Chapter 9
Nine
James
James’s phone buzzed in the divider between seats, and he glanced at the screen. Hitting the right options, he put Jackie’s call on speakerphone.
“Yeah, Jackie?” He came to a stop at a red light.
“Hi!” his assistant chirped. “Sorry to bother you on the weekend, but I heard back from the people you had me contact yesterday? A month ago, they hired a new employee who had been recently laid off by Cross. When he first got there, he was telling anyone who’d listen how terrible Cross was.”
James’s brow furrowed as Sophie motioned for him to continue straight.
Cross Law was the head of Delacroix’s conglomerate of law firms, and everyone in the business realm heard about the budget cuts they made a few months ago.
“So that’s our guy,” he surmised. “Do you have a name?”
“Unfortunately not.” Dejection lined Jackie’s voice. “Because of the nature of the information he possesses, he’s being protected by an NDA.”
James scowled. Damn security protocols. They were hardly a deterrent, but a pain in his ass, nevertheless. “Okay, well, is there any way we can get that info regardless?”
He didn’t care what he had to do or pay. He was sure this was the person they were looking for.
Jackie sighed. “Yes, and I can speed things up by talking to connections I have, but it’ll still take some wiggling and time.”
“Of course,” he said.
“You owe me, James,” she teased.
He chuckled. “Keep me updated.”
“Will do. Have a good weekend.”
The call ended and in the corner of his eye, Sophie’s brows furrowed. “So, I’m guessing that was your assistant you mentioned?”
“Yes,” he confirmed and parsed out the trepidation in Sophie’s tone. A small smile played on his lips. “Don’t tell me you're jealous.”
“No. I was just wondering, that’s all.”
“Alright, whatever you say,” he quipped. “You just didn’t sound too happy.”
He navigated through the streets of a residential area until he reached an
intersection. They slowed, turning into a condominium complex, and rolled past the buildings.
“That’s not it at all,” she protested.
A lazy grin settled onto his face. “I know, I know.”
The GPS announced their destination, and he pulled into a parking space, killing the engine. Rolling his shoulders, he caught the sour look still on her face.
“Sophie, I’m sorry, I was joking,” he said. “Look, Jackie is a forty-five-year-old woman with three kids and is happily married. I think we’re fine, cupcake.”
“I … we’re not doing cupcake,” she spluttered.
He lifted his hands in surrender, then unbuckled and got out of the car. A rush of cool air hit his face as he headed for the trunk.
Vanilla and coconut carried on the breeze and he turned.
“Thanks for the ride,” Sophie said. “I can take my things in if you want to go.”
He made no move to hand her bag over. “Anytime. But I can give you a hand. My friend texted, and something came up, so I’ve got time to kill now.”
She nodded and gestured for him to follow her toward a set of buildings.
“Look …why don’t you just stay for a bit?” she suggested and stopped short outside her house.
He nearly crashed into her as his heart rate ricocheted. “I thought you didn’t want me to.”
“I mean, my mom knows a friend is driving me. She told me she already prepared some fruit and snacks for you, so since your plans fell through, you might as well.” Sophie shrugged.
He swallowed and nodded. “Okay, then.”
Her body heat radiated against him on the narrow doorstep, and even though his heels hung off the edge of the stoop, he didn’t dare move. If he did, he risked bumping into her when he was already in danger of imploding.
Confusion invaded the crevices of his brain as she knocked on the door.
What changed her mind? And she still wanted him to get a hotel room for the night, right?
“Sophie,” he started. “About tonight—”
A man swung the door open. “Pee-pee!” His eyes caught on James, and he raised his brows. “And … friend.”
“Ah, you must be Noah,” James said, snapping into business mode. “I’d shake your hand, but as you can see …”
He shifted to keep his balance as he wobbled, grip tightening on the bags.
Sophie grabbed his bicep to keep him from falling backward and his heart flew into his throat, a strangled yelp threatening to flow past his lips.
If she was trying to stabilize him, her touch wasn’t helping.
“Didn’t Mom tell you my friend was driving me?” she asked Noah. “This is James. Where’s Mom?”
“Kitchen,” Noah responded. He stepped aside to let them in as he sized up James, eyes narrowing.
“Cool.” Sophie took off her shoes. “I’ll be right back. Play nice!”
James had half a mind to run after her as she disappeared into an adjoining room, but a throat clear caught his attention, and a chill worked down his spine.
Noah sized him up, curiosity rounding his eyes. “You’re a friend, huh?”
James cleared his throat. “Yes. Uh … just a friend.”
“Really?” Noah’s brow raised. “A friend who was willing to give up his Saturday and drive two hours into the Connecticut suburbs?”
“Uh …yes. So why do you call her Pee-Pee?” James asked. He sent a silent apology to Sophie, but he needed a change of subject.
“Oh, because she has a small bladder,” Noah said, jumping on the chance to embarrass his sister. “You should’ve seen that one road trip we went on—”
The kitchen door swung open, and a woman who looked like Sophie hurried out, a plate of orange slices in her hands.
“You must be James!” The woman smiled and set the oranges down on the coffee table. “Thank you for giving my daughter a ride home. Sit down, you must be tired. All that driving and I know Sophie’s chatty.”
“Wow, thanks, Mom.” Sophie placed the teapot she held on the table. “For the record, I didn’t talk that much. And I compensated him with candy.”
“It was no trouble at all, Mrs. Huang. I was headed out this way,” James said and took a seat. “Thank you for preparing this. You really didn’t have to. Oh, I brought some things for you.” He gestured to the gift basket on the table. “I hope you like them.”
Sophie’s mom’s eyes widened. “Oh, my, thank you! And please, call me Lisa. So, how long have you been friends with Sophie?”
“Only about a month,” James lied.
“Which is why I didn’t say anything when I saw you guys last time,” Sophie added.
“Aiyah, I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Lisa said. “A two-hour drive is exhausting at any point in friendship.”
The conversation spiraled into James’s plans for the rest of the afternoon, and when he tried to excuse himself, Lisa jumped in.
“Why don’t you stay for dinner?” she suggested. “Since you have the time.”
Unease tightened its vise around his throat, squeezing until black spotted his vision. Given the deepening feelings he and Sophie had for each other, his staying for dinner layered trouble onto his shoulders.
“Uh … thank you,” he started. “But I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
“No trouble at all!” Lisa waved her hands. “I already started preparing food.”
James glanced at Sophie, sitting next to him on the couch.
An alarmed expression coated her features, but she cracked a smile. “Yes, why don’t you stay?”
He blinked before sense settled into his brain.
The more they pushed against this, the more suspicious Lisa would become.
“Alright, then,” he agreed. “But please, let me help. It’s the least I can do.”
“You can cook?” Sophie asked.
“It’s not just takeout all the time.”
Rising, he didn’t get a step in as Lisa's voice stopped him. “No, no, you sit. You’re our guest, I can’t—”
“Yes, you can,” Sophie interrupted. She rose and pushed James towards the kitchen. “If he’s staying for dinner, he needs to pull his weight.”
He snorted, pressing past the swinging door. “I mean, she’s right.”
Her mom laughed. “Alright. Also, I wanted to ask you if you were planning on spending the night in Greenwich.”
James pulled a chair out at the dining table. “Oh … um, yes, I was.”
“But your plans with your friends fell through, right?” she continued. “And I’m assuming your lodgings, too. So why don’t you stay here tonight? There’s no need to waste money on a hotel room.”
Jitters crawled up James’s limbs as he locked eyes with Sophie. His heartbeat faded into turbulence, shaking his very core. “Oh, I um—”
“Don’t push it,” Sophie murmured. “We don’t have more than three beds.”
Taking that into consideration, he swallowed, pushing past the nails lining his throat. “I couldn’t. Thank you, but I can’t trouble you even more.”
Lisa waved away his protests. “Nonsense, you won’t take up any room at all! You can stay in my son’s room with him tonight.”
“Mom, please,” Sophie said in Mandarin. “Do not force it.”
James focused on the bean sprout he pinched, hurricane-force winds whirling through his mind as he tried to think of a good excuse.
“Um … I have an early morning meeting tomorrow,” he said in Mandarin. “It is virtual, but it really would be easier if I stayed somewhere else tonight. Thank you for the offer.”
“You have a meeting on a Sunday?” Lisa asked.
“The client is in Osaka.”
She nodded. “I see. Still, it is fine if you stay. I can ask Noah to sleep downstairs tonight, so you do not have to worry about waking anyone in the morning.”
Knowing there was no getting out of this, James nodded, relenting. Ignoring the daggers Sophie threw at him, he thanked her mom and refocused on the bean sprouts.
His lungs wrung themselves dry, and his leg drummed up a storm beneath the table.
“Mom, you should go sit.” Sophie rose and took the cleaver from her mom’s hands. “We’ve got it in here.”
“But he’s our guest!” Lisa protested, frowning. “I can’t—”
“Again, yes, you can. You already told me the menu, so just go,” Sophie said. She chased her mom out of the kitchen before she could protest too much. Turning around, she shook her head. “She’s stubborn.”
“I’m sorry about staying. I really don’t … I can go,” he said.
“No, it’s fine. Besides, you’ll be in a separate room.”