“Why didn’t you just …” Jesse paused, feeling embarrassed at the mere notion. “Ask me on a date? You know, without all the extra frills and setups.”
Hal looked at her as if the answer was obvious.
“Well,” he said with a chuckle, shaking his head. “I … I was nervous. There, that’s it. I wanted to create a situation that was low pressure so that you would say yes without much question. And I think it was pretty successful because here you are.”
Jesse nodded. She could understand how that would be a convenient tactic to use to get someone to agree to a date.
“Well, it worked,” she agreed. “But does it really count?”
“Excuse me?” Hal asked, leaning back and frowning at her,
“I mean,” Jesse shrugged, “I was brought here under false pretenses. And even then, it wasn’t a real date, it was a double date. For all I know, you’re in love with Maria and trying to make her jealous.”
Hal laughed aloud and shook his head.
“First of all,” he lifted a finger, “don’t say that too loud. If Adam heard you, he might rip my limbs off, whether he’s supposed to keep me safe or not. He really does care for her, whether or not he cares to admit it.”
Jesse smiled at the comment. The pair of them looked cute together, with Maria’s petite stature in comparison to his broad bulk. She had to admit that all throughout dinner he had seemed entirely enamored with her.
“And on the other matters,” Hal continued, “I told you it was a double date in the car, and you could have left, but you didn’t. We could have turned around right there, and we would have … but you stayed.”
Jesse had to admit he had her there. At that point, she had known that it was a date, and she was not at all offended by the idea. Indeed, she had been overeager if anything.
“And on your last point,” Hal said, his tone growing serious, “yes, it was a double date … but now it’s just you and me …”
Jesse was stricken by his statement and by the intense look in his eyes. He finished off his wine and set the glass on the table, focusing entirely on her. Jesse did the same with hers and turned to face him as well, choosing courage instead of meekness in his presence.
“I’m sorry,” Hal said softly, raising his hand to cup her cheek, gently running his thumb along her cheekbones and sending shivers down her spine.
“For what?” Jesse asked, her whole body shivering as he looked down into her eyes.
“That I didn’t have the courage to ask you out,” he said. “I mean, without all the frills and accessories.”
Jesse laughed, and he gave her a small smile and a chuckle.
“It’s okay,” Jesse said softly, nuzzling her face into the palm of his hand. Her whole body felt alive, and she felt pressure building up between her legs as she heard Hal’s breath catch in his throat.
“Jess …” Hal said, and he lowered his head to rest it against hers. Jesse felt herself beginning to pant, and she felt her world spinning around her once more.
She knew she had had too much to drink. She knew that she was letting her body get the best of her because she couldn’t think straight. She knew that if she did anything with Hal right now, she would only blame the alcohol in the morning. But in spite of all that, she could not muster up the will to pull away from him. She reveled in this moment, and she could not deny the way her body was responding to him and aching for him.
Jesse let out a soft laugh and shook her head slowly.
“What is it?” Hal asked softly.
“We’re drunk …” Jesse said in a whisper.
“Yeah.” Hal laughed. “We are.”
Jesse laughed again, and she felt heat rising up in her body once more.
“You’re beautiful,” Hal said softly. He pulled back his face from hers and looked her up and down. Jesse flushed and shifted restlessly.
“So are you,” Jesse said. “Well, maybe like the masculine version of beautiful … but, still …”
Hal laughed again and smiled down at her before his expression slowly became more serious again.
It seemed to Jesse that she was stuck in limbo for an eternity. They just looked between one another. Jesse ached for him to do something. She tried to muster up the courage to lean up and kiss him, but she was too nervous. So, they simply stared.
“I want …” Hal said but trailed off for a moment.
“What is it?” Jesse asked, eager to hear what it was he would say.
Hal looked down at her and smiled slowly.
“I want to kiss you,” he said softly, his thumbs running along her cheekbones all the while.
Jesse felt a rush of heat low in her stomach to hear him say that. She knew that her eyes must have flashed with emotion, for Hal’s eyes darkened as he looked down at her.
“So kiss me …” Jesse urged him quietly.
In the next second, Jesse felt his grip tighten on her face, and his lips pressed against her own. She felt another shudder pass through her body, and she opened her mouth slightly, allowing his lips to part and his tongue to slip inside of her mouth.
Jesse was still and more than a little nervous, but after a moment, she relaxed. She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, running her hands up his back. She buried her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, and she released a soft whimper into his mouth. He responded with a dark growl, and she felt his hands move to grip her hips.
Suddenly, Jesse felt Hal move over her so that she was pressed into the couch. She gasped loudly as she felt his hardness against her thigh. Hal must have felt it too, for he immediately pulled back, his eyes searching her face.
The two were quiet for a long moment, both of them panting heavily as they tried to catch their breaths and take stock of the situation. Jesse ached to keep going while she was still uninhibited by her wine, but she knew that such actions would only lead to regret.
“I … I should go …” Jesse whispered breathlessly. Hal blinked and quickly shook his head as if to clear it.
“I … yeah …” Hal nodded. “I’ll call you a cab.”
In an instant, Hal had disappeared into another room. Jesse sighed and buried her face in her hands. She could not believe that had just happened. She heard Hal come back in the room, and she raised her head.
“The cab’s on its way …” he said crossing the room. “I’ll take you down to the street.”
Jesse simply looked at him for a moment, but then nodded. She tried to stand on her own, but the room spun around her, and she would have fallen if Hal had not come to her aid.
“Steady there,” he said with a chuckle while Jesse smiled up at him gratefully.
Jesse allowed Hal to lead her back through the room and down the hall to the elevator doors. Hal took up her clutch from the stand in the doorway, and Jesse thanked him with a nod.
They were quiet as they rode the elevator down, and Jesse was somewhat surprised when they came out on the street level and not in the parking garage. She was also surprised to see the cab already there waiting for her.
“Well, there you are,” Hal smiled, gesturing to the cab. “It won’t cost you anything; I took care of it.”
“Oh,” Jesse blinked. “There’s no need, I can …”
“Jess,” he cut her off. “I’m too rich for my own good. Let me get it.”
Jesse smiled and nodded.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said with a shy smile.
“It was my pleasure,” Hal said softly.
“Goodnight.” Jesse smiled at him as she headed toward the taxi.
“Goodnight, Jess,” Hal said in a near whisper, his expression dark and longing.
Jesse felt a flare of desire for him, and she blushed furiously as she got in the cab. She shut the door without a word. The cab driver seemed to know where she was headed, and he drove immediately. Jesse’s eyes stayed locked on Hal as they drove, and he stayed looking at her. It wasn’t until they turned a corner that he left her l
ine of sight.
Jesse finally faced forward in the cab, her world still spinning from the wine. She still felt the excitement from all the activities of the night and could still feel the warmth of Hal’s lips pressed against her own.
Jesse knew that she owed Mark and Tony quite a story in the morning.
Chapter 28
Jesse
No matter what she did, how hard she tried, or how often she reminded herself that she had work to get done, Jesse could not seem to stop thinking about Hal.
She knew, deep down, that what they had shared was more than just a culmination of spontaneity and too much wine. At least, it was for her.
Jesse shook her head at the mere thought. She tried to focus on her breathing and her heart rate as she pounded the pavement on her morning run. She inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, just as she had been taught however many years ago. Usually, that simple rhythm was enough to keep her calm. This morning, however, that was not the case at all.
Her mind had one sole occupation, and she knew that it was going to prove detrimental to her in one way or another. She dwelled on that foreboding thought as she drew her run to a close and headed back upstairs to her apartment.
Once safely inside her home, Jesse shucked off her sweaty running clothes, tossed her phone on her bed, then got in the shower. She schooled herself to try and focus on what she would do at work that day and to her aggravation, she remembered that she had to finally finish her article on Hal.
Jesse felt her stomach clench as she thought of handing the altogether subpar piece of work to Elaine. She knew that her boss would not be pleased with it and that there would likely be a long talk regarding her future at the company. Jesse only had herself to blame. She had been suckered right into Hal’s touching coming of age story and had made him a promise that she never should have. Now, she had to deal with the consequences.
The thought of the demise of her career served to sober her up quite a bit. Jesse was in a much more morose state of mind as she dressed for work and gathered up all her things, then waited, as usual, for Mark outside of his door after giving it a few knocks. She only vaguely acknowledged his response to her knock.
“Hey, good morning!” Mark greeted her cheerily upon coming out of his door, but his expression fell as he saw the look on Jesse’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“I have to turn in my article to Elaine today,” Jesse said softly, and she saw Mark stiffen.
“Oh,” he said softly.
Silence stretched between them as they made their way down the hall and to the elevator.
“Well,” Mark sighed at length, and Jesse could tell that he was having trouble coming up with words to console her. “I’m sure it’s good even if there is some content shortage …”
“It’s subpar.” Jesse shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. “And Elaine is going to be able to smell that from a mile off.”
Mark gave Jesse a sympathetic glance, and she knew that he knew she was right. The elevator doors opened, and they began their usual trek to work. Mark made to step into their usual coffee shop and held the door open for Jesse.
“You go ahead,” Jesse waved him on. “I’m just going to go ahead to the office.”
“Are you sure?” Mark asked her.
“Yeah,” Jesse nodded and gave him a small smile. “I want to be alone for a while.”
Mark nodded and stepped further into the café.
“I’ll see you at the office,” he said, and Jesse nodded, then went along their usual course.
Her steps were a little slower than usual, as she had the nagging notion that she was approaching her own funeral, or at least the funeral of her career. She was so young. She had hardly gotten the chance to be seen or heard, and it was about to be over with one mediocre article.
She became angry at the cause of her strife. What was it about Hal that had prompted her to throw everything away anyway? She was supposed to interview him, gather up information on him, and then move on with her life. What spell had he managed to cast on her that made her so suddenly a sympathetic friend instead of an ambitious reporter?
She barely had to think those questions before the answers came rushing back to her in the form of Hal’s pained green eyes and the slight downward turn of his lips She remembered the pain in his voice as he spoke of his first love and of losing her.
And as those images came to mind, others followed. She remembered his easy smile after he’d had too much wine and ended up at her house. She remembered the way his eyes smoldered as he had hovered over her last night. He remembered the way his fingertips had felt against her skin and the softness of his lips against her own …
Jesse gasped as she felt a hot pang of desire shoot from her center throughout the rest of her body. She shook her head and tried to rid her mind of those thoughts. It was no wonder she had thrown away the article, she wasn’t sure there was anything she wouldn’t do just for another moment alone with Hal.
Jesse scowled at the thought and had to admit that she felt more than a little insecure, as well. She had little choice but to acknowledge her feelings for Hal. It was incredibly obvious that she was falling for him. After all, he was the very model of male perfection both physically and financially. She was just one of the many women who were fawning all over him.
She, however, had absolutely nothing to offer him. A small part of her tried to protest the self-degrading thoughts, remembering the words he had said to her the previous night, and how he had claimed to arrange the whole evening just so that she would have dinner with him. The more cynical part of her brain, though, was quick to object.
Hal Roberts was good looking, but his brain was sharp as well. She had no doubt that he could manipulate her into wanting him and thinking she was the center of his life, only to drop her in the very next instant. She felt bitterness rise up in her heart toward him, but also a sadness that she could not easily dismiss. In spite of herself, she was growing very fond of him, and she hated that it could only end in heartbreak for her.
As she had gotten lost in her thoughts, though, Jesse had steadily neared her office, and when she saw it looming just ahead on the sidewalk, she felt a sick feeling in her stomach upon remembering the imminent demise of her career. She paused for a moment just before the doors and closed her eyes. She could feel her hands shaking, and she closed them into fists before finally entering the office.
All she could do was get this over with. The sooner she had the article turned in, the sooner Elaine could chew her out, or fire her, or whatever else was her pleasure to do.
Chapter 29
Jesse moved quickly through the building to her desk and arranged her things, pulling up the article on her computer. She made sure that it was at least edited to perfection, even if the content was lacking. If nothing else, it would be a work of formatting perfection.
It did not take long, and she printed it out, moving across the office to the printer to collect the document. Then, she returned to her desk and put the papers in a file. She looked at it for a long moment, feeling a weight like a stone in her stomach. She couldn’t help feeling a sense of relief looming somewhere in her mess of emotions, that at least the stress was over, and she could focus on something else.
Then again, if Elaine were truly unhappy with it, her next item of focus would simply be finding a new place of employment.
Jesse was vaguely aware of her coworkers beginning to pass her desk, and she realized that it was time for their daily meeting. She shook her head and gathered up the file. She would give it to Elaine after the meeting and then disappear. Elaine could read it on her own, and that way Jesse would be out of the immediate line of fire.
Jesse followed her coworkers to the meeting room and immediately took her place by Mark. Mark looked first at Jesse and then at the file clutched tightly in her hand.
“Is that it?” he asked her, gesturing to the file.
Jesse gave him a slow nod. Mark put his a
rm around her shoulder, gave her a tight side hug, and then turned his attention to the front of the room. Jesse looked up as well, and she feared for a moment that she would vomit as she saw Elaine smile broadly, giving a sweeping look across the room as she began her morning address.
Jesse barely heard a word of what was said in the meeting. Her heart pounded hard in her ears, and she fought the urge to vomit. She felt her hands shaking beneath the desk and clasped them together to try and stop it. She felt like she was slowly swirling into madness and wished that she had never been given this assignment at all.
“Jesse?” she heard Mark from beside her and looked up at him distractedly. “The meeting is over.”
“Oh!” Jesse gasped and immediately hopped to her feet. She scanned the crowd of her coworkers and finally spotted Elaine. She pushed and rushed through the congregation of journalists until she finally managed to catch up with Elaine.
“Elaine!” Jesse said hastily as she finally caught up with her, and the older woman turned around, smiling at her in her usual unsettling way.
“Ah, Miss Clarke,” Elaine fairly purred at her. “How good to see you. What can I do for you?”
Jesse gulped and offered up the file.
“This is the Hal Roberts article,” she said. “It’s edited and ready for print.”
“Excellent,” Elaine’s eyes lit up, and Jesse’s stomach sank further. “I have a few things on my plate this morning, but I will read through it as soon as I possibly can.”
Jesse forced out a smile and nod, trying to keep herself together for at least a little while longer.
“Thank you,” Jesse managed to say, and Elaine turned to head back toward her office.
Jesse waited until Elaine was out of her sight and then released a shuddering breath. She ran a hand over her face and slowly began the short walk back to her own desk. She knew it was only a matter of time before Elaine read the pathetic article she had managed to write, and until then all she could do was wait.
Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance Page 49
