Jake nodded. Loyalty was something he respected. “Send that resume. I think you’ll do fine in the Boston office.”
Aaron let out a long sigh. Not smiling. Just waiting. Even more impressive.
Jake said, “I’m only here to make sure Lil is safe. There is nothing more than that between us.”
After a moment, Aaron stepped away and seemed to relax. He said, “Whatever you do, don’t send her flowers. She hates watching them die. She says it’s as sexy as receiving a bouquet of hamsters stapled to rulers.”
Jake grimaced a bit at the image. “That’s quite a visual.”
Aaron said, “That’s Lil. She likes images that evoke emotion. Ask her to sketch something for you sometime. She doesn’t belong in an office, she belongs in a studio bringing those images to life. She’ll never be happy on the path she’s recently chosen for herself. If you care about her, you might want to help her see that.”
A fist of fire curled deep in Jake’s abdomen, but he held back further discourse. He didn’t like Aaron giving him advice on how to deal with Lil. He didn’t like that his displeasure was most likely obvious to the young man before him.
The entire trip was a waste of time and emotion. After today, Jake would have no reason to ever see Lil again—except perhaps across the room at a social event.
Whatever mess she got tangled up in next time would be none of his concern.
Oddly, that thought made him scowl again.
Chapter Four
Lil pulled up to the front of the news station. She unbuckled her seat belt and turned toward Jake. “Give me the paper.” She held out her hand.
Jake took the paper out of his pocket and turned it in his hand thoughtfully. “It’d be better if you waited out here with Colby while I go in.”
“Just give me that damn paper,” Lil said and made a grab for it, but Jake moved it back out of her reach.
“I don’t understand you, Lil. Why is it so important for you to do this? Dominic or I could have easily handled it with a phone call from New York, but you didn’t take anyone’s calls. I could resolve this for you right now—be back in the car in ten minutes and you wouldn’t even have disturbed Colby.”
“I want to fix this myself.”
“That much is obvious, but I keep asking myself the same question. Why?”
Lil gestured at her baby in the back seat. “She’s why. If you genuinely want to know why I’m doing what I’m doing, the answer is almost always the same. Her. She deserves the kind of stability and love that I had growing up.”
“Then why won’t you let Dominic help you?”
Lil threw a hand up in the air for emphasis. “You don’t get it, do you? Dominic is a fantasy. Not even my fantasy—Abby’s. Which is fine. She can walk away from her life and tie her happiness to the whim of some man who may or may not be there for her in a month, but I can’t.” Lil laid a hand on the back of her baby’s car seat. “I have to think of Colby now and what’s best for her.”
He wasn’t going to debate Dominic’s loyalty—honestly, Dominic was dangerously unpredictable lately. He really couldn’t say what he would be like a month from now. Was his transformation permanent or just an extreme and temporary reaction to his father’s death? There was no way to know, but none of that was going to get him an insight he could use. “And dragging your daughter in there to witness something she won’t remember is going to help her how?”
“It proves to me that I can do this on my own. I didn’t need the support of her biological father, I don’t need Abby, and I certainly don’t need some New York billionaire who came here only because his boss asked him to. You want to help me? Don’t stand in my way. Let me do this.”
When Jake didn’t immediately hand her the paper she added, “Please.”
And his breath caught in his throat. The raw emotion in her explanation far outweighed any he’d expressed in perhaps his entire life. It made him want to protect her even though she was asking for him to do the exact opposite.
He handed her the paper. “I’m still coming with you, but I won’t interfere.”
She studied him quietly before removing her baby from the seat behind them. “I can handle this.”
He watched her stride toward the NBN Communications building, shoulders set back with determination, baby balanced on one hip and he thought he’d never seen anything more beautiful. She was a tigress going to battle for the little one in her arms.
The sight was oddly humbling—as if he were witnessing an event he’d carry with him the rest of his life.
His short reflection allowed her to reach the building before him. One step quickly became a short sprint. She wasn’t going in there alone if he could help it.
Lil charged through the front door of the news station and went directly to the receptionist’s desk. “I want to see the station manager.”
“Do you have an appointment?” The blond receptionist who appeared to have dressed for a dance club rather than her day job dismissed Lil with little more than a glance.
Lil wasn’t sure if she should address her next request to the woman directly or to the abundance of cleavage threatening to burst out of her tiny top. “I—” Lil started to say, but the woman stood and flashed a huge smile at someone behind Lil.
“Mr. Walton, I’ll tell Mr. Cooper that you’re here,” the receptionist said in a suddenly sultry voice.
Oh, please. Could she be more obvious? It wasn’t amazing that she’d recognized him, anyone with a TV would have. Lil kicked herself for not thinking of that. But, seriously, did this bimbo have to throw herself at him? I am not going to be happy if I have to stand here and watch these two hook up just so I can meet the manager. “You should have stayed in the car,” Lil hissed at Jake.
“You’d prefer to have to wait?” Jake asked.
At least he didn’t appear to have any interest in the woman who was practically drooling over him. Did he meet with that kind of fawning from women wherever he went? No wonder he looked bored all the time.
I’m not here to analyze Jake’s dating habits.
And he’d made a valid point. What did doing this the hard way really prove? She was being ridiculous. Still, she had come this far, she might as well follow her plan through. “Please, just let me do this my way.”
“I won’t say a word.”
He wouldn’t have to. His mere presence had already changed the rules of engagement.
The manager rushed out of his office, looking a bit ruffled. He walked right past Lil and offered his hand to Jake. “Mr. Walton, what brings you to NBN today?”
Jake ignored his outstretched hand. “I believe your business is with Miss Dartley.”
The man wasn’t smart enough to hide his sneer. “If you wanted to be compensated for your interview, Miss Dartley, you should have negotiated a price before giving it.”
Jake took an aggressive step toward him, but Lil wasn’t going to be dismissed that easily. She handed Jake both Colby and the diaper bag. She took the folded gag order out of her purse and handed it to the manager. “I didn’t give an interview. The phone conversation you have was taped without my knowledge and under the guise of something else. If you or any other news station airs it, I will sue you and them to within a penny of bankruptcy.”
The manager almost said something, but changed his mind. He looked back and forth between Lil and Jake, putting more meaning on their relationship than the paper in his hand.
When he spoke again, his intention was to appease her. “I had no idea, Ms. Dartley. Of course the interview will be pulled.”
It was disappointingly easy.
Which shouldn’t be a problem, but it was.
Today had proven nothing.
Lil turned and took Colby back from Jake. Storming out, but leaving Jake standing there with the diaper bag hanging from one of his perfectly manicured hands.
It must have provided the station manager with a sight that amused him, because the man appeared to have something h
e wanted to say.
Jake leaned in. “Say it. Give me one reason to remember your name when I walk out of here, and you’ll spend the rest of your life wishing you hadn’t.”
The smile wiped clean off the older man’s face, a fact that gave Jake a moment of satisfaction as he turned on his heel to do what he’d never done in his entire life—chase after a woman.
Chapter Five
By the time Jake got back to the car, Lil had already started the vehicle and Colby was safely strapped in the back. “I did it. He’s not going to air it.”
“You did it.”
She smiled. “I really did it. I’m sure it helped that you were here, but I think it would have worked regardless.”
“I bet you’re right.”
“You must be glad it’s over. Now you can go back to New York and tell Dominic there is nothing to worry about.” Lil let out a tremulous breath. “I know it’s silly, but I was actually nervous in there. My legs still feel a little shaky. Adrenaline, I guess.”
Jake put a hand on his seat belt and asked, “Why don’t I drive?”
Lil hesitated for a moment then unbuckled hers. “Only because I’m still a little wound up.”
“Of course.”
They quickly traded places. As they pulled onto a main road, Jake asked, “I have to make a quick stop somewhere, do you mind?”
Although Lil wanted nothing more than to get home and relax, she said, “That’s fine.” He had, after all, driven all the way up here just to help her. She’d be home soon enough. Hopefully the press would be gone. If she could settle Colby down for a nap, she might even get some studying done today after all.
Lil stared blindly at the skyscrapers they drove by. Even if she didn’t want to, there was something that needed to be said. “I don’t think I thanked you for coming up here, Jake. I’m not really good at accepting help.”
“Really, I wouldn’t have guessed,” he said smoothly, with only the slightest trace of humor in his voice.
Lil smiled. “Don’t start with me. I’m trying to be nice.”
“Is it an arduous effort?”
“With some people,” Lil joked.
He seemed to want to say more, but didn’t. Instead he pulled in front of a high-end residential building and handed the keys to her economy car to a valet, appearing unperturbed by the expression on the young man’s face when he took them. She guessed that he didn’t park many cars that smelled of baby powder and sour milk. Lil unclipped the portable section of the car seat and swung the diaper bag over one shoulder. Hopefully wherever they were headed had a spot where she could change and feed Colby or her daughter’s pleasant personality would soon undergo a drastic change.
The security man at the front desk waved them by. Lil followed Jake through the pristine lobby and to an elevator that looked nice enough to live in. She wondered what kind of people lived in a place like that.
People like Jake, she guessed.
They took the elevator all the way to the top to the penthouse, not a surprise. What did give Lil a moment of pause was the way the penthouse was decorated. Large, comfortable furniture. Warm, feminine colors. It couldn’t be Jake’s place, could it? “Do you live here?”
“No, it belongs to a friend.”
Of course it did.
He probably had a lot of friends.
A moment of jealousy was quickly followed by a mental self-shake—none of that was any of her business and she’d be a whole lot happier if she remembered that. She placed Colby’s carrier on the floor and unhooked her. “Colby’s wet. Do you mind if I change her on the bed? I have a blanket.”
A moment later she returned from the bedroom and said, “You didn’t tell me that your friend had a baby, too. The bedroom has a crib and a changing table.”
Jake didn’t respond to that. Instead he said, “Why don’t you check out the view? It’s quite impressive. You can see the Charles from the balcony.”
Lil opened one of the French-style doors and gasped with pleasure. The penthouse was just high enough to give a clear view of not only the river, but a good portion of Boston. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it. That will make this easier.”
The hair on the back of her neck went up.
“Make what easier?”
Jake turned, his hands casually pocketed. “You can’t go back to your place.”
“No . . .” She looked around in stunned refusal.
“Yes.”
“You can’t—”
He motioned to the room around them with one hand. “It’s already done. As you saw, you’ll find that whatever you need for Colby is already here. Your personal things are being shipped over or stored as we speak.”
“I already told Dominic that I wouldn’t take his charity. I don’t want this place.”
“That was before your interview.”
“I fixed that. The interview won’t air.”
“Lil, it’s that simple. Even without airing, your interview has caught the public’s attention. And that means paparazzi . . .”
“Why would people care about me? I’m not marrying a billionaire.”
“No, but your sister is and that is a fact that, no matter how much you’d like to pretend it doesn’t matter, does.”
“I won’t stay here.”
“You don’t have a choice.” His expression hardened.
Her mouth went dry. “What does that mean?” Was he threatening her? Jake was smooth, but he was no one’s lapdog. Although he deferred to Dominic, she didn’t doubt that he was a force to be reckoned with on his own.
He approached her and spoke in a tone she was sure he used during his business negotiations. “It means it’s the only course of action that makes sense and you’ll see that once you calm down.”
Of course he wasn’t threatening her—he’d have to muster up enough emotion to do that.
Lashing out, she said, “Really? Once I calm down? Forgive me for having an emotional response to manipulation. Sorry that unlike you I don’t blindly follow Dominic’s orders. We’re not all his puppets.”
Lil felt a slight triumph as her barb brought a flush to his cheeks. Still, his voice remained maddeningly even and rational. “Luckily, your opinion of me has nothing to do with the outcome of this situation. You’ll stay here, not because Dominic told you to and not because I told you to; you’ll stay because you and your daughter are no longer safe at your old house. If what you said earlier is true and you do base all of your decisions on her welfare, then you’ll accept this as necessary.”
How easily he threw her words back at her.
Lil hugged Colby closer. Stuff like this didn’t really happen, did it? “There has to be another way. What if I said yes to temporary security?”
He shook his head calmly. “You’ll have security here.”
“You can’t do this,” she said desperately.
“It’s done,” he replied with a finality she couldn’t accept.
“I can’t believe Abby went along with this! How could she think she could just spring this on me and I’d be okay with it?”
He shrugged. “She may not know I’m here.”
“So, this isn’t even her idea? It’s her crazy lover’s? But why send you? Anyone could have broken the bad news to me.” The answer came to her with sickening clarity. “Oh, wait, you’re the fixer, right? That’s what Abby told me. Dominic breaks all the rules and then sends you in to smooth it over. I’m just a problem he sent you to fix.” She hated that her accusation ended with what sounded suspiciously like a sob.
Jake approached, his expression softening with concern. “Lil . . .”
She put a hand up to stop him. Oh, no, pity would only make this worse. “No, don’t say anything else. I get it. Excuse me.”
Dominic had sent his right-hand man. I must be a bigger screwup than I know. Lil picked up the diaper bag and headed back toward the bedroom. She needed a moment to collect her thoughts, to take all of this in. S
he sat on the edge of the bed and absently offered Colby one of her snacks and a bottle of formula.
After satisfying her immediate needs, Colby fell asleep in Lil’s lap. Lil crossed the room and tucked her into the white crib. It was obviously an expensive one and whoever had set up the room had taken the time to add a mobile that matched the one hanging above her crib in Lil’s home. Abby knew about this penthouse. She might not know about today’s bait and switch, but she’d definitely played a part in decorating these rooms. Her soft, maternal touch was evident in all of them.
Some of Lil’s anger dissipated. She couldn’t really blame them for thinking she needed to be protected—contained.
She looked down at her daughter and thought, So much has changed, and nothing has really changed at all.
But it will, Colby.
It will.
Jake was seated on the flower-print couch when Lil returned to the living room. He stood as soon as he saw her.
Neither said anything at first.
Lil broke the awkward silence. “Do you really think we’re in danger?”
Jake loosened his tie as if he suddenly found it a bit constricting. “Dominic has as many enemies as he has allies and it only takes one.”
Lil spoke, scanning the main area of the penthouse. “How long will it take for this to pass over? Surely people will forget about me when the next story catches their attention.”
“There is no going back. The sooner you accept that your life has changed, the easier it will be on you and Colby.” The even tone of Jake’s voice grated.
Some of Lil’s anger returned. “How can you say it like that? I didn’t choose this. I don’t want this.”
He stood and approached her calmly. “What do you want me to say, Lil?”
She flung angry words at him. “I want you to look like you care that this is ruining everything for me. How am I going to take my final exam tomorrow? I can’t even get out of my driveway . . . oh, wait, I don’t have a driveway anymore. Just this . . . this . . .” She waved her hand around referencing the penthouse.
The Legacy Collection Box Set Page 21