Jennifer took a deep breath and reached for the clipboard she had been using to keep her notes. She ran back through the list of ten that she had already selected. Each had a good possibility of getting job. They seemed like people that could start as soon as she gave them the “go ahead”.
As she clawed her way back through the list, thoughts of Andrew worked their way into her mind. She thought of the last two weeks. They didn’t always have lunch together. He was incredibly professional, which Jennifer was only just now starting to realize that perhaps she always wasn’t. It was difficult to set her feelings aside when he had been near to her. Being so close to him throughout the day just felt like an opportunity to feel his lips against hers since he was always just a breath away.
This was where Andrew’s focus really made the difference. She wasn’t sure how he was capable of remaining so focused on work, but he could. Maybe that was a trick all millionaire men could do.
The more Jennifer thought about the idea, the more she wondered if she might have been on to something. She knew from working alongside Melone that many men often had affairs within the workplace. Even within the Melone group, Jennifer had heard stories and rumors of get togethers and hook ups within their own office. On the surface, you’d never tell.
During meetings and throughout the workday people remained calm and held the upmost level of professionalism. That was the way this type of environment worked. Business and work first, love and pleasure later. She thought for a second about a millionaire’s concept of love. As a whole, she wasn’t sure she believed if they loved, at least not the way that ordinary men and women identified with the word.
That might seem barbaric. Men with money had appetites for the things they had an affinity for. Jennifer just wasn’t sure if she’d used the word ‘love’ to describe their attraction. Perhaps obsessed would be a better fit.
Some were obsessed with the power and the freedom that more money could bring. Others were obsessed with the constant supply of women. James wasn’t like that, and thankfully, neither was Andrew.
While Jennifer couldn’t vouch for Andrew’s younger days as a wealthy man, she had the feeling that he was probably always the more conservative type. Still, that led her to wonder, if he were the type to prefer only one woman, why was he single after so many years?
He seemed like a great catch. Gorgeous, strong, incredibly handsome—wait; that was same thing as gorgeous. Jennifer blinked and realized she had been staring at the same piece of paper for over five minutes.
Food.
That’s what she needed. It would cure her roaming mind and help her stay focused. She reached for the phone and pressed James’s call number. He didn’t answer right away, but when he did, Jennifer’s stomach tightened. She didn’t recall him having such a smooth, inviting voice in the past. Was he capable of it? Of course, but he had never used the voice on her. She stammered over her thoughts. Why was she calling again?
“Thinking about taking lunch?” James asked curiously. His voice brought butterflies back to her stomach, a feeling she hadn’t felt with him in two weeks. What was happening?
“Um, yes,” was all Jennifer could manage.
“Good. I just got off the phone with Timothy.”
Jennifer frowned. The name sounded familiar. Her mind struggled with switching into work gear. She remembered that Timothy was the name of the last call she had transferred to James’s office.
“That’s good,” she managed in a bright voice. The flutters in her abdomen were starting to subside.
“Looks like we might have another client. He would like to meet me for a late meeting. We’ll get lunch on the way.”
Jennifer frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I want you to come with me. It’ll be good for you to see how I do business.”
“Um, what?” Jennifer blinked and shook her head. “Go with you where? Where is Timothy?”
“He’s in Summit, Jennifer. I’ll head to your office.”
“Wait—where’s Summit?” She heard James chuckle over the phone. The beautiful sound made her heart jump.
“It’s in New Jersey. Near New York City.”
“Wait a minute,” Jennifer shook her head violently, trying to understand what James was saying. “You mean New Jersey, on the east coast?” There was silence on the other end of the line. “Where Melony Richards is?”
James laughed. “Exactly,” he paused, “you know, you should meet her. She’s a good old friend of mine. Knew me from elementary.”
“You’re talking about going to Jersey?”
She heard another laugh this time, but it was a bit more strained. “Yes. This client was among one of my first.”
Jennifer looked around the room wildly. “Do we even have time for that, James? You said there was a freaking fire in Colorado—”
“Jennifer, Angel,” she heard a smooth coming sound through the phone to caress her restless soul, “Andrew’s there now. I’ve changed Jerry’s focused so we’re bound to get back on track. I’ve need to meet this man and with your new position within the firm, I really believe you need to be with me.”
“My new position?” Jennifer put a hand to her forehead. Never mind the fact that she didn’t understand how they were going to get there and back in one day. She was just struggling with the idea of a whole new contract added to her load. “I’m not even a partner, James. What about hiring the assistant?”
“I need someone to answer the phones, keep my calendar in check and follow up for me. It shouldn’t be too hard,” he stopped speaking abruptly. When he began again, his voice was calmer. “We need to be at the strip in forty minutes. A pilot’s already waiting.”
Jennifer sat the pen she had been gripping in her hand down. There were too many thoughts for her to focus on just one.
“Can you be at my office in five?”
Jennifer cleared her throat and looked at the list of ten applicants she had singled out. Maybe she would have time in New Jersey to make another round of calls to see who would be available to work the soonest.
“Sure.”
The link clicked after that. Slowly, Jennifer lowered the phone back to the receiver. Somewhere in her conscious was the faint reminder of her hunger, but she thought nothing of it now.
She wanted to do a quick online search to see how far away Summit was by plane, but she knew she didn’t have time. On her desk sat a nearly empty bottle of water. She reached for it and finished the contents quickly, but her mouth remained parched.
Straightening her suit jacket, Jennifer reached for her purse and pulled out a compact mirror. Her lipstick, a soft shade of red was still flawless, as was her hair. She didn’t feel the same though. Inside, everything shook. A month ago she would have been bursting with excitement at the opportunity to get some alone time with James. She always looked forward to the moments where they would have only each other for company. Now she wasn’t so sure.
Somewhere she was excited and frightened at the same time. She thought she had buried those feelings; she thought she had realized that maybe she was just in love with the thought of being in love with someone who never seemed to notice her. But she had been wrong about that. James had always seen her. Isn’t that what he had told her earlier that day, and then last Friday on her lunch break?
Did that mean he cherished the time they had spent working side by side as she had? Or was that something he had to forced himself to ignore as well? More importantly, did it even matter? She was involved now, right?
It seemed too trivial a title to say that Andrew was her boyfriend. They were too old for that, but they were together, right? And what they had was more than a mere fledging office attraction, wasn’t it?
Jennifer sucked in a deep gulp of air and reached for the clipboard and her purse. She knew nothing about this client and didn’t know what to bring with her. Her small briefcase for work held the work tablet and laptop. She slipped the clipboard into it and gripped it’s leather handle
tightly. Everything was saved in their cloud so if they needed anything, all she’d need was internet access and she could get it within a few clicks of the mouse.
After shutting down the desktop and straightening her desk, she gathered her briefcase and purse and left her room, locking it behind her. James was already outside his office, waiting for her. He greeted her with a sexy smile that warmed her chest and stole her breath.
“Ready?” He asked devilishly. Jennifer could only manage a nod. James grinned. “Good. They’ll be food in the plane on the way over because I’m starved.”
Chapter Six
Heavy Whipping Cream
“We’re not taking 90/94 to O’Hare?” Jennifer asked, breaking the silence in the back of the BMW 7 Series business class vehicle. Melone managed a running expense with a local luxury transport service. It entitled them to two vehicles at any time during the day. She was even authorized to use one for personal use if she ever needed, but Jennifer never took advantage of the offer. She actually loved driving in the city.
Her face was pressed against the glass and she watched the road signs carefully. She knew the way to the airport like the way to her own home.
“We’re taking a private jet,” James explained calmly. He watched Jennifer carefully and smiled when her eyes widened. “We depart from the Chicago executive airport. That’s 20 miles north of the city in Wheeling.”
Jennifer eyed James. “Is it…” she paused, “is it yours?”
James chuckled, and then shook his head. “I don’t own my own plane but I do use a jet chartering service for personal flights.”
Relief spread throughout Jennifer. She wasn’t sure why the thought of James not owning his own plane made her happy, but it did.
“I’ve always flown business commercial with you,” she commented.
With a tired nod, James turned and looked out the window. “Yes. I’m probably a rariety in this sense that I like to travel commerical at times.”
“What does that mean?”
Turning back to her, James ran his eyes over her quietly before he chose to answer. “Well, most affluent individuals normally own their own jet or something. I don’t. I prefer to just charter one when I need to. Maybe in a couple of years I’ll see the benefit to paying for my own pilot and crew but,” he shrugged, “until then, I just fly private as I wish and then use business class because,” he paused, “well, I like to remember.”
“Remember?” Jennifer chuckled. “Remember what?”
James grinned. “I didn’t come from a wealthy family, Jennifer. You’ve never asked why I always go back to New Jersey.”
Frowning slightly, Jennifer narrowed her eyes in thought. “I always assumed it was for Melony.”
James’s face contorted. “Melony has always been just a friend.”
“You mean you two have never…” Jennifer let her voice trail off as she fished for information. James laughed and shook his head.
“Never.”
“Really?” Jennifer laughed easily as she watched James relax in front of her. He shook his head again and shrugged his shoulders.
“Really,” he stated thickly. “You’ll see. I was born in Summit. My family worked in New York. We weren’t poor, by any means, but we didn’t have the type of wealth I have now.”
Jennifer nodded eagerly, hanging onto James’s words. She hadn’t known anything about his past. In fact, she had never even wondered why it was always New Jersery he escaped to.
“Your parents? Are they still alive?”
James chuckled and nodded. “Very much so. Yours?”
Giggling, Jennifer nodded. “Yes. It’d be a shame if I were orphan so young, wouldn’t it?”
James’s eyes twinkled. “I wouldn’t let you be alone so young,” he said softly. The smile faded from Jennifer’s face as he spoke. The lightness that had found them was suddenly gone. She coughed to clear her throat and tucked hair behind her ears.
“So, Chicago has an executive airport?” She asked, hoping to change the subject.
James’s smile remained. He nodded. “There’s a wonderful lot you could learn about the wealth that’s in America. It’s simply amazing.”
Jennifer nodded and looked down at her fingers. They were professionally painted and polished with no chip bright secretary pink. She thought of James’s words and felt her skin crawl. All these years of working beside a millionaire and talk of money still bothered her.
Running a thumb over her index finger, she lifted her eyes curiously to James. He watched her quietly and when their gaze met, he smiled kindly.
“What’s it like?” She asked softly.
James frowned. “What’s what like?”
“Having all your money? So much money?” She sniffed and looked around at the car. “I can’t imagine it. Do you ever spend too much?”
He laughed at her. It was so deep and startling that it drew a giggle out of her. Within a few seconds, it was a chuckle and a little while later found her laughing just as full and free as James.
As their laughter died, James wiped beneath an eye. “I don’t mean to laugh at you,” he said softly. “You’re just so cute.”
Jennifer frowned. “Cute?”
He nodded and sniffed. “Talking money has always made you uncomfortable, hasn’t it?”
With another giggle, a little more timid this time, Jennifer nodded. She felt the bit of tension that was bunched in her body beginning to unwind. She was starting to remember that James wasn’t a man she had to be uncomfortable around. She knew him, after all. She had worked with him for five years.
“Maybe a little bit,” Jennifer said with a sigh.
James laughed again. “Try a lot. Remember when we flew to the New York silent auction?” He nodded towards Jennifer. “I remember you kept asking about the suite. ‘What should I wear’ and ‘So is it formal business casual or formal business whatever’,” as James tried to imitate her questioning voice, he started laughing again. Jennifer laughed this time with him too.
“Hey,” she pointed a finger at him, “wanting to dress the part doesn’t make me scared of money.”
“I never said you were scared of money,” James said quickly. His face turned serious. “I just said it’s always made you uncomfortable. Like you were afraid you didn’t fit in with the rest of us.”
Jennifer thought of how awkward she felt eating with the mayor’s crew after she had given the benefit speech. Maybe James was on to something. She had never really given it much of a thought.
“Maybe,” Jennifer began softly, “maybe I don’t belong with you guys,” she said softly, surprising herself with the bit of raw honesty.
James raised an inquistive brow. “Poppycock.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” he smiled and nudged at her arm. “Poppycock. Money wouldn’t make you fit in with my crowd, Angel,” he stopped short after breathing his pet name for her. Jennifer felt her heart swelling. He held her eyes and she didn’t look away. “It’s an attitude,” he said softly. “And a way you carry yourself,” James was solemn and grave. “You have both, angel,” he nodded surely. “I mean that.”
Jennifer blinked repeatedly, unsure of when her hand had found her chest to touch her heart. James had never said anything more touching to her before. She wasn’t sure what that meant. She tried to speak, but her voice croaked. James chuckled, keeping the air light.
Trying again, Jennifer managed, “Does that mean one day I can be a millionaire too?”
He laughed. “I’m surprised you’re not one already.”
“Too busy working for you,” Jennifer quipped readily.
At that line, James smirked and raised a brow. “Are you kidding me? I’ve seen the car you drive. And what about that suite on North Canal Street?”
Jennifer frowned. “How do you know where I live?”
James stared at her increduously. “Have you really forgotten the past five years you’ve worked with me?”
Forcing a
chuckle, Jennifer shrugged. “I don’t remember inviting you over,” she paused. She didn’t invite him over. Instead, he had come to her. It was on a Saturday morning when she had attended an event in his place. It started with a champagne flute, and then a bunch of other stuff she had no business drinking.
Jennifer wasn’t sure how she had gotten home, but somehow, she had arrived saftely and had fallen asleep with all her clothes on so she could only assume that she wasn’t taken advantage of. James had come to check on her in the morning, and said she had been talking “nonsense” the day before. Something he would never tell her exactly what it was, but apparently, it had been enough to make him come to her home to see if she was okay.
Lifting her eyes to meet James’s gaze again, she frowned when she saw his face. He sported a look that made Jennifer’s cheeks flush with heat.
“You remember that night now, don’t you?” He asked her with a soft chuckle.
Lowering her eyes, Jennifer, shook her head quickly. “No, not that night. Maybe the morning. I remember you came to see if I was okay.”
“I ordered you breakfast too. I stayed for a bit.”
Jennifer took a deep breath. “Yes, you did,” she paused, “That was before Katie.”
“And apparently after Dick.”
She giggled and struggled to clear her throat. Deciding to take an interest in the blurred scenery outside the vehicle, Jennifer turned to watch the world swril past them. She ran a hand over her hair, running her fingers through and playing with it absently. A smile still lingered on her lips, something she wanted to get rid of but found she was unable to stash away.
“Didn’t you ever wonder how you got home that night?” James asked her with a tease in his voice.
Jennifer whirled to him. “You?” He smiled and nodded silently. Jennifer shook her head, confused. She didn’t remember how she had gotten home and presumed someone must have called a cab, but that didn’t explain how she would have ended upstairs in her bed…
“You called me, remember?” James’s smile taunted her. Frowning, Jennifer shook her head.
Millionaire Romance: In Love With My Personal Assistant - A Contemporary Romance (Millionaire Romance, Contemporary Romance, Comedy Romance Book 2) Page 5
