The Billionaire Bum (9 page)

No. No way.

I was desperate for a change of subject. “So what do you think?” I asked.

“I think you’re beautiful,” he replied.

I rolled my eyes in an attempt to distract him from my blush. “I meant about the market.”

“Oh,” he said. “It’s pretty cool too.”

I sat down on one of the large rocks by the water and looked out at the fishing boats.

Jackson sat down gently beside me.

“It seems like something has you distracted,” he said.

“No,” I said smiling. “I’m just trying to figure out who you are.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” I needed to choose my words carefully. “You’re something of an enigma, Jackson. You carry yourself like royalty, but you work in a bar. You will give me no information about yourself. You show up at the oddest times and say the most perfect things. I just wish I could understand where you’re coming from.”

“Who do you think I am?” he asked with his signature smirk. God I loved that smile.

“You don’t want to know,” I hedged. “It sounds really ridiculous, even to me.”

“No, tell me. I want to know what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours.”

“Well,” I said, “I am torn between two theories. Either you’re homeless, or your real name is Peter Parker and you’ve been bitten by a radioactive spider.” He looked at me wide-eyed for a minute, and my heart stopped. Had I gone too far? Shit.

I’d offended him. Then he burst out laughing, and I almost cried with relief. He wasn’t angry.

His laugh was so beautiful it made my chest ache.

“You think I’m a superhero?” he said, still laughing.

“Yes,” I huffed indignantly, “I do. You’re out in the middle of the night, you’re wearing very expensive jeans which you seem to wear all the time like a hidden superhero costume, you inhaled my French toast like you hadn’t eaten for a week, and your split lip makes me think one of the bad guys finally got a solid punch in when you weren’t looking.”

“You are entirely too observant, Miss Alissa,” he said. “But, I’m not a superhero.” I noticed that he didn’t deny being homeless. So maybe that really was the case. I wanted to ask him more about it, but the look in his eyes told me to not ask questions when I wasn’t ready to hear the answers. I decided to let it go for now. When he was ready, he would tell me. I wasn’t about to risk losing him over this; we would work through whatever it was in time.

“Come on. The orders should be ready by now.” I walked back up the row of vendors in the direction of my van. They had already loaded most of the order and were just packing in the last couple of boxes. I turned over my shoulder to continue my conversation with Jackson and was startled to find that he was missing. I had been so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t notice when he’d wandered away. Where on earth did he go?

I squinted into the sunrise and looked down the row of produce-laden tables. He was walking up the street smiling. One hand was combing through his untamed hair, the other was holding a beautiful, red, gerbera daisy. We had passed the flower stand, but I hadn’t even given it a second thought. Apparently Jackson had noticed.

“For you, my dear,” he said, holding the single stem out to me.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said. I was moved. He’d remembered my favorite flower from yesterday’s interrogation.

He just smiled at me and then looked to the van where the workers were shutting the back doors.

“Shall we?” he asked.

Alissa

Jackson kept me sufficiently distracted on the drive back to my restaurant. I thought he was purposefully flirting as hard as he could to keep the discussion away from him. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Why would he feel the need to hide from me? Couldn’t he tell that I would accept him, no matter what his circumstance? We all had ups and downs in our lives; I could deal with it if he was going through a rough time.

My eyes flitted to the daisy that I’d placed on the dashboard. So thoughtful. I wondered, though, what it had cost. It couldn’t have been very much, but if he was really struggling to make ends meet, then every dollar was a big deal. I thought about whether there was some way I could repay him. Breakfast, I guess. He did like my French toast. That thought made me smile.

“So, you sticking around for breakfast?” I asked casually.

“You think I would miss out on a chance to eat your food again?” he joked in return.

We pulled into the alley behind my place. “Hey, look who decided to show up today,” I said.

Jackson looked out the window. “This is Matt?”

“Yep,” I said. “Looks like you’re off the hook today. My real employee is here, so you don’t have to do his job.”

I parked the van and we both got out. “Morning, Matt,” I said.

He shot Jackson an unfriendly glare and then walked around to the back of the van. I asked Matt to bring everything in, and I pulled Jackson upstairs with me. Typically I would help, but I had a feeling that letting the two boys work together would be like asking them to get into a pissing match, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with it. I was really enjoying my morning with Jackson. I wasn’t about let Matt ruin that for me. I paid him for his muscles, not his social skills.

“I’m just going to hop in the shower real quick,” I said to Jackson. “You can watch TV or something for a minute okay?” I put the flower in a bud vase and set it on the kitchen table.

“Sure. I can amuse myself for a few minutes.”

I walked quickly down the hall and pulled a towel out of the linen closet. I grabbed a change of clothes from the bedroom and started the water in the shower. I felt like my head was spinning. The last thing I wanted to do was embarrass Jackson, but I couldn’t help him if he wouldn’t open up to me.

I showered quickly and got dressed. Brushing out my hair, I returned to the living room with it still partially damp.

“Do you like eggs?” I called. “I was thinking we could have… ” I stopped short. My handsome, homeless superhero was fast asleep on my couch. I stood still and watched him for a moment. He looked so peaceful, like a perfect statue, unmoving but still graceful. I had only been gone about twenty minutes. He must have been exhausted. I wondered where he was sleeping or if he slept at all. If he really did work in a bar, then it was possible he was up all night. Did he sleep during the day?

I had so many questions and so few answers. I checked the clock on the microwave. It was 7:30 already. I’d let him sleep until breakfast was ready, and then I would feed him and tell him he was welcome to nap in my apartment until he needed to leave. Would that be weird? Was that really what I wanted? I had no reason not to trust him, but if he actually was homeless, did I want him to get used to being able to sleep in my apartment? I liked him. I couldn’t deny that, but I was hardly ready to let him move in.

I had never been so confused. There was no Emily Post etiquette for how to deal with your new homeless friend whom you weren’t really sure was homeless and wanted to be more than a friend – maybe. What a mess.

Half way through cracking the eggs my phone rang. “Hi, Lexy,” I said. “Sure, you can drop by. I wanted to see you anyway.”

Jackson’s messy brown hair peeked around the wall separating the living room and kitchen. I cut my best friend off. “I gotta go, Lexy. See you in a bit.”

“Something smells wonderful,” he said. “Sorry I dozed off on you. I haven’t been to bed yet.”

“It’s no problem. If you wanted to take a nap here after breakfast, you’re welcome to stay. I have to get to work, of course, but I’ll be right downstairs if you need me.”

“Oh, no thank you. I wouldn’t want to intrude, and I have somewhere that I need to be around lunchtime anyway. I’ll sleep after that.”

I released the breath that I had been holding.

“Okay,” I said. I piled breakfast onto his plate and handed him a cup of coffee. I was relieved that we had mostly avoided that danger zone. It sounded like he had a plan for the day, so he must have somewhere to go. I hoped it was somewhere safe. I didn’t want to see him get into any more fights.

Jackson

I woke up to the most wonderful smells of fresh coffee, eggs, bacon, and potatoes. Alissa was on the phone with someone. It sounded like she was expecting company from someone named Lexy. I shouldn’t be intruding. She had a busy life, and I was showing up unexpectedly and making it more complicated. I would leave right after breakfast. I needed to go and see Jason anyway.

She served up a wonderful plate of food, but it was huge. I had eaten like a pig yesterday so she probably thought I could eat a dozen eggs by myself. I was now regretting that late-night burger because I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to eat it all. I dug in anyway.

This girl was far too trusting. Did she really just offer to let me sleep in her apartment unattended? I was glad that she thought so highly of me, but we were seriously going to have to have a talk about stranger danger when we knew each other better. Why would she do that? She had made a comment earlier about my being homeless which I had hoped I’d diverted her from.

She really was observant. She saw far too much. If she thought I was homeless, did she just pity me? Was she feeding me and offering me a place to sleep because she thought that I couldn’t mange on my own?

That wouldn’t do. I knew I’d been vague and unresponsive, but I hadn’t expected her to think I was homeless. I didn’t want to be her charity case. Of course, I didn’t want to tell her how wealthy I was either. I just wanted her to get to know me without any kind of monetary assessment attached. Why was that so damn difficult?

“So, what are you making for lunch?” She gave me a blank stare instead of responding.

“…You bought all that salmon at the market. I was just wondering what the lunch special was,” I clarified. I didn’t want her to think that I expected her to feed me lunch, too. Could I possibly make this any worse?

“Oh,” she said. “Salmon. Right. Um, salad maybe? I think we’ll do salmon salads?” It was as if she was asking me if that was an acceptable answer. I couldn’t help but chuckle. I had no idea what was going on in her pretty little head. Couldn’t she remember what she had purchased at the market?

“That sounds good.” I finished my food. “Thank you so very much for breakfast, Alissa. I should really be on my way, but I enjoyed getting to spend the morning with you.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Me too.” Her eyes showed a little disappointment when I said that I was leaving. I was delighted by it.

She walked me down to the door, and I pulled her into my arms to hug her good-bye.

God, she felt so perfect like that, the gentle swell of her breasts against my chest, the wonderful smell of her hair as I pressed my lips to the top of her head. I wanted to hold her like that for forever, but Matt came around the corner at that moment, and I had to let her go.

“Thank you, again,” I said as I let the door close behind me.

I passed a woman about Alissa’s age with short blond hair as I was walking out of the alley. I wondered briefly if that was Lexy. I guessed I would be meeting her eventually, if she was a friend of Alissa’s. I said “hello” on my way past, but didn’t stop.

I had a lot to accomplish in the next few hours. I was going to find a cheap hotel to plant myself in for the day. I needed to rest and take a shower.

I checked my phone. There was a text message from Jason. He had his call with Nick scheduled for one o’clock today, and I needed to be ready to listen in. It was time to settle back into my corporate persona.

I replied to Jason letting him know that we would make the call from my hotel room, since I couldn’t be seen in the office, and then I set off down the street.

Alissa

The backdoor swung open almost immediately after Jackson left, and for a moment I thought that he might have come back.

“Hey, Lexy,” I said as my energetic best friend bounded through my backdoor. I was glad she dropped by. I really wanted to get her take on Jackson.

“What did he want?” she asked.

“What did who want?”

“Jackson Hayes. I just passed him in the alley. What did he want?”

“How do you know his name?” I was suddenly filled with dread. Lexy was practically psychic when it came to me, but she couldn’t usually pluck people’s names out of thin air. I didn’t even know his last name.

“Everyone knows his name,” she said. “He’s the richest man in the city.”

Alissa

The world went fuzzy. The richest man in the city? She had to have the wrong man. That just couldn’t be right.

“He’s what?” I asked, backing into the counter and holding on for support.

“Geez, ‘Lissa, do you live under a rock? He’s the CEO of Hayes Industries. He’s been on the cover of at least two business magazines, and there have been dozens of articles written about him. He apparently tries to keep a pretty low profile. His brother does most of the public stuff, but he’s so easily recognizable with that wild dark hair and blue eyes combo. Really hot isn’t he? How could you not know that?”

Lexy was never wrong about things like this. She paid very close attention to the who’s who of the world. Her whole life involved keeping up with the fashion trends of the rich and famous. She wouldn’t tell me this if she wasn’t sure.

I stared at her, completely speechless.

Oh God. He must think I’m such an idiot.

“What did he want anyway?” Lexy continued. “Oh my Gosh! Did he ask you to cater a party?! Can I do the decorating? You have to let me dress you. This is such a big deal. This could take your career to a whole new level!”

No. No. No. This can’t be happening. Why wouldn’t he say something? He probably thought I should know. What kind of a small business owner doesn’t look at the cover of Business Week now and then?

I was such a moron. I just told the wealthiest man in the city that I thought he was a homeless superhero. There is no greater mortification. Someone please shoot me now.

“Answer me Alissa! When is the party? How much time do I have?” She paused for a second and looked at me. “And why was he wearing that shirt? Was he trying to be incognito or something?”