What more was there to say? “Not at this point.” And likely not ever.
Ignoring Jacob’s answer, his father asked another question, “A-any news on her pregnancy?”
Hijo de puta. Jacob’s hands curled into fists. The man didn’t know when to stop. “Why don’t you ask her? Don’t you have her on speed dial.”
Brian Smithsfield sighed from the other end of the line. “You’re not going to forgive me then, is that it? Son, you have to know I had no idea about her plan to deceive you. Neither did her father. I never would have—”
“Save the excuses, Dad.” Elise had given plenty, and none had justified what they’d done. “Let’s deal with our business and call it a day.”
“Mijo, it’s two days until Christmas.”
“Mijo? Please. When did you start speaking Spanish?” Or start caring about the holidays? The attempt was so transparent, it was laughable. “Look, we don’t need to bond for me to do my job. We aren’t close. Trust me, I dealt with that a long time ago. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready. I have a meeting with Ms. Morrow first thing.” Actually, the meeting didn’t start until eleven, but the old man didn’t need to know that.
“I could come with—”
“No need. I’m good. I’ll let you know how things go via email later on in the day.” Before his father could sputter out a goodbye, Jacob disconnected the call with shaking fingers. Brian Smithsfield had a lot of nerve.
Jacob’s palms turned clammy as he strode toward the entrance of BCF’s 30th street branch. He’d deny it until his death if anyone asked him, but they’d done so every day he’d visited since he’d met Ms. Morrow.
Why the hell did she still get to him? Knowing her game should’ve been enough to make him despise her. Yet anticipation skimmed his skin, not anger, at the thought of seeing her again.
Sweet Madre de Dios! He’d come to monitor her efforts, not fuck her, and definitely not the free for all his cock thought they should be having on Harrison’s desk. He couldn’t afford to start anything with her. Even if he could get over Sara’s lies enough to invite her into his bed, sex could ruin his attempts of kicking his father out and taking over as CEO. If Mrs. Everett caught wind that Jacob was messing around with an employee, she’d hardly view him as a fit replacement.
Hell, he wouldn’t view himself as one either.
Jacob nodded in the direction of Sara and Harrison where they congregated near the sales desks, and headed toward the office he’d claimed for the last two weeks, instead of requesting her to meet with her right away. He needed to cool off before he saw her alone, otherwise he’d do more than shove his tongue down her throat like he had at the park.
Jacob groaned at the reminder of what it’d felt like to hold her in his arms. Thoughts like that wouldn’t help him to focus on his plot for revenge or on his duties as CFO. What he needed to do was get settled in because he had a conference call scheduled in less than ten minutes.
Jacob situated himself behind his temporary desk and logged onto his computer. Their in-house auditor had just finished her yearend reports and it’d take an hour to go through all the numbers.
Luckily once the conference call started, all thoughts of Sara fled. Of course, so did some of his sanity. Spending an hour crunching numbers wasn’t how he’d pictured his work day when he’d signed up for the Marines and swore to protect America.
Jacob replaced the receiver and rubbed his temples.
If not for the responsibility of having to take care of the families of his men, Jacob would’ve sold his shares to his father years ago.
Back when he’d first joined the Marines, he’d thought when it came time to retire, he’d use his trust fund to set up some type of nonprofit that assisted veterans getting back on their feet once they returned to civilian life. Now, the very idea of it brought him shame. Doing something like that would invite questions into his service he wasn’t prepared to answer, and he certainly wasn’t in any position to council someone on how to best adapt after leaving the military. Just look at the clusterfuck he’d made of his own life. He could only fault his father and Elise so much. Neither of them could’ve set him up if he hadn’t let them.
Sara peeked through the window on his door and knocked. When he waved her in, she walked tentatively to his desk and sat in one of the chairs facing him. “I have the latest on the fundraiser, if you’re ready.”
Her voice hit Jacob straight in the crotch. If sin had a sound, it would be the sultry tone that sent heat to his cock and poured over him like smooth honey.
“Um, if now isn’t a good time, I could come back.”
“Now’s perfect.” His own voice sounded strangled. Hell, he felt strangled. He yanked at his tie to ease the tightness at his throat, but it didn’t help. “How are things looking?” From where he sat, everything looked good. Too good. The split in her skirt revealed the longest legs he’d ever seen.
Sara tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and handed him a piece of paper. “See for yourself.”
He studied her report and his grudging respect turned into admiration. “Wow. This surpasses all our expectations.”
She met his gaze and grinned. “I know! Doesn’t it?” Her voice filled with excitement as she said in a rush, “I think we might be able to buy the Gallos a house. Like, free and clear, even though constant deductions are being taken out for daily living expenses, because donations are pouring in. Kiki’s has already agreed to furnish the kids’ bedrooms, and I’m working with a kitchen and appliance store to hopefully fill those rooms. And a durable medical equipment guy came out two days ago to measure and fit their daughter for brand new equipment, including a specialized bed.” She said the last part in wonder, not knowing that his donation had made a good portion of that happen.
The desire to tell her, just so she’d look at him with that same amount of awe, competed fiercely with his urge to gather her close as she blinked back tears.
Despite his better judgment, he stood and walked over to where she sat. It took great effort, but he managed to offer her only the pocket handkerchief he kept in his suit coat as he said, “Don’t cry.” He stopped himself from calling her dulzura, shoving his hands in his pockets to resist the temptation to reach out to her. She was no more his sweetheart than he was her boyfriend. Endearments had no place between them and neither did embraces.
Yet why did it feel like the more he learned about her, the less he knew for sure? She was a thief, yet he had no fear that she might steal from the funds she was collecting. She was a thief, yet she had access to thousands and all she’d stolen was his coat and the five hundred dollars he’d had in his wallet. She was a thief because of that first morning they’d met at the coffee shop, and a liar because she’d told him she’d returned his things, yet everything he’d learned about her since proved her to be a woman of character.
And damn if that didn’t confuse the fuck out of him.
She was as much of a walking contradiction as Elise had been, yet his gut told him to trust Sara.
She delicately dabbed at the corners of her eyes one last time, then held out his handkerchief for him to grab. He reached for it right as she stood, and they entered into a sort of accidental embrace. His hand held hers while their bodies hovered so close he felt the heat from her skin.
Neither one of them moved.
Nor did they so much as blink when someone knocked on the door.
“Hey, Sara, we need you. Oh. Oh—” A willowy blonde entered the office, realizing too late she’d interrupted a moment between Sara and himself based on her horrified expression. “I’m sorry. Mr. Shriver’s on a rampage again.”
So was Jacob’s heart. His blood pounded through his veins as if he’s just run a marathon.
He waved off the blonde’s apology, more concerned with the situation she’d walked in on.
He waited for Sara to leave, then quickly followed her out the door, intent on making his getaway from the branch as fast as he could
. But damn if he didn’t find a reason to stay. The way she handled the volatile customer with ease impressed him more than he wanted it to. She didn’t use charm or flirtation. Instead, she went in as a smart businesswoman, using logic and rationale.
Jacob left without saying goodbye, stepping outside and allowing the cool temperatures to clear his head.
It’d serve him well to use his own logic and rationale like Sara did.
If he couldn’t handle being around her, then maybe it was time to stop visiting her branch. Based on the report she’d just given, the fundraiser was nearly done, so what good could come from him returning?
Her eyes made him think of promises and her body made him want to fulfill them. The way she’d stared up at him before they’d been interrupted had made him imagine…
Jacob rushed to his jeep while shutting down the visual of Sara’s eyes staring at him as she licked her way from the root to the tip of his cock. Thankfully his ringing cell phone helped.
Before Jacob could pull it from his jacket pocket, it silenced in the two-ring salute common to his childhood friend. Jacob palmed it anyway, barely having enough time to settle into his jeep before Nic rang again. The man-child still used their boyhood code—Caller ID of the poor, as he called it.
Jacob answered with his first smile of the day. “You do know how cells work, right? There’s this nice little display that lights up and tells the number and person who’s calling.”
“Got jokes, hmm?” Nic asked. “Comments like that make me want to rescind my original offer.”
“What offer?”
“A bonfire at Ocean Beach two weeks from Saturday. But then again, maybe I don’t want to share my big-breasted, adventurous women with you anymore.”
Jacob shook his head in amusement even though his friend couldn’t see him. “As tempting as that might be to some, I’ve had enough of women for the time being.” Especially women of the big-breasted variety who would only remind him of Sara. He’d be better off forgetting the entire gender until he knew for sure the extent of the damage that Elise had caused.
“Come on, bro, don’t turn into Marc. I need my wingmen back.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.” Nic could handle women just fine. He handled two or three women at a time most weekends. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m going to have to sit this one out.”
“Marc said he’ll go if you do.”
“That’s low, dude.” Their mutual friend hadn’t dated since his girlfriend left him two years ago. Since then, Marc hadn’t so much as stepped out for a night of casual sex. “Does this mean he’s ready…?” Jacob asked. “Aí cabrón, why do I even care? I’m not ready.”
“Yeah, but you’ll come anyway because you want to see Marc move on as much as I do.”
Jacob cursed his friend for being so perceptive. Having his own hang-ups didn’t mean he wanted to see the people he cared about suffering the same fate. Except for Nic. It wouldn’t hurt Nic to go without for a weekend or two. “You really are a son of a bitch. You know that?”
“Just using the tools available to me. I believe that’s called negotiating. Isn’t it, businessman?” Nic laughed in that all too cocky way he’d perfected at the age of sixteen, right after the first night he’d banged two chicks at once.
Jacob repeated the same thing he’d told his friend back then. “One of these days, you’re going to fall for a woman who needs celibacy to prove that you love her.” And every minute of it would be torture for the man who hadn’t gone without sex for longer than a week since he’d lost his virginity at fourteen.
Jacob couldn’t fucking wait.
In a better mood than he’d been in when he’d answered the call, he agreed to meet Nic and Marc after the holidays.
How much damage could one beach party cause? With any luck, he’d get to see one of his friends move on while having an opportunity to mercilessly tease his other. He couldn’t think of a better way to forget about Elise and Sara?
11
Sara parked at the curb in front of her sister’s house in Santee, excited to spend quality time with her niece despite the blahness of the weather and the little munchkin being sick.
With efforts for the fundraiser in full swing, she hadn’t devoted much time to her family lately and she missed their closeness. In addition to slow periods at the bank, most nights and weekends she’d spent drafting letters, making face-to-face cold calls to local businesses, and stuffing envelopes at home to solicit more funds for the Gallos. Christmas and New Year’s Eve had come and gone the week before with Sara having taken little more than a few hours break to spend with those she loved. But she didn’t regret it. The whole process had been amazing, and it still was. The only exception being Harrison because, well, he was Harrison.
Jacob, on the other hand, he’d been kind of amazing too. He didn’t just show up at her branch; he talked to customers, he played with Mrs. Williams kids, and he did it all while trying to hide the shadows that seemed to overtake him when he thought no one was looking. Any one of those alone would have caught her interest, but then he’d gone and added something even more irresistible. At their last meeting before Christmas, he’d acted like he valued her as a person, as a woman, not just as an employee. If Bel hadn’t interrupted, Sara could’ve sworn he’d been about to kiss her.
And she’d been ready to let him.
But that didn’t mean the entire situation didn’t still freak her out.
Thankfully, for whatever reason, he hadn’t shown up again since their almost-kiss, giving her emotions and her raging hormones a bit of a break.
Sara ducked under Maddie’s front stoop overhang and cinched her jacket tighter. Even with the protection from above the small stoop, water dripped from her hair and into her eyes. “Come on, Maddie. It’s nasty out here.” And despite the argument Sara was in for as soon as her sister saw her, she’d much rather be inside getting yelled at. Besides, Maddie wouldn’t win this one. Not by a long shot.
Sara raised her hand to knock again just as the door opened.
“What are you doing here?” Though her lips thinned in irritation, Maddie stepped back to let Sara in. “What a miserable night.”
Sara tried to contain her dripping to the entryway tile while peeking around the corner at her brother-in-law. “What? No love?” She scoffed at Christopher’s raised beer in her direction. Not so much as a hello. What was that about? While Sara hung up her coat, she waited for Maddie to retrieve two towels from the linen closet, then inclined her head toward Christopher.
“Don’t ask. Here, dry off.” Maddie handed Sara one towel and wiped up the puddle on the floor with the other. “Things have been rough the last few days.”
“So why are you still in sweats?” And why is Christopher in his tank top and workout shorts? “Just because you’ve been married for over a decade doesn’t mean you don’t need to dress up for dates. You guys need this.” Tonight more than ever, by the appearance of things.
Without turning to look at them, Christopher yelled over his shoulder. “I thought you canceled.” His beer thumped on the coffee table and the volume on the TV raised noticeably.
Something was off. More so than Tessa being ill. Sara grabbed Maddie’s elbow and steered her into the kitchen. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean? Nothing.”
“Nothing, my ass.” Christopher hadn’t missed giving Sara a bear hug in greeting in the entire sixteen years they’d known each other. “Where’s Tessa?”
Loose hair from Maddie’s bun earned an agitated swipe from her sister’s restless hands. “I told you in my message. She’s sick. We can’t go out when she’s like this.”
Nice try. As if Sara would let her sister get away with such a flimsy excuse. “Since when, hmm? When have you not been able to go out when I’ve come over to take care of her?”
“Since ever.” Maddie plopped into a chair at the kitchen table.
Her halfhearted excuses were the opposite of
what Sara had prepared for. Fire breathed out of Maddie when someone went against her. “We’ve been doing this the first Friday of the month since Tessa was one.”
“Not when she’s sick.”
“Not when she’s in the hospital.” Sara eyed her sister, taking the seat next to her. “Tessa is safe and sound at home, so what’s your real reason?”
“I don’t know. What if… what if something happens?”
“Look, sis. This is the deal.” Sara grabbed Maddie’s hand in a reassuring squeeze. “One night a month, I babysit for you guys to have a few hours alone. It’s every bit as routine as Dad’s monthly weekend so we can make dinners for returning veterans.” And as routine as it was, it wasn’t nearly enough. The other girls did what they could when they could, but their efforts were sporadic at best. Sara kept hers scheduled. Same time, same night, every month since Maddie and Christopher had fired the state’s night nurse and opted to only pay a private one for weeknights out of financial necessity. “You’ve entrusted me with Tessa since she was a newborn. You’re telling me you think I don’t know how to care for her?”
Maddie played with the antenna on the handheld video monitor she kept tethered to her wrist. “I can’t—”
The video monitor lit up. At Tessa’s whimper, Maddie sagged in defeat.
Sara squeezed her sister’s hand again. “Honey, you’re exhausted. If nothing else, go to a hotel and sleep for a while.”
Maddie opened her mouth as if to argue, then Tessa whimpered again and Maddie turned into the woman Sara knew and loved. “You’re right. Come on, Chris. We’re leaving in fifteen minutes.” She handed the monitor to Sara before heading in what Sara hoped was the direction of the hall toward her room. When Maddie decided to do something, she committed to it.
Sara left the kitchen to make sure her sister didn’t change her mind.
“Hey, I thought we agreed!” Christopher’s vault over the couch landed him a few feet in front of Sara’s path.
“Still not going to say hi, huh?” The man she loved like a real brother wasn’t scoring any points in her book tonight. Even if he’d rather stay at home, his wife needed a break. And Sara was going to make sure Maddie got one. She jabbed a finger at his chest. “I don’t know what’s up with you, mister, but maybe time to recharge is best for everyone. Don’t you think?”
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