"So?"
"So, it's not like I know a lot of people here."
"You know me."
I wasn't even sure what that meant. Recalling the scene with him and Victoria, I gave a bitter laugh. "Well, you looked pretty busy, so…" I didn't bother finishing the sentence.
His gaze met mine. In a low voice, he said, "Not as busy as you think."
What was that? A hint that nothing had happened?
It sure sounded that way.
I murmured, "Oh. Well, uh, that's good." Stupidly, I added, "It was just one of those weeks, that's all."
His gaze warmed. "Yeah, well, your boss is an asshole."
Something in his eyes made my stomach flutter, and I heard myself say, "Not all the time."
He gave a quiet scoff. "That's what you think."
We were still staring into each other's eyes, even as we continued to move with the music. The whole time, I was obnoxiously aware that practically everyone was watching, waiting no doubt for us to be done already, so they could return to the regular music.
I couldn’t say that I blamed them. This was, after all, not a country music place, which led me to ask a question of my own. "How'd you get him to do that?"
"Who?" he asked.
"The D.J. How'd you get him to play this song?"
"I just told him to play something classic country. It wasn't hard."
"Oh, really?" I laughed. "I doubt everyone agrees. You realize they're all staring, right?"
"They're not staring at me."
"Sorry, what?"
"They're staring at you."
I almost laughed. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"
His gaze grew a shade warmer. "Maybe they can't help it."
Chapter 41
I felt myself swallow. That sounded almost like a compliment. But this was Jaden Bishop. He didn't compliment anyone, at least not that I'd ever heard.
I tried to think. Had he ever said anything nice to me before?
No.
He hadn't.
Not really.
And yet, a little voice in my head reminded me that he had done a few nice things. Surely that was more important, right?
I'd never been one for flowery words or fake compliments. All of my life, I'd appreciated other things – things like loyalty, honesty, and courage.
At a sudden realization, I almost wanted to snicker. It took an awful lot of courage to be out here alone while everyone watched.
Or maybe that was just me. Maybe Jaden truly didn't care what anyone thought. It certainly would fit. After all, he sure acted that way.
Still, it did make me wonder something. I asked, "So how, exactly, did you get the D.J. to do it? And don't say you just asked, because if I'd asked, he would've laughed in my face."
"Yeah, but I didn't ask."
"Sorry, what?"
"I told him to. Big difference."
I gave him a look. "Okaaaaay. But it doesn't change the facts. If I'd 'told him to’, he would've laughed or at least said no. So why'd he say yes to you?"
"Because I'm the boss."
I gave a nervous laugh. "Thanks for reminding me."
"I don't mean your boss," he said. "I mean his boss."
I blinked. "What?"
"I own the place."
Now that surprised me. "You do?"
"Well, me and Jax."
"Oh." Now, I didn't know what to think. All along, I'd assumed that Jaden was here for a good time. "So, are you here to work?"
"If by work, you mean check on my investment, yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing." He paused. "And I'm not talking about the bar." His expression grew serious. "So let me ask you again, why'd you come here alone?"
And there he was, the jackass that I loved to hate. "I already told you."
"Yeah. And your reason sucked."
I scoffed, "Is that so?"
"Yeah. It is. You shouldn't be here alone."
"Why not?" I demanded.
"Because you're new in town. You don't know the landscape."
"I know plenty," I said.
"Yeah? So who's watching your back?"
"What?"
"Your back," he repeated. "Let's say you disappeared, who would notice?"
My chin lifted. "Cassidy."
"Yeah?" His voice hardened. "When? Tomorrow morning?"
I saw what he meant, but he was just being paranoid, or rather, he wanted me to be paranoid.
I told him, "I wasn't planning to disappear."
He frowned. "No one ever does." He glanced toward the bar, where I'd been standing with that stranger – the guy whose name was apparently Derek.
In what felt like a change of topic, Jaden said, "What'd that guy tell you, anyway?"
"I don't know," I said, "because I didn't hear it. Remember?"
"I'm not talking about that," he said. "I'm talking about the other line of bull."
I wasn't following. "What line?"
"With Derek, there's always a line." He grimaced. "So, who was he tonight? A musician?"
I gave a confused shake of my head. "What?"
"Or," he continued, "was he pulling the old, 'I have a yacht' routine?"
"Oh please, we didn't discuss yachts."
Jaden gave a slow nod. "Right. So, it was the gold medal thing."
Damn it.
When I made no reply, Jaden said, "What sport? Polo? Or skiiing?"
"Well, it wasn't skiing," I muttered.
"So polo then."
"Maybe."
"And you believed him?"
"I don't know," I said. "I didn't have time to think about it. And besides, it's not like I could ask anyone."
"Exactly."
"What?"
"That's exactly my point. You don't know him. You don't know anyone, which means you shouldn’t be here by yourself."
Well this was just delightful.
"You know what?" I said. "I've heard just about enough." The song was winding down, and I made a move to go.
But Jaden held on tight. "Not yet."
"Why not?"
"Because the song's not over."
"So?"
"So, I’m not done."
We were no longer moving. "Oh, you're done alright."
"No. I’m not." He gave me a hard look. "I've got one more thing to say."
"Oh yeah?" I snapped. "What's that?"
"It's a good thing he doesn't know where you live, because if he did, you'd probably find him on your doorstep when you got home."
I swallowed. "What?"
"Your doorstep," he repeated. "He's got this fucked-up habit of turning up where he's not wanted." Jaden gave me a tight smile. "So, unless you want him creeping around your door, I’m just saying it's a good thing I showed up when I did."
Suddenly, my skin felt ice cold.
Oh, crap.
Like an idiot, I'd actually shown the guy my license. It even had my new address. What if his goal hadn't been to discover my age, but rather to learn where I lived?
Jaden studied my face. "What is it?"
"Nothing." I tried to keep my tone neutral. "What are you saying? That's he's dangerous?"
"Not yet. But that's no guarantee."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means, he hasn't done anything illegal." He paused. "Or harmful, as far as I know."
Just then, the song officially ended, leaving us standing there for a long moment in absolute silence until the steady beat of techno announced the return of the regularly scheduled program.
Still, neither one of us moved, even as the dance floor filled around us. His hands were still on my hips, but my fingers were no longer laced around the back of his neck. Rather, they were pressed tight against his chest.
In the heat of my anger, I'd meant to push him away. But somehow, I'd never done it. And now, through the fabric of his shirt, I could feel the heat of his body and the hardness of his pecs.
Even in my distracted state, I couldn’t help but notice that he felt ama
zingly good under my palms and fingers. Once upon a time, I'd seen his bare chest, but I hadn't been prepared for the feel of him -- shirtless or not.
My heart was pounding now, and I wasn't even sure why.
Was it because some creeper might be waiting for me on my doorstep?
Or was it because I was having some pretty creepy thoughts of my own?
On that very first day, I'd been the one standing on a stranger's doorstep – Jaden's doorstep, to be exact. That was how long ago? A couple of months? It felt like longer.
Back then, I'd hated him. Maybe I still hated him. But now, there was something else, something that I shouldn't be feeling for a guy who was so completely impossible.
And oh yeah, he was my boss, too.
And a total horndog, at least according to his reputation.
At the recollection, I pulled back, and this time, Jaden actually let go. Silently, I turned and waded into the crowd, ignoring the people dancing to the new beat. When I was free of the dance floor, I made straight for the exit.
I didn't bother looking back even though I had a sneaky suspicion that Jaden might be following.
After all, he'd done that earlier, hadn't he?
But it didn't matter. I didn't want anything to do with him – or the way he made me feel. I pushed through the exit and stalked across the lonely parking lot, heading straight for my vehicle – or rather, his vehicle.
But that was just one more thing I didn't want to think about.
The air was balmy with a light breeze. Still, I stifled a shiver as I reached into my pocket for the keys to the truck. It was then that I spotted him, Jaden, watching from a few paces away.
So he had followed me?
Who's the creeper now, huh?
But of course, even in my agitated state, I realized that I was being terribly unfair. In truth, it was kind of nice to not be out here alone, especially with that Derek guy so eager to flash me his goodies.
Still, I was annoyed, mostly with myself. And why? It was because I was so unnaturally drawn to my impossible boss.
This didn't even make sense. He was rude, obnoxious, and way too sure of himself.
Plus, he was totally off-limits, and not only because I worked for him. He was the kind of guy who chewed girls up and spit them out. Oh sure, they might be smiling as it happened, but that didn't change a thing.
He was trouble.
And I'd be smart to avoid him, at least outside the office.
It was such a sensible idea, and yet avoiding him turned out to be a whole lot harder than I anticipated, as an event later that night so awkwardly proved.
Chapter 42
I'd been home for a full hour, but I wasn't the least bit tired. It wasn't even midnight, and Cassidy was still at work, which meant that I was once again home alone.
I felt too unsettled to sleep and too distracted to do anything else. In the end, I decided to do something that I'd been putting off all day – returning Stuart's numerous phone calls.
If I was lucky, I decided, he wouldn't even answer, which meant that I could leave a voicemail and be done with it.
No such luck.
He answered on the very first ring, saying, "Allie? Is that you?"
"Uh, yeah," I said. "I'm returning your call."
"Don’t you mean calls?" he said. "I was starting to think you were avoiding me."
Talk about nerve. "Hey, you avoided me first."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, after you took off from my apartment, I tried to get ahold of you for like a month. You never called me back."
"I did, too," he insisted.
"Oh yeah? When?"
"Today."
"Gee, thanks for being so prompt about it."
"What'd you expect?" Stuart said. "That guy's a psycho."
It was beyond easy to guess who he meant – Jaden, obviously. "Oh stop it," I said. "He is not."
"Wanna bet?" Stuart said. "He told me to stay the hell away from you. Or else." Stuart made a scoffing sound. "Like I'm the psycho."
Stuart wasn't a psycho, but he was annoying, especially now, when I was in no mood for his theatrics.
When I said nothing in reply, he said, "So, is it true? Are you really working for that guy?"
I wasn't sure I liked his tone. And besides, he wasn't the only one with questions. I asked, "Where'd you hear that?"
"From him, when I picked up the truck. So, are you?"
I saw no reason to lie about it. "Yeah, I'm his assistant, actually."
"Then you'd better quit," Stuart said. "The guy's nuts."
I rolled my eyes. "He is not."
"Oh yeah?" His voice rose. "Do you know, he threatened me?"
Yes. I did. In fact, I'd overheard some of those threats myself. And even if I hadn't, the sight of Stuart practically peeing his pants at the sight of Jaden would've been a terrific clue.
On the phone, Stuart was still complaining. "He acted like I was gonna hassle you or something."
"Yeah, because you were hassling me."
"I was not," he said.
Ignoring his objection, I said, "And you tried to have me arrested."
"What, you're gonna hold that over my head?"
I gave a bitter laugh. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because you stole my truck. Remember?"
As if I could forget.
And now, I was regretting calling him back at all. "Look," I said, "if you were just calling to complain about Jaden, I don't want to hear it, okay?"
"But the guy's off his rocker."
I considered everything that Jaden had done to keep me out of jail and to keep Stuart off my ass. "He is not," I said yet again. "And besides, it seems to me, you made out pretty good with the whole truck thing, so just drop it, alright?"
"I don't believe this," Stuart muttered. "You're sticking up for him?"
Was I?
Yes. I guess I was.
But in this case, it was totally justified.
I sighed. "He was just trying to avoid trouble."
Sounding more peeved than ever, Stuart said, "Trouble for who?"
My heart gave an embarrassing little flutter as the answer hit home. Me. That's who.
After all, Jaden had received no benefit to himself.
I was silent for a long moment before saying, "Well, maybe he didn't want to see me arrested." I hesitated. "You know, because I'm his assistant."
This was only half true. In fact, I hadn't been Jaden's assistant when he'd first brokered that deal with the truck. But this was none of Stuart's business, and I saw no reason to spell it out for him.
"Oh, get real," Stuart said. "When I stopped by your place in Florida, I wasn't coming to arrest you."
"Right," I snapped. "You came for sandwiches and sex."
At this, he had the nerve to sound insulted. "I did not!"
I gave another sigh. "Look, I don’t want to argue. So let's just part as friends and be done with it, okay?"
He grumbled, "Friends don't steal friend's trucks."
"Yeah, and they don't call the cops on each other either, but if I can forget it, why can't you?"
"Oh come on. You haven't forgotten," he said. "You're still mad. I can tell."
He was right. I was. But I didn't want to fight about it. In an obvious hint, I said, "Well, it's been nice talking to you—"
"But wait," Stuart said. "When are you coming home?"
What kind of question was that? "I am home."
"But what about your stuff? Aren't you coming back to Nashville to get it?"
"No. The movers did that."
"When?" he asked.
"Months ago."
"But what about your old apartment? You didn't just walk away, did you?"
"Of course not." As if I'd ever do such a thing. "Becka's assuming the lease."
"You mean your cousin?"
"Yeah. That's exactly who I mean."
A few months earlier, Becka had suddenly needed a place to stay and had moved in
with me and Cassidy. With both of us now gone, Becka ended up keeping the place on her own. It was a total win-win, especially since my cousin wasn't really the apartment-sharing type.
Last I heard, she was loving having the place to herself.
As concisely as I could, I explained all of this to Stuart, and ended by saying, "See? So it all worked out."
"But what about your old job?"
"What about it?"
"Maybe you could get it back."
I stiffened. "Yeah, well maybe I don't want it back."
"But why not?"
"Well for one thing, I was fired, remember?"
"Yeah, but Bryce called me looking for you."
"Bryce Rogers? My old boss?"
"Yeah." Stuart's voice picked up steam. "And you know what I told him?"
I was almost afraid to ask. "What?"
"That he should fly down to Florida and hire you back, like in person.'"
"Wait a minute," I said. "So you were the one who told him where I was working?"
Sounding annoyingly smug, Stuart said, "I might've had something to do with it."
I sat back in my chair. All this time, I'd assumed that Bryce had figured out my new place of employment because Jax had called him for a reference.
Apparently not.
And for all I knew, Stuart had egged Bryce on. Knowing Stuart, I could totally see it. Maybe he couldn’t send the police out after me, but he could send my old boss.
Now, I couldn’t help but recall Bryce's ill-fated visit to my new workplace. He'd been so determined to get his way, even to the point of risking my new job.
But then, Jaden had scared him off…just like he'd scared off Stuart.
And then, there was the guy from the club.
This was beginning to be a habit.
Even now, I still didn't know if I was annoyed or grateful. Probably, I was mostly confused.
And now, Stuart was saying, "At least he wasn't a psycho like Jaden Bishop."
Through gritted teeth, I said, "For the last time, he's not a psycho."
Just then, the squeal of tires made me pause. I looked toward the front of the apartment. The way it sounded, the noise had come from the street directly below our front window.
Stuart said, "What was that?"
Already, I'd jumped from the chair and was striding toward the window. I shoved aside the curtains and looked out onto the street, only to hear myself gasp.
"What's wrong?" Stuart asked.
One Bad Idea: A Billionaire Loathing-to-Love Romance Page 18