“Jada, you of all people can’t be this stupid. Especially since you tend to only date guys with a six-figure income. Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with? Clearly, you don’t know what he’s worth. Otherwise, you would be falling all over yourself to call him.
“You act as if money is my only motivation. Yes I want to live a comfortable life, but it’s about more than money.”
“Yeah, tell it to someone who doesn’t know you.”
“Whatever. You should try minding your own business for a change.” Jada turned to Tammy. “Please send it back. If there’s a fee, let me know, and I’ll take care of the cost.”
Jada walked away from the reception area and headed to the parking lot, ignoring anything more that Martina had to say. MJ didn’t understand. There was no way Jada was going out with someone who unnerved her the way Zack did. For the first time in her life, she didn’t care how much he was worth.
Chapter Four
“Good practice today guys,” the Cincinnati Cougars coach said to the players as they exited the locker room.
Zack grabbed his duffle bag and slung it over his shoulder, pulling his cell phone out of the side pocket. He entered his security code to listen to his voicemail. Five messages and not one of them was the call he had hoped to receive – the call from Jada. She still hadn’t responded to any of his voice messages, but he thought for sure he would’ve heard from her by now, especially after the gift he had sent to her the day before.
“Later Zack,” someone called out. Turning he spotted Ted and Randy, the quarterback and a wide receiver twenty feet behind him.
He threw up his hand and waved. “You guys have a good one.” Slipping on his shades, he approached his Mercedes CL600, a gift to himself for obtaining career-high rushing yards last season. Tossing his bag in the trunk, he climbed in and headed home.
Zack’s mind immediately went to thoughts of Jada, unable to stop thinking about her. Women normally threw themselves at him, but not her. She didn’t seem to care that they had a connection. He felt it, and based on the desire he saw in her big, bright eyes when they danced, she felt it too. Now all he had to do was convince her to go out with him.
Thirty minutes later, Zack pulled into his three-car garage, closing the overhead door behind him. He sat in the well-lit space and glanced around. When he had purchased the five bedroom, five and a half bathroom, Indian Hill home in Cincinnati eight years earlier, it was with plans of filling it with a wife and children. Instead, he had filled his life with material things. A Land Rover took up one of the stalls and a Harley-Davidson CVO Ultra Classic he never drove due to a stipulation in his football contract, took up the last stall. He had everything a man could want, but not what he really desired – a family. He loved all the space and the privacy the home provided, but lately it was starting to feel too quiet.
He climbed out of the car and strolled into the house. His stomach growled the moment he entered. The smell of onions and a hint of bacon teased his senses. Stepping into his home wasn’t so bad when he knew his housekeeper was there. Mrs. Mallard only came three days a week during the football season since he spent much of his time away. Zack didn’t know what she’d prepared for dinner, but it was guaranteed to be good.
He dropped his bag on the floor next to the counter that held a large white box and a note from his housekeeper.
Hi Zack, I’m not sure if you remembered that I had to leave early for an appointment today. Your dinner is in the oven and a special dessert for you is in the refrigerator. Oh, and this box was delivered shortly after you left this morning. Have a good night, and I’ll see you in the morning. Mrs. Mal.
Zack skimmed the writing on top of the box and paused when he noticed Jada’s name.
What the heck?
The company he had purchased the tools from was supposed to deliver the box to her, not him. Opening the box, he immediately noticed a pink sticky note attached to the card he had sent with the gift.
Thanks for the equipment, but purple tools are never a good idea to send to a construction worker. But if you really want to do something for me, how about two tickets to this Sunday’s game? JJ
Zack braced his hands on top of the counter. He hadn’t pegged Jada as a football fan, especially since she hadn’t asked him anything about football like most people did. He scanned the note again. She hadn’t said anything about going out with him, but she hadn’t said no either.
A smile spread across Zack’s mouth as an idea formed. He pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans. Maybe I’ll pay Jada a visit before practice tomorrow. If she wanted tickets to the game, then tickets were what she’d get.
***
“I need to find her a man,” Jada said when she and Nick stepped out of Peyton’s office. “She’s been harassing us about this job all week. Clearly, she needs a distraction.” The project they were working on had one setback after another, and her cousin acted as if they were goofing off or something.
“Peyton was right.” Nick stopped, in the middle of the hallway, to tie his boots. “That job should’ve been completed by now. Today we’re knocking it out. No excuses.”
“Okay, but is it too late to get a cherry picker out there? I’m still not feeling the idea of working on that rickety scaffolding, especially since it’s so windy today.”
“I thought you said the cherry picker felt too unsteady.”
The cherry picking machine they often used on outside work had a long metal arm that could extend several floors and a small basket on the end that barely accommodate two people. It did make Jada nervous. Yet, the scaffolding they were using freaked her out more.
They strolled past a couple of offices and walked toward the front stairs. Jada wondered about the silence. Rarely was it that quiet on the second-floor first thing in the morning.
“The cherry picker makes me a little nervous, but lately it doesn’t seem as scary as the…” Jada’s voice trailed off when she saw at least ten of her family members huddled at the front desk.
“Well, I’ll be damn. Zack Anderson,” Nick mumbled and hurried down the rest of the stairs.
Jada’s heart did somersaults inside her chest. He had his head down signing autographs and laughing with her family and other staff members. She couldn’t get her legs to move. The man was gorgeous in a tuxedo, but wearing a baseball cap, a fitted T-shirt that stretched across his wide chest, and jeans that hung low on his hips, he looked downright sinful.
As if sensing her gaze on him, he glanced toward the stairs, and their eyes met, sending her pulse into overdrive. Good Lord this man is gorgeous. Got my dang mouth watering. But why is he here? Somehow, he had managed to get her telephone number, and she thought he would have caught a hint that she wasn’t interested when she didn’t return his calls. Now this.
“Jada,” Martina said in a sing-song voice. “You have a visitor.”
Jada finally forced herself forward, not missing the curious stares. She walked right up to Zack and whispered near his ear, “What are you doing here?” Deeply inhaling, his familiar fragrance gripped her, making her want to wrap her arms around his neck and breathe in again. She had to keep herself from moaning and quickly stepped back.
“I got your note.”
Jada narrowed her eyes at him. “What note?”
“Yes!” Martina whooped, pumped her fist in the air, and then did a little dance. “I’m going to the game. I’m going to the game.”
“Hold up. What did you do?” Jada ground out as she approached her cousin.
“Alright, that’s my cue,” someone said and others agreed while saying their goodbyes to Zack.
Plenty of times, Jada wanted to strangle MJ, but with this little stunt, someone was going to have to pull her off of her cousin.
“I figured the least you could do was thank him for the tools, even if you didn’t want them.”
“And.” Christina walked up next to Jada. “What else did you do?”
“Oh, so what, y’
all tryin’ to gang up on me?” MJ folded her arms across her chest, her signature smirk planted on her face. “You do remember the last time you two tried to come at me don’t you?”
Jada blew out a breath and then turned back to Zack. “I’m sorry for whatever she did. That was nice of you to send the tools, but—”
“But you don’t do purple tools, right?”
Jada smiled and shook her head. She could only imagine what MJ had put in her note. “No. I don’t, but it was very sweet of you.”
He lifted what appeared to be two tickets in his hand. “So I take it you really don’t want these?”
“I … uh…”
“Oh, those are mine!” MJ practically knocked Jada over to get to Zack, who lifted the tickets out of her reach. “I’ll admit that I’m the one who wrote the note about the tickets, and I signed her name, but it was for a good reason.” Her cousin’s words flew out of her mouth as fast as a speeding bullet.
“Oh, this ought to be good,” Zack chuckled, an amused expression on his face.
“Well, it’s like this, Zack.” MJ leaned against the front counter. “Can I call you Zack?
Jada rolled her eyes at her cousin, but Zack laughed and nodded.
“Well Zack, she wants to go out with you, but she’s taking a break from dating.”
What the heck is she talking about? Jada fumed, her hands planted on her hips. This time MJ had gone too far.
“Is that right?” He looked Jada up and down, the lustful perusal reminding her of the way he had checked her out at the reception. “Well, how about this.” He returned his attention to MJ. “If you get your cousin to go out with me tomorrow, these third row seats, behind Cincinnati’s bench on the 50-yard-line tickets, are yours.” He held them up.
MJ’s mouth dropped open, and Jada couldn’t remember a time when she’d seen her cousin speechless. Of course, the silence was short-lived.
“Jada,” Martina said, her tone low and lethal, “your ass is going out with him if I have to tie you to the passenger seat of his car. I want those tickets.”
“Uhh, excuse me,” Peyton stood in the middle of the stairwell gripping a clipboard. “Unless you all want to be looking for another job come Monday morning, I suggest you get out of here and get to work.”
“I’m outta here.” CJ darted for the back door that lead to the service vans in the parking lot.
“I have to take care of one thing,” MJ said, “and then I’ll head out. But first, I need to talk to Jada.” MJ grabbed Jada by the arm. “Zack, we’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” MJ pulled Jada into the small conference room to the left of the receptionist area.
“I’m going to kill you! I’m not going out with him,” Jada said the moment her cousin closed the door. “So you might as well say goodbye to those tickets.”
“What’s up with you? The guy is fine, stinkin’ rich, and comes across like a man who is willing to worship the ground you walk on. So what’s the problem? He meets your criteria.”
Jada walked over to the large window, staring out at nothing in particular. Part of her wanted to go out with Zack, but she didn’t like not being in control. He made her nervous. Something that rarely happened, especially around men.
“I know it can’t be because he’s white,” Martina interrupted her thoughts, “because you’ve never discriminated against any man, especially if he has money.”
“It has nothing to do with him being Irish, Italian, or whatever his ethnic makeup is. I just don’t want to go out with him.” Jada turned to face her cousin.
“I think you do.” MJ leaned against the wall and glanced at her watch. “You just don’t want me to get those tickets.”
“Girl, this ain’t got nothing to do with you. How would you feel if I told Senator Paul Kendricks that you were interested in dating him and then lured him here?”
If looks could kill, Jada would have shriveled up and crumbled to the ground. Everyone knew Martina Jenkins would rather chew nails than even hear the name Paul Kendricks. Her cousin had never even met the man, yet she hated his guts. Active with the carpenters union in Cincinnati, Martina looked at anyone who opposed unions, as the enemy. Paul Kendricks was definitely the enemy.
“Why’d you have to bring his name up?” Martina eased up to Jada. “And how can you compare Zack Anderson to that man? Do you know anything about that guy standing out there wanting to go out with you? Do you know how much money he contributes to charities every year, or how many hours he volunteers at homeless shelters and food banks?”
Jada sighed. She didn’t know anything about Zack except for what he’d told her while they were dancing.
“Listen. Zack might be one of the nicest people in the world, but is it such a bad thing that I’m not interested in going out with him?” Her reasons for not wanting to be near him suddenly seemed wimpy, especially since she was seriously attracted to him. She liked to be in control and Zack seemed to zap some of that power she was accustomed to wielding.
“Jada, I know I give you a hard time sometimes.”
Jada leaned back and narrowed her eyes at her cousin. “Sometimes? Try all the time.”
Since they were kids, Martina picked on her for one reason or another. Though Jada had to admit, when it came to looking out for the family, MJ was probably the most loyal and would do anything for a Jenkins. She was the type of person who felt it was okay to bully her family, but let someone else mess with them, and she was ready to fight.
“Okay, you’re right.” MJ conceded. “But just this once can you do this for me? I’m not going to promise that I’ll leave you alone going forward because I’d be lying.” Jada had to chuckle at that. “But I need you to consider going out with Zack. I will probably never in this lifetime be able to afford those type of football tickets that he’s offering. Please … just do it for me.”
It’s not always about you Your Highness. Her grandfather’s words came to mind. All of her life her motto had been – it’s all about me. For the most part, that motto had gotten her everything she wanted.
“Besides, I’ve never known you to turn down dinner at a fancy restaurant or an evening out rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous.”
The door opened, and Nick stuck his head in. “Any day now, JJ. If you’re not outside in five minutes, you’ll have to get to the site the best way you can.” He closed the door without giving her a chance to respond.
She sighed, rolled her eyes, and her shoulders slumped before she looked back at her cousin. “All right, I’ll go out with him just so that you can get the tickets. But you owe me. You owe me big!” Martina wrapped Jada in a bear hug as they made their way to the door.
“Okay, I’ll go out with you,” Jada said to Zack when she and Martina walked back into the reception area. Jada grabbed a business card from the counter and jotted her number on the back. “That’s for just in case you don’t still have my number. Give me a call tonight, and we can make arrangements.”
His lips tilted into a small smile, and he handed the tickets to Martina, but didn’t take his gaze from Jada.
“Thank you! Good luck on Sunday. I hope the team wins,” MJ said before she grabbed her tool bucket from next to the counter and hurried off toward the back of the building.
Zack lifted Jada’s hand. “I’m not sure what your cousin said to convince you, but I guarantee you won’t be sorry.” He kissed the back of her hand. An electric charge shot up her arm and liquid heat spread through her body.
Jada swallowed hard as she stared into his crystal blue eyes. God give me strength.
Chapter Five
Zack rubbed his hands together, eager to see Jada again. She fascinated him. Seeing her at her job the day before only made him want to get to know her that much more. He just hoped he didn’t blow things with this first date. They had agreed to meet at Harvest Love, a nonprofit farm, one of the many charities he supported.
Thinking about his conversation with Donny, he had begun to have second thought
s about asking Jada out. Maybe Donny was right about her being high maintenance, and everything else Zack didn’t want in his future wife. But he needed to find out for himself. The spark he felt between them told him that she was exactly what he wanted. She might have looked like she stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine at the reception, but in his gut he felt she was really down-to-earth. Besides, she had told him that she often did volunteer work. He couldn’t think of a more worthy cause than helping to provide food to those who were down and out and needed a helping hand.
More and more volunteers were showing up, mostly women, but no Jada. Zack had called earlier, waking her up, and she assured him that she would be there.
Just then, he saw her pull into the parking lot and climb out of a champagne color Lexus with chrome rims and slightly tinted windows.
Even her car is sexy.
He watched as she put a few things into the trunk. His gaze immediately went to her sweet ass, admiring the way her tight designer jeans hugged her round butt. Although petite, Jada carried herself like a runway model.
Walking toward him, with each step she took, her long ponytail swung back and forth, making her look like a teenager, but Zack knew differently. The gentle sway of her curvaceous hips was as spellbinding as the first time he had seen her walk down the aisle at the wedding. The woman did wicked things to his body, and he had no doubt that they were a perfect match both mentally and physically.
He moved to meet her, and his gaze raked down her body analyzing the way she was dressed. Though she looked amazing in a fitted yellow T-shirt, tight dark jeans, and white tennis shoes, he was a little surprised that she didn’t wear something a little less … nice.
He smiled when she removed her designer shades and squinted up at him.
“Hey beautiful,” he said wrapping his arm around her back, kissing her on the cheek. The scent of her perfume, a combination of baby powder and flowers made him inhale deeply. Between her fragrance and the feel of her body against his, he didn’t want to let her go. “I’m glad you could make it. Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
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