by MK Schiller
“Damien,” I called from the bathroom. “Is the concierge friends with Kelly Harris by any chance?”
“That’s funny you should ask. They’re sisters. Why?”
“Just curious.” I had a few choices. I could complain. What would he do if I did? I knew he’d fix it, and hold the parties responsible. The way he’d spoken to Kelly earlier made that clear. I could just wear it and look ridiculous, but this was not my style, and I refused to be forced into intimidation by another woman. I was a resourceful girl so I solved my own problem. I ripped the collar straight off the shirt. It was cheap fabric so it gave way easily. There was nothing I could do about the skirt. Thankfully, the shirt was long enough to come a few inches above my knee, in a sexy but not obscene way. It was two sizes too big for me, so I tied the ruffled collar around my waist as a belt. It was a fine accessory if I ever saw one. I found a pair of scissors in a drawer and snipped off the ribbons, braiding them through the shoes to add some needed colour, then French braided my hair, tying another ribbon through it.
Damien knocked on the door. “Jessie, are you okay in there?”
“Fine.”
“Good. I ordered some food.”
I walked out of the bathroom, nervous to see if I had succeeded in my silly quest. As soon as I saw his lustful expression, I knew I had.
He sat at the dining table in the living area, dressed in khaki shorts and navy blue Polo shirt. I could see him in a Polo ad—he had that look like he belonged on a yacht somewhere, but it didn’t quite fit his personality.
“You look great,” he said. “Sit.”
Before I could take the chair next to him, he pulled me down on his lap, kissing my neck. “I don’t know if I can let you leave. I mean, I haven’t even got acquainted with these legs yet.” He ran his hands up and down my bare legs, causing me to shiver against him. “Perfect.”
He was perfect. I took his wrist, staring down at the face of his expensive silver watch.
“Shit, I have to go.” How had so much time passed already?
“Not until you eat something. I ordered you a stir-fry. I hope that’s okay. There weren’t many choices.”
“It’s great, but I’m running late.”
“Jessie, just eat with me. You can’t just use me for my body and run out on me. It makes me feel cheap.”
I giggled, cupping my hand over my mouth. How did he get me to laugh so much? “Fine, but you need to stop touching me, Damien.” I stood up and took the seat next to him. The food did smell delicious and I was starving.
He leaned over the table, staring at me while I ate.
“Why do you keep looking at me?”
“You’re pretty, that’s why.”
I’m pretty sure I blushed so hard my cheeks were the same colour as that red ribbon in my hair.
“Do you want me to drive you?”
“No, I have my car here.”
“It can stay here. I can have someone bring it to your house later. I own the parking lot, you know.”
“Can we agree to something?”
“What do you want, Jessie?”
“I don’t want to publicize our relationship.”
He looked hurt, and I shook my head quickly, stumbling to find the right words. “It’s just that my kids aren’t used to seeing me dating. You’re a public figure and I don’t want them to see a photo or something of us. Plus, I don’t want anyone at the library thinking you chose the charity because we had a relationship.” My jaw dropped as the thought formed in my head. “Oh, God, you didn’t choose us because—”
He held up his hand. “No, I didn’t. The library was on my short list of charities and I had the meeting set up for weeks. I think all of our chance meetings, except for the restaurant, had to do with that other four-letter F word.”
“Which one is that?”
“Fate.”
I thought of myself as a freethinking cynic, but I had to admit our meetings did seem fateful.
He tilted his head. “Are you embarrassed to be with me?”
I laughed, choking on my water so badly he had to pat my back.
“Are you okay, Jessie?” He changed the patting motion to a slow, circular rub.
“I’m fine. Were you joking? You’re an eligible, rich-as-hell, sexy-as-sin fucking billionaire.”
“I’m just a kid from north of Detroit that made some good deals.”
“Can we just take this slow? I’m out of practice.”
“I’ll do whatever you want, as long as we agree we are together. You’ll find I value my privacy as well. I’ve been very careful with the media.”
“Thank you.”
He tilted his head, a wry smile gracing his lips. “Want to have dinner tonight?”
“Sure, but I don’t get off until nine.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to get off sooner than that.”
I almost choked again. “You are very naughty and I really have to get going.” I wiped my mouth and gave him a quick kiss. I ran off before he could make me change my mind.
On my way out, Kelly Harris stopped me again. Hell, was she waiting for me? This girl had some serious issues.
“You know that’s supposed to be a shirt, right?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm that matched her theatrical eye-roll.
“I like it better this way,” I replied, not letting my smile falter.
“I should give you some womanly advice about Damien Wolfe.”
“That’s incredibly sweet of you. Nothing like womanly advice, I always say.”
She took a deep breath, placing her manicured hand on my shoulder as if this were a friendly exchange—it was anything but and we both knew it. “That room is like a revolving door. He’s had many women up there and rarely the same one twice, if you know what I mean. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Her words hit their mark, but I wasn’t about let her know that. “Thanks for the advice. Please allow me to return the favour. You are a beautiful girl and I’m sure you have a great personality, although I have not had the advantage of witnessing it. I appreciate your concern, but you need to focus your attention elsewhere because Damien Wolfe is mine. And as for the revolving door, it’s been nailed shut and sealed, so it’s probably a good idea you stop trying to enter it. I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt either.”
Her smug smile transformed into a tight grimace.
I walked away before she could retaliate. He was different with me. I felt that in my heart, and from all his reassurances. Unfortunately, Kelly had managed to cast a few cracks in my newfound confidence.
Chapter Fifteen
“I want to thank you all for giving up your Saturday to help with this. Basically, we just need to make sure all the envelopes get stuffed for the benefit.” I looked around the large library table. None of my co-workers except for Arty had volunteered, so I’d enlisted the help of my family. They hadn’t exactly volunteered either, but I promised I’d stop baking bean brownies if they helped, so here we were.
Stevie, Marley, Kate, Arty and I worked quietly for a while. It wasn’t long though before I heard the rumblings of an argument between my daughters.
“Stevie, this is my pile, leave it alone. I have a system.”
“Your system sucks.”
“Mom, please tell your other daughter to leave my stuff alone,” Marley whined.
Damn…a mother’s job was never done. “Listen, I explained to you girls how to behave at the library like twenty years ago. Let’s not repeat the lecture.”
“Look, Adam’s here,” Stevie said.
We all turned and saw him walk in with Bobby slung against his chest in the carrier.
“I didn’t know he was coming,” I said.
“He’s just bringing Bobby so I can feed him. They were in the area running errands,” Stevie explained.
A young blonde girl stopped him, cooing at little Robert. I think we all gasped a bit when she touched Adam’s arm,
especially Stevie.
“Just relax, Stevie,” Marley said, putting her hand over Stevie’s clenched fist.
“I don’t like strangers touching my baby.”
I wasn’t sure which baby she was referring to.
Adam extricated himself from the girl’s grasp in his usual gracious manner and continued striding towards us. He took the seat beside Stevie. “Hi, did you see that?” he asked with a nervous smile.
“Yes, everyone did,” she replied, kissing Bobby’s head.
“Our son’s a chick magnet. Then again, he’s probably the most beautiful baby in the world. He looks like his mother, after all.” Adam always knew the right thing to say. He knew Stevie. They had been in love a long time. If asked, they would have said since their senior year in high school, but Kate and I had always thought it was much earlier than that. Mothers always know.
Adam took one look at the table and shook his head. “You guys are doing this wrong.”
“We all have our methods,” Stevie said.
“Oh, so now we all get to have our methods,” Marley replied.
“We need to set up an assembly line,” he said, gesturing to the table. “Why aren’t Dillon and Rick here?”
“Rick’s working on a new project and Dillon…well, Dillon isn’t good working in large groups like this.” Marley was right—it was the reason I hadn’t asked for his help. His OCD helped him stay on track, but he had a hard time with other people’s idea of organisation at times.
“Enough talk, let me hold that baby,” Kate said, holding her hands out.
Adam took Bobby out of his carrier and handed him to her.
“I call next dibs,” I said, smiling at him over Kate’s shoulder. There was nothing as rewarding as holding a baby, especially when it was the most adorable baby ever.
Bobby cooed against Kate before knocking over the beret she wore. “Hey, that’s grandma’s hat, little boy.”
“Like I said, he takes after his mother. He’s fixing a fashion fail, Mom.”
Kate shook a finger at her son. “What, you don’t like the hat? I was listening to Prince this morning and remembered I had bought a raspberry beret when I went shopping a few days ago. You like it, don’t you Stevie?”
Stevie bit her lip. “It’s interesting.”
Kate tilted her head. “If you don’t like it just say so, I can take it.”
“You should never take fashion advice from a song,” Stevie replied.
“Well I love it,” Marley said, smiling widely.
“You should also never take advice from Marley,” Stevie said, bumping her sister’s shoulder.
“I like it,” Arty complimented, making his first statement since we’d been here.
Kate brightened.
“I own a ton of bowlers myself. Hats are underrated. Plus, it hides all your grey.”
Kate’s smile turned into a frown.
I extricated the knit cap from Bobby’s chubby fingers before placing it back on Kate’s head. “It takes a strong woman to pull it off and, darling, you are the strongest chick I know.”
Kate beamed. “Thanks, Emmie. By the way, I called you to go shopping with me. Where have you been?”
“Yeah, Mom, Rick and I wanted to invite you to dinner a few times, but you’re always gone,” Marley said.
“Just busy.”
“I noticed a car in your driveway.”
I twirled a piece of my hair. “It was the handyman’s car. I have to get the house in order to sell it.”
“Rick and I could help with that. You didn’t have to hire anyone,” Adam said, looking somewhat hurt.
“Don’t worry, there’s still plenty to do,” I said.
Bobby saved me with his fussing. All of us women immediately tried to calm him.
“See, the kid’s a natural chick magnet,” Adam said, leaning back in his chair.
Of course, he calmed instantly when Stevie took him. “He’s hungry. I’ll be right back,” she said.
Kate bumped my shoulder. “Will you come to the stacks with me, Emmie? There’s a book I want.”
“The stacks are pretty easy to navigate, Kate. I can look up the section from down here.”
“This is a special book and I think it might be difficult to find on my own.”
“What book, Mom?” Adam inquired, already setting up an assembly line for us. In truth, it was a smart idea.
“One about…wolves.”
Damn…of course, Kate was onto me.
Adam gave his mother a confused look. “Why do you want a book about wolves?”
“It’s an interesting subject.”
“Since when have you been interested in wild canines, Mom?”
“Emmie’s been piquing my curiosity as of late.”
“Since when do you like wolves, Mom? Is it like a spiritual guide thing?” Marley said.
Nosy kids.
“I’m sure there is a lot of spirit and guiding,” Kate quipped, with twitching mouth ready to burst into a huge smile.
“You kids keep working. We’ll be right back,” I said, taking Kate’s hand and leading her to the stacks.
She shut the door as soon as we got there. “What’s going on with you and Damien Wolfe?”
“Shhh.” I checked to make sure the room was empty before answering her. “How did you know?”
“You’re not so sly. Handymen don’t usually drive cars worth more than the gross national product of a small country. Plus, you’re walking differently.”
Had he fucked me so hard I was limping?
Kate laughed, patting my shoulder. “I mean you’re walking lighter. Almost like you’re skipping. So reward my sleuthing skills and tell me what’s up with you and the handsome Mr Wolfe.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Let’s start with the obvious… What’s your status? One night stand, friends who fuck, whirlwind romance, or soul mates for life.”
“Jesus, those are my choices?”
She nodded.
“We’re dating. Getting to know each other.”
“How long?”
“Two weeks.”
“What! You’ve been keeping this from me for two whole weeks?”
“From everyone. I haven’t introduced a man into my kids’ lives in so long.”
She frowned. “It’s not as if they’re kids anymore.”
“I know that. It’s just that I have to make sure this is real. You’ve seen him. The man is high-end eye-candy. The kind they wrap in gold foil and sell at exclusive boutiques.”
“Yeah, he’s a panty-soaker for sure,” she replied.
“Nice description.”
“I think it’s better than your candy analogy, but looks can be deceiving.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“How is he in bed? Often, the most handsome men are horrible lays. They tend to lean towards the selfish side if you know what I mean, and I know you do.”
“I don’t kiss and tell,” I said in a hushed whisper.
“That bad, huh?” She grinned widely.
“It’s the best sex I’ve ever had. He stimulates me raw.”
“Nice description. And how does he make you feel the rest of the time?”
“He makes me feel like I’m special. Like I’m the only girl in the world.”
“Then pray tell, why are you keeping it a secret from everyone? I’d be announcing it to every stranger in the street.”
That was a good question, and one I wasn’t sure I could answer myself.
“I’m worried it’s going to end. I mean, he’s him and I’m me. This stuff doesn’t just happen. I don’t want the kids to know their mom’s getting mixed up with a man who could break her heart.”
“Why are you so sure he will break your heart?”
“You’ve seen him. He’s perfect. You should see his apartment. It takes up the top floor of this huge building on Lakeshore drive. A building he happens to own.”
“Let’s look at this method
ically, friend. He’s a billionaire, which is a good thing.”
“That’s actually one of the reasons I’m so nervous, Kate.”
“It shouldn’t be. We know he has money so we can rule out that he’s trying to steal your identity, get you to co-sign for a loan or invest in his Ponzi scheme.”
I stifled my laugh. “Thanks, Kate.”
“It sounds like you’re not fully vested.”
“That’s not true. I am, but I’m a realist too. I see the way women look at him when we go somewhere. I’m in this relationship with him, and I love every minute of it, but I’m preparing myself now.”
“For what?”
“For pain.”
She shook her head. “Look, why don’t you just ask him?”
“Ask him why he likes me? That would make me sound like an insecure girl.”
“That’s exactly what you’re acting like, Emmie. Maybe you don’t see it, but Damien Wolfe isn’t the only one in this relationship with assets, if you know what I mean.”
We stopped talking then because the cute blonde who Adam had been talking to strolled into the stacks. We stood there for a minute while I contemplated if she was lost. No one ever came into the stacks.
“Can I help you find something?” I asked her.
“Just looking. By the way, I love your hat,” she said, gesturing to Kate.
“Thank you, I’d love to have you tell my daughter-in-law that. She seems to have a different opinion of it,” Kate said, readjusting the cap and smiling brightly.
The blonde turned to me. “I think it looks great on her. You’re lucky to have such a hip mother-in-law.”
My jaw dropped, and I stared at my friend with horror as we both realised this girl thought I was Stevie.
“I’m never wearing this stupid thing again,” Kate grumbled, tossing it into a nearby garbage can.
Chapter Sixteen
He picked me up in a beat up old truck, holding open the door for me.
“Car troubles?” I asked, hopping into the cab.
“Eh, I like to drive this once in a while. I’ve had it for a long time, and it’s my favourite car. Do you mind?”
