Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Emerson
Alex Parker needed to learn some manners on how to ask a woman to an event. How in the world did the women he dated put up with his attitude? I shook my head and walked into the living room where Jenna was dusting and plopped myself on the couch.
“Alex asked me to go to a charity event tomorrow night and he told me to go buy a dress at Bloomingdales.”
“Really?” she asked with a twisted face.
“Yeah. I’m just as surprised as you are. Would you like to come with me?”
“When?”
“After you get off work.”
“Sure. I’d love to!”
After she was finished with her work for His Majesty, Jenna and I hopped into Adam’s car and drove to Bloomingdales. After trying several dresses on, I decided on a beautiful black slim chiffon dress with a sweetheart neckline and beaded top. It was beautiful and it fit perfectly.
“Did Mr. Parker give you a budget?” Jenna asked.
“He just said to put it on his account. But maybe I should ask him. This dress is really expensive.”
Pulling out my phone, I sent Alex a text message.
“Hi, it’s Emerson. Do I have a budget for the dress?”
“I know who this is, Emerson. Did you find one?”
“Yes.”
“How much is it?”
“It’s priced at 7,000 dollars.”
“Are you kidding me? Is that the only one you could find?”
“Yes. But it’s a Christian Dior. I can look around. I saw a pretty dress in the window at a resale shop we passed.”
I silently smiled. There would be no way he’d let me buy a dress from a resale shop and be seen with me wearing it.
“Buy the Christian Dior. It’s fine.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind going to the resale shop.”
“EMERSON. BUY THE DAMN DRESS!”
“You don’t have to be so rude about it. Remember your blood pressure.”
“I’m sorry if I came across rude. Please buy the dress you like. I’m sure you look stunning in it.”
“Thank you, Alex.”
“You’re welcome.”
I handed the dress to the sales associate, and Jenna and I drove home. When I pulled up, I was surprised to see Alex getting out of the Bentley. It was only eight o’clock. I said goodbye to Jenna and Alex stopped before he reached the front door.
“May I see what you bought?” he asked.
“No. You can see it on me tomorrow night.”
We walked into the house, and I headed straight to my room, Alex following behind.
“But I paid for it, so I want to see it.”
“You will. Tomorrow night.” I smiled. “By the way, why are you home so early?”
“I’ve decided that I’m not going to be at the office so late anymore. I’m going to be doing a lot of work from home.”
“Wow. What brought on that revelation?” I smirked.
“I’ve been working too much, and I think it’s time I cut back and maybe not worry about so many things.”
“So, you took my advice?”
“No.”
I placed my hand on his muscular chest. “Listen, big guy, we’re friends, right?”
“I suppose we’re friends. Friends with benefits.” The grin on his face grew.
“Right. I guess you could say that. Anyway, I don’t know how to break it to you, but you’re really uptight and way too proper.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t take offense. You need to let loose a little and stop taking things so seriously. For example, like today in your office, I thought your head was going to explode when you found out about the stripper thing. I did it as a favor. Was I proud? No. But my friend needed me to do it because she’s a single mom and she has the most adorable little boy I’ve ever seen. She really tries to give him a good life and when I heard the manager at the club threaten to fire her, I had to do whatever I could to help. Would I ever do it again? No way. Those men are sex-starved losers who view women as nothing but fuck toys.”
“Did you just say fuck toys?”
“Yes. My point is, sometimes you just need to go with the flow. Another example would be how you can’t even make yourself a sandwich. You run a multi-billion-dollar company, yet you can’t put a piece of meat between two slices of bread.”
“Emerson, it’s not that I can’t make one. I just don’t want to. I have people to do that for me.”
“My point exactly. What gives you the right to order people around like that?”
“It’s how I was raised. We had all kinds of staff in the house that did things for us.”
“Of course, you did because you’re a snob.”
The look on his face was getting angrier by the minute.
“I’m not saying this to piss you off. I’m just trying to make you see that you can’t control everyone and everything.”
“Yes, I can,” he spoke, deadpan.
I sighed as I rolled my eyes. “I’m going to help you lighten up. It’s not like I have anything better to do.”
He glared at me—a glare so full of contempt that it was burning a hole through my soul.
“You think you can do that?”
“I know I can.” I bit down on my bottom lip.
“Okay, then. Good luck.” He turned and walked away.
“You wait and see. By the time I leave California, you’ll be a whole new man!” I yelled.
He walked back into the bedroom and cocked his head. “Let me ask you this. Why do you want to change me?”
“I don’t want to change you, Alex. I just want you to be more relaxed and appreciate the small things in life and not get so worked up over the little things.”
“Are you cooking dinner?” he asked.
“Are you helping?” I smiled.
He took in a deep breath. “Fine. But I don’t know how much help I’d actually be.”
Alex
We stepped into the kitchen and Emerson opened the refrigerator.
“Hmm. Well, it looks like we’re making a trip to the grocery store.”
“We’ll just order take-out,” I spoke. There was no way I was going to the grocery store.
“Nope. No takeout for you. Come on, Parker, let’s take a trip to the store.”
“Can’t. Phillip is off for the night.”
She raised her brow at me. That right there drove me crazy. I found her incredibly sexy when she did that. She reached inside her purse, grabbed her car keys, and held them up with a smile.
“We don’t need Phillip.”
“Oh no. We aren’t taking Adam’s car.”
“Yes, we are. It’ll be fun. You can drive if you want.” She threw me the keys.
I handed her keys back to her. “We’ll take my car.”
“Your car? Since when do you have a car?” She frowned.
“I’ve always had a car. Let’s go and get this over with.” I sighed.
We walked into the grocery store, where Emerson led me to the vegetables.
“See all the pretty colors.” She smiled. “Food should be fun and colorful.”
At that moment, I caught myself staring at her as she inspected each pepper before putting it into the bag. I found myself smiling on the inside because as much as I hated grocery shopping, I didn’t mind it with her.
“Do you like salmon?” she asked as we approached the seafood counter.
“Yes.”
“Good, because I make a mean salmon. You’re going to love it.” She patted my chest.
“I’m sure I will.”
Her passion for cooking was undeniable, which led me to think about a few things. As we were on our way home, her phone rang.
“Hey, Adam,” she answered and put it on speaker.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Alex and I are just heading home from the grocery store.”
“What?”
“Did you not hear what I said?”
I let out a light laugh—that attitude of hers.
“Yeah. I heard you. But why?”
“Because I’m cooking dinner for us.”
“You better not be sleeping with him, Emerson,” he snarled.
She looked over at me and bit down on her lip.
“Okay, so you think because we went to the grocery store we’re sleeping together?”
“Alex doesn’t go to the grocery store, and the fact that he’s with you right now leads me to believe there’s something going on.”
“Listen, Adam. You sent me to live with him. He hired me to cook for him because his chef had to go to Florida to be with his sick mother. So, if you think that grocery shopping with Alex equals sex, then you need therapy. Goodbye, Adam. Call me when you’re not going all Freud on me.”
She ended the call, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “He sounded pissed.”
“Too bad. I’m tired of him thinking he can run my life. He’s not my father, and I’m twenty-six years old. Just because he cared for me after the accident doesn’t give him the right. By the way, what did my brother do for you that you owed him a favor?”
I glanced at her for a second and then stared back at the road.
“He helped me out with the IRS. Let’s just say he kept my ass out of jail.”