by Laney Kay
She batted her eyes at him and looped her arms around his neck. “Of course you weren’t.” She kissed him, a big smacking kiss on the lips. “But thanks for wanting to make his life a little more difficult.” She kissed him again. “And thanks for giving me the mental picture of Jerry Jeff and my ex in a MMA cage. That will give me endless hours of pleasure.”
He started trailing little sucking kisses up her neck and she moaned and wiggled closer. “How about you let me give you endless hours of pleasure?” He stood up and she wrapped her legs around him and he anchored his arms under her butt so he could walk her down the hall.
Lola awoke the next morning thinking that the only thing better than the sex the night before was waking to the smell of bacon and coffee. She pulled on Jake’s Tshirt and a pair of fluffy socks and followed the smells down the hall to the kitchen. When she came around the corner, Jake was standing over the stove, wearing only a pair of unbuttoned jeans and a pair of socks, humming to himself while the bacon cooked. She smiled to herself as she watched him.
“You think that’s safe frying bacon with no shirt on?” She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing his back between his shoulder blades.
He smiled at her over his shoulder. “It might be a little dangerous with no pants, but I’m safe as a kitten with no shirt. Trust me, I’m a professional.” He turned to give her a kiss and winked at her. “You sleep good?”
She nodded against his back. “Like a baby. I think you wore me out.”
He grinned as he flipped the bacon. “Good. That was the plan, sugar. Dazzle you with my mad skills of seduction and put you in a sexually induced coma.” He inclined his head toward the opposite counter. “There’s some coffee for you. I already put the sugar and cream in the cup, just pour in the coffee and you’re good to go.”
She squeezed him and went to pour the coffee. “Now, that’s the right way to start your day. A tall, handsome, semi-naked man, bacon, and coffee.” She sat down on the other side of the island and took a sip of her coffee.
He waved his spatula at her. “Brace yourself. It’s even better than that. As soon as I get this bacon on the warmer, I’m making you pancakes.”
She moaned appreciatively at the thought of pancakes. “Ooh, Lawd. Pancakes. Definitely a man after my own heart.”
He grinned and put the bacon on paper towels on a plate and stuck it in the warming drawer. He took the prepared pancake batter out of the fridge, wiped the bacon grease out of the pan, and poured four pancakes into the pan. Lola sipped her coffee and smiled at him. “You need a chef’s hat. And maybe an apron. Maybe just a chef’s hat and an apron. Forget the pants.”
He rolled his eyes at the thought. “You like me cooking for you?”
She laughed. “I like anyone cooking for me.”
“Then you’re in for a treat. Wait until you taste my brisket and butt. They’re to die for.”
She waggled her eyebrows. “Why, Jake, I think I’ve tasted both several times and they were absolutely delicious.”
He laughed and pointed at her with his spatula. “Such a dirty girl, Ms. Lola.”
She winked at him and smiled and went to get the coffee pot. She refilled both of their cups, replaced the pot, and sat back down at the bar. As Jake flipped the pancakes, he casually mentioned that he’d gotten an email from some friends about a party. “Speaking of my brisket and butt, next month, a group of my friends and I are cooking out down by the lake. You want to come? I’m cooking briskets, butts, and ribs, and everyone else is bringing the sides. It’s just a bunch of my buds from college, very casual. Your only job would be to keep me company while I tend the smoker and then hang out once everyone gets here. No cooking required, I promise.”
He flipped the pancakes and then looked at her for her answer. Lola recognized the casual invitation for what it really was—a confirmation that she wanted to continue in a real relationship after her situation was resolved. She looked at him and shrugged, answering just as casually. “Sure. Sounds fun.” Then she wrinkled her nose. “Wait, are these all your college friends? Is this a bunch of damn Bama fans?” She gave an exaggerated shudder. “Oookkkaaayyy, I’ll come, but I’m wearing a UGA onesie.”
He laughed, relieved. “Whatever it takes.”
“I can bring something, though. Want me to get Daisy to make us some red velvet cupcakes?”
His head snapped around at the thought of Daisy’s cupcakes. “Hell yeah, that would be awesome. Better yet, invite all your friends to come. They’ll fit in fine, and those cupcakes will make Daisy the queen of the party.”
Lola smiled at him. “That sounds like a great plan. I’ll text them later.” She got up again to top off their coffee and then put the empty carafe in the sink. He split the bacon between the two of them, plated pancakes for them, poured syrup on them, and came around to sit beside her. Lola forked a huge bite of pancake, moaning appreciatively as she chewed. “Holy shit, Jake, these are amazing.” She washed the bite down with a gulp of coffee then took another huge bite, asking with her mouth full, “Are there more of these?”
He nodded. “Uh yeah. What, you think I haven’t met you before? Since you were eating, I made an extra large batch. Normally, for me, I make enough for six to eight pancakes, but today, I made enough for twelve.”
She looked doubtful. “Twelve little ones, like these?”
He laughed and hooked his arm around her neck and put a sticky kiss on her lips. “No, dork, enough for twelve each. I can make about twenty-four pancakes like these.”
Lola was relieved. “Whew. I thought, hell, I could probably eat at least twelve myself.” She shoved another bite in her mouth and chewed happily, making little humming, yummy noises. Jake started laughing and got up to put some more pancakes in the pan. She grinned, and said with her mouth full, “Keep ‘em coming, Jake. You really helped me work up an appetite last night, so you know that means you have to feed me.” He flipped two more pancakes on her plate, turned the ones in the pan, and grabbed his plate so he could finish the two he had left.
By the time they were done, Lola had eaten thirteen pancakes and Jake finished ten. She leaned back in her chair and patted her full stomach. “Jake, that was delicious.” She leaned forward in her chair and kissed him. She put her hand on his thigh and slid it slowly up his leg. “I need a shower. Eventually. First, I could use a little action to finish waking up.”
“The pancakes and coffee didn’t do the job?”
She shook her head and he groaned as she started to caress his leg. “No, now I think I’m a little overcarbed. I need some activity to get me going. You in the mood to join me?”
He stood up and scooped her off her chair, threw her upside down over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and headed toward his bathroom. She was laughing and trying to shove her hands down the back of his pants, but he started running down the hall which made fondling him much more difficult.
They started on the bathroom counter then ended with a very long shower, which eventually got them both clean but they were exhausted afterwards. They managed to dry off and staggered back to the bedroom and Lola barely managed to pull back the covers before they collapsed naked on the bed and snuggled under the blankets. Jake was lying on his back and he pulled Lola over so she was on her side with her arm across his chest and her leg pulled up across his hips. She teasingly rubbed her thigh against him and he groaned. “Forget it, you evil woman. I couldn’t get it up again right now if my life depended on it.”
She laughed and yawned as she snuggled in and closed her eyes. “Wimp. I’m totally ready to go again.”
He rolled his head and raised his eyebrows. Honestly, that was about all the effort he could make at the moment. “Really? Okay, big talker. Go for it. I’ll just lay here, and you give it your best shot. If you can get anything going, I’ll join right in.”
She didn’t even open her eyes. Or move. “Fine. Here I go. Get ready, big guy. I’m about to rock your world.” Her voice
trailed off as she fell asleep in mid boast.
Jake smiled and held her closer and he soon drifted off as well. They slept for almost an hour and were awakened by a ringing phone. Jake fumbled for the phone and answered it as soon as he realized it was his brother. “Hey, Steve. What you got?”
Jake sat up and looked at Lola who had woken up and was looking at him. She idly ran a hand under the sheet across his lap and up his naked thigh and he winked at her as he listened to Steve, answering with an occasional, “Uh huh.” His brows drew together. “Hang on Steve, let me put you on speaker so Lola can hear.” He switched the speaker on and held the phone so Lola could hear. “Okay, Steve, say that again.”
“Hey, Lola.”
“Hey, Steve. You got something interesting for us?”
“I do. My FDA and lab buddies did some testing on the samples we got, and it appears there is a problem with the samples.”
Jake leaned forward. “Was it the experimental drug we thought it was?”
Steve hesitated. “Not exactly.”
Lola and Jake looked at each other and Lola frowned. “Did y’all run your findings past Professor Littman?”
“Yes. He said that there are some similarities to the experimental drug, but there are some big differences. He also said that it is a SSRI, so DeLeon Labs didn’t lie about that, but it wasn’t the simple SSRI they said it was either The question now is whether the drug is so different from what they claimed that it could stop the clinical trial or keep the drug from being approved by the FDA.”
Jake grabbed Lola’s hand and laced his fingers with hers. “So what’s the answer to that?”
Steve hesitated. “No idea. Now, this is in the hands of the FDA and I’m out of the loop.”
The all sat in silence for a moment, thinking through the implications of what they had learned. Lola was the first to speak. “So what does that mean?”
Steve took a deep breath. “Well, there’s no overt mislabeling of drugs, no fraud, this is just a matter of whether they misrepresented a drug or falsified an application with the FDA, so the FDA will be the ones investigating it. It’s no longer anything under our jurisdiction. Plus, we now know that Mitch wasn’t killed by anything other than possibly KFC, so there’s no murder plot. The only crime we know of is the break-ins, and the way that everything’s turning out, that looks like a local matter if y’all decide to pursue it.”
Jake and Lola looked at each other and shrugged. He was right. Steve continued. “On the plus side, Lola, it doesn’t look like there’s any reason that anyone should be messing with you in the future. But I will say, I think y’all may want to have a little chat with DeLeon and the guys he hired to break into your house to make sure they know they need to stay the hell away from you.”
Jake squeezed Lola’s hand and winked at her and she smiled back. “Don’t worry about that, brother. We’re going to pay them all a personal visit to make sure they understand that this is now over and Lola will no longer be on their radar.”
There was a pause, and then Steve hesitantly asked a question. “So Lola, does this mean I’ll be seeing you at our next family gathering?”
Lola still looked a little like a deer in headlights, but she managed to smile at the phone. “Let’s just say you never know where I might turn up.”
Steve laughed. “You’re a brave woman, Lola. Especially now that you know his history with women.”
Jake interrupted as Lola started laughing with Steve. “That’s enough from both of you. Steve, I think Lola’s heard enough about everyone’s opinion about what a loser I am with women, so no need to revisit that topic. And Lola, don’t egg that jackass on, it only makes him more obnoxious.” He hesitated and then quietly thanked his brother. “And Steve, seriously, thanks for all your help.”
“No problem, Jake. I did it for Lola, though, not you. Just to be clear.”
Lola smiled at his words as Jake rolled his eyes and bit back a sarcastic comment. “Thanks, Steve. I really appreciate everything you did for me.” She glanced at Jake. “For us, actually. You’re a good brother. And a great friend.”
“You’re more than welcome, Lola. Hope I’ll see you next time I’m in town.”
“You, too.”
They all exchanged pleasantries and hung up. Lola and Jake looked at each other. Lola took a deep breath and shrugged. “Okay, so what do we do to finish this up?”
Jake brought their entwined hands up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Well, after we put some clothes on, let’s go talk to Mike and see what he thinks.” He took a deep breath and seemed to choose his words carefully. “But I think that, if it’s okay with you, just Mike and I should go talk to the assholes that broke into your house.” Lola could see the anger in his eyes. “I want them to understand that any future contact with you is completely off limits.”
Lola thought about it for a second. She didn’t like the idea of being left out, but she’d spent a lot of time around guys and she knew that a conversation like this would be more effective without her being involved. Also, to be honest, she wasn’t crazy about seeing the men that had been going through her house, especially after the one guy made comments about her and her friends being hot. The whole situation was just creepy. She tilted her head to one side and tapped her index finger on her lip. “Hmmm. So, no girls allowed, huh? This is just man to man? Which means you and Mikey are going to threaten them. With what? Kicking the shit out of them, or having them arrested for breaking and entering?”
Jake relaxed at her mild tone and shrugged. “Probably both. We’ll show them the tapes of them breaking in and remind them that being a private investigator doesn’t allow them to break into someone’s home without permission and that you are perfectly willing to prosecute. A felony breaking and entering won’t be great for their PI licenses.” He dropped her hands and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing as he remembered the comment the man had made about Lola and her friends. “I also want to personally remind him that you and your friends are all married and have no interest in meeting him or his friends. Then Mike and I will make it clear that we have a personal interest in your health and well-being and that if they ever come anywhere near you, they’ll be dealing with Atlanta PD first, and then us last.”
Lola nodded. “Fine by me. Just make sure you remember the conversation so you can repeat their whiny little comments as they beg for mercy.”
Jake was relieved that she willingly agreed to his suggestion. “Done.”
Lola sat up and tucked the blanket under her arms. Jake grabbed the throw from the bottom of the bed and wrapped it around Lola’s shoulders so she wouldn’t get cold. She smiled her thanks. “So what should we do about DeLeon?”
Jake shrugged. “I think we need to talk to him, but I’m not sure the best way to handle it. Any thoughts?”
Lola thought about it and then started nodding. “I think it definitely needs to be face to face.”
Jake agreed. “Me, too. And I think we should show him the information we have from the guys who broke into your house. We have the emails to them from DeLeon saying that you were in possession of stolen files from Mitch, and then we have them breaking into your house. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be anywhere near any appearance of impropriety right now, especially since it looks like he’s about to have some problems with the FDA.”
As Jake grabbed his phone and started tapping out commands, Lola snorted. “No shit. He’s got enough trouble to deal with.” She tightened the throw around her shoulders and leaned forward so she could see what Jake was doing. “You getting a phone number for Mr. DeLeon?”
Jake turned his phone so Lola could see the phone number on the screen. “Yep. His personal cell number, at your service. Thank you Big Al. You in the mood to make a call?”
Lola grinned at him. “Absolutely. Let’s get my regular phone, though. I’m hoping he’ll recognize the number when it comes up.” She grabbed her phone out of her suitcase, turned it on, and typed in
the numbers. As the phone started to ring, she placed it on speaker so they both could hear it. It went to voice mail, and Lola left a message in a sugary-sweet tone. “Mr. DeLeon, this is Lola Prentiss. We have a few things we need to discuss and I’d like to make an appointment so we could discuss these matters in person. Please call me at this number and I’m sure we can get these matters addressed without a lot of hassle. Thanks so much and hope you’re having a great day.” She hung up and grinned at Jake. “That should make him wonder.”
Jake leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. He had just started to say, “I’m sure we’ll be hearing from him soon,” when her phone rang. She grabbed it and showed him and they both laughed when they saw DeLeon’s number. She hit the button to answer it and put it on speaker.
“Lola Prentiss.”
A smooth, deep, voice answered. “Ms. Prentiss, Marco DeLeon. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”
Jake and Lola smiled at each other as she answered calmly. “Mr. DeLeon, thanks so much for the quick return call. I thought it would be a good idea to get together to discuss the matters involving our mutual acquaintance, Mitch Willard.”
There was a short silence, then he answered. “Ah, Mr. Willard. That’s probably a good idea that we get together and tie up some loose ends. I’ll actually be in Atlanta for a meeting in a couple of days, and I have time this Thursday morning if you’d like to meet.”
“What time?” Lola looked at Jake who shrugged. It didn’t matter to him.
“My meeting starts at noon, so I could meet you at 9:00 for breakfast. I’m staying at the Ritz downtown, if you’d like to join me, I‘ll buy you breakfast in the restaurant and we can talk.”
Lola winked at Jake. “We’ll be there at 9:00 on Thursday.”
“We?”
“I’ll be bringing my colleague, Jake Morrow, with me. So, we’ll see you then.”