Chapter 27
JAMISON
My hand shakes as I close the door after saying goodbye to Dori. I have to call Aiden back, and I have no idea what to tell him.
This conversation is going to be brutal.
I go to the kitchen and rummage through my medication, looking for the painkillers. They could help with the hell I’m sure to face.
I twist the lid off the bottle and shake the pills to get an idea of how many I have left. From the looks of it, it’s enough to get me through the next few days.
I tip the bottle and slide my relief into my palm. Sifting through the white tablets, I pick up two pills with my index finger and thumb.
This should hold me over.
I grab my iced tea off the counter and pop the lid, downing my medication with the first drink.
My pulse thuds against my eardrums as I hit Aiden’s number.
It rings once. “Jami, how are you, brother?”
“Could be better, but I’m alive.” I run my sweaty hand down my cheek and over my beard. “How are you able to call? Is your assignment over?”
“Yeah, thank fuck. I hate undercover work.”
“You do?” I walk to the couch and sit.
“I can only be a jailhouse snitch so many times. Besides, I’m close to getting out of the game for good.”
“You are? How?”
“My dad’s planning on retiring this year. I get my trust fund when he does. Once that happens, I can build the PI business I’ve always talked about, and run my own life.”
“You’re finally going to make that entrepreneurial dream come true.”
“Yeah, finally.” He releases a deep breath. “Back to you. Tell me how you got shot?”
My insides sour. “I was on a walk with Dori, and someone had a laser pointed at her. I stepped in front of it.”
Something crackles through the phone. “They didn’t tell me that part.”
“It’s something the police investigators want to keep to themselves.”
“Hmm. Do they have a suspect?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” I get up and pad to my sliding glass door, working to release some of my tension.
“Any clue who has my sister in their sights?”
“She thinks it’s Hunter’s mother. And I’m inclined to agree with her.”
“What’s that prick’s mom’s beef with Dori?”
“That’s the riddle we’re trying to solve. But don’t worry, I have a bodyguard on her at all times.”
He pauses for a moment. “Why you and not Hunter? He’s her billionaire boyfriend.”
I coil into myself. “About that...”
“I don’t like your tone. What’s going on with Dori?”
“They broke up.”
Fuck, this is harder than I thought it would be .
My mind twists, wanting to find a way to tell him about Dori and me, but I come up blank. Sweat trickles down my spine.
Aiden clears his throat. “Did she finally come to her senses, or did he break her heart?”
“She left him.”
“Maybe she’s coming around.”
I scratch the back of my head. “Yeah, I think she is.”
There’s a moment of silence.
His voice is full of caution when he starts again. “Let’s round back and explain why you two were on a walk together.”
I suck in a breath and slowly release it. “We were spending some time together and talking.”
“Like those sneaky little hikes you used to take her on?”
“Um...” I give up. I might as well own up to it. “How long have you known about that?”
“So you admit it?”
I shrug to no one. “I do, but that was years ago. Why are you only approaching me about it now?”
“Because I suspect you and I are about to have it out.”
“Aiden, what do you want me to say? You’ve always known how I feel about her.”
“Yeah, and I’ve warned you to stay the fuck away. You swore on your life you would. You gave me your word.” His voice is at least two levels higher than usual.
“I did, but things are different now. Dori and I?—”
“If you’re about to fucking say what I think you are, reconsider it or else.”
I flex my chest. “Or else what? What the fuck is so terrible about us being together?”
“Everything. You ruin everything if you two get together.” There’s a slamming of something in the background like he’s hitting the table with every word he says.
Heat rises in me. “Like what? Give me one example. ”
“Our friendship, for one.”
“Only if you make it an issue.”
“Fuck you, you bastard. You don’t fucking get it.”
“Then make me understand.”
“You wouldn’t be able to.”
“Try me.”
“You were given everything you wanted. You were the perfect son and had the privilege of living a perfect life. Why can’t you give me this one thing?”
“What thing is that? Dori?”
“I don’t want my sister, you sick fuck,” he scoffs.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
Yeah, I shouldn’t have said it, but I’m seeing red. He’s held me away from her, and it nearly killed me. I’m over it.
His furious voice barrels through the line. “You’re fucking going to pay for this. Just wait until I get my hands on you. That gunshot wound will be the least of your worries.”
“Aiden, it doesn’t have to be like this. We can all sit down and talk. We can get on the same page. You’ll see that our friendship won’t be affected by it. And neither would your relationship with her. If anything, it could bring us all closer.”
He rages on. “Like hell it will. I’ll lose everything because of this little childhood crush you can’t seem to let go of.”
“It’s not a crush. I’m in love with her.” In an instant, the heaviness lifts from my shoulder. I’ve needed to say that to him for years.
“You’re in love with her?”
“Yes.”
“Does she know?”
“Yes.”
His laugh comes out wicked. “So you’ve already crossed the line. Nice. Really fucking nice. Years of friendship and empty promises.”
“I tried to stay away from her, but... ”
“But what?”
I pull in a breath of courage. “We’re together and love each other, Aiden. And no matter how upset you are, it won’t change anything.”
“Get yourself a bodyguard. You’re gonna need one.” The line goes dead.
That went about as well as I thought it would.
I better warn Dori.
Me: I didn’t tell you before you left, but the call I had to return was to Aiden.
I wasn’t being deceptive. You needed to see Melanie off.
I knew you’d stay with me, waiting to see how our call went.
I’ll tell you more when you return. Just don’t answer your phone until you speak to me. I expect he’ll call you soon.
“Fuck me. How can I make this up to her?” My gaze roams the room.
I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I’ve got to come up with something to help her when she returns.
She’s going to need a lot more than support. She needs to see she can lean on me and we can make it through this together.
Aiden will go hard on her. I know it, but I pray he doesn’t make her doubt us. Nothing has ever come easy with her, but she doesn’t deserve the hell Aiden’s going to unleash.
I have to show her I can be a source of strength and prove to her I won’t leave her to stand up to Aiden all on her own. We can be a united front and fight him together.
What if he has more power over her than I think he does?
Will she walk away from us?
This sucks. I’m afraid this situation might wreck her. If Aiden can’t forgive us and she loses him, it could prove disastrous for us. Dori usually caves to his demands. She could with this situation too .
If that happens, there’s no hope for a future with Dori. There’s no way around it. Either she stands up to Aiden, or I lose her. I guess I’ll find out when she gets home.
I rest against the back of my office chair and stare at Mateo through the computer screen. “What’s the latest date you can give me?”
“I wanted you here this coming week. If this is going to get done within the time frame I want, I can’t have you there much longer.” He taps his pen on his desk. “Two weeks tops.”
“I’ll make it work. I just need to find a doctor to take over my care, get movers, and I’ll be on my way.” My stomach hardens.
The timing of this move couldn’t be worse.
He tilts his head. “Is your girlfriend coming with you?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
I ignore the anxious bubbles in my chest. “We haven’t talked specifics, but we’re committed to each other. We’ll make it work.”
“Miami is far from where you two live. Are you sure she’s up for a move like this?”
“She says she is.”
“I guess time will tell.”
“She’ll be there. You can count on it.”
He leans toward the screen. “Rumor has it she was with Hunter before you.”
I huff out a laugh. “And who told you that?”
“Jonah.”
I nod and smirk. “Well, he would know.”
“So it’s true? ”
“It is.”
No use in hiding it now.
Mateo runs his hand over his mouth and studies me for a moment. “Is that why you were investigating him?”
“Yes. Look, Mateo, what are you getting at?”
“I don’t want you to be bringing any drama with you. Hunter’s not someone I want on my bad side.”
“My relationship with Hunter won’t spill into my work with you.”
Mateo laughs like I’m stupid. “He’s going to be livid that not only did you steal her away from his bed, but you also made it so that he’s high and dry without his marketing director.”
“I had nothing to do with her getting fired.”
“That’s not what I’m referring to.”
My eyes narrow on him. “Then what are you referring to?”
“I talked with Jonah earlier. He told me Dori was reinstated today.”
“What?” An instant pit forms in my stomach.
“That’s why I asked you if she was moving here with you. I don’t want the backlash of Hunter’s wrath because someone I’m partnering with is making his business suffer. It won’t go over well. For anyone.” His pointed stare tells me I need to be worried.
Jesus.
Can this day get any worse?
“What are you saying, Mateo?”
“Get your shit straightened out with Hunter before you get here. He needs to know I want no part of whatever drama has been going on.” Mateo pauses. “On that note, did you ever contact that guy from Paris?”
“I did, but he refused to work for me.” I reach for my phone out of habit .
Dori still hasn’t responded to my text. I thought she’d reach out as soon as she heard Aiden knows about us.
Fuck. What if he broke her down, and she’s not going to come back to me?
My stomach spins and my heart pounds a little harder.
Mateo brings me back to our conversation. “That’s a relief. If you had been in a business deal with him, we might be singing another tune.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He’s not someone to let a contract go. He completes the task and expects to be paid well for it.”
I shrug. “Who is he anyway?”
“Some guy who works in the European market.”
“How did you get connected with him?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”
“Fair enough.” I place my phone back.
Mateo works a pen through his fingers. “What else do we need to cover before you get here?”
“Nothing on the business front, but I’m curious if you know anyone looking for a marketing director.”
“Not off the top of my head. I’ll let you know if something comes up as long as you don’t drag me into anything with Hunter.”
Why does everything go back to him?
I shake my head. “I’ll keep anything you share with me to myself. You should know I’ve got your back.”
Mateo’s deep laugh fills the room. “You’ve proved you can keep a secret or two.”
“That won’t change.”
“That’s good to hear. It will put my clients at ease.”
“Nobody will know anything about that side of your business. At least, not from me.”
He nods. “I consider you more of a friend than most. That’s saying a lot. ”
“How so? If I remember correctly, you don’t have many friends. Outside of Colton Monroe and Justin, your right-hand man, you roll solo.”
“I have acquaintances. When you’re as high up as we are, trust isn’t given. It’s earned.” Mateo leans back in his chair.
“That was true before I had money.”
He blows out a gust of air between his lips. “Fuck, man. I don’t know many men who have pulled off what you have.”
“What have I done?”
“Two billion in two years. Even if it is being paid out to you over time, you have my respect. That’s quite an accomplishment.”
My chest swells. If only my parents were here to see it.
I accept Mateo’s compliment and bask in the feeling of my success. “I find it fascinating.”
“What’s that?”
“It seems once I hit that billion-dollar glass ceiling, making money has been the easiest thing I’ve come up against.”
“It’s a strange phenomenon, but you’re right. Once you have money, it just flows to you. You can’t teach it to anyone. You just have to experience it to know how it works.”
My mind travels to Dori. With the amount of money I make, I can provide her with every wish she’s ever had. I want that more than anything.
My phone vibrates with an incoming call.
“Mateo, I have to let you go. I have another call.”
“Okay. Let’s touch base next week.”
“I’ll reach out as soon as I have my itinerary.”
We disconnect, and I pick up my phone, thinking it’s Dori. When Hunter’s name flashes on the screen, my throat constricts. The last thing I want to do is hear him gloat about getting Dori’s job back.
I slide the answer button anyway. “Hunter. What can I do for you? ”
“Jamison, are you alone?” His panicked tone has me sitting straighter.
“Yes. Why?”
“Are your security guards around?”
“No. What’s this about, Hunter?”
“I need your help.”