The lies were the part she just couldn’t swallow. She shook her head. “I must be a giant lie magnet.” She circled her forehead with her index finger. “Big ol' target here that says, ‘Yes, I’m easily duped and tread upon. Have at it. Do it for sport even.’” Feeling another pinprick behind her lids signaling yet another round of the sniffle-sniffle and dab-dab, she sniffed deeply and blinked hard to try and ward them off.
“You’re not a fool, Jai. These things happen sometimes,” Ricca tried.
Micha gave a quick shake of her head. “None of this is your fault. How the hell were you supposed to know he was a Westhorpe?” She shrugged. “So this whole time, Adele Westhorpe was his mother.”
“Stepmother,” Jaya corrected. “So now, I have to think about what all this means. Do I still have a job? Was she in on the whole thing?”
Rica flopped back on Micha's duvet cover. “What are you going to do? Talk to her?” Jaya's head did the side-to-side routine again. “No. She's huge on professionalism. So I’m going to go to work on Monday and do my job. Until somebody shows up with security to show my black ass the door. It's the only thing I can do. And did I mention that Brett James wants to hire me to do the All-Tech?”
“Holy shit!” Micha gaped at her. “Again with the burying the lead.”
Jaya pinned Micha with a stare. “Can we get back to what’s important? Plan is I'm just going to status-quo it. For all I know, Adele has no idea about the shenanigans. All she'll notice is that Alec isn’t around as much.” Then a thought struck her. What if Alec didn't go to Durban like he'd said? What if he stayed? Then what would she do?
Oh, come on Trudeaux. Like he’d stay. He said himself he was not that guy. Always needed to be on the move. He wouldn’t stay for her, so she needed to stop expecting the big grand gesture.
Micha picked up one of her wigs and adjusted it on her head. The pretty ringlet curls bounced around her shoulders cheerily.
Jaya was in no mood to be cheery. “How the hell did my life go to shit in a matter of weeks?”
Ricca did the usual hug-and-back-rub routine. Pat-pat, rub-rub.
Micha pinned her with a stare. “Sure. It's been a shitty two weeks, I give you that. But you know what? You got a job out of it. Shit, you got two. Your sister is actually, really trying with you, and maybe you'll repair your relationship. Plus you had the best sex of your life and you've crossed off some of your Thirty list. All in all, you gained, right?” She smacked Jaya on the shoulder. “And keep in mind, it’s a job you actually like, despite the tyrant-like nature of your evil boss. Not to mention, Derrick is about to get fired by Brett James.”
Good old Micha. Keeping it in perspective.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
This was it. The final culmination of all Jaya’s work. And the end of everything she'd started with he-who-she-refused-to-name-lest-she-have-to-find-him-and-shoot-him-between-the-eyeballs. The location was gorgeous. She’d been right. The industrial feel had been just what Adele was looking for. Though the old bird hadn’t said it was perfect. She'd only said passable. But Jaya knew what she'd meant.
Over the last six months, Jaya had gotten to know her better. She wasn’t as tough as she looked. Well, maybe a little, but it seemed they understood each other. Adele had never mentioned Alec. And Jaya had never mentioned that she knew of their relationship. They’d kept it professional. But having a client like Adele Westhorpe really did make your name. She already had three clients in the queue. She really was happier on her own.
Jaya had used some photos taken by a photographer from Paris to decorate, as well as lights. All kinds of tea lights hung from the ceiling and down from the artwork. Not too shabby, if she did say so herself. With a rush of pride, she stood on the platform overlooking the main party. The gallery had several semi-private balconies that patrons could use to view some of the artwork from above. It was really beautiful. Even the guest of honor put on her best. Not that Adele wasn’t always dressed to the nines. But tonight she'd taken special care. She looked feminine, pretty in her blush-colored dress. Monique Lullier. Jaya had seen it in a magazine. For once she looked younger than her actual years. Soft, somehow. Not that Jaya would dare bring up that fact.
Adele joined her on the balcony. “Miss. Trudeaux, I must say this event has shown to be…”
Passable, Jaya thought. After all, that was Adele’s favorite word.
But Adele surprised her, continuing with, “extraordinary. It's exactly the feeling I wanted. Outstanding job.”
Jaya couldn’t help it. Her mouth did a fly-trap routine as she stared at Adele.
“Don’t look at me like that, dear. You make me seem like I'm never nice.”
“I-I-I didn't say you weren’t nice. You are.” Jaya tried hard with the lie.
Adele shrugged and settled a beaming smile on her. “At least you tried.” She brushed at her skirts. “I know I can be…what do the assistants call me?” She tapped her finger on her chin. “A dragon lady.”
Even as Jaya tried to deny what they both knew was truth, Adele held up her hand. “I know. I'm deliberately difficult. I test the mettle of people. But I’m loyal and I love deeply.”
Jaya looked around surreptitiously. What had she done to deserve this level of honesty?
“You proved yourself over the last six months. And you put up with me, which means you have more patience than sense sometimes. Not to mention more than once you've stood up to me. It's a skill I admire in an employee.”
Not knowing what else to say, Jaya nodded and muttered “Th-Thank you, Miss Westhorpe.”
“And let's stop that Miss Westhorpe nonsense, call me Adele. Everyone else does behind my back.” She looked around at her guests. “I'd like you to stay on to do events for the hotel. All the top bill clients. If you're willing to think about it, we can discuss it in my office on Monday.”
Holy shit. This was the kind of job she'd dreamed about. Except she didn't necessarily want that anymore. “Miss—” she changed course, “—Adele. Thank you for considering me for a job but—”
Adele smiled. “You want to run your own place?”
Jaya frowned. How had she—
“He said as much. So I’d like to retain your services on a contract bases. Would something like that work for you?”
Jaya’s stomach knotted. He. He. He. Damn it. He-who-shall-not-be-named-lest-she-have-to-find-him-and-shoot-him-between-the-eyeballs was not behind this job offer. Could. Not. Be. Why did all her dreams come true feature him. Damn it. “Adele, thank you. Honestly, but—”
She laid a hand on Jaya's arm. “Think about it. I know you and my son aren’t exactly on speaking terms, but maybe it's time you were. Besides, I would have hired you without his prompting. Don’t let a man come between you and something you want. You’ll always regret it.” She turned and sauntered away to greet more guests.
Jaya watched after the woman a little surprised at their exchange. Until now, she’d never gotten the impression Adele particularly liked her. Maybe that was just her way.
“You did an outstanding job, sweetheart.”
Jaya whirled around to face her father. “I see you received your invitation.”
“I was a little surprised to see it.”
“Adele insisted.”
Pierre shifted to his heels. “I must say I was also surprised you turned down the offer to come back to Trudeaux. I thought it was what you wanted.”
Jaya nodded. “It was, but more about me not wanting to be a failure in your eyes than about me actually wanting to be at Trudeaux. I just wanted to be home.”
Her father rubbed his nose. “Jaya, I’m sorry if you ever felt you weren’t welcome at home. You were always so self-sufficient and such an individual, I knew Derrick would crush your spirit if you stayed.”
“You chose your son-in-law over me, Dad.”
“I know it doesn’t make up for anything, but as soon as I found out it was Derrick who blocked you from any interviews, I fired him. It’s no
t much. But I hope it can be a start.”
Jaya didn’t have any words for him. Of all the conversations she thought she‘d be having, this wasn’t one of them. “Dad, I don’t even know where to start.”
“How about over coffee. Monday?”
A real olive branch. From her father of all people. “I think I can manage that.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Alec watched Jaya with Adele. The woman of his dreams. The woman who had literally haunted him for six months. And here she was, right in front of him. So close he could reach out and touch. So why were his feet making like Crazy Glue with the floor?
For six months he'd tried to get the bitter taste of the last time he'd seen her out of his mouth, but cases of Lagavulin Scotch later, he still couldn’t forget her. He hadn't left the way he’d wanted to. He hadn't said goodbye the way he'd planned to. Not that it mattered to her much. She’d done okay for herself. More than okay. He pumped Adele for information about Jaya and God bless the old woman, she'd scolded him then told him everything he'd wanted to know. She might be no nonsense, but she'd been a romantic once upon a zillion years ago.
Things were different now. He had something to offer Jaya. Something more than adrenaline chasing—on to the next job instability. He'd done the one stable thing in his life. Taken a job with Westhorpe, Inc. The new mantle of VP Operations felt a tad snug, but Adele had promised him wiggle room in the neck. After all, Max had opted out. Hadn't he? Sure, Max was marrying Sue. Turned out, he was the marrying kind after all. And preparing to testify against the Sandovals.
He and Mimi had some issues to work on, but they were working through it. It wasn't even Adele who had suggested the gig to him. He went to her, crazy in the head from the mind-fuck of being away from Jaya. He'd asked if he could come home. Her answer—he'd never been the prodigal he thought himself.
So here he was. Maybe he could put himself out of his misery and talk to Jaya, or he could surprise the hell out of her when she got to the office on Monday and he was her new boss—or point of contact if she did what he thought she'd do and became a contractor.
They’d see each other all the time. The way he figured it; he could lay out his heart again. Well, fully this time. Tell her he loved her. That he couldn't live without her—he’d tried. And when it hadn’t worked, he'd tried drinking the memory of her from his brain. And still remembered everything in the morning.
Stinger would be if she told him to pack it in. He'd told himself he could do it, but was that the truth? Could he just walk away from her and let her lead her life?
He navigated the throngs on a slow approach. He couldn't decide if a strong direct approach worked well or if he should try for surprise. No surprises, asshole. Keep it direct. He watched as both Adele and Pierre Trudeaux left Jaya standing alone, then took the stairs two at a time to the balcony she stood on, wiping his sweat slicked palms against his slacks.
You weren’t supposed to do that to silk, but at this point, heart hammering in his chest, what did he care? There she was, in a teal, sexy, backless number, heels stacked so high she looked like she was teetering. They weren’t the gold number she'd favored. This pair was black and metallic, but no less sexy than the pair she'd worn that first night she'd wrapped her legs around his hips. Cool it. Focus. He cleared his throat. Twice.
“Hi, Jaya.”
She didn't even turn to face him.
He tried again. “Jaya.”
She turned, pure disbelief etched tiny lies along her usually smiling mouth. The disbelief gave way to something that looked like worry, then something that looked like cold anger. And finally resolve.
“Alec. I didn’t know you would be here.” She smoothed an imaginary strand of hair off her face. “But of course I should have assumed. Is your brother in attendance? It would be great to get a family photo.”
She still had a way with zingers. “Max won’t be coming tonight. He’s laying low while the Feds sort through his information on the Sandovals. It could be some time before he’s home again.” He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them from pulling her into his arms. “In the meantime, I’ll be taking over most of his duties at the Westhorpe as the new VP of Operations.”
Her eyes widened and her lips parted. “So you’re back for good.” The wobble in her voice gave him hope.
“Yes, I am.”
“That must be—difficult. I know you can’t stand being in one place for too long.”
“I—” Shit, why had he suddenly forgotten everything he was going to say? He tried again. Mouth open. No words. While his mouth did the guppy routine, he drank in every inch of her. She looked beautiful. Right now he'd kill to have her make a list of tasks for him. Anything. “I've missed you.”
Her response—blink blink blink.
Okay. So, not a good start. Once more with feeling. “You were right. I was a total prick. I was selfish and a liar. I never lied to you about how I felt, but I hid who I was from you. Deliberately. I didn’t give you a chance to love me as I was. Instead, I gave you who I wanted to be. And that wasn't fair. I should have told you right from the start and there's no going back, but I'm sorrier than you know.”
Now she pulled a guppy routine, so he kept going. After all, if you were going to cut open your chest, you might as well perform open heart surgery right? “I was a complete asshole for abandoning you. I knew you needed me, but I was in love with you and scared shitless, so I ran. I told myself I had a good reason. But it could have waited. I seized the excuse I had and ran with it. Then I wanted to apologize to you ‘til the cows came home, but my secret slipped before I could explain everything.”
“You left me.” Her voice wobbled just a little.
He hung his head. “I should have tried harder. You were right. I was running. My whole life I’ve been running away. I can’t keep running from you. I love you. And I know I don’t deserve you. But if you would even give me the chance to—shit, I don’t know, even be your friend, I'd take it.” Except he knew he couldn’t be her friend. Shit, were those tears pricking at his eyes? Damn it. He was a full on pussy. “I've really missed you.”
Her chin went up, but there was a shimmer in her eyes. “What happens when things get hard and I ask you to commit to something? Are you going to bail again?”
“No. I swear to you. I belong here with you. I tried to leave you behind and forget you, but there was no getting you out of my head. I'm not going to say I don’t like adventure, I do, but we can go on them together. Without you, none of it held any meaning or value for me.”
She shifted in her shoes. “Give me one good reason why I should trust you. Why I should believe that you're here for good and won’t just get on a plane tomorrow?”
Here it was. His hands started to shake. It seemed like the whole room slowed down to the speed of a sloth. Shoving a hand in his pocket, he slowly bent to one knee and grabbed the small velvet box inside. Opening it, he cleared his throat. “Because I’m willing to give you the stars.”
Her mouth fell open as she gaped at the ring. Had he gotten it wrong? Gone too big? Too small? Maybe the star was too childish. Shit. This was all sorts of wrong.
He dared a peek into her eyes and they were brimming over with tears. From the distance he heard someone shout, “For the love of God, Jai, put the man out of his misery already. You’ve been pining for months. Everything you want is right in front of you. You going to throw it away?” He would remember to give Micha a giant hug later. Well maybe buy her a drink and forego the hug.
Jaya stared at the ring. Then stared back at him. She slowly walked over to him and pulled him to his feet. The crushing despair. He thought he could die of it. A soft hand went to his face.
“I would take you without the ring.”
“I know. That's precisely why I want you to have it. You’re gorgeous and smart and could organize an ant colony to make it more efficient. And your lists. I've missed your endless lists and your attempts to manage my chaotic life. I want
it all with you. Be my wife.”
The kiss she gave him was soft, but determined. Hope bloomed in his chest. “Yes, Alec. I'll marry you.”
“Well, it’s about damn time,” both Micha and Adele said as they stood shoulder to shoulder under the balcony. Adele sniffed and added, “I’ve always wanted a daughter.”
Alec held her close, relief pouring from his soul. As he embraced Jaya, he whispered into her ear. “No more running away. I will never leave you.” He sealed the promise with a kiss.
The End
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Table of Contents
Introduction
About the Authors
Chasin' Mason by Stacey Joy Netzel
Deadly Addiction by Kristine Cayne
His Lady Godiva by L.C. Giroux
Love By Design by Liz Matis
Run Rosie Run by C.C. Mackenzie
Sexy In Stilettos by Nana Malone
Table of Contents Chasin' Mason
Table of Contents Deadly Addiction
Table of Contents His Lady Godiva
Table of Contents Love By Design
Table of Contents Run Rosie Run
Table of Contents Sexy in Stilettos
Table of Contents Chasin' Mason
Chasin’ Mason
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Sugar and Sin Bundle Page 129