Page 50 of Jack

He undoubtedly thought she was not goodenough for him. He was from a long line of wealth and prestige, whileshe-Blowing out another long breath, she navigated the heavy trafficand concentrated on the road.

She was the daughter of a bar owner and wasrunning that bar herself. It did not matter that she had gone tocollege and had degrees in administration and art. They were leaguesapart and that was what he would look at. What people in his societywould see.

That's why he had suggested the emptyapartment building. She was not good enough to go out in public with.She should tell him to go to hell and never see him again. But sheknew it was too late for that. She was hooked. First with the son andnow with the father. And she was yearning to have them both in herlife. She wanted to be a mother to that sweet boy and a-her thoughtreared back.

"Stop it!" she whisperedfiercely. "You're a sophisticated woman of the world who candeal with just having a physical relationship with a man. Stop tryingto complicatethings by thinkinglong-term. Just enjoy the ride and be smart about it. The man isnever going to fall in love with you."

Biting back a sigh, she drove into the lotand turned the engine off.

She sat in the car for a moment, lettingthe silence envelop her. The echoes of her worries filled the air,but she pushed them aside. Determined not to let her emotions dictateher actions, she stepped out and made her way into her apartment.

The solitude of her room provided asemblance of comfort. As she undressed, her thoughts wandered back toJack Hadley. She couldn't deny the allure he held, nor the magneticpull she felt towards him. But beneath the surface of attraction laya tumultuous sea of uncertainty and fear. She had to remind herselfthat this was purely physical, no matter how much her heart yearnedfor more.

After a quick shower, she wrapped herselfin a towel, contemplating the decisions she had made. Was she foolishto think that anything meaningful could come from this? The image ofJack's stern face flashed in her mind. He was a man of status,wealth, and power, while she was just a simple bar owner's daughter.Yet, there was a part of her that refused to give up on thepossibility of something deeper.

She was rubbing cream into her skin whenthe knock sounded on the door. Before she could issue the command tocome in, it was pushed open and her brother filled the doorway, onebroad shoulder resting against the jamb.

"So, you came back."

Sliding her gaze away from him, shecontinued her task, meticulously smoothing the thick cream into herskin.

"I don't want to fight."

"Then you should stop trying to pissme off," he looked up when he came into the room and closed thedoor with a snap. "You left me in the middle of a very busy hourZuri, with just the hurried assurance that you would be back shortly.And on top of it, you did not even bother to come back onto thefloor. We had a wrestling match that you implemented and were nothere to see it through."

"How did it go? Was I right inthinking that Samuel held his own?"

He simply sent her a furious glance as hecame and sat on the edge of her bed. She worried him. Ever since shemet that boy, she has been distracted, her mind not on her tasks. Oh,she efficiently and faithfully prepared the books every day and sawto the invoices, but she was spaced out, her mind not here. Andtonight, she had raced out when she received that phone call.

"Are you still interested in what wedo here?"

She turned around on the vanity stool andsent him a cool look. Snagging the lapels of the robe around her, shestarted on her feet. It was a nightly ritual with her. This rubbingthe scented cream into her skin. She had a flawless complexion, whichwas genetics, but she took care of it religiously. A woman in herthirties would soon be a woman in her fifties and so forth. And shewas yet to have a steady relationship.

"I cannot believe you asked me that.Am I not here every single day, slaving over blasted paperwork?"

His thick brows lifted. "Is that howit is now? Slaving?"

She gave an exasperated snort. Capping thecream, she put it away. "You always know that I hate to dopaperwork, but it's part and parcel of the entire operation and I amdamn good at it. I do more than my fair share around here and if Ihave to run out to attend to something personal, I should not bebegrudged. You have been disappearing almost every night to God knowswhere and do you hear me saying anything?" She threw up slenderhands encased in bright blue silk. "No. I don't harass you orinterrogate you about it, because you're a grown ass man and I happento be a grown ass woman. Yes, I missed the match that I set up, butso what? Jason was not feeling well-"

"And as his mother, you had to rushoff to see to him. Don't you realize what's going on here?"

"Nothing is going on," shemuttered. "I like the kid."

"And his old man?"

The question had her jolting a little andshe prayed that he had not noticed.

"He's not old."

He studied her exquisite face for a minuteand felt the fear spiking. Jazmine had said something to him aboutsparks flying between her and Hadley and he had shrugged it off. Butnow he was wondering about it.

"Are you interested in the guy?"

"What guy?" She wished she hadnot braided her hair yet; it would give her something to do with herhands.

"Don't play games with me," hesnapped.

Her temper came to the fore. "Stoptreating me like a child."

---