Page 66 of Moving to Love
She nodded. Tears slid down her cheeks again. Stupid emotions.
“Yes, that sounds like a fabulous way to spend the day.”
* * *
* * *
Joci had been working on the plans with Jeremiah for the employee party for the past few weeks. She had also worked hard on the video from the Veteran’s Ride. Even with their setbacks this past couple of weeks, life was slowly getting back to their normal--what they'd become accustomed to. Since she’d met Jeremiah, the new normal still had to show itself. Today, she was meeting him for lunch at Rolling Thunder to discuss preparations for the annual staff dinner.
She walked into the shop, and Janice greeted her with a huge smile. “Hi, Joci. How are you?”
Happy to see her, Joci greeted her warmly. They spoke for a few minutes, and Joci walked upstairs to the offices. Jeremiah’s office door was open, and she walked in to find him reading something. She walked over and kissed the top of his head.
He looked up and smiled while pulling her down on his lap. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. Kissing him was something close to heaven. His lips always molded to hers. Soft and supple while commanding her in ways she would never tell him lest he use it against her.
A gravelly voice from the doorway said, “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
Jeremiah touched his forehead to hers and hissed, “Fuck.”
Joci turned to see a woman who looked like an older version of LuAnn. Oh. My. God. Bleached blonde hair. Tattoos everywhere. A ton of jewelry. Over-tanned skin. Dark eye makeup. She looked like someone had dragged her behind a bike.
Jeremiah stood, holding on to Joci. “Barbara, what brings you here?”
Barbara? This was Barbara? She looked like LuAnn’s mother…or grandmother.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your plaything of the day?” Barbara smirked.
Jeremiah took a deep, calming breath. “Barbara, first of all, she’s not my ‘plaything of the day.’ This is Jocelyn James, my girlfriend, and I won’t allow you to disrespect her.”
“Joci, this is Barbara, JT and Ryder’s mother.”
Joci cleared her throat. “It’s nice to meet you, Barbara.”
Barbara sneered. “Sure.”
“I need to speak with you, Dog…” She looked at Joci and raised her brows. “Privately.”
“Tough. If you have anything to speak with me about, you’ll say it in front of Joci,” Jeremiah ground out.
Barbara sauntered in and flopped onto the chair across the room like she owned the place. “Suit yourself.”
Jeremiah sat in his desk chair; Joci leaned against the desk, hands on either side, bracing herself. Joci glanced at Jeremiah, trying to gauge his mood.
“Go ahead, Barbara. Spit it out. We’re on our lunch break here.”
“Yes, I saw what you were eating,” she snorted. “I need money, Dog. I’ve kind of fallen on hard times.”
Jeremiah huffed out a breath. “Tough. JT told you last year, and I’m telling you this year, no. If you need money, get a fucking job like everyone else.”
“I bet your little ‘girlfriend’ gets all the money she needs from you.”
Joci opened her mouth to say something. Barbara’s little air quotes as she said girlfriend was the last straw. Before she could say anything, Jeremiah jumped up and pointed to the door.
“Get the fuck out. For your fucking information, Joci works. She’s always worked for a living. Something you wouldn’t know anything about. I told you I wasn’t going to let you disrespect her, and you’ve done it again. Get the fuck out.”
Barbara smirked as she got out of her chair. She walked to the door and looked over at Joci. “See how he treats the woman who bore him children?”
She walked out. Jeremiah picked up the phone and barked at someone on the other end. “Barbara’s on her way down. Make sure she doesn’t grab anything and make sure she walks straight out the door.”
