by Joyce Jordan
“Fine,” Evelyn was the first to capitulate. “But, I’ll have to sanitize my ears and brain after this.”
“Maybe you could just tell us about the kissing stuff and leave the rest out?” Ana asked. “What?” she said to Evelyn. “Manuel has great lips. Not as great as Gabe, but still…”
“And a fine body too,” Kelly added. “What?” she asked at Evelyn snort. “He does.”
“Rafe better not know you have been checking out my gay brother,” Evelyn told her.
“Gay, being the operative word, Evelyn,” she told her.
“Whatever. Stefano, you have my undivided attention. And you can just start with Mitch since these two here are undecided.”
“This is way too juicy, so let’s head out to the balcony,” he said and got up from his chair.
The three girls trooped after him.
“So,” he said shutting the door to the balcony. “I don’t want you to get horny, therefore, I’ll skip my sexual details.”
Sighs of relief could be heard from all three girls.
“But what I tell you today stays otherwise I won’t be able to hear more and tell you.”
They eagerly nodded their heads.
“I’ve never seen grown men act like randy teenagers before. You three girls, four if I count Jes most definitely rocked their worlds, because, let me tell you,” he said with a grin. “I know a hard cock when I see one, and there wasn’t a soft one all afternoon. That strip tease you all put on,” he said with a thumps up sign, “was genius. I’m only sorry I didn’t get to witness it first hand, but I heard it retold.”
They were out on the balcony for a long time. Their conversation had progressed from the events of the previous afternoon to Stefano’s new job.
“Last week was more or less orientation. I had no idea how big the company I signed up with was. Lots of information. Meeting photographers and people I’ll be working with. They are introducing a new line and they want me to be the face of that line, but I’ll get to do other ads too. In the beginning, especially,” he told them.
“That’s all great, isn’t it?” Ana asked.
“Oh, yes. It’s great news. The best actually. It would have taken me years to get to this stage and somehow someone up the food chain happened to see a European magazine I was modeling an underwear line and took a liking to me.”
“Any traveling?” Kelly asked him.
“I actually have something set up in two weeks.”
“Where?” Evelyn asked him. “Please tell me some place exotic.”
Staefano laughed and shook his head. “Actually I don’t know yet. I know it’s two places, but one of them is either LA or San Francisco.”
“Oh, we could …” Evelyn began.
“Don’t even think about it, Evelyn. Last time I got into trouble with Gabe, it wasn’t fun, let me tell you. I put Stefano’s life in danger. Those pictures put the chills in my body. Still do even now.”
Evelyn huffed. “I guess you’re right. But after all this is done, please promise me we’ll go on a girls trip, Stefano included of course.”
“I’m so in,” Kelly said and raised her hand.
Ana agreed. “Although it’s going to be hard trying to find times when both you and Stefano will be off work, but I think if we can even do a day trip, that should work, right?”
“Twenty four hours. That’s all I ask,” Evelyn agreed.
“I’m cool with anything, just tell me when and where,” Stefano said as the door opened and Manuel stood watching them.
“Do I want to know what you’ve been gossiping about?” he asked. He shook his head at their guilty expressions. “Never mind. It’s time to leave,” he told them.
Six
Jes & Nate
Nate left as the Andersens were leaving to catch their flight. He was itching to go and see Jes. He had heard Evelyn say something like she was busy, so hadn’t been able to accept her offer to lunch at Eva’s house. He should have taken her number, but no way was he asking for it from his sister nor Ana or Kelly for that matter. He wasn’t even sure why he needed to see her.
He got to her house and saw that there wasn’t any sign of life. It wasn’t dark yet, but he would have thought she would have the lights on inside by now. Most houses did. He walked up to her front door and knocked. There was no answer. He then realized the people who had been guarding her last night were not there. Not that it would be the same ones, but there should be someone on her everytime.
He called Mitch. After he got the assurance from Mitch that someone was on her, he relaxed. Then he was put on a 3 way call with one of the guys on her. He got the address they were at and told his guard and driver to take him there.
“What’s going on?” he asked as he got into the sedan with two guys in the front. It was like the movies. He smiled remembering the type of movies he had enjoyed watching growing up. “Nate,” he said extending his hand.
He soon got introduced to Chris Romano and Ken Barfoot. He nodded at them both.
“She’s been in there since noon,” Chris told him. He pointed to a house two doors away.
“Who is she with?”
“We’ve only seen one guy enter, about thirty minutes after she went inside,” Chris replied. “Other than that, nothing has happened.”
“Who lives in that house?”
Chris shrugged. “We can get someone to find out. Ken, can you call Dave and find out?”
Nate leaned back against the back. He wasn’t liking this. Could it be her boyfriend? No, she would never have kissed him like that if she was attached to someone. He wished he was at his office where he could do a complete background check on her. He needed to find out anything and everything about her.
Less than ten miutes later he got more than he had bargained for. What the hell was she doing at her ex boyfriend’s house and his dad? Where they still dating or what? If they weren’t dating why was she still here seven hours later? Nate listened to the voice on the other end telling him news he didn’t want to hear, but had to since he had already opened Pandora’s box. Now what? He asked himself that question over and over again.
“Tell me when she gets home,” he said as he handed the phone back and opened the door beside him. “The exact time,” he told them. He walked back to his ride and told the driver to take him to his office. Once there he did a thorough background check and printed the pages to take home for bedtime reading.
The strange reading choice didn’t escape him as he poured himself a shot of bourbon and sat down extending his legs onto the pouffe stool. He stopped after the second glass once he realized he could easily get drunk. And getting drunk wasn’t on the agenda. He looked at the time and realized it was now after midnight. Since he hadn’t received a call, that meant she was still there, right?
Could it get any worse? Did he need to be a rocket scientist to know that she was still with her so called ex boyfriend.
Nate dropped his body onto his bed, fully clothed, his phone right beside him, waiting for the call that would put his mind at ease. He debated with himself, his feelings told him not to let go, but his head told him to be rational and move on. Women were plenty. He was never at a shortage. He had several women who would come running if he just said the word. No questions asked.
Sometime in the early hours of the morning he dozed only to wake up at his usual time and realize his phone had never once beeped. The battery was almost gone. He placed it on the charger and went to take a shower. Strong coffee was the order of the day and he had two strong cups before he made it out of his home and to the office.
“You look like crap,” were his brother’s words of greeting. “You left early, how is Jes?”
He grunted and ignored his brother, going into his office and shutting the door.
Rafe opened Nate’s office door and followed. “I gather things didn’t go as planned? What happened?”
“She spent the better part of the day with her ex boyfriend and his father,” he r
eplied staring out of his office windows.
“Okay… Maybe they are just friends,” he said. “You know like Ana had her ex in Dallas. He’s her client,” he reminded Nate. “What did she have to say about it?”
“Fuck Rafe,” Nate said harshly turning around to face him. “I might have believed that if she had come home.”
“Ah, bro. Are you telling me she slept at his house?”
“Yes, well that’s my assumption,” he replied. Nate sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The guards were supposed to call me when she went back to her house. They didn’t so…”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
“But,” Rafe said and held his hands up in a surrender getsure. “You might still want to ask her directly. Could be something with an easy explanation.”
Nate growled at him. “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours bro,” he said with a smile that was irritating Nate. “When a woman gets under your skin like that…”
“You better not finish that sentence, because I’m about to murder my own brother. No more talking from you.”
Rafe took out his phone. “I won’t,” he said and started texting. ‘…it means she’s the one.’
Nate heard his phone beep a message and took it out of his pocket. He frowned seeing a message from Rafe. Why would his brother text him when he was right here in his office. “Really, Rafe?” he walked with purpose towards him. “I warned you.”
Rafe laughed and rushed to the door. “I didn’t say anything. You said no more talking.”
Nate came to a stop. “So you simply sent me a text instead?”
He smiled and nodded.
“Fuck you Rafe. Why don’t you go and be with Kelly?”
Rafe grimaced. “That’s a negative. I need to be at work. Stay busy. Besides we have a business to run.”
Nate smiled, the first smile since lunch at Eva’s house. “She chased you out of your own home, didn’t she? I just might go and kiss her right this minute.”
“In a way.”
“You wan’t to explain that?”
“She’s ah, ah…”
“Very eloquent, bro.”
“She’s trying to seduce me, okay. Happy now,” Rafe said and now it was his turn to look out of the windows.
Nate laughed. “And that’s a problem because…?”
“She’s still under doctor’s orders to rest.”
Nate laughed. “I see.” Then the implication really hit him and he laughed hard. “Ah, my little bro is sexually frustrated.” He grinned and grinned even wider when he saw Rafe’s frustrated face. “So you ran away. What a coward.”
Rafe shook his head. “There is only so much a man can do when a woman goes to war. It all started with the sexy swimwear she wore on Saturday. You remember that Nate? Jes was pulled into it, I think. Anyway, tell me what you would do if you kept being bombarded with…that.”
“She’s parading the swimsuit to you?” he asked with shock.
“No, it’s worse,” he said and groaned. “I won’t bore you with the details, but she’s parading herself in other barely there attire. She knows I can’t touch her.”
“You won’t touch her.”
“Can’t. Doctor’s orders. And she’s taking full advantage of that little fact.”
“Not so little if she’s having a grown man run out of his own home.”
“Just a temporary set back. I just need to lay low until I find a way to turn the tables because no way am I losing. I can’t afford to.”
“This is getting better and better. What happens to the loser?”
“The loser get to be t…” Rafe shook his head. “Sorry, bro.” He shook his head. “Can’t tell you that,” he said and started making his way towards the door. “Let’s just say, I can’t be on the losing side.”
“Well, thanks for brightening my morning anyway.”
Nate watched his door close and hoped it would remain that way until his meeting with Jes. He still intended on going on with that party. And she was damn going to organize it. After that he hoped he didn’t see her ever again. Nate sat in his chair feeling a little better. “Ah shit. The wedding,” he said to his empty office.
Just when he thought he was in the clear and things were looking up.
“Romano,” the voice on the phone answered when Nate’s call was picked up.
“Listen. It’s Nate. I didn’t receive a call last night. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Ken and I just took over. But the report from last night says she didn’t leave the house. In fact she’s still there. Do you have other instructions?”
“No. Not yet anyway. Just keep on her,” he said and hung up.
Nate swore as he looked at the time again. It was already eight. What was she still doing in there? He prepared for his eight thirty meeting. At least it was only half an hour long. Although an hour was the norm for a meeting, he just didn’t think he was up to that today.
Ten minutes into the meeting he barked into his phone. He was irritated with Jes and now he was taking it out on everyone.
“It’s Chris. Ms. London is on the move.”
Nate stood up and walked out to a private area. “Where is she going?”
“She just got into her car and we are following her. But we don’t know where her destination is right now. Although my best guess would be her house,” Chris replied.
“If she’s coming into the city, just follow her. But if she stops at her house, give her a ride. And let me know once you’re on your way.”
“Acknowledged,” Chris said and hung up.
Nate returned to the conference room to attend the remaining fifteen minutes of the meeting. Not that he heard anything. It would have been better if he had just gone back to his office. He sighed with relief when the meeting broke up and he left behind the group. He wasn’t so lucky as to escape alone. His brother waylaid him and he had to suffer another round of questioning.
“Did you even hear a word in that meeting?”
Nate shook his head. “No, but you can tell me about it later. Right now, I’m kind of busy.” He went around Rafe to escape to his office.
But like a dog, his brother kept up with him. “Jessica, I presume?”
“No, Rafe. Sullivan & Sullivan,” he said and stopped. “You do know the company we both own right?”
His brother laughed.
Nate grimaced and continued his way to his office. Unfortunately he didn’t manage to escape his brother’s little parting shot.
Well yes, he was going to keep telling himself that. If that was the only way to deal with the Jessica situation, then that’s what he was going to do. Since he was a danger to mankind right now, Nate decided to keep to his office. He usually liked to go visiting some of his employees to see what they were up to, but today, that didn’t seem like such a good idea. Mingling with his employees at such a time when his head was twisted to face his back, instead of screwed tight to face his front…no he wasn’t going there.
∞∞∞∞
Jessica left Alesandro’s house, happy to be going back to her house. She hadn’t meant to stay but Alesandro had needed her. His dad seemed to be getting worse and he didn’t want to let him go and stay in a nursing home. Well, at least today, the usual caregiver was coming back. Sandro had insisted she leave, because she would be arriving at nine. It was just a little after eight thirty. If she made it home, took the fastest shower in history, she could be out of there in less than an hour. She had lots to do.
Life as an event planner was always hectic. Even when you weren’t actively planning anything. Such days were reserved to doing research, finding new and upcoming venues, new and upcoming florists, new and upcoming bakeries. Jessica as a start up from her home and still working out of her home, she had always vowed to help others along, just as others helped her along.
She liked finding new companies that were serious about their products and/or services. First, testing them on the
ir ability to surpass her expectations. Eventually increasing in size to accommodate the more flamboyant events when warranted. At that time she would incorporate them in her bigger events and keep using them if they kept good work ethics.
As the years went on, she had built quite a large selection of to go to caterers, florists, limo drivers, bakers, chefs, printers, make-up artists, hair stylists and the list just went on and on. In this business she knew sometimes people could end up being double booked, so it did help a lot when she had alternative people to provide the services for her. And with the mutual respect she had built with them, even on short notice, she could get someone to come to her aid.
Was that sedan following her? Jessica shook her head and thought she probably needed more sleep. Last night had been rough. Filipe had been in so much pain. It had been painful for her and Sandro to watch too. With his medication, he had finally slept. It was getting harder and harder for him to get to his next dose of medications without needing it sooner. Sandro hoped the doctor would agree to either increase his dosage, or reduce the hours between his dosages.
She parked her car outside and quickly rushed into her house. She dropped her bag onto the dining room table and started undressing as she walked into her bedroom and then bathroom.
Coffee. She couldn’t leave without a dose of caffeine. She should have started the coffee maker before taking her shower. If she didn’t hurry, she wouldn’t get to do all she wanted to do today.
At least she was ditching Nate. She had thought hard all day Sunday and realized no way could he have been telling her the truth. He just wanted to play with her. That kiss when he dropped her off on Saturday? What was that all about? If that didn’t tell her he was looking for a plaything, then she needed to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
Yes, there they would be able to deal with her mental issues. Make her whole again, then release her back into the population.
Ah! Caffeine. Jes added more milk that usual and took huge gulps. She made a second cup and took the travel mug to her car. Normally she preferred not to take her car, but today she needed it because she hoped to bring some samples home to look at later. If she could make it to the city without traffic she would be home free. She wanted to start with seeing that venue that everyone was swearing was the ‘new it’. It was a little out of her radius, but it always paid to know places. As an event planner, you didn’t want to be caught with your ‘pants downs’ so to say.