Was she telling me goodbye?
As we pulled up to her apartment, she eased off my lap and sat next to me as she tried to put herself back together. Leaning over, I quietly zipped her dress. “I want to come in, Blythe. I want to be in your bed, but not like this. Think about what you want from me because I’m not coming back until you’re ready to give me everything.”
She didn’t say anything as she reached for the door and opened it.
“And Blythe? Before you fucking ask, I don’t plan on fucking your charity over, so don’t think that spreading your legs is going to help you.”
The pain that fell over her face tore me apart, but I didn’t apologize. I was too fucking angry, but when she got out and slammed the door shut, my heart dropped.
I hadn’t handled any of that very well. She was probably never going to speak to me again.
Fuck.
Twenty-Three
Blythe
I would not be reduced to that woman curled up on the couch and crying into a pint of ice cream and a bottle of wine. I had too much work for that, and I didn’t want to give Jack the satisfaction. His parting shot still hurt, but I tossed and turned all night, aching for a different reason.
I missed him.
With Rachel gone, I’d have the office to myself. I dragged myself up the steps and immediately started searching for her hidden stash of goodies. All I could find were the stale bagels.
Damn it.
Sinking into my office chair, I booted up my computer. I’d get started on the information that Susan and Elizabeth wanted, but first I needed to approve the volunteer schedule for December. It was a little trickier with the holidays and school break, but I’d make sure that the complex was able to open for whenever the kids needed it.
Jack was right. I was going to have to hire more people. Once the art center opened, I wouldn’t be able to just rely on myself to plug the holes in the schedule.
My phone rang, and I picked it up and groaned. My father. Just who I wanted to talk to right now. I thought about ignoring it, but after last night, my father would probably just show up and ask his questions in person.
“Hi, Daddy.” I faked the bright, cheery mood. “How was the rest of your shopping last night?”
“Your mother dragged me all over that shopping center. Twice,” he grumbled. There was a pause. “So, you and Jack Drayson.”
“Daddy…”
“Don’t tell me that he’s just a donor, baby girl. I know what I saw last night. You were dressed for a date, and you’d never let him touch you like that if there wasn’t more between you. You’ve broken your mother’s heart, Blythe.”
Sighing in frustration, I closed my eyes. “Daddy, I’m not going to work my life around the fact that you and Mom are Republicans. That’s insane.”
“This is insane,” he agreed. “And we’d never ask you to do that.”
Wait, what?
“I don’t understand. You just said that I broke Mom’s heart.”
“You did. She saw the way that you and that man were looking at each other while you were walking. It’s clear that you’re in love with him. Your mother’s been waiting for you to finally give your heart away to someone, and now that you have, you didn’t tell her. You ignored her so that you didn’t have to tell her.”
Guilt settled in my chest, and I pulled my feet up in the chair in an attempt to make myself smaller. “I didn’t think you would approve,” I admitted.
“We don’t love that you’re with a public figure, and we don’t love that you’re sneaking him behind our backs, but you’re an adult, sweetheart. We just want you to be happy, and it’s clear from the way that you two smiled at each other that he makes you happy. I want to make this right. Bring him over for dinner. Let us get to know him so we can make our own opinions without you making them for us.”
Pain squeezed my heart. “I don’t think it matters,” I said as I tried not to cry. “I’m pretty sure it’s over.”
“Over?” he growled. “What did he do? Is he cheating on you? I know that you can take care of yourself, baby girl, but I want my chance to cause a little hurt.”
“No, Daddy. It’s not like that. Jack’s not like that. He’s…different, but like you said, he’s a public figure. I’m just…” I didn’t know how to finish.
“The daughter of two public school teachers?” he asked dryly. “Come on, Blythe. I didn’t raise an idiot. You’re a beautiful and successful woman with a big heart. You’re damn good enough for someone like Jack to take you to Songbird Steakhouse, and you’re damn good enough to be on his arm in public.”
The buzzer at the front door rang, and I straightened. “Dad, someone is here. I’ve got to go.”
“We’re not done talking about this, Blythe.”
Unable to help myself, I smiled. “Okay, Daddy. I’ll call you when I leave the office, and you can yell at me some more.”
“Good.”
Hanging up the phone, I hurried down the steps. Hoping that it was someone stopping by to volunteer their services, I checked the peephole and gasped.
Well, apparently, this was the day for fathers to check in, only it wasn’t my father at the door.
Steeling myself, I opened it. “Mr. Drayson. Welcome to Humane Miami. How can I help you?”
“Miss Hemsey,” he said gallantly. “I’ve been intrigued since I met you at my son’s victory party. My guests have been generous with your foundation, and I thought I’d stop by and see how I can help.”
Too tired to wade through the bullshit, I stepped back. “Please, come in, but you’re going to be wasting your time.”
Cocking an eyebrow, he stepped in. “I’m a wealthy man, Miss Hemsey. Are you planning on turning down my money?”
“Nope. I’m happy to take your money, but let’s not pretend that you’re here because of my foundation. Your son has taken a personal interest in me, so you’re here to see if I’m up to snuff. Or maybe you’re going to pay me to leave him alone? That’s what usually happens when someone less than desirable hooks up with someone like Jack, right? Well, you don’t need to pay me anything. Your son and I are all but over anyway.”
His face instantly became unreadable. “You’ve broken up with Jack?”
“Not officially, but we’re right there on the edge. It’s okay,” I said bitterly, appalled when tears burned the backs of my eyes. Blinking them back, I went on, “I won’t hold it against you if you do your happy dance.”
“If you’re done being judgmental,” he said mildly, “maybe we can go upstairs and talk about this a little further.”
I wasn’t in the mood for more fatherly advice, and I certainly wasn’t in the mood for him to give me advice on how to handle the break up so it didn’t affect his son’s image.
Great. I was being judgmental and completely unfair to the man I knew almost nothing about.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “Follow me. We’re the only office in the building. It’s a Sunglass Hut beneath us.”
“I noticed. I got a little lost while I was trying to find the place,” he said conversationally as he climbed the stairs behind me. “If I were to give you some business advice, I’d tell you to find a better location for your office.”
“I make just enough to feed myself and pay Rachel. There isn’t much left over for office space.” When I reached the top, I pulled Rachel’s desk chair over since it was more comfortable than my visitor’s chair. “My assistant has the day off, so we’ve got the place to ourselves.”
Sitting down, he regarded me with cool eyes while I sat behind my desk. I had a strange feeling that I was about to be lectured. “Look, before you get started, I should point out that we both know your son is destined for greatness or whatever ridiculous phrase you want to use. I’ve already been told that the eyes of Washington are on him. I don’t have a shady past. There aren’t any skeletons in my closet that could bring him down, but I’m not Congressman wife material. That’s what Jack needs to be looking
for.”
A small smile tugged at his lips, and he leaned back in the chair. “Destined for greatness. My son would laugh in your face if he heard you say something like that.”
“Good thing that he’s not here,” I said, trying to keep the bitterness from my tone.
“My dear, when my son was young, I wanted him to be a carbon copy of myself. I think many fathers want their sons to be like him. I thought he’d be at the helm of my business in no time. He was certainly smart enough. When my son proved time and time again that he was his own man, I learned that I wouldn’t be able to secure his future. He was going to have to do that himself. His move into politics did surprise me because, so often, those men become the puppets for big corporations. It’s cynical but true, and I knew that Jack would bend to no one. I don’t know what his future holds. I don’t know how far he wants to go in his career, but I know that he’s far more interested in making a difference than caring what other people think.”
“Mr. Drayson…”
He held up his hand and narrowed his eyes. “Who told you that the eyes of Washington were on him?”
Should I tell this man the truth? As I gazed into those hazel eyes so much like his son’s, I mentally said ‘fuck it.’ I told him everything, from start to finish.
As I recounted what Hirsh had told me, I saw Jack’s fiery temper in Hale Drayson’s eyes. “He threatened you?” he growled.
“It didn’t sound like a threat. I get the feeling that Hirsh thinks he owes me after…after what happened. He made it sound like an absolute. If it was just me, I’d brush it aside, but he told me that Humane Miami would be at risk. I’ve got a community of youth depending on me. I don’t know what to do.”
“Miss Hemsey, I don’t know where Hirsh is getting his information, and I don’t know who is keeping an eye on my son, but I do know my son. He’s involved in your foundation, but even if you two grow to hate the sight of each other, he will protect your charity. He won’t let anything happen to it, and he’s not going to let anything happen to you. I’m sure if you stop panicking for a moment and really look at the situation, you’ll realize that.”
I opened my mouth to argue and closed it again. He was right. Jack would defend Humane Miami. The fact that I was worried even a little bit showed me just how blind I’d been.
That didn’t change the situation between us, though. “I think he might already hate the sight of me,” I said miserably. “He’s in Jacksonville right now. He won’t be back for a few days. I don’t want to bother him while he’s gone, but when he comes back…” I shrugged, once again unsure how to finish.
“You’ll make things right?”
Tears pricked the backs of my eyes. “I can’t promise that, but we’ll talk. No assumptions or judgments between us.”
“Good.” With a smile, Hale leaned forward. “Now, despite what you might think, Miss Hemsey, I did come here to talk about your foundation. How can I help?”
Unable to help myself, I took out next week’s schedule and slid it across the desk. “How are you at football, Mr. Drayson?”
Twenty-Four
Jack
I was miserable. As we wrapped up the first meeting that got virtually nothing accomplished, I checked my phone for the umpteenth time, hoping to see something from her. A missed phone call. A text. I would have even taken a fuck you if it meant that I knew she was thinking of me.
All I could see was that look on her face when I’d lashed out at her. Knowing that it was the last thing I said to her was tearing me up inside.
“Sir, I’ve confirmed your dinner reservation at Caraval have been pushed back since the meeting ran late, but Mr. Nguyen already called to say that he couldn’t make the new time. Do you still want to dine there or would you prefer another place?” Graham, my assistant, was a brilliant kid, but he was a little high-strung. Even now, his face was drawn in anxiety at the idea that one of the local businessmen had canceled our dinner plans.
I wasn’t worried. Nguyen wasn’t high on the priority list of people I wanted to talk to, and I wasn’t the best company at the moment. “Keep the reservation,” I instructed as I gathered my things. “I need some food, and I want to wind down before I head to the room.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll let your driver know, and I’ll call the restaurant.”
After the first day, I didn’t have much faith that we were going to make any headway during the trip. We needed more funds for the bill, but it was a run-around to find the money. Everybody wanted something in return. It was a vicious circle.
A private table behind a frosted partition and some large palm plants had been reserved for me at the swanky restaurant. I was deep in thought and staring into my wine glass when I heard a familiar feminine voice greeting Carl.
Whipping my head around, I stared as Sherry looked around my formidable bodyguard and gave me a little wave. “Funny meeting you here.”
Funny indeed. I’d told Sherry that I would be in Jacksonville. Had she followed me here? “Let her in, Carl,” I demanded. My ex looked like she’d won a victory as she pranced in.
“You have to know that you’re doing something right if you have to hire an entourage of security to follow you around,” she teased as she bent down to kiss me. I turned my head at the last minute, and her lips landed on my cheek.
“Or that you’ve pissed someone off,” I growled, using a napkin to swipe away the sticky lipstick I knew she’d left there. “Sherry, what the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m reconnecting with old friends. Do you remember Tamara Collins? She relocated to Jacksonville last year. I came up to have lunch and do some shopping. I was stopping in to have a quick drink in the bar when I saw you. It doesn’t surprise me to see you here. You’ve always had a taste for the higher-end restaurant, and Caraval is all that anyone can talk about in the city. What are you drinking? I’ll join you.”
“I’m not inviting you to join me, Sherry,” I said stiffly. “I want to know why you followed me to Jacksonville.”
She tried to look surprised. “Darling…”
“No,” I cut in. “Don’t lie to me. If you’d planned on seeing your friend, you would have told me when I mentioned that I would be here. Cut the bullshit and tell me what it is that you want.”
The smile slipped from her face, and she settled back. “You’ve changed,” she observed as she reached behind her and lifted a wine glass from the iron wine tree on the counter. Reaching over, she poured herself a healthy glass of red wine. “Maybe politics have made you cynical.”
“Not really,” I said mildly as I watched her lift the glass to her heavily painted lips. “Before, it was just sex, so we never had to lie to each other. I don’t have much patience for lying. What do you want?”
“Right now? I want you to invite me back up to your room so I can remind you of how good that sex was.”
At the time, it had been good sex, but now that I’d been with Blythe, I realized the difference between fucking a woman I was attracted to and fucking a woman I was falling for.
“Long term?” She ran her fingers seductively up the stem of her wineglass. “I’ve missed you, Jack. I had thought that if I waited long enough, you’d realize that you should have never let me go. Now, I’m willing to swallow my pride and come to you.”
Jesus Christ. “Sherry…”
“Please. I’ve rehearsed this, and I need to get it out before I lose my nerve.” She smiled, but it seemed forced, like she was faking being brave. “Jack, I know that we never really talked about it before. We’d found a comfortable rhythm, and I didn’t want to rock that. I think we both skirted around talking about our feelings, and because of that, we drifted apart. I was hurt when we ended things. I went home to lick my wounds, and I realized that was selfish of me. I want to try again, darling, only this time, I want us to explore each other a little more. I think we could make this work.”
“Make what work? A relationship? Sherry, I’m with someone.”
I
regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth.
“Who?” she demanded.
“We’re still keeping our relationship quiet,” I said gently. “I’m sorry that you were so unhappy when we ended things, but I’ve never felt that way about you. I’m never going to feel that way about you. I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
Temper flashed in her eyes, and I gritted my teeth. Something else was going on here. But, what?
“Or maybe I’m apologizing for nothing,” I said, studying her face intently. “You’re lying to me. What the hell do you want?”
“Fine.” She waved her hands around. “I’ll be blunt. You’ve got a piece of pussy on the side? That’s fine. I can live with that. I don’t mind sharing. We’ve got history, and I miss straddling that cock. I miss you.”
“And you thought if you came to me with this humbling story that you were in love with me, I’d take you to bed? For what? A pity fuck?”
“Not just tonight, darling. I’m talking long term. You’re going places, and I’m just the kind of woman that you want on your arm. We made headlines when we were together, and we can make headlines again. You can even keep your cute little charity girl tucked away for the weekends, although we both know that I don’t shy away from a little dirty sex. It doesn’t get any better than me, Jack. I’m the lady on your arm with the mouth that will suck you dry, and you know it.”
Her crude language caught me off-guard. I didn’t remember her talking like that before, but I wasn’t so thrown that I missed the bit about Blythe. I didn’t like the fact that this snake knew about her. “This conversation is over, Sherry.”
Getting up, she walked around the table and slid the glass partition shut so we couldn’t be disturbed. “Baby, I’m more than happy to be done talking if you’d like a reminder,” she whispered as she pulled my earlobe between her lips and slid her hands over my chest.
Not the least bit aroused, I got up and pulled away from her. Stalking back to the partition, I opened it. “Not interested. I shouldn’t have to say that again.”
His Rise to Power: Book 1 Page 14