The Complete Perfect Series

by Lindsey Powell

  “Thanks for the ride, Eric,” I say as he stands by the limo, holding the door for me.

  “No problem, Miss Stacey. I will be waiting out here for you when you finish your shift.”

  “There really is no need. It will be late and I’m sure you need to be getting home.” I don’t want to put Eric out any more than I have already.

  “I insist,” he says firmly. I think it is a bit unfair of Jake to ask him to pick me up, but I know that he won’t disobey Jake’s orders.

  “Fine. I finish at eleven-thirty.”

  “I will be waiting outside, Miss Paris.” Eric goes around the car and back to the driver’s side. He is about to get in when I stop him.

  “Hey, Eric?” I say.

  “Yes?”

  “When you speak to Mr Waters, tell him to give you a pay rise,” I tease. Eric laughs and waves at me as I turn to walk into The Den. As I walk into the main room, I can see that there are only a couple of tables occupied. I wave to Susie who is behind the bar already, and I go to Lydia’s office to put my handbag safe. As I enter her office, my mobile phone starts to ring. I take it out of my pocket and see that it is Jake calling me. A smile instantly emerges on my face.

  “Well hello, handsome,” I purr down the phone.

  “What the hell do you think you are playing at?” Jake says in a pissed off tone.

  “I beg your pardon?” My tone changes from playful to defensive.

  “You told me that you wouldn’t leave the flat today, so I will repeat my question. What the hell do you think you are playing at?” He sounds so mad.

  “Jake, calm down. I only went out for a few minutes. Lydia was really upset, so I went to pick up a few bits and bobs to try and cheer her up. The shop wasn’t far, and I ran there and back. Nothing happened, I am fine. It’s all okay.” I try to soothe him with my words.

  “I don’t give a fuck if you think that it is okay. Don’t you understand that Caitlin is a psycho? You need to keep yourself safe, Stacey. Why didn’t you just order some food in?” My words have had no effect on him whatsoever. Bugger.

  “I don’t particularly like your tone of voice, Jake. My best friend needed me, and I was helping her. God knows she has helped me enough times. If you want to be childish about this, then you carry on. I don’t have time to listen to you have a tantrum. I have to go. I need to start work.” With that I hang up the phone.

  Who the fuck does he think he is talking to me like that? How dare he! I am so pissed off with him. I put my phone in my handbag and leave it on Lydia’s desk.

  I exit her office and go behind the bar to start serving some customers. I need to take my mind off of the conversation I have just had with Jake.

  The first hour goes slowly, but as soon as eighty-thirty hits the place is packed. I had completely forgotten that there was some sort of student celebration going on tonight. It is just Susie and I and we are overwhelmed with all of the customers. I quickly try to call some of the other staff, but there is no response from any of them.

  What the bloody hell am I meant to do? I can’t call in any agency staff as I don’t have the relevant details to hand, and I certainly can’t go to Lydia’s office and leave Susie on her own whilst I look for them. Susie and I try to work as quick as we can, so that we can keep all the customers happy.

  Everything seems to be going okay until a group of four lads decide to try and cause trouble. They start shouting about the slow service and I can feel my anger rising. They just so happen to be at my end of the bar as well. Bloody typical. I listen to their taunts for another five minutes, and then I decide that I have had enough. I march over to them and look at each of them in turn. They must only be eighteen, and they clearly can’t handle their drink. I politely ask them to calm down or they will be removed from the premises. It appears though that my words have no effect on them. If anything, it seems to spur them on to act like even bigger assholes.

  One of the lads decides to try and act like a hero and lets himself behind the bar. He starts trying to pull his own pint and I look to see if security has noticed. They haven’t. Looks like it’s going to be up to me to do something for the time being.

  “What the hell do you think you are doing?” I ask the young lad.

  “Getting myself a fucking drink.” He is slurring and has obviously had far too much alcohol already.

  “Get back on the other side of the bar, now,” I say in a slightly raised voice.

  “What, so you can make us wait even longer? No chance, love.” That’s it. I’ve had enough. I grab the pint glass out of his hand and throw the drink that he has managed to pour all over him. “HEY! Why the fuck did you do that?” he asks, looking a little shocked. His mates are all laughing in the background.

  “Get out from behind my bar, NOW,” I shout. I hear Susie radio through to security, who still haven’t noticed, and within seconds the young lad is removed from the bar. “Take his friends too,” I tell security. They march the group of lads out and I continue to serve the other customers. Some of the customers waiting, who were near the group of guys, start to clap. I am shaking from the adrenaline rush of confronting the pissed-up youngster.

  Who the hell do some of these guys think that they are? I don’t have much time to reflect on it though as it is just too busy. The rest of my shift flies by, but thankfully goes more smoothly. Susie and I don’t get a chance to take a break, so by the time we finish at eleven-thirty, we are both knackered.

  “I’m sorry it was just the two of us tonight, Susie.” I feel bad that I couldn’t manage to get anyone else to come in to help.

  “No worries. It’s all over now. Although, I am glad that I’m not in tomorrow. I am exhausted.”

  “Yeah, me too.” We walk out of The Den and I see Jake’s limo parked right out the front. I give Susie a hug goodbye and tell her to enjoy her day off tomorrow.

  Eric is standing by the limo with the door open for me.

  “Miss Stacey.” He nods as I get into the car. I just wave at him as I am too tired to speak. I sit down and squeal as I see that Jake is sat on the opposite side to me.

  “Jeez, Jake, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” I say to him. His face does not look amused.

  “So, are we going to talk about earlier?” Jake gets straight to the point.

  “Jake, I’m really tired and there is nothing more I can say to you.” I sigh.

  “I don’t think that you are taking this situation with Caitlin seriously.”

  “Oh, I am,” I snap. “I just don’t see why I should have to be cooped up when you’re the one who fucked her and made her paranoid.” I am tired, and what I have just said has come out wrong. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh.

  “So, that’s how you really feel, huh? You think that I made her crazy?” Jake’s eyes pierce into mine.

  “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that I am not staying under lock and key because of her. I can handle her, Jake. I managed to survive the last run in with her. I don’t want to live in fear.” I try to reason with him, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

  “I don’t want you under lock and key, Stacey, I just want you safe, and until she has been dealt with, you are not. You are at risk.”

  “She wants you, Jake, not me.”

  “Exactly. She wants me, and she will do whatever it takes to get me. The quickest way to get to me is to eliminate you.” I can’t quite process what he is telling me. It all sounds like too much. Eliminate me? I can feel a headache coming on and all I want to do is go home to bed.

  “Jake, can we discuss this tomorrow? Talking about this subject when I’m tired really isn’t the best time.” I lay my head back against the seat and close my eyes.

  “If you would just come and stay with me then I wouldn’t need to worry about you quite so much.” I open my eyes and look at him. He is looking out of the window, so I ease myself off of the seat and go and sit in his lap. I place my hand on his face and turn his head so that he is looking at me.r />
  “Jake, I know that this must be difficult for you. I know that she is trying to hound every aspect of your life, but I can’t come and stay with you. We have only just started seeing each other seriously and look what happened the last time that I stayed at yours.” Jake goes to speak, but I silence him by placing my finger over his mouth. “Even if that wasn’t enough of a reason, I need to be there for Lydia right now. She’s having a hard time at the moment and I need to stay with her.” My finger is still on his mouth and he opens his lips and sucks my finger, all the while looking into my eyes. My body shudders as I feel my sexual awareness heighten. I pull my finger out and place my lips on his. I kiss him softly and run my hands through his hair. His hands are wrapped around my waist. We are locked together like this until we pull to a stop outside the flat.

  “I just… I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Jake whispers to me, breaking our kiss. I lean my forehead against his.

  “Nothing is going to happen to me. I would invite you in to stay, but I don’t think that Lydia needs to see a happy couple right now. I will call you tomorrow morning.”

  “You better, the minute you wake up.” I giggle as Jake nibbles my ear lobe. I slowly move myself off of him as the limo door opens, meaning that Eric is stood waiting. I step out of the limo and Jake follows me. “I’m walking you to your front door.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I will be fine.”

  “I’m walking you to the door, end of.” I roll my eyes at him and say goodbye to Eric as we walk to the flat. We reach the front door and I turn to give Jake a hug. He squeezes me and kisses my forehead. “What’s wrong with Lydia anyway?” he enquires.

  “Women’s troubles.” I am not telling Jake anything. Paul doesn’t even know what has happened, and I don’t want him to find out from Jake.

  “Say no more,” Jake says. He releases me, and I unlock the front door. A thought suddenly occurs to me and I turn back around so that I am facing Jake.

  “How did you know that I had gone to the shop earlier?” I ask. I am interested to know the answer.

  “Eric was driving in the neighbourhood and he saw you.”

  “And why was Eric in the neighbourhood?” I think that I already know the answer, but I would like to hear what response he is going to give.

  “He was just passing through.” Jake shrugs his shoulders.

  “Uh huh.” I know that Eric wasn’t just merely ‘passing through,’ but I don’t want to argue about it tonight. I will tackle the subject another time. “Goodnight, handsome.”

  “Night, babe.” He stays where he is until I have closed the front door. I really wish that he could have stayed here. I could do with releasing some sexual tension. I sigh.

  Never mind, there is always tomorrow.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  I wake up at ten o’clock the following morning. I stretch out in bed before grabbing my phone off of the bedside table. I have one text message from Martin.

  Hey, girlfriend! I haven’t seen you in forever!

  Let’s hook up for coffee ASAP! Much love,

  Martin xxx.

  I love Martin. He’s an awesome person with such an infectious nature. I quickly text back that I can meet him in an hour at Danish. I feel really bad that I have neglected mine and Martin’s friendship for a while. Martin is easy going, so I am hoping that he will understand why my mind has been so preoccupied, once I fill him in on all the details of what’s been going on.

  I go and check on Lydia before I get dressed. She is asleep in bed, so I don’t disturb her. I heard her crying at some point during the night, so I figure that she must be exhausted. I go back to my bedroom, put some clothes on, and I leave a note for Lydia on the kitchen table. I let her know where I am going, and if she needs me to come back then I have my phone with me.

  I put my essentials in my handbag and leave the flat. I decide to phone Jake on my way to meet Martin. He answers after a couple of rings.

  “Good morning, gorgeous,” he says. His voice is so sexy.

  “Morning, handsome.” My face breaks out into a smile and I can feel a slight blush creeping across my cheeks. “How are you on this fine morning?”

  “I’m great. You?”

  “I’m fantastic. I’m just letting you know that I am on my way to meet a friend for coffee.”

  “You’re what?” His voice rises a couple of notches. “Please tell me that you called Eric and asked him to take you?” I can hear the strain in his voice and I feel a little bad that I am making him worry like this.

  “Uh… No.”

  “Stacey, why do you not listen to me?” Frustration creeps into his tone and I imagine him sat at his desk, well, some kind of desk seeing as I have no clue what his personal office actually looks like, rubbing his temples to try to soothe some stress.

  “Jake, calm down.” I need to get him to understand that I need normality in my life. I don’t want to abide by Caitlin’s crazy rules. “I am talking to you on the phone, and I will be at the coffee shop in two minutes. Please don’t be mad at me. I don’t want to argue with you,” I say. I hear Jake let out a sigh. “I will make it up to you later.”

  “Oh yeah? And just how are you going to do that?” he enquires.

  “You’ll see. I would divulge the details, but I wouldn’t want you getting all hot and bothered whilst you are at work.” I love teasing him. “I’ve got to go, babe, I’m at the coffee shop and my friend is waiting. Talk to you later.”

  “Okay. But promise me that you will call Eric the minute that you need to go home,” he insists. I choose to appease him on this matter seeing as he has probably, very nearly, had a heart attack over me walking on my own for a few minutes.

  “Yes, I will call Eric. Bye, handsome.” I hang up the phone and am enveloped in Martin’s arms.

  “Baby girl, it’s so good to see you,” Martin says as he squeezes me tight.

  “You too stranger.”

  “And whose fault is that?” Martin releases me and raises his eyebrows at me.

  “Okay, okay. I’ve been a bad friend, but just you wait until you hear why.”

  “I’m all ears, baby doll. Why are we still standing out here? Let’s get inside, get some coffee, and get gossiping.” I laugh and lead the way into Danish.

  My usual table is free, so we sit there and then order some drinks. It is nice and quiet in here, and there is no sign of a certain blond-haired psycho. I relax and start to tell an excited Martin all about my life over the last couple of weeks. It takes me a couple of hours to tell him everything. We get through three coffee’s and a couple of calorie-induced slices of cake. I don’t hear anything from Lydia, so I assume that she must still be resting. I don’t text her as I don’t want to disturb her when she needs her sleep. I don’t tell Martin about Lydia. It’s not my place to tell anyone about what she is going through.

  When Martin is satisfied that he has been updated sufficiently on my life, we leave Danish and head to the nearest clothes shop. I need to purchase some sexy office attire in order to surprise Jake. Martin helps me find exactly what I need and makes me try it on, so that he can see the full effect.

  “Hot damn, girl, he is going to be blown away when he sees you in this get up. Hell, if I were straight, I would do you.” I giggle and smack Martin playfully on the arm.

  “You’re terrible.”

  “I just tell it like it is.” Martin is always straight to the point and I love that about him.

  I get changed back into my original clothes and go to pay for the items that I am purchasing. When we exit the shop, I call Eric and ask him to collect me. I have sneakily called Jake’s office to make sure that he has a free appointment this afternoon. Luckily for me he did. I then secured an appointment with him under the name of Miss Green. I only have a thirty-minute slot as Jake has other meetings to attend, and I am hoping that my visit to his office will be very memorable for the both of us.

  Eric pulls up outside the clothes shop a few minutes af
ter I have called him. Jake must have given him a clue as to where I was for him to arrive this quickly.

  “Well, this is my ride,” I say to Martin as I point at the limo. His jaw drops open.

  “You are so taking me in that one day,” Martin says. I laugh and give him a hug goodbye.

  “I promise I won’t leave it so long for us to catch up next time.”

  “You better not.” Martin winks at me and I disappear into the limo.

  “Hi, Eric,” I say as I sit back in the seat.

  “Miss Stacey.” Eric nods. “Back to your flat?” he asks me.

  “Actually, no. I need you to take me to Jake’s offices, but it has to be a secret. I have a little surprise for him.” I put on as much charm as possible and I see Eric smirking in the rear-view mirror.

  “What’s the surprise?” Eric asks.

  “Um…” I feel my cheeks go red. I don’t want to divulge my plans to Eric. I avoid eye contact with him and start to squirm in my seat, when Eric starts to laugh.

  “It’s okay, Miss Stacey. From the look on your face, I’m guessing that whatever you are planning is for Jake and Jake only.”

  “Exactly,” I reply. “Do you mind if I put the partition up? I… I need to get changed.” I feel embarrassed at having to ask.

  “Sure.” As I press the button for the partition to close, I see that Eric is still smiling. I feel a little uncomfortable that I have to get changed with Eric driving, but the partition is completely blacked out, so there is no chance that he will see anything. I don’t think he would look anyway to be honest. He seems like an old-fashioned gentleman, and I get the impression that he is just happy to see Jake happy. Or that’s what I like to think anyway.