by A. C. Arthur
“What brings you here tonight?” He decided to ask instead of exploring her questions or his strange thoughts any further.
“Two reasons, actually,” she told him. “One is business.”
Parker nodded. “Then let’s go with that one. You’ve got about five minutes before my food begins its trek towards being lukewarm—”
“And I know how you like your food piping hot,” she cut him off. “Okay, so I’ll get right to the business. DNT has two number one shows right now, your future brother-in-law’s cooking show and Indiscretions. With that success we’ve had an influx in clients and I wanted to get your thoughts on who we may be able to put where.”
“Gavin’s idea to take his cooking expertise to the streets was ingenious. But we’re certainly pleased with the ratings he’s receiving for surprising persons nominated for being pillars of their community and mentors with a gourmet meal that he prepares right in their very own kitchen. It’s the epitome of everything we, the Donovans, strive for as he’s championing everyday people, bringing forth their good deeds to the spotlight and showing some appreciation for what they do. He and Regan just proposed an idea to have a prom for six of the most troubled group homes within the city. Gavin would provide the food via both his shows, Gavin Lucas Live and Gavin Gives Back, so the network will get a double plug. Regan’s going to handle the clothing aspect for the girls and boys of the homes, tying in her and Camille’s Find Your Fashion reality show and Infinity is going to do a month-long spotlight on the event.” Parker was extremely proud of the new shows Gavin, Regan’s boyfriend, and Camille—his cousin Adam’s wife who had just given birth to their second son Jordan, earlier this year—had kicked off in the previous two seasons.
Jaydon nodded her approval, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the island top as she listened to him intently. “You Donovans sure do know how to capitalize on your talent. And you seem to marry others that will do the same. I gotta tell you I never saw that Gavin and Regan thing coming. I’m still in shock that Regan’s independent and tenacious personality has meshed so well with Gavin’s laid back and calm demeanor. They were truly like oil and water, but now the love almost radiates from both of them when they’re together.”
“Yeah, I don’t really want to talk about my little sister and anything radiating between her and Gavin. I’m glad they found happiness without coming to actual blows, but that’s as far as I’m willing to talk about that,” he said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.
Sure Parker had known Gavin was feeling something for his sister and he’d also known about Regan’s apparent deep-seeded hatred for Gavin. So he’d thought it would be cute to push both of them together on that island and see what happened. He really hadn’t expected them to come back in love and talking about buying a house together, but he couldn’t deny how happy his sister appeared either.
“So what I’m saying is I don’t know about any real acting spots for those shows. I mean, they’re reality shows so they’re going to use the people that are actually involved in the process. They may need some extras here and there. You can certainly contact casting to find that out,” he told her, picking up his knife and fork and preparing to cut into his food.
“Fine. What about Indiscretions? Planning any guest appearances?”
Parker said a quick and silent blessing over his food and cut into the herb seasoned chicken breast. “You should be talking to Lori about that. You know she’s the showrunner.”
“But you’re the producer, Parker,” she countered as he chewed.
“Yes, but that’s why I hire casting directors to work alongside the showrunner and director, so I don’t have to hand-pick every actor for every role.”
“You hand-picked Adriana Bennett,” she replied quickly and reached over to take a baby carrot from his plate.
Parker swallowed his second bite of food, watching as Jaydon’s arm reached across the island and she took food from his plate. There was something oddly intimate about that action, just as her drinking out of his glass had been. It seemed strange, considering their circumstances, and then it seemed…disloyal on some level. He shook his head because he definitely did not want to go there, especially not now with Jaydon sitting across from him, having just said the name of the person he thought he might be being disloyal to.
“You know that was a different circumstance. Our families are friends. Giving her the opportunity to meet with us and discuss her goals was a favor to the Bennetts.”
“A favor that’s turning out to be a gold mine for the Donovans,” she replied. “At any rate, I’m just saying you can find out what the plans for the show are and let me know. Then I can check our client list and see if there’s a match.”
“That’s how we work anyway, Jay, you know that,” Parker said picking up his napkin and wiping his hands. “Donovan Network Management automatically has first dibs on assisting in casting for any of the DNT shows. Every casting company we work with knows this. All the showrunners and associate producers know it. So why are you really here?”
Because there was definitely something else on her mind, Parker thought. If there was one thing he knew, it was women, especially the women that he’d once slept with. Jaydon definitely had something else on her mind tonight.
“Always suspicious,” she said sitting back in her chair. “When I first met your family I thought there was some sort of mix-up. You had the dashing good looks, the smooth almond-toned complexion coupled with those eyes—the gray/green mixture that I would later learn traveled unexpectedly through the Donovan men. Only your parents were the lucky ones to have you and Savian both get those enigmatic eyes. But that’s the only similarities you two shared. See, where I had you pegged for the smooth ladies’ man, with charm that had slipped through my system like fine wine, Savian immediately struck me as the more intense and reserved brother. The one most likely to be paranoid and or suspicious.”
“And your point?” Because he was tired of this merry-go-round for the moment. He’d spent the better part of his day being twisted in all types of sexually repressed knots over watching a woman he shouldn’t want to touch, lick, or taste, for that matter. Then that same woman had basically thrown him out of her dressing room and begged him to stay away from her. His plan for the night, after his conference call, had been to come home and try to drown his wayward thoughts in the work he’d ignored yesterday.
“Why didn’t we make it, Parker?” she asked leaning forward, watching him as if his answer was worth a million dollars.
Parker’s throat instantly went dry. He looked to his glass of lemonade, remembered her drinking from it, then stood and went to the refrigerator. Grabbing a beer, he opened it and took a long, slow, drag.
“We came to our senses,” he replied. “Figured out we weren’t as compatible as we thought.”
“Huh,” she said, her gaze following him, one elegantly arched brow lifting. “Are you sure about that? I mean, we’re both interested in making money, being successful, building the Donovan brand until it’s known in every household worldwide.”
“That’s business,” he countered, wondering why the hell they were having this conversation and what was going to happen when it was over.
“Okay, let’s talk personal. You love your family. Without much family of my own, I love yours just as much. You favor sleeping on the right side of the bed, I like the left. You don’t cook, I do. You’d rather not watch a romantic comedy and I’m right there with you.”
She shrugged when she was finished as if it should all be that simple. “So because we both hate the same type of movies we should get back together? Are you serious?” he asked, leaning against the refrigerator.
Jaydon slipped off the seat, walking slowly until she stood directly in front of him. “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”
They were so close now he could smell her perfume, which didn’t matter because it hadn’t changed over the years, Chanel No. 5. The fact that he knew
that meant absolutely nothing. He also knew that Darlene, his assistant, loved daisies, hence the reason he had them delivered to her desk every year on Administrative Assistant’s Day.
“There is nothing here anymore, Jay,” he said as lightly, but seriously as he could.
The corner of her mouth tilted in a smile and she leaned in even closer until she was touching her mouth to his, tracing her tongue along the line of his lips. Parker didn’t move, he didn’t blink and he didn’t feel a damned thing. The very first moment he’d seen Jaydon walking out of a coffee shop near their college campus, he knew they would end up in bed together. To say she was gorgeous would have been a gross understatement. She was statuesque with long toned legs, breasts so high and plump his mouth had instantly watered. Her curves hadn’t stopped there, nor had the arousal that felt like a quick punch to his gut.
At one point in his life he’d thought he’d never get enough of kissing Jaydon, getting her naked and beneath him as fast as he possibly could. For six months he’d thought of nothing but her. She’d been at his dorm room every morning before classes began and in the evenings until they could barely stay awake. They’d gotten married two days after they graduated and had spent the next year figuring out how big a mistake they’d made.
His family had been stunned, especially his father. Reginald had pulled Parker aside the day he and Jaydon returned from Las Vegas where they’d exchanged their impromptu vows.
“Are you sure this is who and what you want?” Reginald had asked, his usually smiling face tight with consternation.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Parker had replied.
“You’re still so young, son,” Reginald continued, clapping a hand on Parker’s shoulder. “So young and so liable to make mistakes when your hormones are raging. I just want you to be careful, to know that once something is done, it can’t be undone.”
Parker remembered thinking his father had been in a peculiar mood that day. Or rather the entire family had been since the last thing any of them had probably expected was for him to return from college a married man.
“You called me Jay,” she whispered, still pressing her very well-toned body against his. “I always loved hearing you call me that.”
There had been a time that he’d loved saying it, Parker thought as his mind returned to the present. He’d thought what they had was true and sustainable, when what it actually turned out to be was lust and opportunity.
Jaydon clasped the back of his head then, pulling him down closer, slanting her mouth over his in an attempt to deepen the kiss. It was tempting, or rather it should have been. Damn, it should have been more than tempting. He was a single, virile man and tonight, he could close his eyes and take this sexy and successful woman to his bed. The sex would be good. Not mind-blowing or anything emotional because that was long gone, but just pure and simple good sex. Which wasn’t a bad thing. It just wasn’t what Parker wanted, at least not anymore.
“Yes,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder to push her away, while reaching the other hand out to set the beer bottle on the counter. “I did call you Jay, because that’s your name,” he continued.
Parker used his free hand to take her other shoulder, holding her still while he stepped back. “We’ve known each other for nine years, of course I’m going to remember what I called you. Just as I remember how quickly things between us fell apart.” He took a deep breath, watching as she blinked slowly at him. “We’re better as friends you know that as well as I do.”
She drew her lips tightly together as Parker let his hands slip from her shoulders until they rested once again at his side.
“I know that’s what we told ourselves all those years ago.”
When he began to shake his head she cupped his chin in her hand to hold him still. “You remember how good it was between us. I know you do. But I’ll agree it wasn’t our time then. We had business aspirations and things in this industry were moving pretty fast. We both wanted to see other people, to explore other options, so we broke up. Okay, that was the right decision for that moment. Now, we’ve both grown up Parker. We know exactly what we want and how to get it.”
Parker believed those last words and for that reason he slipped easily out of her grasp.
“I don’t want to go backwards, Jay. You know that’s not how I work,” he told her seriously.
“Oh I know how you work, baby. I know you better than any of those other females you’ve been with.”
“Then you should know that this, right here,” he said moving his arm between the two of them. “Is a done deal. We tried. It was good for a while and we were smart enough to know when it was finished.”
Her lips tilted at both ends, the tell-tale smirk of a Jaydon’s disbelief.
“Okay,” she said folding her arms over her chest. “Who is she?”
“Excuse me?” he asked wondering once again what the hell was going on tonight. “Look, why don’t you just tell me what the hell is really going on in your head because I know this cannot simply be about you and me getting back together. Not after all this time.”
She nodded. “Right. That’s the business tone, the no bullshit one that you get when you’re about to turn a deal down flat.”
Parker watched her closely. “No, that’s the ‘I’m not in the mood to play games with you of all people’ tone. And we’ve been through too much together to start.”
“I want you back,” she told him. “How’s that for not playing games?”
“No,” was Parker’s simple reply. “Is there anything else?”
He walked around her, went back to where his food was now cold and very unappealing.
“Then I’ll ask you again, who is she? Because if you’re passing this up, not the get back together for real thing, but the at least lets go to bed and see if we still have it, there has to be someone else that you’re sleeping with at the moment,” she stated as if she were laying out another fact to be considered.
Parker didn’t look at her, just picked up the food and took it over to the counter, setting it down slowly. “There is no one else,” he replied feeling his gut clench at the words. Unfulfilled hunger, he thought before turning back to face her.
“Look, we’ve worked really hard to build this business relationship. You’re an asset to DNM and I wouldn’t want to lose you or your resources,” he began.
“So is this the threat? I can either back up and stay in my place or you’ll fire me?”
Parker was silent for only a second. “My family and my business,” he told her. “Those are my priorities, Jaydon. Either we can work together or we can’t. Just let me know.”
Now her lips drew into a thin line, her chest heaving as she attempted to remain calm. Part of him wanted to crack a joke, say something to make her laugh or even smile, to get back the lighthearted mood they normally shared. But he was agitated even more so now, than he’d been earlier today. How dare she pull this on him? They’d been down this road before and had assured each other that it wasn’t where they wanted to be. Why was she doing this now, of all times?
“I love my job, Parker. With or without you and your family business, I’ll continue to do it,” she snapped, grabbing her purse off the island and heading out of the kitchen.
Parker followed her to the door. He didn’t call to her because he wasn’t certain what else needed to be said. He’d told her there was no future for them on a personal level and no job if she couldn’t handle that. There was nothing else.
No tears, no tantrums, that wasn’t Jaydon. And it wasn’t what Parker wanted. He liked strong, resilient and tenacious women because they reminded him of his mother. Jaydon was all of those things with a healthy dose of gumption and drive. Nothing deterred her and nobody could hold her back, not even her father who had been a heavy gambler and had, in turn, lost the money for her college tuition in a poker game. Yes, Jaydon Lennox Donovan was a fighter, but if she was gearing up to fight for him or what she thought they still had, he needed to end
that battle right here and now.
“Whoever she is make sure she deserves you,” she said when she had her hand on the door latch, her back facing him.
She was gone before he could reply leaving Parker to sigh, his headache in full swing at this point and his stomach growling.
#
It was almost midnight and Parker couldn’t sleep. He’d been lying in his bed, staring out the floor to ceiling window at the Miami skyline until he thought he could recognize each light and which building they were perched on. He couldn’t get her and that look in her eyes out of his mind. Even with the weird as hell stunt Jaydon had pulled, Parker could not stop thinking about Adriana.
On impulse he reached over to the nightstand, disengaging his phone from the charger. For a few seconds he simply held it in his hand.
“What the hell, man,” he said with a sigh. “You’re a Donovan.”
That made him chuckle. He was a Donovan. One of the reputed dark, dangerous and desirable men that every female wanted to claim. He had it all, money, lineage, good looks, his dream job and a kick-ass new Porsche that went from zero to sixty in two seconds.
And here he was lying in his bed—in a luxurious million dollar penthouse—holding an eight hundred dollar cell phone, with his heart pounding, his fingers shaking as he scrolled through his contacts to find her telephone number.
On a deep inhale and quick-before-he-lost-his-nerve exhale, Parker pressed the text message button and watched as the blank screen and keyboard appeared.
Sorry about earlier. Hope you’re feeling better about the job.
He pressed send and lay the phone flat on his bare chest, an arm draping over his eyes as he thought how lame texting her at this time of night was. She was probably asleep since she had a nine o’clock call tomorrow. She wouldn’t be late, he knew, because he’d been keeping close tabs on her for the last year. That was all the more reason she was most likely in bed already, her alarm set to wake her up in time to make it to the studio at least an hour early.
