Rose pulled back with a smile. “Yes it has. Now let’s go eat and you can tell me all the mischief you’ve been up to.”
Jace laughed as he led the way into the restaurant and grabbed them a booth. “There isn’t much to tell. I’ve been working and doing chores.”
Rose gave him a mock glare. “You know what I mean. You have two books published but what else? Is there anything pending, being written or reviewed?”
Jace grinned wickedly. “Oh, that’s what you were asking about. Yes, Mama, there is a book pending and another one in the works. Being in the mountains really helps with my writing. It relaxes me.”
After a short pause to order their meal of a burger and fries for Jace and a Grilled Chicken Alfredo for Rose, he spoke again, “What have you been up to? Has Natalia run you ragged for the winter crunch time?” he joked.
Rose sighed. “I actually wish she was. Natalia is exhausted. ” She went on when she noticed Jace’s concerned look, “There’s a push from the big boss to get these shipments out and she’s doing everything on her own to get it right. I’ve tried getting her to delegate some of the work but she won’t. I went behind her back and talked to the VPs and employees and they agreed to help out. Now, I just have to convince her to go on vacation.”
Jace frowned. “That’s not all of it. What’s eating at you, Mama?”
“She’s been staying late into the night the last few weeks and this morning, I got her to promise to leave within an hour of me leaving. I have a feeling she’s still there.”
At this news, Jace raised a dark brow. “Did she actually say she promised, or did she just repeat the rest?”
Rose thought over the conversation, her mouth dropping in shock, as Jace laughed. “I can’t believe I was tricked. That girl! I swear sometimes, she can’t be left to care for herself. But I don’t want her to know that I know she tricked me. At the same time, I want to stop by the office on my way home to see if she’s still there, to see if she’s ok.”
Jace covered one of her hands with his. “I’ll stop by Mama. It’s been too long since I saw her last anyway.”
Rose sighed with relief. “Thank you, son. I appreciate it.”
The mother and son duo spent the next hour eating and talking before Rose yawned. “I’m sorry, Jace. I didn’t think I was so tired,” she said as they got up from their seats and then headed towards the door, pausing long enough to pay.
“Don’t worry about it, Mama, I should be going anyway. I will see if Natalia is still working and then head home. Do you want me to give you a lift?” Jace peered down at her, brow raised in question.
“No, son, you should get going. I know the weather gets unpredictable in the mountains this time of year. Don’t want to chance a road being out or a landslide of some sort before you can get home. Considering that—on second thought, you really don’t need to check on Natalia. I can call her and see if she went home.”
Jace raised a hand to halt her rambling. “First, I’ll be fine, Mama. If the roads are out, I’ll come crash at your place for a few days until they’re cleared. Second, I already told you I’d check on her and I’m going to. Like I said before, it’s been too long since I saw her last.”
“All right, but you be careful. Call me when you leave the office and let me know when you get home. I don’t care what time it is,” Rose replied as she pulled Jace’s face down to kiss his cheek.
“I will, don’t you worry.” He stepped forward to hail a cab.
“I’m your mother. It’s my job to worry,” she replied with a laugh as she climbed into the cab.
~*~*~
Jace watched the cab drive out of sight before he turned around and headed a block over to get his truck. It was a beast of a machine. Raised up to be able to fight the snow and ice on the mountain and fully equipped to tow trucks. And it was all his.
Pulling a quick U-turn, he headed towards Natalia’s office. The drive passed quickly as thoughts and memories of the early years spent with Natalia raced through his mind. Upon arriving at the office, he pushed the thoughts out of his head and climbed out pulling the collar up on his coat as a chilly gust of air traveled across his neck. The blast of heat as he entered the building was a nice welcome.
He nodded to the security guards he’d met on several occasions, as he headed through the dim lobby toward the elevators. The ride up seemed quick. He stepped off the elevator and became aware of just how late it was. The office was eerily quiet with no one around. He passed dark offices and a dimly lit break area as he walked closer to Natalia’s office. At first, it looked dark like the other offices until he saw the light coming from Natalia’s doorway but didn’t hear anything.
“Natty?” Jace called as he neared the door but paused when he spotted her hunched over her desk. He darted across the room and dropped to his knees beside her. A breath he didn’t notice he was holding escaped when he realized she was sleeping. Studying her face, he noticed her pale color and the bags under her eyes, all signs of her exhaustion.
Cursing, he pushed up off the floor and strode out of the office until he was halfway down the hall. He pulled his cell from his pocket. Dialing the number from memory, he put the phone to his ear and waited for the ringing to be answered.
“Hello?” Rose answered.
“Mama, why didn’t you tell me it was this bad? She’s losing weight like she always does when she puts too much on herself. She’s pale and the bags under her eyes are hard to miss!” Jace snapped.
Rose sighed. “I’ve tried to get her to work less or take time off, but she won’t.”
Jace sighed heavily and cursed. After a moment, a thought popped into his head and before he could second think it, he replied, “She won’t have a choice. When she wakes up, she’ll be too far away to walk back.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m taking her home with me. If she won’t take care of herself, then I’m going to. She doesn’t have a choice. Mama, can you put together some of her clothes for a few weeks?”
Rose laughed. “You know she’s going to get mad at you. But knowing you, it doesn’t matter. Yes, I still have a key to her place. I’ll get her a bag together.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry for snapping,” Jace said when the guilt set in.
“It’s all right, son. I know you care about Natalia, so it’s understandable. I’ll see you two in a bit.”
Jace flipped his phone closed and stalked back into Natalia’s office. Careful not to wake her, he gathered her purse and anything that looked important and set it on the edge of the desk. He eased her back in the chair and wrapped his jacket around her. Slipping his arms under her knees and behind her back, he lifted her slight weight into his arms, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. He managed to grab the bag and small stack of papers from her desk. Once he was sure Natalia was secured, he headed out of the office.
When they arrived in the lobby, Jace was stopped by security. “What’s going on here? What are you doing with Miss Natalia?” One security officer questioned.
“She’s worked herself into exhaustion. I’m taking her home to make her take a much needed vacation,” he replied calmly.
The second guard nodded. “I know Miss Rose has been worried about her. I wish you luck on getting her to cooperate, Mr. Jace.”
“Thank you gentlemen. Have a good night.” He headed through the lobby.
CHAPTER FOUR
Smooth pavement gave way to snow covered gravel and the vehicle’s once gentle rocking became a harsh bounce, waking Natalia from her much needed sleep. She shot up in her seat and jerked her head around towards the driver’s seat. Her mouth dropped open when she realized who was driving. “Jace? What’s going on?” She glanced out through the windshield in confusion; heavy snow on the road just ahead of them was all that seemed visible through the darkness. “Where are we?”
“We’re about thirty miles from my house. And you’re going on vacation.” He gave her a quick glance, then returned his eyes
to the snowy road.
“What are you talking about? I can’t take a vacation right now. I have too much work to do. Please turn the truck around.”
“Nope,” Jace replied, popping the ‘p’ as a sign of irritation.
“What the hell? I need my job. I’ll get fired if I don’t show up. I haven’t even called in or asked for vacation,” she tried again.
“You’re so exhausted, you can barely sit up. You’ve lost weight and you’re sickly pale. You need rest. Your coworkers are finishing up the rest of the work and you will be taking the next few weeks off.” Jace’s jaw visibly clenched.
“How would you know if I’m pale or lost weight? I haven’t seen you in more than just passing, for quite some time now. You don’t know anything about me!” Natalia snapped back.
Jace slowed the truck to a stop and pulled off the road. He turned in his seat, eyes burning in anger. “No, I don’t know much about you anymore, but that’s not only my fault. I do know your habits because they’re still the same as when we were close.” He seemed to be working himself up into a full rage as he snarled at her. Memories of when she did this while they were still friends, resurfaced. He remembered all the hospital visits from her collapsing in exhaustion, the fear he felt that she wouldn’t get better and the anger he had at himself for not helping her more. “You work yourself into the ground because you worry too much about putting an employee on the spot to get shit done. So instead, you work until you get so sick you can’t function, you’ve lost an unhealthy amount a weight because you forget to eat and live on coffee.” He emphasized the words carefully to show how ridiculous she was being.
She remained quiet as she stared at him.
Jace ran his hand through his hair, tugging on it to try and resist strangling the frustrating woman next to him as he plowed on, “Then, you lose any color you had because you work all day and never go out in the sun, because you haven’t rested which prevents your body from recharging. You have your coworkers worried about you and worse—you have my Mom worried about you.” His glare sharpened with that last comment. “Since apparently, you can’t use the common sense God gave a goose to take time off, you’re being given time off and I’m taking you home with me, so I can take care of you.” Jace’s voice sounded almost like a rough growl by the end.
Natalia blinked in shock at the tirade. From what she remembered, Jace rarely yelled and he’d never raised his voice at her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat as several tears make their way down her cheek.
He cursed gruffly before offering an apology, “I’m sorry I shouted at you, but you have so many people who have been worried about you and want to help. You just don’t see it.”
“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to worry anyone. I guess a vacation would be best. There’s just one problem.”
“And what’s that?” Jace asked in a tone sharper than he meant.
“I don’t have any clothes.”
Jace laughed, breaking the tension. “Mama packed you a bag. You’re good.”
“She was in on this?” Natalia asked, dumbfounded.
Jace smirked, “She’d already talked to your coworkers before we had dinner. She was trying to figure out a plan to get you to go on vacation.”
“Wait—if y’all had dinner, then how did I end up in your truck?”
Jace shrugged, hiding a smirk when he noticed she’d dropped her prissy CEO talk and was letting the old Natalia out. “We had dinner and you came up as topic. Mama was worried when she realized you talked around a promise to rest, she intends to get you for that by the way, so I promised to come check on you. I arrived and you were asleep. I called Mama and told her I was taking you to my house.”
“Well then, onward James,” Natalia responded with a shake of her head.
Jace snorted and pulled back onto the road towards home.
~*~*~
It was late when they pulled up in from of Jace’s house, so Natalia couldn’t make out very much. She reached to open her door but it was opened for her.
“I’m going to carry you to the door. The snow is pretty deep and I don’t think your heels will be much use for traction.” The explanation was offered even as he was lifting her easily into his arms.
Wrapping her arms around his neck in surprise, she held on as he walked confidently across the yard. Snow crunched under his boots. She expected him to put her down, but instead he simply shifted her in his arms to dig his keys from his pocket.
Natalia clung to him as he unlocked the door and she couldn’t help but think of how strong he was. This wasn’t the boy she used to know. This was a fully-grown, sexy man. And she was going to be alone with him for days.
He carried her through the house and into the darkened room before placing her on the bed. “You can use this room. It’s late. I’ll go get your bag, then see you in the morning. There’s a bathroom over there by the closet, it’s yours and the kitchen is down the hall to the right if you get hungry or need a drink. My room is next door if you need anything.” He went back out through the door, closing it behind him.
Natalia sighed as she lay back on the bed. She still felt tired but she wanted to see the rest of the house. “I’ll just rest my eyes until Jace gets back. Then, I’ll go look around.”
~*~*~
Jace rested his head against the truck and took a deep breath. Seeing Natalia lying on the bed brought up all his fantasies from over the years. Carrying her just added to them, because now he knew how she felt curled up in his arms, stirring feelings he’d thought he buried long ago. Get it together. This was your idea. Get her bag, give it to her, then you can avoid her for the next few days. Instead of freezing your ass off out here. You’ll get enough of that with all the cold showers you’re gonna need.
He reached into the truck and grabbed her suitcase. He hurried back across the yard, into the house, closing the door with a kick of his boot and headed down the hall. Upon entering Natalia’s room, he froze with a sense of déjà vu.
She lay there asleep, looking so sweet.
Setting her bag down by the bed, Jace reached down and pulled off her heels. He managed to get her off the blankets and under them without waking her. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams, love. I missed you.” Easing back, he stared at her for a moment then left the room, pulling the door closed behind him.
CHAPTER FIVE
For several days, Jace was able to avoid Natalia except for meals. He told her where everything was, ate his meals then returned to his room with the excuse of a deadline for his book, leaving only once to get enough groceries to last a month for four people.
It wasn’t a complete lie, he was writing but his deadline was a ways off and he could relax some. The ringing of his phone broke his concentration. Grabbing it up, he gave a terse greeting, “Hello?”
“Did I call at a bad time?” came Rose’s confused reply.
Jace scrubbed his hand over his face, then answered in a calmer tone, “No, Mama, I was caught up in the book. What can I do for you?”
“Well for one, you can tell me why you took Natalia with you to take care of her, if you were just going to lock yourself away in your room,” Rose popped off.
“I got caught up in the book. I’d planned to only take a day while she slept, but it’s been flowing well, so I decided to stick with it. Besides, my deadline is coming up and I don’t want to feel rushed to make it.” Jace’s rambling was par for the course when he lied to his mother, but he wasn’t about to tell her the truth. He couldn’t look at Natalia without responding like a horny teenager.
“I know you’re lying. I think you got yourself alone with the woman you still love and only just realized it when it was too late to bring her back. And the only way you could figure out not telling her or acting on it was to hide away. I thought I raised a man not a mouse,” Rose retorted.
“That’s not fair, Mama. She walked out on me. She ended the friendship and never tried to re
concile when I broke it off with Roxanne,” Jace snapped back.
“Don’t take that tone with me, young man. You may not be a little boy anymore, but I can still stick whip you. It went both ways. Yes, she should have explained things better but you should’ve tried harder. But that is between you two,” Rose chastised then continued in a more worried tone, “I mainly called to tell you there’s a bad storm headed your way. The weatherman is calling for several feet of snow. Do you have everything you need?”
“Yes, Ma’am, we do. I bought enough food for four people just in case something came up. And there is plenty of wood and blankets. If the power goes out, we can camp out in the living room.”
“All right. I wanted to be sure. I know how difficult it is to get those roads cleared. You’ll be stuck up there for a while…” Rose hesitated.
“We’re fine, Mama.”
“I love you, son.”
“Love you too, Mama.” He ended the call. Groaning in frustration, he tossed his phone on the bed and leaned back in his chair. He hated arguing with his mother about his feelings for Natalia. It always brought up memories of the day she stopped being his friend. He thought about what happened and tried to see it from both sides. Yes, he stalked her for several days but after that, he gave up. Why did he do that? They were inseparable before Roxanne, and then they just quit?
Jace thought long and hard before he realized he did it to protect himself. He was in love with his best friend and dating a woman he thought he loved but who hated Natalia. He could still hear the conversation he had with Roxanne after Natalia left.
He tried calling Natalia back but couldn’t get the words to come out before she was gone. He raced for the drive only for his mother to call after him.
“Jace? Wait!”
He turned to face Rose and shouted back, “I have to catch Natalia! I need to know what happened, what Roxanne said.”
Stranded With a Billionaire Boxed Set Page 4
