by King, Thayer
“We’ll see about that. Janelle loves me. She never would have slept with you without my intervention. She’s loyal. But a big man like you wouldn’t understand that.”
Aidan hoped Janelle had enough sense not to forgive this fool, but if she chose to press charges, he was sunk. He wouldn’t deny what he’d done. “Using a woman as a shield.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“You’ll be sorry for this,” Jerome said as a parting shot before slamming out of his office.
He grabbed his phone only to realize that he didn’t have Janelle’s number. He could call her shop, but he doubted that Jerome would bother her in public. No. The weasel would strike when she was alone.
Chapter Six
The first call from Jerome had come at ten in the morning, but she didn’t notice the missed call to her cell until well after lunch. Annoyed that he had avoided her calls on Saturday, Janelle changed his contact information to add him to a reject list. She would talk to him on her timetable.
She picked up a pizza for dinner. It would take her days to finish it, but she wasn’t in the mood to cook. She was struggling with the pizza box, her purse, and her keys when Jerome jogged up the stairs behind her.
“Why have you been ignoring my calls?”
“Why do you think?”
“Don’t tell me it’s true, that he’s turned you against me. Janelle, you’re too smart to be on his side of this.”
Exasperated with him and her lack of success at connecting a key with a lock, she put her pizza box on the ground and opened the door. She threw her purse inside and retrieved her dinner. The purse skidded across the floor and toppled over, spilling out her phone and her wallet. “Come inside so that we don’t disturb the neighbors.” She carried her pizza into the kitchen and Jerome followed. She put the box on the table and dropped her keys on top.
“Janelle, he fired me today. After everything I’ve given to that company, he fired me for nothing.”
“Nothing? Nothing! How can you call having him rape me nothing?”
He blanched. “No. He wouldn’t. I told him not to hurt you.”
“And because he didn’t hurt me, that makes it better? I choose who I have sex with. Not you! I’m still trying to wrap my head around how you could do this to me. Didn’t our relationship mean anything to you?”
“It means everything to me. You’re my greatest asset.”
“What the hell does that mean?” He was always saying that. She’d considered it a compliment before, but now she wondered. Did he see her as only an object?
He smiled and stepped closer. When he reached out to touch her nose, she slapped his hand away. That gave him pause, but not for long. “Don’t you see? One way or the other, you’ve ensured that I get what I deserve. At first, I thought if I shared you with him then he would give me the promotion. But you were set against that idea even though I knew you were attracted to him. Then it came to me, a way for each of us to get what we wanted. You and Aidan could have your one night together. That was a sacrifice for me, I admit, but I knew our bond was strong enough to withstand it. I have your loyalty, so what would one night hurt?” He shrugged his shoulders as if it was of no consequence. “And I would have the job I’ve worked so hard for. In the end, that would be best for our future.”
Janelle shook her head. He was sick with greed and he believed her to be also. “You don’t know me at all if you think that I would sleep with another man for your promotion or for any reason other than love.”
“It was the only way, but it didn’t work. We’re going to have to call the police.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“We’re going to have Aidan arrested for rape. And the more public the arrest, the better. He’ll want to settle the matter out of court.”
“No,” she said vehemently. “I will not. Leave me out of your schemes.” She headed for the door. Once again, he dogged her steps. “Aidan is as much a victim in this as me. He was furious once he figured out what you’d done. What you’d made him do.”
“I didn’t hold a gun to his head. He arranged that meeting this weekend.”
No amount of talking to him would make him see reason. “We’re done, Jerome. You should leave.”
“Is this because I don’t have a job? If you handle this the way I say, we could have it all. I’ll get my job back, even that promotion. Only I won’t really have to work. Aidan will pay me if he wants to keep his reputation. Not to mention stay out of jail.”
“I don’t care about your job. I care that you tried to whore me out! What you did was unacceptable and I will never forgive it or trust you again.” She yanked open the door. “Now get out!”
Aidan stood poised with his fist raised to knock. He put down his hand. He was handsome and imposing in another designer suit and ankle-length trench coat. Black, of course. “I see that I didn’t make it in time. I wanted to give you advance warning that this might happen.”
“He was just leaving.”
“I am not. I won’t leave you alone with him, your attacker.”
Janelle couldn’t believe this was the same calm man she’d been dating for almost a year. “Give it up, Jerome. I’m not pressing charges.”
Aidan came in and closed the door. “I appreciate that. I realize you could view this in an ugly light and that you have every right to pursue legal action.”
“There! We have his confession,” Jerome crowed. “We can settle this matter out of court. I’m sure we can come to an agreement—”
“Shut up!” She covered her ears. “I can’t take any more of your lies and machinations. It disgusts me. There will be no settlement because I am not going to sue him. Just leave!”
Jerome’s eyes narrowed. “What happened this weekend?”
“Nothing more than you planned,” she stated coldly.
“If it was just sex, then you should be standing by my side. Did he make you promises? You can’t believe him, Janelle. All you’ll ever be to him is a convenient piece of ass.”
“You son of a—”
Janelle flattened a restraining hand on Aidan’s chest as he moved forward, his hands clenched into large fists that would leave Jerome out cold on her on her cream carpeting. “Jerome, that is more than enough.” She moved around Aidan to open the door again. “Leave.”
He took a deep breath. “Fine. I can see he’s got you brainwashed. But when you see his true colors, you’ll be coming back to me.”
Janelle released a sigh when he was gone. She dropped her face into her hands. “I’ve never seen him like that, so out of control and desperate.”
Aidan rested his hands on her shoulders in a comforting gesture. “He’s lost everything that he cared about. It’ll be a while before he can come to grips with that and move on. If he makes a pest of himself again, call me or call the police.”
“I don’t want to bother you.”
“You’re not a bother.”
She stepped away from his touch. She didn’t want him feeling obligated to her. “I appreciate your coming here, but I don’t anticipate having any more trouble from him.”
He shrugged. “You never know. It’s got to be killing him—losing you.”
It flattered her that he had such a high opinion of her, but she doubted Jerome was mourning the loss of her as much as his job. She was suddenly very tired and hungry. The smell of pizza wafted from the kitchen. She took off her coat and hung it in the closet. “Are you hungry? I have pizza.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
She laughed suddenly. They were so polite and formal with each other. It was most unusual considering what had transpired between them. “I can’t eat an entire pizza myself.”
“What’s so funny?” he asked with a curious smile.
“It’s nothing. Please join me for dinner?”
“I’d love to.”
He removed his overcoat and jacket and loosened his tie before following her to the kitchen. She took plates and glasses
out of the cabinet. She had a Pepsi chilling in the fridge.
“Do you know how much sugar is in that?” he asked as she filled the glasses.
“Enough to make my tummy happy. Sugar is my one vice. Let me have it.”
“I seem to recall you having champagne the night we met.”
She wrinkled her nose as she served him before sitting herself. “I don’t usually drink. I only took it to look sophisticated. Did it work?”
He grinned, unleashing the attractive slants in his cheeks and the crinkles around his eyes. “Like a charm. It’s a good thing that you’re not a drinker,” he commented before biting into a cheesy slice of pizza.
“Why is that?” His eyes flicked down to her belly and back up. “Oh.” She’d checked her calendar and it would be two weeks before she would know if their night together had resulted in pregnancy. Having never had a pregnancy scare before, she didn’t think it likely.
“You’ll let me know as soon as you know anything?”
“Of course.” She sipped her soda and enjoyed the strong carbonated flavor. Running her finger around the rim of her glass, she commented, “Some men would be freaking out about now. Why are you so calm?”
“Having children is something I’ve always wanted to do. This isn’t the way I imagined it would happen. You can rail against life’s curveballs or you can come to the conclusion that the world isn’t going to end and make the best of it.”
She only hoped she could be so sage when or if they were confronted with the actuality of her being pregnant. She finished off her slice and ate a second. Aidan ate half the pizza in the box on his own. He helped her clear away the dishes. “You have sauce on your shirt.” She grabbed a towel and dabbed at the small red spot on his chest. Aidan’s gold eyes watched her hands. Their color darkened and his pupils enlarged. “There. You can barely see it. It should come out in the wash.”
This close to him, she could smell his cologne, a hauntingly familiar fragrance. She recalled it from that night and from the dinner he’d held at his home. She wondered now if she’d ever truly believed him to be Jerome. On some level, she must have known.
“You’re remembering, aren’t you?” he asked, his voice husky and deep. He stepped closer, caging her between his body and the sink. He gripped the counter on either side of her.
She swallowed and shook her head. She closed her eyes, but that only made it worse. She didn’t have any images, only sensations. The feel of his hands on her followed by his mouth. The memory of his cock tunneling through the tight tissues of her pussy, taking her forcefully.
“You’re trembling. Please tell me that I don’t frighten you?” Aidan reached out a large hand and stroked her cheek.
“No,” she croaked. Clearing her throat, she turned and grabbed a cloth to wipe down the sink. “No, not at all.” He moved closer, pressing into her back, his erection finding a home in the cleft between her butt cheeks. She gave a startled yelp, belying her words of only seconds ago.
His warm breath caressed her neck. “Janelle, I regret that you were deceived, but I can’t forget about that night. I—”
“Don’t! There’s no need to discuss it further.”
He chuckled, but it was more of a weary expulsion than an indicator of mirth. “I was under the impression that women liked to talk a subject to death.”
“Believe me, I’ve thought about it until my head ached.” He rubbed his chin over her neck, his stubble rasping over her sensitive skin. Janelle shivered. He bit her earlobe and she gasped.
“Janelle,” he groaned, thrusting against her. His hands closed over her waist.
She wanted him so badly it frightened her. All she had to do was let it happen, simply do nothing. He could lift her skirt, slide her panties down her legs, open his pants, and bend her over the counter. She would get to feel the thick muscularity of him filling her aching core once more. They didn’t even have to take off their clothes. The idea of fucking fully clothed was naughty and somehow titillating. Her mouth went dry and her breathing escalated.
“Before when we were together, you believed I was Jerome. I want to be with you when you know it’s me inside you, pleasuring you.”
“No.” Janelle shook her head vigorously. She wanted to say yes, but this wasn’t who she was. She didn’t go from man to man. Her vetting process demanded that she date him for three months at the least before becoming intimate with him. Aidan had never indicated that he was interested in dating her. Sex could be the end of his interest and she didn’t do purely sexual relationships. “We can’t. It’s too much. I can’t.”
He groaned, but backed away. “I’m sorry.”
She took a deep breath. “Do me a favor? Don’t apologize to me anymore.” She peeked at him over her shoulder. He stiffened before nodding.
“I should be going. Work in the morning.”
She’d heard that often enough. She trailed him into the den area and watched him shrug into his jacket. He seemed to have withdrawn into himself and she couldn’t think of a thing to do or say to bring him back. She opened the door for him.
“Call me,” he said, his voice ripe with significance, his gaze steady as it held hers.
Janelle locked up behind him. She scooped her purse and its contents off the floor and placed it on her coffee table. She unraveled her hair so that it fell about her shoulders and toed off her shoes. Digging her toes into the plush carpeting, she sighed. Reaching behind her, she undid the zip of her skirt and shimmied out of it.
She’d gone through her nightly ritual of brushing her teeth and washing her face and was curled in bed with a fashion mag when she heard her cell ring from the den. Groaning, she pushed aside the covers and slid out of bed. She answered without checking the caller ID to keep the call from going to voice mail. “Hello?”
“Are you fucking him?” Jerome rasped.
Janelle frowned. “What?”
“Answer me. Are you fucking him now?”
“No, but if I was, it would be exactly what you deserve!”
“Don’t say that, Janelle. I was only supposed to be that once.”
She scoffed. “And what type of relationship did you think we were going to have after? One where either of us was free to scratch an inch anytime someone attractive came by?”
“Of course not. This was a one-shot deal.”
“Hm. And if Aidan sold the business and you got a new boss, would you be willing to solidify your position again with my body?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you. You did it once. Why not again?”
“Quit being stupid and stow the innocent act. You wanted him as much as he wanted you.” His frustration was palpable.
“I can’t change that,” she replied, her voice tight with anger, “but I can control my actions. I would have never done anything about it.” It infuriated her that he seemed to getting angry with her when he had no right. And while she might have been gratified to hear him grovel and beg to get her back, she wasn’t going to listen to him call her names and try to justify his behavior. “Good-bye, Jerome. Don’t call me anymore.”
Chapter Seven
Janelle smiled and thanked their last customer of the day, a woman in her early twenties shopping for her first professional wardrobe. Dionne flipped the open sign and locked the door behind the woman’s retreating back. She stretched her arms over her head. “I’m exhausted. I had a nightmare last night I was being chased by a doll. That’s what I get for watching Twilight Zone before bed. I was supposed to meet a guy for drinks tonight, but I’m thinking of canceling.”
“You never know. He might be the one,” Janelle teased. “How’d you meet him?”
“I ran into him getting my morning coffee.”
“You can leave now if you want to go home and change.”
“Are you saying I’m not glorious as I am?” Placing her hands on her curvy hips, she struck a pose. She’d worn her hair straight today so that it fell over one eye. Her rust blouse and flor
al skirt accentuated her honeyed skin. She’d refreshed her makeup after lunch and it was still perfect.
“You look—” There was a loud banging on the glass that caused them both to turn. A small, light-skinned old lady with a large pink hat had her face and hands pressed against the door. Janelle gave an involuntary jump.
“Who’s that?”
Janelle groaned. “It’s Jerome’s mother, Glenda.”
“Run out the back. She may not have seen you.”
“No, might as well see what she wants. She’s almost seventy, and she rarely leaves her house except for church. If she’s here, it’s important to her.”
“Okay, then I’ll head out back.”
Janelle waited until Dionne had disappeared into the back with a wave before opening the door to Mrs. Wilson. “Hello, ma’am. We’re closed, but if you tell me what you’re looking for, I’d be delighted to—”
Mrs. Wilson bustled past her. “Janelle, please, we both know I’m not here to shop.” She clutched her oversized bag to her bosom as her eyes bored into Janelle. She was dressed smartly in a pastel-pink suit that matched her hat. Her shiny pumps with the two-inch heels elevated her height so that the top of her head reached Janelle’s shoulders. “I’m here to talk to you about Jerome. What’s going on with the two of you?”
No sense in prevaricating. “We broke up,” she stated simply.
“That much is clear. I don’t understand why. Jerome is heartbroken. He says you left him for another man because he lost his job. I told him you weren’t the type of girl who would be so shallow. Tell me I’m not mistaken.”
Sighing, Janelle rolled her eyes and shook her head. How could she have dated Jerome so long and not seen what kind of man he was? Maybe it was because they hadn’t actually spent much quality time together. “I’m not seeing anyone else. Jerome and I broke up because of his actions. Out of respect for you, I won’t tell you what he did.”
She harrumphed and opened her purse. Rambling around through the contents, she came out with a plastic-wrapped mint. “Do you want one?”