“Here.” Her dad handed her his glass. “I’m not supposed to be drinking.” He winked at her. “I may have filled this up to save for you.”
That was the only present she got at the table. She sat in her little corner, participating in the conversation when it called on her and thought about work and Alex when it didn’t. She wondered what meeting he had tonight and if he was seeing anyone since Annette. It was none of her business.
“Jamie!”
She blinked and turned her attention back to her sister. “Sorry. What were you saying?”
Christine rolled her eyes. “How much wine have you had?” She didn’t wait for Jamie to answer. “Mom and I were talking and we were thinking it would be really neat if we made wedding favors ourselves. It’s kind of the in-thing to do these days. What do you think?”
“Yeah, sure. It’s a great idea.”
She clapped her hands. “Perfect! I knew you would do it! I’ve already ordered the material and the cutting shape and everything. You’ll have to make about,” she said and turned to her mom, “two hundred? Two hundred fifty of them?”
“Wait! What?” Jamie tried to figure out what part of the conversation she had missed. Her mom and sister sat at the one end and she was wedged between the two men who were mainly talking about stocks and sports. Two things that really didn’t seem to go together.
“I asked if you would make them for me.” Christine tilted her head, her eyebrows coming together when things were suddenly not going her way. “You just said, and these are your exact words, yeah, sure. It’s a great idea.”
“I thought you were talking about you and Stephen making them.”
Stephen burst out laughing. “I’m not making any of that shit.”
“Jamie,” Christine whined. “I don’t have time. I ordered all the stuff and paid for it already. I can’t send it back.”
Jamie blew her bangs away from her forehead. “Why don’t you and I do them together?” She pushed her half-eaten chicken pasta away, no longer hungry.
Christine flashed her a grin. “I knew you’d do it!”
“I just asked if you wanted to do them together.”
Her sister waved her hand. “Sure, whatever. I’ll have the stuff dropped off at your office so you can get a head start on them. Then we can pick a day to finish them up.”
Jamie’s mother caught the waiter’s arm as he passed by. “We’re finishing up here. Do you mind to empty the table and bring the cake?” She pointed to Jamie’s uneaten plate. “I’ll take that home. My daughter doesn’t need it. She’s desperately trying to lose weight.”
Seriously? Her mother had to do this to her on her birthday? Jamie shook her head. At least her mother had ordered cake. That was a first.
As the waiter cleared the table, Jamie glanced around the restaurant. The place was one of the upper-end dining places. She had the feeling one of her paychecks might be covering the amount of wine her family had been drinking. Ironically, the liquor menu had been taken from the table. Stephen had mentioned earlier that he loved it that Jamie was finally able to foot the bill. She’d ignored his comment but now she began wondering why she had offered.
The cake came with sparklers on it. Jamie smiled, but it quickly disappeared when she read the inscription on it. Christine & Stephen Congrats!
She stared at the cake, biting her tongue to keep back a snarky comment.
Christine clapped her hands. “Six months, baby. Then I’m all yours.” She cut the cake and divided it into three large pieces and two teeny, tiny ones. “For you and dad,” she said and handed Jamie and her dad the small ones. “Both you two need to be watching what you’re putting in your month. Six months isn’t a long time, Jamie.”
Jamie stared down at the three-bite-size piece of cake. “Thanks,” she mumbled. Somehow Christine had managed to weasel her way into the one day of the year that should belong to Jamie. She didn’t even want the cake so she slipped it in with her dad’s when he finished his. He winked at her and she smiled.
When the bill came, Stephen pointed to Jamie. “She’s footin’ it this time, buddy.”
Jamie reached across Stephen, secretly wishing her elbow would accidently bash into his nose. Of course it didn’t happen.
The waiter smiled at her, the first genuine smile she’d received since entering the restaurant. “Your bill’s already paid, ma’am.” He grinned, like it was some sort of game.
“What?” Stephen reached for the red leather receipt pad that hid the total of the bill inside.
Jamie jerked it away from him and opened it. The bill showed paid. “By who?” She glanced at each of her family members but each one shook their head.
“The gentleman over there,” the waiter said and pointed to the far corner where a woman in a stunning red dress sat. Her date sat in the leather booth with his back toward them.
Jamie couldn’t tell who it was. She also loved the red dress the beautiful brunette was wearing. She wished she could wear something like that. That would be her birthday wish if she could have one; to be able to wear a tight-fitting red dress like that and rock it.
“Well, fuck me,” Stephen mumbled.
Jamie watched the booth as the woman touched the man’s hand and motioned toward their table. He picked up his glass, slid out of his seat and walked over to them.
Alex Reid.
Jamie knew her mouth was hanging open. She didn’t quite know what to say when he approached.
“Good evening,” he said.
Apparently her family didn’t know what to say either.
Stephen stood and shook Alex’s hand. “Hey mate, how’re you doing?”
“Good. Thank you.” Alex raised his glass. “I overheard it was your birthday today, Ms. Connors.”
Jamie nodded, stuck in the corner as Stephen sat back down.
“Well, happy birthday. I apologize for not realizing earlier. I’d have let you get out of work sooner.” He winked. “Cheers, everyone.” He smiled and moved back to his date without another glance.
“That’s strange,” her mother said to Christine.
Stephen grinned. “I’m sure he does that for all his personal assistants.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jamie’s face heated with anger this time. Alex had just done a sweet gesture. He didn’t have to, but he did. Why were they turning it into something else?
Christine kicked Stephen under the table. His audible ‘ow’ made her smile. “Someone like him isn’t going to sleep with my sister. Trust me on that one.”
Jamie suddenly wanted this night to be over. She faked a yawn and stood. “Thanks everybody for… for,” she tried to think of something they had done for her, “for coming this evening.” She waited for Stephen to get up so she could leave.
“Let’s do this again next year!” Stephen watched her closely as she passed and reached to grab her coat. He tilted his head. “You’ve changed,” he said in an uncomfortably quiet voice. “I can tell you’re different.”
“Nope.” Jamie shook her head. “Same old me.” She glanced at the table with the beautiful brunette. “Thanks again,” she whispered to no one in particular, but wishing Alex would hear her from across the room.
Chapter 13
“Ms. Connors, have that report on my desk by tonight. I also need you to pick up my dry cleaning in an hour, and the people from the Anderson Company are coming in tonight so I need you to look at meeting room five and make sure it’s ready for them.”
“Okay.” Jamie marked everything in her tablet. “Do you want me to bring your dry cleaning up here to the office?”
He glanced down. “Is this suit wrinkled?”
She let her eyes travel slowly down and then up his handsome body. “It looks good to me,” she whispered.
“Then if you don’t mind just taking it home, I can grab it from you there.” He had made no mention of her birthday dinner two weeks ago, and neither had she.
He snapped his fingers. “I’ll also ha
ve MacBane bring dinner over. I asked him to make some for you as well.”
Jamie blinked, the word out of her mouth before she could catch it. “Why?”
He chuckled. “It’s going to be a very late night tonight and I’m not in the mood for takeout again. I can’t starve you, though people might think I’m starting to.” He smiled briefly before his expression became shuddered again.
He handed her a key ring. “Here’s the key to my place. You can drop my dry cleaning off and then pick the food up from the packed cooler in the kitchen.” He put it down on her desk and smiled at her again. “Thank you, Ms. Connors. I really appreciate it.”
Jamie nodded at him. “Of course, Mr. Reid.”
He sat down at his desk and looked down at his phone.
Jamie picked up the keys and went to grab her purse. Stretching her legs would feel good and she could pick the dry cleaning up on her way back to the house. Maybe even change quickly herself.
Christine called Jamie as soon as she walked out of the building. For a second she was sure Christine was staking out the building to see her comings and goings. But she dismissed the idea a second later. There was no way she would be that dedicated to anything.
“Hey, Jamie, are you busy?” Christine asked.
“I’m working, but I was sent on an errand, so if it’s quick—”
“I just need to know where to send the wedding favor stuff to.”
“Um, sure, yeah.” Jamie rolled her eyes. “Just send it to my office.”
“Your boss okay with that?”
“It’ll be fine. I’m in a bit of a rush, Christine. I’ll message you the address.” She stopped by her car. “You can just send it to your place and—”
“Jamie, you’re my maid of honor. I need you right now and you can’t spare a moment of your time?”
“I’ll send you the address. No problem.” She didn’t have time to argue. “Bye!” She shoved her phone in her pocket and reached for the car handle.
“James! Jamie! Jamie-James!”
You have got to be joking! She turned at the sound of Stephen’s voice and then pressed her body against her car. He reeked of booze and his shirt was wrinkled and unbuttoned.
Stephen stumbled toward her. “I’ve made a horrible mistake, Shamie-Shames,” he slurred.
“What are you doing here?” she hissed. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“Sick day,” he mumbled, stumbling closer. Jamie took a step back to the side, and then another.
“I should marry you, Jamie, not Christine.” He reached to stroke her hair and missed it entirely. “You’re the sexy, smart one. Way too nice for your own good.” He grinned crookedly. “Not to mention the shit you do in bed.” His eyes slid down her. “You had that extra roll thing going, but I gotta feeling if I uncover you, it’s gone missin’, ain’t it?”
Jamie forced herself to remain calm. She could outrun the drunk bastard if she needed to, even in heels and a long skirt. “Are you having second thoughts about the wedding?”
He tossed his hands up and took another step closer to her.
Jamie realized she had backed herself up against the wall of the building.
“Don’t know. She’s hot. Lousy lay and doesn’t shut up.” He shook his head. “She bitches and whines a lot.” He rubbed his eyebrow with his thumb, swaying as he stood.
“Do you even love Christine?” Jamie checked her watch. She didn’t have time for this conversation. She also felt sorry for her sister. She could get on her nerves a lot, but that didn’t mean she deserved a loveless marriage. “Stephen, you’re drunk. You need to go home, sleep it off. I’ll pretend we never had this conversation.”
“Shut up,” he said, grabbing her arms. “Just shut up.” Before she could protest, he started kissing her. Hard. Jamie struggled and gagged but he just held her tighter, pinning her against the wall and pressing his body up against hers. He forced her lips open and rammed his tongue into her mouth. Jamie gagged even harder. She tried to turn her head away from him but he grabbed her hair to hold it in place. But in doing so he let go of her arms.
She reached behind her to grab her phone and he shoved her harder into the wall, pinning her arms in place. She stopped struggling against him and focused on opening the phone. She didn’t care who she called or redialed. As long as she got a number and someone could hear her struggling against him.
He reached behind her and jerked her hand, the phone fell to the ground by their feet. Stephen didn’t even notice. He pressed her hand against his small erection. Probably too drunk to get it up.
She twisted her neck back and forth, trying to free her mouth. She bit his lip, tasting his blood, and still he wouldn’t let her go.
“You know you want me,” he mumbled as he moved to her ear, making sure his hand held her neck in a tight grip.
“Let me go!” Jamie started struggling again. "I’ll scream, Stephen!" she hissed as his knuckles tightened around her neck, cutting off her airway.
"Shut up!" he said, licking her and kissing her again.
Suddenly the painful pressure of him against her released. He flew back. Someone had heard her calling out in the parking garage and had come to her rescue.
Jamie’s hands dropped to her knees as she fought to catch her breath. She looked up when the distinct sound of someone’s jaw being punched brought her back to reality.
Alex stood a few feet away, punching Stephen repeatedly. She ran up and held his arm. "Stop please," she said. "He's not worth getting arrested for aggravated assault."
Alex looked at her, breathing hard. Jamie shivered at the rage burning in his eyes. "You're right." He glared at his former friend, now bloody and still drunk. He picked Stephen up by the front of his shirt. "Get the fuck outta here," he hissed. He threw Stephen on the ground again.
Stephen clumsily picked himself up and stumbled off, muttering insults under his breath.
Jamie watched him leave and suddenly the adrenaline drained from her. She fell against Alex, trembling and wiping her mouth, ready to throw up from the thought of Stephen. "Thank you," she said. "I’m glad you showed up."
"I'm glad you called me," he replied. "That was very smart of you."
She shook her head. "It was a hail Mary," she said. "I couldn’t see my phone and had to do it behind my back.” She giggled out of nervousness. “I'm just glad I actually pressed one of my speed dial numbers and you knew where I was." She shivered, thinking about what could have happened if she hadn't done that.
Alex took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. "Let's take you home," he said. "You need to rest and calm down."
She nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I only need to rest for a few minutes," she said. "I'll be okay, I swear."
"I know," he said. "But please let me take you home. For my peace of mind."
Jamie glanced at him and realized he looked more traumatized than she felt. His hands were shaking and his breath came out hard. "Okay," she said. "Let's go."
Alex pulled into the garage of his house. Jamie stared quietly out the window as the garage door closed. He turned the car off and sat quietly beside her for a moment. "I'd feel better if we head inside my place instead of yours. I can go and grab you a change of clothes if you’d like."
Jamie nodded. “I forgot to get your dry cleaning. We could have picked it up on the way home.”
“Don’t worry about my clothes. I’ve got plenty upstairs.” He opened the car door. “Come on, let’s get you inside.” He came around and opened her door and politely, with the perfect amount of space, walked beside her and helped her inside his house.
Not once did he take his hand off of the small of her back, as if he needed reassurance that she was still there. They came through the garage into the kitchen. It was set up similar to her apartment below. A lot of space and light colors. Everything was beautiful and tasteful. The full kitchen had sparkling granite tops, a state of the art refrigerator and stove with hardwood cupboards.
&nbs
p; Alex led her through the kitchen to the living room that was furnished with leather couches, a flat screen TV and paintings and photographs of all styles on the walls. Next to the fireplace was a spiral staircase. It had to be the most luxurious house she had ever been in. She could just imagine his bedroom had the same masculinity as the rest of the place.
Alex took no notice of her amazement, or didn't say anything about it as he led her over to one of the leather couches. "Sit down. I'll go make tea."
"There really isn't any need," she said. "I'm fine now. I promise." She did feel a lot better now. She just wished for a stiff drink to erase the awful taste in her mouth.
"Even if you are, I'm not." He strode over to the kitchen and filled a tea kettle with water. "And I know you're not, Jamie. You haven't stopped trembling."
Jamie balled her hands into fists to stop the trembling. "I'm fine," she said. "Just a little shaken up."
"Which means you're not fine." After turning the stove on, he came back and sat down, looking over her with a furrowed brow. His fingers brushed against the bruises forming on her arms. "Does anything hurt?" he asked softly.
Jamie shook her head, unable to talk with him touching her so gently. How did he make her mind go completely blank with just a touch?
"I wish there was some way I could make the bruises go away," he said. “What the hell was that idiot thinking?”
"They'll heal," she stuttered. Damn it, why couldn't she ever think around him?
"I'm so sorry," he whispered.
He leaned closer to her, need and concern warring in his eyes.
Jamie bit her lip as her breathing escalated, but not because she was scared. Just the opposite. She should so not be thinking about him kissing her at the moment. It was wrong, on too many levels.
The tea kettle started whistling and Alex got up quickly to turn it off. "What type of tea do you like?"
Bad Boys & Billionaires: An Anthology Page 42
