Twelve
Annalise
To be honest, I didn't mind. Both of my grandmas were long gone, and this lady, even in the brief time I'd known her, seemed like an absolute hoot.
So I let Jared lead me inside, his arm clamped firmly with mine as we made our way indoors and across the marble floor of the lobby area. And wow, it was beautiful. Obviously someone in this family had tons of money to be able to afford living here.
After pressing the elevator button, the umbrella guy nodded at Jared's grandma. "You're in good hands now, ma'am, so unless you need me for anything more, I'm going to take off."
"That's fine, Ed. Thank you for your help."
"Of course. Have a good night, everyone."
Once the elevator doors opened, Jared did double duty, helping his grandma in and then giving me a hand. Normally, I didn't need help. But water was dripping off me, and I worried about slipping in these shoes.
And now, I was actually grateful that Jared's nana had insisted on us coming upstairs. Even though it was the middle of summer, visions of hot cocoa and snuggly soft afghans danced in my head.
During the ride to the top floor, I noted the elegant fixtures and recessed lighting, all while faint classical music played in the background. And once the doors slid open, that feeling of luxury persisted with plush carpeting in the hallway and beautiful art lining the walls.
Everything screamed money. Like millionaire/billionaire money.
Jared's grandma led the way with surprising spryness, clearly at home and confident in this space, making me think she was the wealthy one—maybe from old money, maybe someone who had always moved in circles like this, effortlessly belonging.
When Jared held the door open to their penthouse, I took in the scene in front of me, the ambiance shifting from deluxe and modern to something more homey and inviting with soft lighting, cozy furniture, and warm tones. Across the large space, there were floor-to-ceiling windows, the rain obscuring what I suspected was a fabulous view.
"First thing," Nana said, "is to get you both out of those wet clothes." She turned to Jared. "Your mom has a migraine and she's laying down, so your co-worker will have to wear some of your clothes. I'd offer mine but..." She waved her hand in dismissal. "You two go on and I'll get us settled in the living room."
"Thank you," I said, my mind whirling at this strange turn of events and the idea of wearing Jared's clothes. Jared's clothes! What the hell?
I turned to the man in question to see him kicking off his shoes. So I did the same, relief at getting those wet and most likely ruined things off.
"Come on, Dee. I'll show you my room." Jared grinned at me. "But we're not allowed to close the door."
"What?"
"You know, when I have girls over. Mom and Nana say I can't close the door."
My mouth gaped open, not sure what to think about that. He had to be kidding, right?
"A joke. It was a joke," he said, laughing.
"Oh, haha. Very funny." I followed him down the hallway as something hit me. "So you do live with your mom and grandma then?"
"Yes, I do," he admitted, all laughter gone from his voice, something challenging in there, a hardness to his tone that I'd never heard before. I had no idea why he'd be so defensive about it.
"That's cool," I said with a shrug as he stopped in front of a closed door and turned to me, his eyes narrowed.
The air swirled between us while he studied my face, for what I had no clue, but the man was tense, an odd change for the usually light-hearted Jared.
Did he think I thought lesser of him because of his family situation? So maybe I didn't have the highest opinion of Jared most days, but it certainly wasn't because he still lived with his mom and grandma.
So I shrugged again. "Lots of people live with their families for whatever reason."
He blinked, his eyes probably dry from staring me down about whatever he'd thought I was going to say. And then his smile was back, bigger than ever, as he opened the door in front of us.
This room was all masculine energy, sleek lines, and dark colors. A huge bed dominated one side while a sitting area with plush leather armchairs occupied the other, placed near more floor-to-ceiling windows with another fabulous view.
While I soaked in the vibe that seemed totally different from the Jared I'd been working with, the man disappeared into a large walk-in closet, coming out shortly with an armful of clothes. He tossed them casually onto the bed. "Here ya go."
There was a nervous quality to his stance that I couldn't quite pinpoint. Was it the odd situation we were in?
"You can, uh, change right here while I change in the bathroom. Unless you... wait, you should take the bathroom and I'll change out here."
I smiled, something about his unsure tone endearing. "I'm good. I'll change out here. You take the bathroom."
He nodded, once, twice, then disappeared again.
"Let me know if you need help out of your dress," he said from somewhere in the closet.
"Not going to happen."
Rolling my eyes and looking over my options, I saw that he'd included a towel, which I used to dry my hair a bit as I rifled through the clothes. There were a few t-shirts and shorts, a pair of sweats, socks, all of them with a fresh, clean scent that I realized I associated with Jared.
I reached for the zipper of my dress and tugged at it, heaving a sigh of relief that I could get it on my own. But no sooner had that sigh left my mouth than the stubborn thing seemed to get stuck. I pulled. I pulled again. And again. And nothing. The damn zipper was stuck.
Trying my best to wiggle out of my dress, I huffed then sucked in my stomach as much as I could, the wet material clinging to me and making everything extra difficult.
Watching the rain hit the window, I paused for a minute to catch my breath and think. Damn it, there was nothing left to do but ask Jared for help.
But honestly, it wasn't a big deal. So my co-worker would see a bit of my back and maybe he'd know for sure that I wasn't wearing a bra. No biggie.
"Jared?" I called out.
I'd barely finished the last syllable of his name when he came walking out of the closet, pulling a shirt over his head, revealing a sculpted chest and abs that were... well, no other word came to mind except mouthwatering. Not to mention that happy trail that led down to the top of his gray sweatpants.
Oh, my fucking God.
That divine display disappeared in a flash as he yanked his shirt down while heading toward me. "What's up? What do you need?"
"My zipper," I said, a little breathless. "It's stuck."
His eyes danced with suppressed laughter. "Oh, really now. Your zipper's stuck and you need my help?"
"Could you just unzip my fucking dress?" I asked, turning away from him toward the window.
"Mm-hmm," he said with a chuckle. "Sure thing."
Watching his blurred reflection in the windowpane, I pulled my wet hair to the side, all of my senses heightened as he stepped closer, the air in the room thickening. What the fuck was happening?
His fingers brushed my bare skin as he gently tugged on the zipper. "It's stuck."
"No shit."
"No. Like really stuck."
"Great." I sighed. "Don't be afraid to do it really hard."
"That's what she said."
A laugh escaped me. "I'm serious. Yank it. Tug it. Rip it if you have to."
"So in other words, you like it rough?"
"Oh, my God. Stop."
"I'll stop if you stop."
"What does that even mean?"
"You know what it means."
"Will you just get the damn dress off me?"
His fingers on my back were driving me crazy, giving me chills and little tingles all over. And now I couldn't stop thinking about our dance earlier, how good it'd felt to be in his arms.
Fuck. This was ridiculous.
He yanked. He tugged. And then there was a ripping sound. Cool air hit my back... all the way down to my bare ass cheeks.
"Um, I take it you're not a fan of underwear," he said, his voice deeper than usual.
I clutched the remains of the dress tight to me and whirled on him. "It's a thong, Jared. You know, to avoid panty lines."
The way he was looking at me, his eyes all dark, his face so serious, made me melt a little inside. "Sorry about ruining your dress," he whispered.
"It's not your fault. It's Max Sterling's fault. He owes me a new one."
The tension ebbed away as Jared burst out laughing. "How is it Max Sterling's fault?"
I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "It just is."
Laughing, he started to walk away. "I'll leave you to get dressed. I'm sure Nana is waiting for us in the living room, so don't go snooping or anything, even though I know you're crazy curious about me."
"I'm not curious about you, Jared."
"Oh, you are. You definitely are."
Before I could respond, he was out the door. The bastard. Especially because I was kind of curious about him now. Against my better judgment. The last thing I needed was to be curious about a man, any man, and specifically this man.
After wiggling out of my dress, I put on a t-shirt, wondering how obvious it would be to everyone that I wasn't wearing a bra. What a way to meet his grandma... bra-less and wearing a thong. I'd just have to cross my arms maybe?
Putting on the sweats, I realized I had a different problem—the small fact that my pants could fall off at any moment. I was positively swimming in Jared's clothes. The man was clearly a beast. A beast who smelled incredible.
Stop it, brain . I needed to end this line of thought immediately.
Belatedly, I realized there was a tie on the waistband, and I cinched it as tightly as possible, fixing one problem. The other was the legs were ridiculously long on me, so I rolled them up. God, I must have looked like such an idiot right now with wet hair and humongous clothes hanging off me.
Not sure what to do with my dress, I was attempting to sort of fold it, planning to place it on the towel, when there was a knock on the door. Jared poked his head in, then stared at me for a beat.
"What?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
"You look cute in my clothes."
I decided to ignore that, changing the subject instead as I pulled up my still-long pant legs again. "Why are you so big?"
He shot me a smirk. "That's what she said."
"Oh, my God, would you stop? And could you please tell me where to put this wet dress?"
"I'll hang it up to dry in the kitchen."
After taking the dress from me, we walked down the hall together again, all the while with the sense that Jared wanted to say something to me, that he was holding back his words.
I thought about asking him, but I was too worried about myself and this strange situation that I'd found myself in, a million questions running through my mind. How long did I stay? And when I did leave, should I wear Jared's clothes home? My dress was ruined, so I pretty much had no choice.
Jared's grandma waited for us in the living room, a tray of steaming hot cocoas on a side table. "Help yourself," she said. "I know it's summer, but you two might catch a chill, and that'll warm you up."
"Thanks, Nana."
"Thank you. It looks delicious," I added.
Jared handed me a mug and gestured for me to have a seat in what looked like an extremely comfortable chair.
"So how did it go with Venus?" Nana asked from her spot on the couch.
Jared sat near her and proceeded to tell her all about the night, from beginning to end, as I sat there sipping on the best hot chocolate I'd ever had. Odd, but I couldn't take my eyes off them while they chatted away, asking me little side questions throughout, including me and trying to make me feel comfortable.
It was obvious how close they were, and something about it made Jared seem more human, less annoying, obnoxious co-worker, and more sweet, caring grandson. And he looked downright hot in his fitted t-shirt, his hair damp and messy, like he'd just rubbed it a bit with a towel and said fuck it.
The muscles in his arms bulged when he grabbed a pillow and arranged it behind himself, and I couldn't stop staring at him. When Mona had talked about Jared being hot before, I hadn't seen it. At all. But now?
Yes. I most certainly could see it.
Not at all happy with this new, strange feeling, I forced my eyes away from him and glanced around the room again, half-listening, half-focused on my surroundings. It was a beautiful setting, spacious yet intimate, like a snug little retreat from the harsh outside world.
I spotted a glass sculpture on an end table, and I stared at it, suddenly realizing that I'd seen it before... in the window of an art gallery I passed frequently by my apartment. Instinct told me it was worth an absolute fortune.
Jared's grandma had to be loaded. Or maybe it was his mom.
Glancing around, I saw more pieces of art and other signs of immense wealth, not in your face, but subtle, only recognizable if someone knew what they were looking for or had been part of that world.
And the balance between hominess and grandeur was flawless, another sign that significant money had been spent with a top-of-the-line interior decorator to achieve that effect.
"Well, I'm sure it'll all work out," Nana said, making me realize I'd missed part of the conversation.
Jared set down his empty cup on the table beside him. "Oh, I know it will," he answered, his usual cockiness coming back. "With Dee and I working together, we're unstoppable."
"I, um, yeah," I agreed lamely because, really, what could I say to that? Seeing his grandma's sweet face stopped any snarky or negative thing I was tempted to say. And maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.
"So who wants to watch an unsolved mystery about a human head found in the Grand Canyon?" Jared's grandma asked out of the blue.
"Nana!" Jared scolded lightly. "Some people are creeped out by that kind of stuff."
With bright eyes, she turned to me. "Are you creeped out, dear? Because if you are, you can always just cuddle up with my cute grandson on the couch here." She patted the space between them.
"Nana!" Jared said again. "Could you behave please?"
The smile on my face grew, so much so that I had trouble remembering the last time I'd been this amused.
"I'd love to watch it," I said. "I'm not squeamish at all."
She beamed at me. "Well, good. Let's get started, and Jared can make us popcorn."
A few clicks of the remote later, and I became thoroughly engrossed in the story of an unsolved crime. I'd been telling the truth about not getting squeamish, but I already knew that not figuring out who'd been responsible was going to drive me up the wall.
Jared soon brought us our popcorn, grinning at me before sitting down again. The whole vibe made me feel completely at ease, settling down deep in my chest, soothing something inside me.
And despite the grisly story on screen, a warm drowsiness washed over me, the effects of a full stomach, hot cocoa, and the most comfortable chair I'd ever had the pleasure to sit in. I pushed my body back into it, popping up the footrest, my eyes alternating between the television and the windows, the rain still splattering against them hypnotic, lulling me into the ultimate relaxed state.
For a split second, I closed my eyes, only to rest them for a bit of course.
Next thing I knew, I woke up to near darkness and silence, the TV shut off, the only sound that of the raindrops' gentle patter against the windows, and... wait, what the heck, the soft sound of someone's deep, slow breathing close by.
Turning my head toward the couch, I could make out a huge shape lying there, taking up all the space, a feeling tightening in my chest when I realized it could only be Jared. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but something about it was sweet.
As if sensing I was now awake, he shifted and stretched, clearing his throat and slowly sitting up. My heart started to beat faster at this strangely intimate situation I'd found myself in with my co-worker.
"Hey," he said, his tone a deep timbre.
"Hey. Sorry about that. I guess I fell asleep."
"No worries. I must have fallen asleep too. Despite the racket of your snoring."
All sweetness melted away. "What? I don't snore. Not in the least."
He chuckled. "Nope. Not at all."
I shoved the footrest of my chair down. "I should probably go."
"You're welcome to stay... if you want."
There was a long pause while I considered it... how well I'd slept, how exhausted I was, the effort required to get home.
"You can just crash in my bed," Jared added. "I promise I haven't done anything nefarious in there for a while. It's been at least a week."
I tossed a pillow at him. "Ew. No thanks."
And thanks to this asshole, my mind did indeed go there, wondering just what Jared got up to in the privacy of his bedroom, an image of him stroking his dick popping into my head.
Oh, God. Why had I woken up horny? It was Jared's fault, bringing up his bed and nefarious things.
That cemented it. I needed to go.
After stretching, I stood, pulling up my pants, er, Jared's pants, and began to walk toward the door, Jared getting up and following me.
"I'll walk you out," he said, doing something on his phone.
"No need. I'm a big girl."
"You think Nana would be happy with me for letting you leave all by yourself at..." He checked the time on his phone. "Four in the morning?"
I giggled, then covered my mouth, belatedly wondering what kind of breath I had at the moment.
After shoving on my gross wet shoes and grabbing my little clutch purse, we walked down the hall and into the elevator together, Jared's flip flops obnoxiously loud in the silence of the night.
We didn't talk, Jared oddly quiet as we made the descent, all while I was hoping this elevator was better maintained than the work one where we'd been stuck together. And thankfully, it was. All I could think about was getting home and crawling into my bed.
Jared held a hand on the door, gesturing for me to go first into the empty lobby, the rain still coming down outside. I had a bad habit of never looking at the forecast, so I had no idea how long this rainstorm would last.
Realizing that I should have already requested a car, I decided I'd rather just grab a cab at this point, which would probably be much faster. So imagine my surprise when we walked out to see a black car waiting.
"For you, Dee."
"You got me a car?"
"Yeah. No biggie. Just text me when you get home. Okay?"
Really?
"If you don't," he went on, "I'll assume the worst and come after you."
"Fine," I huffed, but only for show.
Jared's concern about me getting home safely any time we were out was honestly something no one else had ever done for me. My parents and sisters sort of cared, some of the time. But usually, I was pretty much on my own in this world.
And I had to admit, it felt nice.
He held open the door for me, not caring that he was once again getting wet as I dashed into the back seat.The warmth of the car enveloped me, contrasting sharply with the chill of the damp night outside.
Closing the door behind me, Jared tapped on the window which I quickly unrolled. "What?" I asked.
"Remember to text me, or I'll start plotting your dramatic rescue."
Laughing, I closed the window as the driver started away from the curb, Jared standing there watching until we were out of sight.