Chapter 9
Sutton
Friday afternoon, Jack Gallo stopped by my cubicle. I hadn’t seen him since the breakroom on Tuesday morning.
“Hey.” He leaned his elbows on the half wall and smiled. “A bunch of us go out for happy hour one Friday a month. Tonight’s the night, if you’re up for joining.”
“Oh. I, uh…”
“Your fellow interns are all coming. I came down earlier to ask everyone, but you weren’t around.”
The week had been long, and I was tired, especially since I hadn’t yet adjusted to New York time and my sleep schedule had been wonky. “I’m actually kind of wiped out.”
He shrugged. “If you change your mind, we’ll be at the Copa.”
“The…Copa bar?” How many bars were in New York City? It seemed like a dozen lined each street, yet happy hour was at the same bar where I’d met Jagger for our DARE date? That seemed like an awfully big coincidence.
“Yeah, do you know it?”
I shook my head, as if admitting I’d been there was going to give my secret away. “No, but it sounds familiar.”
He nodded. “Probably because it’s on the Apex Holdings website. The boss owns it.”
“The boss?”
“Langston. He owns the entire building, too. That’s the reason we all go. Free drinks. Happy hour is on him.”
“Does he go?” The idea of running into Jagger Langston made the thought of happy hour more interesting.
But Jack shook his head. “He’s never graced us with his presence, even though he lives on the top floor of the building.”
I suddenly felt icky. Isn’t that convenient?
He lives in the damn building. A few drinks to loosen his dates up, and straight to the elevator they go.
God, why did that irk me so much? It wasn’t like he’d ever misrepresented his intentions on the dating site, saying he wanted to meet the love of his life.
He was on a hook-up site where convenience was probably appreciated, not found appalling.
Jack rapped his knuckles on the top of my cubicle wall. “I have to run to a meeting. But we’ll be there from six to eleven. Maybe come for one drink?”
“I’ll try.”
He disappeared, and I sat at my desk, struggling with my conflicting feelings.
I hadn’t seen Jagger since our lunch date—or lunch meeting, I suppose.
After our bizarre five minutes of free questioning, we’d returned to discussing business.
Twenty minutes later, he’d gotten a call that some big deal he was about to close was threatening to fall through, and he’d had to get on a flight to London to try to save it.
He dropped me at the entrance to the Apex building, and that was the last I’d seen of him.
I’d told myself it was just as well. No good could come from me continuing to drool over a man like Jagger Langston. But it didn’t seem to stop me from getting excited every time the elevator door opened, or I went to a management meeting that included the group “All Executives” in Outlook.
My desk phone rang while I was still lost in thought.
“Sutton Holland,” I answered.
“Hi, Sutton. It’s Edmund.”
I hadn’t seen or heard from my stepfather since starting at Apex. He’d been off on my first day, the Monday after the wedding, which now seemed like a lifetime ago, and then he’d been on a business trip the rest of the week.
“Hey, Edmund. How are you?”
“I’m well. I was meaning to get down to see you today, but I got bombarded the minute I walked in the building this morning.”
“I didn’t realize you were back from your trip.”
“We hit a stalemate with the deal I was working on, so I caught a ride home on the company jet late last night with the boss.”
I perked up. Jagger’s back. “Oh. That’s good. I’m sure Mom was glad.”
His voice softened. “Yes, her day is always brighter when her coffee is hand delivered to her in bed before the sleep mask comes off her eyes.”
I chuckled. That was my mom. I’d learned the trick to her morning happiness in grade school—bring her hot coffee in her favorite Tiffany’s mug first thing in the morning, and I could ask anything and get a yes. “And that, in turn, makes everyone else’s day brighter.”
“It certainly does.” I heard the smile in his voice. Edmund adored my mother. And I’d never seen her happier than with him. What’s the old saying? Fourth time’s a charm? “Anyway, would you have some time to stop up here so we can talk for a few minutes?”
Uh-oh. My stomach dropped. He’d taken the plane home with the boss, and now I was being summoned to his office. This didn’t sound good. “Umm… Yeah, sure.”
“Great. Pop in on your way out. It won’t take long.”
Forty-five minutes later, I rode the elevator up to the executive floor and swiped my card to enter the glass doors.
My stomach was a knot of nerves as I walked into the empty reception area.
I’d learned the layout of the top floor on my first day.
It was a circle that could be entered from the right or the left.
The most direct path to Edmund’s office was to my right, but his office came before Jagger’s, so if I went that way, I wouldn’t pass the boss.
I nibbled on my lip for a few seconds before settling on going left.
Halfway to Jagger’s office, my steps faltered when I heard men’s voices.
Two suits I vaguely recognized from the corporate website walked into the hall, and I breathed a sigh of relief that neither was Jagger or Edmund.
Though my breaths again staggered to a halt as I approached the big corner office located at the turn.
Trying not to make it obvious I was looking, my eyes darted to the side.
Disappointment hit as I found the office empty, but my legs kept going without breaking stride.
When I arrived at Edmund’s office, his door was open.
He sat behind his desk, talking loudly on speakerphone.
When he saw me, he smiled and stood, waving me in while continuing his conversation.
It wasn’t until a few seconds later that I realized he wasn’t actually on the phone.
He was talking to someone sitting on the couch, which was now behind me.
I turned, and that person was none other than Jagger.
I wobbled on my heels at the sight of him.
He stood, and I could’ve sworn there was a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes. “Good to see you again, Sutton.”
“I…I didn’t realize anyone was in the office but Edmund.”
Jagger’s shirtsleeves were rolled up, showcasing his muscular forearms covered in tattoos.
His hair, which was normally slicked back and neat, was more disheveled than usual.
It looked like he’d spent a decent amount of time raking a hand through it.
I could’ve ogled the man for hours, but I didn’t want to embarrass my stepfather, so I turned my attention back to him and thumbed to the door. “Should I come back?”
Jagger answered. “That’s not necessary. We were just finishing up.
” He picked up his suit jacket from the couch and nodded to Edmund.
“Thanks again for trying to put out the dumpster fire. I was initially disappointed, but the way their management team has acted in the last twenty-four hours, maybe things worked out for the best.”
Edmund nodded. “Sometimes things go wrong so that better things can come along and make things right again.”
Jagger’s gaze shifted to me, and this time the amusement in his eyes was undeniable. “I agree.”
He left with only a nod, and I made the mistake of watching him through the glass wall until he was out of sight—a mistake because Edmund had been watching me.
“Have you two gotten to spend any time together yet?” he asked. “Since he’s your mentor?”
My first instinct was to say no—but then I remembered that everyone goes to lunch with their mentees their first day. I nodded. “We had lunch and talked for a bit, but he got a call and had to cut our conversation short.”
Edmund nodded. “You should probably get used to that. That man is pulled in twelve different directions at any time. I was actually surprised that he called Ellie and volunteered to be part of the mentorship program this year. He works fourteen hours a day, and it’s not nearly enough to manage everything he’s got on his plate. ”
“He…volunteered? Ellie didn’t draft him?”
My stepfather nodded again. “I think when he found out it was you who was out of a mentor, he stepped in out of respect for me. I appreciate it. You could learn a lot from that man. His brain works a lot like yours—takes in massive amounts of data and spits it out completely processed in the time it takes most people to look at the numbers on the page. But he also has the patience of a boiling kettle’s whistle.
” He waved me closer to his desk. “Anyway, let me know if he doesn’t make time for you, and I’ll see what I can do about getting you reassigned to another exec. ”
“I’m sure that won’t be necessary.”
Edmund held his hand out for me to sit, then took the seat behind his desk again.
“I wanted to talk to you about your mom’s fiftieth birthday coming up.”
My shoulders relaxed at the change of subject. I sat. “You mean thirty-ninth.”
His brows drew together. “She’s fifteen-and-a-half years younger than me, to the day. She’ll be fifty.”
“And you won’t make sixty-six if Mia Newport hears you saying she’s going to be fifty out loud. My mother is perpetually thirty-nine. Didn’t you know that?”
He chuckled. “Good point. And that’s part of the reason I thought I should talk to you about how we should celebrate. I was thinking about a surprise party, but I wasn’t sure how she would feel about that. Unless, of course, I called it her fortieth, perhaps?”
“I’m not sure she would be thrilled with a big party. I don’t think she’s taking this birthday lightly.”
He sighed. “That’s why I wanted to run things by you before setting anything in motion.
What about a small group at my house in Montauk for the weekend?
We could go over to Block Island or even Nantucket for the day?
I know where I might be able to borrow a beautiful boat, rather than taking the ferry.
Maybe I could surprise her and have her best friend, Patrice, and her husband come, and of course all you kids? ”
The thought of being cooped up all weekend with Colette and her new husband made me feel seasick without having stepped foot off land, but it did sound like something my mom would love. “That sounds really nice. I think she would enjoy that.”
“Wonderful.” He smiled. “I think I’ll leave my cell phone in the City for that weekend, so I can be present for a change. I’ve had a busy year so far, and even when I’m home, my head doesn’t always get the message it’s supposed to relax. I owe your mom more than a weekend.”
I smiled at how thoughtful he was. “That sounds amazing.”
He nodded and rose to his feet. “Consider it done then. I’ll let you know about the boat, but bring your swimsuit either way. Now why don’t you get out of here and go enjoy your Friday night in the City? Last time you lived here you weren’t old enough to take advantage of the nightlife.”
Out in the hall, I managed to turn right and head straight for the elevator. But as I waited for the car, footsteps approached and I knew. Without needing to turn around, I had no doubt who it was.
Jagger came to stand next to me. Up close, I could see how tired he looked.
His normally bright blue eyes were dimmer and reddened.
Stubble peppered his angular jaw, and a piece of wayward hair fell over his eyes.
None of it took away from his undeniable attractiveness, though.
If anything, it gave him a more genuine and approachable look.
“You look younger when you’re tired,” I said.
“That’s funny because I feel much older, about eighty at the moment.” He rubbed the back of his neck and stretched it right, then left. “I’ve never grown proficient at sleeping on planes.”
The elevator doors in front of us slid open, and Jagger put a hand on the small of my back, steering me inside.
I’d observed him with other women in the office.
He had impeccable manners, always opened doors and gestured for them to go first, but he didn’t touch them the way he did me.
Like always, the contact caused a zap, an electric current that jolted my tired body to life.
He positioned himself behind me in the elevator, close enough that I got a whiff of his sinfully delicious scent, yet shy of actual touching.
“Plans tonight?” he asked.
Remembering what Jack said about him living in the building, I decided to dangle a carrot and see if he’d bite.
“I was thinking about going to the office happy hour—the one at the Copa bar.” I was glad I was facing straight ahead and he couldn’t see my face because my smirk was impossible to contain.
He was quiet for a beat. “I see.”
The doors slid open at my floor. I still had to shut down for the day and grab my purse, so I stepped off.
Jagger stayed firmly inside, unmoving. I had no idea what the hell possessed me, but I suddenly got a wild hair and met his eyes.
“Maybe I’ll get lucky this time and find someone willing to take care of my little problem. ”
Jagger stared at me with an unreadable expression, though the muscle ticcing in his cheek gave me a good idea that he was less than thrilled.
I held my breath as the doors slid closed, half expecting him to stop them.
When he didn’t, a strange mix of relief and disappointment hit me.
I really must be tired because clearly I’d lost my mind, saying what I’d just said to the CEO. Thinking about it, I started to laugh.
At first it was just small chuckles, but eventually it turned into a full-belly cackle that probably made me sound like I’d lost my mind.
I kept laughing all the way to my desk and through locking my laptop away and taking out my purse.
It was strangely freeing, and I felt a lot better after I’d gotten it out.
Outside on the street, I took a big gulp of the New York City air.
I looked around at the people walking in all directions, the bumper-to-bumper cars honking even though there was no room for anyone to move, and realized how much I’d missed the endless energy.
The feeling was contagious, and I found myself no longer wanting to go home and dive into my bed.
Instead, I headed to the same place I had last week—the Copa.
Maybe this time, I wouldn’t leave alone.