Straight To The Heart (Three Of A Kind #3)

by Beth Rinyu

  He was sitting behind his desk, talking on his cell phone when I entered his office, closing the door behind me. Either absence really did make the heart grow fonder or he had gotten even sexier over the past five days, because the huge grin that stretched across his face when I came closer to his desk made me want to shred every piece of clothing from him and do very dirty things.

  “Yeah, I’ll set it up for next week,” he said to the person on the other end of the phone as I took a seat on his lap, moving my lips down his neck. He tried to move my hand as I slid it under his pants and boxers, but he gave up his feeble attempt and tried to maintain his composure with whoever was on the other end of his phone call. “Yeah…will do, mate.” He finally gave in and kissed my neck and I felt him getting harder. He ended the call and threw his phone on his desk, giving me his full attention.

  “Well, this is a nice hello,” he whispered in my ear.

  I lifted my shirt over my head and slowly began unbuttoning his shirt while I planted tiny kisses down his neck. “Oh, I think I can give you a much better hello than that,” I whispered, pressing my forehead into his.

  “Oh yeah?” he grinned.

  “I say before we do lunch, we do each other.”

  “That sounds good to me,” he replied just before I slid my tongue into his mouth, preparing to give him a proper hello.

  ***

  It was well after two when we were finishing up lunch. I was hoping that the awesome sex we just had would have made him forget about tonight – no such luck.

  “I really wish you would change your mind about coming tonight,” he said as he signed the credit card slip.

  “Jasper, it has nothing to do with me not wanting to go…..I already promised Chelsea I’d cover for her. Besides, I can really use the money right now.”

  “Gia, I told you, just let me –”

  “And I told you, no.” I stood up, and I had a feeling that I had taken him a little by surprise with my abruptness. I just wanted to part ways now and end the afternoon pleasantly instead of with an argument.

  He stood up and took my hand in his. “Gia, I don’t understand why you just won’t let me do this for you. A beautiful girl like you has no business working at a hole in the wall place like that.”

  “I happen to like that hole in the wall,” I said as we stepped outside.

  He shook his head and kissed me on the forehead. “God, you are so stubborn.”

  “Yeah, well you’re not so bad yourself,” I pouted.

  “Okay, I surrender, just as long as you’re not working on your birthday. I made reservations at Eleven Madison Park.”

  “Oh…umm.” My birthday? That was a day that was always reserved to be spent with Carrie.

  “Gia, you’re really gonna be spending your birthday at that place?”

  “No, no, no. It’s just, my sister and I always spend our birthday together.”

  He moved closer and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Well, can’t you spend the next day with her instead? This is the first birthday of yours that I’m getting to spend with you, I want to make it special.”

  I was having such an internal battle with myself as we stood on the busy street with horns honking, people bumping into me, and voices coming from every direction. Carrie would be upset if I blew her off, but maybe she wanted to spend her birthday with just Jason. After all, she was married now, and she didn’t need her little sister, by four whole minutes, in the way all the time. And maybe Jason was thinking the same way as Jasper with wanting to spend Carrie’s first birthday as husband and wife alone. Oh, who was I kidding? Jason was nothing like Jasper, and ever since he and Carrie had become friends, he always spent each birthday with us as well. On the other hand, they would just be getting back from their honeymoon the day before, so maybe a delayed celebration would work out better for her. No matter how hard I tried to justify it, I knew it was wrong.

  “Umm…yeah, sure that sounds good.” I blurted out, hoping that Carrie would forgive me.

  He flagged down a cab for me and handed the driver a hundred dollar bill. One hundred dollars! One hundred dollars for a taxi ride that would probably only cost twelve dollars at the most. He threw around hundreds like I threw around pennies. He kissed me on the cheek before opening the door so I could get in.

  “I’ll talk to you later,” he said, stealing another kiss before closing the door.

  As the cab pulled away, I came to the sudden and strong realization that Jasper and I were from two totally different worlds. He threw money around like it was nothing, while I was going to have to possibly flash my boobs tonight just to get a loan on some money to pay my rent.

  I arrived back at my apartment, relishing in the two glorious hours that I had all to myself before heading to the bar. My stomach dropped, knowing that tonight was the night I would have to beg and plead to Sal for an advance…..and if he said no, tonight was the night I would need to pack up my things. But even the thought of all that didn’t make me nearly as upset as telling Carrie that we’d need to postpone our birthday plans. I shook it off. Carrie was reasonable, I’m sure she would understand.

  The knock on my door broke me from my inner turmoil. When I looked through the peep hole to see Mr. Sanchez, I couldn’t help but think that I’d much rather be stressing with my own thoughts than stressing over what he was about to say.

  I took a deep breath and flung open the door. “Mr. Sanchez, I told you, I would have the money by –” I looked down at the piece of paper in his hand and my stomach dropped. Was it an eviction notice? It had to be. What else would he be here for? “What – what is that?” my voice shook.

  “Miss Chi-a, this is just a notice that your rent is paid in full until your lease is up.”

  “Wait….what?”

  He nodded. “These documents were just emailed to me from the attorney of the person making the payments. I just thought you would like a copy as well.”

  “No. There must be some kind of mistake. Who would pay my –” Jasper. Damn it!

  “The person wishes to remain anonymous.”

  “Well, you can’t take that money! This is my apartment and I will pay for the rent with my own money….even if it sometimes is a little late.”

  He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Sorry, Miss Chi-a, It’s already been paid. Just be happy for that.” He handed me the papers and walked away.

  I could feel my blood pressure rising. I slammed my door shut and looked over the paperwork and the terms:

  Rent shall be paid in full by payor for the life of lease, up to and including if the tenant decides to renew the lease.

  It was official – I was a kept woman, and Jasper was my sugar daddy. I refused to let this happen. Even if it meant I had to move to someplace where I was able to pay my own rent or at least attempt to pay it. I let out a deep sigh, knowing that trying to find a new apartment in the city that was in my price range would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

  As I waited for Jasper to answer his phone, I realized that I probably should have cooled off a bit before calling him, but I was pissed and he needed to know that. He deliberately did exactly what I asked him not to do, just so he could have control over the situation and me, and I wouldn’t stand for it.

  “Yeah, Gia, make it quick, I’m about ready to do a conference call,” he answered. As if I wasn’t annoyed with him enough, the hurried tone in his voice was pissing me off even more.

  “How dare you?!” I shouted.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “You paid my rent after I very specifically told you not to! I don’t need your money, Jasper. I am quite capable of –”

  “Gia, I don’t know what you are talking about. I didn’t pay your rent, but I really have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Oh no, he did not just hang up on me! “Ugh!” I shouted, throwing myself on the sofa and flailing my head back. He had to be lying. Who else had the money and the means to do this? This w
as not over…..far from it. Even if I could now breathe a sigh of relief financially, it wasn’t how I wanted it to be.

  Seven

  Cam

  “Do you have to go?” Jessica sat up in bed, covering herself with the sheet.

  “Yeah, I have to meet up with my agent in a bit,” I replied as I stood up and slipped on my pants.

  She nodded and looked away like she was deep in thought. “Cam, I know it’s kind of soon to be asking this and a little short notice, but what are your plans for Thanksgiving.”

  She was right; it was much too soon. I hadn’t spent a holiday with any chick I’d been seeing since I had dated Alena back in college. “Oh, umm….I’m heading down to Cabos with some friends.”

  “Oh…” She seemed a little upset with that answer. “My parents wanted to know if you wanted to join us. My dad is a little obsessed with you and your career.” She forced a smile.

  I nodded, feeling like a bit of a dick for barely acknowledging what she’d just said. It was way too soon to be meeting parents and spending holidays together. That was just something I didn’t do. Besides, my mother would skin me alive if she found out I was spending Thanksgiving with complete strangers after she had begged me to come home and spend it with her. “I guess some other time.” She sighed.

  “Yeah, maybe,” I mumbled, not wanting to give her any false sense of hope.

  She threw on her clothes and walked me to the door, placing a kiss on my cheek. “Call me soon?” she pleaded.

  “Yup.” I responded as I walked away and down the stairs of her condo complex.

  I got into my car and ran my hand through my hair. Maybe Gia was right…..what I thought was casual, Jessica seemed to think was something else. The last thing I wanted to do was lead her into believing it was something more. Why the hell couldn’t the chicks I was with think like Gia instead of always being so needy?

  Speaking of Gia.

  I picked up my phone and scrolled through my emails until I got to the one from my attorney.

  Dear Mr. Hamilton:

  The money has been wired. Attached are the documents that have been sent via email and regular mail to Mr. Julio Sanchez…..

  I didn’t need to read anymore; Gia had been taken care of and that was all I needed to know. Gia on the other hand….she definitely didn’t need to know. I knew she would kick my ass if she ever found out what I had just done, so I’d continue to let her keep guessing. As long as I knew she didn’t have to run herself ragged to pay her rent then I was happy. I cared about her more than she’d ever know and seeing her so upset the other night hurt me deep inside.

  I still had to head home, shower, meet up with my agent for god knows how long, then try to squeeze in another meeting with a company that wanted me to do an endorsement for them. Sometimes I wished that I could just have a regular nine to five job instead of running around 24/7. But when I looked down at the steering wheel of my BMW i8 and thought about the perfectly restored 1965 Mustang sitting in the garage of my multi-million-dollar home, it all seemed to be worth it.

  ***

  I’d been so busy that the days were starting to mesh into each other. I had just signed a contract to do an ad endorsement for a cologne company, which required me to make an impromptu trip to New York City for a photo shoot in Central Park. Even though I had to actually stop and think of what day of the week it was, I certainly remembered what day it was – Gia’s birthday. I sent Carrie a text wishing her a happy birthday first and then began typing one out to Gia. I hadn’t heard from her in a few days, which led me to believe that she was clueless that I had paid her rent, and I was hoping it would stay that way. I smiled when I finished with the message I just sent her:

  Happy Birthday to my leading lady. Hope it’s a good one. I’m on my way to NY for a few days…..hope to see you!

  She replied in a matter of seconds, and my smile grew wider:

  Thanks! And…DUH, you better not even think about coming to NY and not seeing me! I would become your worst stalker!! See ya soon! XO

  Eight

  Gia

  It was my twenty-fifth birthday, and I was officially the worst sister ever, bailing on my twin, my best friend, my confidant, for the first time ever in the history of our birthdays. Carrie seemed to be okay with it and said she would just spend the day with Jason, but she made me promise that we would get together tomorrow for a belated celebration. I assured her that I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

  I had just gotten home from my “other job”, teaching at the dance studio and prepared to get in the shower for this fancy birthday dinner that Jasper had planned. I was still pretty pissed at him for going behind my back and paying my rent and we’d gotten into a bit of a screaming match over the whole thing. Actually, the screaming was all one-sided – mine. And true to his stubborn form, he was adamant that he didn’t pay for it, but I knew better.

  I was just getting ready to undress when I saw that Jasper was calling. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Gia, I need you to do me a huge favor.”

  “What is it?”

  “Ava and Jack had this Thanksgiving festival after school. Kathy’s mom got rushed to the hospital so she’s up in Long Island with her. I really hate to ask this, but could you go pick them up at school. I have to finish up this teleconference with the Tokyo office or I would do it myself.”

  Shit. Fuck. Shit. The last thing I felt like doing was dealing with princess bitch Ava, but feeling totally obligated to him for paying my rent, I had no other choice.

  “Umm….yeah, I guess.”

  “You’re a lifesaver. My assistant is calling to get the reservations for dinner changed to tomorrow. I don’t know what’s going on for tonight. If Kathy decides to stay up in Long Island, the kids will be staying at my place.”

  Really? I blew off my sister for this crap? “Well, I can’t go tomorrow.” My tone was a little sharper than I’d intended.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I already made plans to celebrate my birthday with my sister and my family. You can come along as well, if you’d like.” I knew that would be a big fat no. He never made any attempt to get to know anyone in my family, outside of the business relationship that he had with my dad and the few times that he had met Carrie when she was here visiting. Since I was really nervous about my mom meeting him, it didn’t bother me at first, but now, it was starting to piss me off a little. He had no regard for me or the life I led when he wasn’t around. He never asked about my family or cared to know anything that was going on with them. Yet, I had to hear everything that was going on in his kids’ lives, and sometimes, even what was going on with his soon-to-be ex.

  “Well can’t you just postpone that till next weekend?” he asked in annoyance.

  “No. I can’t.” I wasn’t going to argue with him about this, I already did that once and look where that got me; dealing with his two little brats when I could be spending time with my sister and people I actually wanted to be with. “Now, can you please just tell me where I’m supposed to be picking them up at?” He let out an annoyed breath before rattling off the address. “And what time should I be expecting you to pick them up?” I knew that I was coming off as sounding a little too eager, but I didn’t care.

  “As soon as I get off this call.”

  “Alrighty then!” I hung up the phone and wanted to scream. This was going to be pure hell. Not only did I get duped into blowing off my sister, but now I was duped into picking up his two little hell cubs.

  I threw on my boots and coat and went outside, hoping that I wouldn’t be able to get a cab, but somehow I didn’t think that excuse would fly. As luck would have it, the first one I half-heartedly flagged down pulled up to the curb. I got in and mumbled the address the whole time thinking: if it weren’t for Jasper, I’d be homeless right now. Therefore, I could deal with these two little brats for as long as he needed me to. Maybe, if I kept thinking that, it would actually be true.

  Ava and Jack were
standing in front of their school with a few other kids and parents. The look on Ava’s face when I got out of the cab said it all. My hell had just begun. She quickly turned to the girl standing next to her, pretending she didn’t see me.

  “Ava, Jack…your father asked me to pick you up.” Jack gathered his backpack from the ground and was ready to go. Ava on the other hand wasn’t going down without a fight.

  “Umm….no.” She turned around and raised her eyebrow at me.

  “Umm…yeah!” I snapped, not caring that some of the other hoity-toity parents were looking my way. Jack immediately walked away from me and stood by Ava. Of course…little traitor.

  “Ava, honey is everything okay?” asked a tall woman who was apparently addicted to Botox and clearly didn’t know how to walk in those gorgeous five inch heels of her Jimmy Choo’s.

  “Her father asked me to pick them up because he got tied up at work, so that’s what I’m doing,” I interjected.

  She looked me over. Clearly the dance leggings and Uggs I’d had thrown on before storming out the door were not up to the standards of this prestigious private school, but she didn’t want to go there with me, especially not with the mood I was in right now.

  She let out a loud huff. “And you are?”