Sleepless in Manhattan (11 page)

Was he holding the woman’s hand because he wanted to send her a message?

Frankie picked up her glass. “Well, since you ask—”

“It’s going well,” Paige interrupted quickly. She didn’t want Jake knowing the truth. She didn’t want him feeling sorry for her. She’d had enough of being the object of pity. “We’re struggling to cope with the volume of business.”

“Yes, we’ll be expanding and taking on new staff any day now.” Ever loyal, Eva took Paige’s lie and galloped into the sunset with it. “We’re thinking about opening offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.”

Jake’s eyes gleamed. “And you’ll be flying there by Magic Carpet Airways?”

He knew, Paige thought miserably. He knew it was bullshit.

The man was sharper than the business end of a kitchen knife. Nothing escaped him.

“Maybe.” Eva grinned, unabashed. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your new friend?”

The blonde tossed her hair back. “I’m Bambi.”

Bambi?

“Good to meet you er—Bambi.” Eva gestured to the table. “Are you joining us?”

Paige felt her stomach lurch. Meeting Jake’s date in passing was one thing, but watching Jake laughing with her over dinner was something else entirely.

Please don’t join us.

“I can’t.” Bambi gave them an apologetic look. “I have a shoot tomorrow and just breathing in the fumes of that garlic bread will make me bloat. I really have to watch what I eat. I so envy you all not having to care about your size.”

It took all Paige’s willpower not to glance down and check she hadn’t turned into a whale. “You’re a model?”

“You’re right,” Eva interrupted. “We are lucky because this garlic bread is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. You’re sure you wouldn’t like to try it?” She pushed the plate under Bambi’s nose and gave an evil smile. “It’s truly delicious. Yummy scrummy. Romano’s garlic bread is the stuff of legends around here, as is the pizza.”

“I’m a raw vegan.” Bambi backed away, as if afraid that the mere mention of the word
pizza
might be enough to make her gain weight. “I haven’t eaten carbs in forever, and if I took one bite of that pizza I’d eat the whole thing like I was starving. It was good meeting you guys. Jake? Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” He was still looking at Paige. “I’m glad everything is going well, but if you need help, call me.”

“Thanks.” Over her dead body. Her pizza-loving, sex-starved body.

With a last look at Paige, Jake followed Bambi to the door.

Frankie leaned out of her seat and studied the other woman’s butt curiously. “Ready for what, do you think? She can’t have energy for much. And someone needs to tell her that
like
isn’t a conjunction.”

Eva leaned out, too. “I’ve seen bigger toothpicks. You’re much prettier, Paige.”

“We’re not in competition.”

Except that it felt as if they were.

Why did she compare herself with every woman Jake dated? Why did she do that?

Frankie finished her salad. “Raw vegan. Where does pizza fit in that?”

“It doesn’t.” Eva shuddered. “I’m all for healthy eating, but not denial. It’s a medically proven fact that when you can’t have something, you crave it all the more.”

Paige pushed her salad around the bowl. Was that why she’d never been able to cure herself of her attraction to Jake?

Denied him, she just wanted him more.

If she’d been allowed to binge, maybe she would have been cured a long time ago.

“I can’t imagine Jake enjoying a night out with an organic vegan.” Miserable, she speared a salad leaf. “Jake is the twenty-first-century equivalent of Tyrannosaurus rex. He can’t get through the week without devouring at least one big fat juicy steak. There have been times when I’ve wondered why Maria doesn’t just serve him up a live cow with a knife and fork.”

Frankie turned back to her food. “I will never in a million years understand men. What does he see in her?”

“If she turned sideways he wouldn’t see anything at all.” Eva pushed the garlic bread toward her. “Cheer up. She’ll be gone by next week and he’ll have another one on his arm. Disposa-girl.”

“I haven’t been on a date in nine months. I’m a failure,” Paige muttered. “A big fat, failure.”

“But you have amazing taste in friends,” Eva said cheerfully. “Now shut up and eat something or we’ll force-feed you and it won’t be pretty.”

Just at that moment Paige’s phone, which had been depressingly silent for the past two weeks, rang. All three of them stared at it, and then at each other.

“This is it. This could be it.” Paige sprang from her seat and took the call outside, passing Matt, who was on his way back into the restaurant with Jake, who appeared to have ditched the blonde toothpick.

“Urban Genie. How may we help?”

Five minutes later Paige bounced back into the restaurant, her spirits restored to a reasonable altitude. “We are on our way!”

This was why people ran their own businesses, she thought. Because when it went right, you knew it was down to you.

The buzz and excitement was incredible.

Even the fact that Jake had joined them at the table couldn’t spoil her evening.

Matt had finally put his phone down and was tucking into a bowl heaped high with pasta, as was Jake. “On your way where?”

“Downtown Manhattan. A group of lawyers want us to arrange a bachelor party for one of their colleagues who is over on a business trip from Europe. Our first piece of business. Hopefully it will lead to more.” She understood the importance of word-of-mouth recommendation. She was fine with that. It wasn’t the same thing as asking for favors.

Matt ground pepper over his food. “Is it a company you’ve worked with before?”

“No, which is great! I sent follow-up emails to some of the people who wouldn’t take my calls—this lead must have come from that.” She wondered what had happened to Bambi, but asking Jake would show that she cared and she had no intention of showing him that she cared.

“So you don’t even know if it’s legit?”

Paige, who’d been expecting him to be pleased, felt a flicker of frustration. “You want me to do a police check on everyone I work for?”

“No.” Matt stuck his fork into his food. “But I want you to be careful.”

“I can look out for myself. I’m emailing venue suggestions and once we’ve agreed on that, we’ll arrange catering and all the extras. We’re in business.” She waited for him to say something encouraging, but he carried on eating in silence and she looked at him in exasperation. “We have to start somewhere. Jake? What do you think?” At least he wouldn’t protect her.

Jake reached for his wine. “This time, I agree with your brother.”

“You’re both ridiculously cautious. If we do a good job here, hopefully they’ll recommend us to others.” And right now she was willing to take any business she could if it meant not asking Jake for help. “Does it make you feel strong and macho to fix things for me, is that what this is? Is this about your ego?”

Jake laughed. “Honey, my ego is bulletproof. You couldn’t take it down with a rocket launcher.”

“If I had one right now, I might be tempted to try. And I’ve told you before not to call me honey.”

“I’ll try and remember that, honey.”

“Enough, both of you.” Matt was trying not to smile. “Jake is looking out for you, that’s all, as any good friend would.”

“I don’t want him to. I don’t need him to.”

“How about a compromise. You’re going to need extra help. Jake and I could disguise ourselves as butlers.”

“Bow tie and bare flesh,” Jake drawled. “Shame it’s not a bachelorette party.”

Paige’s irritation rose. “You want to hover over us like bodyguards? No, thank you!”

Her brother put his fork down and reached for his beer. “At least promise me you won’t go alone. All three of you together at all times.”

“It’s a job.” She wondered what she had to do to stop Matt being so overprotective. “Everything is going to go like a dream, and then I can say I told you so, and you and Jake can crawl at my feet on your hands and knees and apologize for seeing catastrophe on every street corner.”

Jake’s gaze locked on hers. “Let’s hope that’s the way it goes.”

CHAPTER SIX

When you make a mistake, don’t be afraid to eat humble pie. It’s calorie-free.

—Eva

J
AKE
STARED
AT
the screen.

It had been a while since he’d done this. A while since he’d looked.

He could close the laptop. He could—

With a soft curse, his fingers flew over the keys as he searched for the information he wanted.

For someone with his skills, it was easily accessed.

He read, checking for anything new, and saw that she had a new job. Promotion. Everything else was the same.

She was still living in a Tudor revival in upstate New York. Still happily married with two kids and a dog.

Life was good.

With a soft curse, he closed the page.

What the hell was he doing?

But he knew the answer to that one. Maria had given him the “isn’t it time you settled down” look. Whenever she did that, he felt the need to remind himself of the reasons why he couldn’t.

The door to his office opened and he looked up with a frown, irritated by the disturbance. “What?”

Dani looked at him searchingly, but said nothing. “There’s someone to see you.”

“I don’t have any meetings today.”

“Her name is Paige.” Dani leaned against his door. “It’s weird, boss. She was standing outside for at least ten minutes deciding whether to come in or not. She walked away twice, then came back again. We were watching from the window laying bets as to whether she would pluck up the courage or not. Maybe you have a stalker. Want me to send her away?”

They obviously thought she was one of his ex-girlfriends, come to give him a hard time.

“Don’t send her away.”

“Do you know why she’s here?”

No, but he could guess. He didn’t know what bothered him most, the fact Paige had finally had to come to him for help or the fact that it was clearly killing her to do so.

Jake stood up and flipped his laptop shut. He was glad now that he’d looked. Every piece of information on that screen reminded him to be cautious in his relationships. “Send her in.”

He didn’t need to wonder why Paige had walked away twice. He knew. She hated asking for help. Especially his help.

What he didn’t understand was what had finally driven her to his door.

He’d assumed things were going well for Urban Genie. He and Matt had shared some beers a few nights ago and Matt hadn’t mentioned anything.

While he waited, he paced over to the glass window and stared across the city, through concrete canyons that stretched from Canal Street to Lower Manhattan. Once an urban wasteland of industrial warehouses, it had been transformed into one of the country’s most expensive zip codes, a thriving neighborhood filled with affluent creative and financial talent. That was the reason he’d chosen to live and work here. That, and the fact that it was a heartbeat from the city’s financial district.

“Jake?” Her voice came from the doorway. Husky. Feminine. It was like being stroked with a fur glove.

He braced himself. All he had to do was treat her like his best friend’s little sister.
Little sister.
He repeated it in his head like a mantra.

Except that he knew damn well that she wasn’t little. He’d been right there, up close and personal, when she’d grown up.

One minute she’d been wearing cartoon T-shirts, her hospital room populated by cheery balloons and oversize stuffed toys, the next she was experimenting with makeup. Out with the kids’ stuff, in with slinky Victoria’s Secret.

The night she’d revealed not only Victoria’s Secrets but most of her own was welded into his brain and yet somehow, despite having her naked body offered to him virtually on a plate, he’d managed to do the right thing.

And he’d done it in a way that ensured neither of them had to go through that again.

He turned and almost swallowed his tongue. She was wearing a tailored black suit that nipped in at her narrow waist and skimmed her hips. Her heels were high and her hair—the color of rich, dark chocolate—fell straight and gleaming over her perfect white shirt. She looked efficient and corporate. And all woman.

He was aware of her in a way he never was with any other woman. Her faint floral scent flavored the air but it wasn’t just that. It was
her
. Something about her seeped through to his brain and senses.

He wanted to touch her.

He wanted to strip off those clothes and taste her.

He was in trouble.
He was in big trouble.

“Paige?”

Underneath her flawless makeup, her face was pale and she looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept properly for nights.

He wanted to haul her into his arms and fix everything, an impulse that made him step back.

He wasn’t going to screw with his best friend’s sister.

When he had a fling, which he did far less frequently than people thought, he picked strong women with spines of steel and hearts of stone.

An ex-girlfriend had once told him caustically that dating him was like driving off-road in very rough terrain.

Paige looked as if she’d break at the first pothole. If there was one heart he was never going to damage, it was hers. It had already sustained more than enough damage at the hands of Mother Nature and a bunch of doctors. At least that was what he told himself.

“How are things at Urban Genie? Busy?” He saw her cheeks turn from pale cream to strawberry blush. “How was your bachelor party? Any business leads?”

“Not exactly.” She fiddled with the edges of her jacket. “That didn’t work out.”

“No?” He wished she hadn’t chosen to wear that cheerful coral lipstick.

Paige’s addiction to lipstick was a source of amusement to most people. To him it was one more thing that tested his willpower. It drew attention to her mouth, which made it tough on him because that was one part of her he tried never to look at.

He’d kissed plenty of women in his time and not one of those kisses had stayed with him.

He’d never kissed Paige, and he thought about it constantly.

“It’s not important.” She dismissed his question with the smile he’d seen her use a million times with her parents and her brother.

“What happened?”

She eyed him. “It was everything you said it would be, so unless you’re longing to say ‘I told you so,’ now would be a good time to move on. You don’t need details. Let’s just say it didn’t work out.”

He watched as she curled her fingers into her palms. “What happened, Paige?”

“Nothing.”

He knew her well enough to know that “nothing” was a whole lot of “something.” “I want to hear about ‘nothing.’”

“You’ll freak out and overreact. Then you’ll tell Matt and he’ll freak out and overreact. If I wanted Matt to know I would be sitting in front of him now, not you.”

“I promise not to overreact.”

“They wanted a few too many extras. Extras that weren’t included in our list. That’s your cue to say ‘I told you so.’ Laugh and get it over with.”

He’d never felt less like laughing.

Anger stirred inside him. “They made a move on you?”

She gave him a warning look. “You promised you wouldn’t overreact.”

“I lied.” He spoke through his teeth. “And I want details.”

“They thought we were the entertainment, but we handled it. That’s all you need to know.”

His vision darkened. “Give me their names.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What are you, Batman? Are you going to beat them up on a dark night? I told you, we handled it.”

“But what if you hadn’t been able to?” The thought of what could have happened sent rivulets of ice down his spine. “You never should have put yourself in that position.”

“What position? We were doing a job. Trying to start our business. You want me to take female-only clients? Sit at home all day in case something bad happens?” Her tone told him that she was close to the edge and he took a deep breath. He’d pushed all her hot buttons and he tried hard not to do that.

“Now you’re the one who is overreacting. I’m not trying to protect you. All I’m saying is—”

“That you want to wade in there and take over. Defend me. That’s being overprotective.”

He rubbed his fingers over his forehead. No wonder Matt always got it wrong. It was like walking on eggshells in heavy boots. “Is that so wrong?”

“Yes.” Her eyes were fierce. “Don’t do that, Jake. Don’t look at me as if you’re ready to lock the door from the outside and never let me out. You’re the one person who doesn’t do that.”

He forced himself to relax. “You called Security?”

“No need. We had Frankie.” The corner of her mouth flickered into a faint smile. “The human weapon.”

“Frankie?”

“They’d already been drinking when we arrived and we knew right from the moment we walked through the door there was going to be trouble. We probably should have left then and cut our losses but we were so desperate for business we all agreed we’d keep going and hope it worked out.”

A film of sweat chilled his brow. “Paige—” he spoke through his teeth “—fast-forward to the part where Frankie turned into a superhero.”

“Eva was doing her usual thing where she speaks without thinking. She was aiming for good customer service and asked what would make their evening special.”

Jake swore under his breath. “Someone needs to talk to her.”

“Frankie already did. Anyway, predictably one of the guys said ‘you and me, horizontal, baby.’ He stuck his hand under her skirt. The next moment Frankie had thrown him and was standing with her stiletto jabbed in his abs.” She started to laugh. “I don’t know why I’m laughing. They certainly won’t be recommending us.”

“I don’t know why you’re laughing, either.” Jake gripped the corner of his desk. “If Frankie wasn’t a black belt with a bad attitude—”

“We would have handled it a different way, and Frankie has a perfect attitude. She’s the total opposite of Eva. Eva trusts everyone. Frankie trusts no one. Eva thinks the world is full of sunshine. Frankie sees black storm clouds everywhere. But the best thing is that she’s so slight, everyone misjudges her. There are no hints that she can knock you unconscious with one kick so she always catches people off guard.”

Jake started to breathe again. “From now on you deal with companies, not individuals. Go through formal channels.”

“Companies haven’t exactly been queuing outside our door. You have no idea how many calls I’ve made.” The laughter had gone and now she looked tired and dejected, as if all the spirit had been sucked out of her. “That’s why I’m here. This is me, crawling to you for help. Savor the moment.”

He’d never savored anything less. “It isn’t a weakness to ask for help, Paige. It’s sound business practice.”

“Couch it anyway you like, but it comes down to the fact I couldn’t do it by myself.”

“That’s crap.” He stood up and walked around his desk. “I know you hate being smothered and protected—”

“Yes, I do. And you don’t usually do it. You’re a pain in the butt—” she sent him a look “—but even when you’re being a pain in the butt and goading me, part of me likes the fact you don’t hold back.”

She had no idea what he was holding back.

“The skill of building a business is to recognize what you lack and employ people who can fill that gap. And that requires frank, honest self-appraisal.”

“I can’t afford to employ anyone right now. We have no business.”

“What do you want from me? Why are you here?”

“Because Frankie threatened to kick my butt if I didn’t talk to you,” she said, “and she’s too good at that to ignore the threat. But mostly I’m here because I feel responsible. Eva and Frankie did this for me. They could have looked for jobs, but I persuaded them this was a good idea. And now we have no business and we’re making no money and I can’t sleep and—it’s horrible. I don’t know how you do it.”

Jake resisted the impulse to hug her. “You need to stop thinking about it and focus on building the business. If a door closes, open the next one.”

She nodded. “That’s the theory, but a lot of doors are closing.”

“Matt doesn’t know any of this?”

“No. I can’t deal with him right now. We’d argue about it and I’m not giving up my dream because of a bunch of oversexed lawyers.” She rubbed her fingers over her forehead. “What can I do, Jake? Tell me what to do. I need help.”

“Apart from the lawyers—” and he had his own plans for them “—who have you called? Last time I saw you in the restaurant you told me it was going well.”

“I lied. It’s not going well. I have called everyone. Everyone we ever worked with at Star Events, everyone we wanted to work with, and everyone we hadn’t even got around to thinking about working with. I have pounded the streets and apart from the lawyers, the only business we’ve got so far is to deliver one person’s dry cleaning and make a birthday cake for a ninety-year-old who is, by the way, Eva’s new best friend. Which is lovely, but doesn’t create any business. I had no idea it would be so hard.”

“It’s always tough at the beginning.” Jake gave her the advice he would have given to any other person asking for his thoughts on a start-up. “You face countless rejections. Everyone does. It’s part of the process.”

“There’s tough and there’s ‘not happening.’ Right now this isn’t happening and I’m spending hours a day on it.”

“You’ve got to look past the highs and lows.”

“I’m still waiting for the highs. Even a molehill would be welcome.” Her crooked smile tugged at him and he resisted the urge to reach out and comfort her.

“The highs will come.”

“What if they don’t? At what point do I give up and look for a job? I don’t have time to do both. If I stand any hope of making this work I have to give it my all, and if it were only about me I’d carry on until the bitter end, but it isn’t just me.” She bent to rub her ankle and a glint of silver caught the light as something slid forward from the neck of her shirt. “I’m worried about Frankie and Eva. I’m responsible for them, and I wasn’t prepared for how that would feel. I’m lying awake at night panicking about it.”

He stared at the necklace. It had been hidden under her shirt, invisible.