Chapter Fourteen
Sweet Seduction
If anyone had ever gotten the chance to know Jennifer well, they would have called her a strong, talented individual. She had a good head on her shoulders and carried herself well.
However, after confessing the one thing that was eating away at her heart, those well-earned titles didn’t seem to hold weight against the feelings that suddenly racked her body.
She was crying. Actually crying. Nicole moved in quickly like a good friend goddess and cradled Jennifer’s upper body. Although Jennifer’s cries were silent, the tears were many.
“Don’t ruin your makeup,” Nicole whispered urgently. That made Jennifer laugh. “Your mascara will run,” her friend reminded.
That was the prompting Jennifer needed. She tried to pull herself together and reached for a napkin to dab into the corners of her eyes. She hated it when her mascara ran. It was so difficult to put on. Nailing the “Smoky Eye” look was a feat she felt accomplished for, but in less than a minute, she had ruined it all.
“I have some makeup wipes,” Jennifer muttered. She reached for her purse to retrieve the moist wipes. Nicole looked around.
“I sure hope that bozo doesn’t show up now, of all the times.”
“Bozo?” Jennifer sniffed.
Nicole nodded with attitude. “Yeah, that’s right, I said it. Bozo.”
Frowning, Jennifer raised her head and looked around at the other patrons sharing the outdoor lounge with them. No one seemed aware of her second or two of breakdown.
“You’ve worked with this guy for five years, Jenn. This is the same guy you were fawning over before I left right?” Jennifer chuckled and nodded sheepishly.
“Was I really that obvious?” Nicole’s response was a facial expression that made Jennifer laugh, easing the pain she felt in her chest.
“Anyway, you got a picture of this Andrew guy?” Nicole wet her lips. “I want to see Superman.”
With a giggle, Jennifer slipped her fingers into her purse and retrieved her phone. Her face paled when she saw she had missed a call. There was also another new email. Swiping at her screen, she frowned, eyebrows bunching together with concern.
“What is it?” Nicole asked, waiting patiently at Jennifer’s side.
Erasing the notifications, Jennifer forced a smile and shook her head. She added on a few extra blinks for good measure.
“It’s nothing. I have a shot of the two of us,” she reached for her phone’s photo album. “He took me on a horse ride downtown for lunch one day,” she was grinning. “That was fun. A little gross, seeing those horses use the bathroom, but,” she grinned. Andrew took care of that sight for her and kissed her instead.
“It was a great lunch,” Jennifer turned the phone to Nicole to let her see the selfie they had taken as they huddled in the carriage. They had taken several different shots, being playful and acting like two teenagers in a photo booth. The next image was Andrew kissing her cheek.
“Oh man,” Nicole whispered. “These guys are hot!”
Jennifer giggled, “I know right?” They cackled together. Nicole straightened herself and eyed Jennifer cautiously.
“Why?” She asked softly. With a falling smile, Jennifer frowned.
“Why what?” She half chuckled at the question.
“Well,” Nicole hesitated; her eyes darted around the lounge. After a moment, she sighed. “That’s just not you,” she said softly.
“Oh,” Jennifer pressed her lips together and directed her focus to her purse. Inside, her fingers found her compact mirror. She pulled it out and checked her reflection. She had a naturally clear complexion and rarely used concealers or heavy creams. Blessed is what most women called her. Others said she didn’t even need makeup, but she still used it on hot days for the SPF protection.
“I’m sorry. I’m not judging,” Nicole added quickly. “I’ve been there, worse than a kiss too. You know that.”
Jennifer smiled. “Yes. I was there for you then too,” she responded with a soft sigh, and then shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know why. He’s just been so,” she chuckled and forced her eyes to widen. “I’ve always had a thing for him and today,” she tried to explain herself again. She found she couldn’t. There were no words for flirting back, for batting her lashing or touching James at every opportunity.
His touch felt good. The way he watched her, the way he smiled at her. She loved it and wanted more. That’s why she kept giving him the go ahead. It was something she had wanted for years. Did that make her a bad girl?
“Does he know how you felt about him?” Nicole asked after a few seconds of silence had elapsed. Jennifer shrugged and brought out a light powder. Something to make her tone a little more even since she had wiped the drama from her eyes. With a short brush, she dusted around her nose and across her cheeks.
“I don’t think so.”
Nicole scoffed. “He knew.”
“What?” Jennifer lowered the brush to meet her friend’s gaze. “What makes you so sure?”
“If you had a crush on him for the past five years—”
“Three. It got really bad after Dick and I broke up.”
Rolling her eyes, Nicole continued where she left off, “the past five years,” she stressed, and then pointed a finger at Jennifer, “You may have been with Dick for those first two years, but you were hurting for him bad then too, I remember,” Nicole stated thickly.
Jennifer ignored Nicole’s jab and remained silent. Nicole continued, “Anyway, my point is that I’m sure your boss man knew. Hot or not—he ain’t stupid.” After a moment, she paused, “Is he the millionaire?”
The question nearly made Jennifer’s sadness go away. She laughed hard and clutched at her stomach. When she could breathe again, she put her brush and compact mirror away and caught her breath.
“Yes,” she chuckled, “yes, he’s the millionaire.”
“Is he still a millionaire?”
“I sure hope so,” a dark, tempting voice that sounded behind them. A deep chuckle accompanied the words, and the women jumped, at the sound.
“I’m sorry ladies, I didn’t mean to scare you,” James rounded the loveseat and sat across from them lazily. He relaxed into an arm chair comfortably and smiled easily.
“I figured you’ve had more than enough time to catch up,” he chuckled, “Plus I’m feeling pretty good and I’m no longer starving. I wanted to meet your friend at a time while I could still talk.”
Nicole smirked. “Lush much?” She challenged in a flat tone. Jennifer pushed her friend in her side, a prod that Nicole ignored.
James shrugged. “Well, my usual crowd tends to force you to push your limits,” he grinned at Nicole, who only narrowed her eyes at him.
“So you’re a millionaire?”
James paused at the question. He glanced at Jennifer, and then looked to Nicole. “Is that problem?”
She smiled, and shook her head politely. “Not at all,” she swallowed and reached for her glass. “So does that mean you have millions? Like a literal million dollars in your bank? Or on you? Do you even carry cash?”
Her questioning made James laugh heartily. He relaxed and wet his lips, casting another glance in Jennifer’s direction. She knew her friend was only stealing the show to keep the air light. She loved Nicole for that. She was the protector in their group.
When a man broke their hearts, she made sure stupid actions and drunk thoughts never put them in a position to allow it to happen again. She was effortlessly doing what Jennifer really needed a girlfriend to do: cockblock. She breathed a sigh of relief. Nicole was doing an exquisite job, a master at the art.
“Okay,” James leaned on his knees and used his hands to gesticulate for emphasis, “so I’m a millionaire,” he stressed. “That doesn’t mean I have millions in my accounts. It means I’m worth millions.”
Nicole nodded. “And what does it mean to be worth that kind of cheddar?”
He reeked of sexy like it wa
s a special cologne he had bottled and shipped from an exotic foreign island. He lazily let his head slump to the side.
“My stock portfolio, company investments, acquisitions, they’re worth millions. In my personal accounts I never keep more than the max insured by FDIC.”
After a moment, Nicole asked, “What’s the max?”
“$250,000.”
Her mouth dropped and Nicole whipped her head to Jennifer. “Is he serious?”
Jennifer watched James. He was soaking up the attention with the smug and poise his type were known for. Hesitantly, Jennifer nodded.
“Yes.”
Nicole’s eyes spoke for her, and the look made Jennifer and James double over with laughter. Nicole rolled her eyes with flair and flipped her hair back with sass.
“Whatever,” she said confidently. “That’s a lot of money.”
“Jennifer told me you were in a rehearsal earlier,” James segued smoothly. “Are you on Broadway?”
Suddenly, the flashy sass and hard demeanor vanished and Nicole gushed. She giggled and nodded enthusiastically.
“Which one?” James questioned.
“Aladdin,” Nicole responded eagerly.
“You must be quite the performer,” James remarked. “I like that.”
Nicole froze. After a moment, she nodded and then glanced to Jennifer with a twitch in her eye. Jennifer only offered her a smile in response. What could she say? James was hella smooth and he knew it.
“Um,” Nicole swallowed and cleared her throat, suddenly uneasy. She sat her cocktail glass down and turned to Jennifer. “It’s pretty late. I gotta go.”
“You’re leaving?” Jennifer sat up with a start. Her friend couldn’t leave. She didn’t want to be left alone with James again. Or maybe she really did and was just afraid of what would happen.
“So soon?” James crooned. “You should stay a bit. We have rooms for the night so we don’t have anywhere to be.” For once, Jennifer agreed, but his comment made Nicole balk.
“You have rooms here? At the Kimberly?”
They both nodded.
“Their rooms run at least $400 a night, are you serious?” Nicole was incredulous. She looked to Jennifer for confirmation.
“You should have seen the way we came. On a jet charter to New Jersey and then a helicopter to 34th street,” Jennifer reached for her cocktail and drank it straight.
“Don’t forget the complimentary 1998 classic,” James added, he winked at Jennifer. She didn’t look away. She held his gaze and gulped back the last of the cocktail remaining in her mouth. James grinned. Sexy, sweet, and tempting. She needed a savior.
Jennifer took a deep breath and looked at Nicole. She had completely missed their exchange. Nicole studied her phone with thought and focus.
“Nicole, what’s it gonna be?” Jennifer asked, a bit pressing. She needed Nicole to be the third wheel.
At the sound of Jennifer’s voice, Nicole lifted her head and turned to Jennifer. Her eyes darted to James for a millisecond. It was a question. Jennifer nodded, and then mouthed the word please. She bit her lip when Nicole hesitated.
They had talked about her acting work and Jennifer’s past, but Jennifer never asked about any love in Nicole’s life. It appeared that she might have had someone after all, someone waiting for her, like Jennifer had Andrew waiting for her. The thought made her break Nicole’s gaze. She wet her lips, her breathing suddenly difficult and labored. Her chest heaved. She couldn’t keep her thoughts together.
One moment she was fawning over the thought of James’s kiss and the next she was smiling and grinning at the thought of Andrew’s caressing her body. She was not a two-timing type of woman—she didn’t understand herself. She never thought it could be possible to feel this way for two different men.
“I’m sorry, Jenn,” Nicole said softly. She leaned in to Jennifer and hugged her securely. “I’m kind of late to my own date. I told him you were in town so he totally gets it but,” she frowned and gestured to her phone. “Don’t worry though, I won’t leave you hanging, okay?”
Jennifer frowned. Her eyes darted quickly to James. She couldn’t tell if he were listening to her or not, but a waiter stopped by with yet another cocktail. She wondered how many that was for him. He had one with her before Nicole came and clearly had more while he had left them alone—in any case, how many had she had?
“Are you listening, Sweetie?” Nicole asked, drawing Jennifer’s attention back to her. Jennifer nodded quickly, but wasn’t sure what she was nodding to. Nicole sighed and frowned. “Maybe you should call it a night too,” she muttered.
“Nonsense,” James called from across the lounge. “She’s never been to New York before.”
Nicole forced a polite smile. “She just looks like she might have had a bit too much to drink.”
Frowning, Jennifer scoffed. “Please, I’m fine.” Nicole snapped her eyes to Jennifer’s. After a moment, Jennifer coughed. “I mean, maybe I had one too many,” she corrected.
James chuckled seductively and raised a brow. “Really, Jenn?”
Rolling her eyes, Nicole stood suddenly and stepped in front of Jennifer, blocking James from her sight. Jennifer leaned her head back to meet her friend’s eyes and grinned sweetly.
“You know what I think you should do,” her voice was barely audible, and Jennifer struggled to hear her words. “Make sure you can hear your phone and I’ll call you in a bit. When I do, say goodbye and go to bed,” she nodded firmly, “Do you understand? This is for your benefit,” she stressed.
Jennifer nodded, and then smiled. That seemed like a great plan. She’d spend a few more minutes with James and leave when Nicole called her back. She was such a great wing woman and it was a foolproof plan.
With a wide grin, Jennifer stood and wrapped her arms around Nicole’s thin frame. It was so good to see and catch up. It was a stark reminder that she needed to keep in touch more. She planned to do that. No more working late on presentations and speeches. Nope. Those days were over. Gone. Done. Finito. She’d Skype her friends, she’d learned to surf or something. Wait, there wasn’t surfing in Chicago. Well, maybe she’d visit Brittany in Hollywood.
Her thoughts slowed when she found herself staring into the eyes of James. He watched her with an expression she had never seen before. Pulling back from Nicole, Jennifer struggled to look her friend in the eye.
“Call me more,” Nicole said finally. “I miss your voice.”
Jennifer nodded and smiled. “I promise,” she threw in a captain’s salute for emphasis.
“Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep,” Nicole retorted quickly. Jennifer took a moment before she nodded firmly.
“I intend to keep this one, Nicole.”
A wide smile broke onto Nicole’s face. She leaned towards Jennifer and squeezed again. As she turned, she wiggled her fingers at James.
“Take care of my friend. I’m pretty sure she’s had one too many.”
James stood tall and extended a hand to Nicole. She looked down at it, but didn’t shake it. Instead, she pursed her lips and crossed her arms. James chuckled.
“I’ll take care of her,” he leaned forward, “I promise,” he winked.
Nicole turned to Jennifer and pointed a finger. “Don’t forget your phone,” she called with a warning. Jennifer nodded. She watched Nicole turn on the balls of her feet and move towards the double doors that led inside. In the time that her eyes trailed behind Nicole, James moved from his armchair into the loveseat. He leaned forward to block Jennifer’s line of sight and meet her eyes.
“Did you enjoy that?” He asked merrily. Jennifer chuckled.
“You’re such a jerk,” she said with a pout.
James frowned. “A jerk? What’d I do?”
“I’m only worth millions. I have like $250,000 in my bank accounts,” Jennifer mocked him with a faux deep voice. James laughed again.
“Do I sound like that?”
Jennifer shoved him in his arm playfu
lly and met his eyes with determination. “You’re missing the point. She’s one of my best friends and now she’s just going to think you’re a jerk guy with a lot of money. You could have at least helped her to like you a bit.”
James scoffed. “Well, she wasn’t very nice to me either. She didn’t even shake my hand and I gave her a compliment,” he paused. “She’s beautiful though.”
Jennifer shook her head with disbelief, but whatever displeasure she felt in the moment faded in the next second. Her lips curled into a smile. Her phone was still on her lap from when she had shown Nicole the picture of Andrew. She put it into her purse and sat the bag down in between her thigh and James’s knee. He stared down at it.
“What is this? Why are you setting that there?” He questioned, nudging it with his hand. Jennifer beamed before she answered.
“It’s a magical barrier,” she teased.
“Really?” James raised a brow, and nudged it again. “Doesn’t seem to be working. What’s it guard?”
“Me,” Jennifer grinned.
“From?”
“You.”
James pursed his lips. He held Jennifer’s gaze with a blank stare. After a moment, a smile crept onto his face. He placed a hand on the back of the loveseat and walked his fingers along the bound leather back until he reached her shoulders, but he didn’t touch her. His eyes danced and toyed with Jennifer’s stare.
Somewhere, she tried to remember if this was something she should avoid; but, when she met James’s baby blues, her heart and mind melted from reason. James moved his hand towards Jennifer’s face. He touched her cheek and then stroked her skin with his thumb. She didn’t want him to stop, but he did. He moved his hand down and trailed to her shoulder where he gently took hold of her. A ravenous smile emerged.
“Do you really want to keep me back?”
Breath caught in Jennifer’s throat. She didn’t want to answer that question; James didn’t wait for an answer. His fingers danced teasingly along the back of Jennifer’s shoulders. She arched her back, and pushed her chest out. James simply followed the curved of her spine, dropping his fingers in between her shoulder blades. Jennifer shrugged and raised her shoulders high. The movement caused him to stop, but the tempting grin never left.
Millionaire Romance: In Love With My Personal Assistant - A Contemporary Romance (Millionaire Romance, Contemporary Romance, Comedy Romance Book 2) Page 14
