Bossman's List

by Ashlee Price

  Chapter 4 – Jesse

  I woke up the next morning with one of the worst headaches that I’d had in a while. Before they’d been because I hadn’t gotten enough sleep, but this time it was something else. Lying there with my eyes closed, I tried to think of why I felt the way I did. Finally I remembered the wine I’d started drinking when I got back from the bank. They’d told me that they couldn’t help me and I’d gone home to sulk. When I couldn’t get ahold of Melissa, I’d started drinking alone, and I didn’t remember much past that.

  My eyes sprang open when I started to remember a few more things. Like the fact that I was pretty sure that I’d seen Scott and that maybe I’d even let him in. I wasn’t sure past that what had happened, but I was happy enough that at least he wasn’t in the bed with me. Looking down, I gave a sigh of relief when I saw that I still had my clothes on. It couldn’t have been that bad.

  Getting up, I groaned and grabbed the side of my head, rubbing it like that was somehow going to make it better. I hadn’t felt so bad in a long time, and I didn’t think that it was going to get better with a rub or anything else. All I could think about was coffee. That was the only thing that I could think of that might make me feel less like death warmed over.

  Moving downstairs, I yawned and almost jumped when I heard the knock at the door. I didn’t have to see the clock to know that it was still early, which meant that I knew who wanted to see me. I’d missed Scott before, but today I was feeling strange. I didn’t want him to see me this way.

  “You know I can see you, right?”

  I sighed and started towards the door. It was time to invest in a small window covering, something to put over the door at night. I’d never thought of that before, but I wished right then that I had one in place. It would have helped a lot.

  “Good morning, Scott.”

  “Morning, Jesse. You aren’t looking very well this morning.”

  “You do know that a girl doesn’t want to hear that, don’t you?”

  He chuckled and moved past me into the bistro. “I meant that you must have a hangover. Here, I’ll make you something this morning, because it doesn’t look like I’m going to get any breakfast from you if I don’t.”

  I tried to protest, but Scott was already moving into the kitchen and I had to follow him. I didn’t think there was anything that would help, but I was willing to try anything right now, anything to get the pounding feeling out of my head.

  When he handed me the concoction that he had made, though, I was less than ready to try it. It looked like it was going to make me puke right then and there. I wondered if that was the idea, to just ralph it up and get it over with.

  “Are you serious?”

  “As a heart attack. Trust me, it is nasty, but it works. I’ve used this more times than I would like to admit.”

  Taking one last look at him to make sure that he wasn’t joking, I took a tentative drink. He reached over and pushed the glass up from the bottom. “This is not a drink you want to sip, Jesse. Just drink it all and get it over with.”

  I didn’t have a choice, even though the way it tasted in my mouth, it was hard not to spit it up. I’d never tasted anything so vile in all of my life.

  “If it’s supposed to help the headache by trashing my stomach, I’m glad to say that it has succeeded.”

  Scott chuckled again like what I’d said was funny, but I was being entirely serious. That was gross, and all I could think about was getting it out of my body.

  “I know that it’s hard to believe, but wait just a few minutes and I swear you’ll feel better. I’ll bet you a breakfast that you’ll feel better in five minutes, good as new.”

  “So if I win, you’ll make me breakfast?”

  He nodded and said that he would. I was sure that I was going to win the bet. I doubted that I really wanted the prize, but nonetheless I was sure that the vile drink wasn’t going to make anything better. When I started to feel better minutes later, I started the oil in the pan heating up. Somehow he had won, and I wasn’t going to thank him for it, but I figured I would at least keep my part of the bargain. I said that I would make him breakfast on the house, and I meant it.

  “Told you.”

  “Yeah, you were right. I don’t say that often, but today I will. I can’t believe that worked. Maybe you’ll have to give me the recipe for it.”

  “Better if you just call me and I’ll come over to make it for you.”

  I kind of giggled and plated the food on a regular plate. “So do I get to eat with you this morning?”

  I didn’t realize what I’d done, but he shrugged and told me that I could if I wanted to.

  “So why were you drinking, anyways?”

  “Just a lot on my mind, is all. Running a business is harder than I would have thought.”

  “Well, a business like this is an easy one. You have a good amount of revenue coming in.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  Should I tell him?

  “I don’t know. I just got left with a lot of debt when my father died, and I don’t know what to do. No one wants to loan me money to get through, and I’m afraid I’ll have to close down the shop.”

  My breath came out raggedly. Although I felt better getting that off of my chest, I knew that there was more to the story, and a guy like Scott wouldn’t understand my dilemma.

  “I can loan you some money.”

  “Yeah, right.” I set the two coffee cups down on the table and sat down with my own breakfast. Scott had waited for me, a gesture that I saw as sweet.

  “I’m serious.”

  “I don’t need your charity.”

  “No charity. I’ll charge interest, and I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t think you would pay it back. You have a small gold mine here, and I would hate to see you close.”

  “I couldn’t, really.”

  “Then let me sweeten the deal.”

  I got nervous at the suggestion. What would he want?

  “How about a date?”

  “You want me to go out with you?”

  “I’ve been asking you for a week now. Go out with me and I’ll give you the loan, or put my signature on one at the bank. However you want to do it, just go out with me.”

  Could I really say yes to such an offer? Did I really have no other choice?

  To be continued in Part 4…

  Served Part 4: Taste

  By: Ashlee Price

  Prologue

  Jesse gives in to Scott’s offer. How could she not? He’s offering to help her at a time when no one else is going to. She isn’t happy about what he wants from her, but it’s just one date, right? Jesse knows that she doesn’t have a choice. She has to go out with Scott to save her father’s bistro.

  It isn’t something that she ever thought would be a possibility, but Jesse is going to go out with the billionaire because she has to. Sure, Scott is handsome and has a way about him, but the truth is that he’s dangerous, and Jesse knows it. There’s a gleam in his blue eyes that makes it hard to breathe, and Jesse knows that she’s going to have to be careful. Scott is the type of man she could fall in love with, no matter how bad of an idea it is.

  Chapter 1 – Jesse

  “So are you going to do it?”

  I knew what she was talking about, but I didn’t want to appear like I was thinking about him the way I was. I wanted her to think that I wasn’t even thinking about Scott or the crazy proposition that he’d offered me.

  “Do what?”

  “Don’t play with me, Jesse. Are you going to go out with him or are you closing up shop?”

  “Why do you have to put it like that?”

  “Isn’t that the way it is? I mean, if you don’t get the money, we are really going to have to close, aren’t we?”

  She was right, I knew that, and that was the only reason I was thinking about it to begin with. In any other circumstances, I would have told him no and made sure that he knew I didn’t
want to have anything to do with him. I mean, yeah, he was hot, but there was the attitude of his that he couldn’t be turned down. And although it was a little hard to refuse such an offer, I wanted to be the one who did. I really didn’t want to see the bistro closed down, but could I really do such a thing?

  “Would you do it?”

  I knew her answer before she even gave it. Melissa was the type who was up for anything. I knew that she would have done it if he’d asked for a date with her instead of me. Why couldn’t I be so open? It was just one date, and it wasn’t like I really had to do anything with him, so what was the big deal?

  Even as I thought that, there was this inkling in the pit of my stomach that told me that it would be a huge problem if I went out with Scott. I wanted to believe that it wouldn’t be, but I was already feeling more than I should have for him. And there was nothing that I could do. I had to agree to it, no matter what the personal cost to me was going to be. I had to keep dad’s place running. I wouldn’t just lose the business, but I would also lose our home, and I wasn’t ready to do that.

  “You know you have to, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I know. But I want to think about other options that I might have. There is just too much involved, and I don’t want to be the girl who does something like that to get ahead in the world.”

  “It’s not like you have much of a choice, is it?”

  I didn’t, and that’s what I hated the most about it. I hated that I didn’t have any other options but the one provided to me by a man like Scott.

  “Not that I can see.”

  “So when are you going to tell him?”

  “When I see him next.”

  She gave me a smile that made me want to puke. I knew what she was thinking. Melissa was a romantic at heart, and although I was more pragmatic, I knew that she was going to get her way. It was better to just let her say what she was going to say and get it out of her.

  “So, are you going to really give him a shot or are you just going to get the money?”

  God, I hated the way she said that. Why did she have to word it like that? It made it sound even worse. Or maybe it was just hearing it said out loud that made me cringe inside.

  “It’s just for the loan, and I’m not going to take the money from him, but if I could get him to sign as a cosigner, I know that the banks won’t be able to turn me down. It really is the only way.”

  “Yeah, I know, but don’t you think that you could have a good time? I mean, come on, Jesse, don’t act like the man isn’t gorgeous.”

  She had a point. Melissa usually did, but even though I saw it, that didn’t mean I wanted to admit it. I wanted to go out with him. That was the hardest part of all. It was the fact that even though I knew what type of guy he was, there was still a big part of me that wanted him. I wanted what his eyes promised, and I was afraid that I would not be able to resist him. That’s really what it was about, my fear of him – and what I would allow him to do to me.

  “He’s sort of cute, but you know what guys like him are like. I don’t want to get involved with someone like that.”

  “You told me yourself that he wasn’t that bad.”

  I’d said that, but I certainly hadn’t said it for it to be thrown back in my face. He was cute and a nice guy, but that didn’t mean that I wanted to be his next plaything.

  “He’s not all bad, but we’re living in two very different worlds.”

  She kind of nodded her head. While Melissa could say a lot of things, she knew what I said was true. It was fun to fantasize about everything going on, but he was a billionaire businessman and I ran a glorified coffee shop. That reality was not something that I could forget about.

  “You know what they say about opposites attracting.”

  “Uh huh.”

  I tried to ignore the grin on her face and the meaning behind it. I wasn’t going to let her positivity get my hopes up. It was just a situation that I was in. It was just a date that I would suffer through so I would get the help I needed. It wasn’t charity and it wasn’t me doing something crazy, it was just a date and then everything could go back to normal. Scott would most likely realize how boring I was, or that he wasn’t as in to me as he thought he was. Either way I would get him out of my life for good. I just had to go on one date with him.

  “I’m going to go out with him and then that will be that. This is all it’s going to be, that’s it.”

  She gave me another sound that told me that she didn’t believe me before I turned around, not wanting to see her face anymore. I wasn’t going to let it go any further than that. It was just a date. Just one date, and I was going to make sure that I didn’t make the same mistakes I had in the past.

  Chapter 2 – Scott

  “So have you thought about my offer?”

  “What, the offer to buy me?”

  “I’m not trying to buy you, Jesse. I don’t think you’re the type that could be bought. What I want to do is help you, and you were the one who seemed to want the deal sweetened. All I could think about was a date. Cook for me and pretend that you like me for a couple of hours. What could be wrong with that?”

  She seemed to think that there were a lot of things wrong with that. But although I was ready to give her what she wanted, what she needed, I wanted something in return. It was the business side of me that thought a good deal was where both sides came out happy.

  “What do you expect?”

  I tried to look offended, but I didn’t blame her for thinking that way. If I could have gotten away with it and I thought she would have gone for it, there was a side of me that would have had no problem asking for more. But she wasn’t that type of girl, I knew that.

  “I just want a date. Like I said, I’ll come over here and you can make me something for dinner. We’ll have a few drinks and that will be it. Nothing will happen that you don’t want to happen.”

  She was about to say something and she stopped. What I would have given to have heard what was going on in Jesse’s mind. She was always so full of thoughts, but she wasn’t the type to share them. I was really starting to think that she wasn’t going to go for my offer. Was it really that bad of an idea for her to be with me? She acted like it was the worst thing in the world, and I had to admit that it wasn’t doing anything for my ego. Jesse never was good for an ego stroke.

  “Fine, Scott, I’ll give you your date, but that’s it. If you think that there’s going to be anything extra, don’t waste your time. That’s all it’s going to be: just a date.”

  “Okay, I can see that you’re not going to budge. All I want is a date from you, Jesse. I’m not the kind of man who has to beg.”

  “I know. I just don’t really know why you keep messing with me. I’m sure that it isn’t hard for you to find a girl to go on a date with.”

  “None of them are you, though. I don’t know what you’ve done to me, Jesse, but you’re all I can think about. It’s like you’ve put some kind of voodoo on me.”

  She laughed, and the sound was like a dream. “Not hardly. If I had that kind of magic, I don’t think that I would still be single at my age.”

  “You’re not that old. Mid-twenties?”

  She nodded and told me that I was close. I wasn’t going to ask her precise age. It really didn’t matter. With a face like that and the way she cooked, it just didn’t matter at all. Nothing really mattered, now that she was going to say yes. I had to think of a way to sweep her off her feet so that she would never want anyone else. I had one date to make her fall for me. Before I wouldn’t have thought that it would be a hard task, but Jesse was different, and that wasn’t always a good thing. If she’d been like all of the rest, I would have already had her in my bed days ago.

  ***

  We had agreed to a date and had agreed to a place, but I wasn’t sure if Jesse was ready for me to come down the same night. When Jesse had asked me when, I could only think of the closest possible time. I wanted her to want it soon as well, but she did
n’t. Jesse was more worried about getting things ready. I knew that part of it was just who she was. There was also the question of the loan, but I’d had the bank manager deliver a copy for her to sign before the end of the business day. I hadn’t left any i’s un-dotted or t’s uncrossed. Everything was in place, but when I knocked on the bistro’s door later in the evening, Jesse was not as prepared as I was.

  When she finally got downstairs to answer the door, I could tell that she wasn’t ready for me. Jesse was too polite to say anything, but I had a feeling that if she’d been raised differently she would have told me to bug off. I just wanted to see her, so I pretended like I didn’t spot the obvious. I wanted to pretend that she was happy to see me. It was easier on my ego.

  “You look beautiful.” Jesse wasn’t even really dressed for dinner, but she still looked the way I described. There was nothing that she could put on that would diminish her beauty. When she realized what she was wearing, though, she got a look of horror on her face and ran back up the stairs without saying a word.

  I couldn’t stop the chuckle that came to my lips. I was forced to follow her and the smell that was coming from her apartment. Jesse was never what I expected, and this date was going to be no different. I liked that she was so nervous to see me, but at the same time I wanted her to relax. How was I going to get to know the real her if she was running around like a chicken with its head cut off?

  “Jesse, whatever you wear is fine, really.”

  “No, I didn’t realize that I hadn’t changed yet. It’s been a crazy day and I just got finished with writing out a bunch of checks. Thanks for that, by the way.”

  She’d popped her head out from the bedroom, and I could see bare shoulders. The sight made me want to move closer to her, but she was not having it. She giggled fetchingly when she stopped me with her hand.

  “I’m not dressed yet. I just thought I should remember to tell you thanks before the date started.”

  “It hasn’t started yet?”

  “Nope, it doesn’t start until dinner is on the table. You’re just early, like always.”