At that, Uncle Dante and Detective Turner took their leave from the office, leaving Jada and me and Jada and I alone.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
She stared off into the distance. “I’m okay,” she answered with a detached numbness. “It’s just weird, you know? Like we’ve waited all this time for the person to be caught, and now it doesn’t look like anyone will ever pay for what they took from us. It’s not fair.”
I felt the same way, but I had a responsibility to comfort her, so I said the only other thing I had been thinking at the moment. “Do you think it was really him?”
Jada shrugged with uncertainty, finally looking at me. “You don’t think so?”
“I don’t know. It just seems too easy… I guess I always thought it would be someone who knew them. I mean, why would some drug lord from across town target mom and dad of all people, of all the houses in our neighborhood? It doesn’t make any sense to me.” I shook my head, wondering how this day had gotten so completely messed up.
“I guess we may never know now.” Jada went back to staring off into the distance as she heaved a heavy sigh.
I sat thoughtfully for a moment. In a day’s time, my entire life had turned into one big uncertainty. I had walked out of my job today, unsure if I would ever go back. I hadn’t even begun to ponder what seeing Lisette and Grayson together at my work would mean for me.
Then I had impulsively landed in the arms of Jax Maddox, which, I feared, was a whole other Pandora’s Box of epic proportions. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that and needed time to explore my feelings. One minute, the man was intolerable, making his indecent proposal when I had never even spoken a real conversation with him. The next, he was challenging my theories by gifting me a replacement outfit, saving me from my ex, and setting my body on fire with pleasure in an elevator. And let’s not forget on his office sofa.
Now, I was facing the news of there being a possibility they had found my parents’ killer, dead. There hadn’t been a break in the case for years. The case had gone cold not long after it had opened, and we had been forced to live with the fact that we may have never gotten closure. If this drug lord really was the killer, that meant he would never be brought to justice, and we would never get the answer to the one question we had been asking ourselves for the past eight years. Why?
I reached for Jada as I broke the heavy silence. “We need a drink.”
* * *
“So let me get this straight. You walk out of Vandergild’s office to find Grayson, right there in the lobby of your new job that he wasn’t supposed to know about, leaning in for a kiss with a girl who has made your life hell since you started there?” Jada recounted the series of events as I had just told her.
“Yep, that about sums it up,” I answered with feigned impassivity.
It was late evening, and Jada and I were drinking mojitos at Frankie’s Underground Bar on Main Street. The place was fairly crowded on this Friday night, and we sat front and center, right at the bar.
I figured giving her a distraction from the news we had received earlier that afternoon would be a good way to get her mind off of things, and it seemed to be working.
“Perly-girly, you have some of the worst luck of anyone I know,” she teased, shaking her head in mock pity.
I nodded in agreement as I held my glass up. “To luck,” I toasted. “If it weren’t for the bad, I’d have none at all.”
“To luck!” Jada agreed and snickered.
Our glasses clinked together and we drank.
“So what did you do?” she asked, sitting her drink back on the bar surface.
I chuckled darkly as my thoughts went back to Jax in the elevator. “Well, I ran the hell out of there, for starters, and didn’t look back.”
JAX
“I’m about to leave the office now. What’s it going to be tonight?” I asked Ezra through the phone.
“You work too much,” he accused. “I’ll meet you there and we can figure it out. I’m not too far away.”
I hung up the cell and placed it back in the inner pocket of my jacket. I looked up from my desk at the upholstered sofa sitting across from me. Flashbacks of scenes from earlier that day encroached on my thoughts.
I had wanted to feel that woman riding my cock since the moment I had laid eyes on her tight little body. Now that I had, I wanted more.
There had been something so primal and raw about the encounter that afternoon. Seeing the desperation in her eyes when she met me in the elevator, it was like she was screaming for me to take her. She called to a very primitive side of me, leading me to want to protect and comfort her, and not for the first time now. It was a novel feeling, and not entirely uncomfortable, especially after what had happened between us today.
I pulled out my phone again and sent her a text.
Jax: When can I see you again?
Perla: Who is this?
Jax: Forgotten me so soon? I thought we shared a moment. It’s Jax.
Perla: Hi Jax! This is Jada. Perla is standing in line for the restroom. She left her phone.
Jax: Where are you?
Perla (Jada): Frankie’s Underground on Main.
I heard the elevator open, and after a few seconds, Ezra strolled in through the open door of my office.
“Why are you still here, you workaholic bastard?” Ezra chided.
“You’re one to talk,” I eyed him with scorn. “Have you ever been to Frankie’s Underground on Main?”
“Maybe once or twice,” he shrugged.
“Great, let’s go. You’re driving.”
We left Maddox Tower and made our way to Frankie’s Bar. I had left my jacket and tie at the office and rolled my shirtsleeves up my forearms for a more casual look.
As soon as we descended the stairs to the Underground, I looked around and noticed Perla sitting with her sister at the bar area. I watched as a Clark Kent-look-alike in glasses approached Perla from further down the bar, holding some drinks. Amused, I thought I’d watch and let it play out for a minute or two.
Ezra and I sat at a table along the far wall and ordered beers.
“What are the girls at the bar there drinking?” I asked the waitress as she brought our drink order back around.
“They’ve been drinking mojitos most of the night, but the drink the guy just brought them is probably a vodka tonic with a twist,” she answered conversationally, resting her drink tray on one hip and an arm on our table as though she planned to stick around a while.
“Thanks. Bring me two mojitos, if you don’t mind.” I handed her a fifty for her trouble.
Once the waitress scurried off, Ezra raised a brow. “Already set your sights on someone?”
I continued to watch Clark Kent, who now sat in the seat next the Perla. I wondered if she would accept his advances, and the thought set my teeth on edge.
“I’ve had my eye on this one for a little while now,” I admitted to my friend.
“Which one?” he asked, eyeing the two girls.
I observed Perla wearing a short, flowy, blue dress, low cut and belted at the waist. The skirt barely hit her mid-thigh as she sat on the tall bar stool. That, along with the wedge sandals she wore, emphasized her long, toned, runners’ legs that had been wrapped around my waist just hours earlier. The memory sent a jolt straight to my dick.
“Perla is the hot brunette in the blue dress. Her sister, Jada, is the one with long, dark hair sitting beside her in the white shorts with the paisley shirt off one shoulder. You like younger women, don’t you, Ezra?” I suggestively nudged him in the arm. I knew getting Ezra to distract Jada would give me the shot I needed with Perla, and as soon as the waitress came back with mojitos, I intended to put Clark Kent out of commission.
Ezra leaned forward as he eyed Jada with an appreciative stare. “I do tonight,” he answered.
I watched as Perla laughed at something Clark Kent said before touching his shoulder. They looked a little too flirtatious for my liking, a
nd I could feel the muscles tightening throughout my body in response. I saw the waitress approaching with the mojitos I ordered, so I stood and took the drinks from her.
Ezra and I made our way across the room to the bar, approaching the women. I reached my right arm between Perla and Clark Kent to sit the mojito on the bar in front of her. As I did, I let my arm linger there as I brushed my lips up to her ear.
“This dress really does things to me, Perla,” I growled quietly, as though we shared an intimate conversation despite the people nearby.
I watched as her body responded to my closeness. Her eyes closed momentarily with the rise and fall of her chest as she took in a deep breath of air. Her tongue darted out to moisten her full, pouty lips before she raked her teeth across the bottom one.
I withdrew my hand and set the second mojito in front of Jada, a charming smile spread across my face as I acknowledged and greeted her. “Jada, I’d like for you to meet my very best friend, Ezra McCall. Ezra owns a commercial real-estate investment business here in Dallas. Ezra, this is Jada Fae.”
Ezra took a step toward Jada and took her hand like a gentleman. Jada smiled, greeting him with interest.
“And Ezra, this is Perla.” I touched a hand to the back of Perla’s shoulder, letting it linger there possessively. Then I looked over to Clark Kent, who still sat on Perla’s opposite side. “And you are?”
“I’m Lincoln,” he said as he stood from his seat. “Well, it looks like you guys have all the company you need, so I’ll just be going.” He nodded his head and then looked back at Perla, speaking directly to her. “It was nice meeting you.”
As soon as Lincoln walked away, I sat in his empty chair beside Perla at the bar and faced her. Ezra still stood behind us, between Jada and Perla as he and Jada spoke flirtatiously back and forth.
“What are you doing here?” Perla asked me under her breath through gritted teeth.
“I wanted to see you,” I told her, staring buoyantly, directly into her pale green eyes.
She hesitated for a moment, a furrow between her brows, unable to turn away from me. “Jax, what happened earlier… it shouldn’t have happened.”
“And here I was thinking you had an epiphany,” I answered with a playful expression and a hint of a smile. My hand trailed down the soft curvature of her arm, bringing goosebumps to the surface beneath my touch, once again.
She groaned, leaning into my touch. “You probably have any number of women who would jump at the chance to take you up on your offer. Can’t you just take your money and your good looks and find someone else to toy with?”
“Hmm, so you think I’m good looking?” I pressed my hand gently to the side of her beautiful face for the briefest moment before resting it back on my lap. I marveled at the contrast between her body’s response to my touch and the words coming out of her full-bodied, irresistible lips.
“I’ve already told you, we want different things. Please don’t make this harder for me, Jax. I have too much to worry about right now to add this on top of everything else.”
I could see the sadness behind her eyes as they began to sparkle in the dim light of the bar, and the overwhelming need to protect her hit me again with full force. What the hell was this woman doing to me?
“Can we just see where this goes?” I didn’t want to make her any promises, but I knew I couldn’t let her walk away without exploring what this was. She had me by the proverbial fucking balls.
Perla looked back at Jada and Ezra, who seemed to be hitting it off already. After what seemed like forever, she relaxed and nodded. It wasn’t an agreement yet, but it wasn’t a denial. It was a compromise I thought we could both live with for the moment.
The four of us travelled back to a table near the wall that on one side held a booth seat and the other side chairs. Perla sat on the chair side, which I was sure was a means to keep some distance between us, but it didn’t stop me from making contact when I saw the opportunity.
We sat and mingled for a couple more hours. Ezra and Jada appeared to be getting cozy with each other. I could add being a goddamned matchmaker to my résumé now, it seemed.
What was most atypical about the situation was that I found myself having a conversation with a woman that I knew wouldn’t lead to a fuck by the end of the night. Applying my keen talent for business strategy, I realized it would have to be a slow, gradual, and deliberate seduction. A direct approach was out of the question.
Perla, I could tell, required a subtle advance, like one would have approached a feral cat. I couldn’t walk straight at her or make any sudden movements, or she would bolt. Instead, I had to circle around her, easing myself closer, little by little, slowly and methodically. That, or wait for her to approach me again, and I wasn’t all that patient.
It was hard to keep my hands off of her magnificent body, though I did try, somewhat unsuccessfully, throughout the evening. Now that I had a taste of her, it was all I could do not to try to consume her completely.
When she excused herself to the ladies room at the end of the night, I listened in on the conversation between Jada and Ezra.
“So can I take you out sometime?” he offered. Ezra sat next to Jada on a bench-style booth seat with his legs angled toward her. He held one of her hands while his other arm was draped over the back of the seat around her.
“I would like that,” she replied with a timid smile, returning an affectionate gaze. “Hey, you know, I won that trip for four to New Zealand. We’re probably going in a couple of weeks. You guys should use the extra two tickets and come with us!” She appeared excited by the thought, and looked between the two of us awaiting our reply.
I looked over to my friend. “I don’t know. What do you think, Ezra? Are you up for a vacation?”
He nodded in contemplation before turning back to Jada. “I’d be open to a trip,” he answered.
She clapped and squealed in excitement. “Yes! This is great. I’ll send you the information once I figure out what flights we’re booking.” She paused for a moment and looked over at me. “Maybe we won’t tell Perla just yet. I don’t want her trying to talk herself out of going.”
Didn’t I know it.
TEN
Coming To Terms
My heart pounded in my throat as a clammy hand held my cell phone. I looked down at the text from Jax as the elevator carried me upward to grovel for my job with Vandergild.
Jax: Have dinner with me tonight.
I was a bundle of nerves. Jax only added to the uncertainty that had somehow taken over my life again.
Perla: I thought you didn’t do relationships.
I was so confused over the whole thing with Jax, it had eaten at me all weekend long. I couldn’t be mad at Jada for inviting him to the bar to join us. It wasn’t like she had any idea that I had been trying to avoid him after the embarrassing and unexpected tryst on Friday, which I was still trying to work out my feelings about.
Jax: I thought you didn’t do casual flings.
He had a point there. Casual was exactly what I was leaving it at by keeping him at a distance, especially when Friday had been anything but casual.
The more I got to know Jax, the more I wanted to let down my defenses and let him in. The more I wanted to let my defenses down, the more it scared the hell out of me, which led to raising said defenses even higher. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck.
Perla: Touché.
Then there was the whole question of my job. I wasn’t sure Vandergild would even know I had left early on Friday without his permission, since he wasn’t there either. Then again, with my luck, it could have gotten back around to him, and I’d be lucky if he didn’t fire me on the spot when I walked in the door.
Perla: Okay, dinner then.
Hopefully by dinner I would know where my head was at where Jax was concerned. I obviously couldn’t trust my heart. I’d just have to tell it to him straight, which I knew was easier said than done when he was rubbing those sensuous, masculine hands
over my body, setting my nerve endings on fire with just the slightest touch.
But one thing at a time, I thought, putting my phone away. Dealing with Jax and possibly starting a new job search were two very major things that required my full attention, and at the moment, my job was the more pressing of the two, double-entendres aside.
When I got to my floor, I marched straight past Lisette with a scowl and into Vandergild’s office. “Sir, we need to talk.” I said and closed the door behind me.
“Ms. Fae, what’s going on?” Vandergild stood from his chair with a look of confusion.
“I really hate having to bring this to you, but I feel like it’s affecting my job to a point I can no longer ignore it. There have been some things going on for the past couple of weeks that you need to know about. It has to do with Lisette,” I began, my back stiff and my neck tense, wringing my hands as I stood in front of his desk.
He motioned for me to sit down as he took a seat back in his chair. “I’m listening.”
I began quickly recounting the laundry list of mean, spiteful, and downright dirty things Lisette had done to me since my first day on the job. He listened quietly, nodding from time to time, with a hand alternating between rubbing his chin, his temple, and thrumming his fingers on his desk.
Once I got to the events that had transpired on Friday with Grayson, he was wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
“Sir, there were good reasons why I left my last job to come work for you, and one of the biggest reasons was to get away from my ex. I understand if you don’t care to hear about the sordid details of my personal life, but this is now spilling over into my work. I truly apologize for running out of here on Friday, but it was the last straw.” I bowed my head in shame as I said the last sentence. “I understand if you feel like I’m not working out here.” At that, I sat in silence as I waited for him to speak.
Without a word, Vandergild stood from his chair and stalked to the door. I thought for sure he was going to hold it open for me and ask me to leave. I had considered this as a very possible outcome, but now that it was here, dread filled my chest as a wave of panic consumed me.
Tragedy and Desire: An Adult Romance Page 10
