Page 19 of Desire
Chapter Seven
Before bed, Rachel sent my travel itinerary. A limousine arrived at my row house at seven a.m. the next morning and took me to the airport. Fresh orange juice, coffee, and bagels with cream cheese were waiting for me in the back seat. As far as wooing went, Rachelwas starting off on the right foot.
My one-hour flight to New York landed at LaGuardia less than an hour later. There was a brisk pace to the morning that I welcomed. Not since yesterday had I thought about Jasper Christmas. My brain fought the urge to do so up until I was sitting in my second limousine of the day, drinking a mimosa and eating chocolate-covered strawberries, pineapple,and apple slices. My cell phone rang, and I answered it, thinking it was Rachel calling to check on me.
“You’re doing well,” I said.
“Who’s doing well?” Jasper replied in his customary grumpy voice.
I gasped, which made a piece of strawberry and chocolate go down the wrong pipe, making me cough uncontrollably.
“Jasper?” I finally asked after I calmed down enough tospeak.
“If you’re coughing, don’t talk. I can wait,” he said.
His tone made me want to shrink in my seat as if I were a schoolkid being scolded by a parent. I cleared my throat one last time. “I’m fine,” I said, even though my voice still sounded strained. “What do you want?” That was all I could think to say.
“What are you doing in New York? We didn’t discuss you being inthe city.”
I shook my head as if I had just been shocked by a jolt of electricity. I mean, the audacity of this guy.“How do you know I’m in New York?”
“Why are you here?” he asserted.
My shock gave way to anger. “Are you serious? You didn’t even have the decency to say goodbye before leaving the other morning, and now you’re asking me why I’m in New York? Fuck you, Jasper.You’re arrogant and entitled. Fuck you.” Those words had been pent up inside me for two days, and I was thankful for the opportunity to release them, although it hadn’t made me feel any better. I only felt more distance between us.
As usual, Jasper was silent. But I wasn’t going to spend my energy directing him to say something.
“I apologize for how I handled the situation,” he finallysaid. “I wanted to be more considerate.”
What the hell does that even mean?“Situation?” I asked, emboldened by my anger.
“You did see that I left you a note?”
“Yes, but—”
“Did you read it?”
“Of course I did,” I shouted. “Can you imagine how it feels to wake up in the morning, and the person you offered your most intimate parts to is gone?”
“Then you’rein the city because you’re looking for me?” he asked.
The driver was watching me through the rearview mirror. I pointed my watery eyes at my lap as I burned with embarrassment, anger, and pain. Without another word, I pressed the End button on my cell phone. My mind didn’t know how to fully process the call. Jasper and I were not in the same frame of mind. But I was positive my heart wasdone feeling for Jasper Christmas.What an arrogant and unfeeling jerk.
The phone rang five more times. It was Jasper, and I sent his calls to voice mail. However, each time I did, the dull ache in the pit of my stomach pushed me closer toward answering. But if Jasper thought I was one of those desperate girls who would put up with his bullshit because he had the face of a hunky angel andthe figure of Adonis carved in marble, he was wrong.
How in the hell does he know I’m in New York anyway?Perhaps he knew the same way he’d known how to find me at the hotel room in Harrisonburg. I suddenly felt as if I were being watched. My skin crawled as I twisted in my seat and searched out the back window, studying the faces of those in cars behind us. The spy couldn’t have been theman clutching the steering wheel, frowning so intensely that I was sure he had a headache the size of Mars. It couldn’t have been the couple in the dark-blue sedan, the man and woman seemingly lost in their own thoughts. There were lots of buses, taxis, and cars going way too fast for the drivers to spy on me. Then I peeked at the driver’s face in the rearview mirror. His eyes remained steadilyon the road. It definitely wasn’t him.
I took two steadying breaths. First of all, I was not overreacting—someone was following me. However, I knew Jasper didn’t mean me any harm. Therefore, locating the snoop was the least of my concerns.But why is he having me followed?I didn’t have to ponder the answer to that question for long. The reason was Arthur Valentine, of course. Not onlythat, but New York City was the Valentines’ playground. Also, Christmas Industries’ corporate office was there.Jasper’s here!
“Fuck,” I muttered. I downed another mimosa and gobbled a chocolate-coated strawberry and pineapple.
I closed my eyes, forcing my brain to completely abandon thoughts of Jasper. Then my eyes popped open. My meeting tomorrow with Alexia. I had to be extracareful to make sure I wasn’t followed by anyone, not even Jasper’s tail. The heaviness of being watched weighed on me, and my internal agony made me moan.
“Are you okay, Miss Henderson?” the driver asked.
I smiled tightly. “Sure.” I didn’t sound convincing, but he accepted my response for what it was.
Finally, we arrived in Midtown, which I had always termed one of the busiestplaces on earth. We drove through the maze of tall buildings until we reached the Time Warner Center. Thank goodness I was in a big, fancy car that commanded a lot of respect. I was dropped off right in front of the gigantic glass doors and escorted inside by a smiling doorman who knew to refer to me as Miss Henderson. Rachel was certainly pulling out all the stops. But I was still vacillating.I didn’t know if Jasper being in town made me lean toward moving to New York or not.
