Billionaire Temptations: Rich, Ruthless & Obsessed

Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Emily

The elevator door opened, and the moment I stepped into the kitchen of Jackson’s penthouse, I was greeted by the warm aroma of an amazing smell. One that made the hunger pains in my belly go wild.

“Hey,” I spoke as I set down my purse.

“Hi.” Jackson smiled as he set down two plates at the kitchen table. “Have a seat. Dinner is served.”

I sat across from him and placed the napkin in my lap.

“So, what’s going on?”

“When I came home today, my sister was here. I’ve been summoned to have dinner with her and my mother tomorrow night. Apparently, my mother wants to have a little chat with us.”

“About?”

“Jules and I both agree that, more than likely, she’s going to tell us she’s getting divorced.”

“Gee, I’m sorry, Jackson.”

“Don’t be. It was inevitable.” He pushed his half-full plate away.

I could tell he was upset, and for the first time since I’d known him, I’d never seen the sadness sweep across his face as I did at that moment. Pushing my plate away from me, I got up from my chair and climbed into his lap.

“It’s always inevitable. We both know that,” I spoke as I ran my finger down his cheek.

“I know.” A light smile crossed his lips. “What was it your mother used to say?”

I let out a laugh. “Umm. She said a lot of things.”

“About happily ever after?”

“Oh. She always said that happily ever after is a myth and it doesn’t exist.”

“I think I would have liked your mother.”

“I know you would have.” I smiled as I ran my hand through his hair.

“Thanks for coming over tonight,” he spoke with seriousness as his hand stroked my cheek and his eyes locked on mine.

“You’re welcome. Thanks for calling and inviting me.”

“My pleasure.” His lips softly pushed into mine.

We lay in bed, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist as we lay on our sides. His head nuzzled so close to me that I could feel the warmth of his breath sweep across my back, for he was already sound asleep. Jackson Caine was a man not too long ago to whom I was incredibly attracted to, and now, he had become an addiction. I was beyond happy when he called and asked me to come over, and yet I was scared shitless for feeling that way. He occupied a large space in my mind, and I thought about him more than I should have—more than I ever had thought about anyone before. I was failing at the fight to keep him at a safe distance, and I didn’t know what to do.

A few days had passed, and Jackson had to go to Chicago to see his father. It had been three days since I’d seen him, which somehow put me in a mood. He was right about his mother. He was summoned to dinner to tell him and Jules that she was getting divorced.

While digging through my purse, trying to find my lip gloss, I pulled out the business card Gregory had left on the table when he was here. Staring at it, I took a deep breath at the indecision of whether to call him. I honestly didn’t have time for this. The shop's expansion was near completion, and I was busy trying to make sure everything was in its proper place.

“Are you going to call him?” Katie asked as she stood over my shoulder.

“I don’t know. I really don’t have time to deal with him right now.” I threw the card back in my purse.

“You have time, Emily. You just don’t want to deal with what he might tell you.”

“That’s not true.”

“I think it is. You’re scared and afraid that he’s your father, and you don’t want to face the fact that your mother lied to you all these years.”

“She didn’t lie. Maybe she didn’t know he was the father.”

“Or maybe she did, and for one reason or another, she never wanted you to know about him.”

I threw my purse under the counter and spoke, “Like I said, I don’t have time to deal with him.”

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

“Yeah. What is wrong with you?” Evelyn piped up as she walked into the shop. “You’ve been bitchy these last couple of days, and this totally isn’t like you.”

“I’m just stressed with the shop and stuff.”

“I’ve seen you at your worst with stress, and you’re never like this, so I’m suspecting it has to do with Jackson being out of town,” Katie spoke.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I huffed as I walked away and straightened the scarves I had on display.

“I’m with Katie on this one, Em. I think you’re upset that you’re not seeing him for a few days, and you don’t know how to deal with it because, my friend, you are in love with him.”

The sound of laughter escaped me. “I do not love Jackson. Maybe as a friend, yes. Just like I love both of you, but I am not in love with him. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to lunch.”

Walking down East 9th Street, I stopped at a deli and sat outside on their patio.

“What may I get you?” the waitress asked.

“I’ll have a Rockwood sandwich on whole wheat.”

“Chips or fries?”

“Chips.”

“Very good. It’ll be up shortly.” She smiled as she walked away.

Pulling my phone from my purse, I dialed Gregory’s number and took in a deep breath as he answered.

“Hello.”

“Gregory, it’s Emily Wade,” I nervously spoke.

“Emily, it’s good to hear from you.”

“I gave some thought to what you said, and I think we need to talk.”

“Okay. How about dinner tonight?”

“That will be fine. Let’s meet at seven o’clock at Scarpetta on West 14th Street.”

“I’ll be there. Thank you, Emily.”

“I’ll see you then,” I spoke deadpan.

Just as I ended the call and set my phone down, a text message came through from Jackson. Instantly, my mood changed.

“Can you talk?”

“Yes. Just having lunch at a deli.”

Within a second, my phone rang.

“Hi there,” I answered.

“Hello, beautiful. How’s your lunch?”

“Pretty good.”

“Are you eating alone?”

“Yeah. I had to get out of the shop and be by myself for a while.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked in a concerned tone.

“Nothing. Just the expansion and trying to get everything set up.”

“Ah. Well, don’t stress yourself out over it.”

“I called Gregory, and we’re meeting for dinner tonight.”

“Good. I can’t wait to hear all about it. I’m flying back tomorrow afternoon, so how about we meet up tomorrow night?”

“Sounds good. How’s your father?”

I heard him sigh. “He’s okay. I’ll tell you about it when I see you.”

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I miss my face between those beautiful legs of yours.”

A wide grin crossed my face.

“I miss feeling you buried deep inside me.” I must have spoken a little too loudly as an older woman at the table next to me shot a look my way.

“Ugh, Emily. I’m getting hard. We better end this call before I embarrass myself.”

Letting out a light laugh, I spoke, “Okay. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Bye, Emily.”

“Bye, Jackson.”

I finished my sandwich with a smile and returned to the shop. When I walked in, Katie and Noelle stood behind the counter and instantly stopped talking.

“You didn’t have to stop talking about me on my account.” I smirked.

“We weren’t,” Katie spoke.

“You never were a very good liar.” I pushed her out of the way and grabbed a piece of chocolate.

“Fine. We were talking about you and Jackson.”

“I don’t care, but you don’t have to do it behind my back. Feel free to talk while I’m standing here.”

She stood there with narrowed eyes, staring at me.

“Your mood changed. You seem better. What’s up?”

“Nothing. I just had a nice lunch and de-stressed.”

“Did you talk to Jackson?”

“Yes. He called me.”

“AHA!” She pointed at me. “That’s why you’re in a better mood because your man called and made your day.”

Rolling my eyes, I stepped away from the counter and walked over to the other side of the shop to look over the espresso bar, which was ninety-five percent complete.

“He had nothing to do with it, and he’s not my man. I just needed some food.”

She threw her hands up in the air and walked away. I didn’t want to tell her about my dinner plans with Gregory tonight because I didn’t want to be bombarded with a million questions. I would tell her and Evelyn all about it tomorrow once I got some answers.