Relentless (6 page)

Vivien smiled. “Well, those are some pretty impressive scratches on your chest. I just assumed you had some sort of run in with a cat.”

Michaela once again choked on her coffee at her mother’s comment.

Jordan grinned completely un-phased by Vivien’s remarks and looked down at his chest. “I can’t imagine how I got those.”

Vivien’s smile grew broader, if that was possible. “Glad to see you here this morning Jordan.” With a quick glance directed straight at her daughter she said, “Oh and Michaela, we’ll have a long talk later.”

As her mother exited the room, Michaela shook her head in wonderment. “Of all the mornings for my mother to drop by. You know she doesn’t do that very often. I wonder what else could possibly go wrong.”

“It wasn’t so bad. Your mother wasn’t upset. In fact she seemed extremely pleased. You’re well over twenty-one after all and she has known me for a long time. Your mom has a great sense of humor. I loved that comment about your biological clock. I was really tempted to tell her about the expired condoms,” Jordan commented while chewing on a piece of toast.

He looked amused by the whole situation; a situation Michaela didn’t think was funny at all, although the idea that her mother was going to let matters rest made her laugh. “Don’t tell her about the expired condoms. You know my mom is going to ask me about everything when she gets me alone!”

Jordan smiled in appreciation. “Sounds like something I’d do. I can only respect that.”

Michaela shook her head in complete disgust. “You would, but you aren’t the one going to be subjected to the third degree.”

“I’m more than willing to stand in for you and answer any questions your mother might have. I think she’s great.”

“Jordan that’s not funny. The idea of the two of you talking about last night’s disaster is too scary for words.”

Jordan raised his brows slightly. “Disaster or the hottest sex of your life?”

“Call it whatever you want, just don’t talk to my mother about it, okay?”

“Calm down Michaela. I was only kidding about talking to your mother. Where has your sense of humor gone?” Jordan soothed as he reached over and squeezed her hand. Michaela felt like screaming while Jordan appeared completely calm and rational. Which one of us is nuts, she thought? She noticed he was having no problems eating. It was so typical of a man. You share an erotic night together and in the morning they act like nothing unusual has happened.

“Michaela,” Jordan interrupted her thoughts, “is there more coffee?”

“More coffee? We’re dealing with an expired box of condoms and my mother finding us half-dressed in my kitchen and you want more coffee?!”

Jordan treated her to a mischievous grin, his blue eyes sparkling. “Yeah, I want more coffee, I didn’t get much sleep last night remember?”

Michaela remembered all too well, his words brought to life images of warm bodies clinging together through the night of hot intense passion. Looking into his eyes she saw that he remembered too, his eyes conveying that it had been just as intense for him, but then the glimmer of insight disappeared leaving her to think she had imagined the moment. She was left staring at the friend she loved so well who was giving her that irresistible smile that always made her laugh. His smile broke the atmosphere of gloom, which had been permeating her mood since waking. For the first time that morning she laughed, everything all at once striking her as funny. “You’re impossible! I’m trying to have a crisis and you need more coffee. Help yourself to more coffee, there’s plenty.”

“What are you having a crisis about? You should be happy, you had multiple orgasms last night,” he said in a dry tone as he filled his coffee cup, savoring the brew while he leaned indolently against her kitchen counter.

Laughing in defeat she admitted, “I guess between the condom fiasco and my mom’s untimely visit, I feel like I am going a bit nuts.” Pausing, she added in a more serious tone. “So you are taking me to dinner tonight?”

“Yeah,” he said grinning, “but I think we’re doing this backwards. Aren’t I supposed to buy you dinner before I get laid?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I told you before just because you got lucky last night doesn’t mean I am going to sleep with you again.”

Jordan smirked. “Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. As for me, I’m looking forward to doing you on the kitchen table like I promised.”

Okay so now he was sexy teasing Jordan, she was meeting all sorts of new Jordan’s since last night. She glanced down at the table, wondering if they would really end on top of it later this evening. “You’re impossible, but if we’re going out, I think you’re going to need some clothes.”

He looked down at his rumpled tuxedo. “Yeah, I should get back to my place to shower and change since I don’t have anything here.” He reached over and gently stroked a finger across her cheek. “I hate to leave you, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“Do you want me to drive you to your place? After all, we took a taxi so you don’t have a car here.” She reminded him.

“That’s okay,” he said pulling his cell phone from his pants. “I’ll just call a cab.”

He picked up his iPhone and started typing into it, obviously calling a cab company. “Hi, can you pick me up at 138 Palmerston. Thank you.”

They sat eating and chatting for a short time until there was a knock at the door.

“That was quick.” Michaela observed with surprise.

Jordan grabbed his tuxedo jacket, quickly buttoned his shirt and then leaned over to give her a quick kiss good-bye. “I’ll see you about 7:30.”

“Okay,” she said feeling a little odd with this change in their relationship.

“Michaela stop stressing. This is a good change for us.” Another quick kiss and he was out the door.

She watched him from the window as he got in the car. A driver held the door open for Jordan as he hopped in, greeting him with familiarity. Hmmm, that’s funny that wasn’t a taxi. It was a Bentley. It must be some car service he used from work, she thought. Still why would he use an expensive car service? She would have to ask him about it later.

After Jordan left, the house suddenly seemed lonely forcing Michaela admit what she had been denying all morning, she did not have a simple crush. She was completely head over heels in love with her best friend, a realization she greeted with trepidation despite last night’s lovemaking.

Jordan was too important for her to lose, but dating him seemed risky. It’s just that her past always seemed to bite her in the ass. Noah hadn’t been the first guy to leave her for another woman. First there had been Steven in college, and then Brian, a former coworker at her first job. She had caught all three of them with other women.

Steven had been her first serious boyfriend and she had fallen for him hard and quick. Everything had seemed too perfect when they met. The relationship with Steven had progressed quickly without any problems, or so she had thought. They were together constantly and it never occurred to her that when Steven said he was studying, he was actually studying someone else’s anatomy. She might never have discovered his duplicity if Cindy, the girl sitting next to her in History, hadn’t felt the need to expound on her ‘to die for boyfriend.’ After a ten-minute discussion with Cindy, it became apparent they had the same ‘to die for boyfriend.’ To save her ego a further dent she had called Steven and told him it was over; it was the first time she had implemented the pre-emptive strike.

Several years later she had met Brian while working at an accounting firm. She and Brian had been seeing each other discreetly at Brian’s insistence; after all they worked together and it was better to keep their personal relationship to themselves. She had seen the logic to his argument never thinking Brian might have other motives for being secretive. They had been dating for 6 months when dropping a file off with Brian’s secretary, Denise, told her that she was engaged. Having always liked Denise, Michaela was thrilled at her news and listened with enthusiasm to Denise’s wedding plans. She was completely floored when she heard Denise say that she was going to contact Brian’s wife for the name of her wedding consultant, because their wedding had been so perfect. To this day Michaela thought she would never understand how she didn’t burst into tears right at that moment. Instead she had walked into Brian’s office, calmly informing him that she was sorry, but she had met someone else. Pre-emptive strike number two. He had been shocked at her abrupt ending of their relationship and she had saved her pride, at least on the surface, again.

Noah’s betrayal had been the worst because not only had she lost a good friend along with her fiancé, but she hadn’t even gotten to use her pre-emptive strike strategy to save herself the pain of confrontation. Things had exploded just too quickly, too fast. After three men and three betrayals Michaela had begun thinking there was something wrong with her not the men in her life. Maybe she had such lousy taste in men that she was doomed to repeat this pattern, over and over again. Alternatively maybe she was the type of woman a man didn’t feel the need to be faithful to; it was a painful yet persistent thought. Those doubts about herself kept her from believing that any type of relationship with Jordan could work out. Would she come home one day and find him in bed with another woman?

Jordan entered his house, intent on showering and changing quickly so he could get back to Michaela. He didn’t want to give her too much time to think, his theory was that their current problems were a result of her thinking entirely too much. She was a smart woman, but sometimes her brain was overly analytical. That was the problem with women, they over thought things.

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts as he was about to proceed upstairs. “Hey, Bro, over here.”

Jordan stopped in mid-stride to find his brother, Ian, sitting on his couch dressed for their squash game. He had completely forgotten they’d had a game scheduled for this afternoon. Dealing with Michaela had put everything else to the back of his mind.

Ian, two years his junior, bore him a remarkable resemblance in both appearance and disposition, although Ian wore his hair cut much shorter and had a broader, more muscular frame and had inherited their father’s brown eyes. In personality Ian was like him in many ways, he had an intense serious side he masked with humor. While Jordan was very straight forward and said what he was thinking, you often never knew what Ian was really thinking. Their older brother Trevor was intensely private and socialized with very few people. Despite their differences the three of them had always been close, enjoying many of the same activities as well a friendly sibling rivalry.

Ian leaned back comfortably on his couch, crossing his foot over his knee, a knowing smirk on his face. “It looks like you had a good evening last night. Why don’t you share all of the juicy details?"

Jordan entered his living room in defeat, Ian wouldn’t rest until he pried everything out of him. He and his brother were a lot alike that way. Throwing himself down on a chair opposite Ian, he took his time in answering, not really knowing how he was going to begin.

“Okay Jordan, I’m waiting. I think since you blew off our squash game, the least you can do is kiss and tell.” Ian prodded companionably. “Come on, tell me what happened. I thought you were going out with Michaela last night and expected to be home early.” At the look that crossed Jordan’s face Ian’s eyes widened. “You were
with
Michaela last night!”

Expelling a pent up breath Jordan answered, “I was with Michaela last night. After her Christmas Party we went back to her place for a casual nightcap and ended up having some not so casual sex.”

Ian shook his head in disbelief at his brother’s revelation. “That must have been really embarrassing in the morning. I mean, she’s one of your closest friends. Did you manage to dump her without hurting her feelings?”

Jordan swore profoundly while treating is brother to a look of disgust. “Why would I want to dump her?”

“Jordan, relax, I just thought since you hadn’t made a move in all this time you weren’t interested,” Ian responded, looking slightly disconcerted at Jordan’s sudden change of mood.

Resting his head in his hands, his fatigue obvious, Jordan apologized, “Sorry, I’ve just had a helluva morning. I guess I should’ve expected your reaction since I’ve never told you that I’m completely in love with Michaela and have been for a long time.” It was the first time he had admitted his feelings out loud to anyone; it wasn’t something guys usually discussed. It felt odd to actually say the words, as if by saying them out loud had somehow made them more real.

“Well, you certainly had me fooled, I had no idea your feelings went any deeper than friendship. What I don’t understand is that if you just spent the night with the woman of your dreams, then why are you in such a foul mood?” Ian asked as he casually twirled his racquet. “Oh, let me guess, she still doesn’t know who you are, does she?”

Lifting his head, the irritation was evident in Jordan’s face as he replied dryly, “I guess I haven’t gotten around to that, and I’m not sure how to get there. She’s going to be pissed.”

“Bro, you’re a billionaire, what’s to be pissed about?” Ian gave his brother a sardonic smile.

Jordan gave his brother an impatient look. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I’ve lied to her for a year.”

Ian shrugged. “She’ll get over it. Just explain why you did it. Guys like us have to be cautious.”

“I’m not so sure. She’s sort of upset because I’ve been planning on getting her into bed since I met her when she thought we were just friends.”

“How could she possibly know that unless you told her?” Seeing the slightly embarrassed look on his brother’s face he said, “Oh man, please explain to me why you did that?”

Jordan look slightly frustrated as he said, “She was trying to tell me we should just forget about last night since it was just one of those things that happened because we had been drinking. I had to set her straight and tell her I had wanted her from the beginning.”

“So was she so drunk last night that she didn’t know what she was doing?”

“Ian, you know me better than that! She had a little bit to drink, but she was totally aware of what she was doing.”

“So you guys have crossed over from friends to lovers. Is she okay with that or does she want out?”

“I think she’s still in an adjustment phase which is why I don’t want to give her something else to deal with. I’ve known from the beginning that I wanted her, but for her it’s different. She’s only seen me as a friend, but I’ve been waiting until the time was right to change our relationship. For me there’s nothing to adjust to since it’s always what I wanted.”

Ian eyed him suspiciously. “Sometimes you scare me with the amount of planning you do. You’re relentless when you want something.”

Jordan smiled, remarking in a dry tone, “I know, it’s part of my charm.”

“So when are you going to tell her about the money and the company. She’s a smart woman, doesn’t she read the business section?”

“Apparently not, because she doesn’t seem to have a clue. Thank God she prefers world events. She just thinks I work in e-commerce for some company downtown.” He paused before saying, “I’ll tell her when I feel she’s committed to me.”

Ian shook his head. “Oh Bro, you’re still afraid she’ll only want you for your money aren’t you.”

Jordan gave his brother an intent look. “I need to be sure.”

“You’re being paranoid. It’s Michaela we’re talking about. Even I like her and I don't like anyone,” Ian said with a rueful grin.

“I’ll tell her soon.”

“Well then, I guess that’s that then. Should we go play squash now?”

Jordan gave his brother an apologetic look. “We’re not playing squash because I need to grab some sleep, I didn’t get any last night.”

Ian gave him a knowing smile. “That was some night.”

Smiling in remembrance Jordan said, “Yes it was.”

Ian rose from the sofa, patting his brother on the back companionably. “Relax Jordan, things will work out as long as you two love each other.” Ian made a face before continuing. “I can’t believe those sappy words just left my mouth. I want your word of honor that you will never tell anyone I said them, okay?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got other things to worry about than trashing your insensitive guy image.” Jordan assured his brother.

“Thanks, you’re the best, I don’t care what mom says about you. So are you sure you don’t want to play squash today? I can probably reserve another court.”

“Nah, sorry Ian, I’m beat,” he said letting the ongoing mom likes me best joke slide. He was too tired to spar with his brother.

Ian leaned over retrieving his racquet from the sofa, looking at his brother with curiosity he asked, “So she’s it for you, huh?”

“Yeah she is,” Jordan admitted, not knowing how to explain his certainty. He just knew they were perfect together.

“I hope you’re right otherwise you’re a potential stalker. You know that’s what they call men who don’t accept ‘no’ for an answer. All that creepy planned seduction,” Ian informed him in his most pleasant voice, his not-so-innocent smile belying the devilish gleam in his eyes.

Jordan knew better than to take his brother seriously, responding in kind he remarked calmly, “If you weren’t my brother I’d hit you.” Ian was working at getting under his skin and he certainly didn’t want to let him know he was succeeding.

“Don’t worry big brother, I’m sure you’re right and she’s madly in love with you but just hasn’t realized it yet.” Ian paused briefly before continuing. “Hmmm, maybe you can give seminars on self-confidence as a side business. You seem to have an abundance of it.”

“Ian, while I appreciate your in-depth analysis of my character including my potential as a stalker, I’ve got to get some rest.”

“I’ll go, you don’t have to tell me twice. I won’t be the one to stop you from getting your beauty sleep,” he said as he headed for the door. “Keep me posted and let me know when the wedding is so I can squeeze it in to my busy schedule,” Ian threw over his shoulder with a charming grin.

“You’re just a riot today aren’t you?” Jordan yelled after him as Ian went down the steps. Talking to his brother had made him feel better despite the good-natured ribbing. All he had to do was be diligent in his pursuit and eventually he would win her over. The woman was obviously crazy about him after all.