Sinful Suspense Box Set (79 page)

Taylor worked on something in the back room— just not completely sure what he was working on. But I had thrown myself into doing this job right. I never liked to do things half-assed, so I spent two hours going through listings, realty sites, desirable locations, and anything else I could Google.

Taylor was just about to step into the front office when his phone rang. He grumbled something under his breath and then answered it with an exasperated “hello”. “I have no idea why he’s not answering his phone, Frankie. But he’s on a motorcycle and it’s probably best if he doesn’t answer it, don’t you think?” Pause. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll let him know you called.” Taylor walked to the front window and looked out just as Nick’s bike pulled up. “About time.”

Nick walked in. He wore the windswept look exceptionally well. Hell, the man could pull off any look well.

“Christ, Nick, where the hell have you been?” Taylor spoke before the door had even shut behind Nick. “Frankie’s been calling me all afternoon.” Taylor’s usually pleasant grin had definitely morphed into a frown.

I had no idea who this Frankie character was, but he was obviously not well liked.

Nick stopped at my desk, and I expected him to say something but he just stared at me with that cool green gaze and then headed to the back room. He put his phone to his ear and before he shut the door to his office I heard him address the caller. “What do you want, Francesca?” His door shut and I rested back against the mesh seat. It seemed that Frankie was not a character; he was a she, a she with an exotic name. And I may have only been on the planet for two and a half decades, but I knew that the name Francesca never belonged to a homely girl. My only consolation— Nick sounded truly annoyed to be talking to her.

By six o’clock, the plane trip and a twenty-seven hour day had really taken its toll on me. I’d rested my arms and then my forehead on my desk for a few minutes and had dozed off. Pierre’s laugh woke me. I lifted my heavy head and all three men were standing in the front room watching me.

“Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed,” I said and squinted toward the computer to see the time. The monitor had fallen asleep too. “What time is it?”

“It’s six,” Taylor said.

“It feels later than that.” I stretched my arms out and shook the sleep from my hands.

“You’re still on California time,” Pierre said. “I think you’d better drive back in the car instead of on that dangerous motorcycle.”

“I suppose.” I wondered if my disappointed tone was completely obvious.

Pierre looked at Nick. “I’ve got some coconut rum and some vodka. We’ll order in some food and celebrate a successful first day at the office.”

While I felt like I’d accomplished some things on my first day, I wasn’t completely sure that the day had been successful enough to celebrate. Still I wasn’t going to turn down food and drinks. 

We walked out of the office. I looked longingly at the motorcycle as Nick threw his leg over the seat. My hand was on the back door of the car when I heard him call me.

“Hey, Flash.” His black hair blew off his face and his pale eyes stood out starkly in his tanned face.

God, he looked breathtaking on a motorcycle.

Then he scooted forward and motioned behind him with his head.

I smiled up at Pierre. “You know, I think the fresh air might clear my head a bit.”

Pierre smiled back. “Go on then, clear your head.”

I raced to the bike, put my hands on Nick’s shoulders, and threw my leg over the back.

“Hang on tight, Flash.”

“If you say so.” My arms went around his rock hard stomach, and I pressed myself against him.

We rode back through the narrow maze of streets but the traffic and pedestrians had lightened some. We rolled up the long, quiet road and stopped the bike in front of the house. Reluctantly, I released my hold on him and as I stepped off the bike my foot caught on the edge of the seat. If Nick hadn’t grabbed my flailing hand, I would have toppled over sideways. I regained my balance but he didn’t let go of me. He looked down at my hand. It looked ridiculously vulnerable in his large hand.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said feeling a bit shy— a rare feeling for me.

He let go of my hand, but I could still feel the heat of his touch. “You looked like a kid who’d just opened a gift box of socks when Pierre suggested you drive back in the car.”

Strands of hair had come loose from my pony tail and I tucked them behind my ear. “It was that obvious?”

“Yeah.” His gaze drifted over my face and lips. “Besides, I like having you pressed against me back there.”

I could feel my cheeks heat instantly.

Fortunately, Taylor performed one of his well-timed interruptions. His ability was uncanny. He was holding up a frothy white glass. “Drinks are blended. You’d better get one before Pierre drinks it all.”

During the day, Pierre had kindly filled the refrigerator with groceries and alcohol. He’d hooked up a computer and some speakers so we even had music. We sat out on the patio of the house sipping icy mixed drinks, listening to Pearl Jam, and watching the incredible sunset. Layers of ivory clouds stretched through a field of pinks and oranges. Every cooling breeze carried a different floral fragrance. It truly was paradise.

I refilled my glass but told myself this was the last one. Between the jet lag and time change, the drinks were hitting me extra hard. “Pierre, did Nick mention that I need you to drive me to some properties tomorrow?”

Pierre looked at Nick questioningly. “No, no he did not mention it.”

“Oh yeah, Pierre, I need you to drive Jayden around tomorrow,” Nick said.

Pierre smiled graciously at me and put his hand on my arm. “I’m happy to drive around such a beautiful woman.”

Nick looked slightly annoyed. “Just drive her— nothing else.” There was a slightly possessive tone in his deep voice.

“I’m going to be showing Mr. Jacobson a few beach front estates, and I’m nervous as heck about it.” I looked at Nick. “Are you sure you don’t want to handle it?”

“You’ll be fine. The old guy will probably just send around a secretary to look at it first anyhow.” He seemed truly uninterested in his business as if the fact that he ran a real estate agency was just an afterthought.

“The guy didn’t sound old at all.” I took a long sip of my drink, and I’d definitely caught the attention of my boss. His green eyes peered at me over the top of his own glass.

He lowered his drink to the table. “Why do you say that?”

I shrugged. “No reason. He just didn’t sound old.” I finished my drink and my head was definitely feeling heavy. “So how did all of you meet? If you don’t mind me saying so, you three are an oddly matched trio.”

Taylor laughed. “You think?”

There was a long pause as if they weren’t quite sure how they became friends or even how to explain it.

Pierre finally spoke. “Taylor and I met on a fishing boat, believe it or not. We were on the Bering Sea.”

“I would not have guessed that,” I laughed. “Not in a million years.”

“Well, it’s true,” Taylor said. “I joined the crew to piss off my father. He’s a wealthy, ruthless business man, and I was determined not to follow his footsteps. Those were some good times though, huh Pierre?”

“The best,” Pierre said.

“Dangerous job.” I looked at Nick.

“Nothing that adventurous, I’m afraid. My dad was dead, my mom was too busy with her business, and my brother was in medical school. After I was discharged, I had no place to go so my uncle took me in until I could walk again.”

One more half drink wouldn’t hurt. I sipped it slowly. “How did you meet these two?” And that question seemed to throw them again.

“Mutual friends,” Nick said, but he didn’t elaborate.

I decided I’d been nosy enough for one evening, and my lids were definitely getting heavy. The wind seemed to pick up rather suddenly bringing a small mass of clouds with it.

“Let’s move this inside,” Pierre said. “It looks like rain.”

The outdated couch was remarkably comfortable as I tucked myself in the corner and finished my drink. The three men talked about people and places that had no meaning for me and within moments I had drifted off into a deep sleep.

The next thing I knew, Nick’s arms were lifting me off the couch and my face nuzzled his hard chest as he carried me to my room, laid me on the bed, and drew a blanket up over me. Bleary eyed I smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

Gently, he pushed the hair off my face with his rough fingertips. I could feel him standing over me. “Good night, Flash.”

Chapter
7

I definitely could have gone without the last drink the night before. A shower helped relieve the eye puffiness and the dull throb in my head. I slipped on a simple, fitted pink dress that tied in the back and stopped at a respectable mid thigh length. I’d actually managed to pick up a touch of color on my short trip to the water yesterday so I skipped the blush.

Taylor and Nick were leaning over the kitchen counter drinking coffee when I walked out. Their expressions did not disappoint, especially Nick’s.

He continued to watch me over the brim of his cup as he drank. His gaze dropped to my legs. “I guess the motorcycle is out today.”

“Yeah, this is not exactly a seat straddling type of dress.”

“I think it could work just fine,” Nick said then he turned to Taylor. “Don’t forget to pick up Pierre. He’s going to drive Jayden around today. I’ve got some calls to make so I’ll be there soon.”

***

Pierre drove slowly along the road to the first house on my list. I nervously tapped the arm of the car door. I hated being late, especially if I was meeting a client.

“We’ll be there on time, J. J. Don’t you worry.” He’d obviously picked up on the fact that I was a smidgen tense.

“I was sort of hoping to get there before Mr. Jacobson so I could get a feel for the place first.”

“I see. A little dress rehearsal.”

“Yep.”

Pierre made an abrupt turn up a long curving driveway lined with trees. “We’re here.”

The palatial mansion came into view. “Holy shit,” I said on a breath.

A silver Porsche was parked next to the fountain in the courtyard. A youngish man, early thirties, was leaning against the car talking on his cell phone. He had wavy brown hair, a tailored suit, and a white smile that he flashed widely as I stepped out of the car.

Pierre stayed in the driver’s seat, and I leaned back inside. “Aren’t you coming?”

Pierre eyed the guy through the windshield. “I think we’ll have a much better chance of making a deal if you go in alone. Now go, J.J.. That pink dress has already done half the work. Wow him with the house and he’ll be signing papers in no time.”

“Mr. Jacobson, I’m so sorry to keep you waiting.” I shook his hand.

He lifted his sunglasses and didn’t hide the fact that he was checking me out. “Ms. Clark? Please call me Robert. You didn’t keep me waiting. I confess, I arrived early to take a look around without—”

“Without the pushy salesperson dragging along with you?” I smiled.

He laughed. “Yes, I guess you figured out my motive.”

“I understand completely. In fact, why don’t I let you in and you can take a look around alone first. The place is vacant but they are selling the furniture with it.”

We walked up the marble front steps. I opened the lock box and motioned him inside. He stepped in and then turned back. He had nice brown eyes and a dimple on one cheek but he was a bit too polished for my taste. “You know, you’re one salesperson I wouldn’t mind dragging along with me.” He tilted his head for me to follow. “Ms. Clark.”

“Please, call me Jayden.”

My mouth dropped open the second I stepped into the entry. “Whoa,” I said quietly.

He glanced back with a smile. “Is this your first time inside the house?”

“I guess I just let the cat out didn’t I? I did research the house on the internet so I do know a lot about it. It just looks so much grander in person.”

“As breathtaking as a first kiss?” he asked with a wink.

“To be honest, my first kiss was at the seventh grade dance and we both had braces so it wasn’t all that breathtaking. Disappointing in fact,” I said. “I think the kitchen is this way.” I turned the corner into a giant maze of stainless steel and white granite. “Oh my God, I’d get lost in this kitchen.”

He walked in behind me and opened the wine cooler. “It is large and well-appointed, but I’m afraid I don’t cook.”

“Neither do I, but I think I’d just stand around in my apron all day looking like I knew what I was doing.”

He chuckled. “Well, if I buy the place, perhaps you can come and stand in the kitchen with me, and we’ll just pretend that we know how to cook.”

We continued through the rest of the house. “There are three bedroom suites and five bathrooms, including the master bath with a whirlpool that fits four.” I smiled over at him. “In case you wanted to invite several friends over to bathe with you.”

“I’ve generally found that one friend makes a memorable bath. More than that and you’re fighting over the shampoo.”

I laughed. His easy charm was definitely alleviating any case of nerves I’d had earlier. The view from the master suite was almost too beautiful to believe. I stood in on the balcony admiring the mosaic of rich greens and deep blues while my client looked around the place. After a few minutes he joined me outside.

“I suppose this view alone is worth the asking price,” he said.

“I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have your coffee up here every morning,” I said with a sigh. “The balcony off my apartment in Los Angeles overlooks a parking lot and a garbage bin, so this would definitely be an improvement.”

“I need to get to a meeting.” We walked down the majestic staircase. “So you’re from Los Angeles?”

“Born and raised in southern California.”

“Hmm, I spend a lot of my time in Los Angeles,” he said.

We stepped back out to the front courtyard. The breeze was really doing a number on my hair, and I found myself constantly swiping it out of my face. A long strand draped across my lips and much to my surprise Mr. Jacobson reached over and pushed it off my face, his fingertips just grazing my cheek.

“I had another place to show you, but if you’re out of time we can do it another day,” I said.

He looked up at the house. “Actually, I think you read my mind on this one. It’s exactly what I was looking for. I’ll give it some thought and call you later.”

“Sounds good,” I said trying to keep the utter elation out of my voice.

He got into his Porsche and I climbed into Pierre’s car. His head was back and he was snoring loudly. He startled awake when I slammed the door shut. “Back already J.J? So was he the usual rich jerk with the personality of a bowling pin?”

I watched the Porsche drive around the fountain and head out of the courtyard.

“No, he was very charming.” I could no longer hold back. I grabbed Pierre’s arm and did a little happy dance on my tush. “I think I might have made a sale.”

“Now that would be a record. I thought you’d do well on your own.” Pierre started the car and we headed back to town.

Pierre dropped me off at the office. I was dying to let Nick know how well it went, but I was disappointed to find that no one was around. I glanced into Nick’s office just in case. The room was empty. A pad of paper caught my eye as I turned to leave. Obviously the doodler from the Los Angeles office had been Nick. I had no business looking but he’d left his drawings wide open on his desk. It really wouldn’t be an intrusion since I was, after all, a member of the staff. The page on top had sketches of random things like palm trees, a dragon, and oddly enough some numbers. The sketches were good. Really good. I lifted the page and looked at the drawing beneath. It was a sketch of my face. I guess now I knew what he was up to while I was running his business. The rumble of a motorcycle shook the office windows, and I dashed back to my chair.

The front door of the office flew open, and Nick lumbered in with a rage-filled expression and his phone pressed to his ear. He didn’t look my way as he stormed to the back room.

“So what the fuck, Boone? Was it pirates?”  The door slammed shut behind him.

I could still hear his deep voice resonating through the walls, but I could not make out the words. Had he said
pirates
? Couldn’t have been. Maybe he said Pilates. And why the hell would a guy like Nick be discussing Pilates? But pirates was even weirder. I decided not to try and decipher the strangeness of the last few moments and concentrated instead on the awesomeness of the afternoon.

Taylor walked in and at least he smiled graciously. “How was your showing?” he asked. Before I could even open my mouth to answer, Nick opened the door. “Taylor, get in here.”

Taylor’s face blanched and he shrank down some before scurrying to the back. The door slammed shut but opened again and Nick poked out his head. “Where’s Pierre?”

“He told me he had errands to—” My words were cut off by his curses and the door shutting again.

I sat back with a disgusted sigh. The secretiveness was going to get old quick, and I seemed to be the only person actually working for Regent Realty. My mind erupted into a debate. I could confront them and let them know that I thought this was a realty business and remind them that I truly knew very little about real estate. But then Nick might have second thoughts and stick me on a plane back home. Or I could just act dumb and let them carry on with their secret men’s club meetings about pirates or Pilates or whatever the hell they were discussing. The latter seemed the better option for now. Their meetings did not truly cause me any inconvenience except for the rude way Nick had walked past me just now. And that was a topic for a whole other mind debate about why I was so profoundly affected by it. I definitely didn’t want to go home yet, and besides that, I’d found that I was actually interested in the real estate business. I’d convinced myself that it was something I could be really good at.

I unfolded the list of names Nick had given me and was just about to pick up the phone to call the next client when the phone rang.

“Good afternoon, Regent Realty.” I put on my best business voice.

“Who’s this?” It was a woman with a slight accent and a very haughty tone.

“This is Jayden Clark. How can I help you?”

“Put Nick on.”

“He’s in a meeting right now. Can I take a message?”

“No you can’t,” she said in a rude imitation of my best business voice, “tell Nick to pick up the damn phone— now.”

I had a sneaking suspicion I was talking with the infamous Frankie.

“Hold please,” I said politely but my teeth were clenched tight.

I took my time walking to the back room. I knocked lightly and since I was in no hurry, I waited patiently for a response.

The tense discussion stopped abruptly. “What is it?” Nick asked and I hated hearing that tone from him.

I popped my head inside. Concern shaded both of their faces.

“There’s a rather insistent woman on the phone and she has demanded to talk to you.”

Nick sighed and picked up the phone. “Not now, Frankie. I’ll call you later.” He slammed down the phone, and I wondered how that would go over with perky miss sunshine.

I sat down at my desk and made several more calls to possible clients and other realtors and managed to set up a small schedule of showings for the rest of the week. There was no place to chart anything and I had no day planner, so I decided to create a week at a glance chart on the computer. It was quite impressive.

Taylor and Nick did not emerge from the office, and I overheard at least two heated phone calls but couldn’t make out the gist of what was being said. The minute Pierre walked in he headed straight to the back with hardly a nod of his head for me. The door slammed shut behind him.

I was in the midst of emailing my mom and Rita when the front door opened again and a florist delivery guy walked in with a dozen dark pink roses. He smiled around the giant bouquet. “Are you Ms. Clark?” he asked with a heavy French accent.

My eyes popped open. Who would send me flowers in Tahiti? “I am.” I made room on my desk, and he placed the vase of roses in front of me. I signed for the flowers and immediately pulled out the little card.

“I thought these matched that amazing dress of yours. Have dinner with me tomorrow night and we can discuss the house. Robert.

I leaned over my desk to breathe in their fragrance and then sat back in my chair and closed my eyes. Instantly, I had visions of me standing in that magnificent kitchen wearing nothing but a lacy apron and mixing up tropical drinks. Then two large arms circle my waist and I’m pressed against a hard chest. “Jayden.” A deep voice caresses the back of my ear.

“Jayden,” the voice said again and my eyes popped open. Nick was standing over my desk. “Who sent the flowers?”

“Mr. Jacobson, the guy I showed the house to today.”

Pierre came out of the back room. “I thought I saw a hungry look on the man’s face when you stepped out of the car.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Nick was definitely in a bad mood.

Pierre’s shoulders sank beneath Nick’s glower. “Nothing, Nick. I was just joking.”

Nick looked at me for a moment, glanced at the flowers, and combed his hair back with his fingers. “I’ll be back later.” He stormed out of the office.

I looked at Pierre but he waved off my look of worry. “He has just had a bad day, that’s all. Forget about it.”