Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Jack
It has been a long day. In fact, it feels like the day has been fifty hours long.
I take a deep breath, and roll my shoulders to relax before I look over at Levi.
I sip my whiskey allowing the smooth liquid to roll down my throat.
The warmth fills my stomach, like the sun on a cold afternoon. “How’s your day been?”
“I can’t say that it’s been particularly enjoyable,” he shrugs as he grabs his glass. “But I made a couple million off the Management Ink stock, so I’m not going to complain.”
“Just a couple of million?” I question him. “And you’re welcome, by the way.”
“What?” he says, grinning.
“Was I or was I not the person who gave you the tip to invest in the company?”
“Yeah, I guess you were. And I’m glad I listened. I think Santiago bought ten thousand shares as well, so he made a pretty penny when he sold today.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Is he coming to meet us for drinks tonight?”
“I don’t think so. I think he’s getting ready to head to South America in a couple of days and so he’s trying to finish up a couple of projects.”
“Oh yeah, he’s going to Argentina. I believe he’s going on one of his mountain climbing treks or something.”
“Don’t ask me. I don’t really know.”
“Well, here’s to another week of making money.” I hold my glass up. We clink glasses, and both sit back and look around. The Magnolia Club is particularly quiet tonight, and I signal Julio over to order some food.
“Can we get some caviar and crackers?” I ask, then look over at Levi. “Is there anything else you want?”
“Maybe some oysters.”
“Oysters?” I laugh. “You want an aphrodisiac? Are you meeting someone tonight?”
“Maybe.” He taps his fingers against the top of his glass. “Speaking of meeting people tonight, how’s it going with Katherine?”
“Oysters and caviar, please, Julio.” I ignore Levi.
“Yes, Mr. Heathcliff. Coming right up.” Julio walks away, and I look back at Levi.
“What are you thinking, asking me about Katherine in front of the staff?” I say. “You know the first thing they do is run to the tabloids with information about our dating lives.”
“Well, hey,” he says, “isn’t she your girlfriend?” He starts laughing. “I mean, she sure was acting like it the other night. Even Raquel got upset.”
“You know what that was the whole point of Katherine being there.”
“To get Raquel upset?” he laughs. “It seemed to me that you and Katherine were enjoying the farce. You guys knocking boots or something?”
“How archaic of a term is that?” I roll my eyes. “Who says ‘knocking boots? How old are you, Levi?”
“Seventy.” He leans forward and takes another sip of his drink.
“You’re evading the question, which makes me believe there’s more to this than I initially thought,” he places the glass on the table.
There’s a twinkle in his eyes that leads me to believe that he thinks he has a story here.
“So tell me, dear Jack, what’s going on with you and Miss Jenkins? ”
“Levi, what’s going on with your love life? I haven’t seen you with any woman recently.”
“Evading the subject again, eh? I’ve just been busy. And you know I’m going on my trip soon.”
“And so what?”
“Well, I’m going to be in Europe, and there are many women who want to become reacquainted with me.”
“And how’s it going with Brielle? Has she started for you yet?”
“No, she hasn’t actually started working for me yet. I think that will be in the next couple of weeks,” he says, scratching his forehead. “What’s her deal anyway?”
“What do you mean, what’s her deal?”
“Is she seeing anyone? In a relationship? Friends with benefits? I get a sort of cold vibe from her,” he continues. “I’m not really sure if she hates me or if that’s just her personality.”
“You’re going to have to ask Sebastian,” I say. “I don’t know her that well at all. I’ve only seen her a few times. Sebastian’s probably spent more time around her because she’s one of Willow’s best friends.”
“And what about Katherine?” he asks, grinning. “Is she friendly to you outside of her acting gig, or does she hate you?”
“Why would she hate me? I’m her boss. I’m her—” I pause, then grin. “Let’s just say there’s a thin line between love and hate.”
“Wasn’t that a movie?” He tilts his head.
“I don’t know. Was it?”
“I’m pretty sure there’s a movie called A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. It was about some psychotic woman who tried to destroy a man’s life because he didn’t want her.” He leans back. “Hopefully, Raquel doesn’t try to do that to you.”
“Do what to me?”
“I don’t know. Burn all your shit or stalk you?”
“She won’t.”
“I hope she doesn’t go all Fatal Attraction on you. Hope she doesn’t boil your bunny rabbit.”
“It’s a good thing I don’t have a bunny rabbit.”
“Maybe she’ll cut off your—”
“Really, Levi? Is this what we’re talking about?”
“What?” He shrugs. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing. It’s been a while since it’s just been the two of us.”
“I know. It’s good hanging out. Everyone’s been so busy.”
“I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since we’ve all gotten together.”
“I know. It’s crazy. We were so good about doing it every week, and now—” I shrug. “Well, we’ve all been busy.32”
“You’re always so organized,” he says. “If it’s not on your schedule, it doesn’t happen.”
“I mean, that’s not true.” I stare at him for a couple of seconds. I pull my phone out and start scrolling through my emails. I see one from Katherine titled Thoughts About Some of the Hotels. I open it and skim it.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Levi asks. “Something important?”
“No, just a work email about some properties I’m looking at.”
“Oh.” He stands up. “Excuse me for a moment, I have something to do.”
“Where are you going?”
“I need to ask Julio something.”
“What?”
“About getting me some Cubans,” he winks.
“Okay. Sounds good.” I stare at my phone for a few seconds, then decide to call Katherine.
“Hi,” she says brightly. “What’s going on?”
“What are you doing?” I ask, a tinge of amusement in my voice.
“Oh, I’m just getting ready for the night. I’m going out dancing with the girls.”
“Oh, fun. What sort of dancing?”
“We’re going to take salsa classes. Brielle found a Mexican restaurant that’s giving free classes tonight—as long as you buy a couple of margaritas.”
“And you love margaritas, huh?”
“We all do.”
“Sounds like fun,” I say. “I don’t suppose you want some company?”
“I’ll have company. Brielle and Willow and maybe Marina.”
“I meant male company.”
“I’m pretty sure there will be men there.”
“I meant my company.”
“Really, Jack? You want to go salsa dancing?”
“Not particularly,” I say honestly. “But it sounds like fun.”
“Well, I’ll let you know if we need your presence. Why were you calling?”
“I got your email.”
“Oh. Did you want to talk about that now? I thought we’d talk about it Monday morning. It’s after work, and I’m off for the weekend.”
“You do know that when you work at Heathcliff Enterprises, you’re never really off work.”
“You’re not paying me the big bucks, Jack. I don’t think it’s in my contract to work all hours of the day.”
“But if you owned your own bed and breakfast, Katherine, don’t you think you’d have to?”
“Is this when you tell me I can’t go dancing tonight because you need me to work?”
“No. I just had a question. I noticed you didn’t put the Coconut Beach property at the top of the list.”
“That’s because you haven’t done good enough research and I want to check out some of the stats in the files,” she says quickly.
“The files say Coconut Beach is booming. Tourism is up three thousand percent and projected to increase another thirty-three hundred percent in the next two years. And yet I’ve never even heard of the island. ”
“Do you know most islands?”
“Well, no, but I was just curious where you got this information?
“From the owner Mr. Johnson and his attorneys. He’s a very successful hotelier.”
“Is that a fact?”
“We have the paperwork. It’s an amazing deal.”
“If it’s so great, why is he selling?”
“He wants to invest in commercial real estate. Malls. The profit from this sale helps him do that.”
“Okay. It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”
“I haven’t. That’s why I had you do more research. Which properties do you like?”
“The Purple Hotel in Myrtle Beach looks good. And the one in Maui, even though it needs significant restoration.”
“That’s true.”
“I’m coming, girls!” she calls out. “Sorry, I have to go now.”
I frown. “I guess you’re heading out.”
“Yeah. Can we talk about this on Monday?”
“Sure. If you do me one favor.”
“What favor?”
“Send me a photo.”
“What?”
“I’d like to see how you’re dressed for salsa tonight.”
“Really, Jack?”
“Send me a photo.”
“I’ll think about it.”
I take a quick selfie and send it to her. “Have fun dancing tonight.”
“Oh Jack. Good night.” She says and hangs up. A couple of minutes later, she responds with a selfie. She’s wearing a sexy black dress, and my stomach flips as I look at her. She looks absolutely stunning. Sexy as hell and I want her in my bed.
Don’t get any ideas! She texts. And don’t do anything untoward with my photo.
I burst out laughing.
Like what?
Like jacking off.
Too late. Already doing it.
Levi sits back down and gazes over at me. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” I say, shaking my head and putting my phone away. I can’t get the photo of Katherine out of my mind. I want to rip that dress off of her. I look at Levi thoughtfully. “I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Did Sebastian ever tell you how he knew Willow was the one?”
Levi frowns. “What do you mean?”
“He fell in love with her quickly. She’s not the only beautiful woman that’s come into his life so I was curious how he knew that what he felt for her was more than lust?”
Levi shrugs and sips his drink. “I think when you know, you just know. Why are you asking? Don’t tell me you’ve caught the love bug, too.” He frowns.
“Oh, hell no,” I laugh a little too loudly. “I’m not interested in love. Not at all.”
He watches me closely and shakes his head. “Really now?”
“I haven’t even been on a date in ages,” I add quickly. “There’s no one who would make me think I’m even close to being in love.”
He doesn’t respond, just sips his drink and I know I’ve protested too much.
I don’t even know why I asked him the question.
I’m not falling for Katherine. I haven’t even had sex with her.
We haven’t even been on a real date. It’s just that she makes me smile.
There’s something about her beauty that captivates me: the way her eyes crinkle when she laughs, the way she juts out her chin when she’s stubborn, the way she challenges me, pushes me away, yet touches me so softly.
The way she smells. The way her hair feels in my hands.
The way I dream about her at night. The way I want her when I wake up in the morning.
She’s under my skin, and I’m determined not to fall for her.
She’s a complication I don’t need. And yet, I want her more than any woman I’ve ever wanted before in my life.
“Any salsa places around here?” I ask suddenly.
Levi stares at me. “Why?”
“I don’t know. I just had a thought.” I shimmy slightly and tap my feet against the marble floor.
He bursts out laughing. “You want to go salsa dancing?”
“I mean, why not?” I shrug nonchalantly.
“Is this because you want tacos?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Probably. I do have a craving for good Mexican food.”
He grins. “Then let’s get tacos.”
I nod and pull out my phone. “Let me see if I can find a place with tacos and salsa dancing.” I know it’s a longshot that I will find the same establishment that Katherine and her friends are going to, but it’s still worth a try.