by Skye, Lena
Was she supposed to be one of those stupid women that visited her fiancé in prison every week? Hell no. Her grand-daddy taught her better than that. Just because he was in a cell didn’t mean that she had to be in a cell with him. There were so many things that she needed to accomplish and it was practically impossible when she thought about him all day every day. So to cope, she locked him out of her head and her heart.
“I don’t know what to say to that,“ Jamie admitted. “However, I’m sure that you’re here for a very specific reason. I would like to know what that is.“
“Honestly, I wasn’t going to come here because I didn’t think that you wanted to see me. I figured that you would be married with at least a kid by now. When I found out that you were unattached, I had to come check you out. Congratulations on all of the success by the way.“
“Thanks,“ Jamie said awkwardly.
“I just wanted to tell you that new evidence came to light pertaining to my case. I had a retrial and after that I was released.“
“Oh, wow. I’m glad to hear it,“ Jamie said.
“See, I’m not the monster you thought I was. I didn’t commit fraud, although my company tried to throw me under the bus. It was a cover up and I was the fall guy.“
Jamie did her best not to let the knowledge overwhelm her. He had his path and she had hers. The point where they intersected was over. “Congratulations on your new-found freedom. I’m sure you and your family are overjoyed.“
He nodded. “It’s an adjustment. I’ve missed being on the outside so much. Years of my life were ripped away from me just because I was working for the wrong place. I’m not going to miss out on anything else. So you can go ahead and say it.“ He looked at Jamie expectantly.
“Say what?“ Jamie asked.
“Shouldn’t you be apologizing?“
“Oh! Of course, I’m sorry for doubting you.“
He looked a little disappointed with the apology that she offered him, but it was the best that he was getting. “Thank you, I won’t hold it against you. At the time you did what you felt was right. I’ve missed you terribly.“
Jamie tried not to wince. He wanted something from her that she didn’t have to give. She wasn’t in the mood to have a heart-to-heart with a man that she stopped loving. She stopped loving him when she closed her heart off from him. It was like a switch inside of her had been flipped and she moved on.
He shook his head and laughed lightly, “Some things never change.“
“What does that mean?“
“It means that you’re still as stubborn as the day I met you. You never let anyone see you sweat or know what’s on your mind, but that’s what makes you so special. How about you let me take you out to dinner?“
Jamie shook her head, “No, that’s not necessary. I’m glad that you’re out of prison but there’s no need to rehash the past. I wish you nothing but the best as you move forward with your life.“
“Come on, it’s the least that you could do for me after abandoning me. It would do me a lot of good. I just want to catch up with you to see how you’ve been doing. Even though you cut me off, I never stopped thinking about you. I promise that there won’t be any funny business. Let’s just catch up as friends.“
Jamie gave a labored sigh, “Okay. One dinner. We catch up and then we part ways.“
“Great. Let’s exchange numbers and talk about the details. I know that you’re a very busy woman.“
***
Jamie truly just wanted to get the dinner over with, which is why she was sitting at dinner the same night with Christian. She figured, the sooner she went to dinner with him, the sooner he would be out of her life.
That was exactly why she was so surprised at how great of a time that they were having. He still could make her laugh just as much as he used to. When she spoke about her career, his eyes didn’t glaze over. He truly listened and he poked at her jokingly. She hadn’t laughed that much in such a long time.
“See, that’s your problem,“ Christian laughed. “You have to stop being so picky all the time. There is no reason why you shouldn’t be married with children by now.“
“I’m not picky, I just have a hard time finding someone that gets my lifestyle.“
“I always understood your lifestyle. Granted, you weren’t as popular then as you are now, but you’re still the same. I know how to give you your space,“ he said before he bit into a taco.
“True, and that’s why I was going to marry you. I never felt pressured to put my laptop or phone down when we were together. You got me and I appreciated that. That’s really important to me, you know.“
He smiled, “You know, I haven’t changed much either. I would like to think that I still get you.“
Jamie stared at the man that she thought she once loved. He was the man that she agreed to married when she was in her early twenties. She would go so far as to say that he was her first true love. She was going to marry him even though she was scared out of her mind at the idea.
The trial and his imprisonment gave her an out. It was an out that she was honestly eager to take. They loved each other, but she wasn’t sure if it was enough. She wasn’t clear on if she loved him in the way that could hold a marriage together forever. Once she found out that he committed fraud, she tried to stay loyal to him but it was too stressful. She hated writing letters two and three times a week. She hated putting money on his books and she hated the begging-ass phone calls that she always received from him.
Her grand-daddy didn’t raise her to be with a criminal. That was the kind of ratchet mess that she wanted to stay away from. Visiting him in prison was a horrible experience and she hated every minute of it. Honestly, he disgusted her during that time in their life. She’d spent so many hours working her ass off and he was out stealing money. At least that’s what she thought at the time. Sure, it could be said that she should have given him a chance, but she didn’t want to waste her life waiting on a man that wasn’t going to get out of jail for fifteen years. She didn’t sign up for that kind of life. When he suggested that they go through with the marriage while he was imprisoned, she knew that was her cue to cut him off and move on with her life.
“I’m surprised you haven’t changed to be quite honest, especially considering where you’ve been. However, I’ve changed a great deal. I don’t know if we’re compatible anymore. We’re not young and dumb anymore. Some things just aren’t meant to go back to,“ she expressed.
“Well, I tried,“ he sighed with a smile. “So how about we try this whole friend thing? I know it’s something you don’t want to consider, but it would mean a lot to me. It’s clear that you’ve moved on, but emotionally, I haven’t. If I can’t be with you, maybe we can just be friends.“
“I don’t know about that,“ she said as she gave him the side eye.
“Aww shit, there goes that look,“ he grinned.
“What look?“
“Sometimes I’m not sure what that look means. Sometimes it meant that you wanted to punch me and sometimes it meant that you wanted to do some other thangs with me,“ he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
The goofy grin on his still boyish and perfectly smooth face made her laugh. When he bit his lip it brought back memories that went straight to her pleasure center. She remembered how gifted he was down below. She used to call him tripod because he was packing some serious heat. He sure knew what to do with it too.
“And there it is,“ he said.
Jamie snapped out of it, “There is what?“
“Now you’re thinking of taking me down,“ he laughed. “See, there’s something still between us.“
She threw the black linen napkin at him and laughed, “Shut up. I’m not thinking of anything like that. I was just thinking about how much fun we used to have.“
He had her; she could feel the chemistry that they once had brewing between them once more. However, that didn’t mean anything. Just because she liked to screw him didn’t mean that she wante
d to be with him. Her body was responding naturally. Although, she had to admit that she was curious. It had been over six months since she had sex and he had to be a complete animal at this point. Hmm, just how far would he go in the bedroom now?
Jamie’s phone began to buzz lightly, which meant that a few of her alerts from social media were starting. What began as a few buzzes then started to occur back-to-back.
“What the hell is going on?“ she wondered as she pulled out her phone, “Sorry, I have to see what’s happening.“
“Hey, you know I’m not tripping over it,“ Christian said as he adjusted the black leather band on his watch.
Jamie looked at her phone and her eyes grew wide when she saw the Twitter notifications. It was a about Nathan. She searched for a link to give her some clarity about what everyone was talking about. Apparently, he was about to be outed in some sort of scandal. Her heart felt like it was about to pound through her chest. Did people know about them? Did Stephanie finally decide to play the card that she’d been holding for the last six months? Why now?
She found a link and click on it. Her mouth almost dropped when she read the headline: BUSTED: MARRIED BILLIONAIRE NATHAN SPARKS IS CAUGHT WITH ESCORT! PHOTOS SOON TO COME!
“What?!“ Jamie said out loud.
“What’s wrong, babe?“ Christian asked.
Jamie ignored the term of endearment, “I’m so sorry, but I have to go. Something has come up that I have to deal with.“
“Damn, you have to leave now?“ he asked in disappointment.
“I do,“ she replied as she pushed back from the table. “I’ll call you later.“
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later,“ he said with a smile. “Whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll fix it. You can fix anything.“
*
The following morning, Jamie sat in her SUV as Perry drove her to see her first client of the day. She was glued to her iPad as she tracked the progress of what was occurring with Nathan. She didn’t reach out to him, she just went home, stalked social media, and made a few probing phone calls. According to what she’d heard, it was true that there were photos of Nathan picking up a hooker.
She didn’t want to believe it, but by ten o’clock that evening, the photos were released. They were indeed photos of him in his car picking up a hooker. The pictures didn’t show his face clearly, so he could possibly weasel his way out of it. She wondered what he was going to do about it at this point. She didn’t feed Michael Patterson information about what to do in a crisis, so he could have to come up with that information on his own.
She then realized that none of it was her problem. She didn’t need to be concerned with Nathan’s fuck ups. Why the hell was he out buying a hooker? What was wrong with him? Why would he go after all of the fame and do something like that? She guessed that she couldn’t expect him to have a strong moral compass considering that they had an affair. She was just relieved that her personal business wasn’t in the street.
She clicked off social media and read a press release that her client Nona released without her consent. People hired her to manage their image and then they did the dumbest shit that she had to clean up. Why the hell would she send out a press release about her breaking up with her boyfriend? Also, it read like she wrote it herself. She included far too many details regarding her personal life. Now, it was time for her to clean up the mess of a client that actually belonged to her.
At the end of the day, Jamie sat in her office and read emails. She hated reading them, but it was a necessary evil. She just thanked the Lord for her personal assistant. She only had to read about a tenth of the emails that came to her inbox. Her assistant either got rid of some of them or answered them.
“You have a visitor,“ her assistant said.
“Who is it?“ Jamie asked in annoyance. She hoped like hell that it wasn’t Christian, she told his ass that she could call him. He couldn’t just stop by her office whenever he wanted. He was not her man and he never would be again.
“It’s Nathan Sparks.“
Jamie’s body froze. Nathan was out there. He was in her office and he wanted to see her. What the hell should she do?
“Should I send him in?“
“Yes,“ her voice squeaked. She hated it when that happened.
She stood up because she hated sitting when people arrived. She hadn’t felt that awkward in her body since she was a teen. Where was she supposed to put her hands? Should she lean on her desk? She should put a hand on her hip? Instead she opted to cross her arms and fix a blank expression on her face.
He entered the room. A rush of emotions hit her like a Mack truck. He looked so good. Better than she remembered. Not a strand of his inky-black hair was out of place. His freshly shaped beard made him look so manly.
“Hello Jamie,“ he said. “Thank you for seeing me.“
Jamie nodded, “What’s up?“
“I need your help.“
She gave a tight-lipped smile and her body tensed. He needed her help, he was standing in her office asking for her help and her mind had gone completely blank. She always had something to say. She took a deep breath and motioned him towards her couch without another word.
They sat and she was able to gather her thoughts, “What do you need my help with?“
He placed his head in his palms, “Come on Jamie, don’t make me completely grovel. I’m sure you’ve seen the reports and pictures. My current publicist is good, but they don’t have any clue about how to deal with this situation. They are scrambling right now and they don’t have a workable game plan.“
“Oh so you mean the company that I absolutely cannot stand because of how crappy and snakish they are, let you down? The company that you practically handed my hard work over to can’t help you? How surprising.“ Jamie said as she crossed her legs.
She willed her hands to stop trembling. She didn’t realize just how angry she was at him until he sat in her face. How could he do that to her?
“I know, I’m so sorry but it was Stephanie’s idea and when they found out that we were leaving your company they really catered to Steph. When they told her just how much they didn’t like you and that the dislike was mutual, Stephanie signed with them immediately. Due to the situation I was in, I had to oblige. I hope that you understand.“
Jamie scoffed and shook her head. The blood surged through her veins and the only way that she could keep from flying off the handle was to remain silent.
Nathan stared at her pleadingly, “I know that if you were in charge, the photo never would have been leaked. Now the woman is more than likely going to sell her story to the press and I want it stopped. We can’t allow her to get famous from this, it would ruin everything that I’ve built.“
“So that was really you in the pictures? I was hoping that they were photoshopped or that it was someone that looked a lot like you. Wow,“ she said as she blew wind through her cheeks and shook her head.
“I know, I know. It was stupid,“ Nathan admitted.
“It wasn’t just stupid. It was idiotic. What would possess you to do something like that? Do you know how many hookers are willing to come to you? You couldn’t meet one at a hotel or some shit like that? I really don’t understand what’s wrong with you men. You make some of the dumbest choices that I’ve ever seen. Money doesn’t even shield you from your own stupidity. Does your wife know that you’re here?“ Jamie asked.
“I want to hire you again and actually it was Stephanie’s suggestion that I come here. Things will be kept strictly professional. I can assure you that I’m over everything that happened before. You won’t have to worry about me trying to pressure you into anything illicit. Please just take us back on as clients and help us,“ Nathan asked. “I’m aware that my actions weren’t the brightest, but I had my reasons. My job isn’t to make you understand why I did what I did. I just need to know if you are willing to help me make it go away.“
His words singed her ears. He was over everything that they had as if it w
as nothing. The carelessness in which he said those words river danced on her heart.
Stop being so emotional about all of this. He is over the affair between us and that’s a good thing. Maybe now you can get over it, too. How can I get over it? It’s something that I think about all the time. Just breathe Jamie, just breathe. This would be a great chance to show people what your business can do. It would be great to snatch him back from Michael Patterson too. Okay, I can do this but it’s not going to be cheap. If he wants you back then he’s going to have to pay, that will either send him running for the hills or you’ll get a hefty sum.
“I can take you back on, but since you’re in the midst of a crisis that you created for yourself, my fee will be doubled,“ Jamie said with steel in her eyes.
Nathan nodded agreeably, “I completely understand. I can have the money wired to you within an hour of this meeting.“
Jamie put out her hand for a shake, “Then congratulations, I’m back on board.“
He shook her hand, “Now what do I do?“
“Give me every piece of information that you have on her and allow me to do the rest.“
Nathan searched through his phone and Jamie wrote down every detail that he had. After he left her office she began the process of tracking the prostitute down.
Chapter8
Within a couple of hours, Jamie and her team tracked Natalie Foxx down. Her real name was Sandra Pine. Jamie sat in the back of the SUV and prepared for the meeting. There was no way that she was going to let a hooker bring down the man whose image she built. Sure, over the last six months he had been with another PR company, but they used her blueprint. She still had a lot invested in Nathan and his empire. Whatever happened to him publically was a reflection on her. He was not going down in flames; she couldn’t afford it. Not when all eyes were now on her company to fix it.
She met Miss Foxx at her personal residence. She stayed in a pretty decent condominium; being a hoe was paying off for her.