Authors: Ginger Voight
He smiled wider. “We can fix that. Let me set you up with our best table downstairs,” he said as he rose from his chair. Both women followed suit. Just as they got to the door, however, Jena hung back, pulling his arm back before he could follow Nicole out of the room.
“Maybe it would be a good idea if you gave me your cell phone number, too,” she said as her blue eyes glittered. “You know. Just in case I needed to get in touch with you after hours.”
His eyes darkened as he stared back at her. He glanced out the door, where Nicole had walked a few steps ahead to give them some privacy. Finally he took one of the pens from his shirt pocket and grabbed her hand, opening her palm to write his number there. She gave him a triumphant little grin as she turned to follow her sister.
When Joely got to the restaurant later that afternoon, Nicole and Jena had already gone. Xander asked her up to his office so they could discuss the newest client. Her heart fell when she realized who it was. “Did you commit to anything?” she asked.
“No, I told them they’d have to talk to you directly. I thought about taking a deposit, since you know you’re going to be swamped with orders after the show next weekend.”
“Who says I’ll be accepting this order?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“You do know who this is, right? This is the woman who blew my whole marriage apart.” He chuckled, which made her mad. “What’s so funny?”
“You do realize that if it hadn’t been Jena, it would have been someone else, right?”
She hated the way Jena’s name sounded on his lips. Like it belonged there. “So you’re saying anyone would have been preferable to me, is that it?”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all. But maybe that is where your mind goes is a big part of the problem.”
She glared at him. “So it’s my fault my husband cheated on me.”
“Maybe,” he answered. She hopped out of the chair and headed for the door. He shot around his desk and made it to the door just a millisecond before she could open it, slamming it shut with one hand. He pulled her around to face him, pinning her with an arm on either side of her. “It’s your husband’s fault he cheated. That was his choice and his choice alone.”
“At least we agree on something,” she snapped.
“But did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, your constant tearing yourself down gave him permission to do the same?”
She tried to turn away but he only stepped closer, keeping her prone against the door.
“Jena is a pretty girl. She’s sexy. She can get any man she wants and she knows it.”
Her eyes flashed. “Is this supposed to make me feel better?”
“Yes,” he said flatly. “She is hot, but she’s not magical. She can’t convince an otherwise faithful man to cheat just because she flashes her baby blues his direction. A real man can and will say no.”
And that was the million-dollar-question. “Did you?”
“No,” he said just as bluntly. She wriggled against him to get free but he held her fast. “If I wanted to fuck her, I could have. This isn’t about that. It’s about business. Take her money. Who the fuck cares if she’s screwing around with your ex? I’m waiting for the day you can say, ‘Better her than me.’” His eyes scoured her face. “Unless that’s not really how you feel.”
“I’m allowed to be pissed,” she snapped.
“Why?” he asked, making her gape at him. “Do you want him back, Joely? Do you want that life back?” He pushed himself against her. “Do you want to go back to being unhappy and unsatisfied? Angry with the world and everyone in it? You weren’t happy, baby. Admit it. Just fucking admit it.”
She refused to look at him so he grabbed her chin in one hand and forced her to look into his eyes. He stared at her so deep and so long that tears sprang into her eyes. It was like he was revealing her very soul. “Xander,” she finally said, praying for mercy.
“I’m glad I met you now,” he said softly as his eyes drifted to her full mouth. “I don’t think I’d like you much then. You couldn’t, after all.”
“Fuck you,” she breathed.
“Don’t worry, love,” he grinned. “In five days, you will.”
Just as his mouth made its slow descent onto hers, someone knocked at the door. He allowed her to step away just before he opened the door. It was Kari. “Hey, Kari. What can I do for you?”
“I just got off,” she said. “You said you’d give me a ride.”
“I can do it,” Joely said from behind him in the office. She stepped around Xander just in time to see her daughter’s face fall. “Just give me a few minutes,” she said. Kari nodded before she turned away from the door. Xander held his arm in front of the door so Joely was forced to stay just a little longer.
“We’re not done talking about this,” he told her.
“Yes, sir,” was all she could mutter, albeit sarcastically, before she ducked under his arm and raced after her daughter.
Kari was just as sullen as Joely on the way back to the house. “You okay?” Joely finally asked. Kari shrugged.
“Long day. Busy,” she added and Joely nodded. Kari stole a glance at her mother. “Are you mad because Jena showed up today?”
It was Joely’s turn to shrug. “Surprised, I guess,” she said. She couldn’t possibly say what had been bugging her most – that Jena, sexy, perfect Jena, was a little too close to the man she now wanted more than she’d ever wanted anyone. She wasn’t pissed. She was terrified. But those were grownup problems her kids didn’t need on top of everything else. “I suppose it’s just business. She needs cookies and her money spends as well as anyone else’s.”
She knew that was what Xander had been trying to tell her in his office, in his own, roundabout, dickish way.
“I’d understand if you told her no,” Kari said softly. “It’s weird.”
Joely chuckled. “It is weird, isn’t it?” They laughed together. “Xander thinks it’s no big deal. And of course Xander thinks he’s right about everything.”
Kari could tell by the tone of her mother’s voice that she was annoyed with Xander. “Don’t all guys?” Kari asked.
Joely would have been surprised by her daughter’s cynicism at such an early age. But her father was Dr. Russell Morgan, after all.
That same Russell Morgan was just getting back to his house after a full day at the club. He smiled when he spotted Jena’s cute little hybrid pulling into the drive. He walked to her car door. “Perfect timing,” he said. “Productive day?”
She shrugged. “Not so much. Joely wasn’t available so we had to put off our appointment for another day. I did get a gander at the new restaurant manager though.”
“Yeah? And?”
“And your daughter is heads over heels in love with him,” she announced as she followed him to the front door of the house.
“What does that mean?”
“Kari has it bad for the hot Brit managing Lillian’s Place. She looks at him like he hung the moon or something. It’s really quite sweet.”
“Sweet until that guy makes some kind of move,” Russell gritted between clenched teeth. He regretted buying Kari that makeup kit now more than ever. No wonder Joely was so pissed.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Jena assured as he led the way into the house. They didn’t stop until they reached the kitchen, where he pulled a decanter from the cabinet. “I get the feeling he likes to play with girls his own age.” She thought about how he held her hand in his with a slight shiver. He was all man. And men like that didn’t play with little girls.
“So… Joely?”
Jena laughed out loud. “Please. Russ. You haven’t seen this guy. He is completely out of her league.”
That made Russell feel somewhat better, though he didn’t know why. Worse, Jena could see his immediate relief, though she didn’t call him on it. “I’m going to go take a shower,” he announced before he tipped the glass of scotch that had been his constant companion in weeks past. “Decide where you want to eat for dinner.”
He gave her a playful swat on her behind before he headed upstairs to the master bath. Jena stared after him thoughtfully before she pulled out her phone and texted the number still inked on her hand. “
Hi, Xander. It’s Jena. Thanks for meeting with us this afternoon
.”
His response was almost immediate. “
It was my pleasure
.”
She bit her lip as she typed out her next text. “
Not yet, but it could be. ;) Are you free next weekend
?”
The reply came a little slower. “
Sorry, love. I’m out of town next weekend
.”
“
Boo
,” she wrote back. “
But all good things come to those who wait, I guess
!”
“
Indeed they do
Jena decided that it wasn’t a lot, but it’d have to do.
For now.
Joely didn’t talk to Xander the rest of the night. She was pissed and he deserved to know that. She didn’t return Jena’s call either. She wasn’t entirely sure that she wanted to work on that particular project yet. The way she figured it, that one order wasn’t going to make or break her $10,000 goal. She could afford to take a pass if she didn’t want to work any closer to Jena than she had to.
Unfortunately Xander had other plans. He kept emailing her ideas for her proposal to secure the order, including forwarded emails right from Jena’s email account. She didn’t respond to either.
She half-expected Xander to show up on her doorstep that Monday, like he always did, coffee in hand and something up his sleeve to get her even more out of her comfort zone. But Monday came and went without much contact, which unsettled her more than she cared to admit.
Worse, Monday was the first day that she didn’t get a text counting down the day to their weekend. She was nervous as she drove Kari to the restaurant that afternoon, figuring she would run into him, thinking maybe he had opted to work Monday to free up his schedule for the weekend. But he wasn’t there and her pride prevented her from finally calling him to figure out what was going on. If this was the way he wanted to play, that was fine by her.
She went back home and spent all that night baking enough goodies to last a couple of days. She sent the care package via her mother and her grandmother, then took the afternoon off. She met with Novanna for a noon lunch date at the mall. When Novi suggested they have a drink with lunch, Joely didn’t put up any objections. Halfway into their second margaritas, Joely had told Novi all about Xander and their secret affair. Her face skewered into a scowl when she told Novi that Jena was sniffing around.
“Excuse me if I don’t want to get cheated on
before
there’s a relationship,” she said before she drained her glass.
“Yeah, but it’s not really a relationship, is it?” Novi pointed out. “You’re both free agents. You can do whatever you want to do just like he can do whatever he wants to do. You knew going into this he was a ladies’ man.”
“It’s just that he’s so,” Joely struggled to find the word, “focused on seducing me. It’s not just about the sex. We haven’t even done the deed. It’s like… it’s like…,” she finally sighed. “I don’t know what it’s like.”
“Oh, honey,” Novi sighed as she reached across the table for her friend’s hand. “You’re so far out of his league you’re not even playing the same game. He’s a manwhore. That’s what they do. I guarantee the minute you sleep together he’ll be out the door, trying to get into bed with someone else.”
“Well, then, I’m so happy you’ve encouraged me to sleep with him,” Joely retorted.
“I told you to sleep with him, not marry him. Every girl needs a Xander once in her life. Someone who makes us feel sexy and powerful, someone who breathes excitement into our otherwise boring lives. And girl, you are in need of some serious C.P.R.”
“So you’re saying you would sleep with him?”
“
Slept
,” Novanna corrected. “Past tense. He would have been a dried-up husk after that first night at The Ranch. See that’s what you need to do. He’s got all the power in this relationship, such as it is. You need to show him that you’re not this mousy, timid little housewife. Release your inner cougar, girl. It’s in there. Let it go.” Joely didn’t look very convinced. “But, if you’re looking for something a little more stable, a little more long-term, I know some non-manwhore-y men I can introduce you to.”
Joely shook her head. She didn’t know what she wanted to happen with Xander, but she was pretty sure she wasn’t ready to actually start dating again. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s a very good idea, with the kids and everything.”
“How are the kids doing, anyway?”
Joely took a deep breath. “Surprisingly well, all things considered. Kari is really stepping up to the plate with this new job. She even helps me with the cookies every day, no complaint, no argument. She still talks to her friends, but she’s not ringing the bell to go back home anymore. It’s almost like she’s thriving in this new environment that isn’t so perfect and demands much more from her.”
Novanna nodded. “She’s a strong kid. Strong people rise to challenges. How about Nash? I know you were worried about him being so introverted.”
“He’s still introverted,” Joely told her. “Although he did come out of his shell a little bit last weekend, when we spent the day with Xander celebrating his birthday.”
Novanna arched an eyebrow. “You let the kids spend the day with him?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Just a bold choice considering any relationship with Xander, by all evidence, will likely be a temporary arrangement. I thought you wanted to keep things uncomplicated.”
“It’s not like that. Xander’s in the kids’ lives regardless, given all the time we spend at the restaurant. He’s Kari’s boss, after all. She’s the one who invited him, not me.”
“Mmhmm,” Novanna said as she signaled for the check.
“What?”
“Look, girl. You’re in some very dangerous waters here. You need to get in there, sow whatever wild oats you need to sow, and then get the hell back out again. The further down the rabbit hole you go, the further your kids go. And they really don’t need another father-figure taking a powder once he moves on to greener,
younger
, pastures.”
It hurt Joely to hear it but she supposed that was what best friends were for. Novanna wasn’t going to sugarcoat the truth, and Joely already knew down deep she was probably right. Her fling with Xander, though sexy and exciting, had an expiration date already built in.
As caught up as Joely was with her own soap opera, there was sadness around Novi’s eyes that could not be ignored. Despite her fifteen-year marriage, and despite how beautiful, sexy, smart and fierce Novanna had always been, she was terrified of the same fate befalling her. “You know David isn’t like that, right?”
Novanna sighed as she reached for her drink. “Not yet. But the clock is ticking.” Off Joely’s look, she expounded. “Russell hired one of Jena’s friends to work at the office. She’s everything I’m not. Don’t think that wasn’t on purpose.”
Joely reached for her hand. “Take it from me. If he wanted something different, he wouldn’t be with you. Russell can dangle a hundred girls in his lap, but that won’t force a faithful man to cheat.”
The minute the words were out of her mouth, she sat back in stunned silence. Wasn’t that what Xander had been trying to tell her?
Novi finally sighed. “He’s talking about babies again, Joely. Let’s face it. He wants something I can’t give him.”
“Won’t give him,” Joely corrected. “He’s still fighting for you. Trust me, that’s a damn rare trait in men these days.”
“Either way,” Novi shrugged. “It’s still just another man trying to change us into what they think we should be.”
That shut Joely up quick. As exciting as her affair had been, Xander was no different than any other man, or the ‘society’ he so disdained. He thought she needed fixing and it was his job to do it. She was a project, nothing more. In fact, she was really no different than his fixer-upper houses. He’d tinker and tweak her to prepare her for her next owner, and when he was satisfied that she was a successful remodel he’d mosey along to another girl, another town, another country to do it all over again. It was up to her how far she was willing to let the whole thing go.
She still wasn’t sure how far that was by the time she dropped Kari off at the restaurant. She decided to go inside, to check her cookie supply to see how many goodies to make for the next day. The minute she saw Xander, though, she knew it had just been an excuse. She had wanted to see him. She wanted to know if maybe his interest had waned once he had another, more exciting, alternative in Jena.
The minute their eyes met, electricity shot through her body, warming her to the tips of her toes. “Hello, stranger,” he smirked as he joined her behind the counter.
“Hello,” she said stiffly as she counted what product she had left. She actually had to start over twice. Standing that close to him was frying her brain. She felt the heat of his body as he took one step closer.
“Do you have a few minutes? I’d like to speak to you in my office.”
She turned to face him. He didn’t bother backing up. “Sure,” she finally said. He took a step back and held out a hand. She led the way upstairs to his office, fully conscious that he was watching the sway of her hips. He closed the door behind him, resting against it as she turned to face him at last. “So. Are we done pouting?”
“I wasn’t pouting,” she said, resisting the urge to do that very thing.
He chuckled as he walked towards her. “You’re already due a few swats for your petulant behavior. Do you really want to add lying to the list, too?”
She stared at him, open-mouthed. “How dare you make this about me? I told you I didn’t want to work with Jena and you’ve done nothing but ignore me. You’re the one being the ass here.”
“True,” he agreed happily as he perched on the edge of his desk. “I’m a total ass, but you knew that going in. So if you’re expecting me to hold your hand while you torpedo your business, you should already know you’re in for a long wait.”
“You’re right. It’s my business. And I get to reserve the right to refuse business, especially to sneaky, lying whores who go after married men.”
She spun on her heel to leave. “Get back here, Joely,” he said. His stern words stopped her in her tracks. She slowly turned to face him. He didn’t move one inch towards her, but with the fiery look in his eyes, he didn’t have to. “This isn’t about Jena. It never was. This is about the fifteen guests at this baby shower, all of whom are going to get a Joely original, made with just as much love and care as every other cookie you sell. You know the ones, those special cookies that keep everyone coming back for more, spending outrageous amounts of money on a basic mixture of sugar and flour, just because it brightens their day and makes them feel better about life in general. You’re not selling a cookie. You’re selling a feeling. Let me tell you something, sweetheart. Bitter doesn’t sell.”
She gulped hard as she stared at him. He hadn’t moved one muscle as he read her the riot act, and he wasn’t through. “This is about creating a customer base, with more and more young women who will want unique baked goods for all their special occasions, which include weddings, baby showers, as well as any other reason at all to celebrate. Parties for adults. Parties for kids. Parties because it’s flippin’ Thursday and no one has anything better to do. Not to mention holidays. Ever heard of Christmas? We’re talking orders by the dozen for special gifts for grandma all the way down to the mailman.”
The more he shamed her, the worse she felt. She knew he was right. “These women aren’t your enemy. They’re your ticket to freedom. And you know it. Now, you could totally turn down Jena and her sister. No one privy to the uncomfortable situation would blame you for standing your ground. But when it comes to their friends, and their friends’ friends, none of whom have any dog in your particular fight, all they’ll see is how unprofessional you are, letting petty grudges affect your business decisions like a twelve-year-old. And when their events come up, and they will, they’ll find someone who’s a little less high-maintenance and temperamental to work with. Worse, they’ll tell everyone they know to do the same. Simply put, you can’t afford to pick and choose at this point, Joely. This is about building a brand. They’re the client. They get to be as difficult and crazy and self-indulgent as they want to be. But you? You’re held to a higher standard. You have to be. And I, for one, believe that you’re more than capable to rise to the challenge. So we’re going to take this job and you’re going to make the most kickass cookies you can make, with the grace and the class you’ve demonstrated since that bastard cheated on you. You’re going to blow them all away and show every single person in this fucking town that you’re unbreakable.”
They stood staring at each other for long moments. “Fine,” she finally said through clenched teeth. She turned for the door and his words stopped her again.
“Good, we’ll make the appointment after we return from Dallas.”
She stopped at the door, turned and glared at him. “I don’t think I’m going to Dallas, actually.”
He slid off the corner of the desk and approached her slowly, his eyes dark and ominous. “Oh yes, you are,” he told her as he reached where she stood. He didn’t touch her, but she still shivered as if he’d just ripped every single stitch of clothing from her body. God help her, it was all she wanted him to do. “You’re going to drop off the kids on Friday and you’re going to drive back home, where I will pick you up promptly at six o’clock. You don’t even have to pack. I’ve already arranged everything.”
Her eyebrow arched. “You sure like to take control, don’t you?”
“You gave me control,” he reminded her in a low voice. “You know deep down I’m not going to take you anywhere you’re not willing and ready to go.” She held her breath as he reached for a lock of her hair. “So are you ready to start listening to me or should I expect another week of the silent treatment?”
Her heart thundered against her chest. “Fine,” she repeated, this time in a breathless whisper.
“Good girl,” he said with a grin before he opened the door and held it open with one hand. “Now you better get home. You have dozens of cookies to make if we’re going to be gone all weekend.”