What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG)

by CJ Roberts

  “Jack Gordon? What d’ you want to know? How many millions he’s made or how many women he’s fucked?”

  The man could not possibly be interested in her. No way. Enough to randomly stop by her office? Ridiculous.

  The gossip she now got on a regular basis backed up his rep as a cocky, womanizing jerk and then some. The mature, good girl in her felt he was best left to the likes of her secretary or wide-eyed vacuous clients, like the one he’d stolen from her. Sara knew she was strong enough to resist Jack, but something about him made her want to see him, to be around him, and that compulsion irritated the shit out of her. The wind ruffled her hair and cleared her muddled brain. Feeling stronger and more in control every minute, she parked in the title company’s lot and gave herself a little pep talk.

  Adam must be reacting as many men did when they started to feel something more than simple lust for a woman. Yes – that had to be it. He had been trying awfully hard this week to get back in touch with her. So of course she’d ignored him, making him work for it a little. Sara smiled to herself in anticipation of how she’d make her recent bitchy attitude up to him later.

  Maybe she should settle down. Her mother, father, and brother harped on it enough. She liked Adam and wanted her family to be happy with her. However, at the same time she truly enjoyed her independence. She’d spent enough of her life’s energy trying to find people to love her unconditionally. But still…she needed something else. Something she had yet to identify, but which had hovered ever closer in the past few weeks, just out of reach.

  As Sara breezed into the Arbor Title office where Adam’s deal was closing, she greeted the receptionist and the other realtors gathered in the lobby all waiting for their own transactions to commence. About that time, subtle misgivings began stirring in her brain. They looked at her a bit strangely, but she brushed it aside. Kim, the closing officer ran up to her, a stack of legal documents clutched in her arms with a stressed look on her normally calm face. Kim never got rattled, no matter how difficult a closing.

  “Oh, hey Sara, um, your uh, client is here already.”

  “OK, well, let’s get going then.” Sara looked at her, trying to figure out what caused the unflappable woman to seem so wigged out. “What room?” she asked, trying to get Kim to focus.

  “Oh, well, down here.” The woman motioned, indicating the second room.

  Sara started to move in that direction, but Kim put her hand on her arm.

  “Sara, you should know…” she began, just as Adam walked out of the room.

  “Hi Sara.” He didn’t move from the doorway. “I tried to call you to let you know I’d moved the time up an hour – I had a last-minute conflict so…”

  Sara stared at him, absorbing what he was saying – her closing had happened without her there.

  “Oh, well, gee Adam, I could have used this hour for something else I guess.”

  He moved toward her, and she had the distinct feeling he wanted to head her off, to keep her from entering the closing room. Her temper flared as she walked past him, eluding the hand he held out. Inside the doorway, Sara took in the sight of a gorgeous young woman seated at the large table. She looked up at Sara and smiled.

  “Oh, hullo, you must be Sara.” The woman with the charming city-bred English accent stood and stuck out her hand. “Adam has told me so much about you. Thanks for your help with all of this. I’ve been away a month getting my mum sorted out. She’s been ill so…” The woman kept her hand out, waiting for Sara to take it.

  Sara stayed frozen to the spot but recovered enough to touch the woman’s palm. She blinked while her brain focused on an enormous diamond ring on the other woman’s left hand. The room darkened and Sara had to remind herself to take a breath. Kim grabbed her hand and slid a chair under her collapsing body.

  “I’m Lou – Louise, actually, but no one calls me that. I’m so looking forward to getting all settled here. I’ll be at the U, finishing my residency.” She babbled on, completely unaware that Sara had come close to passing out from shock as the vision of what she had been doing with this woman’s fiancé for the past month ran, montage style, through her head.

  Adam stood outside the door with one hand on the jamb, the other on his waist, his head bowed as if praying. Lou gathered her stuff and walked past Sara to join him. Kim came back in, carrying a cup of water. When Sara realized why the other realtors in the lobby had been staring at her, the harsh reality of the whole mess pressed down on her chest. Kim turned to face Adam and his fiancée.

  “Well, ok, then, thanks guys and congratulations.” Sara watched her glare at Adam who wouldn’t meet her eyes. Lou stuck a hand out again since Kim didn’t seem inclined to do so first.

  “No, thank you, and you too Sara.” She leaned around Kim who blocked Sara from view.

  Sara stood up knowing what she had to do. She fixed her professional smile in place and shook Lou’s hand before reaching out for Adam’s. She stared at him – her own face neutral while her brain spun its endless loop of that first encounter, when she’d gone against everything rational, let go of her long-developed reserve, and let this man fuck her silly in an empty condo.

  Livid, mortified, and facing the hard reality that once again she’d managed to screw up her own love life in front of this entire goddamned office, she watched them depart on their way out the door to their new life together – in the condo she’d sold him.

  Kim tried to reach for her but Sara held her hand up, not willing to give in to public defeat. She looked up at the ceiling and willed the tears back. It was her own stupid fault. She knew she should not have gotten involved with him, but she had anyway in her typical, fuck-logic-lets-have-some-fun sort of way. That’s what had gotten her to where she was, time and time again.

  She had no one but herself to blame – although he was certainly responsible for the bit about not telling her he already had marriage plans. She sighed and walked out the door, not speaking to anyone.

  A hot wind dried the tears forming in her eyes. She resolved to stop her selfish behavior, get her focus back where it belonged before Adam had interrupted her. She did not need a man. She knew that – had known that – but she’d let her body’s need for contact overrule her brain. This would never happen again. Not even for Jack Gordon. Most especially not for him.

  She sat in the car, collected herself and then drove towards her office, her mind already on the work ahead – deals to be closed, clients to be contacted, money to be made. She added Adam and the memory of today’s shock and humiliation to the steaming pile of shitty love-life moments already occupied by the college boyfriend who’d dumped her on graduation day, and shoved them all to a small, dark recessed corner of her mind. She made one more resolution: Never rely on a man emotionally – get what you want if you must physically, but nothing more.

  Once parked, she grabbed her phone and erased Adam from her contacts. Hope he realizes he just lost one of his best referral sources. Asshole. The tears she’d held back streamed down her face as she sat in the sweltering car.

  3

  Sara’s phone buzzed, nearly falling off her desk before she could grab it, with an incoming text.

  295! Take it or leave it. I’m dying here Sara!

  I’ll get back to you, she replied before heading to her desk to call her buyer.

  After nearly a year, the most difficult buyers of her career had decided that Jack’s stale Lansdowne listing was their dream house. She’d been forced to deal with him almost constantly for the last two weeks. It exhausted her pretending she didn’t thrill to the sound of his voice or that her scalp didn’t tingle in anticipation when she caught one of his incoming texts.

  After the Adam disaster, Sara had spent the past twelve months ignoring men, including Jack. She’d disciplined herself into a smaller skirt size, used the time to hone her career onto a serious fast track with referrals and closings piling up along with her bank balance. Her brother Blake, who owned a successful brewpub in town, worri
ed about her single-minded obsession over work and her lack of any social life. But she reminded him that the last time she had one of those, that guy had married someone else.

  Sara and Blake had grown up very close. She relied on him and his partner Rob for most of her emotional support – and her meals. Rob was a French trained chef who, oddly enough, had been a fraternity brother of Jack’s at Michigan State. He’d filled Blake’s already over-protective brain with tales of Jack’s reputation. The coincidences and connections boggled the mind.

  Sara sighed and dialed her buyer’s number once again. She wouldn’t touch Jack Gordon with anyone’s ten-foot pole. The fact that he had stayed out of her way fairly effectively for months hadn’t escaped her notice.

  Figures. He probably senses you’re kryptonite.

  And now this. She had buyers who seemed to get off on Extreme Negotiation, and his seller didn’t want to close any deal. Mainly because it meant she wouldn’t get any more contact with her “Special Realtor.”

  Jesus. What a soap opera.

  She smiled when her buyer answered, preparing for yet another round of death by nickels and dimes, as visions of Jack Gordon’s impish blue eyes and full lips swam through her mind caused her to close her eyes. Sara reminded herself once again that she was a better woman for focusing on herself and her career all this time – and for avoiding him. Her body begged to differ, already reacting to the concept of having Jack in direct proximity once again.

  “Ok, we finished the inspection and there are some issues, as you might expect.” Sara winced, preparing for a patented Jack Gordon earful.

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  He seemed quieter than usual, not filling the phone line with his usual poor me, why can’t you control your people bullshit. Her suspicions grew, wondering if he was messing with her, trying to catch her off guard.

  “Well, um, I’ll get back with you later tonight with our conditions for contingency removal.”

  “That’s fine. I’m used to getting screamed at by her anyway.” A deep sigh filled Sara’s ears. “Let’s hold this one together, shall we,” he finally asked. “I can’t take much more of this seller.”

  “Fine, talk soon.” She hung up without letting him respond.

  Sara put her hands on the steering wheel before starting her car, trying to control her shakes. Why did she let him get to her anyway? He was just a guy for crying out loud. All guys were complete assholes as far as she was concerned.

  Focus, Sara, focus. You’ve been fine since Adam. No need to fall back into this game with anyone now, much less someone like Jack.

  Jack leaned back in his chair after she hung up on him once again. He stared up at the familiar office ceiling, sighed and stretched his arms over his head. His mind drifted back, as it had so many times, to the moment he’d first laid eyes on Sara Jane Thornton.

  His assistant Jason stuck his head in the door making Jack come close to dumping himself backward onto the floor. His eyes sprung open erasing the image of Sara’s deep green gaze – and gorgeous tight ass – from his mind.

  “Jack.” Jason fiddled with his earpiece. “She’s calling again – where are you this time?”

  He groaned. “Fucking-A, why can’t the woman take a hint?”

  He’d had gone a lot of years able to escape serious commitment. The one time he’d allowed himself that luxury he had got bitten on the ass so hard he’d been reluctant to sit much since. The fact that the ass-biter had been his first foray into a Dom/sub relationship had made her betrayal that much worse for his ego. Now he’d miscalculated once again, and had severely misread the blonde woman’s motives.

  Jason shrugged, already taking the next call. He’d been Jack’s assistant for ten years and was used to his boss’ love life. He’d proven himself invaluable more than once deflecting one woman or another. Plus, he was a spot-on licensed assistant when it came to the business of real estate. Jack leaned into his keyboard, ignoring Jason again. The young man waved a hand in front of his face.

  “Dude, what the hell am I supposed to tell her?”

  “Tell her I joined the Peace Corps, moved to Outer Mongolia and am unavailable for the next ten years. Christ, I don’t know. That’s why I hired you. Make some shit up.”

  “I’m on it.” Jason turned and moved down the hallway towards his office, already making excuses.

  Jason was worth his weight in salary. He’d come up with something. He always did. For about the millionth time that week, Jack wished he’d never, ever met the crazy blonde client.

  But, in the most perfect of ironies thanks to Sara, he got to deal with her daily. Jack looked back at his computer screen. Images of Sara covered the monitor from her website and blog. She had a real handle on social networking and was a pro at keeping fresh photos and testimonials from happy clients front and center.

  Jack ran a hand through his hair. Never in his adult life had he felt so attracted to a woman who had no apparent interest in him beyond professional. Of course, he was stuck dealing with a crazed bitch of a seller he’d been trying to ditch, just so he could stay in contact with the woman he wanted. An alien state of affairs for Jack – not one he liked much. His phone buzzed.

  Sara.

  “Yeah.” He kept his voice gruff.

  “Okay, I emailed you their list of stuff. It’s long and pretty ridiculous, I won’t kid you.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Ok, thanks.” She stopped, but didn’t hang up for a change.

  Jack felt himself relax at the sound of her voice. He smiled, pictured her eyes, her hands, her lips. He tried not to acknowledge the things spinning in his brain. The suddenly vivid image of Sara, naked, wrists tied in front of her and on her knees…whoa, what the fuck? He rubbed his eyes and refocused.

  “So,” he said, as he leaned back again. “Looks like we’re stuck with this deal, huh?”

  “What?”

  “Well, your cheapskate buyer sprung for a fairly expensive inspection. I assume that means we are on and will have to play this little game for a week or so but will ultimately consummate.”

  He could sense her blush through the phone.

  “Yeah, he’s a real pain, but sounds like you’ve got a similar issue on your end, eh Jack?”

  “You know I do.” Jack rolled his chair so he could kick the door shut. He reached over and flipped his iPod speakers on. He wanted a bit of privacy and in his frigging fishbowl of an office, he had to work to get it.

  “So, I saw you running yesterday.” Jack let his tone shift into a deeper register.

  “Oh, really, where?”

  “Over by Pioneer,” he said, naming Ann Arbor’s west side high school. “You swing your arms too much you know.”

  “Thanks for the tip, coach.”

  “You look good though, generally.” Jack smiled into his phone as the strains of the Rolling Stones permeated his office. “But you probably know that.

  “Thanks, I think.” She tried to sound nonchalant, too busy to bother with him.

  But Jack knew better. He knew it was time to reel her in. Best to hang up and not chat anymore or he’d be tempted to actually ask her out, something he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to do yet. Compelled to act, yet inclined to hold back at the same time.

  “Well, I gotta run babe. I guess you’ve given me my marching orders. I just got your email.” Jack would have gladly talked to her for the next couple of hours, but knew he couldn’t sound too eager.

  “All right, good luck with your seller. I’m sure you can convince her of anything though, huh?”

  “Not anymore.” Jack winced, remembering how incredible the blonde client had been, until she lost her mind and started telling everybody they were getting married. Married? Holy fucking shit – he’d almost had a heart attack when that had gotten back to him in the form of a congratulations email from Greg Stewart, owner of his brokerage firm. Marriage did not appear on his to-do list, not now, and not anytime soon. The sound of Sara�
�s laughter at that moment made him sit up.

  “Well, do your best or at least half as good as you think you are. That oughta cover it.”

  Jack grinned. He’d done his homework. Found a couple of younger agents who had gotten up close and personal with her so he’d been able pick their brains. Their consensus had been she knew how to have fun, been easy to talk to, able to chat, flirt and generally enjoy herself. She’d send messages with her body language according to these guys, but they had both struck out, royally.

  She’d kiss – very well, they both observed – touch, act like she’d be ready for third base or whatever, then completely shut down as if a switch got flipped to the off position. Neither man could move past anything but a quick grope in the car or in the front hall of her condo. Jack didn’t think these were guys who gave up that easily. But she’d not gone out with either of them after the first date, and he found himself even more intrigued by her once he’d gotten this information.

  He loved women – all types of women. Loved their company, their scent, the feel of their skin under his hands, and most of all he loved how he could make them feel. He prided himself on it. The potential of Sara Thornton moaning and begging for him got him revved up like nothing had in a long time. He’d become determined to be the one who released her from her apparent cycle of sexual frustration.

  His body responded every time he pondered the concept of that little project. That tool, Adam Donovan, had indeed burned her a year ago. She’d withdrawn into herself, and he’d gotten busy and preoccupied until now. Now, Sara invaded his dreams awake and asleep. She brought out something he’d long buried, locked away and thrown away the key. While it titillated, it also distracted, made him short tempered and antsy.

  He remembered smiling wickedly at his computer as he glanced over her buyer’s original offer. It had been a shitty start, a clear indication that her clients would be difficult. This meant their potential time together would be extensive. Jack would not only save the day by convincing his seller to negotiate in good faith, but could take his time fixing what ailed Sara. And fixing she needed. That much was clear. Whether or not she’d like his methods remained to be seen.