Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Lorelei
As soon as we arrived home, Hope climbed into the bathtub while I cleaned the kitchen from breakfast. I heard the door open and Stella’s voice.
“Hello there.” She smiled. “I hope you still have that bottle of wine we opened the other night because I need a drink.”
I smiled. “It’s in the fridge.”
I reached into the cabinet and took down the only two wine glasses I had while Stella grabbed the bottle of wine from the refrigerator.
“Did you call Sutton Magazine today?” she asked as she poured the wine.
“I did more than that. I got the job!” I shrieked.
“What?! Oh my God, congratulations!” She hugged me.
“Thank you. I start tomorrow.”
“Wow. That was fast. Did you bat those pretty blue eyes at him or something?”
“I didn’t meet Mr. Sutton. I only met with the human resources manager, and he hired me on the spot.”
“That is awesome. Did you tell Hope yet?”
“Yes. We talked about it over pizza, and she’s excited.”
Hope came running into the room and hugged Stella. “Auntie Stella!”
“Hey, Hopester. How’s my darling doll?”
“I’m good. Did my mom tell you she got a job today?”
“She sure did. I’m so happy for her.”
“Me too!” Hope exclaimed. “I’ll talk to you later. I have homework to do.”
“Okay, you little brainiac.” Stella patted her on the butt.
We took our wine and sat down on the couch.
“I’ve heard Jack Sutton is a total asshole and very hard to work for. Are you sure you can handle it?” she asked with concern.
“I can handle Mr. Sutton. What I can’t handle is my seven-year-old daughter telling me to join a dating site to meet a man.”
“What?” Stella laughed.
“Apparently, her friend Addison’s mom met this guy on a dating site, and Addison really likes him.”
Stella shrugged. “Maybe Hope has a point. You haven’t been on a date since Charlie, and that was over three years ago.”
“It was one time, and you forced me to go out with him. It wasn’t even a date, and I wouldn’t have bothered if you didn’t keep hounding me.”
“He was a nice guy.”
“He was gay!”
“Well, I didn’t know that at the time.” She smirked.
We finished our glasses of wine, and Stella had to leave to meet Sebastian for dinner.
“Hope, Auntie Stella is leaving,” I yelled from the living room.
She came running out of her room and hugged Stella goodbye.
“See you later, alligator.” Stella smiled as she held up her fist.
“After a while, crocodile.” Hope fist-bumped her. It was their thing that always made me smile.
I thanked Stella for coming over, and as I walked her to the door, I hugged her.
“You better call me tomorrow and let me know how your first day went. I’m dying to hear all about Mr. Asshole Sutton.”
I laughed. “I will.”
Jack
I awoke with a good feeling. Today I had a new PA, and I couldn’t be happier. The first thing on the agenda was condoms. I hoped she wouldn’t be offended. But if she was, who cared. I put on my Armani suit and headed downstairs, where Madeline, my maid, had breakfast waiting for me.
“Good morning, Madeline.” I smiled.
“Good morning, Jack. You seem to be in a good mood this morning.”
“That’s because I am. My new personal assistant starts today.”
She sighed. “Would you like to take bets on how long she’ll last?”
“Now, now, Madeline. Let’s not be negative. Not today. Garrett told me she’s extremely organized and even straightened the paperweight on his desk. So that right there tells me that she’ll be good.”
“Great. She possesses the same qualities as you.” She rolled her eyes.
Madeline was a good woman with a good heart. She was in her early fifties and had worked for me for about three years. She didn’t put up with my shit, and I respected her for that. She reminded me of my mother but nicer. Tony, my personal driver and friend, stepped into the kitchen and glanced over at Madeline. I was pretty sure he had a thing for her. I shuddered at the thought. I would catch the two of them chatting it up early in the morning before I would come in for breakfast. I once asked him about it, and he said I was imagining things. I knew damn well I wasn’t imagining anything. Both of them had never been married, and outside of working for me, I didn’t think they had lives.
As he was driving me to my office, I had him stop at Starbucks so I could grab a coffee. I called Coco before leaving the house and asked her to stop for me, and she told me to stop myself and that I better not call her secretary. Her voice was threatening, which told me she was in another mood. Standing in line at Starbucks was not the way I wanted to start my morning. In fact, this would be the last time since my new PA would be fetching my coffee for me from now on.
When I looked down at my phone, my eyes fixated on a pair of lean, long legs in front of me as well as the sculpted ass that was attached to them. I stared at this woman up and down in her slim black skirt and matching jacket. Her long, blonde, wavy hair lay perfectly over her shoulders. It was the kind of hair that was perfect for pulling during sex. I wanted to get a glimpse of her from the front, but I couldn’t very well say, “Excuse me, but you’re smoking hot and delicious from the back, so please turn around so I can see the rest of your package.” I tried not to think about it. She placed her order and stepped to the side. After placing my order, I glanced at her before taking my place behind her. She was beautiful. She stood about five foot seven with a very petite frame. I couldn’t catch the color of her eyes because she looked down as the barista prepared her coffee. When he set her cup on the counter, she grabbed it and quickly turned around, spilling some coffee on my new Armani suit.
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry.” Her captivating blue eyes stared into mine.
Captivating or not, I was pissed as hell. I took a step back and examined my suit. She quickly grabbed a napkin and began to dab my suit with it.
“Stop!” I commanded. You’ll leave the lint from the napkin all over my suit coat.”
“I am so sorry. Please let me pay to have that cleaned for you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just take your coffee and go,” I spoke with irritation.
I could tell she was embarrassed, but I didn’t care. She was clumsy, and I wanted her out of my sight.
“Again, I’m so sorry.”
“Just go.” I waved my hand.
I mumbled under my breath as I climbed into the limo. “Tony, you need to take me back home so I can change my suit. Some clumsy blonde spilled coffee on me.”
“That wouldn’t be the blonde I saw practically running out the door, would it?”
“Yeah, that was her.” I sighed.
“At least she was a beautiful blonde that spilled coffee on you.” He smirked.