by Nana Malone
Chapter Eighteen
With jangling nerves, Jaya started at her quarry. There he was. Brett James, sitting at Tamara’s rehearsal dinner, like part of the family. All Jaya had to do was talk to him and she could have her life back. Could prove that she wasn’t a failure. Be welcomed back into the fold.
Except her feet where having a hard time making the trek and it wasn’t the fault of those gorgeous four-inchers. She was terrified.
“What’s wrong, Jaya?” Alec’s breath on her ear gave her a start. She looked up at him and he gave her one of his usual winning smiles. “Isn’t that your boy over there?”
She cleared her throat. “Yeah, that’s him.”
He gave her a gentle nudge. “Then what are you waiting for? You’ve done all this work to get here.” His blue eyes trained on hers. She could read the confusion and worry in them.
She couldn’t bear to see him caring about her, so she looked away. It’s not like she could tell him that while Brett James might be the guy she was looking for, she was a chicken shit. Everything she’d ever wanted was finally within her grasp, and she was loitering on the periphery. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Alec’s earlier words rang through her head over and over again. He’d asked her when she would start looking at her reality. But he'd been right. This life she was so desperate to get back was mostly a fantasy. A fantasy she thought she could live in.
This was reality. She had one job lined up with Adele Westhorpe, but she had no others, and no one clamoring to hire her. She actually couldn’t get a job in this town, thanks to dear old dad and Derrick. So what choice did she have? She had to pull on her big girl panties. Chugging the rest of her champagne, she strode towards her mark with Alec in tow.
Brett James was in classic Geek Chic. Never mind that it was a rehearsal dinner for a wedding and the attire was cocktail—he wore a Miss Packman T-shirt, with the only concessions to the evening festivities being his dark-wash jeans and his blazer. But from the patches on the tweed jacket, she could tell it was meant to be ironic. On his feet, no loafers for Mr. Tech. Instead, Vans.
Yep, he was one of her people. If she'd gone with her father's pitch, Brett James wouldn't be standing here like he was part of the family. And she’d done that. She’d made it happen. So time to get her job back.
Alec kissed her shoulder. She shivered in delight as she thought of what they’d done before coming to the rehearsal. “Good luck. I’m going to go keep your asshole ex busy so he doesn’t interrupt.”
She squeezed his hand as he left and drew in a breath. Now or never. She took a step in the right direction, but as her father stepped in her path, she was forced to take two steps back.
“I trust you're enjoying yourself, Jaya.”
She rubbed at her nose with a knuckle. “Yeah, fine, Dad.” She attempted to peer around his tall frame. “If you'll just excuse me, I need to head to the ladies—”
“Where is that date of yours? Tamara mentioned you were bringing him.”
She stiffened. Since when did her father give a shit about her date? “I'm not sure. If you’ll just—”
But her father didn't seem to be hearing anything she said. Instead he looked lost in his own train of thought. “If you'll want to continue seeing him, we'll need to have him vetted appropriately, of course. You still have your shares in Trudeaux to protect. Wouldn’t want you making the wrong choices. We have to find out what we can about Alec —”
“Aren’t you the one who fired me?” She cut him off as her anger brimmed. “Why do you get a say in who I date?” The last thing she needed was a lecture tonight. Especially not a public one. Too bad those were Pierre’s specialties. She knew how to perform a preemptive strike.
Her father rolled his eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. You’ve really been in a snit for much too long.”
She sniffed and pulled herself up. “I’m not is a snit. This isn’t a toy I want you to go and get from Tamara for me. Though, it’s not like you’d actually ever take anything from her.”
He shifted to turn his back on her. “If you really must—”
She grabbed his arm and turned him around, not particularly caring if anyone was watching them. She kept her voice low. “You started this line of conversation. Not me.” She moved in even closer to him, aware that many of the guests had turned to stare at them now.
“I’m not in a snit. It’s not a snit when you expect your father to stand up for and defend you. It’s not a snit that I choose not to spend any time with you and or Tamara and Derrick. I find him to be a vile human being who lied to me, cheated on me, plotted to have me fired, and is now about to marry my sister. Instead of standing up for me and being my dad, you take sides then act like I’m being unreasonable. You fired me from a family business. How the hell am I supposed to feel?”
Pierre brought himself to full height. “This is what I mean, Jaya. You’re too emotional. Instead of looking at leaving Trudeaux as an opportunity for new directions, you want to focus on me not taking your side.”
Jaya could feel the vein above her eyebrow throbbing, just like his did when he was angry. She stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest. “No. The focus is on the lack of support from you. Not only did you choose a snake-in-the-grass over your own daughter, but you also blocked me from being able to get a job anywhere, deny it, and act like I’m being immature and spiteful.”
“You defied a direct order when dealing with the client. That kind of offense is terminable. My actions were just. What would you have done if you were in my shoes? You defy me. You don’t listen. You think you know what’s best all the time. You don’t want to work for a team. You’ve always worked better on your own. When you don’t listen, you get cut from the team. And let me be clear, you are still part of Trudeaux. You have your percentage of the business and the trust fund your mother left you. Do not act like I left you high and dry with nowhere to go.”
“Last I checked, my company shares are worthless for voting once Derrick and Tamara marry. I can’t ever affect a vote since you have nearly majority shares, and the two of them combined have more shares than I do. So, yeah, I was high and dry with no way to get a job. Though, no thanks to you, I have one now.” She shook her head. “Looks like I didn’t need you after all.” She turned to stalk off and then remembered what he’d said about Alec. “And about my date…” Pierre opened his mouth to speak again, but she held up a hand. “He’s been nothing but nice to me, supportive and kind and patient. Your VP Client Services backstabbed me and proposed to my sister and got me fired. And you have no strong words for him?”
“Jaya, I'm merely pointing out that you’re keeping company with a man who is, in essence, a drifter. You’re not capable of seeing the bad in people, so I have to do it for you.”
The flare of temper started to gather energy and she tried to put a muzzle on her murderous thoughts. “You're trying to protect me, are you?”
“Exactly. Whatever you might think, I'm your father, and it's my job to look out for you.”
“Then who's going to protect me from you?” She turned on her heel and strode through the hallway into a room full of prying eyes. Do not cry. Do not cry. In a hazy fog, all she could focus on was keeping her shoulders back and making her way to the exit on shaky legs. It wasn’t until she reached the door that she realized Alec had appeared at her side and held her by the waist.
When they got outside, she wiggled out of his grasp. “Please don’t do that.”
He frowned. “Do what? I—”
“The whole comforting routine. We’ve done it before. And you’re good at it, but it’s not what I need right now. I know it’s not real and tonight, that just sucks.” She lowered herself on the steps of the Country Club and wrapped her arms around her knees. A migraine loomed behind her left eye socket.
“Jaya.” He lowered himself next to her as he loosened his tie. He didn’t touch her as he continued. “Maybe right now you don’t be
lieve it, but it is real. I do feel something for you, but it doesn’t change anything. I’m still leaving. I don’t mean to hurt you. Besides, I don’t think I’m the one you’re mad at right now.”
Oh, great. Now the pity. She lifted her chin. “I’m a big girl. I knew this was temporary. It’s just when I feel like shit and my stupid father—he knows the buttons to push—well, at times like this I wish it was real. Even though I know better. Even though in a couple of days you’ll be gone.”
He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek. “I’m sorry. But I know how this ends up if I stay. I resent you, you learn to hate me, and I have to go.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “If I have to face the truth of where my anger is directed, you have to face the truth of the lies you’re telling yourself. You’re choosing to leave. It’s within your power to change that decision.” She stood and smoothed out her dress. “I’m going to take a walk. I’ll meet you by the car.”