by Lexy Timms
“Are you taking his calls?” she asked.
“I took the first one. I haven’t taken any of them since. I’m not sure if I should, but a part of me wants to.”
“Why?”
“Because I know what it feels like to have my calls not picked up by the one person I wish I could fix things with.”
Our eyes connected before her beautiful green orbs fell to her wine.
“How’s your mother doing, Ashley?”
“She’s, um ... I mean, it’s not pretty. But she’s alive.”
“That bad?” I asked.
“It’s getting there. The nurses are already talking about switching her medication again, and this’ll be the last time they can before she’s beyond help.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I mean, people with Alzheimer’s live six to eight years with it on average? She’s put in seven. It’s only a matter of time.”
“That doesn’t make it any easier.”
“No,” she said. “It doesn’t.”
A band on stage started to play, and I saw Ashley’s eyes drift to them. A spark of happiness in the sadness that welled within her eyes happened, and I couldn't deny her what she wanted. I stood to my feet and offered her my hand, a grin sliding across my cheeks.
“A professional dance?” I asked.
“Is there such a thing?” she asked with a giggle.
“Wanna test the theory?” I asked.
She slipped her hand into mine, and I twirled her onto the floor. People started to watch us as her dress billowed out. I swayed her side to side and dipped her when the music called for it. The smile she had lit up her face as her hair whipped around her shoulders. The connection between us was growing. The anger in her eyes toward me was fading. Every time she turned into me, she allowed her body to step a little closer and allowed my hand to hold her a little lower on her back.
We were the only ones dancing, but I didn’t care. Ashley was laughing and having a good time and that was all I cared about. We danced through three songs before I saw our food hit the table, so I twirled her out, and she took a bow for the crowd.
Everyone clapped for us as her cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
A slow number came on, and I pulled her into my body. Our food would need time to cool down, and a slow dance was the perfect way to give it room to breathe. My hand slid around her waist, and I pulled her close to me, her eyes gazing up into mine.
“Is this professional?” I asked.
“Nothing this fun is ever professional,” she said. “But our food’s gonna get cold.”
“It’s still steaming. Let’s give it a chance to cool down.”
“What if I want my steak piping hot?”
“You don’t if you value your taste buds,” I said.
The song ended, and I led her back to the table. We ate our food and talked like old times. Like nothing had ever taken place between us. The conversation flowed easily, and the laughter was bellyaching. My heart soared with every story she told me, and my spine shivered every time my foot passed hers underneath the table.
I paid for dinner, and I escorted her back out to my car. I opened her door, and she thanked me before sliding in with her delicate movements. I cranked up my car and gripped the steering wheel, but something stopped me.
I wasn’t ready to take her home yet.
“I might be overstepping my boundaries,” I said. “But is there any chance I could convince you to come back to my place for a drink?”
I looked over at the beautiful woman sitting next to me as she gazed up at the stars.
“I’ve always enjoyed the view from your apartment,” she said. “I’m sure one drink won’t hurt.”
I was shocked she agreed, and I raced us back to my place. I promptly poured her a glass of wine that would complement the food she had eaten. She walked over to the towering windows at my place, and I turned on some mood music, draping the background with something we could listen to if she didn’t want to talk.
“I spend way too much time on my porch at my place,” Ashley said.
“There’s no such thing as that,” I said.
“I love the view. I love looking out over Miami and seeing everything from up above.”
“Why?” I asked.
“It makes all of the problems and the quarrels seem less important.”
I sipped on my bourbon as I turned toward her. She turned her eyes to mine, and I reached out for her body. She fell into me, her body pressing deeply as I wrapped my arm around her. We swayed to the slow rhythm of the music as the alcohol filled my stomach.
Her warmth was undeniable and comforting and familiar.
I missed this. I missed this connection with her. With the way she was looking up at me with her desire-soaked eyes told me she missed it, too, and she still felt between us what I was feeling. She finished her wine, and I took her glass from her, tossing the crystal onto the couch.
I’d clean it up in the morning.
“Ashley,” I said.
“Just shut up and kiss me.”
Her hand wrapped around the back of my head, and our lips collided. I pressed her against the glass and unraveled her hand from my head. Lacing our fingers together, I pinned her hand above her head, absorbing the press of her lips into me, her hips into me, her soul into mine.
I found her other hand and pinned it to the glass. My lips nipped at her cheek and traveled down her neck. She picked up her leg, wrapped it around me, and then jumped up to catch my hips between her thighs.
Even if this was my last moment with her, I would make sure it was one we would never forget.
I would make sure we ended on the best note I could possibly give her.
Chapter 8
Ashley
He carried me to his bedroom and slowly lowered me to the bed. Our lips connected in a sensual kiss as my hips undulated into him. I couldn't deny how much I wanted him and how good his body had felt against mine when we were dancing. I missed the connection we’d shared, that innate sense of knowing someone better than they thought. His lips traveled down my body as he undressed me, massaging every curve and kissing every crevice. I was on fire. My toes were curling as his lips streaked down my thighs. Electricity blinded my vision as his hands ran along my body, massaging my breasts, parting my thighs, and bending my knees to my chest.
His thick tongue ran along my slit, and I moaned. I arched into him, no longer trying to deny what I wanted. He kissed my pussy. Lapped at it. Swallowed the arousal that had built because of his touch. He pressed and licked and sucked as I rolled against him. My back arched, and my hands curled into the tendrils of his hair. I pulled him closer. Pressed him deeper. Allowed his name to drip from my lips.
“Jimmy. Jimmy. Yes. Right there. Right there.”
He hummed in approval, and it sent me over the edge. My naked body shook and jumped as his tongue raked over my clit. I was dripping down to my ass, and he cleaned me up, licking from my ass to my pussy while I groaned at his wet warmth.
I looked down at him, and he peeked up between my legs. His eyes locked on mine as he lowered me back to the bed. He stood up and removed his clothes, taking his time as his chiseled form revealed itself to me.
I shook as he descended onto the bed.
His lips collided with mine, and my hands rushed to his hair. His hips fell between my legs as he guided himself into my body. I moaned. I wiggled. My legs trembled as I bit down on his lower lip. It was all too much, and yet it wasn’t enough. The alcohol was heating my veins, and his muscles were twitching against my skin. He was rolling deeper than I’d ever felt him as his hand held my hips at an angle that made the room spin on its tilted axis.
I kissed him over and over, unable to get enough of his taste. The bourbon on his lips and the steak on his breath screamed “man” to me. My body was coming unhinged, bucking ravenously into him. My clit was pressing against his trimmed curls as my nails raked down his arms.
“Do it again,
” Jimmy said.
My eyes whipped open as our foreheads connected.
“I said do it again.”
I reached around for his back and dug my nails in. I pressed deeply into his twitching muscles as he pounded into my hips, making my tits jump, and I raked his skin. Leaving red marks behind that welted as I chased what I wanted, what we both wanted.
“Ashley. Holy hell, I missed you.”
His words sparked a fire in my chest as tears rose to my eyes.
I buried my face into the crook of his neck. I couldn’t let him see me this vulnerable. My pussy throbbed around his cock, pulling him in deeper as he groaned. The bed rocked against the wall, the headboard crashing into the plaster. His body collapsed onto mine as his hands roamed my body, squeezing my breasts and tugging at my nipples, holding down my hips and massaging my thighs.
I couldn’t get him close enough to me.
I sat us up and clung to Jimmy’s body, straddled his lap. He held both of our bodies upright. I thrust against him shallowly, his dick pressing against that electric spot within my body. I shivered in his grasp, and I could feel him growing, pulsing against my walls as my juices dripping onto the bed.
I pressed open-mouthed kisses on his shoulder. Up his neck. On his cheek. Then our lips locked as my body burst.
I dug into his back as his arms covered mine. He pulled me into his body, arching me as he towered over my form. My hand rose up to his hair, wrapping my fingers in it as he exploded inside me. Thick threads of come shot deep into my body, painting me with his mark as I throbbed around him. I jolted with each electric shock that convulsed my muscles while his throat swallowed my moans.
“Oh, Jimmy,” I said breathlessly. “Don’t let go.”
I was weak to the man who was Jimmy Sheldon. He held me close as his face fell to my neck, our bodies still connected at the hips. I gasped to catch my breath and root myself in reality as the room slowly stopped spinning.
I was shivering in his arms, and his muscles twitched against my skin.
Once I could see straight, I slid from his arms. I couldn’t stay with him, even though he probably wanted me to. I gathered my clothes and got dressed, painfully aware that he was watching me.
It felt weird being in this position.
“I’ll, um, see you Monday for work,” I said.
“See you then, Ashley.”
I walked to Jimmy’s front door and left without looking back. I wanted to stay strong. I wished I could’ve stayed strong, but the pull between us was undeniable. I couldn’t help it. I was in love with him, fully and completely, and the passion that flowed between us was an added bonus. I put my hand over my mouth as I walked to the elevator, leaving the man I loved behind in his room alone.
I wanted to go back and be with him, tell him how sorry I was and that things were okay.
But things weren’t okay, not yet.
This didn’t mean we were back together, and I had to make sure Jimmy knew that. Simply because we’d slept together didn’t take that contract we’d talked about off the table. I would talk to him about it Monday during work hours. In his office with the door open.
Because I couldn’t go back. If I did, I would stay, and I wasn't sure if that was the right move.
Chapter 9
Jimmy
“I have to say, we’re a bit concerned by what happened during the last meeting.”
“Are you planning on replacing Markus? Or will you be expecting us to foot his bill?”
“Have you looked into your other subcompanies? Were they affected as well?”
“I want to see the balance sheets from this month. I want to know this madness has been stopped.”
“Where is Miss Ternbeau? I’ve been trying to get in contact with her for days about my investment.”
My investors kept throwing tons of questions at me all at once without giving me a moment to speak up. I sat in my chair and let them bombard me as I tried to gather my thoughts. This was a hell of a way to start a Monday morning, especially after my encounter with Ashley the night before.
Fuck. It had been incredible.
“Mr. Sheldon, are you even listening?” Mr. Matthews asked.
“I am. I’m waiting for you all to hush so I can address your concerns,” I said.
“Then, go ahead,” he said. “Indulge us.”
“What happened during the last meeting came as a shock to all of us, believe me. And yes, I plan on replacing Markus eventually. I have a few people who have expressed interest in being on the board in the past, so once I can get this mess cleaned up, I will be approaching them with numbers and valuations by the end of the month. As far as Miss Ternbeau goes, I’ve given her some time off. She was the one who brought all of this to my attention with Markus, and she was pretty badly shaken over it.”
“Miss Ternbeau was the one who figured it out?” Mr. Matthews asked.
“Yes. Based off a conversation she had with him during one of our nightly outings,” I said.
“Way to go,” an investor said.
“She should be in here so we can thank her personally,” another one said.
“And when she returns to work, you can all thank her. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it. In the meantime, however, there is only one priority, and that is to clean up these balance sheets. Ross and I have combed through all our financials, and none of the withdrawals are taking place any longer. This month’s balance sheet won’t be clear because his arrest only took place a few days ago, but I’ve contacted our financial institutions, and they’ve put a stay on his account as well as his debits. Next month’s balance sheets should be cleared, and I’ll have them printed out week by week and put in a folder for you to have.”
“When you say financials, do you mean Big Steps? Or all of your companies?” Mr. Matthews asked.
“All of my companies,” I said. “I will get you the balance sheets for all of the companies.”
“How will the money get returned to the company?”
“His immediate finances are being frozen and redirected. What we can prove immediately will be repaid over the next month. If anything else pops up during the investigation for any reason, then his assets will be liquidated to cover what he took,” I said.
“Good. That man should pay up for what he stole from us.”
“I’m doing everything I can to help the FBI with their investigation. They were brought in over the weekend to comb through everything, so don’t let people in FBI jackets make you nervous. They’re going to go through the subcompanies to make sure those are stable, but the more proof we can hand over on Markus, the better off we will be in court.”
“Glad to hear it. If you need anything from us, you let us know,” Mr. Matthews said.
Yeah. Except your investments.
I wasn’t going to tell them that two of my subcompanies had been hit. I didn’t have a big hand in them, but some of my investors did specifically invest in them as well. I was already on shaky ground as it was, and I knew divulging that information to them would upset them. The FBI was on my side with what to tell them and what not to. They knew two of my other companies had been hit. They were supportive that I wasn’t ready to reveal the information, so I knew I could trust them not to open their mouths to the wrong people.
The investors seemed to be happy with my answers for the time being, which brought some temporary relief, but until I could get them investing again, we were going to have to tighten things around the office. I couldn’t bank on that money that was supposed to be coming in from Markus’s accounts. For all I knew, he had a fail-safe in place so no one could touch his “fortune.” Since the clear balance sheets wouldn’t come out until the end of next month, that meant we would go for the rest of this quarter without any other investments funneled into the accounts.
That would take a chunk out of our basic operations budget.
Fuck. This man had screwed me over. I dismissed the meeting, and the investors left, but I stayed seated in
the room. Even with him being arrested, I was still having to clean up his damn mess.
My anger was boiling over again.
My phone rang in my pocket as Ross stepped into the empty room. I slid it out and took a look at it, half expecting to see Ashley’s name. I wasn’t sure how she would react to coming back to work after what happened between us over the weekend. Part of me was expecting her to quit and never come back.
Instead, it was my lawyer.
“Talk to me, Trish.”
“Markus has been released from jail,” she said.
“Are you fucking serious?” I asked.
“He posted his bail.”
“His bail was set at fifty million dollars. He didn’t have fifty million dollars.”
“His girlfriend? Jamie? She has his power-of-attorney. She’s already liquidating assets and emptying his accounts.”
And there it was. The only way this situation could get worse.
“I thought his accounts were frozen,” I said.
“His accounts. These accounts are in her name,” Trish said.
“Of fucking course, they are.”
“Look, he’s innocent until proven guilty in this country. I know we have a lot of stuff on him proving his guilt, including the partial confession in the meeting last week, but he still has to be convicted by a jury of his peers. If he had the money to post his bail, they have to let him go,” she said.
“How the fuck is this man constantly wiggling his way out of things?” I asked.
“We’ll get him. Look, Jimmy, I’m in the process of setting up a meeting between me and my team and Markus’s team. I’m sure they’ll be looking for some sort of a deal, but I have a plan.”
“You want to get him to confess to the subcompanies,” I said.
“I think we can. If we can get his confession like we did last time, even if it’s a roundabout one, it takes any possible deal off the table.”
“Why?”
“Because it proves premeditated thought. Right now, they’re working under the assumption that he saw an opportunity and jumped. Doing this to other companies brings premeditation into the picture, and that’s rough going in a court of law.”
