“Good morning,” I chirp at her. The smile she has on her face makes it look like she slept with a hanger in her mouth.
“Morning, babes.”
“I take it last night ended well then?” As if I even need her to answer that.
“Shhh, keep your voice down. Paul’s still in my bedroom.”
“You minx,” I tease her. “Is Paul staying for breakfast?”
“I don’t know. He’s still asleep.”
“Well, just in case, how about I go out and pick us up some fresh pastries?”
“That sounds divine. Make mine a cream cheese bagel please.” Lydia is practically drooling at the mouth.
I finish my cup of coffee and go to put my shoes on. Today I have opted to wear my skinny jeans, black vest top, black blazer and black kitten heels. Wearing a blazer makes me feel confident and kinda sexy. I’ve left my hair loose and wavy. I grab my sunglasses, purse and phone and I head out of the front door.
I arrive at Danish a few minutes later, and order some croissants and bagels, as well as some full-fat lattes. Bonnie isn’t working today, so I take a seat and people watch whilst I am waiting for the food and drinks. It is a gorgeous morning. The sun is shining, and it seems to make my mood even brighter.
I am called to collect the food when it’s ready, leave the coffee shop and go back towards the flat. I hear my phone beep to notify me that I have a text message. I stop walking and balance all of the food and drinks in one hand, so that I can retrieve my phone from my back pocket. I see that I have a message from a number that I don’t recognise. I unlock the phone and read what it says.
Good morning, Miss Paris. You are looking well
this morning x x x
I glance around me, but I don’t see anyone.
Who the hell is this from?
They obviously know who I am, and whoever it is, they have my phone number and they can clearly see me right now. Panic grips me. I furiously look around again, trying to see any signs of the person it could be, when suddenly, someone taps me on my shoulder from behind. I shriek, drop the drinks and food on the floor and spin around.
Standing there, looking a little shocked at my reaction, is Jake. All at once I feel fear, anger and stupidity.
“What the hell were you doing, Jake? You scared the shit out of me!” I shriek at him. He looks dumbfounded, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
As I start to calm down a little and the anger fades away, I suddenly start to laugh hysterically. I laugh so much that my sides begin to ache from it. Jake just watches me, and he looks even more shocked than he did before. I bet to him, and anyone else that might be watching, I look like a lunatic. This thought, of course, makes me laugh even harder.
“Uh, Stace? Are you okay?” Jake sounds nervous, which I guess anyone would do when their friend seems to have lost the plot.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. Just, don’t ever do that to me again,” I say once I have calmed down enough to form a sentence. I take off my sunglasses and wipe tears from my eyes. I then playfully smack Jake on the chest.
“Hey! There’s no need for that.”
“Oh, I think there is, Mr Waters. I presume that this message is from you?” I thrust my phone in front of his face with the offending text message on the screen, so that he can read it.
“Guilty.” He holds his hands up in admission. “I didn’t expect you to react like that though.”
“It was just the look on your face. Priceless.” I look down to the spilled drinks and the food strewn over the pavement. “Well, you have just ruined breakfast for the happy couple.”
“Lydia and Paul?” he asks me. I nod to clarify that I am indeed talking about Lydia and Paul. “Oh shit, I’m sorry. I’ll go and buy some more to replace them.”
“No, don’t worry about it. They’re probably far too busy in the bedroom again to be honest.”
“Things went well last night for them then?”
“I would say so, yes.” I feel happy for Lydia, she deserves to be with someone who is going to treat her right. There is however still a little part of me that wishes that I was being made to feel like that right now. I missed out on so much whilst I wasted my time staying with Charles.
“Well, if they are going to be busy for a while, why don’t I take you for breakfast? I have a meeting to get to in about an hour, but we have time to grab something, if you want to?” Jake says. I pick up the food and drinks from the floor and dump them in the nearest bin.
“Well, when you put it like that, how can a girl refuse?” I let my playfulness take over. “Come on, Mr Waters, but you’re buying.” Jake holds his arm out for me to link my arm through. I oblige and instantly feel the warmth that radiates from his body. It makes me feel safe. “How did you get my phone number anyway? I don’t recall ever giving it to you.”
“I have my ways, Miss Paris.” Jake winks at me.
Why do his words not faze me in the slightest? To be honest, I don’t even really care how he got my number, I’m just glad that he has it.
We end up going into Danish. The waitress looks at me a little oddly as I was only in here about ten minutes ago. I order a black coffee and a pain au chocolate and Jake then places his order.
“So, what’s your meeting about today?” I ask him. I want to get to know as much as I can about him, even if that does involve discussing his schedule for the day.
“It’s actually not the best meeting to be going to in the world. I have to fire someone today.”
“Oh no, why?” I never comprehended that Jake would be the one to have to fire staff.
“Well, this is off the record obviously, but this person has been leaking information to another company. And not just any company, but one I am trying to acquire.” Jake seems a tad timid saying the last part. My brain twigs straight away.
“You mean Charles’ company, don’t you?”
“Um… Yeah.” He looks very uncomfortable discussing this.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to look so worried. I have no loyalties to that man at all. But, I feel I should tell you that he’s never going to sell his company to you. He told me when we were together. Charles and his mother are not your biggest fans.” I don’t feel bad about telling Jake this information. He should know if he is wasting his time, which I think that he is.
“Hmm, there are ways and means of persuasion. I just haven’t found out what Charles’ is yet.” Jake then tells me the tactics that he has used so far, and I have to say that I’m a little unimpressed that he hasn’t done his homework of Charles better.
My lips start to twitch as I realise that I can actually help Jake with this matter. The question is though, even after everything Charles did to me, can I really help Jake out? It doesn’t take me long to reach my decision.
“I’m a little disappointed, Waters,” I tease.
“How so?” He looks intrigued.
“Well, a man of your intellect, I would have thought that you would have found out what makes Charles tick by now.”
“Tick?”
“Yeah. What buttons you have to push in order to get what you want.”
“Oh no, I don’t want you to give me advice, Stace.” Our waitress brings over our orders, interrupting our conversation. We politely thank her whilst she drools over Jake. When she walks away, our conversation continues.
“Why the hell not?” I reply, referring to his last statement.
“Because I don’t want to get you involved in this. He’s your ex-boyfriend, and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable by divulging anything. I would never ask that of you.” I feel touched that he wants to keep me out of it, but I want to help him with this.
“Look, we’re friends, and friends help each other out. There’s nothing more to it than that.” Apart from maybe a little satisfaction on my part that Charles will finally get his comeuppance, but I’m not going to admit that.
“Really? Nothing more to it?”
“Nope.” He doesn’t look c
onvinced by my answer at all. “Look, I’m not about to divulge any big secrets as I don’t know half of what Charles gets up to. The only thing I am going to say to you is, Charles’ reputation and status is more important to him than anything. Maybe you need to dig a bit deeper into what prompted me to leave Charles.” I leave it at that and I see Jake wrestling with himself over whether he should leave the conversation there or ask me more questions.
“And that’s it?” he asks incredulously.
“Yep.” I take a bite of my food and pick up my coffee. “One of two things will happen. You will either use this new information to help you to acquire the company, or it will tarnish Charles’ reputation so much that you will acquire some of his business. Either way seems somewhat of a bonus, don’t you think?”
Jake leans back in his chair and I can see him processing what I have said. He starts to smirk, and I return that with a cheeky grin.
“I like the way you think, Miss Paris,” Jake says, making me feel a little bit smug. After what Charles put me through, he deserves a little pay back.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jake walks me back to the flat after we have finished in Danish. I feel a little sad that he has to go. I’ve enjoyed our time together.
“Want to come in and wait for your ride?” I ask him.
“No, it’s okay. Eric will be here any minute now.”
“Oh, okay.” I try not to sound too disappointed. “Well, I best go in and explain to the happy couple what happened to their first lot of breakfast, and why it has taken so long for me to return.” Jake replaced the food and drinks that he made me drop earlier on, even though I told him not to worry about it.
“Tell them that I will make it up to them sometime,” Jake says. With that, his limo pulls up alongside the curb and Jake gestures for Eric to remain in the driver’s seat. “So, I’ll see you soon?”
“Sure. Now, go and kick ass at your meeting,” I reply. I bet he looks hot as hell when he’s in boss mode.
He smiles at me and I turn to walk to the flat.
“Hey, Stace,” Jake shouts at me, making me turn back around to face him. “Good luck with your shift tonight. You’re gonna do great.” I just smile at him as he gets into the limo. Eric catches my eye, and I can see him smiling. I wonder what he’s so happy about? He nods in my direction and I give him a little wave.
I watch as the limo pulls away and I know that Jake is watching me from inside, even if I can’t see through the blacked-out windows that conceal him. I can just feel it. My insides do a little flutter, but they quickly disappear as I see a blond woman stood across the road, peering out from behind a tree. A feeling of familiarity washes over me.
Oh my God, it’s Caitlin! What the hell is she doing?
I feel a sense of unease creep over me. I close my eyes and re-open them a few seconds later to discover that she has disappeared. I scan the street and all over the other side of the road, but there is no sign of her. I shake my head. I must be seeing things.
I do another check before turning to enter the block of flats. I feel a little shaky and wonder if I should phone Jake and tell him?
No, Stacey, don’t be stupid. You’re just seeing things. There is no need to worry over this.
I reach the flat and unlock the front door. As soon as I have shut the door, I hear Lydia’s voice shout to me. “Where the bloody hell have you been? We’re starving.”
I walk in the direction of her voice, and I see her and Paul sat at the kitchen table.
“Sorry, guys,” I say as I put their bag of food and tray of drinks down on the table. “You’ll have to ask Jake why I was delayed.” I smirk at them both and go to my bedroom without explaining any further. Without knowing the full story, they will be able to come to their own conclusions about why I was gone for so long. I know that Lydia will have so many different scenarios running through her head about what may have happened. I shouldn’t leave her in suspense, but it doesn’t hurt to keep some things a mystery.
Jake and I may only have gone for a bit of breakfast, but to me it was the best breakfast that I have ever had. Just being near him makes me feel special. How he has this effect on me, I will never know.
My bubble is quickly burst as the image of Caitlin stood across the road pops into my mind. It can’t have been her. Why the hell would she be stood across the road, peeking out from behind a tree? I am definitely seeing things. I must be.
I shake my head and turn on my laptop. I take off my shoes and blazer and make myself comfy on the bed. I need to spend some time working on my novel and decide to re-read what I have done so far to distract me from my over-active imagination. I need to get back into my writing groove and get my novel finished.
Before I know it, two hours have passed, and I have added another couple of chapters. Feeling pleased with myself, I take a bathroom break and get myself a drink. I glance at the clock and see that I have three hours before I need to be at work.
I can hear Lydia and Paul in the bedroom.
Jeez, how are they able to keep going? They have been holed up in there near enough all day. Actually, I don’t think that I want that question answering.
I go back to my bedroom and rifle through my clothes to pick out an outfit to wear tonight. I settle for black skinny jeans, a white sleeveless shirt and black boots. I don’t want to flash too much flesh, I still feel a bit wary about being too revealing, so a shirt is perfect. I go to take a shower as Paul emerges from Lydia’s bedroom.
“Oh, uh… Hi, Stace,” he says awkwardly as he runs one hand through his hair.
“Hi, Paul. You guys finished in there yet?”
His cheeks suddenly turn a rather bright shade of red. “Um… Yeah… I’m… I’m just leaving actually.”
“Well, okay then. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
Paul scurries off, puts his shoes on and leaves the flat. I chuckle to myself at his flustered behaviour and continue to the bathroom to take a shower.
By the time I have showered, dressed and finished sprucing myself up, I look confident and assured. I have tied my hair up into a ponytail and I have only applied minimal make-up. I don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention, so I figure that remaining low-key is best. I put everything that I need in my handbag and watch some television in the lounge until Lydia is ready to leave.
Thoughts of Caitlin return to my mind as I am sat there waiting.
How would she have known where to look for Jake? She can’t have been following him, surely? She must be really messed up to act in the way that she does. Maybe she doesn’t realise that she’s behaving like a loony?
I shake my head as the questions come thick and fast.
Stacey, you were just seeing things. Of course Caitlin wasn’t there. It’s either your mind or your eyes playing tricks. There is no need to be worried about this.
I convince myself once again that I was imagining things and push any thoughts of Caitlin to the back of my mind. It is now quarter past six and we need to be at work by seven. I go to see what Lydia is doing and to tell her to get a move on.
I open Lydia’s bedroom door and see that she is putting her make-up on.
“Are you nearly ready to go?” I ask her. Lydia finishes applying her red lipstick and pouts in the mirror.
“Ready when you are, babes.”
“Finally,” I exclaim.
I just want to get to work and get started. I feel a little anxious and I need to keep myself busy. Eventually we arrive at the bar, at quarter to seven. In all honesty, I did think we were going to get here later than that seeing as Lydia was a tad behind schedule, so it’s not too bad.
Lydia and I go and put our handbags in her office and then I follow her to the bar area. I stand behind the counter and instantly feel at home. The bar acts as a barrier, so it kind of makes me feel protected to a certain extent. The place isn’t busy yet but give it another hour and I know that it will be four people deep at the bar.
I grab myself a bottle of
water out of the fridge, and Lydia quickly updates me on anything that has changed since I left six months ago. I listen intently, determination coursing through me that I am going to do a good job tonight.
An hour and a half into my shift and I have no time to think about anything other than cocktails. It seems Lydia forgot to mention to me that I would be chief cocktail maker.
After making what feels like my thousandth cocktail of the night, I need a break. I pass cocktail duties to a girl named Penelope, and I go to collect some glasses from the various tables around the room.
I watch some of the people as they dance together. They all look so carefree. Either that or the alcohol has well and truly taken effect on them. I pick up as many glasses as I can carry, and I start to walk back to the bar. As I am walking, I feel someone pinch my bum. Rage instantly courses through my entire body. I literally dump the empty glasses on the nearest table and whirl around to see who the culprit is.
I come face-to-face with some young lad, who can’t be a day over the age of twenty-one. He is grinning at me and sweating profusely.
Ugh, is this really attractive to anyone?
“Hey there, gorgeous. How about we have a little bump and grind?” He slurs each and every word. I resist the urge to slap him around the face for his inappropriate touching.
“No thanks,” I reply in a pissed off voice. “And can I just say that, for future reference, if you ever touch my ass again, I’ll pound your ass into the ground.”
The guy looks seriously shocked, even in his inebriated state. It’s almost like he is trying to decide whether he imagined what I said, or if I did actually say it.
“Are you having some trouble understanding what I said?”
“N… Nnn… No,” he replies, putting his hands up as he starts to back away.
Who do these men think they are? It’s almost like they think they have a green light to touch a woman wherever and whenever they want to.
I stand straighter and turn to the table that I placed the glasses on. I pick the glasses up and smile to myself as I carry them to the bar.
The Complete Perfect Series Page 14
