Page 80 of Ask Me Something

“Not a problem, Ms. Brooks,” Nancy replied.

I immediately dialed Brian’s cell phone and was relieved when he picked up.

“Hey, you, good timing. We just finished up lunch,” he greeted.

“Hi. Uh, is there a reason that you can think of that Jamie Morgan would be here to see me right now?” I didn’t have time to beat around the bush.

He cursed a string. “What does she want?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll find out in in a few minutes. Any idea why she’d be here?”

He exhaled audibly. “We had dinner last night, but she didn’t mention anything. Who the hell knows?”

The stab of jealousy hit me hard. “How could you have had dinner last night with Jamie if you flew in this morning?”

“I came in last night but knew you wouldn’t want to see me with the pitch today. Jamie wanted to clear the air and apologize. Maybe that’s what she’s doing there. I’ll call her after we get off the phone.”

Were men really this naïve about the agenda of a woman? “First of all, you’ll do no such thing. I swear to you, Brian, if you so much as text her at this point, I’ll never speak to you again. I don’t need that woman thinking I can’t fight my own battles. Secondly, what happened to not dating other people, or were the rules only applicable to me?”

“It wasn’t a date. It was dinner with—”

“An old girlfriend,” I supplied dryly.

“Sasha…”

“I don’t have time to argue about this right now. But I want you to think about a scenario in which my ex-boyfriend shows up to see you in your office in Charlotte. You call me and find out that I not only came into town the prior night without telling you, but that I’d also had dinner with that same ex. Let me know how that would make you feel. I’ve gotta go.” I hung up the phone before he could respond and slipped the hair band around my wrist, giving it a snap for good measure. Something told me I was going to need it.

* * *

Nancy showedJamie into my office while I was composing an email. I glanced up and finished typing to give the appearance of being interrupted. “Thank you, Nancy,” I said and noticed the protective look she gave me the minute Jamie stepped in my office. Well, good to know I had an ally in my assistant.

I greeted Jamie warmly. Okay, lukewarm. After all, I was only human. But I’d have no reason not to act warmly unless I was in fact jealous, and I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. “Hi, Jamie. Nice to see you again. What can I do for you?”

She smiled, taking a seat in her designer pantsuit and four-inch heels. “Oh, I won’t take up too much of your time. I had dinner with Brian last night to apologize for the last time we were out. I evidently spoke out of turn revealing the Sasha-B-Fierce nickname, and he suggested there may be some hard feelings.” Her tone held absolutely no sincerity.

“No hard feelings on my part. In fact, I’ve embraced it like the compliment it was intended to be.” My voice was luckily steadier than my emotions.

“Good, and I guess congratulations are in order?”

“I’m afraid you’ve lost me. Are you congratulating me?”

“Yes, it appears that you and Brian are quite happy together.”

I arched my brow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” There was no way that he’d told her.

She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. “Come on, Sasha. Woman to woman, I came here to apologize. The least you could do is be truthful.”

“That’s a curious thing, Jamie, considering I’ve yet to hear an actual apology from you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You know, I didn’t give you enough credit, even knowing your nickname. You’re tough, and if you want to play it this way, then obviously that’s your prerogative.”

“If that’s it, Jamie, I do have some clients to get back to.”

She stood and turned to leave. “One last question.” She faced me.

I braced myself, knowing without a doubt her parting shot wouldn’t be a pleasant one.

“I’m curious how much Brian won in the bet now that you two are sleeping together. I heard the pot was quite large down in the Charlotte office on whom you’d sleep with.”

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