Don't Lie to Me (2 page)

Jack stood in the entryway when we reached it, his hand clasped firmly to the stairway banister. He smiled and bent down to give Logan a small hug that made my heart flutter. When he turned his eyes to me, he looked just as angry as he did when I left the kitchen.

“What do you know about this guy?” He demanded as he walked towards us, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

Why was he so angry?
I shook my head. “What’s gotten in to you? It’s a date – dinner, a drink - and that’s it.”

“Where is he taking you?”

In five years of working for him, Jack had never pulled the overprotective big brother card, and while I liked it – evidenced by the warmth in my lower stomach – I knew he wasn’t angry because he was jealous. I just didn’t know why he was doing this. The entire conversation was frustrating.

He frowned at me; growing impatient by my lack of response. I sighed. “Frenzio’s. Happy now?”

“No. I’m not happy about this.” He spit out the words with as much frustration as I felt inside of me and took two quick steps toward me leaving almost no space between us. I backed up a step so I could look at him.

Standing at his full height, he towered over my five foot seven inch frame. He was well over six feet tall. The top of my forehead didn’t come close to his chin and when he stood so close – which he had never done before – I had to crane my neck up to see him. He narrowed his eyes and ran a hand through his short, dark brown hair, somehow making it look even more perfect than it did before. He opened his mouth to say something and then shut it again, moving back and putting space between us. The entire conversation left me feeling baffled as we stood there watching each other.

“Mr. Jack, can I play your Playstation next time I come over?” Logan’s smile broke our silence and I watched Jack’s hardened eyes soften when he turned to him with a smile.

“Sure thing. Maybe I’ll get a new game for you to try.”

Logan’s smile stretched ear to ear. “Awesome. I want Paper Mario!”

“Logan….” I admonished him. “It’s rude to state what you want like that. Mr. Jack doesn’t have to buy you anything.”

He made a pouty face that made both Jack and me laugh; momentarily breaking the tension I could practically feel reverberating off him.

“Nonsense.” Jack squatted down in front of Logan again and gently rubbed his blonde curly locks. He may have been speaking to Logan, but his eyes never left mine. “If you don’t tell someone what you want, you’ll never get it.”

His words implied a double meaning, only I didn’t know what on earth he meant and his darkened black eyes left me feeling too unsettled to want to stay around any longer to try to figure it out.

I simply nodded my head in the direction of the kitchen while I reached for Logan’s hand. “Enjoy your dinner. I’ll see you Monday.”

He said nothing as he held the door opened for us, waited in the doorway until the elevator came, or before he shut it when we stepped inside. His silence left me more rattled than his words and my head spun in circles trying to figure out what had just happened.

I almost hated Macy for setting me up on a blind date with Dean. My lip curled in mock disgust for the hundredth time since I agreed to go out on this date. Dean. It was an arrogant, cocky name. The name sounded like he’d be some guy who grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, a trust fund the size of Texas, and spent his days hanging out at the country club, golfing, playing tennis and hitting on the various Chicagoan socialites.

I didn’t know any of this for sure, but based on the fact that Dean and Macy met at the golf club where her parents were members, I didn’t think my assumptions were too far off. Ironic that most of the closest people in my life enjoyed the same type of lifestyle. Macy grew up in an extremely wealthy family in Chicago. She just never lived like it, or even admitted it to anyone really. Maybe I was being too judgmental of this Dean guy.

I sighed and set down my mascara. I didn’t even know why I was doing this. Maybe it was because I was desperate. Five years of being a single mom, dropping out of my first year of law school and a full time job as a personal assistant slash housekeeper and cook for business mogul Jack McMillan didn’t allow much time for a personal life.

I sighed again at the mere thought of Jack and the unsettling way he spoke to me the night before. I had yet to figure out what caused all the tension between us, I only hoped it was gone by Monday.

That was a total lie. If I was honest with myself, I would totally admit that if there was one person I wanted to be on a date with tonight, it was Jack.

Brushing the pointless thoughts of Jack McMillan out of my head, I finished getting ready for my dinner with Dean. Maybe Macy was right and I needed this.

There was no point in trying to get out of the date anyway. If I did, Macy would kill me and an angry Macy was someone no one wanted to see. She may have looked innocent and naïve with her just over five foot stature, but I laughed silently remembering all the guy’s asses she verbally kicked when they tried to take advantage of her, or the way she stood up and defended me after Marcus took off.

The very name sent shivers down my spine and not in the pleasant way it did when I thought of Jack. Shaking off my anger at the mere thought of his name, I smoothed out my short black skirt, made sure the red belt on my silk blouse sat perfectly around my narrow waist, and tossed my blonde hair over my shoulder.

I looked good. I’d rather be playing UNO Attack and lounging around in my yoga pants with Logan for the night, but dinner, wine and Dean would have to do.

I wrinkled my nose again at the name, slipped on my grey peep-toe pumps and headed out to kiss my boy goodnight.

“Hey kiddo,” I said as I leaned down to give the most perfect little boy a kiss on the nose.

“Mo-om….” He moved out of my reach and added an extra syllable to the word, expressing his severe disinterest in my public display of affection. I chuckled to myself before ruffling his mop of blonde curls.

I pointed my finger at him with a smile on my face. “Be good for Macy, okay?”

Logan simply nodded before going back to his Legos. The kid could build houses and cars from his Lego sets for hours, which was incredible, except for when I stepped on a lone one that hadn’t been put away. Those tiny pointy toys hurt like hell.

“And make sure you clean your toys up tonight.”

After fishing my keys out of my purse, I narrowed my eyes at Macy and pointed my key fob in her direction. “If this sucks, you’re never going to hear the end of it.”

She simply rolled her eyes and shook her head. “He’s great. And fun. Trust me, if you can relax, you might actually enjoy yourself.” She looked quite pleased with herself as she sat on the couch, scrolling through the screen on her smartphone. Her short jet-black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her designer clothes were replaced with my preferred clothing – yoga pants and tank top.

I doubted it, but I didn’t bother telling Macy that. She’d just roll her eyes and explain, again, how good it would be for me to get out into the dating world again and find something to do just for me. Apparently, ogling Jack and playing infinite games of UNO didn’t count as a successful personal life to her.

“Then you date him,” I said teasingly.

“Yes. Tate would love that.” I laughed with her. Obviously, her fiancé wouldn’t like it.

“So what do you know about him again?”

“He’s been working in DC for the last few years and just moved back to Chicago. And Tate likes him.” She smirked at me victoriously.

If anyone was more protective of Logan and me than she was, it was most definitely Tate. He was great with Logan, always taking him to baseball games in the summer, the parks, and even coached his little league soccer team last fall. Which was hilarious considering he didn’t know a thing about soccer, but it had been a great six weeks watching him take the time to be so devoted to a boy he wasn’t related to at all.

Tate was awesome, and had come to be like my brother in every way that mattered ever since he and Macy got serious last year.

So he had Tate and Macy’s approval. Maybe he wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“And what did you tell him about me?”

“That I had a sexy friend who needs to get laid because she’s way overdue for a night of hot lusty sex.” Her face was completely serious, but her dark brown eyes sparkled with mischief.

I looked down at my sleeveless grey silk top that didn’t allow for a single inch of cleavage. “Perhaps I’m overdressed then?” I asked with mocking sarcasm. “If I’m playing the easy slut I should probably change.”

“Shut up. You look great. I told him you’re beautiful, intelligent, and you work too much and need to get out for a night of fun.” She glanced down at her watch. “And you need to get going or you’re going to be late.”

I ran back to Logan, gave him one more kiss goodnight, accompanied with an ‘I love you’ and let Macy push me out the door.

“No ice cream after dinner this time, I don’t need a kid on a sugar high when I get home tonight.” I arched a brow at her accusingly.

She didn’t rise to the bait. “Whatever. He’ll be fine. Go have a drink and impress the pants off Dean.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Literally. I mean it.”

She shut the door to my two-bedroom apartment on me and I sighed. It’s just a dinner and a drink or two. How bad could it be?

TWO

My nerves increased with every minute I spent in my Altima on the short drive to meet Dean at Frenzio’s, a delicious and locally owned Italian restaurant in Lincoln Park.

It was a place I had wanted to try for years, but since my dates were few and far between, I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. I wondered if Macy had put forth any suggestions for where he should take me. If she hadn’t, I had to at least admit the guy had good taste in food. Frenzio’s made the Chicago Newspaper Entertainment section almost monthly as one of the most delicious places to dine for genuine Italian cuisine, and reservations were difficult to come by.

I parked my car on the street and made the short block walk to the restaurant, the humid summer air instantly made my skin feel hot and sticky. Chicago was a great city to live, except for the summer humidity and the lake effect snow and arctic wind blasts we got in the winter. Basically, spring and fall were perfect.

I checked my watch; only five minutes late. I hated being late, but tonight I planned it. I’d rather have to find someone in a restaurant on a blind date versus being the person sitting there, waiting to see if I got stood up.

The delicious aroma of Italian food flooded my senses in the best way possible when I opened the door to the restaurant. I breathed in deeply, enjoying the smells in the air and listened to the soft clattering of utensils and opera music playing softly through the restaurant’s speakers. As I looked around, I noticed white tablecloths spread over all the tables giving off a romantic feel, but the lighting was just bright enough to be casual and friendly. My mouth watered as I savored the aroma of basil and other heavenly spices. The company could potentially suck, but my belly would leave full. The thought brought a slight smile as I reached the hostess stand.

“Hello. I’m meeting someone…is Dean Neilson here?” As I spoke, my eyes surveyed the small restaurant, trying to see if I could spot him myself. I did almost instantly. A lone male sat at a table on the left of the restaurant, the perfect distance from the kitchen entrance and restaurant entrance so we wouldn’t be disturbed by traffic from customers and workers, but central enough to not feel too intimate.

“Never mind,” I said, turning back to the hostess. “I think I found him.”