by Lexy Timms
She laughed and wrapped her arms around him. "You always smell good. What's got you in a good mood?"
"Actually, I'm not in a good mood at all. I was so stressed an hour ago that I started to have chest pains." He moved back and walked to the window, glancing out. "I hate all this attention from the press. It gets on my damn nerves. I wasn't kidding the other day when I said that I wasn't interested in being in the spotlight. I want to run my company, love my girl, and live my life. This constant bombardment of shit in the news gets old."
"I know." She moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around him again, pressing her cheek to his strong back. "I missed you last night. I kept hoping you would come home to me."
"I did come home, but I made the mistake of sitting on the couch for a few minutes to pet Jake. I was out before I knew that hit me. Next thing I know, my alarm’s going off. I got about three hours of sleep, which is probably draining me too." He pressed his hands to his face and let out a long yawn as Jamie moved around to his front and touched the side of his face.
"You can't keep pushing yourself like this. Let me know what I can do to help, Alex." She brushed her thumb over his lip, loving the way he looked in person so much more than the superficial sex god on the magazine. The worry lines by the sides of his eyes and soft curve of his lip made him more real, authentic, and attractive than a guy with a paintbrush ever could.
"I'll pull some of the stuff off my list today and hand it over to you. I'll take you up on the offer for some help." He ran his hands over her hips and smiled. "Come in my office when you have a few minutes. I want some time with you before this day takes off."
"Time with me?" She lifted her eyebrow, liking the sound of his offer far more than she should.
"Always." He kissed her nose and disappeared into his office through their connected door.
A warm shiver ran through her, and she stifled a groan. The thought of having him to herself was delicious, and teased every part of her. She thought about checking her e-mail or voice mails and then heading into his office, but something would steal him away if she didn't grab him up first. It always did.
After opening her door, she walked through their shared door and locked it behind her. "Tell Kristen to hold your calls for the next thirty minutes or so. Yeah?"
"Yeah." He got up and walked to the door, calling out to Kristen before turning and locking his door. "Paul's been up there a lot lately. Is it just me, or is something going on? I thought Kristen was seeing my brother."
Confusion swam across his handsome face as he moved toward her.
She reached up and tugged on his tie. "Go sit in your chair. We'll talk about office issues later."
"Yes, ma'am." He watched her for a few more minutes before growling softly and turning to walk toward his desk.
Jamie waited until he was sitting down to walk toward him, keeping her posture relaxed, but holding her chin up just a little. His eyes widened as she licked at her top lip seductively. The fact that she could turn on a man like him was addictive, and helped to reinforce that he might be the Alex Reid, but underneath the money he was a hot-blooded guy who enjoyed a long night with a good woman.
"Damn, you're hot." He moved back and turned to face her as he reclined in his big leather chair.
"I'm all yours." She reached down and gripped his thighs tightly before moving down between them onto her knees.
"Yeah, you are." He slid his fingers into her hair and pulled her close with a quick jerking motion. "Forever."
"That's not nearly long enough." She licked his lips before pressing hers to his and running her fingers down his thigh and over the large bulge between his legs.
He groaned against her lips and leaned back, reaching to undo his pants and pull down the zipper. "I've been envisioning this moment since we talked about it."
Jamie nodded and tugged at his slacks, slipping them and his tight black underwear over his hips and half way down his thighs as his cock sprang from its cage. She reached up and stroked him a few times, loving how he verbalized his desires without inhibition.
"Taste me, Jamie." He touched the side of her face, tugging softly as her jaw. "Let me watch."
"Please do," she whispered and moved up, swirling her tongue around the meaty head of his cock before sucking on it softly.
He grunted and wrapped his hand around her hair, pulling her down to take more of him. She responded to his need, letting him take over and work himself in and out of her as he made sweet sounds of ecstasy.
"I'm so close," he breathed out, and held her in place as she looked up and locked gazes with him. Her tongue swirled around the top of him, teasing as he clenched his teeth together and gave her a warning look. "Not yet. I want more."
A knock at the door caused her to pull back.
"Alex. We need you. It's an emergency!" Kristen's voice was high-pitched and full of panic.
"Shit." Jamie got up and walked to the door, pausing as Alex pulled himself together and buttoned his jacket.
"Damn it! This had better be good. The building better be burning down." Alex let out an angry huff and moved past Jamie out into the hall. The sound of yelling was enough to cause her chest to fill with anxiety. The fact that it sounded like Paul and Mark made it worse.
Alex walked into their office and slammed the door behind him, leaving Jamie to stand at the closed door to try to figure out if she should go in or not. She glanced over her shoulder at Kristen. "What the hell happened?"
"I honestly don't know. Everything was fine a minute ago, and then Mark came up to the front and asked Paul if he could have word with him. Paul followed him back here, and that's when the yelling started. Something about a project they were working on together, but both of them just seem so much more upset about it than they should." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave a confused look.
"They're both interested in you. It's causing issues here at the office. Surely you know that." Jamie turned to face Kristen, trying to keep her voice even and not at all accusatory. Maybe the girl was as innocent as she looked.
"What? No way." She shook her head. "Mark told me a few weeks ago that he wasn't looking for anything serious. We've just been friends after that."
"And Paul? Not that it's honestly any of my business." Jamie pressed her hand to her forehead and rubbed softly. It wasn't her business, and her pushing some unfounded agenda onto Kristen as if the girl were trying to play two men was as bad as the press calling her a horny maid.
"No, it's okay." Kristen jumped as someone hit the wall. "Paul's interested, but I'm not sure how I feel. We're just friends for now. I keep telling him to stop hanging around my desk so much. I know it has to look bad. Maybe you or Alex could say something to him. He's a nice guy, and I like him, but I honestly don't want to be causing any trouble. That's the last thing I want. I'm just filling in until you guys can find someone else."
"We'll talk to him." Jamie reached out and squeezed the shorter woman's arm. "I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this. I'm sure you know that men can be idiots."
"Far more than I care to discuss." She gave a sad smile, and the brief history that Alex had shared about Kristen moved through Jamie's memory. The poor girl had been through hell in her younger years.
The door opened in front of them, and Kristen and Jamie took a step back.
"Paul. With me, please." Alex walked out and gave Jamie a quick look before turning and walking to his office. Paul didn't look at anyone as he followed Alex down the hall.
"We'll talk more about it later. Just get back to work, and everything’ll be fine." Jamie smiled.
"Okay. You know we have about ten women who've sent in unsolicited resumes for the secretary job. Some of them have dropped them off. How do you want to handle those?" She took a step back as if ready to get back to her desk.
"I'll grab them from you in a few minutes and review them. After I weed through them, we'll have Alex review them, and then you can call the candidates and invite them to
come in for a first round of interviews."
"Perfect, and Jamie, I'm sorry if I caused any trouble. I honestly didn't mean to. I try to run far from drama. I promise." She shrugged and turned around to walk back to the front. Jamie couldn't help but notice the slight downward curve of her shoulders.
"Hey." Jamie walked into Mark's office and shut the door. "That didn't go too well."
"Hell no, it didn't! I don't know what came over me." He growled and ran his hands through his hair. " Paul and I have been working on this project for a few days now, but it's just not coming together. I've done my part, and instead of finishing up his part, his ass is up front, dicking around with Kristen. It's getting old."
"And this has nothing to do with the—"
"Yes," he barked. "It has everything to do with it."
"Okay. Well, calm down and we'll figure it out." She walked toward him as he grabbed his keys.
"I need some air. I'm going to walk around outside for a bit.”
“Alex tell you to cool down?”
He moved past her and paused at the door. "Yeah. You wanna come?"
She glanced at her office. She had a million things to do. What would Alex want her to do? Not as a boyfriend but as a boss? “Let me grab my coat and I'll meet you at the front."
"I’ll be outside. I'm not hanging out in the lobby and watching that shit anymore." He walked out and left her standing there. It was the first time she'd seen Mark put any real emotion on display other than sadness.
"Wow." She walked to the front and stopped by Kristen's desk. "If Alex asks where I am, I've gone to lunch with his brother. Okay?"
"You bet. I'll put these resumes on your desk too." She nodded and got up to walk down the hall. The chalkiness of her skin left Jamie's heart aching for the situation between her, Mark, and Paul. All of them were good people, and yet they were getting wound up in something that would wreck them all if they weren't careful.
She got downstairs to find Mark pacing back and forth in front of the building.
"You ready?" She touched his shoulder as he jerked around.
"Yeah. I'm sorry." He glanced up at the tall building or Alex’s office. "I swear I'm turning into my father."
"It's alright. We all have a breaking point. You just found yours." She walked out onto the busy sidewalk with him, wishing she could talk with Alex for a minute or two. Paul was a great guy too. She prayed like hell that Alex wasn’t lighting into him too badly.
Mark stopped in front of the entrance to the city mall and slid his hands into his pockets. "You know what? I’m think I’m calling in today for a personal day. I'm not in the mood for company and I’ll be useless to work now. Are you going to be pissed if I just head home? I need to go for a run or something."
"No, not at all." She turned to face him and tried to ignore the multitudes of people trying to move past them.
"Thanks. I just need some time to myself." The look on his face broke her heart.
"No problem. I'm going to shop around during my lunch break. You go ahead, but call me later tonight and let me know you're okay."
"I will, and tell Alex not to be too rough on Paul. He's a great guy. Things just got out of control, which is probably my fault." He shrugged, and walked away before she could get a chance to reply.
It was a tough situation and everyone involved deserved a free pass on their part in it. She would talk to Alex later, but for the next little bit she planned on finding something sexy to wear for him. She'd force him to go out of town with her sooner or later. Teasing him with a lacy and rather translucent nightie might just help the cause.
Maybe it was a good thing that Mark needed some time to himself. She did too.
Chapter 8
Alex didn’t make it home that night but it was getting to be the norm, and after the craziness of the day, she didn’t blame him. Jamie fell asleep on the couch, watching reruns with Jake tucked against her chest. He’d sent her a text somewhere around midnight to say he needed to find additional help at the firm or talk about Mark taking a bigger position at the company. Something had to give. She didn’t argue. Where she wasn't overly concerned with Alex spending time with anyone other than her, the fact remained that he was only human. He was going to run himself completely into the ground if he wasn't careful.
She spent the early morning hours thinking about his business and toll it was taking on him. He’d made his millions, and his billions. What more did he need? It was fair to want to continue to have a successful company, but if he didn’t slow down he wasn’t going to be able to enjoy it.
He’d mentioned yesterday that he was having chest pains, and it worried her. Hopefully it was indigestion, but anxiety could cause it as well.
She tried to think through how she was going to talk him into stepping back or even down a little. It seemed like climbing a mountain backwards in the snow would be easier. She chuckled at the thought.
Jake jumped around her feet as she worked to get him a bowl of food before heading into the office. The paper was just outside the front door, and whereas she would usually ignore it, the picture on the front caught her attention.
Billionaire's fiancée playing the field?
"What the hell?" She knelt down and picked it up as nausea raced through the center of her chest. A picture of her and Mark at the park having what looked like a lover’s rendezvous was front page news. "No fucking way."
She tucked the paper under her arm and got in the car as she tried to talk herself out of going back into the house and crawling into bed. Could nothing go right?
Her phone buzzed and she answered it, knowing that it would be Mark or Alex.
Mark.
Good.
"Hey." She pressed the button to put him on speaker. No reason to almost crash her car again.
"Oh fuck, Jamie. I told you they were going do this shit. Unbelievable. Alex has his door shut, and Kristen said that he's not talking with anyone until he talks with you."
"Really?" She let out a soft huff. "I swear I'm not going to survive this life. I just want simplicity."
"We all do." Mark chuckled. "Well, one good thing about it is that they got my good side in the picture. You... uhh… they could have photo-shopped it a little."
She laughed, unable to help herself. "Alright. I'm headed into the office now. Just steer clear of Alex so that I can explain myself what happened first."
"Not a problem. I'm headed into a meeting that should last most of the morning. Good luck."
"Thanks. I think I’m going to need it."
She valeted the car, though it wouldn't have taken her more than fifteen minutes to park and walk into the building. It seemed like time was of the essence, and having Alex believe for one more minute than necessary that she and Mark were seeing him behind his back was not an option.
She jogged to the elevator and tapped her foot as it moved up to her floor incredibly slowly. It had to have stopped on every floor before getting to hers. She walked out to catch Kristen's eye, and held up her hand. "I know. I've already been told. Thanks." She knocked once and opened his door, slipping in and pressing her back to the closed door behind her. "It's not what you think."
"I know it's not. I'm just tired from all of this shit." He tossed the paper onto his desk. "I don't like how they made you two look so comfortable in the photo. I just want to know what the hell the papers think this has to do with my business. My personal life is my own. It’s not about you. I know you love me."
"More than anything else in my whole life." She dropped her stuff by the door and walked to him as he stood up. “The media is a vicious pack of dogs. You’re the superhero hometown boy who went from rags to riches. They see me as the money-hungry monster. If people who read this shit believe it, they’ll just find more ways to find it.”
Alex sighed. “I know. And saying anything just feeds the pack of raging dogs.”
“So we ignore it.” It was going to be hard, but she would try her best.
“U
nless it hurts the business.”
Not your fiancée? “Yes, unless it hurts the company.” She blinked back the tears that suddenly seemed to want to fall. She cleared her throat and looked out the window to the city below. "Can I add something else?” She sucked in a sharp breath, not wanting to lose the nerve. “I'm tired of going home to be alone at night, Alex. I want to wrap myself around you every night and talk about our day. You need to figure out a quitting time. You can’t run Reid Enterprises completely on your own."
He moved beside her. "I know, baby. I'll figure it out. Let me get through this quarter, and we'll work through it." He pulled her tightly against him and leaned down, brushing his lips across hers. "For a few minutes after seeing the picture I had one of those what-if moments. What if Mark was in love with you? He deserves you far more than I do. He's the good guy. The all-American."
"Stop it. I'm not at all attracted to your brother, or any other man. Not at all. Not even a little." She lifted to her toes and pressed her lips to his.
He cupped her face and pushed into the kiss as he breathed in deeply and slid his tongue against her lips, wanting in. She opened up and let out a soft moan as his flavor rushed across her tongue, staining her with need. The kiss was long and hot, leaving her panting as he broke it and went in for another one.
"I miss you in my arms," he mumbled against her mouth. "I don't want to lose you to this place."
"That's not going to happen. What do you think if we come back and hit the news with our own statement?" She moved back, licking at her lips as she brushed his suit jacket back down into place. "Do you have someone at the paper you can trust, that you know?"
"Yeah. I know several of the guys in the business segment. I'll call one of them today, as well as my attorney. Stephen was served papers this morning for the lawsuit as well." He let out a long sigh. "Why does this shit come in waves? It seems like everything is going to be fine, and then all of a sudden we're hit with a million things at once."
