well."
"I'd love that. With money kinda tight at the moment, I'm not sure if I can afford a hotel."
"Don't worry about that. We'll work it out."
"Well, I appreciate that. Listen, please don’t say anything to Alex about the money. I don’t want him to know my situation." He coughed again. "I'm gonna let you go. Call me soon and let me know what Alex thinks about me coming up. Thanks again for being so great. I'm blessed to have met you, Jamie."
"Me, too. Take care." She hung the phone up and leaned back in her chair. Alex had to figure out how to make up with his brother. She wasn't even in the family, and yet had to play the middle man like a sister or wife might.
It was ridiculous and she didn't get paid near enough for the level of drama Alex was bringing to the table.
Enough! It was time to work and focus on that. Before her sister’s wedding, Jamie had spent night and day working. Now she was being lax, and focusing too much on making her relationship work and shoving food in her mouth. It was time to get back to the pattern she’d had when she started her job here.
She worked through a few new projects she had on her desk for the rest of the morning. It was almost unnerving to realize how much easier it was to work without Paul there. It wasn't that he was chatty, but something about having another person in the room just left her inefficient.
"Speaking of." Jamie got up and walked out into the hall as her stomach growled. She needed to talk with Gina about getting her officemate an office, and then lunch could be up next on the agenda.
"Hey." Gina glanced up.
"Hey. I just wanted to check in on Paul's office. I know we still have a few weeks, but I wanted to see if the contractors had a date in mind for getting him out of my office. I mean, finishing the rebuilding." She brushed her fingers by her chin and glanced over to see Alex walk into his office, head down.
"It should be two weeks from today. Why?” Gina leaned forward. “Is he being a pain? I can replant him now with another analyst if I need to. You know I don't mind doing it for you, girl." She stood up and stretched.
"No. Two weeks is good." Jamie turned back to the other woman. "Can you do me a favor? Check if Alex has anything on his calendar? I thought it was clear but now I’m wondering if I mixed it up."
Gina moved the mouse for her computer and clicked it a few time. "Not for the next hour. Have at him. Let's grab some lunch when you get done."
"Sounds like a plan." She turned and walked through Alex’s main office door, knocking softly on the door frame. "Do you have a minute?"
He glanced up and gave her a curt nod. "Yeah. Shut the door and come on in."
Something told her that having the door closed wasn't going to be as fun as it was a few days ago. Her stomach growled again and she rubbed her tummy absently.
Alex sat down in his chair and leaned back. "You still pissed at me?"
"I'm getting over it." She shrugged. "I need to run a few things by you."
"Go for it." Dark circles sat under his beautiful blue eyes, much like his brother Mark seemed to be sporting every time they saw him.
"Mark called and will be coming up on Saturday with all of the paperwork from the estate sale."
"Good."
"He wants to know if he can stay at your place. He's having a few financial difficulties."
"No." Alex kept his steely gaze on her.
"Alright. He can stay with me." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Next topic is your notes for the meeting on Tuesday."
"Wait. What the fuck? My brother’s not staying with you. That's not happening." He sat up in his chair and leaned toward her. The aggressive look on his face would have been sexy if he didn't mean it in a negative manner.
"Then he's staying with you. There’s plenty of room at your house. You're being an ass about this." She moved to the edge of her chair, ready to challenge him. Their 'moving to the next level' would definitely include her holding her own in a fight with him.
"Fine. I don't give a shit. Whatever." He stood and threw his hands in the air, which was too dramatic for even him.
"Alex? What the hell’s going on? Is this,” she gestured back and forth between the two of them, “too much? What’s the problem? Because it feels like one moment you can’t keep your hands off me, and then next my touch burns you. If we have to work together and live almost on top of each other… I just don’t get it.” She stood up and walked toward him. He was passionate, but overly emotional? No, that was not his style.
"Fuck." He turned to face her, the color having drained from his face.
Her heart almost stopped from the look on his face. Something was wrong. Extremely wrong.
"What’s going on?" She reached out for him, but he pulled back.
"I just met with Annette." He ran his fingers through his hair.
"Oh..." Sickness rolled through her. Were they getting back together? Had he slept with her?
A knock at the door interrupted them.
Gina stuck her head in. "Sorry; Mr. Billmore’s on the phone. He's in no mood to call back."
"I'll get it. Thanks, Gina." Alex moved toward Jamie and waited for Gina to close the door. When she did, he touched the side of Jamie’s face. "We'll talk tonight."
"Alright." She turned, wanting to push farther, but there was no reason to. He needed to answer the phone, and she needed something cheesy or greasy to make life seem better.
Jamie walked out of the office, and quietly closed the door to find Gina watching her.
"Food?" Gina picked up her purse.
"Sounds good." Her angst would have to be properly put away. If Alex was going to break her heart, she needed something comforting. Food.
Chapter 10
Jamie finished up her day and spent the evening waiting for Alex to finish. She gave up and headed back to her apartment after nine. A salad dinner and then a long swim left her bored and cranky. She’d eaten enough crap food and her body was starting to tell her.
She threw a movie in the DVD player and sat on the couch, waiting for Alex to knock on her door. She dozed off, and around two in the morning she finally texted him, only to get a short reply that they would talk soon. Images of him and Annette wouldn’t leave her head, or her dreams. Why in the world hadn't he just brought the pile of work home with him? Unless he was out with her.
Something flared up inside of Jamie. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it made her irritable and possessive.
Morning too
k forever to come and was there too soon. "Why are men such a pain in the ass?" She sat up on the couch and stretched, aching everywhere.
She dressed in a simple green dress and flats, pulled her hair into a messy bun and put on a little bit of lipstick. The weekend was upon them again, which meant that she might get some time with Alex one way or the other.
After fighting through traffic, she made her way into the office and walked through the lobby to see Nicholas waiting and chatting with Gina.
"Hi, Nicholas. Are you here to see Alex?" She stopped in front of him, and couldn't help but appreciate how nice he looked in his pinstriped suit. The man might be a little older than her, but he was intensely handsome.
"You, actually." He stood and picked up his briefcase. "I was hoping I could talk you into having lunch with me. All business, I promise."
She couldn't help but smile in response to the warm smile that slipped onto his handsome face.
"Business? What business do you and I have to discuss? I've sent out all of the current literature on your investments, and the financials aren't due until mid-summer." She reached out and pushed her door open, a little concerned at not seeing Paul there again.
She made a quick mental note to call him later that day to make sure he was really okay.
Nicholas followed her into her office, but stopped at the door. "I have a few buddies that I play golf with who are looking for new investments. I've been bragging about you and Alex, and I believe two of them are almost interested in meeting with you. I was going to visit with them next week. I'd love to have a few portfolio packets and a little bit of history on the firm. I figured I'd take you to lunch so we could take our time walking through everything."
"Let me get this straight." Jamie set her bags down and turned to face him. "You want to have lunch so that I can train you to sell our investment products?"
