Obsession (14 page)

“Thank you,” I said with a sly smile.
Nathan smirked while looking at his phone. We were always on the
same page.

***

The restaurant was on the ninetieth
floor of the Hancock building. The dining was elegant and tasteful,
along with its patrons. “Nathan, always first to the occasion,”
Mary Conklin greeted her eldest son warmly. His smile was sincere
as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Jamie, I love your dress,” she
added, reaching to give me a hug.

Soon Becca’s parents arrived along
with her sister’s family and brother. Tyler and Becca followed, his
hand firmly on her lower back as they walked into the waiting area.
Both of them looked distracted, I’m sure because of Tyler’s run in
with the supposed drug dealer from Grand Rapids, but I still had my
doubts.

Mitch graced us with his presence and
my eyes went wide when I saw him. He’d only ever worn jeans and
T-shirts around me, usually with a Cubs baseball hat. But this time
he had on well-fitted dress slacks and a polo shirt tucked in
neatly with a belt. His short sandy blond hair was styled
perfectly, making a faux hawk but just slightly to the side. He was
mouthwatering, and I hated the immediate fantasies that exploded in
my mind when I saw him, but they all too soon vanished when a
bright-eyed brunette gracefully followed him, wrapping her arm
around his. The closer Mitch and his date got to us, the bigger his
smirk became. I was beginning to think he loved to piss me off as
much as I loved to despise him.

My heart sank, then my anger fueled.
Scowling at him was easier to do when he was acting like a
dick.

My anger subsided into horror when I
recognized his date for the evening. She was the attendant at
Giorgio Armani who’d thought Nathan and I was a couple. My head
dipped low, leaning into Nathan. How were we going to pull this one
off? She was too friendly not to say hello and recognize
us

“Nathan, this night might get
interesting,” I murmured into his shoulder. His brows crinkled as
he looked down toward me then followed my line of sight. The slight
laugh that escaped his lips made me feel more at ease.

“Yes, it just might,” he
added, holding his arm out to me. I took it easily, leaning in
closer than normal, making sure Mitch saw the gesture. His eyes
darkened and his mouth formed a thin line.
Just the reaction I was hoping for.
I
flipped my hair as I turned, feeling satisfied to have wiped the
cocky expression off his face.

“Mary, this table is
gorgeous. And look at the view.”
Becca
’s mother
gasped as we scattered around the table to find seats. Nathan and I
took the far end by Becca and Tyler and, to my terrible luck, Mitch
and Armani girl sat directly across from us.

“Oh my goodness, you two
came into the store today,”
Mitch
’s date finally
realized. I nodded politely, not wanting her to make a big deal
about it. “I knew that dress would look great on you. And so does
that sweater.”

“Well, the person makes the outfit, I
always say. Isn’t that right, Mom?” Nathan said, raising his hand
to the waiter. “I’ll have a vodka tonic. You want the same,
Jay?”

Nodding politely to Nathan didn’t go
unnoticed by Mitch. His lip quirk was obvious from the corner of my
eye. I was waiting for him to order me a beer instead.

“I’ll have the same,” Mitch replied,
startling me slightly that he hadn’t ordered his usual Labatts. His
date looked at Mitch longingly as though she were waiting for him
to order for her as Nathan did for me, but soon gave up and asked
for a martini.

“What did you and Tyler do all
afternoon?” I murmured to Becca, who was absentmindedly looking
over the menu. I had to nudge her a few times to get her to
answer.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. He actually had some
work to do, so my family and I went to Millennium Park. Heather’s
kids loved it.” She smiled when she talked, but I knew her head was
elsewhere.

“So how do you all know
Mitch?”
Mitch
’s date asked. She was
obnoxiously friendly, and I felt bad that Mitch didn’t have the
decency to introduce her to anyone at the table. I wonder if she
knew how promiscuous he was, considering he’d been with that blonde
last night.

“I’m Nathan, Mitch’s brother,” Nathan
said casually, holding his drink in the air to her in greeting.
“And this is—”

“I’
m Jamie,
” I quickly added, unsure how he’d introduce me.

“I’m Mandy,” she said excitedly. Then
she whispered across the table to me, “This is the first time Mitch
has taken me out.” She covered her mouth while letting out a
giggle. Mitch wiggled his eyebrows in her direction, making her
blush. The poor girl was clearly fascinated by him.

“This will be her last
time as well,” Nathan hummed in my ear. I bit the insides of my
cheeks, trying to hold in my own giggle. Nathan had
informed me
many times before that Mitch never brought the
same girl around twice, another reason why I needed to fight our
sexual tension.

Mitch
’s head craned in Nathan’s
direction, his eyes burning as he looked at him whispering in my
ear. If I didn’t know any better, pure jealousy for his brother was
what those eyes held. My smile was slinky as I leaned into Nathan’s
whisper, making his lips barely touch my ear, but I wasn’t sure
what else he said because my eyes were glued on the fury in
Mitch’s.

“
Nathan, tell us about
Miami,” Mary asked,
interrupt
ing the stare down
between Mitch and me.

I turned in her direction, seeing her
smile brightly at me as though she’d observed our interaction. I
scooted away from Nathan. His mother didn’t need to get the wrong
idea about her son, although I was pretty sure she already knew
which side he went to.

“Well, we just landed a huge account.
I’ll be able to say more in two weeks once we release to the
press,” Nathan began. He was animated when he talked, controlling
the entire table. I smiled fondly at him, enjoying the enthusiasm
and pride he shared with his company.

We managed to dodge any awkwardness
with Mandy throughout dinner, probably because Nathan was doing
most of the talking while she was trying to get Mitch’s attention
throughout the evening. Mitch looked pre-occupied, almost angry
about something. Whenever Nathan would refer to him in his
conversation with the rest of the table, he gave short answers with
a scowl.

“What’s wrong, little brother?” Nathan
asked as he gently placed his arm on the back of my chair. It was a
gesture he normally did when we were being social.

Mitch
’s eyes followed Nathan’s arm
as his jaw clenched. “Nothing’s wrong,”
Mitch
answered irritably. Just as Nathan turned his head to talk to
Tyler, Mitch started to speak again. “You two sure are
cozy.”

Nathan gave him a funny look. “What
are you talking about?”

Mitch glanced my way, then looked back
to Nathan. “I didn’t realize how close you two were. That type of
relationship can’t be good for business.”

“You mean a professional friendship
based on trust and loyalty?” Nathan asked inquisitively.

Mitch laughed under his breath as he
shifted in his seat. “A friendship?”

Nathan moved his arm from behind me,
shifting his body so his attention was solely on Mitch. “Yes,
they’re the best kind to have.”

“Wait,
” Mandy stuttered in
confusion. “But at the shop you said you were together?”

Well, shit. The entire table turned
the focus to Nathan and me, causing my face to flush with
embarrassment.

“What?” Becca, Tyler, and Mary asked
in unison.

Nathan took a long sip of his drink
while I tried to think fast about why we lied to her
earlier.

“Yeah… that’s what I thought,” Mitch
seethed.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.
“You know that’s not true.”

“Well, yeah. We all know Jamie isn’t
my type.” Laughter escaped Nathan in an awkward way. He didn’t like
talking about his sexual orientation. For a man who was so
confident, you’d think it’d be easy for him, but discussing his
sexuality seemed to be the only part of Nathan that was timid and
reluctant.

Mandy looked confused, along with the
rest of the group. Nathan’s head dipped low toward his lap. I
didn’t like his change in demeanor. Fuck Mitch for bringing up his
brother’s personal life that he so obviously struggled with
sharing.

“Who was the girl you were with last
night, Mitch?” I asked slowly, sitting tall in my chair. The heat
moved from Nathan onto Mitch, heads whipping in his
direction.

“Um,” he stalled, avoiding Mandy’s
eyes.

Mandy’s brows narrowed. “I thought you
were with your brothers last night?”

“I was,” he said quickly. “It was
Tyler’s bachelor party.”

Mandy’s eyes grew wide. “You blew off
meeting my parents to be with a bunch of strippers?”

The stillness of the table was evident
as Mitch began to twitch in his seat. My triumphant grin was
radiating but soon became deflated.

“Jamie, where did you go last night?”
Tyler piped in so our side of the table could hear. I ran my hand
through my hair. I’d been absent because my hormones were pulled in
an idiot’s direction.

Mitch
’s smirk was like a neon
sign. “Yeah, Jay… where were you last night?”

“I was there,” I snapped in his
direction.

“Dancing, right?” he
coaxed.

Keeping my demeanor was a
battle I was on the verge of losing. “Yes,” I answered slowly with
a fake smile. “
Last I
heard, dancing was the
prime activity while visiting a club.”

Becca and her family thankfully began
discussing the wedding again, removing the attention from me.
Unfortunately, Mitch wasn’t done giving me a hard time.

Mitch let out a slight laugh. “Oh,
that’s right, you found that nerdy guy to dance with, but if I
remember correctly, he wasn’t getting the job done.” His eyes
burned at his innuendo. He knew he was on the verge of satisfying
my every need on that dance floor, and his cocky attitude pissed me
off more than ever.

“Did
you have strippers there last night, Mitch?” Mandy demanded,
tugging on Mitch’s arm. Though she was mad, I could see the hurt in
her eyes. Bringing up last night to let Mitch feel the heat had
been a bitch move on my part.

“There weren’t any strippers,” I
murmured across the table. “Tyler isn’t into that.”

Nathan nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but
that blonde might as well have been one. Did she keep her promises
last night, Mitch?”

Mitch
’s eyes bugged out in shock.
“Um, no… she didn’t.”

Mandy crossed her arms,
moving her body as far away from Mitch as possible.
I
nudge
d Nathan’s shoulder. The poor girl
looked to be on the verge of tears now. “Why did you say that?” I
whispered in Nathan’s direction.

Nathan scowled, then
brushed me off. He was as fed up with his
brother’
s
behavior
as I was.

***

Mandy left the second we
all stood to say our goodbyes. As she walked away,
Mitch
didn
’t blink an eye in her direction.
Instead, he stormed toward Nathan and me while we were saying
goodbye to Becca’s parents.

“Why’d you do that?” Mitch asked
Nathan, pulling him to the side.

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Nathan. You
just ruined my night.”

“Oh, please,” I butted in, “I’m sure
you can call that blonde from last night. She looked good and
clingy.”

Mitch
’s eyes darted in my
direction. “I need to talk to you.”

“Then talk.”

Nathan glanced between the two of us.
“I guess I need to catch up on emails.” He slid between us, my
groan in annoyance clear as he passed me. “I’ll be at the bar
downstairs.”

I nodded at him, then glared at Mitch.
He frowned, then reached for my forearm, guiding me to an open
table.

“Why’d you run off last night?” he
asked as he took a seat next to me. His knee brushed against mine.
I crossed my legs and moved one arm around my waist.

“I didn’t run off,” I lied.

Mitch leaned closer to me, putting his
arm behind me on top of my chair. “Jamie, we were practically
fucking on the dance floor. You were limp in my arms, then you
tensed and vanished. Why?”

“I wasn’t limp in your arms.” My
defenses were high now. “We were just dancing. You need to get your
signals checked.”

“My signals?”
Mitch
’s eyes became stormy as his
jaw ticked. “What about your signals? You were grabbing my ass and
rubbing against my dick!”