Rescuing A Runaway Bride (16 page)

He hesitated a moment. “You’re sure?”

“I’ll be fine.” She felt bolstered by Jake’s concern, but she needed to handle this mess with Grayson all by herself. It would put the proper end to this fizzled romance. Closure was what the self-help books called it. Jake fixed Grayson with a cool gaze before turning toward the storeroom. “I’ll be in back. If you need me, just yell.”

She watched Jake walk away, elated by his confidence in her. Maybe he was learning to give a little. It was a pleasing thought. Steeling her resolve, she turned to face Grayson and saw that his troubled gaze remained firmly fixed on Jake’s retreat. She cleared her throat drawing Grayson’s attention and saw his suave smile return as he gazed at her. Damn the man for thinking her such a pushover.

“Samantha, sweetie pie, please
give
me a chance to talk to you. After what we meant to each other, I hope you can at least give me that.”

She was shocked. In all the time she’d known Grayson, she’d never heard him beg anyone for anything. Maybe he needed closure, too. She couldn’t talk about their faded relationship now. Not with things in such turmoil. “After we’ve both had a chance to cool off, we’ll talk.”

“Thank you,” he said, then turned to walk away. At the door he stopped to say, “I’ll pick you up for dinner tonight.”

“Hey!” Samantha yelled after him, but he was already gone.
Of all the nerve!
If he thought he’d maneuvered her into a date, he had another think coming.

Jake carried some ice cream refills to the counter. “I see you got rid of him. Did everything go okay?”

“Just fine.
I’ll talk to you about it later.” She’d call Grayson at work and tell him not to come, so there was no need to tell Jake about her lack of success. She didn’t want him to lose confidence in her.

An hour later, Samantha was doing inventory in the storeroom when Jake’s strong arm slipped around her waist. She snuggled back against his muscular body.

“Guess who?” he whispered, bending to nuzzle her nape.

“Grayson,” she said,
then
chuckled when he grumbled in response to her teasing. The fact that she could joke about him meant that he’d been finally relegated to history.

“Guess again.”

“This isn’t very professional, Jake.” She leaned into his strength, all her previous objections fading away. She owed it to the both of them to at least give their budding relationship a try. Smiling, she all but purred at the sensation his plundering lips caused.

Monica poked her head around the door. “Samantha, the stripper is here.”

“Stripper?”
Jake said.

Samantha flushed, seeing Monica’s sparkling eyes as she viewed their embrace, and stepped away from Jake’s arms. Oh boy, she was sure to be in for some razzing later. “Send him into my office.”

“Him?”
Jake sputtered.

Samantha turned to face him. “Yes, a male stripper hired for a bachelorette party this evening.” She noted the startled expression on Jake’s face. “It’s part of my business. He’s new and needs a bit of coaching before his debut.”

Jake’s eyebrow quirked up. “Let Gary coach him.”

Samantha crossed her arms, standing up to Jake’s disapproval. “No, that wouldn’t do at all. The man needs to be reassured he can perform in front of a woman.”

“Then how about Monica?”

“Listen here, Jake, this is my business, and I’ll run it as I see fit. Now go out front and help Gary while I get on with things.” She watched him hesitate for a moment before breaking into a rueful smile.

“You’re the boss,” he said, shaking his head. “Just see that all you do is watch.” He leaned down to brush a scorching kiss across her lips, then turned and walked away.

Samantha sagged against the shelves, still tasting his sweet mouth on hers. Gathering her senses she straightened up and headed toward her office. Jake’s kisses still packed the same punch and no buff hunk would take him off her mind.

Inside her office a tall, dark, good-looking man dressed in a police uniform stood next to her desk. The ladies would definitely go for this one. “Thanks for coming in, Lance.”

“Glad to meet you.” He held out his hand.

Samantha shook his hand. “Nice costume. Did you bring your music?”

“Sure did,” he said, grinning.

“Well, let’s get to it then. And remember you’re there to entertain and that’s all. Look but don’t touch, if you know what I mean.”

Lance popped a tape into the player while Samantha took a seat behind her desk. Lance started a sexy bump and grind. Samantha admired his slow and sexy style. “You’re doing just fine. But slow down a little. There’s no rush. That’s right, make eye contact. Okay, now start to unbutton your shirt. That’s terrific, slow and teasing. Now turn and let it slip down your body. That’s great. Now turn back around and unsnap your pants.”

“That’s good enough, kid.” Jake walked through the doorway, stopping to snap off the music.

“Was I any good?” Lance asked Jake while he slipped on his shirt.

“You’re a natural, kid,” Jake said tersely.

Samantha turned to smile at Lance, knowing that he needed reassurance. “You were just fine. You’re going to do a fabulous job tonight.”

“You’d better get going, so you can practice at home.” Jake popped the tape out of the player and handed it to Lance, ushering him toward the door.

“I thought you were going to let me run my business my way.” Samantha leaned back in her desk chair, shaking her head. The man was so plainly jealous that it was amusing. “That was a pretty pitiful way of letting me
be
in control.”

“So sue me.”

After five, Samantha climbed into Jake’s car after a good day of work. At least she felt more like herself. Then she noticed Jake turn in the opposite direction from her apartment. “Where are we headed?”

“Logan Industries.
I told your father we’d check in.”

Samantha glanced down at her wrinkled clothes. “Like this?”

Jake shrugged. “Sure, why not? It’s after hours so we won’t have to worry about unfriendly scrutiny.”

She nodded. It might be good to see the scene of the crime. In spite of her misgivings, she was curious to find out what her father learned. For Tad’s sake, she hoped Jennifer had been duped, but she really didn’t believe it. Once in custody, Jennifer was sure to be a fount of information. And, hopefully, she could lead them to the source of the thefts.

Jake stopped the car in his slot at Logan Industries and turned to look at Samantha. “Ready?”

She smiled at his tone of concern and nodded. Then fell into step beside him.

Jake put a possessive and protective hand on her back as he scanned the nearly empty parking lot then he ushered her into the building. Their footsteps rang as they walked down the office building’s marble halls.

Samantha glanced at the empty offices noting that the staff didn’t hang around after hours. Probably a good thing if they wanted to keep this meeting quiet. Samantha followed Jake to her father’s office. Her father sat at his desk looking at a piece of paper, and Tad occupied a wing chair across from him. One look at her brother’s solemn expression told her the news wasn’t good. She cleared her throat, and they both looked up. She was buoyed by the twinkle in her father’s eye as he looked at the two of them. “What did you find out?”

Tad’s
sighed. “Jennifer’s gone.”

“I thought I told you not to contact her.” Jake scowled.

“You did.” Tad’s shoulders sagged. “I wanted to make sure she was okay. I dropped by her place. She’s gone. Her apartment’s been empty for a week according to her landlord.”

Samantha gasped. “That’s right before I was stalked.” She felt Jake stiffen beside her. Could the high-pitched laugh from her stalker have been a woman’s voice? She’d had the impression the blurry figure in the woods was bigger and male, but fading light could play tricks on a person.

Tad frowned. “I know you’re probably wondering if Jenny is involved in attacking you, sis. But she couldn’t be. Jenny isn’t capable of that kind of thing. I think it’s more likely she ran away because she was scared.”

Jake frowned. “I’ll have my staff scour her apartment. They should pick up something about her location.”

“Sounds like a good idea. I already had them start on her office.” Samuel said, with a nod.

There was a knock on the office door. Delbert Logan stepped through the doorway. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Samuel looked up. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to tell you the sales figures will be delayed a week. My secretary was out today, and the temp they got me is a bit slow,” Delbert said, with a smile. He turned to look at Samantha. “Samantha dear, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me.” She immediately felt uncomfortable. He’d been instrumental in her doomed engagement, introducing her to Grayson and playing matchmaker. She only hoped this wouldn’t wreck her close relationship with her uncle.

Delbert peered at her closely, his gaze focusing on her sympathetically. “Are you all right, my dear? I’ve been concerned about you since you ran away.”

Samantha bit her lip at his choice of words. No doubt Delbert thought she’d flipped her lid after Grayson’s infidelity and her shocked reaction now didn’t help. “I’m fine, Uncle Delbert. Back at work as a matter of fact, as you can see by my costume.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. We must have lunch some time and talk it all out. If you ever need any help, come to me.” Delbert cast a quizzical glance at Jake.

Samuel stood up. “I’ll see you on Monday then, Delbert.”

“Yes, Monday,” Delbert said before he walked away.

Samuel waited for Delbert to get out of earshot then picked up another slip of paper off the desk, handing it to Jake. “Jake, your staff just found this behind Jennifer’s desk a few minutes before you arrived. It must have slipped back there without her noticing.”

Jake smoothed out the crumpled note. “Looks like a list of tasks.
Pick up tickets. Meet with Jimmy.
L.V
.”
He handed it to Tad. “Is this her handwriting?”

Tad frowned. “Yes.”

He glanced at Tad sympathetically. “Do you know a Jimmy?”

Tad shook his head. “No.”

Jake shrugged. “Maybe she ran off with him.”

Chapter 12

“Samantha, do you want pasta or an omelet for dinner?” Jake asked from the kitchen.

“Surprise me.” Samantha stretched on the sofa and closed her eyes. Between a full day’s work and the meeting with her dad, it had been an exhausting and troubling day. Jake had volunteered to cook dinner, and she’d gratefully taken him up on his offer.

“Here you go,” Jake’s voice announced in front of her. “I thought you could use this.”

She opened her eyes to see him holding out a glass of lemonade. He had an annoying habit of sneaking up on her. She idly wondered if she could break him of it as she reached for the glass. “You were right. Thanks. Thank you again for making dinner.”

You’re welcome, sunshine.” He bent down to place a quick kiss on her lips. “Dinner will be ready in half an hour. In the meantime, I’m going to get cleaned up.”