Page 26 of Wildest Desire

“Would someone like to tell me what's happening?” Jackie asks.

“Tell her that the contract says she's my girlfriend, and—”

“It says that I have to lie to your family and friends, not mine. I won’t lie to my family,” Lexi shouts, and I turn to face her as she looks at Jackie.

“Lexi, is Dan here?” Jackie asks.

“Yeah, and Jon came with him. They're getting married,” she says, in a more happier tone. “I won’t lie to my brother.” She looks at Jackie, almost begging, like there's something I should know, but don’t.

“You’re right. You shouldn’t have to lie to Dan—”

“So, now you kiss your brother’s boyfriend?” I don’t care if I did interrupt them.

“Well, the last person I kissed was an asshole,” she bites back, and I can’t help but smile at her. “And to be honest, he wasn’t that good.” She’s now sitting on the chair next to Jackie.

I look at Jackie for a moment, then bring my eyes back to Lexi. “You could have told me that he was your brother,” I tell her.

“I don’t have to introduce you to my family. This is why Ms. Jackie has rules, so that I can live my life and not worry about my family knowing about you,” she says, not quite yelling but still at a higher pitch than normal. “You know what, Ms. Jackie? I’m done. I can't do this.” She looks at Jackie who, in turn, looks over at me.

Now I didn’t think I would care Lexi wanted to walk away from me, but I do. I don’t want her to leave me, I don’t want her to walk away.

“Lexi, can you wait for me outside, please?” Jackie asks her, while staring at me.

Without saying a word, Lexi leaves, and I resume pacing the room.

“Ethan, what’s wrong?” Jackie asks me.

I told her I wanted Lexi to keep me company because I felt like I was going off the deep end sometimes. I needed someone to keep my mind on other things. Yes, I still drink every day, but Lexi helps ease some of those thoughts.

“I want her, but not only as my call girl. I want her to be mine.” I look at Jackie. She knows my history with women and she knows I’m not that open to relationships. “She’s not breaking our deal. There's no way she would even sit in the same room with me if she didn’t have to. I just need some time for her to get to know me,” I tell her.

Tapping her pen on the table, she watches me pacing the room. “I'll talk to her, and I'll make sure she's there for dinner,” Jackie tells me.

I stop in front of her desk and place the bag on there that I got for Lexi. “Can you please give her this?” I ask, patting the bag. Walking out of the office, I look over at Lexi talking on her phone. I promised her I was going to buy her something special one day, and I have.

I’m fighting with myself to not go over and talk to her. For the first time, I have to put trust in someone else to get me what I want. I never depend on others. If I want it, I get it. But with Lexi, it’s different. She stands firm with what she says and that’s what I like about her. I have to believe she will be there for dinner. If she comes back, there's no way in hell I’m letting her leave.

Chapter 13

Lexi

I never thought I would get into an argument with Ms. Jackie. I thought she would always take her girls’ side because we followed the rules. Her rules. Until Ethan.

Two hours. That’s how long I was in her office fighting my case. I won’t lie to my family about who he is, and why I know him. Don’t get me wrong, Dan knows my job. I’ve never lied to him about it either, and I won’t do it now. I could tell him he's a client and I’m stuck with him for a year, but I don’t want to get into that with Dan. He’s already very protective of me, and telling him about my conversation with Ms. Jackie about him and that Ethan might be around, was already hard enough. He was only supposed to be here for a few days, but Dan and Jon both said they were staying here until they're sure I’m safe. I tried to fight them on it, but it got me nowhere. In the end, I just let it go.

So, back to Ethan and his stupid behavior. Ms. Jackie said I That didn't work. My to give him some time and he would be fine. I need to give him some time to open up to me. The speech was endless. I love her for what she has done for me, I do, but how much longer do I have to listen to her talk about him?

Then I think back to the kiss. Oh God, just thinking about it now has me wanting more. He knows how to move around my neck. I tried so hard not to moan. I didn't want him to know he was getting to me. My skin was on fire everywhere he kissed me.

After two hours of Ms. Jackie telling me to give him a chance, I finally said okay. I'll go to the family dinner. I see how he's with his family.

I sent him a message to tell him that I would meet him downstairs.

“Hi, Joe.” I walk over to him.

“Well, look at you. Big man taking you out?” Joe walks over to me and takes my hand, spins me around.

“Family dinner,” I say, laughing.

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