CHAPTER 12
“Oh, Ms. Miles. I’m so sorry to hear about PeeWee.”
Jackie was barely five feet into the offices of AMW, her morning cup of Americano in hand, when the security guard extended his well wishes about PeeWee. She narrowed her eyes behind her oversized Dior frames but returned a tight smile. “Thanks, Leon. I appreciate that.”
As soon as Jackie stepped off the elevator, she could feel the sympathetic looks from her fellow agents.
And she hated it. She typically evoked one of a few things in people—admiration, fear, or contempt.
Pity wasn’t part of the equation. She could guess who was responsible for this change in demeanor around the office. She’d deal with him later.
It had been ten days since Jackie had set foot in the office.
Calvin had shifted some things around for her, rescheduling meetings and moving in-person chats to virtual.
Working remotely was not really Jackie’s style, but for PeeWee, she’d move heaven and earth.
She had visited her fur baby at the hospital every day until it was time to take him home.
Seeing PeeWee in those cold visitation rooms—with his big, sad eyes and soft whimpering—had broken Jackie’s heart.
He was home now but in a lot of pain, lethargic and wanting to cuddle constantly for comfort.
Jackie was more than willing to accommodate him.
Dr. Kettles had said that the road to recovery was going to be slow, even in the best-case scenario.
They were still awaiting further consultation on the biopsy results, which was nerve-racking, so Jackie took Dr. Kettle’s suggestion of letting PeeWee stay at an exclusive medical spa during the day so she could return to her normal routine.
She didn’t like leaving him, but knowing he was getting the best care possible gave her peace of mind.
What hadn’t given her peace of mind, however, was that encounter with the strange woman in the waiting room.
Jackie couldn’t stop thinking about her flaming red hair and shabby frock, her parakeet, the whole picture.
A stranger grabbing her hand like that had been beyond strange, and then there was her rambling.
Those words were haunting her: Quiet your tongue and speak with your heart.
What the hell did that mean? Jackie’s heart had done nothing but led her into the most ridiculous situations.
Like, busting-windows-with-a-baseball-bat ridiculous.
When she turned the corner down the hallway, she spotted Antonio talking to another agent from AMW.
She took him in, his frame casually leaning against a doorframe, clad in a tailored suit.
Was it custom Armani? Her traitorous heart thudded in her chest, rudely reminding her that the sight of him made her feel things.
Sleeping with Antonio was perhaps the second most ridiculous thing her heart had led her to do.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly my heart doing the talking that night.
She hurriedly entered her office, totally ignoring an exasperated Calvin who was calling out to her.
She practically closed the door in his face.
Jackie shrugged off her coat. But when she went to sit down in her chair, she saw a white box with a red bow sitting there. She picked up the box, noticed a small card, and slowly opened the envelope.
Just something for your fur baby. Hope PeeWee is better. —Ant.
Jackie pulled the red ribbon and opened the box.
Inside was a gorgeous red, black, and grey doggie sweater, embroidered with the Clark Atlanta University mascot and PeeWee’s name in script on the chest. PeeWee had plenty of doggie sweaters, but none with her alma mater on it, and certainly none this beautiful.
It was early October, just weeks away from her college’s annual Homecoming celebration.
She could imagine PeeWee strutting down The Strip in this fly sweater.
It was literally the cutest damned thing she’d ever seen.
Jackie bit her lip, trying not to smile or cry; she wasn’t sure which one was happening.
Her office phone rang, saving her from having to choose between either.
“Yes, Calvin?” Jackie answered. After everything her assistant had done for her while PeeWee was in the hospital, she figured the least she could do was remember his name.
“Before you so rudely slammed the door in my face, I was trying to let you know that Mr. Steele had me leave something in your office. I assume you received it?”
Jackie looked at the sweater. That smile she was trying to hold back was finally making an appearance. “I did.”
“Are you smiling?” Calvin teased. “Sounds like you’re smiling!”
“No!”
“Right,” said Calvin, sounding unconvinced. “Well, he wanted me to let him know when you got it. He’s waiting to see you.”
“Oh,” Jackie cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear as she quickly put the sweater back into the box, then inside her desk drawer. “He can come in. That’s fine.”
Jackie quickly smoothed down her tweed pants and vest as she sat in her chair.
Just moments later, the door opened, and Antonio stepped in.
Before he could even utter a greeting, Jackie spoke.
“While I appreciate the sweater, and PeeWee will look adorable in it—because naturally, he looks adorable in anything—it wasn’t necessary. ”
Antonio shook his head as he sat on the leather couch facing Jackie’s desk. “Good morning to you, too, Jackie. And I know it wasn’t necessary. I wanted to do it. Can’t people just do nice things for you?”
“Not without an ulterior motive, usually,” Jackie said. “What was with the custom gift? You could have just sent flowers. PJ sent flowers.”
“Flowers aren’t my thing,” Antonio said, with a little more attitude than Jackie was expecting.
“I’m surprised you don’t have a florist on retainer for all your conquests.”
“Conquests?” Antonio smirked. “What is this? Medieval times? Flowers die, Jacqueline. I like giving gifts that leave a lasting impression. Something personal, like a monogrammed sweater for PeeWee. Or something to commemorate my time with someone. Something more…permanent. You know, like a tattoo.” He brought a hand to his neck and turned a cheek, as if daring her to look at the letter J that curled behind his right ear.
No this asshole didn’t. Jackie closed her eyes and let out a breath. “What do you want, Antonio?”
“Well, besides checking on PeeWee, I came to talk about Mo Williams.”
Jackie opened her laptop, pretending to check her email. Her inbox was finally organized, thanks to Calvin. “Yeah, what about Mo?
“You didn’t respond to my messages. I need to know what you want to do, Miles. We’ve got to move fast—or else miss out.”
“I was occupied caring for my family member. Which, by the way, I’m sure it’s some kind of HR violation that you told the entire office my business. Leon the security guard, of all people, knew PeeWee had been sick!”
“Uhm, everyone noticed that you weren’t here.
You are a person who comes in every day, rain or shine.
For you to miss work, they kinda figured it was a family health issue.
” Antonio motioned his hand around. “And look around, all you have in here are pictures of your dog. It wasn’t hard to figure out.
” He nodded toward her bookshelf. “Wait. Is that a first edition of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? That’s dope. ”
Jackie glanced around her office. It was true.
A picture of PeeWee graced every surface in her office.
There wasn’t one picture of her Dad, Gideon, or Uncle Roydell.
She didn’t even have a picture of her beloved Boss Chicks in here, much to their dismay.
The greatest love of her life was PeeWee, and she didn’t care who knew.
“Besides,” continued Antonio. “Can’t people be worried about you? Caring about folks isn’t a crime, Jackie.”
“No,” Jackie said. “But they’re nosy, not concerned. Besides, I can handle my own problems.”
“Like you’re handling getting Mo Williams on board, right?” Antonio raised one of his impossibly thick brows.
This man really thought he had her number.
He sighed. “I’m telling you: It’s going to take the both of us to sign him. Mo is very prickly and doesn’t trust anyone. Even less so right now. You know that. Shit, you tried once, and you saw how that went.”
Bringing up her past failure to sign Mo wasn’t helping Antonio’s argument. Jackie did not like being reminded of failures of any sort. “And I said I’ve got it together.”
She, in fact, did not have it together. She’d tried every avenue she could to reach Mo, short of calling his mother.
Everyone in his camp was being tight-lipped about his whereabouts—including his very unhelpful assistant, who had basically told Jackie to shove it where the sun don’t shine.
If Mo was trying to make a comeback, he was being ridiculously elusive, which made no sense.
Maybe Tanika had her info wrong…but Tanika was rarely wrong when it came to a lead.
Antonio shook his head. “You’re so damn stubborn, Jack. All you have to do is say yes, you want my help. I know those beautiful lips of yours can form words other than cursing me out. C’mon. Let’s try it.”
Jackie watched as Antonio mouthed the words “help me” playfully, over and over. She’d had enough of his antics.
Jackie stood, coming around her desk. She put her hands on her hips, ready to tell Antonio to never talk about her lips again.
The string of expletives that Jackie had ready for him was on the tip of her tongue.
Yet, when she opened her mouth to speak, there was…
silence. Antonio erupted into laughter, thinking she was playing with him.
Jackie cleared her throat and tried again, yet nothing came out.
It was as if her vocal chords were frozen.
Antonio’s laughter stopped as he stared at her, worried. “Jackie? You okay?”