Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Jack
I arrived at the office at six a.m., and at about seven, Garrett came strolling in, taking a seat across from me.
“How was your weekend?” he asked.
“It was okay. I worked most of it. I’m leaving for Paris Fashion Week in a few days, and it’s always hectic around this time.”
He gave me a light nod as he crossed his hands and brought them to his lips.
“I’m afraid to ask how Lorelei’s working out.”
“She’s working out fine. She’s very talented. Why didn’t you tell me she studied at Parsons?”
“Would it have mattered? You never gave a shit what your PAs did as long as they were capable of working for you.”
I shrugged. “I still think you should have told me. What else do you know about her?”
“Nothing. That’s it. Why?”
“No reason. I took her to dinner Friday night to discuss the details for the launch party, and I tried to get her to talk about her personal life, and she wouldn’t.”
He cocked his head at me, narrowing his eyes. “You, Jack Sutton, took your PA to dinner? You’ve never done that.”
I shrugged again. “I wanted to get the details out of the way.”
He sat there and glared at me for a few moments, his eyes searching deep inside me for something.
“Jesus Christ, Jack. No! No fucking way!”
“What?” I raised my hands.
“You will not even think about getting her into bed with you. Fuck, Jack! What the hell is the matter with you?”
“Did I say I wanted to sleep with her? I just said I wanted to get to know her better.”
“And you getting to know her better will ultimately end up with the two of you in bed, and she’ll be hurt, and she doesn’t deserve that.”
Coco walked in, and instantly Garrett changed his tone, and a smile graced his face. I had noticed that a lot lately, and it was bothering me.
“What’s going on in here, gentlemen?” Coco smirked.
“Nothing. We’re just having a little business conversation,” I replied.
“Jack wants to get to know Lorelei better,” Garrett blabbed.
Coco raised her brow at me. “Why? You don’t ever want to get to know anyone personally.”
I leaned back in my chair. “For God's sake. She’s a good PA, and I would like to get to know her better. That’s all.”
“Hmm. Please stay away from her, Jack. She’s a great girl, and I like her personally, which is more than I could say for the other women you keep company with.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Coco?”
“I’m just saying that the superficial women you choose to sleep with are just that. Fake and plastic. Lorelei is a real person, and she doesn’t deserve to be treated disrespectfully by the likes of you.”
“You two may leave my office right now. In fact, I’ll show you how nice I can be to her. I’m telling her she’s going to Paris with us. I’ll need a PA there to handle a few things.”
Coco laughed. “You have never had a PA with you in Paris or anywhere, for that matter. The only thing you need her to handle is your cock.”
Garrett busted out into laughter.
“Okay. Okay. You both had your fun. Now get the hell out of my office!”
I looked at the clock, and it was seven-fifty. I grabbed my phone and sent Lorelei a text message.
“You aren’t by any chance walking around the building with my coffee, are you?”
“No. I’ll be there in five. Starbucks was crazy this morning.”
“And how is that different from any other morning?”
As I looked down at my phone, waiting for a response, I heard Lorelei’s voice.
“Fine. When I went to pick up the coffee from the counter, I accidentally spilled it, and they had to make me a new one,” she spoke as she stood in the doorway.
“Well, at least it wasn’t on my suit.” I held out my hand for my coffee. “Go get settled, and then come back in here and have a seat. I need to talk to you about something.”
Lorelei
After handing Jack his coffee, I went to my desk and put my things away. I spent the whole weekend thinking about him, and I couldn’t tell you why. All I knew was that he was on my mind when he shouldn’t have been, which irritated me.
After turning on my computer and grabbing my notepad, a cute little boy around the age of five came up to my desk.
“Why, hello there.” I smiled.
“You’re pretty,” he spoke.
“Thank you. You are a very handsome little boy.”
“What’s this?” he asked as he touched the paperweight on my desk.
“Something you shouldn’t be touching,” Jack spoke in irritation as he walked out of his office.
The little boy ran down the hall and to his mom.
“That wasn’t very nice. He’s just a child.”
“I don’t like children. Bring the confirmed guest list to my office, and we’ll go over the seating chart.”
I grabbed the guest list from my desk and followed him into his office. “What do you mean you don’t like children?”
“Exactly what I meant. I don’t like kids.” His tone was flat.
“You were a child once.”
“And I didn’t like myself. Now that I’m an adult, I like myself much better.” He winked.
“That’s a terrible thing to say, Jack.” I handed him the guest list, and he looked it over.
“Do you like sharks?” he asked.
“No. Not particularly.”
“And I don’t like kids.”
I shook my head and sat there in disbelief that he would even compare a child to a shark.
“So, you never plan on having a family?”
He laughed. “Who me? Do I look like a family man to you?”
“I guess not.”
“Okay, now that we’ve established that I’m not a family kind of man, let’s finish this seating chart.”
Once the seating chart was arranged, Jack glanced up at me.
“I have some good news for you.” He smiled.
“Oh? And what would that be?”
“You’re going to Paris with me. Well, with us. My mother, Coco, and a couple of other people.”
I swear the color from my face drained. Shit. Shit. Shit. There was no way I could go to Paris. He was leaving in a few days, and I couldn’t leave Hope. I couldn’t tell him that because he had just gone on a rant about how much he hated children, and he wouldn’t understand.
“I’m sorry, Jack. I can’t.”
“Excuse me?” He cocked his head.
“I would love to but...” Think, Lorelei, and make it good. “My mother is ill, and I can’t leave her right now.”
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it’s nothing serious.”
“We don’t know yet. That’s why I can’t leave the country.”
“I understand. Maybe next year. That’ll be all,” he spoke.
I walked out of his office and sank low into my chair when I sat down at my desk. I couldn’t believe I lied to him about my mother being ill. What the hell was the matter with me? There was no way I could leave my daughter behind and fly off to Paris.
As the day went on, his attitude toward me was different. He was in and out of meetings all day and barely spoke two words to me.