5. Chapter 5
Jinny
E very time we look at each other on the way back to the office, we start laughing again.
It’s contagious. It’s novel. It’s refreshing.
I never laugh with men, ever. Maybe a scoff here or there, but never this delicious, bellyaching, tears coming to my eyes, laughter.
And I get the distinct feeling that Led hasn’t done this in a long time, either.
“Shit. I missed the turnoff.” He chuckles. “This is all your fault.”
“All my fault?” I bellow, playing along. “God, did we even pay the bill back there?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a tab at that restaurant.”
“Just that one?”
“One or two others.”
“You do a lot of meeting outside of the office?”
He nods. “Yeah, sometimes.”
I feel brave. “Let’s go to your place.”
He looks at me and smirks but can’t keep a straight face. “You’re really stuck on this blow job thing, aren’t you.”
I laugh out loud again. “I’m just curious. I’d like to see if yours is bigger than mine.”
That gets another laugh. “What are we talking about here? Are you telling me that you’ve got a penis, too?”
I sober slightly, mewling, wiping my eyes. “No. I assure you; I’m all woman. But I’m just curious about what your place looks like.”
“Well, we’re already headed in that direction. I don’t see the harm.” He gives me a sideways glance. “How big is your place?”
“Pretty big. I have a guest area, too. That’s where Bowie was staying after she left that prick Boston.”
“You own your house?”
I nod. “Yeah. That’s one thing that Boston did right. He did pay me well. And everyone else, too. It’s just thank God that Jagger has the same philosophy.”
“You’ve done well for yourself.”
“I have. I’ve never taken less than what I want. Boston had no choice but to keep my pockets well padded, too, since he was repressing Bowie so much, and I knew it, and he fucking knew that I knew it.”
“Yeah? And how come you never told Bowie that she was getting the shaft?”
I sigh. “That’s the thing with love, Led. It’s blind. I could have told her until I was blue in the face that she wasn’t getting to speak her mind and show her prowess all I wanted. She had to see it for herself. And that only happened when she found out that he fucked around on her.”
“And you never thought about taking a political stance, and threatening to leave, if he didn’t get off his high horse for your best friend?”
I give him a sour look. “What good would that have done? It would have just jeopardized my relationship with Bowie. It was worth it to wait it out. I knew it was just a matter of time before he made a wrong move. I could feel it in my bones.”
“Yeah? Have you got a sixth sense or something?”
“No. Just good intuition. I never liked Boston, but he wasn’t smart enough to pick up on that.”
“Yet you worked for him all those years?”
I nod. “Sacrifices. It helps that it was a great job.”
He rakes a hand through his hair as we turn off the highway. “Are you enjoying working here?”
Another nod. “Bowie is a lot happier, which makes me way happier.” I go for cute. “Plus, I get to work with you.”
He chuckles, turning into a parcel of large houses. Clearly, an affluent neighborhood. But he says nothing.
“This must be where you live.” I guess.
“It is. I had to move here about five years ago, so that I could get top notch security.”
“I told you that you were an eligible bachelor.”
“It’s not for that. It’s because of my money. I’ve got a lot of it, and anyone that knows it, is a threat. Jagger and my brothers and even my sister are in the media a lot, so I’m well known. I’ve got to watch it.” He changes the subject. “So, you never answered my question.”
“What question is that?”
“If you’re enjoying working for Lawson Enterprises.”
We pull up to a gate and he presses the keypad with his thumb, opening the gate. Even I don’t have that much security. “Wow.”
He chuckles. “Quit changing the subject. Answer me. Yes or no. Do you like working for my brother’s company.”
“I like it enough.” I snuffle, watching the shrubs lined with purple flowers pass us. It’s like a little flowered pathway.
“But you don’t love it.”
“I loved firing that whore, that I can tell you.”
“I think we can all vouch for that one.”
His house is quaint but grand, with rough stone walls giving it a rustic look, but a grand, ranch-style window in front, and cathedral ceilings clearly visible from the front as well.
A four-season porch is on the left, while a stone gateway leading to a small cottage is to the right.
“Ah, so you have guest quarters as well.”
“That would be true if I ever had guests.”
I frown teasingly. “Not very popular, are we?”
He smiles as we pull up to the triple door garage connected by a small tunnel to the cottage. “That’s sort of by choice. I like to be by myself.”
“Is that what you keep telling yourself.” I only half tease. Led does give off the vibe that he’s a loner some.
A half smile. “I’m with people all day long.
The least that I can do after work is spend time alone.
It’s good for the soul.” He pulls into the driveway and turns off the engine.
“What, you like being among people after work, with your very people-heavy job? I mean, shit, you’re an HR Manager, managing people is literally your job. ”
“And that’s why I like it. My mom’s been telling me all my life that I can read people like a book.”
“If that’s true, then how come you didn’t become like a psychologist or a palm reader or something?”
My smile is telling that we’re just fucking around, as we exit the car. “Are you teasing me?”
“A little. But seriously. How come you didn’t pursue a different career?”
I frown as we walk to the side door off the little cottage.
“Because I’m not cut out for that field.
While I’m good at analyzing people, I’m not great at being terribly compassionate for them.
I’d tell them to stop being pussies. I’d rather push people to their full potential in their jobs or tell them when a job isn’t suited for them.
I also love to help build companies with the right people. ”
“So, why not become a headhunter?”
“I thought about that for a while, but I’d rather be immersed in a company and deal with the nuances of that organization, than constantly figuring out what an organization wants, and then building the company that way.
With my position, it covers all facets of human resources, not just filling positions adequately.
” He opens the door for me, and I notice the smell immediately.
It’s the same cool, fresh smell that wafts up my nose whenever I walk into one of those Aveda stores.
I inhale. “Do you have an infuser somewhere? That’s lovely.”
“Stevie is crazy about those things. I think she has shares in that Scentsy place. All of our places are loaded with those things. And she’s all into those salt lamps, too.
Wait, you’ll see.” He winks, as we walk through a small corridor with potted plants.
As we get to the cottage, he opens the sliding door that leads to a grand room that has a sunporch feel.
“This is my favorite room if I’m being honest.”
“I can see why.” I look around and see the twilight bleeding in from the floor to ceiling windows. The brick fireplace in the center of the room is gorgeous, giving the house, once again, a rustic feel. “Did you have this place custom built?”
“No. I bought it. I like it because it’s not all stainless steel and glass. It’s modern but rustic. Warm. Inviting. And it’s not too far off the beaten path, but it’s also hidden far enough away from the highway that it sometimes feels like I’ve escaped.”
“My place is very modern, and I had it built by an architect I hired.”
He licks his lips. “Did you sleep with him first?”
“Oh, we’re back to that, are we.” I play along. “He was just a kid. The house that I live in was literally one of his school projects. The kid is a genius. He’s pulling a seven-figure income now.”
“So, you don’t rob the cradle. Point for you.”
“Now, don’t get all grumpy on me. Come on. Show me the rest of the place.”
He gives me a sexy little smile that reminds me of how he used to smile at me in high school. He’s still got it. “Fine. Follow me. What do you want to see first?”
“Everything. I like it a lot so far.”
“That makes two of us.”
I chuckle. “Smartass. Show me where you spend most of your time.”
“I already showed you that, like I said. That room is amazing.”
“But you can’t sleep there.”
He scoffs. “Like hell I can’t. There’s a couch.”
He’s adorable. “I didn’t picture you the sleep on a couch kinda guy.”
A brow lift. “Do I look delicate to you? Just because I’ve got a house big enough for an army doesn’t mean I can’t get my hands dirty, Jinny. I’m not afraid to draw outside of the lines.”
“I wasn’t saying that you look delicate. I just pictured you to be the type of guy that has a rule book.”
“Well, that’s fair. I do have one of those. I live by a strict moral code that’s been bred into me. Both my parents are like that. That’s why all of us Lawson kids are so successful. But that’s also...”
I finger a Ficus that’s leaning up against a main wall in the grand room. “That’s also what.”
With a sigh he answers, ever so hesitantly, as we climb the staircase up to the second floor. “That’s also why sometimes I feel like I’m fucking numb.”
I run up the stairs, challenging him to a race. “That’s just because you need to have a little fun!”
He snuffles a laugh, following me, but at a slower pace. “Hey, no running in the halls!”
“Please...these stairs are so deep, you can’t trip on them. I’d be running up and down these things all day. You don’t need a treadmill with these babies living here!”
He grabs me by the arm at the landing. “God, you are such a...big....kid!”