Obsession (17 page)

“Oh no…
Don’
t
y
’all give me that look,” I said sternly,
my Florida accent thickening. “I am NOT going out with that
loser.”

“Come on, Jay,” Nathan pleaded,
putting his arm on the back of my chair. “I’ll give you a
bonus.”

“I don
’t want a fucking bonus. I’m
not going out with him,” I demanded, stomping my foot
childishly.

“Jamie, we could all be in a whole
heap of trouble if we don’t figure this out,” Becca said softly,
glancing up at Tyler.

His jaw was doing his nervous tick,
and she reached her hand up to calm him. My heart filled for my
best friend. I knew she was worried about Tyler, and how they were
dealing with these supposed hidden drugs was taking its toll on my
best friend’s relationship. She was lucky I cared about her because
giving in to Mitch was my worst fear.

“Fine! But I swear to God, if he makes
a move on me, I’m kicking him in the nuts.” I’d have to; otherwise,
I’d do something worse.

Like give in and fuck him
senseless.

Chapter Thirteen

Mitch hadn
’t texted me in two
days, which was a new record.

I didn’t want to go out with him but
helping my best friend ease her nerves was more important to me.
However, there was no way in hell I’d ever call him and ask for a
date. I figured the very next day he’d send me some bullshit pick
up line text, and I’d play with him, lead him on a bit, see how far
he’d go. But nothing came through. Becca had asked me three times
if I’d talked to him, but I dodged the subject, changing it to
something about the wedding or work. She hadn’t pushed it, but I’m
sure she would soon, and so would her fiancé and Nathan. They
weren’t patient, especially when they wanted something.

Hopefully, I’d run into him this
morning. I’d flown back to Miami last night because my phone was
ringing off the hook while in Grand Rapids, flooding my inbox with
calls regarding potential and current Miami clients. It was a
wonderful feeling, but flying back to Miami on my own and staying
in my condo by myself had my nerves on high alert. My eyes
constantly opened whenever I’d hear the smallest sound. Every light
was left on in the condo, including a few televisions. I only
wished Nathan’s car was parked outside so it looked like I wasn’t
here by myself, but Nathan loved his car too much to leave it in a
mere carport.

Checking that my concealer covered the
bags under my eyes, I headed into my quaint office, glad that Corey
would be here for the second portion of the day.

Making coffee was essential this
morning, and probably would be for the rest of my life. Sleepless
nights weren’t a new experience, but I’d been fortunate enough to
have fallen off Rod’s radar for almost a year, so I remembered what
it was like to live a little and forget all that he’d taken from
me.

My heart tightened as I recalled the
most precious thing he’d stolen from me and my family.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood
tall as I heard the door chime open, but settled once I heard who
was here.

“Good morning,” a singing came from
the front of the office.

Taking a deep breath, I filled two
cups of coffee. “Morning,” I quietly replied, sipping my drink
while taking a seat, setting the other one down toward the edge of
my desk. I didn’t want to hand it to him because he didn’t need to
automatically think I’d gotten it for him, but I was going to have
to play nice in order to help Becca.

Mitch took a seat in one of the
leather chairs across from my desk. I was waiting for his smart
mouth to say something stupid, but he remained silent, mindlessly
sipping the coffee I laid out for him.

“Did you need something?” I asked
nonchalantly, opening up my endless list of emails.

He didn’t respond until I looked in
his direction. “Just drinking my coffee.” He was slouched in his
chair, eyes heavy in thought like he hadn’t slept
either.

“I had a late night,” he
finally admitted, taking another sip. “Tony has the week off to go
on vacation with his soon to be fiancé.”
He sighed heavily.
“Makes my job duties double, and not in a good
way.”

I knew exactly how he felt. I was
swamped without an assistant. Nathan obviously helped with the
bigger clients like Kobiashi, but there were quite a few smaller
ones who were taking a toll on me, making my forty hour week turn
into a fifty or sixty hour week.

“I
shouldn’
t
complain
. I should be able to handle this
on my own.” His voice was soft, but his features
tightened.

“No, it’s hard not having an assistant
when you’re busy. I feel the same way.”

Mitch
’s lip quirked. “Why don’t
you bug your boss for an assistant? I’
m sure he
’d
be happy to please you.”

“He’s too cheap, insisting I can
handle it on my own.” My ego enjoyed the fact that I was managing
my clients rather well, but after a while one can only spread
themselves so thin.

“He brags about you,” Mitch said, the
undertone of annoyance in his voice was apparent.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

Mitch rolled his eyes and sat up
straight in his seat. “No, it’s not. Do you always get so
defensive?”

I sat back in my chair, baffled by his
statement. “I’m not getting defensive.”

“Then
why’
d your
voice change?
” he challenged, crossing his
leg over his knee.

I sighed irritably, my eyes finding my
computer screen again. I had to reign in my temper. Conceding to
his typical approaches was something I needed to do willingly. Not
that a half-assed yes, wouldn’t suffice him.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, standing
to leave. “I’m off. I probably won’t be around much the rest of
this week and the following.”

My eyes furrowed as I watched him
bring his coffee mug to the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” I asked as
non-interested as I could.

“I just told you, my assistant’s out
of town.”

“Oh, right,” I joked, even though I
really was disappointed.

“
Don’t sound so
disappointed.” Mitch laughed as he took two steps back from the
kitchen.

“I’m not,” I said quickly. Shit, that
wasn’t supposed to sound so bitchy. “I mean, sometimes it’s nice
having a construction guy around to answer questions for
clients.”

Mitch raised a brow at me.
I think I’d maybe asked him three questions total, two of them
being smart ass remarks rather than actual
questions.

“You know what I mean,” I mumbled,
using one hand to fidget with my hair while staring down at the
other picking at my nails.

When I looked up, Mitch was in front
of me, his dimples smiling down at me, green eyes sparkling. “I’ll
miss you too, Jay.”

He left before I could say a snide
comment.

***

I’d received six texts from Becca,
four calls from Nathan, and five texts and three calls from Tyler
in the last week. They were driving me nuts, and I was running out
of excuses to tell them. Surely Nathan knew both Mitch and I were
busy; how could he expect us to just agree on a date?

But the shocking part was
that
Mitch
hadn
’t even texted me. I knew it had only
been a week, and he was on his own at the construction sites, but
it was unusual for him. Maybe he was no longer
interested?

“Probably for the better,” I sighed
out loud as I sat on the couch. Rod was dangerous to anyone who
showed interest in me, no matter what their connection might
be.

It was close to 10 pm, and
I was exhausted. Sleep was still minimal, and I craved being able
to close my eyes without worrying if Rod would creep into my room
and tie me to my bed—
or
worse
. Even with pepper spray and random
sharp objects hidden all over the condo, I still didn’t feel
safe.

My eyes began to drift as the TV
played on the screen, but a loud buzz from the end table startled
me awake. I reached for my phone instinctively.

Mitch:
I think I should tell you what people are saying behind your
back…

My brows furrowed. Who would talk shit
about me to Mitch?

Huh?

Mitch:
Nice Ass.

I snorted, feeling silly for not
catching that it was one of his stupid pickup lines.

Hmm, I thought it was just
your brother who said that…

Mitch:
Sorry, sweetie, only me. Your butt’s not big enough for
Tyler’s taste. He likes them Sir Mix A lot style.

I laughed louder.
That was the
truth. Becca had a perfectly round and curvy ass, and I was super
jealous of her. Tyler almost always had his hand near her ass, and
his eyes definitely kept close watch of it, too.

I was talking about
Nathan, not Tyler!

Mitch:
Nathan’s not an ass guy.

Well
, he’s definitely not a boob
guy, either.

Mitch:
Touche
’. Good thing I enjoy both
of your assets.

I couldn’t hide the smile that escaped
my lips. Normally I’d piss and moan at him, but for whatever
reason, tonight I felt like I needed the compliment.

What makes mine so
nice?

Mitch:
I get rock hard when I see you. Is that a good enough
explanation?

I shook my head, although my grin was
still there.

Haven’t seen me a whole
lot lately.

I casted my reel now, hoping he’d take
the bait so I could help out my best friend.

Mitch:
I have in my dreams.

Dreams are fragments of
reality.

Mitch:
Oh, mine are vivid, baby.

So were mine, and I was getting tingly
thinking about them and the dangerous possibility of them turning
into a reality.

Still not the same as in
real life.

Mitch:
Are you about to say you miss me?

Was he serious? Of course I didn’t!
But I didn’t know what to type back because maybe, in the deepest
part of my incoherent and bad judgment, I did miss him.

No.

He didn’t respond for ten minutes, and
I was biting my nails in anticipation. I had him hooked, but was
failing miserably at reeling him in to keep.

Corey’s been gone a lot,
the office has been quiet.

So that was lame, but maybe he’d keep
talking to me. Finally, five minutes later, he
responded.

Mitch:
So you do miss me…

Boy, was he making a meal out of
this.

You have a big mouth and a
huge ego, so it’s obvious when you’re not around.

I nodded, satisfied with my
answer.

Mitch:
How about you say that to my face?

It’s almost 11:00 at
night. I’m in bed.

Mitch:
Wow, I was thinking a date, but hey, I could always come your
way now.

And secretly, I wanted him to. If
anything to keep me company in this lonely condo in my terrified
state of mind, but I had too big of an ego to let him know I wanted
to spend time with him.

I’d prefer option
one.

Mitch:
Really?

I think you can read
between the lines.

Mitch:
Well, shoot. This went in a different direction than normal.
Too bad I’m in Grand Rapids this weekend.

Swallowing my pride, I reluctantly
replied:

I’ll be there
too.

Chapter Fourteen

Controlling the random flutters in my
stomach throughout the flight to Grand Rapids from Miami was
anything but distracting. Normally I flew easily, not needing any
type of drug to relax me, but today was different. I had lied to
Mitch, telling him I had meetings to attend to in Grand Rapids, but
Nathan wasn’t with me, and I was purely flying back to help Becca,
Tyler, and Nathan get information from Mitch. And, of course, Rod
had left another letter on my doorstep. I didn’t have the strength
to open it, so I tucked it in my purse for another time. My heart
couldn’t take any more anxiety.