Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
I f she didn’t get a fix soon, she was pretty sure she was going to die, Jamie thought as she tried to focus on the Word document in front of her. She was supposed to be writing. Well, she’d assumed that’s what she was supposed to do since no one had told her differently. She was already caught up editing the manuscripts they’d given her so that really only left her to write.
She checked her inbox, hoping to find an email telling her that it was her turn to write the next chapter, but so far, nothing. This was the first time she’d ever collaborated with someone on a book and she had to admit that she was enjoying herself. She loved the story. It was a challenge, one she loved and hoped to do again.
After another minute, Jamie realized that staring at her inbox wasn’t exactly going to help, so she returned her attention back to the chapter that she was working on, but her mind kept drifting back to what happened outside earlier. She couldn’t stop thinking about the things they’d said to her. Nick had warned her about the paparazzi and how cruel they could be to get what they wanted, but nothing could have prepared for what they’d said to her.
She really needed some chocolate and a Coke, but so far, she hadn’t been able to track any down. When she asked around, her questions were met with blank stares and muttered comments about carbs and diets. How could any woman function without chocolate? Jamie found herself wondering. It really was unnatural.
After a quick search of the vending machines and the break room, she’d discovered, much to her horror, that everyone had been telling the truth. There wasn’t a single morsel of chocolate to be had. For all of ten seconds, she’d considered sneaking out of the building and hitting the convenience store she’d spotted down the street, but she really didn’t want to deal with reporters again.
A small knock at her door had her sitting up and nearly sighing with relief. Nick said he was going to find some chocolate for her and since he knew the lay of the land better than she did, she figured that he’d have better luck.
“Come in,” Jamie said, trying not to look too eager, for the chocolate or the man, she wasn’t sure which one she needed more.
When a pretty, tall brunette stepped into her office carrying a cardboard box, she did her best to hide her disappointment. She placed the box on the corner of Jamie’s desk with a smile and explained, “This is all the mail that we picked up from your apartment building while you were on tour.”
“It’s just mail?” Jamie asked, nearly pouting since she’d kind of been hoping that there was also some chocolate in there.
“Yes, Miss Harris. Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked with a polite smile.
“No, thank you,” Jamie mumbled sadly as she pulled the box closer to her, dreading every minute of this chore.
She hated sorting through junk mail, Jamie thought only to frown when she came across a letter without a return address. Curious, she opened the letter only to feel the air rush out of her lungs as her eyes widened. With a shaky hand, she put the letter aside and tore through the rest of the box. She found thirty-five letters in total, each one more gruesome than the last.
Having absolutely no idea what to do now, she placed the letters back in the box and headed for the door as she considered finally making a run for it.
“How’s the tour going?” Rick asked as he handed Nick a glass of water.
“It’s going well,” Nick said, wondering when Rick was going to get to the point.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long.
“The kid isn’t going to sue,” Rick said as though Nick had really been worried. The kid got what he deserved for attacking Jamie. As far as he was concerned, he was lucky to still be walking.
“He attacked her,” Nick simply said.
Rick nodded. “I’ve seen the pictures, but from what I understand, it was part of a frat house scavenger hunt. He wasn’t trying to hurt her.”
“I don’t care what it was for. He had no business putting his hands on her,” Nick explained calmly, even though the memory of the asshole touching Jamie left him feeling anything but calm.
“You don’t think that you took things a little too far? You broke his jaw, Nick,” Rick said, sighing heavily as he dropped down in the chair across from him.
Nick met his friend’s gaze as he asked, “If it had been Dana, would you have done anything differently?”
When Rick only clenched his jaw tightly, he had his answer.
“Was there something else you wanted to discuss? I need to get back to my office and go over the rest of the dates to make sure there are no last-minute surprises,” Nick said, not bothering to wait for an answer as he stood to leave. He had too much shit to do to sit here twiddling his thumbs.
“Have you slept with her?” Rick asked bluntly, taking him off guard.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Nick demanded as he sat back down.
“Jamie. I need to know if I should have someone else work with her,” Rick said, watching him curiously.
“Do you have a problem with her work?” Nick demanded.
Rick frowned. “No.”
“Do you have a problem with mine?”
“No.”
“Then, I don’t see how it’s any of your business what we do in our spare time,” Nick said, refusing to lie and belittle what he had with Jamie to save his own ass. If they fired him, and he prayed that didn’t happen, then he’d watch over her during the rest of this tour as her boyfriend, and hopefully, when it was finished, he’d have another job. One thing was for certain, he wasn’t ready to lose Jamie.
Not yet.
“It’s not that simple and you know it, Nick. We have that policy for a reason and I’m afraid that I can’t look the other way. You’re going to have to end things with her and I’m afraid that I can’t allow you to continue overseeing this tour,” Rick said grimly.
He would still have the job he busted his ass to get, but he would lose Jamie, Nick realized. They were never going to last past this tour. This had been a fling, a wonderful, earth-shattering fling, but nothing more. They could still be friends and he’d see her whenever she worked in the office and when he was in town, but that was all. He would no longer be allowed to touch her, kiss her, or hold her again because she would be off-limits to him.
As he stood up, he couldn’t believe how easily the decision came to him. For years, he’d wanted nothing more than to get his name out there, make a better life for himself, and erase every last memory of his childhood. When the best opportunity of his life came, he’d fucked it up by sleeping with his little recluse. He could either keep his job or he could keep the best thing that ever happened to him.
It surprised him that he didn’t have to think twice about it. “Then, I quit,” Nick said, walking towards the door with every intention of grabbing his little recluse and taking her home where he planned on losing himself in her arms for the rest of the day.
“You’re serious?” Rick said, coming to his feet.
“Deadly,” Nick said without any hesitation.
“She really means that much to you?” Rick asked, sounding curious.
“She means everything to me,” Nick said, walking to the door. “I’ll be out within the hour and just so you know, I plan on going with her for the rest of the tour. I’ll stay out of whoever’s way that you send to take over for me, but I’m not leaving her to do this on her own.”
Rick’s chuckle brought him up short.
“What the hell is so funny?” Nick demanded as he turned around to glare at the bastard.
“I can’t believe the day the mighty Nick Quinn got brought to his knees by a woman finally came,” Rick said, shaking his head ruefully and grinning hugely.
“She didn’t bring me to my knees,” Nick ground out. “I care about her and want to keep her safe.”
Rick waved his comments off, which only ended up pissing him off more. “Relax, you’re not fired.”
“I quit,” Nick pointed out.
“I chose to ignore it,” Rick said with a simple shrug. “But you should know that I’ve decided to send someone with you for the rest of the tour.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Rick,” Nick bit out.
“I know you don’t. Even though I’m not entirely comfortable with this situation, I’m going to trust that you know what you’re doing,” Rick explained, shrugging it off.
Nick had no idea what he was doing. He’d just tried to quit his job for a woman he didn’t plan on seeing past next month. What the hell was wrong with him? This wasn’t like him and he couldn’t help but blame his little recluse for it. If she hadn’t made him fall in-
No, he wasn’t in love with her. He liked her a lot, but it sure as hell wasn’t love. It was great sex and he enjoyed her company, nothing more. Maybe he’d been spending too much time with her. It might be best if he stepped back from her, but then he realized that he really didn’t care for that idea.
Maybe this didn’t have to end once the tour was done. They could be friends, good friends, and when the need arose, they could have no strings-attached sex, often. It wouldn’t be anything permanent, just two good friends who had great sex whenever they wanted, wherever. This could work, Nick realized as he walked back over to the large sitting area and sat down.
The only problem, as far as he could see, was convincing Jamie that this was a good idea. He really didn’t see a problem with that. She loved spending time with him, had an insatiable appetite for sex and didn’t expect anything from him. There would probably come a time when she started dating and when that time came...
No, that wouldn’t work for him either because the thought of his little recluse being touched by another man didn’t sit well with him, so they were going to have to figure out something else out. He liked being with her and actually liked thinking of himself as her boyfriend so maybe they’d continue with that for a year or two until they worked each other out of their systems or got bored. That made more sense than torturing himself by allowing another man to touch her.
“I’m sending Holly to help. J.L. Lewis’ popularity is skyrocketing. Thanks to her family’s antics, more people are curious about her. We’ve already had calls from vendors demanding more books as well as interviews. Your already tight schedule is about to become a little tighter to accommodate this demand, and to make sure that everything goes smoothly, I’m sending you help,” Rick explained while Nick found himself wondering about something.
Who the hell was Holly?
Before he could ask, Rick’s door swung open and his little recluse came storming into the room, holding a cardboard box in front of her. She didn’t look happy, but when her eyes landed on him, she looked decidedly less than pleased.
“Is everything okay, Jamie?” Rick asked, getting to his feet when she approached them.
Instead of answering him, she shoved the box onto his lap and glared accusingly at him. “You promised me chocolate, you big jerk!” Jamie snapped, making him wince.
“I got you chocolate and two cans of Coke, Jamie, but Rick ate everything,” Nick said with a helpless shrug.
“Wait, what?” Rick asked, looking like a deer caught in headlights as Jamie turned her adorable wrath on him.
“You ate my chocolate?” Jamie demanded as she glared up at the much taller man. It was actually interesting that his little recluse couldn’t stop apologizing to people for screwing her over but come between her and sugar and she’d rip someone’s throat out.
“I-I-” Rick stammered helplessly as Jamie’s lower lip began to tremble.
Ah, shit .
His little recluse needed a fix and soon. He knew the signs quite well at this point. As he stood up, Nick wondered if perhaps they should look into a sugar rehab center for her, but he knew that she wouldn’t last twenty-four hours without hurting someone.
“I tell you what, Jamie,” Nick said soothingly, shifting the box under his arm as he put his other arm around her, “why don’t we take you out for a nice hot fudge sundae and you can tell us what’s in this box?”
“You’re patronizing my needs again,” Jamie said with a heavy sigh, but thankfully, that lower lip stopped trembling.
“Are you trying to tell me that you don’t want an ice cream sundae?” Nick asked, already knowing his little recluse would never be able to refuse sugar.
“That’s not what I’m saying and you know it, but I don’t think you should bring that box with us,” Jamie said as she headed for the door.
“Why not?” Rick asked, moving closer so that he could take a closer look at the box
“Because half of those letters contain death threats.”