“So, tell me what he said,” Olivia prodded, giggling. “He had bedroom eyes, Jada, and you got the way you do when you’re interested in a guy.”
“I most certainly did not,” I retorted.
The skepticism in her stare silenced me. “You most certainly did, and if I didn’t see with my own two eyes how you looked at him from the very beginning, I wouldn’t even point it out.”
“He’s what you call a good package with shit inside.” It was true. No good person could write this article without the intent to cause damage.
This was what it all was.
Damage.
“I agree. I’m simply saying, or rather giving advice you’ve given me many times, to keep an open mind.” She nodded.
“Oh my gosh, this is so not the same thing.”
“Remember what happened with Sam? I mean when he came back to L.A. It’s almost similar.”
I widened my eyes at her in complete disbelief. She couldn’t be comparing her situation to mine. The two were so different. Like, by miles apart. Not even the same topics either.
Sam was Olivia’s husband. They had a massive history together that spanned well over twenty-five years. Sam was Olivia’s older brother’s best friend, but he’d left town when her brother was murdered. At the time, he was engaged to Olivia. When he left town, he didn’t just leave like a normal person would. He upped and left because he felt guilty for her brother’s death. He left her, and she didn’t see him until eight years later when they happened to run into each other in a business setting.
I rooted for them, and today they were happily married with two kids.
How she saw that as the same thing as what was happening to me was beyond me.
“Olivia, please break it down for me so I can see what you see. I’m not looking to even date this Ivan person. What the hell kind of a name is Ivan anyway? How is this similar to you?” I flicked over my palms.
“It’s similar because you have to do the same thing I did to move to the next step. I had to work with Sam in a business capacity, so I couldn’t allow my personal feelings to get in the way. The difference between you and me is that you don’t have to work with Ivan, but you do have a public image to uphold, and if he rubs you the wrong way, you’ll explode, and that’s what people will see,” she explained.
My shoulders slumped. I understood now, and I guess if I were in a better place in my head, I would have understood her meaning from the beginning.
“It’s all so crazy.” I sighed, resting back against the chair.
“You have to talk to him because what he’s doing is very wrong. I’m comparing the two situations because what happened with Sam was one of the worst things that happened to me. When you get hung up on a thing, you can’t see straight to have that open mind you’re always telling me about. This is the worst thing to happen to you in a long time. Everything has been pretty smooth going for years. You haven’t really come up against any adversity.”
“I haven’t. Not like this. He just seems like some jealous fiend.”
“A jealous fiend who played you yesterday?” She chuckled.
“Played me? How do you mean?”
“Jada, he seemed to know exactly what to say to get you to him. He was waiting for us. Don’t tell me you missed that part. He looked like he was waiting for you to come and do exactly what you did. That whole radio situation was an invite, which you accepted. You have yourself a real gamer here.”
Normally, I was better at seeing through shit, but she was right. My whole mind was clouded. “You think he’s been tracking me and trying to catch me out?”
“I think it’s a little deeper than that. The other part to that analysis is that he definitely seemed attracted to you.” She smiled. “That means he should be open for a discussion on tact and behavior. Jada, you’d be the first to tell me that there’s more than one way to get to a person. I’m just giving you a route.”
“And you think talking to him is seriously a route? You saw what happened yesterday, right?”
“Jada, talk to the man and keep your head above the water. Put simply, don’t allow him to get to you. Stop him in his tracks. Freedom of speech allows him to say what he’s saying as long as it doesn’t break any other laws. He hasn’t said anything defamatory or libelous. He’s giving opinion. Everyone is entitled to that.”
I wish that were against the law too, but I’d be the first in jail if it were. “I have to think about this. The deadline for the entry to the show is just a blink away.”
It was next week.
I thought it was going to be between me and Porter Fox, the guy down from me, but shit, I was freaking out because Ivan had surpassed Porter and everyone else who’d been behind me. Freddy said he’d only applied for the contest a few days ago. To do so well in a few days was outstanding. The worst thing was checking the boards this morning and seeing he’d gone up by three hundred votes overnight.
“Don’t worry. Just be you. Just be you.”
I was glad that Olivia had faith in me because right now, my anger was blindsiding the faith I had in myself.
I needed a few days. I needed a few days to cool off.
It was reasonable to assume that this asshole had plans of printing something every day. All I had to do was ignore him.
“Just be me…” The me I knew took the word ‘diva’ to the next level. I just didn’t know what to do in this situation because he was attacking something that really mattered to me.
And I hated that he was taking a dig at something so personal.
Why was I single?
I had men falling at my feet, asking me out every day, asking me to be theirs.
It wasn’t that I planned to be alone for the rest of my life. I was just exercising more caution than I did when I was younger. Young and dumb.
“You be you. You have to go now. You don’t want to be late. How about I swing by later, and we can have a sleepover?” Olivia suggested.
I nodded, grateful for the offer. “You are a great friend, Olivia. I’d love for you to do that.”
“Then I will.” We both stood, and she linked her arm with mine as we walked out the door.
I could see us doing this same thing when we got older. Supporting each other and keeping ourselves on the path we wanted to be on.
She knew me, and I knew her. There were things, however, from the past that she didn’t know. If I were honest, I’d have to admit that I was starting to think that the past was coming back to bite me.
Ivan had unlocked something that was linked to that. He absolutely had, and that was the reason why I was freaking.
Olivia and I said our goodbyes and parted. I headed to my office and noticed a Lamborghini parked out front.
My office was the standard setup you’d see in L.A. I shared the building with two accountancy firms, so of course, I thought the car must belong to someone who’d come to see one of them.
I walked into my office and was happy to find everything as it should be. It was nice that there weren’t a bunch of press outside like when I’d dumped Tyson. He’d attracted a lot of attention because he was the state’s attorney’s son and always in the news for one thing or another.
Rumor had it that I found him cheating on me with a man. There was nothing further from the truth, and it was bullshit like that why I’d dumped him in the first place. He was the type of guy who seemed to attract drama, and I didn’t need that in my life.
I kept everything on the low in that department. Just the way I liked it.
Shanda and Cynthia were normally on reception later on Tuesdays, so Jackson, the building caretaker, would always open for me.
It was nice of him to do that because Mondays were always so busy. Yesterday had been pretty busy, and the girls worked until late catching up on all my emails and admin work.
The late Tuesday start gave everyone a little bit of a lie-in.
Not me today.
I opened the door to my private office, where I
saw my clients, and stopped short in my tracks when I saw who was sitting behind my desk.
Feet up on my table, drinking coffee from my Jada mug, and reading my diary was the asshole Ivan St. James.
Chapter 5
Jada
God must have stopped me from jumping right out of my skin.
Had to be him because I felt my soul shiver and my heart leap.
“How the hell did you get inside here!” I cried.
He lifted his head and answered with that cunning look and smirk from yesterday. The same smirk I found sexy to my irritation then, and much to my damn annoyance now.
And did he have to look so good? Black button-down shirt today with the top button open so I could see his tanned skin and the hint of a tattoo peeking through on his collarbone.
“Your caretaker made me feel right at home.” He took his feet off my table. “There’s some really good stuff in here, and you’ve got a full stash of clients.”
“Get out.” I pointed to the door.
He set my cup down and stood up. I hoped he would walk straight past me and leave, but he only walked around to the front of the desk and sat on the edge.
“I have some questions. I won’t be leaving until I get answers.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I had to bite the inside of my lip to keep from screaming.
This guy was something else. I didn’t know where he got off making those sorts of demands from me.
“I don’t have to answer any questions. How dare you come here?” My hands flew up to my hips.
He answered by deepening that smile of his up a notch and simply turning around to pick up my mug. He took a sip of his drink and set it back down, making a show of doing so, like he had no plans to leave.
“I’m calling the police.” I reached for my cell phone.
I truly thought that would faze him, but it didn’t. When I saw that, I dialed the number for my very own trusted police officer. Joe St. Claire, Olivia’s dad, who happened to be the captain at the L.A.P.D.
“Hey, Jada,” he boomed.
“Hi, Officer St. Claire.” We all called him Joe, but he knew if I was being official, it was serious. “There is a man in my office.”
Ivan started laughing. “God, you have some balls, woman.”
“Is that him?” Joe asked.
“Yes. I need him to leave now,” I replied.
“Tell him I came to speak to you about work,” Ivan said loud enough for Joe to hear.
“Jada, is the guy threatening you in any way?” Joe asked.
“Yes, I feel threatened.” That was a very foolish answer to say out loud, but I landed myself in that one.
Ivan loved it. The prick absolutely loved it and loved watching me lose my mind.
“Mission accomplished.” Ivan nodded with satisfaction.
“Shut up, you asshole,” I snapped, moving the phone from my ear so I could glower at him. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“What else did you mean? I’m not a threat. Asking you to answer my questions is not threatening, Goddess.” He chuckled.
Goddess...
I really hated the way I loved the sound of that.
The asshole smiled like he knew what I was thinking and gave me a full sweep. My stupid nerves scattered, betraying me, and the nest of butterflies in my stomach went batshit crazy.
I almost forgot I was talking to Joe. Bringing the phone back to my ear, I decided to up my tactics.
“Joe, I feel threatened.” I’d sunken to a new low. This was me acting half my age instead of the level-headed successful thirty-four-year-old I was. It was the kind of shit Olivia and I used to pull when we were in our teens. “I’m here fearing for my life. Who knows what could happen to me with this person? He seems quite unstable to me.”
Ivan folded his arms over his mile-wide chest, making the powerful muscles bulge.
“Jada, chile. Is this seriously something that is of the serious variety? Tell me now,” Joe asked, seeing through the bull. His voice took on that easy-going edge that showed he knew I was overreacting. “You know I’ll come on over if you need me. Especially if you’re scared and feel threatened.”
I knew Joe would do it. He’d do it just to humor me.
“Tell him I have horns on my head.” Ivan laughed. He straightened and stood, coming closer to me. “I could go into further detail if you need to describe me. White male, aged thirty-six, six foot four, black hair, blue eyes, two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle, five percent body fat. Last went to the doctor for a checkup three weeks ago. Clean as a whistle.”
Yes, he was the devil, and if I looked close enough, I could see those horns on his head.
“Jada, it doesn’t sound like I need to come over there. How about you join us on Sunday for dinner? Sam and Olivia can make you cookies, and we can watch the babies fight over the ice cream.”
Oh my God, did I ever feel foolish.
“Okay, Joe. Thank you.” Defeated and foolish. At least he accommodated me with the call.
“Bye, sweet girl.” He hung up.
Ivan stepped closer, and I moved back, toward the bookcase. The door closed behind me, and I frowned. I should have stepped back outside, then he would have followed and I could have gotten him out.
“Joe?” He quirked a brow. “So, you didn’t call the police?”
“I did. Joe is the captain at the L.A.P.D.,” I informed him.
“A friend of yours? Jada Dane has her own police service?”
“Is that one of your questions?” I balled my fists at my sides.
“Nope, not interested in your police friends. I think I actually found a new angle I’d like to work this conversation from.” Mischief flickered in his blue gaze.
“I have work to do.”
“It can wait.”
He stepped closer, and I stepped back further, much to his amusement. He did it again, and I retreated into the crevice between the bookcase and the wall.
Seeing I was trapped, he pressed his hand to the wall, blocking my escape.
“You do know this hard-to-get dance is just encouraging me, right?” He smirked.
“I don’t know what the hell your game is, but you need to leave me alone.”
He leaned close to my ear, like yesterday. “What if I don’t want to?” The warmth of his breath tickled my skin, and the closeness was turning me on in a way I didn’t want. “What if I love watching you try to resist me?”
“I don’t have to try,” I countered. We both knew it for a lie.
The truth was, I was trying damn hard. Harder than I should need to for a man who was trying to destroy me.
“That’s what I mean. We can lie to ourselves, but truth is truth, Jada Dane.”
I gave him a tight-lipped smile, swallowed hard, and got my game face back on. Pressing my finger into his chest, I came in contact with seriously hard muscle, but I didn’t allow it to affect me.
This man was the kind who knew he looked good and worked it.
He’d backed me into the corner in every sense because he shook the foundations of something that was the cornerstone of my life.
He got to me and came at me with something that was a direct hit, to where it hurt the most. My business. Something I’d created from my soul and pieces of my heart that I’d spent years trying to repair. It was time to talk like Olivia advised.
Not the circumstances I would have liked to talk to him in, but there was no time like the present to put him in his place.
“Look.” I dug my finger into his chest, pressing hard into him. “I mean it. Leave me alone in every aspect. You’re playing with fire, and you will get burned. Scorched.” I pushed the flat of my palm against his chest and pushed him back.
It was like a dance. I stepped forward and him backward, back to my desk. All the while I kept my gaze trained on him, and he on me.
“Scorched?” he breathed, lingering on every syllable.
“Scorched, crispy clean. You rea
lly don’t know me, because if you did, you wouldn’t come after me unless I sent for you.” I gave him a crude smile.
“I know enough. Jada Dane, aged thirty-four, sexy-as-hell African American female, five feet three, a hundred-and-twenty-pound goddess I can’t get out of my head.” His smile brightened. “Classy, sassy doctor of psychology, practicing for the last ten years. Three Readers’ Choice awards, has her own practice, writes for New Woman. Has a different man on her arm every other month. Nothing serious because she maintains she’s single.”
My hands stilled. Again I noted how right Olivia was. He’d studied me.
She said he was a gamer. She didn’t say player. When she said it, I didn’t really click on to what she meant, but then I wasn’t myself.
“Know a lot about me. I’m wondering why, especially when I don’t know you. Until yesterday, I didn’t even know you existed.”
He gave me a wolfish grin. “Looks like I should continue that description/ intro of myself. What more can I say other than that I’m great in bed, and outside it too? But you can be the judge of that.”
I swallowed hard and caught myself before my nerves took over again.
“Oh no, how presumptuous of you. I will be judging no such thing. I really don’t know what type of game you’re playing, Dr. St. James, but it won’t work.”
“Looks like it’s working.” He caught my hand, took it into his, and held on tight when I tried to pull back.
“Give me my hand.”
“Nah, not yet,” the charmer said and in true charmer style raised my hand up to his lips to kiss. “Answer my questions first.”
“Will you leave then?”
“Maybe...” The corners of his lips arched into a smooth smile.
I decided to hear him out, only so I could see what angle he was taking. On the basis that it might help me in some way to see inside his crazy mind.
“Talk fast. Clock’s ticking.”
“Why are you single?”
I didn’t see that question coming. I thought he was going to ask more about my book or my methods. “I like it that way. I don’t see a ring on your finger,” I threw back.
“And if you did, I wouldn’t be here.”
The Love Doctors Page 4