“Yeah, fine. See you soon.”
“God help us,” Eric groaned and hung up.
I let out a bitter laugh at my predicament. Any other time I would have been happy with such an easy way out. But I wasn’t done with Becca, hell I didn’t feel close to being done with her. She was different in a way I couldn’t really explain, only that she pulled me to her like a magnet.
Maybe it was her responsiveness, her eagerness in the sack. Or maybe it was that sweet demeanor that hid several layers of sassy that I couldn’t resist. Whatever it was, she’d been on my mind since I walked away from that café with the taste of her still on my lips. She was there, at the forefront of my mind when I fell asleep and there again when I woke up to start a new day.
It wasn’t love, because that shit was for suckers, but it was something special. Something different. Something worth exploring.
That meant I needed to go back to New York. I buzzed Sebastian and seconds later he entered the office, impeccably dressed in a three piece suit despite the eighty degree weather here in Southern California. “What’s up, Boss?”
“I’m headed back to New York. Hold things down for me.”
He blinked, looking confused, but nodding because I was the boss and he rarely questioned me. “Sure thing. Everything okay?”
“Better than okay. I’m going to get the girl.”
A grin curved his mouth. “Good luck, sir.”
I stood and grabbed my jacket and briefcase that contained a few new scripts I could look at on the jet. “Got any pointers for me?”
“Groveling always works. Expensive gifts work the best for your women.”
I laughed and clapped Sebastian on the back with wide grin. “Becca isn’t like my typical women. I have a feeling that an expensive gift will make her run away from me even faster.”
He stopped and pressed the elevator button. “Then perhaps a carriage or helicopter ride around the city. What does she like to do?”
I froze, feeling dejected because I had no fucking clue. I grinned at my assistant. “First order of business, finding out what she likes.”
“I’m just a phone call away, Boss.” With a terse nod, he stepped back from the closing elevator doors and gave me an encouraging smile.
“Thanks, Sebastian.” I made my way home to pack a couple bags and head to the Santa Monica airport.
By the time the sun had sunk behind the horizon, I was back in New York.
Becca had proven herself to be quite adept at avoiding me over the past twenty-four hours. I’d landed in New York and gone straight to Eric’s office, sure she’d still be there because Eric was. But between entering the lobby and making it up to the executive offices of Eric’s talent agency, she had disappeared. So, I went to her apartment and knocked for ten minutes.
She didn’t answer.
If it wasn’t so frustrating, I would be impressed with her efforts. But what Becca needed to learn was that Jackson Steele was a man of extreme patience. I was determined to get some face time with her, and that determination had made me a ton of money in several different fields and made me a household name. She could outlast me for a day, maybe two. But beyond that, she didn’t stand a chance.
I was there, at the office, waiting for her when she walked in the next morning. Thanks to an eager to please aspiring agent, I had a good seat with a perfect view of the elevators on the executive floor. The bell dinged and I stood with a warm smile. “Good morning, Becca.”
“Oh! You scared the crap out of me, Jackson.” She recovered quickly though, scowl firmly in place. “What are you doing here? Eric won’t be here for another hour.”
“That’s perfect,” I told her retreating form, staring at her round ass encased in a pink dress. “Because I’m here to see you.”
She nearly tripped over her own feet at my words. But again, she recovered fast. “I don’t know why you wasted your time, Jackson. You don’t owe me anything.”
“I know I don’t, but I want to give you an explanation.” She didn’t even turn around as she fired up her computer and put her purse into the bottom drawer of her desk. “I had to fly back to LA to deal with some work bullshit, but I had to go. And I left my phone at the hotel.”
Her gray eyes finally landed on mine, completely emotionless as she listened to messages and took down notes for several long minutes. My jaws clenched at her blatant dismissal, but I knew I earned it. I fucked up. Becca hung up the phone and turned her chair to face me. “Thank you for letting me know, Jackson.” She was halfway on a swivel back to her screen when I stepped closer.
“That’s it? I flew back to the city because I wanted to see you and spend more time with you.” The woman was as cold as ice, completely unreceptive to me at the moment. It kind of turned me on. “Doesn’t that count for anything?”
She nodded. “And in the week since you failed to show up without a word?”
I sighed, knowing I owed her more of an explanation though I wasn’t used to being questioned like this. “My assistant Sebastian usually syncs my shit to the cloud, but a few months ago I told him I’d start doing it myself. Only I didn’t. So I lost your number along with plenty of business contacts.” It was embarrassing to admit, but Sebastian had taken the responsibility back without a word. Just a knowing smirk.
“Okay. Apology accepted, if that was even an apology.”
I opened my mouth and shut it, then frowned. “I do apologize. I should have found a way to reach out to you.”
She shook her head, disgust written all over her. “And this emergency, was so dire that you couldn’t swing by the office and let me know? Or call me as you went to the hotel to pack and, presumably make a bunch of calls to track down your missing starlet?”
Shit, she had some good points. “I went into work mode and I just…,” fuck, saying that wouldn’t help.
“Forgot?” She offered with a resigned tone. “You forgot about me.” Becca laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “Like I said, Jackson. Thank you for letting me know. If you don’t mind, I need to get to work now.”
Dismissed. All I could do was smile. “I’ll see you real soon, beautiful Becca.”
She scoffed. “I’ve heard that before.”
I stood and took the four steps to her desk, leaning over so my hands were braced on the arms of her chair and her fierce gray eyes slammed into mine. “And I’ve already explained that to you. You’ll forgive me,” I told her and just as she opened her mouth to protest, I pressed my lips to hers and kissed her the way I should have in that café. Her soft lips held firm for about a second before opening to me, letting me taste her sweet tongue that held a hint of her morning coffee. Nothing touched but our lips, but the kiss was fantastic. It was sensual, and best of all, my beautiful Becca was all in. That’s what I needed to know. Pulling back with a smile, I pressed another kiss right behind her ear. “See you soon.”
Becca
Avoiding Jackson had become a second full-time job, and I’d been doing a good job of it until he beat me at my own game. Showing up early at the office had been a rotten, if clever, thing to do. Catching me off guard like he had, made it clear that I needed to do better with purging him from my mind. And my heart. Not that my heart was involved. It wasn’t.
Not even a little bit.
We had one night together, that’s it. Great sex and better conversation did not mean hearts and flowers. It was simply the modern one night stand, at least according to Cosmo, anyway. Still, after that panty melting kiss, it grew harder and harder to remind myself that whatever had been or whatever could have been, was no more. It didn’t matter that he’d come back, or that he had a perfectly reasonable explanation for why he’d stood me up.
He’d forgotten about me, which I was used to in a way. As the executive assistant for a very powerful man, I was used to my needs coming in second or third. I also had a lifetime of experience coming in last. Not that my mom was a bad mother in any way, she wasn’t. But she’d been a single working mom
constantly in search of Mr. Right. So I’d been relegated to the background and forced to care for myself due to long shifts and late night dates. And we can’t forget boyfriends who didn’t want to be bothered with a kid. So yeah, I had a lifetime of coming in second, or third, in my life. I’d even let more than a few men do it to me. But it always left me feeling used and broken, and honestly, I could feel that way without anyone else’s help. So I stayed away from men and relationships.
Until Jackson Steele made me believe in more. Made me want what I knew I’d never have. No one had ever put me first, hell not even me, and I expected a guy like him to do it? What a fucking joke! Even though the belief had only lasted until I realized he hadn’t meant his words to be taken seriously. They were just words meant to help him get his way.
I wasn’t in the market to become anyone’s fool. Not again.
“Becca, a minute,” Eric barked through the intercom, sending me straight to my feet, grabbing my tablet and a pad of paper and pen before hurrying into his office.
“Yes?” I took a seat in the chair across from him, perched on the edge as I waited for his latest order. Eric always needed a letter drafted or ideas typed up where he could easily refer to them later, and I was always prepared. The perfect assistant, making sure his life was taken care of before mine.
He continued to henpeck his keyboard for close to a minute before his hands dropped in his lap and he turned exhausted gray eyes my way. Leaning back in his chair, his look turned assessing. “What’s going on?”
I blinked, suddenly feeling as though I was in trouble. Immediately my mind began to race, had I forgotten to do something big? I couldn’t think of anything, so I turned to my own notes. “I had to move around a couple phone calls and you have a conference call with the European division tomorrow instead of Thursday.”
Eric held up his hands in a ‘stop’ motion. “I’m not asking about that, Becca. Clearly something is bothering you and I thought maybe you wanted to talk about it.”
A smile touched my lips at his awkward attempt at an emotional talk. “I really don’t, but thank you. Besides,” I shrugged in an effort to appear as unaffected as I sounded, “there isn’t anything to talk about.”
He smiled again, blonde brows arched so high they were practically at his hairline. “Oh, is that why Jackson has been seen creeping around the building at all hours? Calling me to speak to you and all the flowers suddenly making my office look like a funeral parlor?”
I glanced at the three vases filled with red, white and pink roses. I had to put them somewhere and Eric’s office could use a few more personal touches. “I can’t help who sends flowers, Boss. But if you don’t want them in here, I’ll give them to the receptionists.”
He sighed and raked a hand through his normally perfectly styled hair. “I’m asking as your family, Becca, not as your boss.”
“And I appreciate that, but-,”
He shook his head. “No buts. C’mon Becs. Tell me what’s going on.”
He wouldn’t let it go until he had the full story, I knew that. But as comfortable as I felt around Eric, right now I felt a little bruised and battered. Letting myself be open with Jackson had taken a toll because it was something I rarely did, and now I felt hesitant about doing it again. Even with family. “Why don’t you ask him?”
“I did. Now I’m asking you.”
“This isn’t really something to talk about on company time,” I said in another lame attempt to delay the inevitable.
“All of my time is company time, and so is most of yours.”
“Fine. We had a date and he stood me up. End of story.”
“He told you about his phone?”
I groaned, but gave a reluctant nod. “Yes, he told me. But it doesn’t matter. There was plenty of time for him to call before he lost his phone, but he didn’t. Because he forgot. About me.” My emotions were too close to the edge and I stood. “Are we done talking about this?”
“If you’re sure you’re all right? Want me to beat him up for you?” He smiled and jabbed the air a few times, making me smile.
“I am fine, Eric. I appreciate your concern, but beating him up wouldn’t accomplish anything.”
“Might make you feel better.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “If that was true, I’d have just kicked him in the balls myself.” Time was the only thing that would make me feel better, but I didn’t care about feeling better. I cared about making better decisions where men were concerned.
“Fine. Yes, we’re done.”
“Thank you,” I told him before turning on my heels and walking away as fast as my legs would carry me. Straight to the bathroom where I let a few tears fall before rinsing my face and returning to my desk.
When it was finally late enough to head home, I shut down my computer and locked both my office as well as Eric’s and made my way out of the building. Some days I wished I didn’t have to drive because city driving was always the worst, but in New York it became an exercise in survival. And after a long day at the office where I’d spent all of my mental energy on not thinking about Jackson, finding my parking spot had nearly defeated me.
I should have taken Eric up on his generous offer to rent a permanent parking space for me. At the time it had seemed way too indulgent, too much like something rich people did. Not normal people, like me.
The four-block walk back to where I parked this morning was nice though, the chilly air invigorated me and cleared my mind. There was no reason to feel all butt-hurt over the fact that Jackson had done exactly what I’d expected him to do. And he’d apologized so there was no reason for me to feel anything about it anymore. Lesson learned and all that. And by the time I reached the elevator of my apartment building, I actually felt it was true.
Feeling cleansed, I resolved to make a salad, drink more wine than was reasonable for a Tuesday, and get a long, peaceful night’s sleep before I had to do it all over again tomorrow. I turned at the end of the hall towards my corner apartment and froze. Then simmered.
“What in the hell are you doing here?”
Jackson’s lips curled into that lazy, panty-dropping smile as he looked at me. “I came to see you, of course.”
Why had he shown up on my doorstep when I made it clear that we had nothing else to discuss? The answer came immediately as I stood in the kitchen, pouring myself a super sized glass of wine. Sex. I poured another, far less generous glass for him, and made my way back to the living room. “I’m pretty sure I accepted your apology already, Jackson.”
“Thanks,” he said and took a long, slow sip of the pinot. And yeah, the man was gorgeous as hell and maybe—just maybe—I couldn’t tear my gaze from the way his lips curved around the glass, the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed. Instantly I was back there in his hotel room, enjoying the way his big, masculine body moved in pleasure. “I told you we weren’t finished.”
Arms crossed, I took a seat in a lone chair on the other side of the room, because I realized that this man was turning out to be my personal kryptonite. “Too bad it isn’t just up to you.”
He sighed and set his glass down. “It was a dick move, Becca. I know that, but I like you and I think you like me too.”
I nodded because there was no point in lying about it. “Right, but you see, I didn’t forget about you Jackson. I sat right there on that sofa and waited, for nearly two hours before I stupidly realized I’d been stood up.” And it was a feeling I had no desire to repeat. Ever.
“I explained that already.” He looked so torn, so genuinely shocked that his reasonable explanation wasn’t enough for me. It was enough to make me laugh because I was sure that women accepted a lot of misdeeds from Jackson because of his wealth, his fame, and his mastery of the female body.
“You did, but tell me Jackson, when did it occur to you that maybe you should call me and let me know you were flying to the other side of the country at the same time we were supposed to be on a date, that you asked for?” I took a l
ong gulp of my wine because I really didn’t want an answer. I just wanted to make a point. “Look Jackson, it doesn’t matter. You got what you wanted and I’m not making a big deal out of it. Why are you?”
He unfolded his big body and walked to me, kneeling on the floor at my feet. “I want to see you again, Becca. I wanted that date, and you’re right, I was focused on work and didn’t think about cancelling our date until just before the plane took off.” Big strong hands landed on my thighs, not in a sexual gesture but more a move of comfort. “But I’m here now, asking for another chance. Doesn’t that count for something?”
It didn’t, not really. Even though I wanted it to. I just couldn’t get it out of my mind that he was just like everyone else in my life, and the date he’d sought me out to get, had just slipped his mind. But with Jackson so close, his scent so alluring and his touch so explosive, all I could think of was one thing. I want this man. “Not really, but the good news is that I’ve decided that I want what you want, Jackson.”
“And what’s that?”
I leaned forward and wrapped one hand around the back of his head as I lowered my mouth to his, giving him a kiss so hot I was pretty sure there would be burn marks all over my silky panties. His tongue tasted of wine with a hint of chocolate, and something smooth and rich and completely Jackson. I couldn’t get enough. Hell, I didn’t want to get enough because everything about him just did it for me.
I pouted when Jackson pulled back, eyes all foggy with desire, a question in his eyes and on his lips. “You think this is what I want?”
I froze. Had I misread the situation? “Isn’t it?”
“Fuck yeah it is, but it’s not all I want Becca.”
I felt my brow crinkle in confusion, but Jackson didn’t give me a chance to respond before his mouth was on mine again, a frenzied kiss that sent my temperature skyrocketing as I slid to the edge of the chair. Needing to get closer. We kissed for a long, intense minute, until we both pulled back, breathless and shocked at how quickly things escalated. “But it’s what you want right now?”
Daddies & Nannies: A Contemporary Romance Boxset Page 43