Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
“ O h, my God, I can’t do this,” Jamie groaned as she watched in horror as a large group of reporters descended on her car.
Why did she tell Nick that she didn’t need him to follow her to work? Because she didn’t want to come across as clingy or needy that’s why. Somehow, she’d managed to escape the small group that waited for her outside of her apartment building, but that was probably only because they knew exactly where she was going to end up. There was no way that she was going to survive this without sugar, Jamie realized as a swarm of people surrounded her car and started taking pictures.
For a moment, she considered calling Nick and begging him to come rescue her, but she decided that at some point, she’d have to figure out how to deal with this by herself and what better time than right now? She took a deep breath and when that didn’t give her the confidence that she needed to move her butt, she took another one and grabbed her purse.
Trying to appear confident and relaxed, Jamie slowly shut off her car and opened the door. They backed up and gave her plenty of space to step out of her car, probably hoping that she’d do something really stupid or embarrassing, but the joke was on them because she wasn’t going to-
Oh, darn it , Jamie thought as her purse somehow tipped upside down and spilled its contents all over the black pavement, leaving her with no choice but to drop to her knees and hurry to grab everything before they found anything embarrassing. Not that she had anything embarrassing in her purse, Jamie thought as she grabbed a handful of butterscotch discs and shoved them back into her bag. She was pretty sure she’d learned that lesson a few months ago. She’d also cleaned out her purse since that incident in the bathroom. The only thing they’d find now was a used paperback, her wallet, candy, and-
“I see you believe in safe sex, Miss Harris,” a man said mockingly as he held up the box of condoms she’d bought weeks ago and, had unfortunately, forgotten about.
Jamie felt her cheeks burn as what had to be a hundred cameras clicked as the big jerk held the box of unopened condoms in front of her face. Clearing her throat, she took the box back, trying not to wince when she heard more clicks, and shoved them in her bag. “Yes, it’s, um, very important,” Jamie mumbled pathetically, getting to her feet and fighting back the urge to make a run for it.
When she made it to the front entrance, she nearly sighed in relief. That is, until the large security guard held up a hand stopping her. “Employee pass or guest name,” he said firmly.
“Oh,” Jamie muttered, trying to ignore the clicks as she searched through her bag for her employee pass only to come up empty-handed. “I-I think I lost it.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t let you in the building without an employee pass.”
“Did you get fired?” one of the paparazzi demanded as Jamie struggled to figure out a way to get inside and away from the cameras, but all their questions and the constant clicking of their cameras made it difficult to think at the moment.
“How did it feel to find out that your mother wasn’t really your mother?”
“I hear your family couldn’t wait to get rid of you,” another one said, hitting a little too close to home.
“Please, I work for Rerum Publishing. If you call Rick Edwards or Nick Quinn, they can vouch for me,” Jamie pleaded quietly as the crowd began to close in tightly around her.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the guard said, gesturing for her to step away from the front door. “But I have strict orders not to let anyone in without a pass or on the list,” he said, holding up a clipboard.
She opened her mouth to ask him to check for her name but realized that she wouldn’t be on the guest list. If she wanted to get in the building, she was going to have to call Nick. She opened her purse even as the large man herded her away from the building and the paparazzi descended on her. After a quick search, she realized that her phone wasn’t in her bag.
“When did they fire you?”
“Probably after they realized your books sucked.”
“Need help? Guess you can’t call your family,” someone shouted.
Jamie hugged her bag against her chest and tried to walk away, but they wouldn’t let her. Anytime she tried to move away, they shifted to block her. When she tried to fake left and go right, she was knocked down and before she could get back up, she found a dozen people standing over her, yelling questions that she’d rather not think about as they documented her humiliation.
She tried to stand up, but no one would budge an inch, forcing her to curl up into herself and bury her face against her knees as they continued shouting their questions and knocking into her as they shoved each other out of the way to get the perfect shot. As she was stepped on, kicked, and screamed at, she couldn’t help but wish that she had some chocolate and Nick’s arms around her as the first embarrassing tear streamed down her cheek. Thankfully, she had her face buried against her knees so the cameras missed it, but that didn’t stop them from trying.
“I’d love to make you dinner tonight, Nick,” Mandy, Sandy, or was her name Chrissy? said as she leaned in a little too close for his comfort, forcing him to sit back in his chair and shift away from her as he shot the empty chair by Rick’s side another glance.
Where the hell was she?
She should have been here by now. In fact, she should have been here an hour ago, but Jamie was a no-show. He’d called her apartment, thinking that she went back because she forgot something, but she didn’t pick up. She wasn’t answering her cell phone either and now he was really starting to worry about her.
“Nick?” the woman said when he didn’t answer her right away.
“I have to catch an early flight in the morning,” Nick said absently as he turned to shoot another glance at the boardroom’s closed double doors.
“That’s okay. I don’t mind giving you a ride,” she said in a husky whisper that left absolutely no doubt in his mind about what she really meant.
“Not interested,” Nick said, not even bothering to soften the blow as he sent another questioning look at Rick, who wore a grim expression as he shook his head. Great, his little recluse hadn’t called Rick to let him know why she was running late, either.
“What do you mean you’re not interested?” the woman demanded, but Nick wasn’t paying attention to her as he stood up and headed for the door. He didn’t need to look back to know that Rick was right behind him.
“The morning meeting is canceled. Please return to your duties,” Rick said as Nick pulled his phone out and tried to call Jamie again.
“Are you sure that she was coming in today?” Rick asked as they stepped in front of the elevator.
“Positive,” Nick said, hitting the call button repeatedly.
“Any idea what could be keeping her?” Rick asked.
“No clue,” Nick said, regretting leaving her on her own. He should have insisted that she drive with him, but he didn’t want to give the office gossips anything to talk about.
“Fuck this,” Nick snapped when the elevator didn’t move fast enough. He made his way to the stairwell, glaring at anyone who got in his way. Three minutes later, they were downstairs in the busy foyer, searching for her.
“Do you see her?” Rick asked.
“No,” Nick said, barely biting back the urge to put his fist through a wall. Where the hell was she?
“Let’s check outside,” Rick said, already heading in the direction of the glass doors. As they moved to step outside, the guards Rick posted at the door stepped aside, revealing a large group of paparazzi going nuts not twenty feet from the building.
“Police are on their way, sir,” one of the guards informed Rick, but he didn’t seem to be listening as he headed towards the crowd.
A feeling of dread twisted Nick’s stomach as he followed Rick. When he heard some of the questions being yelled, he moved faster, shoving anyone who got in his way aside as he fought to find his little recluse. When he finally found her, he felt his heart break.
“Please just leave me alone,” Jamie begged, her voice breaking on a sob as she buried her face against her knees.
Nick bent down and scooped her up in his arms. At first, she went rigid and moved to push him away, but then she looked up and when she saw him, her body relaxed as she buried her tear-soaked face against his shirt.
“Is this your boyfriend?”
“Are you using her for her money?” a woman demanded as she snapped their picture. Nick ignored them as he shouldered his way through the crowd. Rick stepped in front of him and cleared the path.
When they reached the front doors, one of the guards noticeably swallowed. “She didn’t have a pass and wasn’t on the list,” he explained.
“Did she ask you to call us?” Rick asked coldly. When he reluctantly nodded, Rick didn’t even hesitate when he said, “Then, you’re fired.” It probably saved him from a trip to the hospital. That and Nick wasn’t about to put his little recluse down so that he could beat the shit out of him.
As Jamie trembled in his arms, Nick followed a very somber Rick to the elevators.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked softly, wishing for Jamie’s sake that everyone would stop staring at them so that she could calm down.
“I-I could really use some chocolate right about now,” Jamie said softly with a sniffle.
“I’ll hunt down the biggest chocolate bar I can find. How does that sound?” Nick asked soothingly as he stepped into the elevator behind Rick.
She sniffled as she thought it over. “Can I have two?”
“Yes.”
“And a Coke?” Jamie asked, sounding hopeful, but no less pathetic as she continued to sniffle and tremble in his arms.
He sighed heavily as he pointedly ignored the questioning look Rick was sending their way. “Fine, you little sugar addict. You can have a Coke.”
“Can I have two?”
“No,” Nick said, knowing that she’d regret consuming that much sugar at once.
“You’re mean,” she grumbled even as she snuggled closer in his arms.
“Yes, I am,” Nick said, adjusting her in his arms as he waited to arrive at their floor.
“Take her to my office,” Rick said, but Nick had no intention of listening to him. He wanted to take Jamie to his office, where he could take care of her.
“I’ll take her to mine. We have a few things to go over,” Nick said, hoping Rick would just drop it and let him have some time with his little recluse.
“I need to talk to her about a few things,” Rick stubbornly pointed out.
“We can talk about them in my office,” Nick argued just as his little recluse started to struggle for freedom.
“Um, guys? I can walk to my office,” Jamie said, drawing his attention. He looked down at her tear-streaked face and noted the deep blush burning her cheeks. Of course, she was embarrassed, he realized feeling like an idiot.
His little recluse embarrassed too damn easily. He also knew how hard she tried to blend in and having him carry her to his office wasn’t going to help. After a slight hesitation, he reluctantly set her down on her feet.
“Better?” Nick asked, pushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.
“Much better,” Jamie mumbled, hugging her bag tightly against her chest.
He watched as she threw Rick a nervous look. “Is there a morning meeting?”
“No, not this morning,” Rick said, giving her a reassuring smile.
“Alright then,” Jamie said, releasing a shaky breath as the elevator came to a stop. “Then, if either of you gentlemen need me, I’ll be in my office,” she said with a firm nod.
She was nervous and there was nothing he could do for her. He hated this. He hated having to pretend that he didn’t care just to protect both of their reputations, but if he still wanted to have a job at the end of the day, then he had to do this. He was her agent, technically her boss, and sleeping with her was more than enough to get his ass canned.
If he lost his job for fucking one of the clients, his reputation wouldn’t be worth shit and he’d never work in this industry again. He loved his job and what he did. He sure as hell didn’t want to start over again, but more importantly, he didn’t want to leave his little recluse to fend for herself. She needed him and as long as he was around, he was going to protect her.
When she stepped off the elevator only to look around nervously, he had to stop himself from smiling since he knew that she wouldn’t appreciate it at the moment. He stepped off the elevator to join her and waited for her to admit that she was lost, but of course, she was too damn stubborn to admit that so he gave a strand of her beautiful strawberry-blond hair a gentle tug to get her attention.
“Your office is down that hall,” he said, gesturing to his right.
“I knew that,” Jamie said with a stubborn nod as she took off in that direction, hugging her bag tightly against her chest as she went. He sighed heavily as he watched her occasionally jump out of the way of someone who wasn’t watching where they were going and he knew without seeing her face that she’d apologized each and every time. It seemed that they still had a few things to work on, Nick thought as he moved to follow her only to stop when Rick cut him off.
“We need to talk.”