James chuckled and took another drink. “You’re you. A beautiful, smart, intelligent woman who simply hasn’t made hers yet.”
Jennifer narrowed her eyes at James. Her smile fell slightly, and then brightened oddly. “Do you mean that?” She asked, teasingly.
Nodding eagerly, James took the moment to touch her wrist. The smile was gone again. Jennifer looked towards his hand on her wrist, and then met his eyes. James released her hand slowly, letting his fingers trail along her forearm first. Her reaction caused something to stir within him. He wasn’t going to be able to keep touching her like that for much longer, if again at all while they remained on the plane. He was close to stepping out of line.
“Jennifer,” James took another long drink and sat his glass down empty. He turned to her and grinned, trying to get the light air back into their conversation. “You have to know that you’re an exceptional, woman, right?”
Jennifer watched James carefully. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, but he could tell that she struggled to keep it tamed. Jennifer calmly lifted her glass to her lips and held it there, hiding the bottom half of her face. James chuckled.
“I mean that. I’m not surprised at all that men have approached you like that,” James paused. “Well, actually, I can’t believe some would just come right out and say that—”
“Have you ever used your money to win a woman?” Jennifer asked suddenly.
James snapped his eyes to hers, mouth open. His lips moved, but no sound formed. Rolling, her eyes, Jennifer slowly lowered the glass.
“I guess what I really mean is if that’s something men like you do?”
“Men like me?” James frowned.
Jennifer sat the glass down. “I mean men with the type of weatlh you have.”
“We’re not all alike, Jennifer,” James said softly. The air was still heavy, despite James’s attempt to lighten the mood. He didn’t honestly understand what Jennifer was trying to say, but he didn’t like the way it sounded, whatever it was.
“No, I know that,” Jennifer struggled. “I just,” she paused and took a deep breath. She didn’t readily try to speak again, but turned from James and leaned her legs towards the left side of the plane and further away from him.
“There is something men with your kind of wealth have in common,” Jennifer tried again, a bit more somber. She didn’t meet James’s eyes and spoke lowly, as if she didn’t want Carolyn to hear. James glanced towards the front of the plane. The older woman was seated comfortably in the bucket seat working on something involving a crocheting hook and two skiens of yarn.
“You guys aren’t limited in the way that average people are,” Jennifer said slowly, as if chosing her words carefully. She turned to James and watched him. “I mean, we’re in a private jet, James. Money like that gives you priveliges.”
At length, James nodded. “You’re right.”
“Do you think it changes the way you think sometimes? Like that man thinking I could be bought with his money? What does that even mean?”
James blinked and forced a deep breath. This conversation took a sudden turn into an area he wasn’t planning on treading.
“Can you answer that?” Jennifer looked over James’s face. “Can you answer that honestly?”
Wetting his lips, James rubbed his hands together to buy himself some time. He didn’t think he honestly knew the answer to that.
“I can try,” he said at length, meeting Jennifer’s eyes again. She smiled weakly.
“I’d like that. I want to know about the kind of man that has so much clout they think they can just buy us.”
“You know, some do.”
Jennifer frowned. “What?”
“You know, there’s the sex trade. Human trafficking.”
A sound escaped Jennifer’s throat that was a mixture between a growl and groan of disgust.
“I hear you,” James said, “I’m not one of those guys. But,” he shrugged, and considered Jennifer’s question thoroughly. “When you start to amass the type of weath that “men like me have” to use your words,” he chuckled, “you’ll find that we do look at the world differently, I think.” James’s chest heaved up as he inhaled deeply. “When we’re met with resistance, we don’t crumble because we don’t live pay check to pay check.”
“You can make thousand dollar purchases in cash.”
James looked at her and nodded. “Some of us. Others can be worth millions and be kind of broke.”
“What?”
With another sturdy nod, James pressed his back into his chair. “Yes. It’s called a cash flow thing. They might own tons of real estate but not actually have enough monthly cash flowing in to sustain their daily way of living.”
Jennifer considered James’s words. She turned to him then, and leaned on the console between them. It was the closest she had dared to get to him since they had taken off.
“And what about the men that have no such problem? Is life just a game of money and clout to those guys?”
James chuckled nervously. “What are you talking about?”
“Would you ever use your money to try and seduce a woman into liking you?”
James would have spit out his drink if he had had any in his mouth. He sat up suddenly and faced Jennifer, completely confused.
“What?”
Jennifer watched James with a face that changed from determined to withdrawn. She sat up straight, and then back towards the left side of the plane and away from him. She stared out the window listlessly.
“Nevermind,” she muttered.
James eyed her. “Are you talking about me?”
“No.”
“Hey,” James tapped her forearm. He didn’t know if it was a good idea to follow her into this type of conversation, but there was something about the way she questioned him that unnerved him. He had never in his life offered a woman “the world” for love, sex, or time. The very question was offensive.
“What?” Jennifer tried to shrug his hand away, so James pulled it back.
“We’re both adults. If something’s troubling you, why don’t you just tell me?” James kept his voice calm.
Jennifer didn’t bother to maintain James’s eye contact. She stared straight ahead. She didn’t even aknolwedge that she had heard him. After several seconds had passed, James sighed and started to turn away. It was then that Jennifer lifted her head and turned to him, her mouth open. James faced her quickly, eager to hear what she might say.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our descent into Summit, New Jersey. As we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and trays have been replaced to their original position,” Carolyn’s voice was a smooth interjection over what Jennifer had started to say. When the older woman stopped speaking, Jennifer met James’s eyes with a soft smile.
With a deep breath, Jennifer shrugged. “Looks like it’s time to get into business mode.” James let his gaze linger on Jennifer’s for a little longer before he answered her.
“I guess you’re right.” He ran his eyes over his face. She had already swtiched gears. Play time was over. His heart sank.
“Can you brief me on this client?” Jennifer asked after finishing off the contents of her glass. She motioned to Carolyn. “Please, Miss. A bottle of water and a glass of ice?”
“I’ll have the same,” James cut in. He ignored the side glance Jennifer had given him and closed his eyes, trying to get his thoughts together. He needed to be carefulif he planned on playing his cards right. Although he really didn’t want to discuss business just yet, he decided that perhaps this was just the type of distraction they needed.
There really wasn’t much to do in New Jersey with Tim. He imagined they would discuss more about what the company needed, but he already had a fail safe plan for the young training firm to utilize. The rest of the board members were over cautious of stepping state boundaries into New York City, but that’s because they were just cautious individuals. If they knew the true pot
ential that stepping over the state lines would mean for their business, they would have done it yesterday.
A personal visit from himself would give the board the confidence they needed to try out an office in New York. They wouldn’t regret it. Their client list would probably triple, their annual profits would more than likely double, and each board member would probably make an extra million within the year. That type of money calling had a way of changing perspectives. Sure it wasn’t much, but a buck was a buck and snagging an extra mil on top of an annual salary that grossed six digits was nothing to shake a stick at.
James cleared his throat and eagerly accepted the water as Carolyn brought them the requested refreshments. They each poured their water in silence, drinking a full cup in the same manner before they turned to each other and acknowledged that they were ready to work.
It wasn’t necessarily a disappointing end to the plane ride. There was still the trip back to Chicago, not to mention the time they’d spend in Summit together.
James cleared his throat and began to relay the information about their potential newest client. This was the easy part. Talking business with Jennifer was always a pleasure because she kept herself so knowledgable about their industry, trade, and practices as a consultating firm.
They created a list of information they would need to make certain reports that would reveal the information needed to sway the rest of the board members. If all went well, James believed they could be back in New Jersey at the beginning of the following week to make a presentation and seal the deal. That thought excited him.
He didn’t need their little contract, although he was certain he’d get it. He just liked visiting his old home. It put his mind at ease when he came back. He was certain that Jennifer couldn’t know that about him, but he frequented New Jersey often. There were even some months when he went back as much as every weekend.
Of course, whenever he was in town, his heart ached to see his old friend, Melony Richards, but there was nothing romantic there. They had gone to school together and had remained the closest of buds ever since. If there was any other woman on earth who might have known him as much as Jennifer did, it was Melony.
Chapter Nine
Unmasked, Unveiled
The plane landed within thirty minutes after the descent announcement had been made. It was just before 3 pm in the new time zone when they touched down. The time seemed to bother Jennifer, but James wasn’t too worried about it.
James confronted Jennifer with the fact that they would get the hour back when they returned home. After all, Andrew wasn’t back in Chicago so there was really no reason for her to rush back. She was all his for the taking, and that thought brought an ever devlish grin to his face. Jennifer smirked and nudged him in the arm before he positioned himself to decended the two step flight of stairs.
“What’s that grin on your face about?” She asked coyly.
James was startled by how closely she watched him. He smiled at her and said nothing more. They chuckled and he descended from the plane. Jennifer exited after him, handing her suitcase and purse down first. On the flight deck, they stood and looked around. James pointed towards one of the buildings.
“We have a car waiting for us over there,” the wind was rushing past both of them, making it a difficult to hear. He nearly had to shout. The breeze danced with Jennifer’s hair, whipping it about her face. She looked like a goegous model posing liesurly for a shoot. How on earth had he been able to ignore her for so long?
They made their way from the deck towards the pickup vehicle. It was another car much like the one that had chaufferued them from downtown Chicago to the Executive Airport. Inside the vehicle, James slipped his phone from his pants pocket. He hadn’t brought anything other than his wallet and phone from Chicago and felt like he was missing something.
He had only stepped in to town to meet and have a light conversation face to face. He didn’t need anything else for this day trip. Even then, should something arise and documents be needed, he knew Jennifer brought one of the company’s laptops. That would save him in the event a real impromptu meeting was necessary.
They settled into the car quietly, with an easiness falling upon them. The somber nature of their last conversation before business took over seemed to be long forgotten. James hoped it would stay that way. Glancing at the time on his phone’s screen, James held it between his hands and looked to Jennifer.
“Are you in a hurry to get back to Chicago tonight?”
Jennifer eyed him. “I don’t know. Depends. Why are you asking?”
James smiled. “Well, this is my home. I’d love to show you some places while we’re here. You probably don’t know any of this stuff about me.” Jennifer pursed her lips together in consideration. After a while, she spoke softly.
“I always thought you didn’t want me to know much about you.”
James held her gaze. He shruggled after a moment and glanced down, but didn’t return his eyes to Jennifer’s. Instead, he turned in his seat and drew a seat belt over his chest.
“There might have been a time where I thought that was a better choice.” It was an honest answer, through and through.
Jennifer ran a hand through her hair and drew her seat belt in the same fashion. The driver situated themselves in the front seat. He made eye contact with James and nodded, not even needing a word as to their first destination. In the back seat, James noticed Jennifer’s interest with the passing world as the driver stepped on the gas.
“It’s so green here,” she commented, a bit in awe.
“You’ve never been to New Jersey?” Jennifer shook her head. “What about New York?”
“Just for the auction,” she admitted, turning back to James. “I’ve never been this far on the East Coast.”
“Beaches?”
“Just the lake,” Jennifer grinned. “That counts, doesn’t it?”
James laughed. “Wow, woman. You need to get out more.”
“I can’t. I was too busy busting my ass working for you.”
James knew she meant it as a joke, but it struck him somewhere deep inside. Jennifer’s face changed, growing serious.
“I didn’t mean that,” she said quickly.
“Yes you did,” James replied just as curtly. His voice was a little more edged than he meant it to be. He wanted to tell her that he never asked her to work so hard, then again, after all those years, he never told her to stop, did he? Not until recently when he finally decided to incur more costs and get someone to supplement the trivial nature of the mential tasks her position covered.
“I guess I’ve been a bit of a jerk to work for, huh?” James asked, watching Jennifer studiously. A genuine smile played across her full, beautiful lips.
“You never made me work so hard.”
“But I never stopped you either.”
“How could you know I worked at night and on my days off?”
“You work on your days off?” James shook his head. “Please don’t tell me you do that.”
Sheepishly, Jennifer shrugged. The smile was falling, but still lingered. She closed her mouth and said nothing more. Within seconds, the gril grew again to another tempting smile. What he wouldn’t give to lean towards her and take those lips into his own.
The car felt significantly more cramped than the cabin they had flown into New Jersey on. His leg rested comfortable against Jennifer’s leg and he wanted to slide a hand along the top of her thigh.
James grinned back at her, unsure of what signals she was sending to him. The conversation could go one of several ways from where they were, but judging by her smile, James’s figured he was on a good path. He just didn’t understand why.
“What’s going on behind that beautiful smile?” James asked with the most sultry voice he could muster. Jennifer wet her lips and bit the bottom one before answering.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“Hmm.”
Tit for tat.
Je
nnifer raised her eyebrows at him, but said nothing more. She turned towards the window and crossed her bare legs again. James ran his eyes down the length of her body. He tried to discreetly let out the breath he had been holding in. He swore that each and every second he spent in her presence was exponentially growing her level of sexiness.
Maybe he would need to book her a ticket commerically to return home. He didn’t like that idea though and he was pretty certain that it would only be taken as an insult.
“So this is where you grew up?”
“Born and raised.”
Jennifer turned to him. “When did you make it out to the city?”
“After I made my first ten million,” James leaned back into the seats and sighed. “It seems like ages ago but it was really only 15 years,” he smirked. “Wow, I’m suddenly feeling very old.”
“Oh, come on,” Jennifer teased, she pushed at James’s leg with her own and crossed her hands over her chest. Her eyes twinkled. “34 is hardly old.” James eyed Jennifer thoughtfully. “It’s a seasoned age with style.”
“I just realized something,” James stared at Jennifer blankly.
“What?”
“Was I your first real job?”
Jennifer tried to surpress a smile, but failed. After a moment of hesitation, she answered.
“At the ripe age of 23, yes. Yes, you were,” she bite back a smile. James grinned.
“I’m glad it was you,” he said finally.
Jennifer lowered her gaze and took an interest in her purse. Before the silence could blossom around them, James’s phone began to vibrate and ring within his palms. He didn’t bother looking at the caller, but pressed one of the buttons along the side of his phone to silence the call. Lifting her head with renewed determination, Jennifer smirked and nodded towards the phone.
“Aren’t you going to see who it is?” She asked slyly. James ignored her taunt.
“No,” James said with a straight face. He stared back at Jennifer unashamedly, but she didn’t back down.
“Do you want me to answer for you?” Her smile doubled, “As your assistant?” James leaned towards her.
Millionaire Romance: In Love With My Personal Assistant - A Contemporary Romance (Millionaire Romance, Contemporary Romance, Comedy Romance Book 2) Page 8