by Tia Wylder
And she was right. I’d been foolish. I’d been blinded by lust and excitement.
This was why I hated working with women.
When Nick pulled up to Adele’s condo, I told him to wait in the car. “I should be right back down,” I said, climbing out onto the icy curb and pulling my jacket tightly around me. “So, don’t go anywhere.”
Nick nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said. “You want me to order any lunch for you?”
I sighed. After the morning I’d had, the only lunch I wanted was a glass of bourbon.
“Thank you, but no,” I said. “I’ll handle it.”
Adele’s building lacked a doorman and an elevator, but I was so angry that I welcomed the exercise. I sprinted up ten flights of stairs and pounded on the door.
When the door swung open, I saw a mousy girl with glasses and red hair. She narrowed her eyes at me. “I didn’t order anything,” she said. “Try 10-B.”
“No,” I said, wedging my foot into the door so she couldn’t close it on me. “Actually, I’m here to see Adele.”
The girl frowned. She turned her head to the side. “Adele!” She yelled. “There’s some…guy here to see you!”
“I’m Jack Nathan,” I informed her, narrowing my eyes.
“Adele just got out of the shower, give her a minute.”
I hated to admit it, but the image of Adele getting out of the shower was enough to make me hard.
The girl shut the door, and I sighed, leaning against the wall. The walls were so thin I could hear practically every sound in the neighboring apartments – sneezing, coughing, bickering. It was strange, I’d never lived in a place like this. I hadn’t exactly imagined Adele to be rich, but she was practically a pauper.
When the door opened again, Adele came into the hall. She was wearing black yoga pants that clung to her magnificent ass and a loose t-shirt with no bra underneath. Her nipples made two appetizing points in the thin fabric. Her long brown hair was wet, and hanging over one shoulder. When she saw me, she frowned.
“What is it?”
“The deal is off,” I informed her, itching to pull her into my arms and kiss her. “Sorry.”
Adele’s jaw dropped, and she looked angry. “Jack, what the hell,” she hissed, shutting the door behind her. “What happened? I told you – this is important!”
I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked. “Remember Key Largo?”
Adele looked confused for a moment. Then she closed her eyes and sighed, leaning against the wall and huffing. “Yeah,” she said tartly. “Something stupid I did when I was a kid, and desperate for attention.”
“Well, you ruined my plans to develop there,” I said. “And you know, you didn’t do much for the environment. The trees were already mostly cut down by the time you and your little friends showed up, and since my construction crew quit and I couldn’t hire another one, the land remains bulldozed to this day.”
Adele groaned. “Look, I know that,” she said hotly. She sighed again. “I told you, I was young and stupid. It won’t happen again.”
“Well, of course it won’t,” I said icily. “Because you and I are not going to be working together.”
Adele nodded. “I see,” she said in a small voice.
I frowned. This wasn’t the Adele I knew – the Adele I knew would be screaming and kicking, threatening me and calling me a liar and a bastard. Something was wrong.
“What’s going on?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Nothing,” Adele said in a flat voice. “This is just not exactly a surprise.”
“What?” I blinked. Had one of my shareholders gotten to her before I had? “What do you mean?”
Adele tilted her head back and looked up at me with wide green eyes. “I got a call this morning,” she said slowly. “From an anonymous number, I couldn’t trace it, but I swear it was from Franchot.”
I felt a chill run down my spine. “What did he say?”
Adele laughed humorlessly. She shook her head, looking bitter. “Well, it wasn’t him, exactly, it must have been some grunt. But they told me that I should watch where I was going…or I was going to end up dead before I could collect my doctorate.”
I blinked. That was low, even for Louis Franchot. “What?”
“Yeah,” Adele said drily. “And I had some of my comp-sci friends try to trace the call, but no one was able to tell me where it was coming from.” She shrugged. “I mean, it doesn’t matter – he can threaten me all he wants, but I’m not going to give up.” She stood up a little straight and squared her narrow shoulders. “It just means I have to find someone new to work with.”
I stared at her. “He…threatened your life, and you’re not going to give up?”
Adele narrowed her eyes. “Of course not,” she said hotly. “Jack, I don’t know, maybe you don’t realize how important this is to me. This is make or break, this is the thing that’s going to launch my career as an environmental scientist. As soon as I take him down, I’m going to have my pick of jobs in my field. And that’s the whole point of graduate research!”
As I stared at her while she talked passionately, something strange came over me. I couldn’t believe it, but Adele was actually serious about her goals. This wasn’t some fling with social activism, she really cared about what she was doing.
“Look,” I said, leaning back against the wall and raising an eyebrow. “If you’re really serious about this…I’ll help you.”
Adele shook her head. “No, it’s okay.” She smirked at me, and for once, I had the feeling that she had the upper hand. “I’m guessing your shareholders decided against this.”
I shrugged. “They don’t know you yet,” I said. “And besides, they’ll come around to the idea. Maybe I just… won’t tell them right away.”
Now it was Adele’s turn to look surprised. “You’re kidding,” she said.
“Quite serious.”
Adele bit her lip.
“Look, why not come over to my condo,” I said. “I’ll order some lunch, and we can talk first steps.”
To my surprise, Adele nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Let me get ready.” She disappeared inside the apartment, and I heard a flurry of voices as she conversed with her roommate. When she reappeared, she was wearing boots and a coat over her clothes. “I’m ready,” Adele said.
I led her downstairs and into the back of the car. Nick turned to me. “Home, sir?”
“Yeah,” I said. “And about lunch – could you order catering for two from The Lucky Chicken?”
Nick smiled. “Yes, sir,” he said. “Absolutely.”
Chapter Seven
Adele
It felt strange to be back in Jack’s car, with his driver and everything. As we pulled away from my apartment building, I took a deep breath and leaned back against the plush leather seat.
Jack eyed me before pressing a button and raising the partition between us and his driver.
“Did Franchot say anything else?”
I shrugged. The call had left me terrified – but like I’d told Jack, there was no way I was going to give up now. I was an adult, and adults stuck to their plans.
At least, that’s what I wanted to believe.
“Not really,” I said quietly. “I mean, I think the message was pretty singular, wouldn’t you agree?”
Jack pressed his lips into a thin line. Damnit, I thought as I finally tore my eyes away from his sculpted face. It’s not fair – he’s like supernaturally handsome!
“Yeah,” Jack said finally. He sighed. “I’m sorry this is happening to you, Adele.”
Now it was my turn to shrug. I cracked a wry smile and tried to project a confidence I didn’t feel. “Yeah, well, it must be because he’s actually afraid of me,” I said.
Jack smirked. “For good reason,” he replied, and I knew he was referring to my little undergraduate stunt in Key Largo. Thinking about it now was enough to make me blush – I couldn’t believe that I’d been such a stupid little girl. But at the
time, it had felt like a major victory.
“Yeah, well, what can I say,” I replied tartly. “I’m a woman on a mission.”
Jack nodded and gave me a thoughtful look. “Indeed you are.”
I glanced out the window. I’d been so absorbed in our conversation that I hadn’t paid much attention to where Nick was taking us. But I almost gasped when I saw the large white marble building looming ahead of us.
Jack saw my look and gave me an amused smile. “Don’t be too envious,” he said. “The property taxes are a real bitch.”
I rolled my eyes, although to be honest, I was stunned. I knew Jack was rich – obviously – but I hadn’t expected this level of opulence. The building looked like something from a posh European city, and I knew instinctively that Jack’s condo had to have cost upwards of a few million dollars. Considering he still lived within the city limits, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how expensive it had been.
“This way,” Jack said, climbing out of the car as Nick pulled to a stop. I followed him into the lobby – everything was white marble and brushed gold – and tried not to gawk as we waited for the elevator.
“What about lunch?”
“Nick’s taking care of it,” Jack said confidently.
I stared at him.
“What?” Jack asked. “You don’t like The Lucky Chicken?”
“No,” I said. “I mean, I’ve never had it – but it’s Thai, right? I love Thai food.”
Jack nodded.
“What were you smirking about?”
I shrugged awkwardly. “Nothing,” I lied. “It’s just…”
The elevator doors dinged open, and Jack guided me inside. He gave me a curious grin. “It’s just what?”
I blushed self-consciously. “It’s just, well, I can’t imagine having everyone…you know, help me out with my life.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “You mean Nick?”
“Well, yeah,” I said lamely. “I just can’t imagine it.”
Jack shrugged. “Nick is a big help,” he said. “I know it may not look like it, but I’m really busy all the time. Without people like Nick, I’d lose my head up my ass.”
I laughed.
“It’s true,” Nick said seriously. His dark eyes focused on me, and for a moment as we rode skywards, it felt like we were the only two people in the world. “Without Nick, I’d be a goner. He’s more than a driver. He’s almost like my personal secretary.”
“That must be nice.”
“You’ll see,” Jack said with a mysterious smile. “One day.”
Before I could ask him what he meant, the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors dinged open. I almost gasped when I realized that we were on the top floor – and it was a huge expanse of the hallway, with only one door. Did Jack own the entire floor of the building?
Jack led me down the hallway and took his keys out of his pocket before leading me into a beautiful condo. The foyer alone was bigger than my apartment. The floor was tiled marble, and the walls were painted a beautiful shade of dark grey that made the early-afternoon rays of sunlight look like jewels.
“Wow,” I said. “This is beautiful.”
“Thanks,” Jack said nonchalantly. “I wish I were home more often – I feel like I never really get the chance to enjoy it.”
I thought my long nights spent at the university library, hunched over a textbook, dreaming of bed. “Yeah,” I said. “I get that.”
Jack led me down a long hallway that opened up to a beautiful kitchen. The appliances were brushed chrome, and there was an island topped with the same marble as the flooring. I spotted a living room to the right – filled masculine black leather couches and dark wooden furniture that looked both heavy and expensive.
Just as I was slipping my shoes off, the doorbell rang. Jack disappeared from the kitchen and reappeared a few minutes later, carrying bags of food that smelled delicious. I helped him arrange everything on the island. He’d gotten everything – spring rolls, curry, fried rice. It all smelled amazing, and I couldn’t help but fill my plate to the brim. Jack showed me into a narrow dining room with black wooden furniture, and I eased myself down into a chair. The cushions on the chairs were white, and I wondered what kind of person would buy white fabric for their dining room chairs.
The kind of person who never eats in their own house, I realized as Jack sat down next to me.
Jack took a bite of a spring roll and leaned back in his chair, chewing thoughtfully.
“So,” he said. “What exactly do you have in mind for Franchot?”
“Well, I’m going to need someone to look into his activities,” I said, scooping up some fried rice and taking a big bite. “Like, a lawyer, or a private investigator or something.”
“Yeah,” Jack said. He leaned closer, and I saw the muscles in his forearm flexing. “That’s a good idea – good place to start, at least.”
I couldn’t help but notice the intense chemistry between us. Even though my mind was running in a thousand different directions, being next to Jack was making me tense and excited. The delicious sensual quality of the food only seemed to heighten the atmosphere between us, and I couldn’t even look at Jack’s golden skin or tousled hair without thinking about what it would feel like if he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
“Adele?”
My head snapped up, and I looked at Jack. “What?”
Jack chuckled. “Distracted much?”
I flushed hotly. There was no way I was about to tell Jack what I’d just been thinking of – our bodies, tangled and sweaty, making furious love.
“No,” I lied, reaching for a spring roll and taking a big bite. “I’m fine.”
Jack tapped his pen on a pad of paper. “I think I’ve got some good leads. I’ll call Barnes later this afternoon and have him do some digging.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Okay,” I said. Thinking about Jack’s enormous wealth was astonishing – it was like he had the power to make the world spin at his fingertips.
“Anything else?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “We just need to find as much dirt on Franchot as possible.”
“Noted,” Jack replied. He raised an eyebrow and smirked. “So now that business is done, we can have fun.”
I flushed hotly as I remembered Jack’s caveat on the phone. Be open with me, he’d said.
Jack leaned in closer. I could smell his expensive, musky cologne and it was enough to make me swoon. As he put his hand on the back of my neck and leaned in close, I closed my eyes and prepared myself for a passionate kiss.
When our lips met, it was everything that I hadn’t even known that I wanted. The taste on Jack’s lips was spicy and salty from the Thai food, and I moaned softly as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. When his muscular body pressed against mine, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
Jack broke the kiss and nuzzled my neck before nipping at my earlobe. “So,” Jack murmured in my ear. “Shall we go to bed?”
Glancing down at the table, I saw Jack’s notes on Franchot.
“No,” I said, pulling away and straightening up. My hair was a mess, and I could feel that my skin was flushed and hot from our passionate kiss.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said, getting to my feet and brushing my hands off on my thighs. “It’s just, I think we should focus on business for now.” In truth, I was dying for Jack – I wanted him then more than I’d wanted him back in Nassau, which was saying a lot. But what if this was the last time? What if we slept together and I never saw him again?
I couldn’t let that happen.
“I’m not saying no,” I said, shaking my head and smiling. “I’m just saying not yet.”
To my surprise, Jack gave me a lazy grin. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands on the back of his neck.
“Well, then,” Jack said in a low drawl. “I guess I’ll just have to wait.”
--
The nex
t day, I met Jack downtown at his office building. Trident Gold had a beautiful office – it was almost as pretty as Jack’s condo – and I tried hard not to stare as Jack took me inside to meet with his lawyers.
“Barnes, this is Adele,” Jack said as he introduced me to a handsome, smiling guy in a navy suit.
“Nice to meet you,” I said politely.
Barnes grinned. “No need to be formal,” he said. He slung an arm around Jack’s shoulders and pulled him close. “Jack and I have been buddies since college,” he informed me.