Sitting at her desk, Jess speed dialed her assistant. Bets worked on the floor right beneath this one. Normally Jess would have an assistant right outside her office, but Betsy was full-human, so she didn’t come to this floor without a special request. Jess knew the woman found it weird, but she got paid so much she overlooked it.
“Hey, Jess.”
“Hey, Bets. Anything I need to know about?”
“I’ve e-mailed you a list of client callbacks you should make.”
“Can you handle any of them?”
A long pause followed her statement. So long, Jess thought she’d lost her. “Bets?”
“I’m here.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I can handle most of the calls…if you want me to.”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want you to.”
“It’s not a problem, but usually you handle, well, pretty much everything.”
“I’m tired today. Too tired for bullshit.” It’s not like she got much sleep the night before. “So anything you can handle—”
“Not a problem,” Bets rushed in. Suddenly Jess wondered if she’d been holding the poor woman back. And if she had, why did Bets stay?
“I’ll send you an updated callback list for people who really need to hear from you and not your lackey.”
“You’re not my lackey, Bets.”
She chuckled. “Let’s see. You also got a call from Kenshin Inu.”
Jess immediately perked up. “Oh, Kenshin! How is he?”
“Sounds fine. He’ll be in town in the next couple of weeks and he says he’ll want to get together. I e-mailed you his new cell phone number.”
“I see it. Thanks.”
“And a Bobby Ray Smith called.”
“He did?” Jess frowned. She told him to text her. Why would he call? And why was she so damn happy he did?
“Did he say what he wanted?”
“He wants to meet for lunch.”
“Call him back and tell him—”
“And he said if you start, and I’m quoting here, ‘Fussin’ about it,’ to tell you that his daddy called.”
“His father called him?” That couldn’t be good. To be honest, Jess thought the man such a Neanderthal that he didn’t possess the necessary skill set to use a phone, much less dial out of the Tennessee region.
“I don’t really know if his father called him. I’m just repeating what he said. But I did enjoy his use of ‘fussing’ in a sentence.”
Jess went to look at her watch, and that’s when she realized she didn’t have it on. Christ, where did she leave it last?
“Jess?”
Panic flooded her system as she grabbed her backpack, tearing through it.
“Jess?”
“Give me a second, Bets.”
“He also said to tell you if you’re wondering where your watch is…he has it.”
She closed her eyes, horrified at how relieved she felt. No one should be that attached to an inanimate object. “Oh.”
“I won’t ask what that means. I’m sure it’s none of my business.”
“You’re right. When’s my next meeting today?”
“Not until three, so you’ll have some time. He’s waiting at the diner around the corner.”
“Okay. Is the meeting a call-in or face-to-face?”
“Call-in for the rest of the day. So you’re okay to change.”
“Thank God!” Jess kicked off the damn pumps again. “Thanks, Bets.”
“No problem. I’ll get back to you after I’ve spoken to the clients.”
“Good.”
Jess went to the small closet she had built into the wall and pulled out something much more comfortable to wear. Especially since she was only going to see Smitty. It’s not like she wanted to impress him or anything.
Chapter 14
Smitty looked up from the newspaper in front of him and blinked. How could anyone look so ridiculous and cute at the same time?
His eyes narrowed. It had to be that stupid parka. It was too big for her, covering her from head to knees. She had to be able to afford something better than that. But clothes had never been Jessie’s thing. Still, no matter what she wore and if she’d let him, he’d bend her over this table and fuck the living—
“Hi,” she said when she stood at his table.
He cleared his throat, unable to stand up at the moment. Hopefully she didn’t need that level of politeness his mother had taught him. “Hey, darlin’. Thanks for coming.”
“No problem. I needed a break from the office anyway. And I want my watch back.” He wondered how intense her panic had gotten when she realized she wasn’t wearing it. A six or seven on the Richter scale?
She unzipped the parka and pulled it off, hanging it from the coat stand against the back wall. She slid into the booth and immediately his waitress showed up.
“Heya, Jess.”
“Hi, Trish.”
“The usual, sweetie?”
“Yeah, that’ll be fine.”
The older woman laughed. A wheezing sound that suggested Trish had been a smoker since she turned twelve. “You are such a creature of habit.” She turned to Smitty. “What about you, handsome?”
“Whatever she’s having…just double it.”
Jess snorted. “Triple it, Trish. Thanks.” She smirked at Smitty. “Double it, my ass. You’d be eating again in an hour.”
“I didn’t want to embarrass you.”
“I have other clients I bring in here. Any time I show up with this tiger, Peter Greely, we have to quadruple the order. He practically shuts the place down.”
Smitty chose to ignore the fact that she was hanging around tigers. Like those striped bastards could be trusted.
“So your dad called?”
Closing up his paper and placing it on the seat beside him, Smitty said, “Yup. He called all right.”
“Why?”
“To tell me I’m making a mistake. To tell me I should bring my ass back home. To tell me what a loser I am.”
Trish placed a Coke in front of Jessie and filled up Smitty’s coffee mug. Jess sipped her pop through a bendy straw like a ten-year-old and stared off thoughtfully. He blew on his coffee, and as he brought the mug to his lips, barely tasting the strong brew, Jessie said matter-of-factly, “You do know your father can be an amazing prick, right?”
Good thing he wore dark colors today because he’d probably never get the coffee stains out.
Jessie winced, grabbing a napkin and leaning across the table to wipe the coffee off Smitty’s chin and neck.
“Sorry.”
“No, no. You’re probably one of the few people who actually has the guts to say the words out loud.”
“It just seems to be what he does. To keep control. Convince you guys, you and your brothers, that you’re fuckups and that you can’t survive without him. Besides,” she added, “I think he really likes having you around.”
Smitty snorted. “Oh, come on. Let’s not bullshit a bullshitter.”
“I’m serious. He was really sad the day you left. I saw him at the bus—”
She cut herself off and looked around the restaurant.
“You were at the bus station the day I left?”
“Well, uh…”
“Jessie Ann?”
“I was near it.”
“Near it how?”
“Hiding in a utility closet that had a window so that I could see the bus.”
She had no idea, did she? How much it meant to him to know she’d come that day. Knowing she’d risked being caught by his sister and her merry band of She-bitches.
“I thought I caught your scent, but I figured it was my imagination. I really wanted you to be there. It’s nice to know you were.”
“Yeah, well.” She took another sip of her pop. “Anyway, your dad was real sad. He didn’t want you to go. But I think he knew you had no choice.”
“That’s some mighty guessing you’re doing there.”
/>
“When you spend most of your time watching people, you learn to pick up things.” She rubbed her nose and frowned. Rubbed her nose and grimaced.
“Jessie Ann?”
Before she could answer, the sneezing started and didn’t stop.
Leaning over a bit, he saw that the woman in the booth behind Jessie had a bouquet of flowers in her hand. The man sitting with her must have just given her the damn things.
“I’ll be right back,” he said to her before sliding out of the booth and walking over to the couple.
Jess hadn’t brought her backpack, but she’d shoved her allergy stuff in the big pocket of her parka. God, she loved this coat!
By the time she’d pulled the little zipped plastic pouch out, Trish had brought her a glass of water. She swallowed two pills as best she could while sneezing and pulled her nasal spray out next. By the time she finished using that, her sneezing stopped and Smitty was sliding back into the booth. She thought for sure she’d have to use her inhaler and probably leave, but when she turned around, she saw that the couple with the offending flowers had moved to a table across the room.
“What did you say to get them to move?”
“I just asked ’em nice.”
“This is New York. Nice does not exist here.”
“It works for me. Must be my charm.”
“And the fact you’re built like a fullback for the Dallas Cowboys. You probably terrified them.”
“That too.” He smiled. “Feel better?”
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize, darlin’. I just can’t believe you still have those allergies. I figured you’d grow out of them.”
“I thought so too. But no such luck. Plants, not really a problem anymore. But flowers…my doom.”
Smitty laughed and moved his arms off the table so Trish could put their food down.
Once she walked away, he said with what seemed like total honesty, “I’m glad I got to see you today.”
“You’re lucky my schedule allowed for it. My next meeting’s not until three.”
“So then we still have time to go back to my apartment and—”
“No, we don’t.” Although she was glad he actually suggested it. Did wonders for her ego.
“Fine. Guess we’ll just have to talk then.”
Jess put her usual quart of ketchup on her burger and over her fries. “I guess I fell right into that little trap, now didn’t I?”
“Like an impala.”
Before biting into her burger, Jess had to ask, “Talk about what?”
“Let’s start off easy. Why did you leave?”
Easy. Yeah. Sure. “Well, after throwing Bertha off Otter’s Hill, figured it would be in my best interest to get out of town.”
Smitty stroked his chin. “I thought she got drunk and fell off.”
“No, she was drunk when she came up there looking for me because apparently she hadn’t kicked my ass enough earlier in the day. But when she went over—that was all me.”
“My, my, Jessie Ann Ward. You sure are full of surprises.”
“You have no idea.”
Once she told him about Bertha—and wasn’t that a surprise—she got comfortable enough to tell him more about her and her friends and some of what happened over the past sixteen years. She held a lot back, though. There were still holes she didn’t seem ready to fill. Yet, how she and her four friends had lived this long, he had no idea. Between Phil shooting his mouth off at inopportune times; Sabina pissing off and physically threatening the wrong person—constantly; May walking down dark alleys by herself; Danny so paranoid by all of society he kept making the United States Secret Service nervous; and Jessie walking into buildings, cars, walls, telephone poles, small children, houses…whatever…they all should have ended up dead several times over.
Funny, he thought only cats had nine lives.
“You sure have been all over.”
“In the States, yeah. Chicago, Flagstaff, Detroit, Seattle, San Diego, and Aberdeen. That’s in Texas.”
“You planning on moving again?”
“No, I want the kids to have a stable place to grow up. I did the cross-country thing with my parents before they got sick. It was great and I learned a lot, but when they died—there I was stuck in Tennessee with no one. When they’re eighteen, they can do what they want and go where they want. But until then, their asses are staying right here.”
“Seems like you’ve got good control over it all.”
“I guess. But some days you wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
“How much more you could fuck it up?”
Smitty pushed his empty plate away. “You’re doing a great job, Jessie. You’re not fucking up a damn thing. Don’t let anybody tell you different.”
She rewarded him with a small smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He rested his elbow on the table and his chin on his fist. “So you’re coming by tonight.”
“And wouldn’t it be nice if you actually asked that?”
“If I asked, you might say no.”
Laying her hands flat on the table, Jessie studied them. “I don’t really know what we’re doing, Smitty.”
“Do you mean literally?”
“No.” She gaped at him. “I know what we’re doing literally.”
“Just checking.”
“I mean getting together for sex is one thing. But having lunches and talking about family and our Packs seems outside the realm of casual sex.”
“We were friends, Jessie. I want that back. The sex is just a bonus.” A really hot, makes my legs tremble bonus. “Why? Do you want more?” Did he just ask that? Had aliens invaded his body? What the hell was going on?
Even worse was her response. “No.”
If she’d done the “Of course not!” or “Whatever gave you that idea?” and then tried to argue the point, well…he’d know she’d want more. But that one simple word, given in that simple Jessie Ann way, said she wanted exactly what she was getting.
Good. That made it nice and simple, now didn’t it? And that empty feeling he got in the pit of his stomach when she said no all calm and casual was probably just from that last hamburger he ate. Nothing more.
“I gotta cash out, hon.”
Jess, busy laughing at something Smitty said, looked up at Trish. “You’re leaving early today.”
The waitress smiled, glancing at Smitty. “No, I’m not.”
Jess didn’t understand. Trish clocked out at four-thirty, right before the dinner rush.
Glancing at the clock behind the counter, Jess’s eyes grew. “Oh, good God! Look at the time!”
She frantically dug into her front pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. Since they were all rolled up, she had to unroll them to make sure she was putting out the right amount.
“Jessie Ann, I invited you. I’ll pay.”
“I can pay.”
“It’s too pathetic watching you with those crumpled bills. I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay.” She quickly slid out of the booth. “I can’t believe no one called me. I’ve already missed two meetings.”
Smitty grabbed her arm before she could get to her coat. “Breathe.”
“What?”
“Breathe. You stopped as soon as you saw the time.”
Feeling stupid, Jess took in a deep breath.
“Now let it out.”
She did, even though she kind of wanted to snarl at him. If it hadn’t been for him and how comfortable he made her feel, she would have remembered she needed to get back to the office.
“Don’t forget, Jessie. You’re the boss. If you don’t make a meeting, it’s up to your staff to cover for you.”
“Yeah, but—”
He gripped her lips with his fingertips. “Shush. I don’t know why you argue with me when you know I’m always right.”
She slapped his hand off her face and turned around before he could see her smile. “
You’re an idiot, Smith.” She snatched her coat off the hook and shrugged it on. “I’ll see you later.”
“Tonight. You’ll see me tonight.”
Jess didn’t have time to argue. “Fine. Tonight.” Then she charged out the door, only to stop at the corner, spin around, and run right back in. Smitty still sat at their table, her watch in his hand.
Glaring at him, she grabbed it and headed back to the door. He made her forget her watch. She never forgot her watch.
“Jessie Ann.”
She stopped at the door. “What?”
“Come here.”
“I don’t have—”
“Come. Here.”
She stood there a second longer.
“Don’t make me come over there and get you.”
Dammit. Why did he have to sound so sexy when physically threatening her?
Letting out an exasperated sigh to cover up the slight trembling, she stormed back over to the table. “What?”
He crooked his finger at her.
Glancing around, Jess saw several people staring at them. “What?” she snarled at them all. “Can I help you with something?”
“Hey, Miss New York.”
She looked back at Smitty. “What?”
“You done yelling at people?”
“They were staring.”
He grinned. “Come here.”
“I am here.”
“Closer.”
She leaned in a bit.
“Closer.”
She leaned in again until their faces were mere inches apart.
“Now kiss me,” he whispered, his breath caressing her mouth.
Unable to stop herself from following his orders—and not really wanting to stop anyway—Jess slid her hand behind his neck and pressed her lips against his. Smitty didn’t automatically kiss her back. He didn’t slip his tongue into her mouth; he didn’t take over the kiss. He simply waited.
Jess tipped her head to the side, moving her lips across his. Then, softly, she drew her tongue across his mouth. His lips parted for her, but he did nothing else, still waiting for her. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to delve further. Her tongue stroked his slowly, firmly, until she felt him groan. Then his hands slid into her hair, holding her head steady as he finally kissed her back. She rested her knee on the booth seat, her arms around his neck.