Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Emily
I walked into the shop with a smile on my face. I’d just had hot sex in the office of one Mr. Jackson Caine, negotiated a companionship deal, and left feeling like I was on top of the world. Katie was helping a customer pick out some clothes, Noelle was busy ringing, and Evelyn walked in behind me with a couple of dresses in her hand.
“Hey. Are you just coming in?” she asked.
“I just got back from lunch.”
“Oh. Where did you go?”
“Jackson’s office.”
“You had a lunch date with him at his office?” Her face twisted.
“We had a meeting to discuss a few things.”
“I see the meeting went well, judging by how your blouse is buttoned wrong.” She smiled.
Looking down, I discovered that my buttons were off by one.
“Shit.” I headed to the back room, and Evelyn followed.
“What type of meeting could you possibly have with Jackson? Is he investing in your business or something?”
I sighed as I re-buttoned my blouse and looked at her with a twisted face. I had to tell her about our arrangement because she would find out sooner or later.
“We had a meeting to negotiate some companionship rules.”
She set down the dresses on the large table as a look of confusion swept over her.
“What?”
“Jackson and I like spending time together, and we set down some rules for what will not happen while we date.”
“What kind of rules? Are the two of you in a relationship?”
“No. We’re companions who enjoy each other’s company. We agreed not to see other people. There will be no falling in love with each other. No romance. We will be seeing each other four times a week, have open communication, and what he does on his time when he’s not with me is his business, not mine, and so forth. We’ve agreed to do this for six months, and in those six months, if either one of us breaks one of the rules, we cut ties immediately and never see or speak to each other again.”
She stood there with her mouth open. “Who does that?”
“That’s what I said if I know what you two are talking about,” Katie spoke as she strolled into the back.
“We do. End of discussion.” I put up my hand and headed toward the front of the store.
“Wait a minute,” Evelyn shouted as she caught up with me. “So, then the two of you are in an official relationship. That’s what it is, Emily. YOU ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE!”
“No. We are not in a relationship. I am not his girlfriend, and he is not my boyfriend. That was rule number ten. We are friends who enjoy each other’s company and want to have fun.”
“Okay, then the correct term is ‘friends with benefits.’”
“If you want to call it that, then fine. We have a friends-with-benefits companionship.”
“So, what four days of the week are you seeing him?” Katie asked.
“One night a week, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.”
“So does that mean we can never hang out on the weekends? I mean, it’s pretty much the only time we have since we work all week.”
Shit. That was something I didn’t think about. If I was spending my weekends with Jackson, I wouldn’t be able to see my friends, which was a problem for me.
“Good point, Katie. I need to call Jackson and amend our contract.”
Walking over to the counter, I grabbed my phone from my purse and called Jackson.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he answered.
“Hey. I need to amend our agreement.”
“Okay. What do you need to amend?”
“Three of our four days a week can’t always be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I need to spend time with my friends, and so do you.”
“Hmm. I didn’t think about that. Then we’ll stick to whatever four days we can.”
“Thanks, Jackson.”
“You’re welcome, Emily. I’ll call my attorney now.”
After ending the call, I dialed my OB/GYN’s office.
“East Gynecology, this is Mary.”
“Hi, Mary, it’s Emily Wade. Can you have Dr. Williams give me a call?”
“He’s in with a patient right now, but as soon as he’s finished, I’ll give him the message.”
“Thanks.”
Setting my phone down on the counter, I grabbed a piece of chocolate. Shit. I forgot to tell him that I met his sister. I picked my phone back up and sent him a text message.
“I totally forgot to tell you. I met your sister. She came into the shop on Saturday. She seems very nice.”
“Oh, good. I’m glad the two of you met before her party this upcoming Saturday.”
“Her party?”
“The birthday party I planned for her. It’s this Saturday, and I was hoping you’d come.”
“I would love to. Thanks for the invite.”
“You’re welcome. I have to get back to work. We’ll talk soon.”
“Bye, Jackson.”
Over the next couple of days, I was busy with the shop and seriously thought about not going through with my online boutique. The store next to mine had closed its doors and was up for lease, and since my shop was growing in merchandise and not space, I wanted to explore the possibility of expanding. As I sat in the backroom at my desk, reviewing some orders, Jackson walked in with a large manila envelope.
“Hi there.” I smiled. “What are you doing here?”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by. Our contract is ready to be signed.”
“Great.” I got up from my seat. “Let’s have a look.”
Taking the papers out of the envelope, he handed them to me with a smile on his face.
“I already signed, so that means I’m in.” He winked.
The corners of my mouth curved upward at his sexy wink. Everything seemed in order when I looked over the papers, so I grabbed a pen and signed my name underneath his.
“Done! Now I’m in.”
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a white piece of paper.
“Here is my clean report. I went to the doctor’s yesterday.”
Reaching into my purse, I pulled out mine.
“And here is mine.” I grinned.
“Then it’s settled. Let the fun begin.” He placed his hands on my hips and softly brushed his lips against mine. “I want to see you tonight.”
“I’d like that. How about my place around seven?” I asked.
“Sounds good. Should I pack a bag?” He nipped my bottom lip.
“Of course.” I smiled. “I want to discuss something with you and get your opinion.”
“Personal?”
“Business.”
“Okay. Looking forward to it.” His lips kissed mine. “I have to go. I have a meeting to get to.”
I walked him to the front of the store, where Noelle and Katie couldn’t keep their eyes off him. As soon as he exited the shop, I turned to them, and their eyes quickly diverted to something else.
“You two need to stop,” I spoke.
“Stop what?” Katie asked.
“Eye raping Jackson every time you see him.”
“We can’t help it,” Noelle spoke. “He is the best eye candy we’ve ever seen.”
“I’m not sure either of your boyfriends would like you saying or thinking that.”
“Then maybe they need to look like him, and we wouldn’t have to say or think it.” Katie smirked.
Rolling my eyes, I sighed and went back to finish some work before heading home and preparing for Jackson’s visit tonight.