The Billionaire Playboy (4 page)

When his stomach
growled in protest, Jake stood and pushed his thoughts of Charlotte out of his
mind. He hadn't eaten anything other than energy bars since breakfast and the
freshly baked biscuits he smelled were calling his name.

***

When Jake's
alarm went off the next morning at the crack of dawn, his initial instinct was
to hit the snooze button, roll over and go back to sleep. Mornings were not his
best time of day, especially this early in the morning, but when he glimpsed
the ruffled canopy over his head he remembered where he was and more
importantly why he was there.

Grabbing some
jeans out of his duffel bag, he pulled them on before searching for a clean
t-shirt. Since he'd showered just before hitting the sack the night before, it
seemed unnecessary to take another one now. Besides, after the day he expected
to have, he knew he would need one later anyway.

Downstairs he
followed the voices to the dining room where Maureen O'Brien had set out
cereal, muffins and bagels for breakfast. Jake skipped both and zoned in on the
coffee where Charlie stood pouring herself a large mug.

“You're up early.
I took you as more of a night person,” she said sparing him a quick glance.

Jake watched as
she poured cream into her coffee. “I'm meeting with the town administrator in
about thirty minutes to assess the damage down by the river. And the first
shipment of supplies from the foundation is arriving later.”

Charlie didn't
reply. Rather she studied him over the rim of her coffee mug. “Do you always go
where the foundation gives out aid?”

Jake nodded. “There
have been a few times that I haven't, but I try to get there.”

She made a
surprised sound in the back of her throat but didn't comment.

He didn't know
why she was surprised by his answer. She probably knew that he was in charge of
the Falmouth Foundation. It wasn’t a secret. “You seemed surprised?”

Stepping away
from the coffee so someone else could get some, she took a sip before answering.
“I assumed you were more of a poster boy for the foundation. I didn't picture
you as the hands-on
 
type.”

Annoyance swept
through his body. She didn't see him as the hands-on type after all the work
he'd already done.
 
“And how do you see
me?”

Perhaps hearing
the anger in his voice, Charlie's eyes narrowed and her back became ramrod
straight. “You’re not exactly described as the hardest working man alive in the
media,” she answered matter-of-factly. “According to them you're out with a
different woman every night driving around in expensive cars. I assumed someone
like that wouldn't be interested in physical labor.” Her tone wasn't rude. Rather
she sounded as if she was reciting facts from a book.

The media was
great at portraying people in a way that was best for their ratings. Very
rarely did they get the truth right. This wasn't the first time someone had
assumed he was nothing more than a spoiled rich playboy and he was confident it
wouldn't be the last. Normally, he would shrug it off. If someone wanted to
believe the media's image of him he wouldn't bother with them. However, this
time it troubled him. For some reason, he wanted to prove the doctor wrong. He
wanted to show her the real Jake Sherbrooke.

“I'm not going
to lie. I like fast cars, but a different woman every night isn't my thing. You
can't always believe what you read.” Jake clenched his teeth to keep his anger
from creeping into his voice. “Why don't you spend the day with me? See what I
really do.” He expected her to say no.

Tilting her head
to the side she studied his face. “When do we leave?”

Jake forced
himself not to smile. “Meet me by my truck in ten minutes.”

Once again
Charlie nodded and then headed in the direction of the kitchen. Jake couldn't
help but watch and admire her retreating form. There was no mistaking her
confident no-nonsense step. By inviting her along he knew he'd made his day
more difficult, but he didn't regret his invitation. Not one bit. Only an
insane man would regret having a beautiful woman by his side all day.

After unwrapping
the blueberry muffin he'd grabbed before coming outside, he raised it to his
mouth. It was still warm from the oven and his mouth watered just looking at it.
He bit into it just as his phone rang. With his free hand he pulled the smart
phone from his pocket and checked the number.

Blair again
. She'd called earlier that week and he
thought he'd made it clear that he wasn't interested in getting back together. Part
of him wanted to ignore the call and let it go straight to voice mail. If he
answered all he'd get was a repeat of their past conversation. If he ignored
the call though, she'd only call again. Swallowing his mouthful of muffin, he
answered the phone.
 
Better to get the
conversation over with now. “I don't have a lot of time Blair. I have an
important meeting soon. What's up?”

“I'm heading up
to New York City this weekend and I wanted to see if you would join me. I
thought maybe some time alone would be good for us.”

Jake held back a
groan. Time alone would only accomplish one thing; to remind him how ill-suited
they were for each other. “I'm in the field right now, Blair. I can't go
anywhere.”

“Come on. You
can sneak away for a weekend. Who'll know? There are others who can do the
work.”

“Blair, I told
you before I'm not interested. We had fun together but it’s over.” So far he'd
tried to be polite about the whole thing but she just didn't get it.

On the other end
of the line Blair droned on, but he didn't pay much attention as she reiterated
their earlier conversation almost word for word. Instead his gazed focused on
Charlie as she approached his SUV with a backpack slung over one shoulder and a
travel mug in each hand.

“Listen, I've
got to go. I need to head out for my meeting. Have a safe trip to New York.”
Jake cut Blair off in mid-sentence. He heard Blair mutter goodbye right before
he hit the end button and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

“I thought we
might both want some more coffee.” Charlie stopped next to him and handed him
one of the mugs.

“You read my
mind. Only had time for one cup inside.” Before she could do it herself, Jake
pulled open the passenger door for her.

Surprise
skittered across Charlie's face but she only murmured thanks before climbing
into the front seat.

“So what's the
best way to Church Street?” he asked as he climbed behind the wheel and started
the engine.

***

Charlie carried
another case of bottled water into the senior center. Situated near the center
of town it worked perfectly as a temporary supply distribution center. Outside
there were several other volunteers helping to unload the trucks filled with
bottled water and canned food, each one sent by the Falmouth Foundation. They
had already unpacked one truck containing blankets and clean clothes for those
in need.

After dropping
the case next to the others she rubbed the dull ache in her back. She'd been
working nonstop since climbing into Jake's truck that morning and her body felt
it. First they'd met with the town administrator near the flooded areas of town.
Together with the fire chief the four of them had gone out by boat so Jake
could survey the damage firsthand before heading back to the town official's
temporary office in the high school. The high school was one of the few
buildings with electricity thanks to the generator supplied by the Falmouth
Foundation. Workers were currently delivering the rest of the generators to
other key buildings.

After a meeting
to discuss what further aid and funds were necessary they headed over to the
senior center and converted it into a makeshift distribution center. They
finished the job a mere ten minutes before the first supply truck rolled in.

Charlie leaned
against the wall. All around her people were coming and going. There wasn't a
sole standing still including Jake Sherbrooke himself. When he wasn't carrying
supplies off the trucks he was helping people bring what they needed to their
cars. He treated them all as equals. Never once did he put on any airs and,
like the day before, there wasn't any media around taking note like she
expected. She was still trying to get her head around that fact. According to
what she'd seen yesterday and today, he wasn't at all what she'd expected. And
she had to admit, if it wasn't for him and his foundation the town would be in
much rougher shape. The governor in Boston had declared a state of emergency
for most of the North Shore but few towns had been affected as badly as North
Salem. Still, state aid was spread thin and so far they'd received little help
from the state itself.

“All the trucks
outside are empty. Sherbrooke said the next few won't be here for an hour or so.
He wants everyone to take a break.” Michael Smith, a former high school
classmate, said stopping next to her. “I'm heading home to check on things. “Want
a ride?”

At the mention
of Jake, she began searching for him. The last she'd seen of him he'd been
helping Mr. Wilson carry supplies out to his ancient pickup. “I'm good Michael.
I think I'll just stick around here in case someone needs help.”

“Suit yourself. See
ya later.” With his final comment Michael headed towards the main doors with
several other volunteers.

In no time the
senior center was virtually empty of workers. Only a handful of volunteers
remained to distribute items as residents stopped in.

After getting a
bottle of water and an energy bar, Charlie pulled a folding chair over to the
table and sat down. Damn, it seemed like every time she came home Mother Nature
went crazy. The last time she'd come back a blizzard dropped 20 inches of snow
on the state. The time before that an early winter nor’easter roared through
New England. Maybe Mother Nature was trying to give her a hint. Maybe she
should ask her family to visit her instead.

From across the
hall, the sound of the main door opening and closing echoed. Looking up just in
time, she saw Jake enter the building and she almost sighed like a lovesick
teenager. Normally she didn't get all worked up when she saw a good-looking man.
She certainly came into contact with enough of them in the military. But there
was something about Jake that turned her insides to mush and sent her heart
rate into overdrive.

“I thought you
might have headed out with everyone else,” he said as he crossed the hall
toward her.

Jake entered the
room and it felt like the temperature jumped twenty degrees. Today he looked
more like a hard laborer with his sweat stained Cal Tech t-shirt and torn jeans
than a pampered playboy and Charlie's pulse leaped with excitement.
 
She shrugged and reached for another bottle of
water. “I thought I would stick around in case anyone showed up looking for
something. Besides I'd only have to come back in a little while.” Charlie slid
the water bottle across the table toward Jake before he could say anything.

Jake downed half
the bottle in one long drink. “So what do you think?”

Focused on the
perpetual five o'clock shadow Jake seemed to favor, Charlie didn't immediately
realize he was talking to her. Typically she didn't like any facial hair on a
man. It reminded her too much of her father; he'd always sported a full beard. She
could do without any reminders of him. Even after all this time the pain caused
by his leaving remained. Yet she didn't mind facial hair on Jake. On him it
only added to his sexiness.

“Doctor?”

“Think about
what?” What had he asked her?

“You more or
less called me a lazy playboy this morning. What do you think now?”

His tone was
cool and direct but Charlie thought she detected a hint of vulnerability. Did
her opinion matter to him? Could this man, who had everything, be insecure?

“You're not
lazy,” she answered without any hesitation. Man, she wished she'd chosen her
words more carefully this morning. He'd been working just as hard if not harder
than everyone else and not because he had to. He didn't live here, didn't have
any family here. He could have just as easily directed everything from his
office back in Virginia and had an assistant come out to give him updates. “Are
you always this involved?”

Jake finished
off his water and reached for an energy bar. “Just about. The foundation is my
baby. I like to make sure it's being run properly. I can't do that by sitting
behind a desk all day.”

If what she had
seen here was any indication, the foundation and its employees ran like a
well-oiled machine. Whatever else Jake Sherbrooke might be, he was a good
leader. “I'm glad you offered aid. The town hasn't gotten a lot of support so
far from the state.”

Jake rolled his
shoulders as if trying to work out some stiffness and Charlie couldn't help but
notice the way his chest muscles rippled under his shirt. Without warning,
memories of how that chest felt under her hands when she'd crashed into him the
day before filled her mind. The memory brought an instant twinge of desire to
her insides, and she found herself wondering what it would be like to be held
against his broad chest.