Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Jack
I met Garrett at Ai Fiori on Fifth Avenue for dinner. When I walked in, he was already seated in a booth.
“So, what is this urgent dinner about?” I asked as I sat down.
“I’ve hired you a personal assistant, and she starts tomorrow.”
“Excellent. Maybe I should have met her first before you hired her. Your track record isn’t very good.” I smirked.
A waitress with a low-cut black top and perky tits walked over. “May I start you off with a drink?” She smiled.
She may start me off with something, but a drink wasn’t what I had in mind.
“Yes. I’ll have a scotch on the rocks, please.”
“Coming right up, sir.”
I looked at Garrett as he began to speak. “My track record is just fine. It’s you, Jack, that has the problem.”
I sighed. “You know that if we haven’t been best friends since the third grade, I would have fired you by now.”
He rolled his eyes and let out a chuckle. “I’m sure you would have. But to let you know, if we haven’t been best friends since the third grade, I would have quit.”
“Touché, my friend.”
The waitress placed my drink in front of me and took our dinner order.
“So, tell me about my next victim.” I smiled.
“Her name is Lorelei Flynn, and she has exceptional organizational skills. She even straightened the paperweight on my desk.”
“Oh. I think I like her already. Is she hot?”
He cocked his head at me with a glare, and I smiled. “She’s a beautiful woman.”
“How old is she?”
“She’s twenty-five. Why?”
I shrugged. “No reason. Twenty-five is good. Is there a husband or a boyfriend?”
“I know she’s not married. As for a boyfriend, I have no clue. Why are you asking?”
“Because I don’t need some asshole coming after me when I send her home in uncontrollable tears like two PAs ago.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t be such a dick.” He smirked.
“Can’t be helped. It’s in my nature.” I held up my glass.
“Actually, it’s not in your nature. I knew you when you weren’t such a dick.”
After having dinner with Garrett, I arrived at my penthouse and poured myself a drink. I was feeling stressed from the day and needed to unwind. I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Adriane.
“Can you come over?”
“Sure. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Looking forward to it.”
“Me too.”
Adriane was my go-to girl when I needed last-minute sex. She was the type that didn’t care, and she was always looking for a good time. I went upstairs to my bedroom and opened the drawer in my nightstand, making sure I had condoms. I was down to two and needed to get some more ASAP. I heard the elevator ding, so I walked downstairs as she stepped off.
“Good evening. Thank you for coming on such short notice.” I smiled.
“My pleasure, Jack. But we have to talk about something after.”
Uh-oh. I didn’t like the sound of that, and instantly, she killed my mood.
“You just killed my mood, Adriane. What’s up?”
She walked over to me and began unbuttoning my shirt, running her finger down my chest.
“Sex first. Talk later.” Her lips brushed against mine.
I needed to know what she wanted to talk about because I was afraid she wanted something from me. Fear swept through my body, making an erection impossible.
“Sorry, Adriane. You killed it. You need to tell me what you want to talk about.”
She sighed. “Fine. I’ve started seeing someone, and I think I really like him. So, we can’t do this anymore after tonight as long as I’m with him.”
I shook my head. “Wait. You’ve met someone, and you still came here? Why?”
“I don’t know. One last good fuck with you for old time’s sake.”
I had one rule that I always stood by. Never fuck another man’s girl. And if I fucked her tonight, I’d be breaking my rule, and I wasn’t about to do that, no matter how much I wanted sex.
“Sorry, Adriane. If you’re with someone, we can’t. I thought you weren’t into relationships,” I spoke and walked over to the bar and poured us each a scotch.
“I’m not. I mean, I wasn’t, but Riley came along and sort of swept me off my feet, I guess you could say. He’s a good man, and I really like him.”
“If you really liked him, you wouldn’t be here wanting to fuck me now, would you?”
“I’m confused, Jack. Maybe I was using you as the opportunity to see my true feelings for Riley.”
“Thanks a lot, Adriane.” I smirked.
She threw back her drink and handed me the glass. “Have a good night, Jack. I’ll see you around sometime.”
“You too. I hope things work out with the two of you.”
“Thanks.” She threw me a smile as she stepped into the elevator.
I sighed and threw back my scotch. “Looks like it’s just me, you, and porn tonight,” I spoke as I looked down at my cock.
Lorelei
After I left Sutton Magazine, I headed to my mom’s house to tell her about the job.
“Hi, honey.” She smiled as she kissed my cheek. “I just put on a fresh pot of coffee, and I made an apple pie.”
“Sounds good, Mom.”
I followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.
“So, what brings you by?”
“I got a job.”
“Oh, Lorelei, that’s wonderful. Where?”
“Sutton Magazine. Full-time, more money than I made at Praline, and I even get health benefits.”
“Congratulations. I’m so happy for you. Are you going to need help with Hope?”
I looked down because asking them for help was so hard for me.
“I think so. I have to be there at eight o’clock, and I don’t get off until five. I can put her in latch key in the mornings before school, but I was wondering if you could pick her up after school.”
“Of course, I can, honey. That’s the perk of working from home. I can set my own hours.” She smiled.
“Wish I could.”
She set a cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie down in front of me. “You will someday.”
My emotions were running at an all-time high because the past two months with Hope had been the best, and it was going to be hard being away from her again.
“Listen, Lorelei.” My mom placed her hand on mine. “You are an excellent mother, and Hope knows that. She understands you have to work hard to give her everything she needs.”
“I know she does, but I still feel guilty.”
“I know you do because I felt guilty leaving you when I had to work. But you turned out just fine, and so will Hope. She has a loving family that will take care of her.”
After finishing my coffee and pie, I had to leave to go pick up Hope from school.
“Maybe with this pay increase, I can find an apartment closer to my job and to you.”
“I still wish you’d move in with Nick and me.”
“I can’t, Mom. Hope and I need our own place.”
She walked over and gave me a hug. “I know you do, and I’m very proud of you.”
I stood outside the doors of Hope’s classroom, waiting for school to let out. The doors opened as soon as the bell rang, and a flood of children emerged. Hope saw me and ran into my arms.
“Hey, pumpkin.” I kissed the top of her head. “How was school today?”
“It was good. How was your day?”
“It was good, and I’ll tell you all about it over pizza.” I smiled.
“Yes!” she exclaimed.
We walked hand in hand to our favorite pizza place and took a seat at a small round table. After placing our order, I looked into the happy eyes of my daughter.
“I got a job today.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I start work tomorrow, and you’re going to have to go to latch key in the mornings before school starts, but Grandma will be there to pick you up every day after school. How do you feel about that, baby?”
She shrugged. “I don’t mind going to latch key. Addison goes to latch key in the morning, and she says it’s fun.”
“You’ll have to start getting up earlier because I can’t be late for this job. I don’t have the flexibility like I did over at Praline.”
“Stop worrying so much, Mommy. I’ll be fine.” She grinned.
The one thing about Hope was that she was really smart for her age. But she was just a child, and I didn’t want her worrying or growing up too fast. I heard my phone ringing in my purse. When I pulled it out, I saw Stella was calling.
“Hello.”
“Sorry I missed your call earlier. I was in meetings all day discussing a new shoe line.”
“That’s okay. Can you come over later?”
“Sure. I’ll be over after six. Sound good?”
“Six is great. I’ll see you then.”
“Hi, Aunt Stella!” Hope voiced over the table.
“Tell that sweetie pie ‘hi,’ and I’ll see her soon.”
“I will. See you soon.”
Our pizza was finally ready, and I took a slice and placed it on Hope’s plate.
“Why don’t you date?” she asked out of the clear blue.
I looked at her in surprise because she had never asked me that before.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“I don’t know. Addison’s mom started seeing someone and Addison really likes him. I just want you to know that I wouldn’t mind if you started seeing someone.”
It felt like a hurricane ripped through me when she said that. The thought of dating terrified me, and it was something I hadn’t even thought of since Brett. He was the love of my life, and I couldn’t see anyone ever replacing him.
“I haven’t met anyone worth dating, I guess,” I spoke as I stared into her baby-blue eyes.
“I don’t think you try.”
“That’s because you’re all I need.” I smiled.
“Maybe you should try a dating site. That’s where Addison’s mom met her boyfriend.”
I was floored by this conversation my seven-year-old daughter was having with me.
“Okay. Enough talk about that. Let’s eat our dinner so we can be home in time for when Auntie Stella comes over.”