“Don’t you even dare try to hold out on me,” Becca stated, flopping down on Jessie’s bed. “We have seen each other through all kinds of crap. No way are you going to hold out on me that you and Ryan—Ryan, of all people—hooked up over the weekend.”
“It wasn’t a hookup,” Jessie said as she emptied the majority of contents from her suitcase into the laundry hamper.
“No? Then what was it?”
Jessie shrugged. “I have no idea, Becca.” She stopped unpacking. “One minute, I’m hanging out with my best friend and his friends. The next minute, I’m up against the wall and we’re having the most amazing sex I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Better than Hugh?”
“Doesn’t even compare.” Jessie sat beside Becca on the bed. “Ryan is...commanding and powerful when I want it and soft and gentle when I need it. He’s so in tune to my every need, my every desire. I couldn’t get enough of him.”
“Wow! That’s saying something. And this is the first time you’ve ever felt this connection to him?”
Jessie rose from the bed, unable to meet Becca’s querying eyes. “I didn’t say that.”
“What does that mean? What aren’t you saying?”
Jess spun around. “Three months ago at the reunion... There was a moment when Ryan and I danced that I thought there might have been a spark, but I dismissed it. Hugh came and I got caught up in the excitement of his surprise appearance.”
“Clearly, you weren’t wrong about that night.”
Jessie nodded. “No, I don’t suppose I was. This weekend was a complete revelation. I had no idea Ryan and I were so—so sexually compatible. We were together all weekend.”
“Sounds hot! I can hardly believe it. I mean you’ve never once said you were interested in Ryan in that way. He was always the boy next door.”
“Yeah...well, he’s still that, too, but he’s also got a sexy body and a wicked tongue,” Jessie said with a grin. When she thought about how he used his tongue to turn her inside out, Jessie felt her skin turn crimson.
“Are you going to continue seeing him?” Becca inquired. “Isn’t Ryan still applying for that job at Black Crescent?”
“Yes.” Except for his friends mentioning it Friday night, Ryan hadn’t spoken of the job the entire weekend. Jessie was certain that had been deliberate because they’d wanted to keep the real world out of their Hampton bubble, but it was still a real possibility.
“Could you accept him working there?”
Jessie shook her head. “I couldn’t. It would hurt too much. Black Crescent cost my family everything and changed our lives forever.”
“So where does that leave you? What about Hugh?”
“Hugh and I have had a long-distance relationship for years and I’m tired of it. I have been for years. We decided three months ago to take a break to figure out what we wanted.”
“Why didn’t you speak up and tell me sooner?”
“Because... I’ve always tried to do what’s expected of me, what my family wants, but I’m coming to realize that it’s overshadowed my life and stifled me from making my own choices.”
“A choice like Ryan?”
“It’s not tit for tat.”
“No?”
“Of course not. I’m not using Ryan because Hugh is no longer in my life. Our attraction surprised both of us.”
“Maybe you, but Ryan has always been into you, Jessie. He’s always been jealous of your relationship with Hugh. You just refused to acknowledge the obvious.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is. I knew it the moment I met him. But you’d always had him in the friend’s zone and seemed content to have him there, so I never questioned it.”
“Well, I’m questioning everything. So to answer your question, Ryan and I didn’t really discuss what comes next once we got back home.”
“What did you talk about?”
Jessie blushed. There hadn’t been a whole of talking going on. Just kissing, touching, licking and lots more.
Becca fanned herself. “My apologies, my love life has been on indefinite pause. No amount of Match, eHarmony or Tinder can resuscitate it.”
“You’ll find someone, Becca. You’re an amazing human.”
“Not someone as fine as Ryan. I mean, when did he get so good-looking all of a sudden?”
Jessie chuckled. She’d thought the same thing. One day he was overweight. The next he was lean and trim and had become a man. All man. And through the years, she’d see him here and there, but she supposed she’d never really seen him until the reunion. And now that she had, there was no way they could go back to being only friends.
But she also wasn’t sure she was ready for a full-blown relationship. There were too many obstacles she had to get through first. And they began with figuring out what she wanted and how to stop doing her parents’ bidding and finally live for herself. In an ideal world, she and Ryan would be able to make their Hamptons tryst into something more, but how could they if he took the job with Black Crescent? Jessie didn’t see a way forward for them and that was the most disappointing part of all.
* * *
“Well, look who the cat dragged in,” Sean Hathaway, Ryan’s older brother, said when Ryan joined him and their brother Ben for drinks later that evening. They were at a local pub in Murray Hill that specialized in craft beer and burgers, and was not all that far from his penthouse. He’d forgotten his brothers had come to the city after the annual Hathaway barbecue for a Yankees’ game and he was to meet them beforehand for a drink.
“Don’t give me a hard time,” Ryan stated. “I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy to hang out with your bros?” His younger brother, Ben stated. Ben had inherited their father’s wiry frame and salt-and-pepper hair. Poor guy had started graying in his twenties. But that hadn’t stopped the ladies from fawning over his light brown eyes, which was a trademark of their mother’s family, even though his brother dressed like a preppie in trousers and a button-down shirt. Though tonight it appeared he’d made an exception and had traded his trousers for jeans, but still the button-down remained.
“You didn’t even come home for the Fourth,” Sean chimed in. “Mom was none too pleased. You know she looks forward to having us all home.” His eldest brother, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of Ben. He was broad-shouldered, with a football player frame, and wore jeans and a Yankees jersey. He had dark brown hair and deeply set brown eyes.
Like Jessie’s parents, Marilyn Hathaway hadn’t been happy when Ryan had told her of his plans to spend the Fourth of July with his friends. His father’s barbecue was one of the biggest parties on Sycamore Street and everyone in their Falling Brook neighborhood usually came out to sample Eric’s ribs, brisket and pulled pork.
“Yeah, it couldn’t be helped.” Ryan shrugged.
“Why not?” Ben inquired. “What’s so important?”
“I was hanging with some friends in the Hamptons. You remember my roommate Adam from college? He invited several of us to his place.”
“By friends, do you mean Jessie Acosta?” Ben teased.
“Ah.” Sean grinned and pointed at Ryan’s guilty face, “Now that makes sense. There’s only one person that would make Ryan abandon his family and that would be a certain beautiful Latina.”
“Don’t start,” Ryan admonished.
“Tease you about the crush you’ve had on the girl next door for decades?” Sean stated, wrapping his arm around Ryan’s shoulder. “No way, bro. You’ve got it coming and then some. I’m friends with Jessie on Facebook. I saw the pictures she posted. You can’t hide the look of absolute adoration on your face.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Adoration? That was in the past. I stopped pining for Jessie months ago when I realized at the reunion that she was never going to choose me.”
“Yet you to
ok her with you to the Hamptons?” Sean quipped.
“That was different. It was just a temporary fling.”
Both his brothers laughed, but it was Ben who piped up next. “You’re so sprung on that girl. Always have been and always will be.”
“Agreed,” Sean stated. “But what was more interesting about the pics posted was the look in her eyes.” Sean pulled out his IPhone and showed a picture of Ryan and Jessie with his friends. “Finally, after all these years, little Jessie is feeling you. Isn’t that right?”
Ryan rose from the high-top table they were seated at and moved over to the bar. He motioned to the bartender and quickly ordered a beer. He needed a minute to collect himself before he faced his brothers. If anyone could read him, they could. He didn’t want them to know how much he wanted that to be true. How much he wanted Jessie to be as into him as he was into her.
The bartender slid a beer across the bar and Ryan accepted it, taking a swig. When he returned to the table, his brothers eyed him.
“Well?” Sean asked. “Are you going to fess up now? Or are we going to have to beat it out of you?” He glanced at Ben who nodded his agreement. When Ryan was younger, his older brothers loved razzing him.
Ben held up his hand. “I vote to beat it out of him. It’s been a while since we gave our little brother a proper whooping.”
“As if you could take me,” Ryan snorted. “I’m not that chubby kid you guys could push around. Like Popeye, I’ve been eating my spinach,” He showed off his biceps “And I can take either of you. Any time of day.”
Sean threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Is that right? You are definitely full of yourself because Jessie Acosta finally gave you the time of day.”
“C’mon, spill,” Ben said, staring at Ryan.
“I admit I invited Jessie to the Hamptons with me and our relationship went to the next level.”
“Okay, I want my twenty bucks.” Sean held out his hand to Ben.
Ryan glanced at his brothers. “Did you guys make a bet on me and Jessie?” he asked incredulously.
“Sure did,” Sean said as Ben pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to him. He tucked the money into his jeans. “I told Ben that Jessie finally opened her eyes to what’s been right in front of her the entire time. He told me no way. He was wrong.”
“How could you tell?” Ryan asked. “That picture was of all of us at the party.”
“Yeah, but if you look real close, you can see your hand was around her waist, real proprietary-like, and you had a look of absolute happiness,” Sean replied. “So, are you happy?”
Ryan took a swig of beer. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you’re here with us instead of your new lady love,” Ben responded.
Ryan laughed at his euphemism. “It’s a bit early to start calling her my lady.”
“Well, she’s certainly not O’Malley’s anymore,” Sean said with a smirk.
Ryan frowned. Hearing his nemesis’s name always irked him.
“I don’t want to talk about Hugh.”
“Why not?” Ben asked. “He’s been your competition from the start to win Jessie. Is he out of the picture?”
Ryan shrugged. “I think so.”
“But you don’t know for sure?” Sean finished.
Ryan shook his head. And that bothered him. He didn’t know exactly where Jessie stood with Hugh or anything. She’d said they were on a break, but Ryan wasn’t so sure. Hugh was still formidable opposition standing in the way of his finding true happiness with Jessie. There was also the possible job at Black Crescent to contend with.
“You need to find out,” Sean stated. “You can’t stay in limbo. I know how you’ve felt...” he began and then corrected himself. “How you feel about Jessie. You should have an honest heart-to-heart talk and find out where you stand.”
Ryan put down his beer and looked at both his brothers. “In due time.” He didn’t want to fall back into bad habits, not after he’d done such a good job of pushing down his feelings after the reunion. He didn’t want to take a step back.
“All right, but that’s the only way you’ll have your answer,” Ben said. “If it doesn’t work out, you’ll have the memories to look back on about your one hot weekend together in the Hamptons.”
Ryan frowned. He didn’t like Ben’s honest assessment, but he knew his brother was right. He and Jessie needed to clear the air and come to an understanding. He needed to know if what they shared was just a fling for her. Because it sure as hell wasn’t for him. He’d begun thinking of the end game because, in his mind, he wanted her to be Mrs. Ryan Hathaway.
Ten
Ryan was in a bad mood. After getting up at 5:00 a.m. to complete his workout regime to keep his body fit and trim, he’d checked the overnight news to see if there were any relevant market movements. Finding none, he prepared himself for the firm’s morning meeting. He had some investment ideas he wanted to discuss with upper management before making a presentation to his institutional clients.
The morning meeting went as expected and they loved his ideas. So he’d gone back to his office to set up appointments, including an investor visit to a distribution center. The only bright spot had been Allison Randall, the recruitment specialist, calling him to advise Black Crescent was interviewing other candidates, but was very happy with him and she hoped to have the second interview set up shortly. Ryan had expected as much. His credentials spoke for themselves.
Yet by midmorning, Ryan still felt unsettled and he knew why. After sharing brews and burgers with his brothers last night, he’d gone home full of purpose and expecting to have a serious conversation with Jessie about the state of their relationship. Instead, all he’d gotten was silence. His calls, voice mails and texts had gone unanswered for the entire evening.
If Jessie was trying to tell him what happened in the Hamptons stayed in the Hamptons, he’d received the message loud and clear. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, it had been her idea to keep the weekend light and strings-free. He’d gone along because he’d wanted her so badly, he’d been willing to compromise. When in fact, he wanted it all—marriage and babies—with Jessie.
He knew to tell her would be suicide and send her running in the opposite direction. But at the very least, he’d hoped she’d want to continue seeing him to see where they might lead.
He’d been wrong.
Instead, he’d gotten his hopes up only to have them dashed and he had no one to blame but himself.
“Hey, Ryan, would you mind looking at some of my research?” Mark Bush, a junior analyst at his firm, said from his doorway.
“Of course.” Ryan motioned him inside. He liked the kid. He was young, straight out of Trinity and a little green, but he had tremendous promise. Ryan wasn’t like some of the other senior analysts who treated those underneath him like the bottom of their shoe, making them work hard like an intern. He believed in paying it forward.
Ryan peered over the figures Mark presented. “These are good. Really good.”
“Thanks, Ryan. I appreciate you taking a look.”
Ryan smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Helping others had always brought Ryan joy, which was why he wanted to run Black Crescent Investment. The company had bounced back under Joshua Lowell’s leadership, but if Ryan became CEO, he was certain he could get rid of the tarnished reputation once and for all. Many in Falling Brook thought the Lowells were still secretly in contact with Vernon. That’s why Ryan felt he was the right choice to lead the company.
With someone new at the helm, the fund wouldn’t be accused of financial malfeasance and could finally be the leader in investments it had once been.
Black Crescent, however, wasn’t Ryan’s only opportunity to move into upper management. He was pursuing a couple of other interesting initiatives—though none of them had the personal i
mpact of working in his hometown. Working at Black Crescent had been Ryan’s way of cutting ties with Jessie and exorcising her from his life permanently.
Maybe he’d been onto something a few months ago. Jessie’s lack of communication was a blessing to show him he needed to focus on himself and his career. Or at least, that’s what he told himself as he continued working until the sky darkened outside.
“You still here?” Mark said.
Ryan glanced up from the report he’d been reading. It’s not like he had anyone to go home to. “Yeah, I’ll be here for a while. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sure thing. Have a good night.”
Ryan returned to studying the facts and figures in front of him until a silhouette at the door captured his attention. He sucked in a deep breath.
Jessie.
* * *
Jessie stared into Ryan’s dark brown eyes and let out a sigh of relief. It had been too long to go without seeing him. She’d had every intention of calling him last night, but after drinking a couple of glasses of wine with Becca, she’d drifted off to sleep and hadn’t awakened until Becca alerted her she’d overslept because her phone was dead.
She’d barely had enough time to shower before catching the subway to work—leaving her phone at home on the charger. Jessie hadn’t realized how exhausted she’d been from the weekend, but she supposed it was because she’d stayed in bed with this man and hadn’t gotten much sleep.
Though she didn’t like the frown currently marring his features. “Ryan, listen... I’m sorry,” she began as she walked into his office and shut the door.
“What for?” he asked, closing the folder he’d obviously been reading.
“Because I told you we’d talk last night and I fell asleep.”
“And this morning?” he queried. “Heck, the rest of the day, for that matter. You mean to tell me, you couldn’t bother to pick up a phone?”
“I overslept and left my phone at home, and you know I’m terrible with remembering numbers. That’s your forte not mine.”
Insatiable Hunger (Dynasties: Seven Sins Book 3) Page 9