His Hired Girlfriend (24 page)

“
I have something I have to get. How about it, partner? We
have a mission. It’s important.”

Alex smiles, her eyes
twinkling with excitement. “Um. Yeah. Sure. Why not.”

“
Good,” he says. “Come
along then.” He pulls her up by the hands and leads her to the
door.

“
Wait,” Alex chuckles.
“Not so fast. I need my shoes and bag.”

“
All right. Hurry, hurry,”
he says, letting her hands go.

Alex rushes into the
wardrobe and grabs a pair of Louboutin peep-toe pumps and her new
Gucci handbag. Jayden grabs her wrist impatiently the moment she is
back and leads her to the stairs. His action is so quick that she
drops her shoes. She pulls him back and says, “My
shoes.”

She bends down and picks
them up as Jayden shakes his head. Once she has gotten control of
her shoes, he scoops her into his arms.

“
Oh,” Alex gasps. “I can
walk, you know.”

“
Yes, I know you can,” he
chuckles, rushing down the stairs carrying her.

Outside, he drops her into
the front seat of his BMW convertible.

“
Comfortable?”

“
Very much, thank
you.”

“
Good,” he says. He gets
in and starts the engine.

Alex feels exhilarated
sitting beside Jayden with the sun warm on her skin and the breeze
dancing about her face and playing with her hair. She pulls out her
Christian Dior sunglasses and puts them on.

“
What do you think?” she
asks, turning to him.

“
Beautiful,” he replies,
smiling.

“
It is, aye?” she says.
“Quite expensive, too.”

Jay laughs. He doesn’t have the heart to tell her that he
was referring to her and
not
the
sunglasses.

Alex can’t contain her excitement as the car cruises along
the busy streets of Manhattan. She enjoys the scenery tremendously,
marveling at the things she finds fascinating. She can’t believe
New York City is so crowded. The buildings are sky high, the
footpaths crammed with people, and the roads jammed with cars. The
pollution is probably up there as well, she is sure.

Jayden slows the car down along 5
^th
Avenue and parks in front of a tall building famous for its
jewelry.

“
Are we here?”

He nods as he gets
out.

“
That was quick,” she
comments and gets out as well, her eyes still wide at her
surroundings like a child lost in wonderland.

Jayden comes to take her
hand as he locks the car. Alex grins as she walks beside him. In
that instant, she feels as though she’s his real
girlfriend.

As they head toward the building, she takes her sunglasses
off and reads the sign on the front door of the building. It
says:
Tiffany &
Co
.

Alex’s jaw drops. “Oh, my God! It’s Tiffany, like in the
movie
Breakfast at
Tiffany’s
with Audrey
Hepburn.”

“
Yes, it is,” he says, leading the excited and stunned Alex
by the hand into the store.

At the grand entrance, a well-built man in a polished black
suit opens the door for them, nodding a polite welcome as they come
through. Alex bites her lip with anticipation as her large eyes
wander around inside the huge store. She takes in the chic,
glamorous décor. She notes the jewelry on display. Her breath is
taken away. What a fabulous place to see for her first
sightseeing.

A pretty blond
sales
consultant in a sleek suit of red and black comes to them. “May I
be of assistance?” she asks pleasantly, with a wide smile on her
face.

“
I’m here to pick up a
package,” Jayden says.

“
Of course, sir. Would you
please follow me? We need to get some details.”

Jayden glances at Alex, who nods at him that she’ll be all
right alone. Once the sales consultant and Jayden are gone, Alex
wanders around, admiring the iconic jewelry store that is for the
rich, the powerful, and the famous. She simply can’t believe she is
there. She feels like a million dollars.

After he gives the sales
consultant the details, Jayden returns to the main lounge and sits
on the leather sofa. He crosses his legs and rests one arm over the
back, wondering where Alex has gone off to. He scans around the
place, pausing here and there to admire the jewelry. Long ago,
before he found out about Sarah and Kyle, he had wanted to buy an
engagement ring from Tiffany for Sarah. But the thought of it now
only brings a painful jab about his chest that has nothing to do
with his health, and he dismisses it immediately.

He notices four pretty chicks admiring the emerald
necklaces, glancing his way, showing him with their body language
that they are available. He dismisses them and turns to his left.
He sees Alex, wide-eyed and grinning from ear to ear, as she stares
at a particular piece of jewelry.

“
Sorry about the wait,
sir,” the sales consultant says. She hands him a light blue bag
that has the Tiffany & Co brand.

Jayden takes the bag.
“Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome, sir. We
hope to see you again.”

Jayden nods politely and thinks—
not in a million years.

“
She’s a fine
piece.”

Jayden sees the woman
nodding toward Alex.

“
She is,” he
comments.

“
Congratulations, sir. The best of luck from us, and enjoy
your honeymoon.”

Jayden blinks. He smiles
after he realizes her meaning. She nods and leaves.

He comes to stand behind Alex, curious at what has snatched
her interest so completely. In the showcase glass, he sees a
princess cut diamond ring encased in a platinum
band
. Whoa! What a
piece.

“
All sorted,” he whispers
into her ear softly.

Alex jumps. She turns and glances up at him. “Hi,” she
greets, smiling, and her eyes are shining with adoration. “Look at
that one. It’s so beautiful.”

“
Yes, it is,” he agrees,
his eyes on her.

Alex licks her lips. “I’ve
never worn a ring before.”

“
Yeah? Then try it
on.”

“
Huh? Don’t be silly,” she
scoffs, waving her hand at him.

“
Excuse me,” Jayden calls
for a sales assistant behind the counter who has been watching
them. She nods and comes around to them.

“
Yes, sir? Can I help
you?”

“
That one,” Jayden says,
nodding to the ring.

“
Jayden!” Alex
hisses.

“
Ah. Excellent choice,
sir,” the sales assistant comments.

Jayden ignores Alex’s
frown as he watches the woman insert a key into the lock and open
the glass door.

“
It’s a Lucida princess
cut diamond ring set in platinum,” the woman says as she gently
picks up the case containing the ring.

Jayden picks up the piece
of jewelry and examines it in his fingers. He grabs Alex’s left
hand and slides it onto her ring finger.

“
Wow,” Alex exclaims. She
moves her hand this way and that so that the diamond catches the
light and sparkles. “It’s beautiful.”

“
It’s a perfect engagement
ring,” the sales assistant says.

“
Oh,” Alex gasps,
surprised. This is an engagement ring? Gosh! How embarrassing. “Um,
thank you.” She quickly takes it off. The sales consultant
carefully sets the ring back in its case, then puts that back into
the secure glass box.

“
Thank you,” Jayden says
to the woman. The sales assistant nods and returns to her position
behind the counter.

Jayden leads Alex to the
door, holding her hand in his.

“
Is that all?” she
asks.

He senses disappointment
in her voice, and he knows she wants to see more of New
York.

“
Yeah,” he replies with a
secret smile. “That’s all.”

“
Oh. Okay
.”

* * *

Across the huge store on the other side is Stephanie, with bags of
Tiffany and Co. in her hands. She watches with interest as Jayden
and Alex head toward the exit. Her eyes zero in on the Tiffany and
Co. bag in Jayden’s hand. A bubble of excitement erupts within her.
It must be an engagement ring. After all, she glimpsed Jayden put a
diamond ring on Alex’s finger—the one of a kind that is on show in
the main glass case in the middle of the lobby, the one that
everyone admires but can’t afford to buy. She can’t wait to spread
the good news.

* * *

N
ineteen

Alex slides into the
passenger seat, clicks on her seat belt, and puts on her
sunglasses. Jayden can’t help but admire the way she handles
herself—with such elegance and innocence. She looks as though she
belongs there, as a part of his world, but at the same time she
looks vulnerable and lost. She’s very contradictory in his mind,
but desirable.

“
Back home then, I
suppose,” she says absentmindedly.

Back home?
Jayden is
surprised at her choice of words. Does that mean his home is now
her home?

“
What?” she asks when she
sees that he is looking at her oddly.

“
Nothing,” he replies,
starting the engine. He steers the car around and into the thick
traffic.

Alex relaxes, thoroughly
enjoying the sun. A moment later she asks, “So what was
it?”

“
Hmm?” Jay glances at his blind spot and switches
lanes.

She grins. “What did you
get? Your errand.”

“
Oh. Right. In the bag,”
he says, nodding to the back seat. “Have a look.”

“
Sure. Don’t mind me.” She
leans over and reaches for the blue bag. She places it on her lap
and takes out two small velvet boxes that have the initial Tiffany
& Co. “Ooh,” she makes a sound as she opens one. The gold
wedding band shines against the glistening sunlight.

“
Whoa,” she gasps. “It’s
Kelly’s wedding ring?”

Jayden nods.

“
Nice.” She turns the box about so that she can inspect it
from all sides without having to take the ring out. She doesn’t
want to dirty it.

Jayden laughs. “Do you
want one?”

Alex glances at him. “Who
doesn’t? That is, when I find the right man, of course.”

Jayden is curious. The right man, huh? He wonders what type
of man is her “right man.” He has no doubt that she probably has a
list of criteria.

“
Just curious,
what’s
your ideal man? That perfect man you are looking for?” he asks
casually.

Alex shuts the box and
places it back into the bag. “I suppose every girl has her ideal
man. Mine is tall but not too tall. Your height is
good.”

Jayden grins at her
comment.

“
He has to be kind. Don’t
care who he is or where he’s from. I mean nationality-wise. Not
sure about his career, though. But I’d love to have a doctor as a
husband,” she says, smiling at him, nudging her sunglasses up the
bridge of her nose.

“
Why?” he asks, a hint of
disapproval in his voice. “A doctor?”

“
Because I’m a scientist.
They kind of go together, don’t you think?”

“
No. Does it matter that
he has to be a doctor?” He glances at her.

Alex pouts her lips. “No,
I suppose not.” She shrugs.

“
Besides, aren’t doctors
supposed to be so busy that they won’t have time for
you?”

“
I think that depends,” she comments, starting to feel quite
uncomfortable chatting about her “ideal” man. If he asks her enough
questions he’d know who her ideal man is, the man she wants in her
life, which is him. That’s why she told him a doctor instead of a
businessman.

“
Let’s talk about
something else,” she suggests.

“
What do you want to
eat?”

“
Huh?” she glances at
him.

“
What type of food do you
want to eat?”

“
Are we going out to
eat?”

“
Yes.”

She sighs, a happy feeling
bubbling up within her. “And I get to choose the place?”

“
Yes.”

“
Cool.” She chuckles.
“What about a steak house?”

Jayden raises a brow at
her. “Really?”

“
Yeah, I love
steak.”

“
All right.” Then he adds, “After I’ve taken you for a
cruise around town.”

Alex can’t believe what she’s hearing. She turns to him and
grins, her eyes large and puppylike. “Really?”

Jayden chuckles. “Unless
you have something else planned.”

“
Oh, no,” she replies quickly. “Nothing planned.”