Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance

by Sarah J. Brooks

  She smiled, knowing that Hal had been the one to inspire her to do it.

  Chapter 38

  Jesse

  Jesse woke groggily and groaned at the headache she felt pressing against the back of her head. She glanced over at the clock on her bedside table and shot up as she experienced a moment of panic on seeing that it was ten in the morning, and she was late. She almost leapt out of bed to hurry and get ready for work when she remembered that she was, as of yesterday, unemployed.

  With a relieved sigh, she laid back down and ran a hand over her face, gently massaging her temples to ease away her headache.

  As she became more awake, she slowly began to remember the events of the previous night. She had gone next door to celebrate quitting her job where Tony and Mark had thrown her quite the party. Tony had cooked a dinner of excellent lasagna, and they had gone through several bottles of wine together, which certainly explained the headache she now boasted.

  Still, she had had a good time with them, and she was grateful that she only lived next door. No sooner had she made it into her room than she passed out. Even now, she was still dressed in the clothes she had worn over there.

  Jesse allowed herself to linger in bed for a while longer and then finally got up and moved into her bathroom to alleviate the pressure in her bladder. When she had relieved herself and washed her hands, she reached into her medicine cabinet, withdrew a bottle of pain relievers, then put a couple of pills into her mouth.

  She turned on the sink, cupped her hands under the flow of water, and then brought it up to her mouth. She drank several handfuls of the water and then turned off the faucet and dried her hands. Satisfied that the medicine would soon offer her some relief, she turned on the water in her shower.

  As the water heated up, she took off her clothes and tossed them into her hamper. Then, she adjusted the cold water so that the temperature was bearable and stepped into the shower, letting the water wet her hair and run down over her body. She lingered there for a while, letting the water trickle over her skin, then began the process of washing her hair and body.

  As she bathed herself, Jesse allowed her mind to wander. She wondered what on earth she was going to do with the rest of her day and felt an unfamiliar sense of adventure and excitement with the knowledge that she could pretty much do anything that she pleased.

  With that sense of freedom, though, came a little bit of dread. She now had no source of income. She had enough money put back to get her through the next couple of months of rent, but after that, she was in serious trouble. She knew that she needed to find another job and very quickly.

  Jesse came to the natural conclusion that she would simply have to begin job hunting. She finished up her shower and then dried herself off, putting her hair up in the towel so that it would soak up some of the water, and then moved into her bedroom. She looked through her closet, seeking out attire that was professional enough for her to look both modern and professional.

  As Jesse dressed, she began to experience regret about her decision to quit her job at The Edge. Especially knowing that she could have really progressed there if it wasn’t for all the events surrounding her latest assignment. She felt a sense of loss, knowing that if she had just produced a high-quality article, she could have had an incredible job somewhere with ease.

  Now, she was basically back where she started. She would have to go to all manner of magazine offices, and whatever else she could find, with her resume ready to hand out, and little chance of being selected. She sighed as she felt her stomach tighten with anxiety.

  She had felt so liberated, but now she was very sure that she had made a mistake.

  Still, there was little she could do about that now. So, she finished getting herself ready, blow drying her hair and letting it fall however it liked around her shoulders. She brushed on a light layer of makeup and gave herself a once-over before deciding that she was content with her appearance.

  When she was done getting herself ready, she strode out of her bedroom and crossed through the living room into her kitchen. She looked through her refrigerator for something to eat and eventually settled on an apple. She looked over at her usually ignored coffeemaker and figured that it was about time to make use of it. She figured she spent way too much buying coffee on the street when she could really just make it in her home. Now that she was going to have to start cutting back with her finances, she reckoned that was at least a good start.

  She set her coffee to brew and took several bites out of her apple as she watched the stream of brown liquid drip into the waiting coffeepot. By the time she finished her apple, the pot was about half full, and she poured a cup for herself. It felt somewhat odd drinking coffee in her own home, and she sauntered over to her breakfast bar to sit down and try to enjoy her morning drink.

  Jesse sipped at the dark liquid and went through a list of magazines and newspapers in the city that she would need to apply to. She knew that a lot of the applications were ones that she needed to fill out online, but it still wouldn’t hurt to go in and schedule some in-person interviews as well. She also tried to think of any connections that she had from the past and if they would be helpful for her in her search for a new job.

  Jesse decided that she would likely end up asking Mark if he knew anyone that could be helpful in her job search. She knew that he probably had connections somewhere else in their line of work. He had set her up at The Edge, and he probably knew somebody that could help set her up somewhere else. She really didn’t know if there was anything available for her, but the least she could do was ask him to put his feelers out.

  Jesse continued to ponder possibilities for her future employment as she finished up her coffee and rinsed out the mug in the sink. She then gathered up her briefcase with her laptop inside and picked up her keys, stepping out of her door and locking it behind her, wondering where she was going to actually go. She had been in a set schedule for so long that she felt somewhat uncomfortable with this kind of uncertainty. Still, as uncertain as she was, there was also a measure of excitement.

  She entered the elevator, and when it let her out in the lobby, she left her apartment and began to walk aimlessly down the street. For some reason, she felt more than a little exposed as though people could somehow tell that she was unemployed, and she felt more than a little self-conscious. Jesse knew she was certainly being ridiculous and that there was no way for people to tell that about her, but her rationality couldn’t very well help her emotions.

  After walking for a while, Jesse decided that she really ought to sit down somewhere and start her job search online. She thought about where she should settle down to start the process and figured that a library would be the most logical place to be for any length of time. So, she pulled out her phone and looked up libraries in her area. There was one quite a way away, and she vaguely considered calling a cab before thinking better of it. She couldn’t bring herself to spend the money on it, and it was a beautiful day so she wouldn’t mind walking.

  Jesse set off toward the library and took in the sight of the city bustling around her. She felt strangely out of place next to the people who were undoubtedly headed straight to or from work. She felt helplessly aimless in comparison and was more eager than ever to get settled into a new job as soon as possible.

  Jesse picked up her pace a little and settled herself with a deep breath. She had been in similar situations before and felt strongly that with a positive attitude and a lot of determination, she could get through this. So she pressed on down the sidewalk and tried to keep herself in a positive state of mind.

  Chapter 39

  Jesse

  As Jesse proceeded down the street, she began to relax more and more and allowed her mind to wander to less stressful topics. More specifically, to Hal.

  Jesse couldn’t help feeling a little conflicted whenever she thought of him. A part of her still felt that she really had no business at all interacting with him on the level that she was. Her relation
ship with him was supposed to be strictly professional. She was supposed to interview him and be done with him. Her career was supposed to launch out of her article on him.

  That, though, had gone out the window the second he had invited her to lunch for a repeat of their first interview. She should have simply declined. She could have told Elaine that the interview had not gone well, and she would have likely been a little disappointed, but understanding. And she would certainly still have had her job.

  The second he had started talking about his personal life, though, all of her professionalism had gone out the window. Perhaps that was an indication that she was bad at her job anyway. Any other journalist wouldn’t have felt any level of sympathy. They would have jumped on a juicy story, and their career would have leapt up to the next level because of it.

  Jesse imagined that Elaine wouldn’t have hesitated to take all of Hal’s personal information and put it straight into her magazine. There would have been no reluctance or remorse. She was effective, and moreover, she was successful.

  Jesse, though, could have never brought herself to do it. Maybe she just wasn’t aggressive enough for the job. Maybe it was just a lack of ambition. Maybe it was an excess of compassion. Either way, she was beginning to doubt her ability to succeed in the field of celebrity journalism.

  Jesse sighed at the thought of what else she could do, but she could hardly keep her mind on her career when she had just thought of Hal. He had proven to be quite the distraction ever since she had met him. Even so, she could not bring herself to regret the bond she had built with him. Especially now that it really seemed to be turning into something that was truly incredible.

  Jesse’s mind wandered back to the tender moments they had shared, and she shuddered as she remembered the times that her judgement had been clouded by pure arousal. She remembered the sensation of his teeth dragging along her flesh, and she felt warmth gather between her legs.

  She shook her head and took a breath to steady herself and clear her thoughts. She remembered, though, that along with her intense feelings of arousal, she had moments of genuine, exposed emotion, where he had looked at her and told her that he had feelings for her.

  Jesse could hardly bring herself to believe him when he said he had feelings for her as well. It just seemed too foreign for anyone to truly be attracted to her, especially when it was someone as famous as Hal Roberts.

  She knew she should trust him when he said those kinds of things to her, but there was a part of her that wouldn’t completely give in to him. She wanted to, but there seemed to be something that was holding her back. It was frustrating, but perhaps she just needed more time to fully trust him.

  As Jesse thought more and more about him, she had the urge to call him. She had his number now and felt a rush of excitement at the thought of being able to simply pick up the phone and give him a call whenever she wanted to. At the same time, that thought gave her an overwhelming feeling of anxiety.

  What if he didn’t answer her? What if he was busy, and she interrupted him? She was jobless, but he was an important man with likely important things to do. She was also leery of the feeling of disappointment she would undoubtedly feel if he did not answer the phone.

  It did not take long for her to make the decision not to call him, but she still couldn’t keep her thoughts from wandering to him. She contemplated the chances of him actually being attracted to her when put against the probability that she was just a means of entertainment.

  Jesse sighed. She knew that she should have more faith in him, and she had to admit that he had been very patient with her as she processed the growth of their relationship. He had told her that they could take it slow, and she intended to do just that. The last think she wanted was to rush into a relationship with him and end up taken advantage of. That was going to be hard, though, when she couldn’t keep her mind off of him unless she was incredibly stressed out about something else.

  Jesse was pulled from her thoughts as she reached the library. She stepped inside through the doors and looked around. The place was fairly large, and fortunately, there was a section full of workstation-style desks with barriers on each side. She headed immediately to one of the desks and proceeded to set up her laptop, plugging it into an outlet beneath the desk.

  She cleared her mind of thoughts of Hal for the time being and began her search for jobs to apply for. She took a deep breath and released a sigh as she vaguely wondered where on earth she was supposed to begin.

  Chapter 40

  Hal

  Hal glanced down at his phone for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. He huffed in irritation to see that, once again, it was void of any notifications of missed calls or texts.

  “Why don’t you just call her?” Adam said offhandedly, not even looking over as he played some game or other on Hal’s Xbox.

  “I don’t want her to feel like I’m trying to smother her,” Hal said with a sigh, but his eyes stayed affixed to his phone as he hoped for it to light up with the indication of a notification.

  “You sound like a teenager.” Adam chuckled.

  “Well, you look like one.” Hal glanced over at his friend, leaned over with the controller clutched in his hand.

  Adam snorted but otherwise didn’t react to the jibe. Hal knew it was a weak shot anyway. Moreover, Adam was right. He shouldn’t be acting so nervous over the fact that Jesse hadn’t called him. Their interactions as of late had edged on the intense, and he was sure she needed her space to try and sort things out.

  In fact, he wondered if he should take some time to sort some things out for himself as well.

  If he thought about it, all of this really had happened rather quickly. H could understand her trepidations when he, too, was a bit bewildered. Even so, he was having a hard time really getting a hold over his feelings when all he wanted to do was be with her.

  “You need to do something,” Adam suggested. “You can’t just sit around looking at your phone.”

  Hal sighed. He knew that Adam was right. He was wasting a lot of valuable time sitting around thinking of Jesse.

  “Well,” Hal huffed and ran a hand over his face. “What do you suggest?”

  Adam hummed for a moment as he seemed to think.

  “Two player?” Adam suggested, and Hal laughed.

  “All you can think about is playing this damn game,” Hal pointed out.

  Adam shrugged.

  “Fine,” he said shortly. “It’s not any worse than being caught up on a girl.”

  Hal scowled at his friend and gave his phone another glance. Again, there were no notifications. Hal’s scowl faded into a more thoughtful look, and at last, he sighed, shaking his head.

  “Fine,” he relented. “Let me get a controller.”

  Adam smiled up at him and slid over to one side of the couch while Hal strode over to the TV stand, picked up one of the other controllers, and then sat down next to Adam.

  Hal quickly numbed his thoughts with the video game. It was some first person shooter, and he and Adam soon started shouting and interacting with each other as they played. It turned out to be a very effective method of distracting him from thoughts of Jesse, and he was grateful for it. He hadn’t played video games in quite a while, and it was a welcome simplicity to enjoy one with his friend.

  When they finished up their game, Hal stood up.

  “Feeling better?” Adam asked him as he moved back over to the TV stand to put up the controllers and turn off the console.

  “I am, actually,” Hal confessed, his voice sounding much more relaxed than before.

  Hal moved back over to the chair he had been occupying and picked up his phone. As he looked down at his screen, his heart leapt.

  There was a text message from Jesse.

  “Get anything?” Adam asked, a mocking smile on his face.

  Hal ignored him and promptly opened the message.

  ‘Hey’ it read.

  It wasn’t very substantial, but it was s
omething at the very least. And something he could work with.

  Chapter 41

  Jesse

  Jesse had never regretted a decision so instantly.

  She had been thinking of messaging Hal for quite some time, and she had typed the message, then simply looked at it for quite a long time before she dared to actually send it.

  When she finally gathered the courage to press the send button, she wished she could withdraw it. Now, all she could do was sit and wait to see if he would even respond to it at all.

  She tried not to look over at her phone every few seconds, but she was largely failing not to do so. She kept up her work on an application she was filling out for the post of public relations consultant at some major company. She hardly cared what she would be advertising as long as she was getting paid.

  Now, though, she could hardly keep her mind on her applications. She felt foolish but couldn’t help hoping that Hal would text her back. She knew that she was the one being confusing, and she wouldn’t blame him if he were aggravated by her perplexing mixture of pushing him away and then seeking attention. It was something she could barely understand herself.

  Still, she couldn’t help it as she looked back at her phone and felt a pang of disappointment each time she saw that he hadn’t responded. She could hardly blame him, though. He was likely busy doing something important. She could hardly expect him to be on call on her whim.

  No sooner had she had that thought, though, she heard her phone vibrate against the wood of the desk.

  Jesse snatched up the phone, and her heart leapt as she saw that is was a reply from Hal. She hastened to open the message and read it.

  ‘Hey! What are you up to today?’ the message read.

  Jesse simply sat and smiled after she read it. She was mostly just glad that he had bothered to reply to her message at all. She wondered what she ought to say to him in reply. At length, she figured that she may as well just tell him the truth.