Bad Boy Exposed

by Ashlee Price

  She smiled at me, and before long I was signing a contract for temporary employment at Jesse’s. Nadia gave me a sheet of paper with details on the where and when, and we said our goodbyes. I felt a little better as I passed the many people who were still waiting in almost the same spots as when I had seen them before. It may not have been what I wanted – not by any stretch of the imagination – but at the end of the day, I was grateful not to be in their shoes. At least I had a job, even if it was just driving good food around.

  I kept reminding myself of that as I made my way home. I also had to find a way to word it so that it didn’t seem like I had settled for less. I had to convince my parents of that, and maybe myself a little bit too.

  When I parked out front of the rundown three-story house that I’d grown up in, there was a steady tension in my body. I tried to shake the feeling. It was Friday afternoon and it was time for a family dinner. A smile painted on my face, I moved towards the familiar door and wondered if I was ever going to get my parents to be happy with my career choice. The job that I had just gotten wasn’t going to do that, but at least they couldn’t say I wouldn’t be able to do anything with my degree.

  Walking through the front door, I was bombarded by my two little nephews. They’d seen me coming up the cobbled walkway and insisted on wrestling before I got in the door. I played along, anything to take my mind from what was going on, but we were stopped by the sharp voice of their mother, my sister.

  “Boys, leave your aunt alone.”

  They heard the tone and scurried away before I could get up from the position I had fallen on the floor. “Really, Nicola, do you have to wind them up so much?”

  I grinned at her and kissed her cheek. “If I don’t get to wrestle and spoil them, what is the point of being an aunt?”

  “You are a person that they look up to.”

  I knew where that was going. A conversation was about to break out that I didn’t want to have. “I’m going to go see if mom needs any help in the kitchen, Karen. Your hair looks good.”

  She smiled and put her hand up to the fresh do and I just kind of laughed a little. A compliment was the only way to get my sister to stop her steady efforts to get me married and pregnant like she was around my age. She reminded me of my singleness all the time, but I tried to ignore all of that. I was not ready to settle down. Not when my dreams of cooking for the rich and famous were still not a reality.

  ***

  I moved towards the white swinging doors that led into the kitchen. My mom, Angela, had her apron on, and somehow she knew that I was the one who’d come in. “Nicola, go ahead and put an apron on and help me.”

  I was surprised that she knew it was me. She hadn’t even looked up. “How did you know it was me, mom?”

  She looked up and smiled. “Honey, you are the only one who would even come into the kitchen to help in the first place. Lord knows that your sister could do with some time in here.”

  “She doesn’t need to learn. She has Alfred.”

  She kind of gave me a look and I had to laugh. My mother was more conservative, always spouting obedience and the more traditional gender roles. I wasn’t sure if she actually lived up to it; her mouth was always telling everyone how she felt. But she did believe in it, and she had hammered it into me and my sister for quite some time. It just hadn’t really stuck with Karen.

  “Well, maybe I just need to find me an Alfred too.”

  She scowled at me and gave me some vegetables to chop. “That is really not the way to use your education, Nicola. I don’t know why you went to begin with. I taught you everything I know.”

  “I know, mom, I just don’t think that marriage and kids are for me right now.”

  She looked at me as if I had broken her heart and I looked away. She already had grandchildren and I refused to feel the obligation. I was twenty-two and just out of college. There was no way that I wanted to hear it right now, so to change the subject I decided to bring up my good news. It would be easier to tell her first and get her reaction before the rest of the family knew.

  “So I wanted to tell you about the good news I got today.”

  “Did Jamie come back to town?”

  The sound of his name made me frown. “No, he didn’t. God, mom.” She had thrown me off talking about my ex and it took me a minute to remember what I’d wanted to say. “No, I was going to tell you that I got a job today. I start next Monday.”

  “What about school?”

  I shrugged and handed her the bowl of cut veggies for the broth. “It’s only a couple of classes that I’ll miss, and I graduate in a couple of weeks anyways. It was just an opportunity to slide into a job, so I took it.”

  She smiled and for a moment I thought it was going to be okay.

  “So what kind of job is it?”

  “Working with a catering service.”

  “That’s good, Nicola. Now help me get the chicken de-boned or we are never going to eat.”

  It was less than I had anticipated, and I hated to admit that I was a little disappointed that she wasn’t happier for me. But it was better than hearing a lecture about how I needed to be more like Karen, so I was going to take it for what it was.

  Chapter 2 - Jerold

  I was trying to pay attention, but it was hard. All I could think about was the weekend and the end of meetings like the one I was in right now. I knew it was necessary, but there were other things that I could be doing. My plan was to leave and go to the city for a time. I needed to indulge some of my other needs. Business was not doing it for me.

  “Jerold? What do you think of the proposal?”

  Shaking my head, I didn’t know how I was supposed to respond. I didn’t even know why I was in the meeting. When I turned around, I tried my best to not look as perturbed as I felt.

  “I think that there was a lot of time and energy put into this presentation, but I don’t think there was much thought put in. The idea that a small town like Brewer would be able to support such a project is beyond me. I like it here for the small-town feel and you want to put in condominiums in the middle of Main Street.”

  I watched a few reactions and steeled myself for the blowback. Maybe it was part of the reason that I was so against it, the idea of changing my town. I didn’t like to even think about it, and the replica in the middle of the table made my stomach turn when I looked at it.

  “So what I think of the proposal is that Carrington Investments will not be participating in it and as soon as I leave here, I will make sure that whoever was agreeing to sell will sell to me instead and this project will never happen.”

  A slight knock on the door stopped me from going on. I looked towards the door. The clock told me that it was time for lunch. I was expecting Massiré to bring in the food, so I was a little surprised by the dark-haired young woman who came in instead. It was certainly not their usual delivery girl and I was intrigued by her.

  I didn’t notice the others’ reaction, but I knew that my heart started to beat a little harder in my chest when she looked up and our eyes met. She was stunning, with dark brown hair that was almost black and eyes of the same deep hue. She smiled at me and said something, but the pounding in my ears made it impossible to hear her. I just nodded instead and stared at her. Her clothes were a little tight and showed every curve that she had to offer. I was happy for the view. The woman was absolutely lovely.

  The people around me noticed, and one of my colleagues said something to me, pulling me from the spell. I had forgotten all about the silly project and why I was so adamant about everything.

  “Sir, do you want to say anything else?”

  Maureen looked at me a little worried, and I realized then that I must be acting like an idiot. “No, I think I have said all that I care to say. Excuse me for a moment.”

  Walking over to the girl, I could tell when she noticed me because her whole body kind of tightened up with tension. She looked nervous, and I knew that my being next to her was going to make
it worse, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “It looks good today.”

  “Yes sir, just as you ordered. The substitutions were done as requested. Is there anything else that I can do for you before I go?”

  I could think of so many things, but I refused to answer her until she looked at me. She didn’t want to, I could tell, but finally she pulled her brown eyes to mine and I was lost in the midst of them. “No, I don’t think I need anything else.” She was what I needed.

  “Okay, sir. I hope you enjoy your lunch.”

  She was gone before I could stop her, before I even knew that I wanted to. I hadn’t gotten her name. What had the woman done in seconds to make me feel an excitement that usually only the big city gave me? I didn’t know anything about her, but I needed to find out more. I set my assistant to the task. Connie knew how to really ask questions, so she did.

  When I got back to the meeting, the project planners were looking sour and I thought that I would throw them a bone. There was a project in town that I wanted done and they would be perfect for it. After I told them some of the details of the side offer, there were more smiles and for some reason, I found myself being as merry as they were. My scowl was gone, and the smile was so foreign to my face that it almost hurt a little.

  ***

  “I got that information you wanted, Jerold.”

  I took the small folder and learned a little bit about the new delivery girl at Jesse’s. There was something so perfect about her, and although she was far younger than I was used to dating, there was no way that I was going to let a small thing like that stop me.

  I was surprised to learn that she lived here and went to school here, and it occurred to me then that I knew her family. More specifically, I knew her father because he was a civil servant, one of the men I dealt with at City Hall. I had seen her mother a few times, too. A nice woman. Angela was beautiful, but her daughter was absolutely stunning.

  The fact that I knew her family and was almost the same age as her parents made me pause, but only for a moment. I called up Jesse’s and talked to the owner. I wanted to know if Nicola was cooking there or what her job was. Jesse had known me for years and asked what my interest in her was. I didn’t really give her an answer other than to say that I knew her parents. That was my angle, and I used the tenuous tie to get as much information as I could.

  My philosophy was that I could always get my way, as long as I found the right angle. Nicola was freshly out of college, and I knew that she would have bigger ambitions than to be a delivery person for a catering company. I just needed to find an opportunity for her, one that she couldn’t refuse.

  Chapter 3 - Nicola

  The first day of delivering for Jesse’s was almost over and I was beat. The final delivery was back downtown for one last place. I hadn’t been so tired in my life and I was already sick of the smell of food. I didn’t want to be the one bringing it in and setting it up; I wanted to be the one creating the food. I hadn’t spent any time at all in the kitchen, so it was hard in that way. I tried to tell myself that it was only temporary, but I wondered when it was going to be my time.

  I went back to my apartment and was thankful that I didn’t have to face my family. The dinner yesterday had been a disaster. Once mom had brought up my new job, Karen had asked exactly the right questions to make me feel crummy about it. I wasn’t too happy with it either, but she’d found ways to make it seem even worse. It was not something that I wanted to think about.

  So when I got home I just sat down, my feet throbbing and my head a little achy. The day hadn’t been all bad, but I was ready to relax and not have to make any more last-minute runs to companies that had more stairs than I’d thought existed in this town. I only moved when the wine called to me from the fridge and I was finally motivated to get up.

  As I was tucking in for a quiet night at home, a few friends came round to brighten the evening. Before long I was mad drunk and feeling a whole lot better. The nightmare day was nothing but a faint memory when I finally went to bed that night. The next morning, I wished I could say the same for the wine. By the time the alarm clock woke me up, my head was pounding and I wasn’t sure if I could even get out of bed, let alone down to the catering service. It was my second day on the job and I was already thinking about quitting. Dream job, indeed.

  I did manage to get up, rush to work and make it on time, but I was not as ready as I would have liked to be. My hair was loose down my back instead of up in a do, and I was still putting on mascara as I pulled up at Jesse’s. It ended with a finished product that I avoided having to see in the mirror, but I told myself that it was going to be okay. It wasn’t like I was there to impress anyone.

  When I got the order to take some food to Carrington Investments, though, I wished I had taken more time to get ready. I still remembered the pale grey eyes of the man I had met there the day before. He had come up to talk and had seemed nice enough, but the eyes had told me everything that he wanted – and it had nothing to do with the delivery. I had felt attraction from men before, but with the businessman there had been difference. It had been more than an attraction. It had felt like a physical pull to him, and it had made me retreat as quickly as possible. He was dangerous. My radar went off when I was around him.

  So driving up I was nervous, and I didn’t get out of my car until I had made sure that my hair was smoothed down. The natural waves had taken over and it was full. I put a little lipstick on and got the thermos bags out to take up to the top floor. At least the place had an elevator, I thought to myself as I pushed the button for the sixth floor.

  My hands were trembling as I made my way down to the same conference room. Most of the people in it were different from the day before, but the handsome man with the slate eyes was there. Even knowing that I shouldn’t look, I did, and again I felt the beckoning that his body was calling to me. Did he know what he was doing?

  “It’s good to see you again, Nicola.”

  I was a little surprised to hear my name, but then I remembered that I was wearing a name tag. “Good to see you too, sir. I hope that everything is to your liking.”

  Again, I felt like I just had to get out of there. He was giving me too much attention, and it was hard to ignore the look. His hand came out and stopped me. “You look like you’re having a tough day. Why don’t you sit down for a minute and try the food that you brought to me?”

  I shook my head, even though I could have used a moment of rest. The funny thing about delivering lunches to everyone else all day was that I didn’t have time to eat until I got off. I was starving and the food did look good, but I was sure that eating it was against a rule of some sort and I didn’t want to ruin the job.

  “I really should be going, sir. There are lots of people that are hungry.”

  It sounded better in my head, but I got an eye flare and a release of my arm. He was not the type of man who was used to being told no, and I could see that he didn’t quite like it.

  “My name is Jerold.”

  “Have a good day, Jerold.”

  He nodded at me, and I grabbed up the empty containers and left while I could. Being around him was like being around a lion. He was pure predator, and I didn’t know what he was going to do. What I did know was that I wasn’t ready to be consumed.

  Getting back in the car, I was breathing a little heavier. It almost felt like I had run a mile or something. It wasn’t easy to come to grips with how turned on I was or what in the world was going on in my mind. Jerold was too old for me, and too rich. I wasn’t even on the same level as him, so there was no point in fantasizing about something that I would surely never have.

  The thought put me in a sour mood, and then a phone call from my sister put me in a worse mood. There was a meeting over at the house, and I knew that a meeting with my family was never good. Someone had some news. I had to wonder what it would be.

  I stopped off at the apartment, stripped out of my greasy clothes and then jumped in the sh
ower to rinse off before going down to my parents’ house for the announcement. I was a little nervous about it. I hoped that it wasn’t something that I wasn’t going to like. Karen had sounded a little strange on the phone, so I was worried about what she was going to say.

  When I got there, the house was full and it took me several minutes to say hi to everyone. Mom was sitting at the table with Karen. It was the first time I had seen so many people in the house and she wasn’t in the kitchen cooking. Everything felt off, and I was getting more leery by the moment.

  “Sit down, Nicola. Why don’t we have a chat?”

  I sat down slowly. There was something in the air, and then I realized that most of the people in the room were looking at me. I didn’t know why this was, but I knew then that I wasn’t going to like it. The bad feeling in my stomach had taken over my body and I swallowed hard.

  “So what’s going on? What’s the big news?”

  Mom couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She was practically beaming. Why was her happiness making me so uneasy? It shouldn’t, right?

  “We have a surprise for you, Nicola, and I know that you are going to like it.”

  When she put it like that, I knew I wasn’t going to like it at all. I waited for her to tell me what it was, or give it to me, but it was not something that could fit in a box. It was a person that I hadn’t seen in almost a year – and hadn’t wanted to see. It was Jamie, and it made me wonder why he was there. Why were they all there? Was this why mom had brought him up the night before?

  Jamie came towards me and pulled me into his embrace. I was stiff in his arms, and I was still confused on what was going on around me. Why was he here? Why was he holding me like this, and why did he have that look on his face like he did when we were together? I waited for someone to say something, for someone to put me out of my misery.

  “Nicola, I’ve missed you so much. Your mother called me the other day to see how I was, and I knew that I had to see you again. All of the old memories came back, and I knew then that it was you that I had been missing. I’m no good without you, Nicola. So I flew here to see you and see if you would come back with me. You are about to graduate, and now that you have that little thing out of the way, we can get married like we talked about before. Now we can start our lives, Nicola, together, as it should have been in the first place.”