Chapter 15
Evelyn
How I sneak out of the club a second time without anyone asking me where I keep going, I have no idea.
As I danced with Melissa and tried to shake Jameson’s threats out of my mind for the night, I only ended up getting myself riled up further.
Why should he hold all the power? Why should I spend the next forty-eight hours on edge, waiting for him to pop up at any moment?
I may be naive and impulsive, I’ve made some stupid mistakes, but I refuse to go to sleep tonight with this man in charge of my fate.
So, when Melissa headed back to the booth to grab another drink, I seized my moment and made my way through the crowds and out of the club once more. Into the elevator I went, straight to the forty-first floor.
The corridors are so damn long, with so many rooms, that I start doubting my ability to recall which room is Jameson’s.
I wander back and forth until I finally settle on a door that just feels right.
I don’t give a fuck if this man is deep in the REM cycle of his sleep by now—I bang my fist hard against the door.
There’s a long agonizing minute where the lack of response has me wondering if maybe he headed back down to the casino for one final flutter before bed, but then I hear the lock click and I suck in a breath.
The door swings open, revealing a very-nearly-naked Jameson, sporting only a pair of black Calvin Klein boxers that fit nicely around his hips.
I fight to keep my gaze from dipping, but holy shit.
He’s seriously toned. Lines of definition in his stomach highlight muscles I didn’t even know existed.
I never knew a man in his thirties could be this attractive.
I maintain my composure and coolly say, “Surprised to see me?”
“Not really,” Jameson says, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed casually across his bare chest. “You know there’s a peephole, right? I could see you standing out here, scrunching your nose and glaring.”
“Whatever,” I say with a dismissive wave of my hand. I set my eyes on his with confidence, but I’m not sure exactly just how intimidating I can be. “I’ve decided your plan of stalking and harassing me isn’t going to work.”
Jameson tilts his head in curiosity. “And why won’t it work?”
“Because I’ll kick you in the balls, poke you in the eyeballs, then retrieve my bracelet while you’re writhing on the floor in pain,” I say with a smile. “So what’s it gonna be?”
His neutral expression shifts, the corners of his mouth pulling into an amused smirk. “You’re funny, Evie.”
“That’s a really brave laugh for someone whose nuts are only protected by a thin layer of cotton right now,” I point out, nodding to his boxers.
“And I’m wearing heels. Extra pointy and thus extra painful.
If you plan on creating some devil spawn one day, you might want to back away and go get my bracelet. Your choice.” I shrug.
Jameson pushes off the doorframe, relaxing his arms and stepping back. “Would you like to come in?”
“So you can trap me in there again? No, thanks. I’ll wait right here.” I hold out my palm to him and this time my smile is polite but stern, like I’m negotiating with a toddler. “Bracelet. Now.”
“I’ll give you your bracelet,” he says, and my eyes light with relief, “if you tell me why you’re in so much financial trouble.”
My shoulders sink, deflated, and I sigh loudly as I snatch back my outstretched palm. “Fine. You promise you aren’t going to kill me if I come inside?”
I narrow my eyes dubiously at him, but the reality is, I don’t actually worry that I am in any legit danger around Jameson.
If I had any concern for my safety whatsoever, I certainly wouldn’t have come back to his room again.
But his threats seem to have a playful undertone, and although I have no doubt that he is angry at me, I have this gut feeling that he’s enjoying this at the same time.
I won’t lie, I’m kind of enjoying this little cat and mouse game we’ve got going on, too.
“Hey, I have more to risk here than you do,” Jameson reminds me. “You literally tried to rob me just a few hours ago. Maybe I should take a second to secure all of my belongings before I let you in here . . .”
I press my hands to my hips. “Key word being tried to. And I failed spectacularly, so trust me, I won’t be making any further attempts.”
“Promise?”
“I promise I won’t attempt to steal any of your valuables,” I say, holding out my pinky.
“And I promise I’m not going to kill you,” Jameson says, hooking his pinky around mine.
I don’t know why, but something flutters in my stomach. Who knew the promise of not being murdered could make me swoon?
Nervously, I make my way back into my previous crime scene. It’s exactly as it was earlier—most lights off except some lamps offering an ambient glow, the soft purr of the AC, the candy left out on the center table.
“My Reece’s!” I say excitedly, reaching out for the orange packet. I sink down onto the very edge of the couch and tear open the packet, feeling my stomach lurch with hunger.
“You’re lucky I didn’t eat them,” Jameson remarks as he settles on the couch next to me, maintaining an appropriate amount of space between us. He reaches for his half-eaten bag of peanut M&Ms. “So?” he prompts as he leans back to get comfortable, popping a handful of M&Ms into his mouth.
It’s hard to focus when he’s still only wearing boxers, and I can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that just a few hours ago, I was on this same couch with him, straddling his lap with my lips against his.
Did that really happen? It feels like a fever dream now.
Maybe I should have focused more on enjoying it.
“So . . .?” I say, nibbling on a peanut butter cup and looking anywhere but him.
“Why are you so broke?” he asks bluntly. “I mean, you don’t look broke. Those nails are new and your hair looks fresh out of the salon. Your dress felt high quality when I touched it earlier, and you smell like expensive perfume. Those earrings—are they real?”
“Yes, they’re real,” I snap back defensively, subconsciously reaching up to touch the Van Cleef earrings my parents bought me just a few days ago for my twenty-first birthday.
Jameson rolls his eyes and rests an arm over the couch cushions. “Can you see why I’m confused? I don’t understand why you need money. Seems like you’re doing okay, so what are these problems of yours that you’re trying to fix?”
I groan and sink back into the couch. Arms folded across my chest protectively, I stare up at the ceiling because I can’t bring myself to look at him.
Normally, I wouldn’t dare tell anyone the truth about the mess I’ve gotten myself into, but Jameson is just a stranger.
What do I care if he knows my secrets? After this weekend, I’ll never see him again, and right now all I want is my bracelet back.
Releasing a breath, I bluntly say, “I cheated on my final exams.”
Jameson barks out a laugh, and I snap my neck around so fast to glare at him I’m surprised I don’t paralyze myself.
“Excuse me,” I snap. “I am trying to be honest with you here, so I’d appreciate it if you’d shut the fuck up and listen without laughing.”
Jameson presses his lips into a bold, serious line and gives me a go-ahead nod. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“I cheated on my finals,” I say again, ignoring the way the corner of his mouth twitches as he fights to stop himself smirking, “and it came at a cost. I mean, obviously it cost me my morals or whatever, but I mean a literal cost. I promised I’d pay this guy at school two and half grand in exchange for the exam answers. ”
“That was silly, wasn’t it?” Jameson says with a patronizing arch of his brow. “Why’d you need to cheat, anyway?”
“I’m actually seriously intelligent, you know?
But junior year was . . . Hard.” I release a small breath and quickly gather myself before I continue, because even now, tears still prickle the corners of my eyes whenever I think of her.
“My grandma passed away last summer. We were really close, and I got into nursing school to be just like her. When classes started again, I told myself I could handle it, but all of a sudden I couldn’t concentrate at all.
I felt numb all the time and it took a lot of my energy to even show up for my classes every day, let alone absorb any of the material.
I kept trying to dig myself out of that hole, but I fell behind and there wasn’t enough time to catch up before finals.
I just needed a little bit of help to see out the year without failing, and my plan was to reset over this summer and then give it my all until graduation.
Grandma was always so proud of me following in her footsteps and I couldn’t bear the idea of letting her down.
So I heard about this guy, Michael, who could get his hands on the exam answers, and I thought I’d be able to pay him no problem. ”
Jameson’s features soften, and instead of watching me with an amused spark in his eyes, he now looks at me with gentler, kinder eyes. “And why haven’t you paid him?”
I sit forward and interlock my hands together on my lap, staring at the remaining peanut butter cup on the table.
“Because I’m a college student who hasn’t learned much financial literacy yet, and now I owe this scary dude a couple grand, and he keeps threatening me.
That’s why I tried to steal your watch. I’m scared I’m going to lose my damn kneecaps, okay? ”
Jameson snorts and says smugly, “You’d have lost your damn mind at the pawn shop when they valued my watch. It’s worth a lot more than two grand, Evelyn.”
“See! You’re super rich!” I groan, throwing myself back onto the couch again, this time on my side, facing him. I bat my eyelashes cutely at him and sweeten my voice. “Don’t you want to save a poor college student from a life of crime? Think of it like sponsorship.”