He had been the reason for her hiatus from men in general.
She hadn’t thought any man would make her risk getting into a relationship again. She hadn’t thought it was worth the emotional energy to enter one.
Then Jake came along.
She should have been thankful for having a good guy like him. He was the son of a wealthy man, he’d graduated from a top university, he had a bright future ahead of him and was the most noble and considerate person she’d ever met.
Trixie could easily imagine spending the rest of her life with him, having a family with him and really going the distance. Of all the men she’d met and allowed into her heart, Jake really was the most suitable long-term partner.
She felt so stupid for sleeping with his dad and right then vowed to never let that mistake happen again.
She wanted to make her relationship with Jake work, and the way she treated him so horribly was undoubtedly not the way to go about it.
She had been so mean to him.
Letting her head fall against the cold window, she groaned at the memory.
She owed him an apology and waiting to give it to him would only make it harder to do.
She got up, wiped her damp eyes and crossed the room to where her phone lay on the island that separated the kitchen from the living room.
Trixie picked up the phone, but the doorbell rang before she could call Jake.
She was tempted to ignore the summoning.
She wasn’t expecting company and was in no mood for it.
When it rang again, more insistently this time, she put the phone down and answered the door.
She gasped in surprise and delight.
It was Jake, and he was carrying a massive bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates and a bottle of sparkling wine.
The two just stared at each other for a long moment, each trying to feel each other out before they spoke.
His split lip spread in a cautious smile, and he said, “Hi.”
She could feel her face crumbling with a fresh onslaught of tears, and she threw herself at him.
“I’m so sorry,” she got out between hiccupped cries as they embraced. “I don’t know why I acted that way, but it will never happen again, I promise. Please forgive me.”
He held her as tightly as he could with the items in his hands and kissed her damp cheeks.
“It’s okay, babe. Let’s just forget about it,” he told her, and she was confronted again with how good this man was to her.
Maybe too good for her.
Jake ordered a meal, and they spent the evening together watching a romantic movie.
The plot was cheesy, and the characters were cliché, but Trixie couldn’t help getting caught up in the film, and tears of a different kind made her eyes damp.
There was a beautiful wedding scene in the movie. Trixie imagined herself as the main female character, the one in the beautiful, white dress with a man at the end of the aisle staring at her with deep love and affection.
She held onto Jake’s arm tightly, feeling blessed because she did have a guy who looked at her like that. One who bested any of these men in these chick flicks.
She looked over at him to find him looking at her with a small grin. Fitting herself on his lap, she hugged him and said, “I love you so much. I can’t imagine the rest of my life without you in it. You’re everything to me.”
She thought his eyes got a little damp then, too.
He looked at the flowers she’d placed on the dining table in her best vase before looking back at her.
His throat worked as he swallowed.
Then he said, “I have one more surprise for you. I was going to give it to you yesterday afternoon when I visited the boutique, but with an audience of business acquaintances, I didn’t think it was the right time.”
He was looking nervous and the energy transferred to her. She asked, “What’s the surprise?”
He lifted her off his lap then got onto one knee.
She gasped. He was not going to do what she thought he was, was he?
He pulled a little box from his pocket and opened it revealing a sparkling, diamond ring.
With a smile, he announced, “I can’t imagine living one single day without you either, and I love you more than I can ever express in words. You are my heart, my soul, my everything. For better or for worse, I want you at my side. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me, Trixie?”
Chapter 7
Loosen up, will ya?
The scent of renewal perfumed the air. Birds whistled, bees hopped from flower to flower, and the mid-morning sun blanketed the bountiful estate.
Its light bounced off the big diamond on Trixie’s finger.
Trixie was spending the day at Rick and Sandra’s mansion in one of the most elusive and prominent areas in the state.
She and Sandra were taking a stroll through the garden with the main house at their backs. The house stood tall with fourteen bedrooms shared among three floors. Service men and women dressed in black and white professional attire bustled about, adding tables and lights to the space. There was a rush of anticipation as they made sure that everything was absolutely perfect for the upcoming party that evening.
Sandra was, of course, dressed divinely in a teal-colored dress that perfectly complemented her tawny skin. She flashed several rings and dangling diamond jewelry.
Next to her, Trixie was outfitted in a beautiful short, light blue mini dress and three-inch pencil heels. Her hair, makeup, and jewelry were edgy yet tasteful, fitting her well within her upper-class surroundings. She found that she was growing very accustomed to special treatment and smiled as one of the workers greeted her as if she were royalty.
“Will your mother and father be coming to the wedding?” Sandra asked.
“My mother passed quite a few years ago. My father’s still alive and well, but it’s doubtful I’ll be able to convince him to join us. My father’s into agriculture and barely ever wanders too far from his countryside home. He deplores travel.” Trixie answered.
It sounded so much better than saying that her father was a simple farmer so set in his ways that he hadn’t left his rusty old town in decades.
Trixie was well aware that she was marrying above her class and didn’t want to give her future mother-in-law any reason to protest the union.
“Sorry to hear that, dear,” Sandra said.
Although Trixie couldn’t detect any real sympathy in the woman’s words, she thanked her anyway.
While it would have been nice to have her father walk her down the aisle, she knew there was no way he’d have come. He’d had dreams of her marrying a good ‘ole fashioned country boy, having a bunch of kids, becoming a bubbly housewife and settling down back in the small town she’d been raised in.
Her engagement to Jake was forcing him to abandon that vision, and he was not happy about it, mainly since he hadn’t wanted her to move to the city in the first place.
She’d tried to convince him to expand his horizons and move out to the city with her, but he remained stubbornly against the idea.
He had become especially resistant when she suggested he sell the farm. She was confident he’d have been able to raise money to buy a small home in outer suburbs and retire comfortably if he did so, but he was too proud to listen.
Even if Trixie had all the money to buy the farm herself, there was no way her dad would ever leave. His roots dug deep and held firm.
She resisted a sigh thinking about it all. She did miss her dad, and it would’ve been nice to have him close to her. She’d have loved to show him how great life was in the big city.
A light breeze blew, picking up a few tendrils of Trixie’s hair. Not one hair moved out of place on Sandra’s head.
“I have to be honest with you, young lady. I wouldn’t normally have approved of my son marrying a farm girl, but I like you. You’ve got spunk. You have proven herself to be very sharp, very hard working and confident. Even m
y husband seems quite impressed with you, and he can be very particular.”
Trixie blushed at the mention of Rick’s approval.
Trixie was still turned on at the thought of the man so forbidden and just out of reach to her.
It had been a few weeks since Jake proposed and she’d gone out of her way to avoid his father, Rick.
It was easier to resist the temptation of jumping his bones when he wasn’t in her presence. The two had not been alone since the fateful night after their drink at the bar and, thus, had not spoken about what took place between them.
From the moment she’d committed to spending the rest of her life with Jake, she vowed never to put their relationship in danger by being so reckless again. Still, she hadn’t been able to completely banish the thoughts of Rick’s hypnotic aura, magnificent body and sublime technique from her mind.
The thoughts had a way of creeping up on her despite her best efforts to suppress them.
Apart from that, the fact that the CEO of such a large company was impressed with her made her very proud of herself. She’d worked hard and having it acknowledged went a long way in boosting her self esteem.
Trixie stopped walking, and her mind wandered into forbidden territory right in front of her fiancé’s mother. In front of the woman whose husband she’d slept with.
She refocused to find that Sandra had stopped walking as well and was looking at her with sharp eyes. The woman’s head was cocked to the side. Trixie could see calculations going on in her head, though she didn’t know what exactly Sandra was calculating.
She blushed when Sandra said, unexpectedly, “You need to be careful around my husband. Rick tends to flirt heavily with young ladies such as yourself. You’d better not fall for his charms. That would definitely not be in your best interests.”
“Uh,” was the only response Trixie could muster for a moment.
She then regained her scattered wits and assured Sandra. “I’m very much in love with your son and will never do anything to hurt him. I’ll have no problems maintaining a respectful distance from Rick. I can promise you that.”
Sandra continued looking at her a moment longer, and Trixie could feel herself start to sweat.
Finally, Jake’s mother just said, “Good. Now, let’s go finalize the details of your engagement party tonight. It’s such a big day, and everything must be perfect.”
Sandra turned around, and Trixie followed at a slower pace wondering if Sandra already knew what had happened between Rick and Trixie.
The sun had set, and stars twinkled among the dark canvas of night sky, but even the stars couldn’t compete with the thousands of electric lights glinting across the garden.
Even though the engagement party had been in full swing for over two hours, latecomers continued to show up at the elegant affair bearing gifts and good wishes.
Most of the guests were Sandra and Rick’s acquaintances and business partners, but Trixie didn’t mind since it allowed her to expand her network with new connections of her own. In this city, it really was all about who you knew.
She laughed and shook hands when she was introduced to the new high ranking figures. She could tell she was impressing them with her poise and calm. So far everything was going well.
That is, until Jake’s friends from university showed up.
As soon as they arrived, Trixie knew it spelled bad news.
From the dissatisfied looks on Rick and Sandra’s faces, she could tell they knew it was bad news as well, and Trixie had to ask herself why Jake had even bothered inviting that boisterous bunch of boys.
Rowdy hooting and hollering preceded them, and even though they were all around 24 years old now, they seemed to have reverted to the way they might have behaved in their university days. Jake held Trixie’s hand and brought her over to make introductions before everyone went to the bar.
Jake had previously admitted to having some very wild times in college but he swore that he’d cleaned up his act since then. He’d seemed determined to be on his best behavior at the start of the evening, but the moment this group of his friends showed up, he looked like a college kid again.
Trixie had to admit the guys were funny and knew how to have a good time. Placing a champagne bottle on one’s crotch and making the people below drink it straight from the bottle as if drinking one’s piss was indeed hilarious... but this was hardly the time and place for that kind of behavior.
Worse was that Jake was joining in their disruptive shenanigans no matter how hard she’d tried to steer him away.
Shots were flowing liberally at the bar and accompanied by the shouts, “DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!”
These guys were acting like fools.
Few people approached the wild crowd until Rick walked up with a hard look on his face. His body was stiff, and Trixie could tell he was not happy as he swept a narrowed glare over Jake and his friends.
He approached Jake, who’d had quite a few drinks in the past few minutes despite Trixie’s suggestions that he slow down.
Rick grabbed Jake by the arm and pulled him to the side.
Trixie remained close enough to hear him remind his son, “There is an important business partner from Japan coming to the party. This behavior is unacceptable, and you need to clean it up this instant. Understood?”
Jake just rolled his eyes and jerked his arm away. He went back to the bar and shouted another drink order at the bartender.
Trixie could feel Rick’s eyes wander from his son to her, but she avoided his gaze for more than one reason as she watched Jake worriedly.
She knew of the Japanese partner Rick spoke of and how crucial he was for business expansion in the far east.
Before she could try speaking to Jake again though, he loosened his bowtie, and one of his friends grabbed a chair, which Jake proceeded to jump onto.
His friend followed suit and leaped upon tables and chairs as well. The group then started singing at the top of their lungs.
Oh boy.
Some of the guests took the cacophony in their stride and were amused by the spectacle, but some of them were annoyed. The whispers had already begun. This was supposed to be a classy affair, and Jake and his friends were turning it into a college frat party.
Eventually, Rick pulled Trixie away with one last disapproving shake of his head thrown Jake’s way.
“Let me introduce you to Mr. Nakamura,” he said when she looked at him in puzzlement.
She shook hands with the distinguished, grey-haired gentleman and used her limited Japanese to impress him.
He had just flown in from Japan and talks about a partnership to distribute the company’s designer goods in Japan had been progressing for weeks. They were so close to sealing the deal, and this party had the power to make or break their negotiations.
Trixie put on her most professional face and spoke intelligently about the importance of tailor-made omnichannel experiences and just-in-time manufacturing.
Their conversation was disrupted several times by the ruckus Jake and his friends were causing. She saw the Japanese man throw irritated glances in that direction.
Like a good wife, she was determined to save Jake’s reputation and told Mr. Nakamura that he should meet her future husband, the Head of Business Development.
Maybe if Jake got into talking business, he’d be able to shake off his irresponsible behavior.
She waved for him to come over to meet Mr. Nakamura.
His face lit up when he noticed her motions, and he stumbled from the chair over to them.
The scent of alcohol hit Trixie hard when Jake came to stand at her side. She knew immediately she’d made a bad decision.
There was no turning back now though, so she introduced the men and tried to steer the conversation towards business.
Jake put a stop to that, saying, “Babe, stop being a bunghole. This is a party, not a place to talk about all this serious stuff. Loosen up, will you?”
Before she could reply, Mr. Nakamura di
d, by saying, “That is not a very respectful way to talk to your future wife. Especially in the company of others.”
Jake glared at the man then and said, “Butt out, mister! It’s none of your business how I talk to her.”
“Excuse me?” Mr. Nakamura returned, clearly offended.
“You heard me, you old fart,” Jake shouted, and several gasps sounded around them.
The older man dismissed Jake without another word, then glanced at Trixie in pity. He shook her hand one last time then turned to leave.
“Can you believe that guy?” Jake yelled at the man’s retreating back, and Trixie barely kept from slapping her forehead in exasperation.
Chapter 8
Take it all off
Trixie was bent over a bunch of reports when a knock interrupted her.
Concentration broken, she looked up to find Jake standing in the doorway of her office.
He looked terrible.
His suit was wrinkled, and his eyes were red-rimmed with dark bags underneath. While he still looked handsome, he was obviously stressed and looking ill.
She knew he was still hungover from the previous night and with the amount of alcohol he had ingested, he would probably feel the effects for a while yet.
Although she was still thoroughly embarrassed by his behavior the night before, she felt sorry for him. She knew how hard he’d worked to impress his father and remain in the powerful man’s good graces.
She went to him immediately and enfolded him in a warm hug. His arms went, limply, around her before, suddenly, clutching her to him. He forced the air out of her with the strength of his embrace, but she didn’t protest. She just let him take the comfort he needed.
Eventually, he let her go, and she looked up at him with worry in her eyes.
“How are you doing?” she asked closing the door to afford them some privacy.
Rumors about what had happened the previous night had already started to float around the office, and their coworkers were brimming with curiosity, fishing for the juicy details first hand. It didn’t help that the word on the floor was their Japanese partner was pulling out of the deal they’d been trying for weeks to seal.
Trixie Provoked Page 23