by Ashley Blake
I went into my office and pulled out a couple of the cases I was using as references in my brief and I dove in. Three hours later my eyelids were very heavy so I decided to lie down for a quick 15 minute cat nap. Two hours later I woke up starving so I made chicken parmesan and worked while I nibbled on my dinner. At 9:30 I couldn’t write another word so I washed my face and got ready for bed. I was all tucked in when my phone rang.
“Are you in bed yet?” That deep, sexy voice gave me butterflies every time. I smiled as I answered him.
“Yes, I actually am. I’m exhausted. Are you in bed yet?”
“Yes I am. I’m exhausted also. I just wanted to call and say goodnight. It was great to see you this weekend Lauren. Two weeks can’t go by fast enough for me.”
My belly fluttered at his words. “It was great to see you too. Thanks for coming to Chicago Jake. Hopefully these next two weeks will fly by. I can’t wait to see you again.”
“The feeling is mutual. I love you, sleep tight.”
“I love you too.”
I drifted off to sleep feeling happy and optimistic about us for the first time in a week.
CHAPTER 3
The next two weeks went by in a blur as I buried myself in work to get my brief done on time. It was actually good for me that I had this deadline because it didn’t give me a lot of time to dwell on missing Jake and I didn’t have time to think about the Vivienne situation. I filed my brief with the court that Friday and took the rest of the afternoon off. I went home to pack and while I was choosing the lingerie I would wear, it really hit me that I was going to see Jake in a few hours. I started to think about the dilemma with Vivienne and pushed it out of my mind. I know I was in denial and it was where I preferred to stay. Instead I allowed myself to get excited about seeing Jake again and as I was packing my last items, the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Are you all packed?” That deep, sexy voice flipped my stomach every time.
“I just finished.”
“So this means you filed your brief?”
“Yes, this morning.”
“Good, then we can enjoy a work free weekend. The jet will be waiting for you at 8:00. I will pick you up at the airport. I can’t wait to see you Lauren.”
“I can’t wait to see you too Jake.”
I felt like a giddy teenager as I hopped in the shower to get ready. I made sure my hair and makeup were perfect because I wanted to look really pretty for him. I wore comfortable jeans and a simple t-shirt for the flight. After I was dressed I quickly ate a sandwich and headed out.
The flight was pretty smooth and I felt nervous excitement as we touched down. Jake had a car waiting for me when I got off the jet and I felt disappointed when I didn’t see him anywhere as I walked toward the car. I thought he said he was going to pick me up. Maybe something came up. As the driver opened the back door, I saw Jake’s gorgeous face smiling at me.
I playfully tapped him on the arm and laughed. “You tried to trick me! I wondered where you were.”
Jake laughed as he shielded himself from my playful taps. “I wanted to surprise you. You should have seen your face when you got off the jet, priceless! Come here.”
He gathered me in his arms and placed a gentle kiss on my lips and then pulled back a bit to look at me and smiled. “Hi. I missed you.”
It felt so perfect to be in his arms. I smiled at him. “Hi. I missed you too.” I kissed him on the lips once more and then leaned back and got comfortable in the car. “So what are we doing this weekend.?”
“Tomorrow I thought we would just kind of take in New York with a walk around the city. And tomorrow night we’re having dinner with Joshua and his girlfriend Sarah.”
“The girl who encouraged you to contact me?”
“Yes, that’s her. I think you’ll really like her.”
I already liked her because she was so in favor of Jake and I being together. I couldn’t wait to meet her.
“And what about tonight? Anything special planned?” My eyes locked with his as I thought about how I wanted to devour him.
His smoldering dark eyes must have read my mind because he gave me the response I wanted to hear. “Tonight it’s just me and you.”
Butterflies fluttered in my belly and the aching between my legs grew as I thought about what lay ahead for us later that night. We arrived at Jake’s condo a few minutes later and the view from the top was breathtaking. I could see all of Manhattan from his condo and I was in awe. Jake’s penthouse condo was huge and had really cool contemporary furniture. It was exactly what I had imagined his place would look like. He always did have good taste and I felt right at home there.
“I love the way your place is decorated Jake. It totally looks like what I would imagine your place to be. It’s contemporary yet really comfortable.”
“I’m glad you like it. You look perfect in it.”
I smiled at him, feeling as if I was on cloud nine.
"Do you want something to eat or drink?"
"No, I'm okay. Well, maybe I'll have some water."
"Coming right up."
While Jake went to the fridge to get water for me, I stood at his window marveling at the view. He lived in the heart of Manhattan and I could see gorgeous Central Park from his living room. He came back over to me and handed me a glass of water with ice.
"Thanks. I have a question. Why did you decide to live near Central Park instead of the Upper East Side? I thought the Upper East Side was where all of the wealthy people lived."
Jake laughed as his eyes perused my face and he gently pushed my hair behind my shoulder. "People who have money live all over New York. But the Upper East side borders Central park so I am kind of in that neighborhood. The heart of the Upper East Side is too stuffy for me. I like it here. The city is so alive and I like being in the center of the action. There is so much to do here at any time of day or night. You'll see. The city will wrap its arms around you and you won't want to leave."
"Well, I can't wait to explore it with you."
"We should probably turn in because we have a long day ahead of us."
Hmmm. He's not making any moves on me. I decided to flirt openly to give him a clear message that I wanted him. I leaned into him and looked up at him under my lashes.
"Do we have to go right to bed?"
Jake smiled at me and kissed my forehead. "You will be all mine tomorrow night, my love. But tonight, we sleep."
I tried not to pout but I was disappointed. Jake lifted my chin gently with his finger as his eyes searched mine.
"I promise, it will be worth the wait."
The aching between my legs was palpable and I sulked a bit as we got ready for bed. I couldn't wait to be alone with him back in his place the next night. When I crawled into bed with Jake that night, his big strong arms enveloped me, pulled me close to him and his lips gently touched mine.
"I love you Lauren, sleep tight."
The butterflies fluttered away as the sound of his voice comforted me.
"I love you too. Sleep tight."
The next morning I woke to the smell of coffee wafting through Jake's place. I was alone in bed, but I heard Jake in the kitchen and the delicious smell of bacon and eggs made my stomach growl. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to see if he needed any help. He was cooking eggs and as I walked over to him he turned to smile at me.
"Good morning beautiful. How did you sleep?
"Good morning. I slept like a baby, how about you?"
"I slept like a rock. I hope bacon and eggs are okay for breakfast. I can make pancakes also if you like."
Jake had always been an incredible cook. He put me to shame so I used to always let him win if he wanted to cook for us. He enjoyed it so much more than I did and he was so much better at it.
"Bacon and eggs sound perfect. Thanks for making breakfast."
"Well I didn't want to wake you and I figured you'd be starved when you woke up. Come here for a sec."
&nbs
p; I went to stand beside him.
"A little closer."
I smiled at him and stood right next to him as he stirred the eggs. "Close enough?"
"Perfect." Jake leaned down to kiss me and then leaned back a little as his gorgeous dark eyes smiled at mine. "Good morning."
I smiled back at him as the fluttering in my belly continued. "Morning."
We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together and then we showered, got dressed and headed out for the day.
Jake and I spent the entire day seeing some amazing parts of New York City. There was no way we could see everything in one day, but we did manage to see a lot. We ate lunch at Lombardi’s Pizza on Spring Street and we were both so full when we left, our previously somewhat leisurely pace had slowed to a crawl. Jake and I held hands as we walked very slowly together.
“I am so full, I don’t have to eat for days! I’ll probably just have a drink at dinner tonight with your brother and Sarah.”
Jake laughed. “You’ll be hungry by dinner time, trust me.”
“What time are we meeting them for dinner?”
“They are coming to my place for drinks first around 7:00, I hired a bartender, and then we’ll all go to the restaurant. We have reservations for 9:00.”
“I can’t wait to see Joshua again, it’s been so long…too long. And Sarah, I have to thank her for helping you see the light!” I playfully bumped his hip with mine and knocked him off balance for a second. He tried to grab me and I pulled away from him, laughing, as he chased me down the street.
We spent the rest of the afternoon tooling around the city, taking the train to parts of the city I had never been to before. At around 5:00 we headed back to Jake’s so that we could shower and get ready for the night.
CHAPTER 4
I wore a simple, but sexy, black spaghetti strap dress and strappy sandals. I was standing in front of the mirror in the guest bathroom putting the finishing touches on my hair when Jake emerged from his room wearing black slacks and a sky blue button down shirt. His thick, dark hair was still slightly damp from the shower but looked perfect. He was breathtakingly gorgeous. He stopped to look at me, his eyes taking in all of me. He walked over to me and put his arms around me from behind and caught my eyes in the mirror. “Lauren, you look stunning, so beautiful.”
“Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself Mr. Hunter.”
He turned me around and his hands gently cradled my face as he leaned in to kiss me. My arms started to crawl up around his neck when we heard a knock at the door. Jake slowly pulled away and held my gaze. His soft, sexy voice was filled with lust. “We will pick up where we left off later tonight.” He walked off to answer the door.
His touch and his words had me on fire and, although I was looking forward to the evening with Joshua and Sarah, I couldn’t wait to get back to his place later that night.
“Well, well, it’s nice to see you stranger!” Joshua had a huge grin on his face and pulled me into a big hug.
“It’s good to see you too Joshua! It’s been so long!”
“Yes, too long if you ask me.” He shot a quick look over to Jake. “Lauren I would like for you to meet my girlfriend Sarah.”
Sarah was not what I pictured for Joshua at all. She was pretty in a very natural way and not flashy at all. I had only heard good things about her from Jake and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Joshua had found a smart, confident woman.
Sarah had a big smile on her face and reached out to give me a hug. “It is so nice to finally meet you Lauren. I have heard so many wonderful things about you from Jake.”
“It’s nice to meet you too Sarah. I’ve heard great things about you as well.”
“Great things? Well then they are all true!”
I liked her instantly. She had great energy and I could tell that she was down to earth.
“Shall we get some drinks and relax on the balcony for a bit?”
We followed Jake onto the balcony and the bartender came out to get our orders. While we waited for our drinks we chatted and Sarah and I got to know each other better.
“So Lauren, Jake tells me you are a successful lawyer in Chicago. How do you like it there?” Joshua leaned back in his chair and his resemblance to Jake was striking. Both men were so good-looking.
“I love it there, I really do. It feels like home and I love my job. Eventually I want to branch out on my own and have my own law firm.”
“Oh, really? Have you thought about whether or not you want to have employees?” Joshua seemed genuinely interested.
“I’m not sure yet. I just know that I want to work for myself. And you? How are things with Hunter International?”
“Things are good for the most part. We have a small issue that needs to be ironed out rather quickly. But I am confident that it will be taken care of.”
He was very vague, but I knew he was referring to the situation with Vivienne. I didn’t push it because I didn’t want to upset anyone.
Jake changed the subject back to me. “So, you say you want to own your own law firm. Does it have to be in Chicago?”
Sarah, not so subtly, leaned over and pretended to whisper to me but spoke in full voice. “I think he’s trying to ask you if you would open a law firm in New York.”
I laughed at her blunt display. She’s very funny.
“If I did open a firm anywhere else I would have to take the bar exam for that state and that would be a nightmare. I hadn’t really given it much thought.’ I looked over at Jake. “But maybe I will have to.”
The bartender brought us our drinks and Joshua waited until everyone had their drink before continuing the conversation.
“Would you ever consider working in-house for a large company?”
“I had never really thought about that Joshua. Why do you ask? Are you offering me a job?” I giggled after I said that knowing that he was just joking around with me, or at least I thought he was. When I realized that no one was giggling with me I glanced at everyone and they all had a serious look on their faces. “Wait. Are you offering me a job?”
“Jake and I talked about it, and we would really like for you to consider joining our company as our in-house counsel.”
“But how can I come to work for your company when there is so much that is unresolved about Vivienne?” There it was. The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them. I saw both Joshua and Jake tense up.
“That situation will be resolved very soon. We really do want you to consider coming to work with us. I hope you don’t mind, but I checked out your credentials after Jake told me about your quick rise to partnership. You have an incredible record and I already know that you have the drive that we need. So please, take some time to think it over. We would love to have you. And to be clear, you will be your own boss. We will put you in charge of all of the in-house lawyers that work for us.”
“But I would still be working for you, both of you. I really do want to open my own firm with my name on the door. But I would possibly consider consulting with you, maybe. But honestly you guys, there is a huge elephant in the room and we are sweeping it under a rug. It is hard to think about such a generous offer when there is so much that is unresolved.”
Joshua was very stern with his next words. “I am not going to tell Jake what to do. But what I will say is no one, I don’t care who they are, is going to pressure a Hunter to do anything they do not want to do.” I saw a flash of fire fly across his eyes and I knew that he meant what he said.
Sarah had been silent for the most part but I could see that she was itching to say something. “I’m going to jump in here. I know Vivienne and I know how badly she wants to marry Jake. This is a woman who hung around after he told her that he would never love her. She is desperate and desperate people have to be handled gently. Lauren, I am your biggest supporter, I know that you two are supposed to be together and I believe that you will be. I think if you give Jake some time he will figure out the best way to deal with her. Am I r
ight Jake?”
I looked at him and he looked so grateful to her. “Yes, you’re right.” He grabbed my hands and looked into my eyes. “I promise you, I will take care of this.”
I held his gaze for a few seconds and then took a deep sigh. “I say we table this discussion for a while. Joshua, I appreciate your generous offer and I will seriously consider it. We should probably get going to dinner.”
We went to Phillipe for dinner and the food was exquisite. We all chatted about nothing in particular and I really liked Sarah more and more as I got to know more about her. She and Joshua were perfect together. She had an uncanny ability to bring him out of his hardened shell. I remember how stern Joshua had always been and I had never seen him so relaxed. Jake told me back in college that Joshua’s first real girlfriend broke his heart. She got pregnant and had an abortion without telling Joshua. He was only 22 when it happened and she told him about it after it was too late. It took a long time for him to get over that. I had seen Joshua with various girlfriends while Jake and I were in college and Sarah was the first woman I saw him so relaxed around.
We were waiting for dessert when Sarah asked if I needed to go to the ladies’ room. We excused ourselves and went to powder our noses. When we were in the bathroom Sarah lowered her voice so that only I could hear her.
“I didn’t want to say this in front Joshua and Jake because Joshua doesn’t like for me to meddle in other people’s lives. But you need to know something. When we were all in Dubai, Jake opened up to me about you Lauren. You are the woman that he loves. He feels nothing but pity for Vivienne because she told him that she would wait for him to fall in love with her. She constantly tried to pull the “our families know each other” card to try and guilt him into going on family vacations together. But it never happened. I really do believe that he will figure something out. And Vivienne is a snarky little witch who I do not care for. Did Jake say how far along she is?”
“No. I didn’t think to ask him. But it’s funny you ask that because my best friend also asked me the same question. Why? Do you think she’s faking it?”
