by Poppy Flynn
"Jake is always there for me, picking up the pieces—usually the ones you've left me in," she spat. "And making sure I'm okay. Well, now, it's time for me to return the favour. Go and take care your own responsibilities, Joel. I'm not one of them!" With that, she headed back towards Jake without bothering to check whether Joel had taken her advice or not.
When Desi reached Jake, he was slumped on a stool with both elbows on the bar and a glass to his lips.
"Jake?" she whispered tentatively, but he just ignored her. She tried again.
"Go away, Desi," he mumbled this time. "You wouldn't want to get too close to a pervert," he said bitterly. "Some of the dirt might rub off."
Desi wasn't easily deterred. Instead of leaving him to wallow in his own self-pity, she stepped up behind him and closed her arms around his chest, laying her cheek against his back.
After a couple of tense moments, he relaxed and covered her hands with one of his own.
"I think I should take you home," Desi murmured.
"Nope," Jake slurred. "Me and this here whisky have got a good thing going. It keeps me company, but it doesn't argue with me, doesn't accuse me of anything, doesn't give me any grief, but it does do this magic thing that makes me forget about all the shit for a while."
"It'll be giving you grief in the morning!" Desi mocked lightly.
"She's right about that!" a deep voice boomed, and Desi lifted her head to find Connor standing beside them.
"Come on, you two, I think we've had enough fun for one night. I'm not sure I can endure the spectacle of Jake making a fool of himself because he can't walk straight and is throwing up in one of the potted ferns, on top of everything else tonight."
Desi heartily agreed. It was definitely time to get out of here!
Reaching in one of Jake's jacket pockets, Desi dug around for his car keys. Not finding them in the first, she tried again in the other side.
"You wanna feel aroun' in me trouser pockets like that?" Jake suggested drunkenly as Desi fished out his keys and handed them to Connor.
"I don't mind if ya wanna feel me up, babe."
Desi rolled her eyes as Connor took the keys and hauled Jake to his feet. Desi slipped under one of his arms so that he could lean on her, but Connor took most of his weight. They managed to get him to the valet area and into the car without inviting too much attention.
"Let's take him to my place, please, Connor."
Connor nodded, not making any comment about the suggested location.
Getting Jake up the stairs when they finally reached her apartment was a little more of a challenge. In the end, Connor manhandled him up them, thanks to his sheer size, and Desi was eternally grateful that it had been Connor who accompanied them, or Jake might have had to sleep it off in the lobby. Thank goodness, it was late and there were no witnesses.
"Where to?" Connor huffed when they eventually got through the door.
"Here" Desi replied, leading the way down the hall and opening the door.
Connor raised an eyebrow. "Your bedroom?" Desi ignored his speculation.
"Well, we don't want him choking on his own vomit in the night now, do we?" she joked. "Besides," she added softly as Connor dropped him down on the bed and helped her get him out of the tux. "He's looked after me enough times."
Leaving Jake in just his boxers, Desi drew the sheet up over him and stroked his hair as he started to snore gently.
"I owe him," she whispered.
Late the next morning, Desi heard a groan and a thump from the bedroom and figured Jake was finally awake. Pouring a mug of strong coffee from the coffee machine, she grabbed a box of tablets from her medicine drawer and headed back to check on him.
Jake was just crawling back into bed when she found him. "Kill me now!" he begged, pulling the covers up over his head as she opened the curtains.
"Here, drink this." She offered him the mug and sat down on the side of the bed when he propped himself up to take it.
Popping two of the painkillers out of their foil wrapper, Desi held them out to him. "Figured you'd need these, as well."
"Thanks," he muttered, sipping at his coffee and leaning back against the headboard.
"Now, finish that up and get yourself a shower. I'll make you some bacon and eggs. There's nothing like a fry up to cure a hangover." She laughed as she got up and headed for the door.
Jake just groaned.
An hour later, freshly washed and scrubbed and finishing his breakfast, he looked almost as good as new, even if he was dressed in his tuxedo trousers and a huge oversized purple sweatshirt of Desi's that stretched across his chest like a second skin. Well, beggars couldn't be choosers. At least it wasn't pink.
"I'm sorry about last night." He sighed, but Desi just laughed.
"Which bit are you sorry about?"
Jake smiled wryly into his fresh drink. "Yeah, it was all a bit of a…well, I'm not sure what you'd call it, really."
He looked up at her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Joel and Anita. I only found out in a text from Connor, shortly before we arrived, and they weren't supposed to be there, so I didn't want to spoil your night."
Desi winced. "It's not your fault, Jake. I admit, it was a bit of a shock, coming so soon after…" she swallowed "…after the scene last week."
She traced the lines in the marble countertop with her finger. "Has he been seeing Anita long?" she asked hesitantly, not sure she really wanted to know the answer.
"No!" Jake exclaimed. "Not at all. The news of their engagement was just as much of a shock to me. Sure, she's always been around, but usually, Joel's constantly trying to dodge the bullet while his dad lines up the prospective brides…Anita being top of the list."
He crooked his fingers under her chin to look at him. "Besides, do you think any of us would have gone into that scene with him, knowing that he had a girlfriend stashed away somewhere?"
"Well, you might have if you saw me as a threat to the two of them," she said quietly.
"Like hell, we would!" Jake scowled, dropping his hand.
"You were the best thing that ever happened to Joel, and I would have told him he was looking in the wrong direction if I'd known Anita was on his radar.
Desi shrugged. "Some things just aren't meant to be, Jake. It's just life. All we can do is pick ourselves up and move forward. Last night isn't going to stop me doing that. Nothing is, anymore. In fact, if anything, it's made me stronger."
She looked up at him once more, a genuine smile lighting her eyes. "I reckon I slayed all my demons with one stone last night, so I figure if I can handle that, I can handle anything. "I'm looking forward to the future, Jake. Honestly. Maybe for the first time in eleven years."
Jake smiled back at her and stood, pulling her to her feet and into a hug. "Good," he said, looking down at her. "Because I've got a proposition that I want you to consider for your future."
"Business?" she asked.
"Not exactly," Jake said, cupping her cheek. "Marry me."
It wasn't a question and it wasn't an order, and for a moment, Desi was stunned. More than a moment. She opened her mouth to deny him and then closed it again without saying anything.
Jake stayed quiet and just looked at her earnestly, holding her loosely in his arms—arms that were constantly comforting her, protecting her.
Desi's gut instinct was to say no, but surely, that was the impulsive part of her that she was always trying to tame. She needed to think about this properly.
"You don't love me, Jake." she hedged. She needed to tread carefully here.
"Of course, I do, Desi. We may not share the passion that you had with Joel, but you mean more to me than any woman who has ever been in my life, and that includes the ones I've had serious relationships with."
The mention of Joel and the passion that brought her nothing but pain and heartache but had caused her to waste so much of her life made her view Jake's proposal in a new light.
He was right. Where the hell had passion ev
er got her…or that kind of love.
Jake meant so much to her and she loved him, too. Okay, not that kind of love, but did that matter?
Jake was loyal and dependable. He was always there for her and never let her down. He understood her kink, and let's face it, he was pretty easy on the eye. Her mind stuttered when she tried to think about having sex with him. Which was ridiculous, considering how intimate they had been with each other. It had just never been sex like that. You know, normal sex. She'd done a lot of kinky stuff with Jake, oral, anal, but they'd never actually had bog standard intercourse. And they'd never gotten intimate alone.
Desi brushed her hands across Jake's chest, contemplating.
Why would it even be a problem? she wondered. Hell, she'd almost considered settling down with James at one point in her life. She knew damn well that Jake could do more for her, in and out of the bedroom, than he ever could. She'd been quiet for a while, she realised, and looked up into Jake's face.
"I want the same things as you do, Desi," he said seriously. "I'm tired of being on my own. I want to start a family before I'm too old to enjoy my children."
He touched his forehead to hers. "And let's face it, Anita proved last night that the chances of me finding a girlfriend with my reputation are pretty bloody slim."
Desi threw her head back. "Oh! So, I'm just your last resort, am I?" she smirked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
Jake scrunched his face up and clapped a hand over his eyes. "That didn't come out right!" he groaned. "You know what I mean." He peered out from between his fingers. "Don't you?" he asked hopefully, clearly wondering if he actually might have offended her.
Desi looped her arms around his neck. "Yes, I do know what you mean." She smiled; this man was so very special. She had always thought that he would make someone a wonderful husband. So why shouldn't she take that for herself? She liked and respected him. They enjoyed each other's company, and they were friends, very close friends.
And they were approaching this with their eyes wide open and their cards on the table. Surely, a comfortable love born of a steady and enduring friendship was a better basis for a marriage than something as fickle and ephemeral as passionate love born from attraction and desire. She decided that it was. "And, yes, I will marry you."
The sweetest smile bloomed on Jake's handsome face and Desi matched it.
"There is one condition," she ventured. "One I need you to take seriously."
"What is it?" he asked, looking her straight in the eye.
"I want you to promise me that if you ever meet a woman whom you could truly fall in love with and who will love you, too, for who you are, truly, madly, deeply and passionately, that you will tell me. I don't ever want to be a weight around your neck. I don't want you ever to look at me with regret. I want you to tell me, so we can sort it out."
"You won't ever be a weight around my neck, Desi."
Desi pressed a finger against his lips. "Shhh, you might meet the woman of your dreams, tomorrow, or next year, or in ten years' time. Please, just promise me."
Jake sighed. "Okay, I promise, but only if you promise me the same. And that includes the possibility of Joel coming to his senses."
Desi shook her head. "I don't think Joel will ever feel that way," she replied with just a wisp of sadness.
Jake pressed his finger against her lips. "Shhh, you already met the man of your dreams, and tomorrow, or next year, or in ten years' time, he might wake up and realise what an idiot he's been for letting you get away. So please, promise me, too." He grinned.
Desi felt the laughter bubble up inside her chest and it felt so very cathartic to release it.
Jake laughed with her, and when they'd finished, she whispered, "I promise."
Then Jake speared his fingers through her unruly hair and placed a gentle kiss upon her lips. And while it was a kiss that didn't contain passion, it was full of hope.
Chapter 13
On Monday, Desi arrived at work with a spring in her step. It didn't last long.
Laurel's disposition was as sour as it had been for the past two weeks. She needed to get to the bottom of that. But the thought was quickly dispersed by her next words, despite the dirty look Laurel threw at her, which made Desi suspect that whatever was upsetting her PA had something to do with her.
"You have an emergency board meeting scheduled for 9:30 am prompt," Laurel said shortly and stomped away.
A cold feeling of dread spread through the pit of Desi's stomach.
"Stop imagining the worst," she muttered to herself under her breath. "It could be good news." But all of her intuition was screaming the opposite.
The mood was sober when she arrived on the top floor, only adding to her sense of disquiet. She waited quietly for John Williams to bring the room to order. She was shocked to note that the man looked like a shell of his former self.
"Well, the verdict is in," John told the hushed meeting. "Blackwood is going ahead with a hostile takeover bid." There was a moment of shocked silence, followed by gasps and cries of distress as the news sank in, but it didn't end there.
"On top of that, it seems that Blackwood plans to force most of us out," he continued, and the chatter at the table immediately took on a panicked and disbelieving air.
"With a few notable exceptions," the CEO said, staring straight at Desi.
Desi was taken aback at the hostility in John's look.
"What?" she asked, unable to stay silent at the condemnation he appeared to be aiming at her.
"The rumour is that Blackwood senior has plans to see you in my position," John said coldly. "Apparently, you're the only one who is safe, Ms. Harper." John addressed her with snubbing formality. "He sees you at the helm of his new empire in the East."
Desi felt the anger boil up, and she noted the expressions of her colleagues ranging from disappointment, to distrust, to outright hostility. She stood up and placed her palms flat on the boardroom table, her voice shaking with fury. "Well, what Joseph Blackwood sees is all in his dreams!" Desi spat. She couldn't believe that Joel's father thought he could plan out her life without consulting her, and she couldn't believe that her co-workers could be so quick to condemn her. "You know damn well that I do not, and never have, wanted your position, John. So, why the hell would you start believing rumour and innuendo, now?"
John lowered his eyes in discomfiture, some of the wind taken out of his sails.
"And why the hell are you all cowering around the table like it's already some kind of done deal?" she demanded, looking around her. "The success of a hostile takeover is not a certainty, for Christ's sake. What's gotten into everyone? We haven't lost yet, you know!" Desi cast her eyes to each of her fellow directors in turn. "But it looks like Blackwood is doing a damn fine job of pitting us against each other, doesn't it?" she said icily.
Desi noticed a few more of her colleagues had the grace to look ashamed and pushed off of the table, standing and confronting them all. "I own a nine percent stake in this company. That makes me one of the major shareholders," she declared.
"So, I am aware." John's manner had turned hostile again, and Desi turned on him.
"And since you're so well informed, John, are you also aware that I have been investing every penny I have in buying up those shares so that I can fight this takeover?" she asked pointedly.
John's eyebrows drew together and he looked confused. "But I thought…." He trailed off.
"I can guess what you thought, John." Desi frowned, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Perhaps what you need to ask yourself is who was leading your thoughts in that direction?"
John sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry."
Desi gave a single nod of acceptance and then addressed the rest of the room. "Okay, now, as I said, I own nine percent of this company and the rest of you should own at least two percent each and John five percent, unless any of you have invested more. That should give us a minimum of twenty four percent just between the seven of us. That
means we're close to half way there." Desi looked expectantly at the six other men in the room.
Her heart dropped when she noticed that more than one of them suddenly looked uncomfortable. Desi closed her eyes and dropped back into her seat as the bottom dropped out of her stomach. "Right, let's check our share options, shall we?" she suggested, trying to stay positive in the rapidly dawning understanding that at least two of her co-directors had sold up.
Across the room, one of the younger directors cleared his throat. He was in his late thirties, another rapidly rising star, like Desi.
"I was approached about six months ago and offered double the market price for my shares," he said uncomfortably. "I figured I could take the deal and still buy back my original stake on the open market and make a profit."
"And did you?" asked Desi, already knowing the answer.
"No," Andrew sighed. "When I tried, there was no availability, but I just figured there'd be time enough later on to replace them if I wanted to."
"Anyone else sold?" John asked.
"Me." Not one, but two, other directors replied. Each of them had been approached in the same manner but had only sold half of their stake, leaving them both with one percent.
"Me, too," came another voice, just when Desi had thought they had heard the worst. Malcolm was their oldest director.
"I'm sorry," he sighed. "Like Andrew, I was offered double the market value and my thought process was pretty much the same. Since I'm so close to retirement, I figured it would give me a nice little nest egg and that if I bought back in, then I could have my cake and eat it, too. I guess those kinds of deals are always too good to be true."
Desi blew out a breath. "Is that it?" she asked, not wanting any more surprises.
"Well, on the bright side," John replied. "I increased my holding to seven percent, so we're still at twenty, overall."