Chapter 35
Ethan: Is Jamie at home?
Steve: Yes, boss. Security system shows her entering the building half an hour ago. She’s either in your apartment or your gym.
Ethan
When I read Steve’s reply, I let out a sigh of relief, and my shoulders relax.
At least Jamie is safe at home, even if I’m still certain that something’s wrong. Last night she came home late and went straight to bed… and to sleep. It was the first night since she moved in that we didn’t make love.
That was worrying.
Worse, when I woke up this morning, she was already disappearing out the door, saying she had to be in the office early. Then came her message saying her phone was almost dead, so she’d be offline for a while.
I don’t like that she’s offline. Not when she has a job protecting a client from a violent stalker. But the worst part is that I don’t yet know if I’ve done something wrong, and whether it’s caused her to retreat.
If so, she’s not ready to talk about it. And I can bide my time, wait until she’s ready. But in the meantime, I need to know she’s safe. If she’s home, I can relax. At least a little.
“Ethan?” John Barrett asks. I’m in my office, on a video call with my investor. He’s been talking to me this whole time, but I’ve been zoned out, too worried about Jamie to focus.
I put my phone back on my desk and lean back in my chair. “What were you saying?”
He frowns. “I asked why we need new building plans. What’s wrong with the old plans?”
“We need new plans because I’ve decided not to build luxury apartments.” I cross my arms, tapping my fingers impatiently against my bicep. “I’m going to do a mix of apartment types, from affordable to mid-range.”
His frown deepens. “Why?”
“To make the pricing more accessible and house more people. We could earmark some of the new apartments for the tenants of the demolished property. And I’m looking at ways to house them while they wait for their new homes to be ready.”
He looks even more perplexed. “I don’t get it. How will the profit be anywhere near as high?”
I shrug. “It’ll be high enough. We can make it work.”
Something occurs to me. Now that Jamie’s home, she might be charging her phone. Grabbing my phone back off the desk, I check the screen.
Nothing.
“What about Marzoni’s bid for the property?” Barrett asks. “It seems to be on hold. Why aren’t we jumping in while he holds back?”
“Because we both agreed to wait until after tomorrow’s boxing match before one of us buys it.”
“A boxing match?” He spreads his hands. “Ethan, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand any of this.”
I put my phone back on the desk, bouncing my knee, impatient to get off the call.
We started tapering my training a few days ago, and now I’m on total rest. For the first time in weeks, my muscles aren’t sore and exhausted.
But now I’m full of so much pent-up energy, I’m practically jumping out of my skin.
And that’s only making my worry about Jamie worse.
“Let’s reschedule this meeting for Monday,” I tell Barrett. “By then, I’ll know whether the project can go ahead, or if I’ll need to move my business to Australia.”
“What?”
“Gotta go. I’ll have Rachel set something up for next week.” I cut off the call and surge to my feet.
I won’t be able to concentrate on anything until I go upstairs to check on Jamie and make sure she’s safe. Set my mind at ease. If she wants privacy, I’ll come back to my office and work through the new building plans with Rachel.
The elevator takes me to the penthouse floor, to my main apartment, but it’s quiet and empty. Jamie must be in the gym. I get back in the elevator and go down one floor.
As soon as the doors open, I hear the distinct sound of bodies hitting mats.
I freeze in the doorway to the gym, trying to process what I'm seeing.
Jamie is wearing the same red bikini she wore on the night we met.
Her skin gleams with oil, catching the light as she grapples with her opponent.
A massive guy, all muscle, is fighting not to be pinned underneath her.
His hands slide over her oil-slick skin as they struggle, and a hot, primal wave of jealousy sears through my chest.
Jamie flips him to the ground and drops. The guy thrusts his hips up, trying to throw her off. Jamie is jolted upward, but she grabs his arm and twists it before slamming back on top of him. With a grunt of pain and frustration, he turns his head, trying to roll away.
He sees me.
His eyes go wide. He shifts his grip, his hand sliding to Jamie’s hip, pushing down the side of her bikini pants. I can’t tell whether it’s deliberate.
My vision goes red.
I cross the room in three long strides. "Get your fucking hands off her." I hiss the words out, my sudden fury like a steam engine about to blow.
Jamie lets out a yelp of surprise, scrambling off the guy and onto her feet.
"Ethan!” She sounds angry. “What are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" The words tear out of me. "I come home to find...” I manage to stop myself before I finish the sentence with something I can’t take back.
"To find what?" Her eyes narrow dangerously. "Me shooting a film for my Youtube channel?” She glances to where her tripod is set up to record the match.
I push a hand through my hair, my frustration boiling. “I’ve been worried about you all day, and then I see that guy with his hands all over you...”
Jamie's face goes hard.
“Ah. Um. Sorry. I’ll get out of here,” her opponent stammers, his voice surprisingly high for such an enormous guy. He starts gathering his things, his wary eyes on me.
“This is exactly the same thing I was doing when you met me," Jamie says, her voice full of warning. "You didn’t have a problem with it then.”
“But now it’s different.” I growl the words. Maybe I’m not being fair, but my anger is calling the shots.
"Why is it different? What, you think I’m going to give up wrestling because you don’t want anyone else to touch me?”
“Yes. No. Fuck!” I turn away from her, shaking my head. Problem is, I’m full of worry, frustration and jealousy and I have nowhere to channel it. I’m not supposed to work out today, but I badly need to sweat these emotions out.
Jamie grabs a towel, wiping oil from her arms with sharp, angry movements, ignoring her opponent as he slips out the door. “Tell me something,” she demands. “Did you offer my father a million dollars to go away and never see me again?"
My heart hammers. "He told you?” I huff out a breath. “Maybe I overstepped, but I was only trying to protect you.”
"I don't need your protection.” She throws the towel aside. "I need you to stop trying to fix me!”
“Fix you? What the hell are you talking about?”
She scoffs. “First it was dressing me in fancy clothes and asking me to wear my hair down. Then you couldn’t stand me living in the gym, so you moved me into your place while your team all but tore it down and put up a new one.
Then you tried to get rid of my father. And now you want to stop me from wrestling.
Tell me that you’re not trying to erase all the things you don’t like and make my life into some new, polished version? ”
I gape at her, dumbstruck by her list of complaints. My outrage rises, overtaking every other emotion. “Is that what you think? That I’m trying to erase you?”
All this time, I thought I was doing good things, that I was helping her, giving her things she needed. And now she’s throwing it all in my face?
“Aren’t you?” she demands.
“Of course not!”
“Well, you’re doing a damn good job of it for someone who’s not even trying.” She sounds so bitter, my heart lurches.
I shake my head. “Nothing I’ve done has been to erase or change you.”
“But I can feel myself disappearing. I’m not Beverley Hills gelato, Ethan! I’m the regular kind, and all I want is to stay that way.”
“Of course I’m not trying to make you into something you’re not.” I grind out the words. “I love who you are. I’ve told you how I feel about you, and you’re the one who can’t say it back to me! I’ve put my heart on the line, Jamie. You’re the one holding back.”
“But I’m not sure you love the real me.” Her eyes fill with tears. “I think you want the person you’re making me into, but I don’t want to change. I want to go home, to my old room above my old gym. But I can’t. Because thanks to you, that place doesn’t exist anymore.”
She strides to the door.
Panic claws at my throat. "Where are you going?"
Her face twists. “Where else? To the perfect, sterile box that’s where my home used to be.”
She walks out. The door closes behind her with a quiet click that echoes in my chest like a gunshot.
I stand there, pulse pounding, breath ragged, heart torn into pieces.
Tomorrow is the biggest fight of my life. The boxing match that could change everything. And Jamie just walked away and left me.