by Lexy Timms
***
Mark didn’t ask Erica when he went back out. Instead, they finished moving things out of the apartment and closed it up. He pulled the gate shut behind himself as he came through for the last time, and felt a little pang of sadness at the idea of leaving. Living in the apartment had been a good experience. It had helped him get his life back together after his divorce, and made up for some of the years that he and Alex had lost when they were young. He had his brother back. He’d gained a sister. But now it was time to move on, and with that knowledge came a moment of longing for the part of his life that was closing.
Erica must have seen the expression on his face when she turned around to see if he was following, because she walked back toward him, laying one of her hands on his shoulder. “You doing okay?” she asked gently.
“Just a little bit of pathetic moving day blues,” Mark said, finding a smile for her. “I know that I’m still going to see them all the time, but it’s a little different living so close. Alex and I didn’t have a great relationship as kids, so this was a little like getting some of that time back. A forty-minute drive seems like a lot of distance after being practically just down the hall.”
“I felt that way when I moved out of the apartment I used to share with my brother,” Erica said. “We were both adults by the time I left, but it didn’t make suddenly being so far apart easier. But it was necessary. And our relationship is just as good as it always was, even with half a continent between us.” She patted his shoulder, and stepped away. “Trust me. It’s not going to be as hard as you think it is.”
“Thanks,” Mark said, “for caring enough to even say something.”
“Hey.” She looked back over her shoulder to smile at him. “You’re a great boss. I’m not going to let you wallow in misery.”
He probably should have laughed at that, but Mark’s thoughts had caught on the phrase she used. A great boss. Did that mean that he wasn’t anything more? Did she even see him as a friend, let alone potential boyfriend material? The question went over and over itself as Mark got into his car and followed the truck out toward the club. Had she just given him the answer the question Jamie told him to ask?
Most people didn’t approach their bosses with so much familiarity, though. That had to mean something. Maybe that was just her idea of humor to lighten the mood. The staff at the club was small, and most of them spent a lot of time around each other. Mark had started to consider several of them friends as much as employees, Erica included. She hadn’t ever seemed like she felt any differently.
Jamie had been right. He just needed to ask, and see where it went. That was the only real option. Otherwise he was just going to convince himself that he didn’t have a chance, and it was better to try and be turned down than to assume that she didn’t want anything more than an employer/employee relationship with him when she might have wanted more.
By the time they pulled into the drive of the club, Mark was sure. He was going to ask her.
He waited until they finished carrying everything inside. There were more stairs to go up here than at the apartment, but they got help from a couple of the cleaning staff and it went faster than the initial loading had gone. A little more than an hour later, there were boxes stacked in the living room of the bachelor pad, and Mark was pulling two bottles of beer out of the fridge. He popped them both open and set one on the coffee table for Erica, while he took his own to the couch that sat across from the one she was currently occupying. He was glad he’d had the foresight to have the apartment furnished before he moved his things in.
“How does it feel to be officially moved in?” Erica asked.
Mark looked around at the space, and through the window that looked down on the golf course and the wooded space beyond, and he smiled. “You know, it actually feels good. Guess I left the blues behind.”
“If there’s one thing you don’t want to bring with you when you move…” Erica took a sip of beer and leaned back into the couch cushions with a sigh. “At least we got everything moved in one go, so you don’t have to worry about hauling out another load tomorrow.”
“That is kind of nice,” Mark agreed. He took a drink from the bottle in his hand, and then another. If he was going to ask her he needed to do it soon, before she decided to head back home. He took a deep breath. “I was wondering,” he said. “If you would like to go to dinner with me.”
“To dinner,” Erica said slowly, looking up at him. “To dinner as in ‘thank you for helping me move’ dinner, or to dinner as in dinner-dinner.”
“As in, I’d like to take you out on a date,” Mark said. “If you want to go.”
She looked down at the bottle she was holding, then back at him. “I don’t think so, Mark.”
It wasn’t the answer Mark had expected. She didn’t sound angry.
He set his beer down on the coffee table. “Is it the employer/employee thing?”
“That’s part of it,” she said. She stood, setting her beer on the table beside his. “I think I should get going.”
Mark stood with her. “Of course,” he knew his face was burning but he ignored it, “and I want to make sure that you don’t think your saying no to the date offer is going to affect your job. You’re a valuable asset to this club, and I’m not so petty that I would—”
“I know it won’t,” she said, cutting him off. “But thank you for the reassurance.” She smiled. “Like I said, you’re a great boss.” She stepped around the edge of the coffee table and moved toward the door.
Mark turned enough to watch her go, but didn’t move after her.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mark,” she said as she opened the door. “Have a good night.”
“You, too,” he said, and then she was gone, the door swinging shut behind her.
Mark dropped down to sit on the couch again, looking at the two bottles of beer still sitting on the table. A great boss. His first instinct had been right after all. At least now, he told himself, he knew. He could put the whole thing behind him and get on with work. Maybe it was for the best, anyway. Just because Alex and Jamie’s relationship had worked out didn’t mean that workplace romances weren’t usually a bad idea. They were usually a really bad idea. Erica had been smart enough to keep that in mind. He sighed, and picked up the bottle of beer he’d set down.
So much for that.
Chapter 13
THREE WEEKS LATER
BILLIONAIRE TAKES BABY MAMA TO COURT. Alex Reid finally responds to allegations that he abandoned infant son with Lacey Riker.
Jamie dropped the magazine back on the rack with a sigh. Of course it was going to be all over the news. She had just naively hoped that the coverage would actually be in favor of Alex for once, but that had obviously been too much to ask.
They might have been able to keep it quieter if the woman had been reasonable. Alex had sent her an email, offering to arrange a private paternity test and let it all go away without fanfare, but of course she had wanted her day in the spotlight. Which meant time in court. Jamie couldn’t help wondering how the poor child felt about everything that was going on. His mother was using him for fame and money, and no doubt he was having to deal with the fact that most of the country had heard about the case. She hoped that kids at his school weren’t teasing him about it, but didn’t think that he would be that lucky. Even when it died down there, the internet had a long memory. His mother was always going to be the woman who had tried to squeeze money out of Alex Reid, and he was always going to be tied to that.
Lacey had to know that everyone was going to see her lie when the paternity test came through. She was lucky that Alex hadn’t taken his attorney’s advice and sued her for slander. Jamie shook her head, and moved up a little farther in the grocery line.
The twins were at home with the nanny.
Despite her earlier dislike for the idea of hiring one, Jamie was glad they had. Briana was one of the kindest people Jamie had ever met, and it was obvious that she really loved
her job and cared about the twins. Jamie had stayed with them the first few days, getting them introduced, and the twins had taken to her as quickly as she took to them. When she’d left to head to the store, they’d all been in the living room playing with blocks, the twins squealing in delight every time Briana knocked over one of the towers they’d just built.
It was nice to have someone available when she needed to run a quick errand. In the week since they’d hired Briana, Jamie had been getting more sleep, too, and she was looking forward to an upcoming date night with Alex. She wasn’t quite ready to start leaving Benton and Lilliana with Briana for full days while she went to work, but she could get some things done from the home office, and maybe she’d start heading in for a couple of half days a week soon. It would be nice to have a little time out of the house again on a regular basis.
Jamie paid for the groceries in her cart, and took them out to the car. For the first time in months, she turned toward the office. She wasn’t quite ready to go back to working there, but she had some papers that Alex needed immediately, and it would be fun to drop in and say hi to Justin and some of the other employees who might be around. She still hadn’t met Miss Eriksson, either, though they’d exchanged a few emails for work. It was about time she met the new PA.
Walking into the office again after so long was strange. The marble floors felt familiar under her feet, but there were a couple faces she didn’t recognize among the people moving through the building. Maybe they were just clients. She stepped into the elevator, and took it upstairs to Alex’s office.
Justin was sitting at the desk in the front, and he looked up when she stepped out of the elevator, his face lighting with a smile. “Jamie! How are you? How are the twins? It’s been ages.”
“I don’t think that’s proper office protocol,” Jamie joked, stepping forward to take the hand he offered. “But I’ll let it slide.” She looked around the room, which looked the same as it always had. “I’m doing well, and so are they. Growing like weeds, of course,” she said, smiling back at him. “Just here to drop off some papers for Alex. What about you? Still enjoying your job?”
“Loving it,” Justin said. “As always.”
“Look,” a woman’s voice said, just as the person it belonged to came into view. “I understand your difficulties, but we’ve got a business to run, the same as you do. So either you come through on your end, or I look for a new supplier. Clear?”
Jamie stared.
The woman, who had to be the new PA, looked more like a runway model playing at business chic than the kind of person you’d usually expect to find working in an office. The professional-looking skirt suit she wore only highlighted her narrow waist and long legs, and why hadn’t Alex warned her? Had he not told her how good-looking his new PA was on purpose?
“Excellent,” Miss Eriksson said. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
She reached up, and hit the button on the Bluetooth receiver hooked over her ear, and the stern look she’d been wearing became a smile as she turned to look at Jamie. “Hello,” she said, reaching out with one slim hand. “You must be Mrs. Reid. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Emelie Eriksson.”
Her nails were long, and manicured. Jamie was suddenly very aware of the messy bun she’d pulled her hair into and the lack of polish on her nails. Her errand-running jeans and t-shirt weren’t exactly up to standard either. She reached out and took the offered hand, shaking it.
“I’m Mrs. Reid,” she said, finding a smile somewhere that she hoped didn’t look as flat as it felt. “I hope everything you’ve heard is good?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Emelie said, laughing. “It’s usually in the context of ‘Jamie does x. Why can’t you do x like Jamie does? She’d have had this report in an hour ago.”
Jamie thought she should have felt bad about that, but she felt a little thrill of relief instead. If Alex was complaining and comparing her to Jamie, he hadn’t started thinking about replacing her. Which she knew, intellectually, that she shouldn’t be worried about anyway, but she couldn’t shake the fear that one day he would realize he’d married someone far below his level and go looking for a woman more suited to him.
“That’s Alex for you,” she said. “I’m sure he’ll settle down once you’ve been working here for a few more months. And speaking of Alex, I’d better go drop these papers off with him.”
“Of course, Mrs. Reid,” Emelie said. “It was lovely to meet you.”
She hurried off again, flicking through screens on the phone she’d pulled out of her pocket, and Jamie watched her go for a minute before she could make herself look away.
“No one mentioned that she looked like a Swedish supermodel,” Jamie said when she was well out of earshot, turning to look at Justin again.
He laughed, and might have said something, but the phone rang just as he opened his mouth, and he picked it up with an apologetic smile. Jamie gave him an OK sign and went to give the papers to Alex.
Her husband was in the middle of a phone call when she came in, and Jamie set the file down on his desk, leaning back against the wall beside the door with the intention of waiting until he was off the phone to say hello and maybe get a kiss. He looked up at her and smiled, but his attention was all for the call, she could tell. It dragged on, and on. Finally, she glanced down at her phone to check the time, and gave up. She hadn’t planned on being out for more than a couple hours, and it was starting to get closer to three. They could talk when Alex got home.
She tapped a hand against the edge of the desk to get Alex’s attention, and he looked up from the notes he was typing as he listened to the speaker to give her a look of silent questioning. Jamie smiled, and blew him a kiss, mouthing ‘I’m leaving.’ He nodded, and reached out for a moment to hold her hand in his, squeezing just tight enough to let her know it was on purpose. Jamie turned and slipped out the door.
Zander was out in the lobby, talking to Justin at the desk, but he paused when she walked out and offered her a warm smile. “Jamie,” he said. “How are you?”
“Not bad,” Jamie said. “A little busy lately, though.”
“I can imagine,” he laughed. He stepped away from the desk and a little closer to her, so that they weren’t practically shouting across the distance. His brown hair was neatly brushed back from his face, and Jamie thought the suit he was wearing was new. It looked good.
“I wanted to thank you,” she said. “For everything that you’re doing for the company. It’s nice to have Alex home a little earlier on weeknights.”
“And home at all on weekends?” Zander asked.
“And home at all on weekends,” Jamie agreed a little ruefully.
“Well, I’m glad that I can give him a little more time with his family,” Zander said. “I’m trying to take more off his hands, but I’m sure you know how stubborn he can be about it. It’s like trying to get a favorite toy from a dog.”
Jamie laughed. “I hope that you haven’t actually said that to his face.”
“I still have a job, don’t I?”
“I’ll refrain from telling him you said that, then,” Jamie said. “For the sake of your job.”
“That would be much appreciated,” Zander answered.
“I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to get home to the twins. The nanny is with them now, and I told her that I would be home about twenty minutes ago.” She smiled at him again. “It was good to see you, though.”
“And you,” Zander said. “I hope you’ll be dropping by the office a little more frequently in the future. We miss you around here.”
“I miss being here,” Jamie said.
“Bye, Jamie,” Justin said, waving from the desk.
She waved back at him, and at Zander, and headed downstairs and out to her car. It didn’t matter, she told herself as she pulled out into traffic. Emelie Eriksson was beautiful, but Alex was hers. He wasn’t going to go running off for some new PA, no matter how hot she was. Jamie knew that.
But it didn’t stop the jealous worry that turned in her stomach.
Chapter 14
Mark didn’t mention the dinner invitation Erica turned down. Thankfully, she didn’t either. He had worried, right after it happened, that it would make things between them awkward and uneasy. However, Erica had carried on in the same way that she had before he asked her out, and Mark thought he had managed to do the same. Sometimes the rejection still stung, but he did his best not to take that out on her or anyone else.
The club had done fantastically in its first three weeks of business. Having the tournament had gotten the word out, and it was continuing to spread, bringing in more people every day. Reviews had gone up on a handful of blogs and in a few different newspapers, all of them positive. If the business kept growing at the rate it currently was, he was going to have to hire some new staff to handle the influx of customers. The elation of success made it a little easier to forget about how much he still wanted Erica. And how much she obviously didn’t want him.
A new set of golf clubs for Alex had been Erica’s idea. She’d apparently seen his set last time he had come out to play, and thought it could be better. When he’d told her that Alex’s birthday wasn’t coming up any time soon, she’d pointed out that he was the primary investor for the club, and that it was customary to occasionally give appreciation gifts. Mark had given in.
It was a nice set of clubs, he had to admit. As they rode the elevator up toward Alex’s office, Mark looked at them again, admiring the brand new shine. Erica had gone with him to pick them out, which had been as much a torture as it had a pleasure, because any time he got to spend alone with her, no matter how much he enjoyed it, renewed the ache of unfulfilled desire.
When the elevator opened, Mark picked up the set of clubs and started toward Alex’s door.
“He’s actually got someone in there with him right now,” Justin said from the desk. “I think it’s his lawyer. They should be done pretty soon, if you want to hang around for a few minutes.”
