"Yeah, but—"
"But nothing. You're not going. And I am. So tell your friend, alright?" And with that, he turned and strode away.
Silently, I stared after him. I felt tired and ganged-up on, especially because I'd butted heads with both brothers in the span of a half-hour.
Plus, I had to break it to Cassidy that it wouldn’t be me helping her on Saturday.
Knowing Cassidy, she wouldn't like it. Of all the people I knew, Cassidy had the hardest time accepting favors.
The only upside was, I had other things to tell her, too – things that might make her feel just a little bit better.
Chapter 52
I said, "You know he likes you, right?"
I meant Jax, of course.
It was the day after that argument with Jaden, and I'd finally caught up with Cassidy at the apartment. Between work and sleep, we'd been missing each other for the past day. But now, I simply had to give her the news about Saturday.
From her seat on the couch, she gave me a faint smile. "Sure. I mean, he must, considering all the favors he's done for me."
I almost cringed. And he was about to do one yet again.
I could only imagine how well she'd take it. Still, I tried to laugh. "I don't mean as a friend."
"That can't be true," she said. "Because if it was, he'd make a move or something."
I knew what Cassidy meant. But I also knew that both brothers were down on relationships. Even my thing with Jaden, I had no idea what it truly was.
Something twisted in my heart. Maybe it was over. After all, it sure seemed that way.
But I couldn’t think about that now. Across from me, Cassidy looked so troubled that I just had to tease her. "What kind of move? The naked kind?"
"No." She sank deeper into the sofa. "Okay, well, maybe not at first, but he could at least ask me out or something."
It was funny to think that Jaden had never asked me out. Technically, we weren't even a couple, even if it did feel that way sometimes.
I longed to tell Cassidy was going on, but for her sake, I resisted. She'd be worried sick if she knew what I'd been doing with my boss – a guy who I'd always professed to loathe.
And besides, I reminded myself, my ill-advised fling – or whatever it was – was probably finished. So it was hardly worth discussing, right?
And yet, I stupidly wanted to cry.
Jaden and I had barely talked since that argument, and I was still livid that he'd resorted to a power-play to get his way.
It was so incredibly unfair.
With an effort, I returned my thoughts to Cassidy and Jax. "Wanna know what I think?"
"What?"
I forced a smile. "I think he likes you too much."
She gave me a dubious look. "What do you mean?"
"Well, from what I hear at the office, he's pretty down on relationships."
I'd heard this firsthand from Morgan, who was still popping into my office several times a week, trying to pump me for information. But the funny thing was, she always ended up doing most of the talking, whether I encouraged her or not.
In reply to what I'd said about Jax being down on relationships, Cassidy said, "Why? Because of a bad breakup?"
"No. Because of the thing with his parents."
"So, I take it they're not together?"
I nodded. "Exactly."
Her brow wrinkled in obvious confusion. "But lots of people have divorced parents."
"Yeah, but their divorce was weird. They don't even live in the same state." I leaned forward. "And get this. Half of the family hardly talks to the other half. It's like they don't exist or something."
She shook her head. "I'm not sure I get what you mean."
As she listened, I told her the little I knew. Apparently, Jax and Jaden had four other brothers who lived up in Michigan. Supposedly, their dad lived there, too. But as far as their mom, I'd heard nothing at all.
Jaden never talked about her, not even when I asked. In truth, he hardly talked about his family at all, and it was pretty obvious that it was a sore subject.
Pushing aside those gloomy thoughts, I looked to Cassidy and shared something about Jax that she might not know. "Do you know he hates coffee?"
She blinked. "He does?"
"Sure."
"But—"
I smiled. "But that can't be true, because you keep seeing him at that coffee shop?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Right. Because he only goes there to see you."
"Oh, stop," she said. "You're not serious."
But I was.
And finally, after filling her in on the details, I gave her the news that it wouldn't be me taking her to get her things.
She took it as well as could be expected, but I could still see the worry in her eyes. She was too nice for her own good and hated to cause trouble.
But me? I wasn't like that, which is why I found myself in the office late Friday night, long after everyone else had gone.
I wanted answers.
But all I found were more questions when I discovered the strangest thing on my desk.
Chapter 53
I stared down at the thing. A ski mask?
I tried to think. According to our secret schedule, this would've been the week for me to leave something for him, not the other way around.
After Wednesday's argument, I wasn't even sure that we were still doing that. In reality, I wasn't sure about a lot of things. Today was Friday, which meant that we'd normally be spending the evening together.
But neither one of us had mentioned it – probably because we were too busy glowering at each other over the past couple of days.
But the mask – it confused me, and not only because of the change in schedule.
All of the previous gifts – or whatever they were – had some hidden meaning, usually a private joke that only the two of us would understand.
But the mask meant nothing to me. As I stood silently behind my desk, I wracked my brains, trying to figure it out.
Last weekend, I'd mentioned that the weather was colder than I'd been expecting. Was that why he'd leave a ski mask?
Or was it a response to my crack about knocking over a liquor store?
I lifted the mask for a closer look. Maybe it was something kinky that I didn't quite get?
I was still trying to figure it out when I heard a noise coming from Jaden's office. Startled, I looked up. His door was shut, and I saw no light coming from underneath.
But I'd definitely heard something, a slight rolling sound. It was the same sound his chair made whenever he pushed away from his desk.
My pulse quickened. Was Jaden in there now?
And if so, why wasn't he coming out?
Surely he'd heard me rummaging around in my office?
I waited for at least a minute, and then, when I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer, I crossed the hallway and knocked on his office door. "Jaden? Are you in there?"
There was no response.
I tried the knob and was surprised to find the door unlocked. I was even more surprised when I pushed the door open and saw someone sitting behind that all-too-familiar desk.
It wasn't Jaden.
It was Morgan, and she looked nearly naked.
I couldn’t help but stare. She was wearing a lacy black lingerie top that was so thin, I could see her nipples, even in the dim light.
I was so shocked, I hardly knew what to say. "Morgan?"
She made a sound of annoyance. "What are you doing here?"
I gave her a look. "That's a good question."
My mind was whirling as I tried to process what I was seeing. Already, I'd known that Morgan had a thing for both brothers, and lately, she'd been honing in hard on Jaden.
But this wasn't something I obsessed over, probably because it was pretty obvious that the interest was one-sided.
From behind the desk, she gave a loud sigh. "I know. So, are you gonna answer?"
It took me a moment
to realize what she meant. Obviously, she was responding to my snide comment about her question. What was I doing here?
In reply, I murmured, "I work here."
"Yeah, but you're not supposed to be working now."
I gave a slow shake of my head as I tried to pretend that I wasn't seeing what I was seeing. Morgan had a nice body. She was long and lean with perfect boobs and legs that went on forever. I couldn’t see her legs now, of course, but I'd seen them plenty during the last few weeks.
In fact, I'd been seeing more of them during every visit. And why? It was because her skirts had been getting progressively shorter.
Tonight, I feared, she might've skipped the skirt entirely. I didn't know for sure, but it seemed a fairly good guess.
And yet, she looked completely unashamed.
I could only imagine how I'd feel if the roles were reversed, if someone had caught me nearly naked in Jaden's office.
At the mere thought, I felt a rush of heat flood my face. Last Friday, I'd been fully naked. And, I'd been on that desk.
Multiple times.
Absently, I said, "Does he know you're here?"
She gave a toss of her long, red hair. "I don't know. Does he know you're here?"
The question made me pause. Obviously, she knew nothing about me and Jaden. But suddenly, I was almost wishing she did, because I was feeling very strange about the whole thing.
And, could I really judge her?
Just a week ago, I'd been wearing a lot less than that.
Lamely, I murmured, "Well, I do work here."
"Yeah, I know," she said. "You took my job."
God, I hated this.
I wasn't jealous. Or at least, I didn't think I was jealous. After all, I was nearly certain that Jaden had zero interest in Morgan.
But then, a little voice whispered, "But what if he does?"
My stomach lurched at the thought. Still, I gave myself a mental kick. This was so stupid.
Jaden and I weren't together. Even before that argument, we weren't together.
It was just a casual thing.
Right?
I shoved a hand through my hair and tried to think. Suddenly, I wasn't feeling so casual.
"Well?" she said. "Aren't you gonna say something?"
My mind felt slow and muddy. "Sorry, what?"
"I said, 'You took my job.'"
I sighed. "Yeah. So you keep reminding me."
It was true. She said this nearly every time I saw her. By now, I was getting so used to it that I hardly noticed.
And yet, I noticed it now, just like I noticed that she had perfect hair, perfect makeup, and perfectly perky nipples.
Were mine that perky? They didn't feel perky now. In fact, everything on me felt wrong and disjointed.
From behind the desk, Morgan looked to my hands and frowned. "What's that?"
Confused, I looked down. I was still holding that stupid mask. I heard myself say, "I don't know. I, um, saw it in my office."
She smiled. "Hey, toss it here, will ya?"
I froze. "What?"
She held up her hand. "Come on. Lemme see it."
For some stupid reason, I didn't want to give it up. "Why?"
Her eyes brightened. "Because I'm gonna surprise Jaden with it."
I gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, I think he'll be pretty surprised as it is."
Even now, the thought of him walking in and seeing her was a little hard to stomach.
In fact, the thought of him seeing anyone was hard to stomach.
Damn it. When did that happen?
I didn't know. It wasn't something I'd been planning on.
And it wasn't something I wanted.
Not with him.
He was a player. And bossy in more ways than one. Plus, he'd told me up-front that he didn't do relationships. Maybe I should've listened.
At the desk, Morgan was saying, "It's not for me, Silly. It's for him."
I swallowed. "What?"
"Yeah." She gave a little giggle. "I'm gonna make him wear it."
The mask?
Oh, God. That was an image I didn't need. In this little fantasy of hers, would he be wearing only the mask?
Beyond disturbed, I said, "So…are you expecting him?" I figured she'd say no, but it would be good to hear.
She smiled. "Oh yeah. Any minute."
My heart sank. "Oh." I hesitated. "Is he expecting you?"
"Well, I hope so," she said with a laugh. "Otherwise, I got dressed up for nothing."
Dressed up?
That's not how I would've put it.
She pointed to the mask. "So are you gonna give me that thing or not?"
Now, I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do either. I looked down at the mask. I'd already told her that I'd found it in my office, so I couldn’t exactly claim it was mine or of sentimental value.
I almost scoffed out loud. Sentimental value? Who was I kidding? Even if I had developed feelings for Jaden, it's not like he'd ever return them.
He'd made that perfectly clear from the get-go. And like an idiot, I'd convinced myself that I'd wanted the same thing.
Now, I wasn't so sure.
The only thing I did know was that if I stood around, staring at Morgan for another moment, I'd surely say something I'd regret. So, with a bitter laugh, I tossed her the mask and said, "It's all yours."
After that, I didn't stick around. After all, tomorrow was the same Saturday that Jaden was forcing me to work, which meant that I'd be seeing him in just a few hours.
But now, I didn't feel like seeing him. If I was lucky, I decided, he'd either stay far away from the office or at the very least, be up for some sort of reasonable discussion so we could figure things out.
But when Saturday came, he was in no mood to be reasonable.
Or maybe that was just me.
Chapter 54
"Nice going," he said.
I looked up to see Jaden standing in my office doorway, looking vaguely amused. If I weren't so tense, I might've laughed, because I knew exactly what he was talking about.
Just now, his brother had practically sprinted from the office. And why? It was because he'd overheard me on the phone, telling Cassidy – and quite loudly too – that she'd be making a huge mistake if she tried to pick up her things alone.
In spite of what she thought, she needed someone to go with her. And she had someone more than willing – Jax, who'd obviously put some thought into today's mission. I knew this because he'd come into the office not in a suit and tie, but rather in ratty jeans and a generic T-shirt.
The way it looked, he'd been planning to look like a regular working stiff rather than the billionaire he was. It was a smart move, and it made me feel better about giving in and letting him handle the errand in my place.
But in typical Cassidy fashion, she'd been having a hard time accepting his help, so she'd called to let me know that she was thinking of going on her own. This was in spite of the fact that Jax had been scheduled to pick her up within the hour.
In a slight exaggeration, I'd told her that he'd already left. Thirty seconds later, this was no lie, because unless I was mistaken, he was now on his way.
Obviously, he'd overheard what I'd been telling her, which of course, had been my intention all along.
From the look on Jaden's face, he'd known exactly what I'd done, and he totally approved.
On any other day, we might've shared a secret smile. But today, I didn't feel like smiling – and not only because it was the Saturday he'd forced me to work.
Rather, the thing bothering me now was that scene with Morgan. It had haunted me all night for all kinds of crazy reasons.
The primary reason? Somehow, it had made me realize that whatever Jaden and I had, it wasn't nearly as casual as I'd thought.
Or more accurately, it wasn't nearly as casual to me.
Somehow, like a total idiot, I'd actually gotten attached to the guy.
Damn it. I should've known
better. I'd never been the casual type.
Funny to think, it was only my loathing of him that had convinced me that I could have a little fling and be done with it.
No such luck.
Somewhere along the way, I'd stopped loathing him. And in fact, I was horrifyingly close to admitting – if only to myself – that my feelings might be quite the opposite.
Now, he was standing in my doorway with that look, the wickedly warm one that usually gave me butterflies.
There were no butterflies today. There was only a sick, leaden feeling that I couldn’t seem to shake.
With no trace of a smile, I said, "Yeah, well, I'm glad it worked out." And then, I returned to my work.
I wasn't even sure what I was supposed to be doing today. Jaden had claimed that he'd tell me when I arrived. But other than a quick good morning, this was the first time we'd spoken all day.
Not wanting to just sit around, I'd been organizing some files.
From the open doorway, he said, "What is it?"
I looked up. "What's what?"
He wasn't smiling anymore. "What's wrong?"
I so didn't want to discuss it. I'd never been good at hiding my feelings, and I had a terrible hunch that if we started talking now, it would only end in an argument.
For once in my life, I simply wasn't up for it.
"Nothing," I said. "I’m just getting some work done. That is why I’m here, right?"
"No. It's not."
My tone grew sarcastic. "Oh, really?"
"We both know why you're here, and it's not to work."
I stiffened. So why was I here? For a good time? This might've been our habit in the past. But now, it was a habit that I'd be smart to break, for my own sanity if nothing else.
I gave him an annoyed look. "Well, I'm not here for fun, if that's what you're thinking."
His mouth tightened. "What kind of 'fun' do you mean?"
I made a scoffing sound. "As if you don't know."
He looked at me for a long, tense moment before saying, "That's what you think?" He stepped closer and lowered his voice. "That I made you come in so I could fuck you?"
I almost flinched. In spite of everything, his language shocked me. Oh sure, my own language could be just as bad, and normally, I liked it when he talked dirty. But to hear him put it like that, now? Well, it just made everything worse.
One Bad Idea: A Billionaire Loathing-to-Love Romance Page 23