by Alexis Anne
“I can assume he’s told you about me? You seemed to recognize me from the moment you opened the door.”
Damn. She was very perceptive. Very cool. She may have been thrown by finding me at the door, but she was still able to keep her wits about her enough to observe me. “Yes, I know who you are.” You are my worst nightmare.
She swirled the ice cubes in her glass before taking another sip. “He didn’t talk about you at all for the first three years we were seeing each other. Not once. He never mentioned your name or what was really making him so crazy.”
I had no idea why she was telling me that, but it made my heart stop. Or maybe it was more like a knife through the heart.
She looked up from her glass. “And then something changed. He changed.” She shook her head at the memory. “All of a sudden he couldn’t stop talking about you. He was fixated and fascinated by everything about you. I thought for sure he was exaggerating, he had to be glorifying a part of his past that was actually good.”
I felt like she was trying to tell me something, but all I heard were the words she’d just said, over and over in my mind.
He never mentioned me.
He changed.
He was fascinated.
That was when the front door opened and the sounds of Jake and Greg’s loud, happy voices echoed through the house. I was trapped between some sort of alternate past reality and my very bizarre present. I jumped up from my seat and practically ran to the door.
Jake and Greg had played a late round of golf with two of the managers from the company as a send-off for the boss. Both men were grinning and a little red in the face from what was probably a pretty decent combination of exercise and alcohol.
Jake grabbed me up the moment he saw me, pulling me off my feet and into his arms, “Hey darlin’, you look good enough to eat,” he growled.
Greg swore under his breath. “Number one rule, Jake! Not in front of me! Number one.” He held up his finger and waved in front of our faces. “Why can’t you keep it straight? You two are a nonstop sex train and I can’t take it anymore—” Greg stopped mid-sentence as he saw our uninvited guest. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Jake shot me a confused look and slowly lowered me back to the ground. His eyes were locked onto mine with a thousand questions I couldn’t answer any better than letting him see for himself. “You have a visitor,” I whispered and stepped to the side.
Ashley was standing in front of the couch, facing us. She and Greg were trading not so quietly whispered insults. My love of Greg was skyrocketing by the second. I absolutely loved how much he hated her.
“What are you doing here?” Jake asked, confused.
Both Greg and Ashley stopped and turned to face Jake. And me, I guess. But I was pretty sure I was no longer the main event.
She straightened herself again and plastered the world’s fakest smile onto her pretty face. “Hey, Jake. It’s good to see you.”
He ruffled his unruly hair with one hand while blindly reaching for me with the other. His fingers touched my waist, sliding along the small of my back, and curling around the other side, gently pulling me against him. “It’s been… a while.”
She smiled tightly and her eyes flicked down to mine. “I hear you’re getting married. Congratulations.”
Jake’s arm tightened around me but Greg beat him to the reply. “It’s “best wishes” moron. You don’t say congratulations until after the wedding. It’s bad luck.”
Ashley and I both glared at Greg. Who was the bigger idiot now? Ashley or Greg? Because my bet was that Ashley would love to send our marriage some bad luck.
“Oh, fuck it.” He waved his hands at us and threw himself into the arm chair.
“Thanks Ash,” Jake finally replied.
My chest tightened. Ash. I could probably land a couple of good punches before Jake pulled me off of her. I knew Greg wouldn’t move a muscle, so it was only Jake I had to worry about stopping me.
No one moved or said anything for a few moments and the void between us felt more like a massive black hole trying to suck us inside.
“I have good news,” Ashley finally said. “That’s why I’m here… can we talk for a few minutes?”
Jake looked down at me, almost as if he were asking permission. Or maybe he was gauging my mood. He was probably freaking out inside his head. “We should sit,” I offered, gesturing toward the couch.
As much as I wanted to kick her ass out of my house, I also knew I needed to be civilized.
For the moment.
He nodded and smiled, a silent conversation passing between us. One in which I assured him I was fine and he assured me that he wanted her out of our house just as fast as I did.
I sat back down in the chair I’d just vacated, and Jake sat on the arm beside me. He held my hand firmly on his leg. I certainly didn’t mind that he’d chosen my left hand, or that my engagement ring was facing Ashley.
She noticed. Her eyes narrowed on the ring as she watched Jake and I settle onto the chair.
“So what is this news you traveled all the way here to surprise us with?”
She plastered that fake smile onto her face again and took a deep breath before plunging in. “Steele Industries wants to acquire The Nugget.”
Jake let out a low whistle and Greg sat up straighter in his chair. Whatever The Nugget was, it had both their attention. Unfortunately, I was clueless.
“Outright?” Jake asked.
She licked her lips before speaking. I was very aware of the way she focused solely on Jake. Ashley hadn’t looked back at me once since mentioning the wedding. It was as if Greg and I no longer existed to her. And her eyes were softening, almost flirting with Jake. “Their initial offer is to purchase all rights to The Nugget and bring both of us on fulltime to finish developing it.”
“Oh, hell no!” Greg said, standing up. “He’s my partner now. You can take your offer and shove it up your ass, sweetheart.”
Ashley whipped her head around so fast I thought it just might spin off her neck. “I know that, asshole. I was merely telling him what the initial offer was. Back off and cool your jets before you blow off your own damn balls.”
I could be wrong, but I was pretty positive Greg and Ashley didn’t just hate each other, they despised each other on an epic scale. He flicked her off and sat back down.
“Alright… now that we have our private parts under control… what is Steele really offering?” Jake looked equal parts confused and intrigued.
Ashley looked physically uncomfortable. Her hands twisted in her lap and her brow furrowed up before she spoke. “Steele wants to purchase The Nugget and bring both of us on, but they are willing to negotiate. They indicated they may be willing, if The Nugget is, in fact, what I’ve demonstrated, to come to a mutually beneficial compromise.”
I didn’t like anything I was hearing because if I was right, I was pretty sure Ashley had just said she wanted to work with Jake to sell this product. And that was not happening. Like… ever.
“And they would then take it and integrate it into their products, I’m assuming?”
Ashley nodded slowly and Greg just scowled at Jake. I squeezed his leg, “Could someone tell me what The Nugget is so I can at least pretend to follow along?”
Jake looked down at me surprised, almost as if he’d forgotten I was there. But then the blood drained from his face a little and I realized it was more than that. Jake hadn’t forgotten me, he was dreading telling me something. He was all too aware of the fact I was sitting there beside him. “You remember how I made most of my money? An investment that worked out in my favor?”
I nodded, dreading where he was going with this. Jake made his money from two things: an investment, and helping design a product. I’d never asked for more information because I didn’t think it mattered.
“The project I worked on was helping Ashley with a robotic sensor that Steele Industries acquired.”
Ashley was the engineer he’d hel
ped out. She was the one who’d helped Jake make enough money to invest in Spencer, Hamilton, and Associates. “Oh.” It was all I could say. My mind was working too fast to stop for silly words that would more than likely only make me feel more stupid than I already felt.
I’d heard him say “she” and “her”, but it never occurred to me who she might be.
Jake squeezed my hand and smiled, his eyes were searching mine with a soft and hopeful look to them. “When we were working on that project, we came up with the idea for The Nugget. It came together surprisingly quickly, but needed a lot of R&D to turn it into a viable product.” He looked away from me and back to Ashley. “Which means you must have made a breakthrough of some kind.”
She nodded. “I did. And Steele wants it. There is still plenty of work to be done, but it’s clear now this can be turned into something great, especially with Steele.”
Ashley could be turned into something great… for batting practice.
“When can we meet to discuss details?” Jake asked. I tried to pull my hand away, but he clamped down harder.
A smile pulled up at the corners of Ashley’s lips. Not a large or obvious smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Does tomorrow morning work for you?”
“That should be fine.” Jake replied. I involuntarily dug my nails into his leg when he said that. I didn’t realize I’d done it until he flinched.
Greg shot to his feet. “Well, now that we have that all settled… your time is up. Off to your broom or hotel or whatever it is you witches use these days.” He pulled on her arm and nudged her toward the front door.
Ashley sneered at Greg, “Watch it asshole. I can still bite back.”
Greg laughed, “Try it sweetheart. I dare you.”
“Alright, alright,” Jake said. “Ash, you better go before my bulldog here loses it. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He pulled on my hand and I trailed him reluctantly to the front door. It was so awkward. She was probably the only other woman from Jake’s past that I’d ever meet. And here she was… standing in my living room days before my wedding.
She turned at the door and smiled at me with that fake smile of hers. I just wanted to backhand it right off her pretty little face.
Damn, she brought out a surprisingly violent streak in me.
“It was good to finally meet the infamous Eve who saved Jake.”
She really had a way with words. A bad way. “It’s been an interesting evening, that’s for sure,” I mumbled. “Have a good night.”
Chapter 8
-Jake-
We all stood there in the foyer not saying a word while we listened to the sounds of Ashley slamming her car door, starting the engine, and then (finally) driving away.
The wonderful thing about Eve was that I knew her well. The amount and type of swearing she was about to spew at me was usually proportional to exactly how she was feeling inside.
She spun toward me, her brown eyes dark and full of fire. She was fucking beautiful when she was mad. It didn’t hurt that she was also wearing one of my favorite outfits: my shirt and not a whole lot else. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder, take her upstairs, and show her just how much of me she owned, to wipe any doubts or fears right out of her head.
She stuck her finger up at me and glared, “You cocksuckingmotherfuckerassholejackass! You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Have you lost your goddamned mind?”
Eve was livid. The long string of curse words were all actions directed at me. That meant she was pissed on an epic scale at me, at Ashley, at the world… but angry Eve was easier to handle than scared Eve. I hated scared Eve because I was never sure how to handle her, and it was usually my fault, which just made me feel worse.
So angry Eve was good.
Greg chuckled, “I love how well you can swear, Eve. Really I do.”
She turned her glare on him, finger pointed at him now. “You. I don’t know if I love you or hate you right now. But I’d watch my balls if I were you.”
He laughed some more and carefully moved his hand south until they were covered. “Yes, ma’am. Anything you say ma’am.” His grin was enormous and those blue eyes of his loved how much my fiancée hated my ex-lover. Greg was thrilled to have a partner in crime. I could practically hear the gears of his brain turning. The two of them were going to be impossible to deal with until the Ashley problem blew over.
And that was only if I lived through the evening, which was very much in question at the moment.
“Don’t you fucking leave the two of them alone tomorrow, you got it?”
Greg held up his free hand like he was taking a pledge, “On my honor. Trust me, you don’t need to worry about that. I wouldn’t leave her alone with Jake if my life depended on it.”
Now I glared at him. “I think it’s time you found your way home. Eve and I have some things to talk about.”
He made a face at me, “Have a fun evening you two. And remember, you’re getting married this weekend. Don’t let Miss Sunshine ruin things.” He leaned in and gave Eve a kiss on the cheek. “Noon?” She smiled a little and gave him a quick hug before opening the door and pushing him out. “Noon,” she agreed. “Pete and Shorty’s.”
He nodded, “See you then.”
Eve closed the door and spun around, holding up her hand. “Don’t. Just… don’t.” Then she stormed past me. The back door slammed and a minute later I heard the whir of the pitching machine around the side of the house.
Sometimes it was important to stop Eve before she got too mad, before her mind got too far down a line of crazy thoughts. But other times… it was better to give her a few minutes to let out her anger, order her thoughts, and calm down.
Every few seconds there was another chinking sound as she hit a ball. There was a net set up behind the machine to shag the balls and there were no windows on that side of the house, so I couldn’t watch her. I wished I could see her face and gauge her emotions.
I’d fucked up royally. I knew that much. It was one thing to have Ashley show up, but it was another thing entirely to agree to see her the next day. To possibly agree to working with her. I knew if the shoe were on the other foot, and Sebastian was offering to work with Eve, I’d be insane. Hell, just the idea of it had my blood boiling.
In all honesty, I was pretty confused. This was something Ashley and I could have easily broached over email, or even a phone call. Why did she decide to come all the way to Tampa and knock on my door without any kind of warning? I was shocked when I saw her standing there in our living room.
No, shocked wasn’t good enough—I was numb. I never, ever expected to see her again.
Ever.
To me, she was a part of a life that was dead and gone.
I cared about The Nugget, my name was attached to the project and the patents we’d applied for, but it wasn’t something dear to me. It was merely something I’d leant some of my experience and knowledge to. This was Ashley’s project. I appreciated being kept in the loop about where it was headed but really, it didn’t matter. It could sit in computer files and on shelves unused for the rest of time for all I cared. I certainly had no interest in going to work for Steele Industries, and I certainly wasn’t willing to risk my relationship with Eve over a project.
I realized Eve needed to hear all of this.
The chinking stopped as the machine most likely ran out of balls, so I made my way outside. I expected to get cussed out all over again, but that wasn’t what happened at all. Eve was bent over with a bucket in one hand while she tossed one ball after another inside. She was red in the face and sniffling like she was trying not to cry.
I was such an ass.
Eve wasn’t a crier. It just wasn’t something she did. She was very much in control of herself and she liked to redirect her feelings into positive actions, like fixing problems or cussing you out. I was in deep shit if she was working this hard to keep her feelings in check.
“Eve,” I said quietly so I wouldn’t scare her.
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She dropped the bucket and took a step back. “Stay right where you are, cowboy.”
“I’m so, so sorry for what just happened in there. You have every right to be mad as hell at me.”
Her face contorted, moving between unchecked rage and something that tore my heart in two.
“Stay over there,” she repeated, putting her hand up.
I closed the gap between us anyway. I knew she didn’t want me to come near her because it would make her cry, but I didn’t care. I needed to kiss her and she needed to get mad at me. “Nope, not happening.”
She tried to push me away, so I wrapped her up in my arms.
“Jake, stop! I don’t want you near me right now!”
“No. I’m not moving so just stop trying.”
She whimpered a little and then gave in, resting her head against my chest and finally let go. “I hate you so much right now.”
I held her up and brushed her hair while she cried and swore at me.
The absolute worst sound in the world was the sound of Eve crying. It tore me in two. I felt helpless and powerless, and those feelings made me want to do something to stop it. But in this case, it was my fault she was crying.
“I’m sorry.” The words started tumbling out of me. “I’m sorry I ever left you, I’m sorry she showed up here today, and so, so sorry I agreed to see her tomorrow. I promise, I’m just looking over the proposal and telling her I want nothing to do with any of it. I am not going to work with her. I’m not…”
Eve balled the sides of my shirt inside her fists and turned her forehead into my chest. “Why now? We’re getting married, Jake.”
I couldn’t stand it. I grabbed her face and turned it up toward mine so I could see her eyes. I needed to see her eyes.
But she pulled away, scrunching her eyes shut. “Stop. Don’t look at me when I’m disgusting like this.”
“Fuck that,” I whispered and kissed her. She was covered in tears but she was not disgusting. She’d never be disgusting to me. She fought me for a second and then gave in once she realized I wasn’t kidding. She actually kissed me back a little, which was such a relief.