by Measha Stone
“I’m sure your father will figure out a way,” Garrick stated with less admiration than sarcasm in his tone.
“He’s obsessed with this project. His way of leaving his stamp on the city.”
Garrick gave him an incredulous look. “Baron Croft will never see anything past the nose on his face. He’s an idiot, Jamison.”
“Yeah. It’s not like you haven’t told me that before. But I guess it took hearing it, or rather seeing, really seeing him as the man he is instead of the man I desperately wanted him to believe it too.”
“You gave him the benefit of the doubt all these years. But it’s good to see you finally realize you’re doing just fine without his stamp.” Garrick shook his head. “Stamp on the world. A hotel will accomplish that?”
“Who knows. But you know, Carissa said something the other day that made me think. She asked me why I believed my father’s story about my mom just leaving us. What if she didn’t? What if he kept her away?” Jamison had been thinking about that scenario more often than made him comfortable. He’d gotten over his mother’s abandonment years ago, but the idea that maybe she hadn’t done it, maybe she did want him, had resurfaced.
“Carissa was probably deflecting something you asked her, right?”
They’d been talking about her family, and she had changed the topic a few times. “We were talking about our parents.”
“Her parents aren’t worthy of conversation.” Garrick’s tone hardened.
“You knew them?”
“No. I met Carissa through Jade. So not until they were in college. But I saw the mess her mother made of her, the mess her father had put her in.”
“She said her father was somewhere in Texas.” Had she been lying to him, hiding things from him again?
“He probably was or is. That asshole caused all sorts of trouble for her when he lived here. Always trying to use her to get some sort of government aid. Tried to claim he was a single dad. Once he snatched her from her mom, kept her for a month trying to get housing or some shit like that. When it didn’t work, because Carissa let it slip that she lived with her mom, he dropped her off on the corner of her street and drove away. From what I could tell, that was the last time she saw him. He called a lot looking for money, though.”
“And her mom? She made is sound like she’s a bit of a revolving door.”
Garrick laughed. “Yeah. Gail is like that. Meets a guy, moves in with him right away, breaks up, and starts over. It’s her way. She’s never done much good for Carissa, but at least she never tried to use her or hurt her.”
“No wonder the woman doesn’t think a relationship is possible. She’s never fucking seen one.”
“I told you. Black and white—that’s just how she thinks.”
“You know, you sound very much like a big brother. You aren’t going to give me trouble about her, are you?” Jamison and Garrick had never argued about women, or really discussed them much until they both found themselves with someone important to them.
Garrick laughed. “Fuck no. From what Jade said, you’re exactly what that little brat needs. And besides, she helped me get Jade’s head on straight when I needed her assistance. I’m pulling for you to win this little battle. Jade also told me about the expiration date.”
“You shouldn’t let your girl gossip.” Jamison tried to sound firm, but weren’t they doing that exact thing?
“It’s not gossip when it’s true.” Garrick pulled the collar of his jacket up around his throat. “Don’t look at me like that. Those are her words, not mine.”
“You’re getting soft.”
Garrick shrugged. “You’re still coming over tonight, right? Jade hasn’t seen much of Carissa since you two started seeing each other, and she asked me at least a million times this morning to make sure you let her come over.”
“A million?” Jamison quirked an eyebrow.
“You know what I mean. She’s like a dog with a bone when it comes to Carissa, and she swears you’re keeping her locked up somewhere.”
“I assure you, as much as I’d love to have her locked up anywhere, that’s not the case. She’s been working insane hours and volunteering. Don’t they see each other at work?”
“Different shifts this week.” Garrick waved down a cab. “It’s cold as fuck out here. I’m heading home. Jade’s probably already cooking.”
“I’m on my way to Carissa’s. I doubt she even ate today let alone cooked anything,” he said. The shipment of groceries had been delivered the day before, but he wasn’t positive she’d done anything with them except put them all away. She’d grumbled the entire time they talked on the phone that night about how many groceries he’d ordered and how she was never going to be able to eat it all.
Garrick laughed, opening the door to the cab that pulled up in front of them. “Not like you to be so gentle with your woman. Guess she’s got her hooks in you.”
“Guess yours does, too, in you. Make sure you tell Jade you’ve relayed her message, and I will bring her friend to her with no delays.”
Garrick’s expression darkened. “Now I’ll have to make sure she can’t sit for dinner, to repair the injury you’ve just inflicted on my manhood.”
Jamison let out a burst of laughter. “Like you weren’t already going to do that anyway!”
Garrick flashed a smile and got into the cab. “True enough.” He shut the door.
Chapter 10
“Who knew you could actually cook?” Carissa leaned against the counter next to Jade, who was chopping lettuce.
“I’ve cooked before.” Jade shot her a nonplussed look, scooped the lettuce into two hands, and dumped it into the bamboo salad bowl.
“Yes, I believe I’ve enjoyed such entrees as macaroni and cheese—the powder variety—and hamburger helper—in which you substituted ground turkey for the beef. Such a culinary success you’ve been.”
Jade laughed and placed a ripe tomato on the cutting board.
“Okay, so I don’t usually cook, but it’s not that hard. We’re just having spaghetti and salad.”
“That’s my Jade.” Carissa laughed and walked over to the wine rack. She’d give almost anything to have a glass of pinot with dinner, but she wasn’t sure Jamison would allow it. He hadn’t said she couldn’t have any wine ever; he had just said that one night she couldn’t. And they were heading into the playroom, so that made perfect sense. This was just dinner with friends.
“Grab a bottle. I’ll have a glass, too,” Jade said.
Did she need to ask? He hadn’t given her any actual rules about alcohol, and he had said going out with her friends for a glass of wine or two was fine with him.
Feeling safe, she grabbed a bottle of Pino and shuffled around for the wine opener.
“What are you looking for?” Garrick stepped up behind her, startling her.
She took a deep breath and waited for her heart to stop pounding. “Your wine opener, you big ninja.”
Garrick laughed and took the bottle from her hands. “Here. I’ll open it for you girls.”
Jamison walked in, sporting a curious expression, moving his gaze to the wine rack.
“Garrick’s opening a bottle of wine,” she stated.
He moved closer, brushing his lips across her forehead. “Only one glass tonight.” He tweaked her earlobe.
“Dinner’s about done.” Jade wiped her hands on a dish towel and nodded toward the salad bowl. “Just need to add some dressing.”
“Carissa, bring some wine glasses out to the table for us.” Jamison directed and picked up the ceramic bowl of spaghetti.
She nodded and gathered up four glasses then followed him to the dining room.
Garrick had a spacious condo near Michigan Avenue which lay like a blanket outside the walls of windows. The sun had already set, and the city lights made a beautiful backdrop for their dinner.
Although the condo was in one of the best locations in the city, Garrick never went over the top with spending or showing off his
obvious wealth. The dining room with a view of the gorgeous skyline outside the windows was simply decorated and gave off a comfortable vibe. Most likely because over the years of their friendship, Garrick had listened to Jade’s decorating advice more often than not.
“You’ve been quiet this evening,” Jamison remarked as he poured the last glass of wine and placed it near a plate.
She had said little since they left her apartment. She’d been doing some investigating on his behalf and was brimming with excitement to tell him about it. But she couldn’t yet.
She’d tracked down a close friend of his mother’s. Finding his mother’s name wasn’t hard thanks to Google and his father being such a large business presence in the city but finding her wasn’t turning out to be so easy. Every avenue she pursued led to a dead end. It was as if the woman had simply poofed into thin air. But she’d finally gotten a response back from another socialite woman who Carissa had seen in several photographs with both his parents. She’d responded to a Facebook message she sent and told her she’d be calling her tomorrow. Carissa wanted the woman to answer her questions right then through the messenger, but the message had come in during her shift. She’d have to wait until they could talk on the phone.
“Just tired, I guess.”
“Maybe an early bedtime is in order, then.” He flashed her a grin. Such a handsome grin he had; she could almost forget for a moment their relationship came with an end date.
“Only if you promise to tuck me in properly,” she teased.
Garrick and Jade entered the room carrying the salad and bread, effectively cutting off Jamison’s response, though the little crinkle on the side of his lips gave away the deviousness of his thoughts.
“So.” Jade sat next to Garrick on one side of the table while Jamison and Carissa took the seats opposite them.
“Yeah?” Carissa grabbed the salad bowl and passed it directly to Jade across the table.
“No salad?” Jamison asked.
“Not in the mood,” Carissa answered and reached for the bread basket. She waited to hear another lecture on her poor eating habits, but he didn’t remark any further.
The conversation moved easily between the foursome. Having been friends with Garrick and Jade for so long made the dinner comfortable and sitting beside Jamison accentuated that level of relaxation.
“Looks like we’ll be having dinner with Jamison’s dad on Sunday.” Jade brought up the exact topic Carissa had been blocking from her mind for the past hour.
“Yeah.” Carissa took a long swallow of her wine, careful not to finish it off since she wouldn’t be having another.
“You ready for a long business discussion, which neither of us will understand or care about?”
“Sure.” Carissa shrugged and took another swallow, nearly draining the glass. “I’m sure it won’t be too boring.”
“Of course, it will be,” Jamison promised and placed a scoop of salad on her plate. “But don’t worry. It will be a short conversation. The project he wants to do looks like a great investment. We’ll eat, give him the news he wants, and then head out after dessert.”
“You liked the location, then?” Jade asked.
“It seems like a great place to build a hotel. And from what my father tells me, the small businesses on the block have already started to accept his bids for purchase.”
“Where is it?” Carissa asked, shoving the tomato from the salad away from her pasta. She didn’t want to get into another discussion about her eating habits. When he’d picked her up, he’d gone straight for the fridge to be sure she’d actually put the groceries he’d ordered away. He didn’t like the container of leftover Chinese from her dinner the previous night but was happy with her when she said she’d brought her own lunch to work and had eaten it.
He was even happier when he made her turn around and flipped up her skirt to see her panties. Of course, she’d remembered to put on the good-girl panties he’d left and had even been wearing them to work. She couldn’t explain it, but knowing he’d given them to her, that he expected her to wear them, made her feel held by him. Walking around during her shift feeling a little bit of him was with her the entire time.
Since he was in such a good mood, she didn’t want to divert the conversation to anything that lead them in the direction of an argument.
“The location is at Wells and Walton. There’s one building that wasn’t marked, so I’m not sure what it was. I didn’t see any acceptance of bid from that address in the stuff father gave me, either. I’ll have to ask him about that one.”
Her fork stilled halfway to her mouth, a bit of pasta falling off the end and back onto her plate.
“Wells and Walton?”
“Yes, why?”
“Oh. No,” Jade whispered and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“That’s the shelter I volunteer at. It’s a women’s shelter, so it’s not marked, you know, to protect them from the general public knowing what it is. So bastard men can’t find their wives and try to steal them back.” Carissa could hear the anger in her own words.
“Really?” Garrick asked with raised brows.
“You can’t do the project. You can’t let your father do it either. Find somewhere else to build your damn hotel.” She turned on Jamison, giving him a hard glare. Her heart raced. That shelter could not be torn down so more rich and powerful men had a comfortable place to lay their heads.
“Watch your tone and your language,” Jamison responded, which only served to spark her ire.
“My tone? Are you really concerned about that right now? You cannot do that project!” She threw her fork down on her plate.
“Carissa,” Jade whispered. “Give him a chance to answer.”
“You’re going to tell him no, right?” She pressed.
“This conversation sounds a bit familiar to me,” Garrick spoke up and gave a pointed look at Jade before speaking to Carissa. “How about you let him get his mind wrapped around this before you go biting off his head. You know, the same advice you gave Jade when she thought I was screwing her father out of his rental properties.”
“This is different.” Carissa didn’t take her eyes off Jamison, who was staring at her hard. He looked furious, but she wasn’t going to back down. “Promise me.”
“Why is that shelter so important to you? I know you volunteer there, but they could simply move it. It might not be shut down.”
Her heart leapt into her throat, her anger nearly choking her. “There are women and children who depend on that shelter! They like it right where it is, and it’s been supporting that community for fifty years. Turning it into a fucking hotel is...is...” she couldn’t find the words, her tongue too thick, her anger too hot for the words to come to her. “Stupid!” She slammed her palm on the table, making the plates jump.
“Why don’t we change the subject.” Jade suggested. “I’m sure the guys will look everything over and do the right thing.”
Of course, Jade thought Garrick would, but what about Jamison. He still looked to his father for approval. Would he be able to put a stop to this project, knowing how much his father wanted it to happen?
“Carissa.” Her name was said so low, with such control, her body clenched. “Kitchen, now.” He pushed away from the table and grabbed the back of her chair, tugging it out from the table.
Before she could utter a word, his hand wrapped around hers and pulled her from her chair.
“It’s okay, Jamison. She was just caught off guard.” Jade attempted a rescue mission, that might have worked if Garrick had still been only her friend and not her dominant.
“Stay out of it, Jade.” Garrick’s voice was soft, not chastising. “Jamison will handle the situation. We talked about this.”
About what? Her?
“You talked about me?” Carissa yanked her hand out of Jamison’s grip and faced Jade full on. “What were you talking about?”
“Nothing.” Jade shook her head quickly, but her cheeks had alre
ady tinted. “Really, Carissa. We only said that we were happy you two met.” That wasn’t the whole of it, but before she could question further, Jamison had his hand around her arm.
“I’m not asking again. Kitchen.”
“Oh fine!” Carissa yanked her arm free once and stomped off toward the kitchen. If everyone wanted to talk about her like she was some damn child, then she might as well give them the show they were waiting for.
Once she walked to the far end of the kitchen, where she hoped Jade and Garrick wouldn’t be able to hear much of whatever Jamison was going to say to her, she turned around to face him, arms crossed over her chest and her lips pinched together.
“Oh, little girl, whatever fit you’re getting ready to pitch, you’d better think twice. We may be at a friend’s house, but they know damn well what happens to naughty girls. And Garrick won’t let Jade come in here to save you from your punishment.”
He was right. Garrick wouldn’t. In fact, he probably already had Jade out of the dining room so as to give them even more privacy.
“You wanted to talk in the kitchen,” she said. “We’re in the kitchen.” She couldn’t keep her voice from tightening, but she managed to keep the volume down.
The little crinkle that usually formed on the side of his lips when he found her amusing was missing. No laughter danced in his eyes. Hard and unyielding, he stared at her from only two steps away. His presence took her breath away when he was simply looking his casually handsome self, but now, as he stood before her in full daddy mode, she found herself dropping her arms from her chest and fumbling with the hem of her shirt.
It took only a look from him to take her from her stubborn platform and place her in the soft mindset that would probably give in too easily to whatever he wanted from her.
“What is it about this shelter that has you so wound up? I know you volunteer there, but you have to know if they were to sell, they’d probably open up somewhere else. So, what is it?”
She dropped her gaze to his chest, finding it easier to talk to that part of him than look him in the eyes when she spoke.
