I scanned the handwritten message then read it again.
Abbie, meet me at O’Sullivan’s Bar on Cedar Street Sunday at three and I will explain everything. Don’t tell anyone. J
I staggered backward, my heart thumping. My hands gripped the corners so hard the corners creased.
“Good morning,” Jenny said, sounding far too cheerful for someone who had drunk so much the night before. I slid the note under the microwave.
“Hey, happy birthday, sweetie.” I hugged her tight, congratulating her but also needing her support.
“I am so looking forward to my massage.”
“I wish I was having one.”
“But I’ll see you afterwards, for lunch and the hydrotherapy pool.”
“Yeah, when you’re all relaxed we’ll all be tense.”
“You should come, now that you’re the big boss.” Jenny poured herself a cup of coffee and downed it in one go and poured a second.
“I am not the big boss, just Sam’s boss. And I haven’t had a paycheck yet, I’m broke.”
“Another time.”
We sat at the table, drinking our coffees. I used all my energy to focus on our conversation. Jenny would be able to sense if something was wrong, and no way did I want her knowing about the note. Or all the stuff that led up to the note.
“You’d better get ready, you don’t want to be late,” I said, clearing away our mugs. I tried to seem natural, like I wasn’t trying to get rid of her.
After she’d left, I pulled the note back out and read it again. Tomorrow at three. How would I ever wait so long to see him? And why did he say not to tell anyone? What possible motivation could anyone have for saying such a thing?
I stewed all day and all night. Debating whether to go and whether to tell anyone. He said not to, which automatically made me want to. But whoever I told would try to talk me out of it. Or worse, go with me. Or try to physically stop me.
My heart was desperate to see Jay. I missed him, missed the feel of his arms around me. I don’t know how I got to this point. I went looking for a one-night stand for some sexual release and ended up smitten.
Smitten but not totally stupid. I needed answers, and he was going to tell me them.
Chapter 29
I’d never actually set foot on Cedar Street before. In fact, I didn’t think I even driven down it. It wasn’t exactly the desirable part of town. I kind of wished I’d splurged on a cab. Instead I strained my neck from my seat on the bus, scanning the stores and panicking I’d miss the bar and would end up having to walk any distance in this neighborhood.
A grimy beige sign came into view, “O’Sullivan’s.” It looked like it dated back to the fifties. It was amazing the place had stayed in business all these years.
My hands connected with the wooden door, it was just as grimy looking as the sign and sticky under my touch. Inside was dim. Dark even. I’d left all the afternoon daylight outside. I squinted, my eyesight struggling to adjust.
Already on edge, I flinched when my arm was grabbed, my heart leaping into my throat.
“Abbie, I’m glad you came,” Jay said.
“Jeez, you scared me.”
“I’m sitting over here.” He guided me around a corner to a booth, with two Buds sitting on the table. The place was almost empty and smelled of old beer.
I sat, trying to touch as few surfaces as possible. I looked at him, puzzled, as he slid into the booth beside me and I shuffled along to make more room for him. Already the heat of his body was spilling into mine, and I was desperate to feel his arms around me.
Jay was wearing a T-shirt that exposed his biceps, and I clutched onto his arm, trying to calm myself. He seemed at ease. Maybe this was his neighborhood? I waited for him to start explaining, but instead he reached for his beer.
“What gives?” I asked.
Jay sucked on the lip of his bottle before sighing. He turned to me and said, “I don’t know how to explain. In a way that won’t upset you.”
“Too late. I’m already upset.”
He didn’t say anything. Instead, he put his arm around me, and I snuggled close against his torso. He took another sip of beer. A long sip, and I could hear his heartbeat from my nuzzled position.
“It’s okay, just tell me. I won’t freak, I promise.” I gave him a squeeze, to try to reinforce my words, though I didn’t know how I was going to react. The whole situation was freaky. Unless he was building it up. Overblowing it, whatever it was. It was possible not knowing what it was caused greater anxiety than if he just told me. I decided not to say anything else, to wait until he spoke. I waited some time.
“There’s something going on, and I can’t let anyone see or know I have any contact with you,” he said. I straightened. “But it’s okay, I bought you a disposable cell phone to call me with. I even managed to program my number in.”
My eyebrows knitted together. “What does it matter if we have any contact? Who would care?”
“It’s too difficult to explain right now.”
“Okay…” Maybe he was a spy, though why would he be a spy? More like an undercover cop, but no cop could afford that watch or to spend thousands on a corset. Once again I arrived at criminal, but I didn’t want to believe it. He was not giving me that vibe. But now, how was I wrapped up with a guy who couldn’t be seen with me? I shook my head and dismissed all my worries as a part of my paranoia after Matt.
“It’s only for a couple of weeks, until I can sort out an arrangement. Don’t worry. It’s nothing to worry about. Trust me.”
He reached around me with his other arm, and I twisted in the booth to be enveloped in as much of him as possible. I inhaled his clean scent and let his touch comfort me.
“I’ve missed you,” I said.
“Beautiful, I’ve missed you too. More than you could ever know. Just sitting here with you is making me crazy.” Whenever he called me beautiful, my insides popped. I’d come here to get answers, to give him the third degree. Above all, I’d intended to resist him. To not let him charm me. I was to be in control, but my desire was controlling me.
Our closeness was too much to bear. I looked up at him, and couldn’t restrain myself any longer. Neither could he. Our mouths joined with all the built-up passion of the past few days.
I struggled to explore him within the constraints of the booth but that didn’t stop me. My hands flew over him, across his shoulders, down his arms, around his waist. I was desperate for more of him.
My hands roved over his hard body, down his thighs straining within his tight jeans. His hands found their way underneath my top and fumbled to undo my bra. Unhooked, it hung loose, my breasts heavy behind it. He palmed my tits and kneaded them, causing both the hardening of my nipples and the moistening of my pussy.
I reached for his crotch. His cock was hard, ready for me. In my frantic rush I struggled to undo the button of his jeans. Once opened, I rammed my hand underneath the elastic of his boxers, latched my fingers around his swollen member and tugged.
His cock grew larger under my touch, and I needed more of it. The fixed table of the booth prevented much movement on my part. There wasn’t enough space to sit on his lap. The seat wasn’t wide enough to allow room for my body while I leaned over to suck his cock. I could get it tantalizingly close but never close enough to get my tongue on it.
The more I tried, the more I wanted it. I forgot my surroundings. The decades of filth and grime vanished, and I contorted my body until I’d squeezed myself onto the floor, rewarded when my lips firmly wrapped around his cock.
I licked and sucked his shaft but the table was still preventing me from bobbing my head up and down over him the way I wanted. I worked around, resting the side of my head on his thigh and rolling his cock in and out of me. The entire time my pussy grew hungrier, and I ground my pussy against my heel, stimulating my clit and moving closer and closer to climax.
Jay’s hips urged his cock up and down, in and out of my mouth. I worked my mouth har
der, my tongue licking left and right under the shaft. Jay matted his hands through my hair, and cum shot into my mouth. On the second burst of cum, an orgasm radiated up from the filth of the floor and flooded through my body.
After I’d extracted the last of the cum from him I relaxed my body. For the first time, I noticed the ancient mosaic of gum plastered over the underside of the table. I didn’t want to look down to discover what I was kneeling on.
Suddenly eager to get out from under there, I shimmied and crawled backward out of the side of the booth. Jay did up his jeans while I stood beside the booth. He hadn’t moved over to give me any room to sit beside him.
He stood, placing his hands on my arms. “I have to go, I was supposed to be gone by now,” he hesitated, a half smile on his face, “but you distracted me. You leave first. We can’t be seen leaving together.”
As quickly as his cum had filled me with reassurance, his words sucked it all out again. I watched, stunned, as he nodded me to the door. I fled the bar, fortunate enough to find a taxi right outside.
It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I’d left the disposable cell phone at the bar.
Chapter 30
On Monday, I struggled to push my meeting with Jay from my mind. I couldn’t mess up my new position and jeopardize losing it, along with my condo and everything else. Since my parents died when I was a teenager, I’d been determined to have a good career. To make it on my own without needing help from anyone, because there was no one to get help from. Now all my hard work was paying off, and I wasn’t about to blow it. My entire life was riding on it.
By the time I’d had my meeting with Richard on Wednesday, my whirring mind had slowed enough to allow me to focus on filling spreadsheets with numbers.
Richard seemed impressed with my insights and supportive of my vision for reporting, which reinforced my confidence in my abilities. If I didn’t have the issue with Jay distracting me I could really shine.
Every once in a while I’d stop to beat myself up for leaving the cell phone in the bar. I’d tried calling the bar, but no one picked up and after a time I stopped calling. I trusted Jay, and respected his instructions not to contact him, my heart still leapt every time my phone chimed. But there had been no word from him.
“You’re coming tonight or are you seeing your man?” Sam asked on Friday afternoon.
“No, I’m not seeing him. I’m definitely coming. Lord knows I need a drink.”
Her face dropped. “You mean you’re not seeing him tonight or not seeing him ever?”
“Just not tonight,” I said. My lips formed a tight smile, and she studied my face then walked away. ‘Was I seeing him’ was a question I’d been trying not to ask myself all week.
* * *
As I took the first sip of margarita on Friday, I could no longer avoid thinking about Jay. What were the chances a silver envelope would be waiting for me in my front hall when I got home? Or better yet, find Jay’s car parked out front with him sitting in it?
A few hours and a few margaritas later, Sam was getting ready to leave but Jenny and I protested. I guess neither of us wanted to stop the partying. Her milestone birthday had finally hit Jenny, and while last week had been a celebration, this week she wanted to drown her sorrows. I had my own reasons for wanting to party. Namely, I knew in my heart I wouldn’t hear from Jay this evening.
Jenny plunked three more drinks on the table, and Sam, for the moment, was obliged to stay. The crowd was thinning out, but the bar hadn’t yet turned up the music and switched to dance mode. It was the lull between the post-work crowd and the late-night party crowd. A time to relax and order our usual extra spicy chicken wings that would give us the energy to make it through the night.
Our table was near the front, and Sam and I sat side by side facing the door and Jenny sat in a chair with her back to the door. I stretched around in my chair, looking at the bar and squinting to read the special of the day when Sam grabbed me and clutched my top so hard she scratched my skin.
“Ouch! What are you doing?” I said turning back to her.
As my head twisted back around, I froze. Calvin. Please don’t see us. Before I’d finished my silent plea, he had zeroed in on us and was marching straight to our table.
“What’s going on?” Jenny asked, turning to see what we were looking at.
“It’s our nightmare ex-boss, Calvin,” I hissed.
“What do we do?” Sam asked.
Before I had a chance to respond, Calvin had reached our table and stood, nostrils flaring, at the edge of our table. His eyes bore into me, and I wanted to sink under the table.
“There she is,” he said, his voice seething with anger, “the little whore who fucks her way to the top.”
“Whatever, Calvin. Get lost,” Sam said. How did she manage to make her voice sound so calm?
“You keep quiet,” he said, his failed attempt at pointing his finger at Sam revealing his level of intoxication.
“Whatever. Get lost,” Sam repeated.
Calvin slammed his fist down on our table, sending ripples through our drinks. I moved back in my chair, distancing myself from him. He leaned low across the table, bringing himself to my eye level as he glared at me.
“You fucking tell your boyfriend to pay up, slut. He’s not offering me enough.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Sam snapped.
I was in too much shock to say anything.
He turned his head to her. “What? You mean you don’t know?”
“Know what?” Sam asked.
“Know who she’s fucking.”
“Nobody noteworthy,” she said.
Calvin’s laugh ripped through the entire bar. “Well, thank you, Sam. You’ve been a big help.” He turned his attention back to me. “You are going to pay.”
“Leave her alone!” Jenny yelled.
A huge man appeared beside Calvin. “Is this man bothering you?” he asked.
“Yes!” Sam and Jenny shouted in unison.
Without saying another word, the bouncer grabbed Calvin by the collar and frog marched him out the front door. The bouncer came back to our table. “Sorry about that, ladies. We’ll make sure he doesn’t get back in here.”
“What the fuck was that all about?” Sam asked. My pulse pounded hard in my ears and I struggled to hear her.
What did it mean? I had no idea. What boyfriend was he talking about? What on earth did he mean by accusing me of sleeping my way to the top? Or of my boyfriend not offering him enough money?
“You’re coming home with me tonight,” Jenny said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because he probably knows where you live! Or if he doesn’t, he could follow you home. Attack you on the street. Who knows what he’ll do. He seems unhinged.”
I started shaking. The idea hadn’t even occurred to me. I’d always thought Calvin was an idiot, but I’d never imagined he was capable of what he’d done tonight.
“Thanks, but I’m sure it’s fine. Calvin would never do anything.”
“You need to phone Jay right this minute, tell him what happened. Ask him what he’s got to do with Calvin,” Sam said, poking my shoulder.
Jay had told me not to contact him. I wanted to respect that, God, I’d been respecting that all week no matter how much I’d wanted to talk to him. Did Jay even know who Calvin was? Would he be angry if I contacted him? I didn’t want to ruin anything.
I weighed up the options and said, “I’ll text him.”
“You don’t look convinced. What’s going on, Abbie? I know you, I know that look,” Jenny said.
“It’s nothing, you’re a little drunk,” I said, trying to dismiss her.
Hey, my old boss just verbally attacked me in the bar and said a bunch of shit about you.
As soon as I hit send, I started typing again.
Sorry for contacting you
I gave Jenny and Sam an exaggerated smile in an attempt to reassure them, but I held onto my ph
one underneath the table. I would feel the vibration and be sure not to miss any text back from Jay.
“Here, ladies,” the barman said depositing another round of drinks on our table. “On the house, for your troubles.”
“Why thank you,” Jenny said, helping him take the drinks from his tray.
We downed the dregs of our existing drinks and gave him our empty glasses. Then we picked up our new drinks. With one hand under the table on my phone, I gripped the cool glass with my other hand. Jenny and Sam each took several big drinks, but after Calvin I needed to be sober.
My phone vibrated in my hand and my heart raced. Was it Jay, and would he be mad at me?
Go to the Four Seasons in one hour. Tell the desk your name, a key card will be waiting for you. J
I shot back.
Okay, see you soon
“Was that Jay? What did he say?” Jenny asked when I looked up from my phone.
“He wants to meet up in an hour.”
In a moment of soberness, Jenny clasped my hand and said, “You need to be careful. Promise me. Something isn’t right.”
I ignored the comment, and they went back to drinking. The whole time my mind was racing, faster than it had all week. What was Calvin talking about? Why was Jay hiding from me?
I kept looking at the clock on my phone. Every minute, it seemed. Like it was the last day of school before summer break. When forty-five minutes had passed, I set the phone down and stood.
“I don’t want to be late,” I said.
“We’re going to walk you there in case you run into Calvin on the street,” Sam said.
“And you have to text me later so I know you’re okay,” Jenny added.
“Fine, let’s go,” I said.
Chapter 31
Billionaire's Secret: The Complete Series Page 10
