“Of course I am. I told you I was coming for a visit.”
A storm cloud of rage formed above her head.
“And I told you it wasn’t a good idea. Why did you ignore me?”
“Because I knew you didn’t mean it. You don’t actually expect us to not see each other for a solid month, do you?”
“Actually, I do. I’m busy here, Bryce, and I don’t have time to entertain you. This is a business assignment. You need to respect that.”
For a few seconds he was quiet, probably shocked into silence at her outburst. But Bryce recovered quickly. “If I didn’t know better, Carla, I’d think you weren’t interested in seeing me.”
Good try, she thought. But not good enough. She wasn’t about to be baited into reassuring him of something that wasn’t true.
“You really shouldn’t have done this, Bryce. Now I’m going to have to scramble around and inconvenience people to try to find someplace here for you to stay.”
“There?” He cackled into the phone as if she’d just told a dirty joke. “Carla, we’re not staying at the snake farm. What kind of boyfriend do you think I am to let you suffer there over the weekend? I’m whisking you away to New Orleans.”
“New Orleans?!”
“Of course. As long as you have to be down here, you may as well take advantage of the one thing these hicks have to offer.”
She bristled at his conceit. “I’m not going to New Orleans, Bryce, or anywhere else with you. My assignment here is for a month and it’s not a nine to five, Monday through Friday job. It’s all day, every day. Your assumption that I can just leave for the weekend is misguided.”
“No, it’s farther down the road. There’s supposedly a turn-off sign. Just keep going, you idiot.” Bryce returned his attention to Carla. “Sorry, I missed what you just said. Anyway, let me focus on getting there and I’ll see you soon. Bye!”
He clicked off before she had time to respond, making her so mad she felt like throwing the phone.
Fuming with rage, she turned and stomped back toward the house. She had little choice but to let Jackson know what was going on. This was his property, after all. His land, his company. His home. She put her foot on the first step, dreading the conversation with Jackson when the man himself came through the front door.
“Everything okay?”
She looked up, took a breath. “Yeah, definitely.”
Jackson stepped onto the stairs, sauntering toward her in his lupine gait. When he reached the bottom he stood directly in front of her, studying her face. “Why are you lying to me?”
Carla felt her cheeks color, embarrassed to be called out so easily.
“I, ah…” she shrugged as her voice trailed away. “That was Bryce.”
“I know. Who’s Bryce?”
“He’s a…well, I guess you could say he’s a family friend.”
“And?”
There was an edge to Jackson’s voice he didn’t bother to hide. Was he jealous? In some ways she was flattered; but in others it filled her with dread. He wasn’t going to like what she had to tell him. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. May as well just get this over with. “He’s on his way here.”
Jackson stilled, and she saw a muscle jump at the back of his jaw. Aside from that, his face was like stone. “You’ve invited your friend here? Without telling me?”
His voice was soft, but a current of lethal anger vibrated through his words. Carla knew she needed to set things straight right away, although a small part of her felt irritation as well. Jackson jumped to conclusions awfully quick.
“I didn’t invite him,” she clarified. “In fact when he brought up the topic of visiting me I told him not to. But I guess he didn’t listen.”
“Or you weren’t very persuasive.”
Now she was definitely angry. “You’re out of line.”
“Am I?” He raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her. “You’ve just told me someone I’ve never met before is invading my work and my home, uninvited and unwelcome, and my reaction is out of line?” He took a step back, apparently not as comfortable being so close to her as he was a moment ago. He jammed his hands in his pockets. “Who is this guy to you?”
“I told you, he’s just a friend. His family and mine have known each other for years. Our mothers were childhood friends.”
“So he’s just casually stopping by at ten o’clock at night to say hello? After flying down here from New York, I assume?”
Obviously Jackson believed she held out on him, and if she looked at it from his perspective she could understand why.
“Could we go inside and sit down?” She looked toward the door.
He stared at her though narrowed eyes, jaw tightly clenched. Tension seemed to vibrate from his every pore. Without a word he snapped around and headed back up the stairs. He held the door open for her and they went inside to his office.
“Everything I’ve told you is true,” she began, taking her seat in front of his desk. “Bryce is someone my family has known for years. He and I more or less grew up together. His family and mine used to visit each other all the time and even took a vacation together one year. We go back a long way.”
Jackson’s only response was a curt nod, but at least he listened.
“Lately, I mean over the past year or so, my relationship with Bryce has changed.”
“Changed how?”
“Bryce has begun assuming he and I are more than just friends.”
Jackson stiffened in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. A muscle jumped in the back of his jaw but he said nothing in response.
She took a breath and plunged ahead. “My family would like that, I think. I mean, if he and I were, you know, involved.”
His eyes were cold. The silence dragged out and when it looked like he wasn’t going to speak she cleared her throat to continue. But then he said, quietly, “And would you like it as well?”
“No. Absolutely not. I don’t want Bryce in my life, Jackson. And it has nothing to do with anything between us. I’ve never wanted Bryce for more than a friend. In fact, he’s not even a friend. He’s not someone I’d ever confide it, or miss when I’m away, or want to hang out with. Anything defining what a friend is, is unrelated to how I feel toward Bryce.”
“But you haven’t told your family.”
“No.” She shook her head, her admissions resurfacing guilt she’d had for a long time. She owed her parents the truth, but had never been able to bring it up. It felt like they’d be so disappointed in her.
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She threw his own words back at him, his plea that he not speak about certain pieces of his life. She hoped he would give her the same respect she’d given him.
He shrugged. “Fair enough. So what happens now?”
“He’s on his way here. That’s why he called, because he wanted to let me know.”
Her hands, which she’d folded primly on her lap when she first sat down, now fell helplessly to her sides. “I’m sorry, Jackson. Please believe me that I never invited him.”
“I do.”
She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
“I can assume he’s not going to be sharing your room?”
“You are correct.”
A satisfied grin spread across his face. He rose from his chair. “Then we’ll need to find a place for him.”
“It’s just for tonight,” she said, rising as well. “I’ll insist he leave tomorrow.” The scraping of tree branches against the windowpane distracted her for a moment. “Wow, it’s getting windy.”
“A storm’s coming.” He stepped toward the door, then turned back toward Carla holding out an arm. “After you.”
She walked over to him, stopping directly in front of his tall, muscled frame. She looked up at him and gently removed his glasses. “Do we have to go so soon?”
She set his glasses atop his desk and then placed her hands on his chest, feeling the thumping of his heartbeat. Suddenly need for him overtook her. Her hands began trembling as her breathing quickened. Shivers of anticipation raced down her spine.
Jackson looked down at her, eyes stained black. She saw the tent in his jeans and stroked her hand over it. He let out a groan. “Carla, what you do to me…”
He kicked the door shut and flipped the lock. He bent down to kiss her while gently moving her backward until she pressed up against something hard.
He broke for a moment and looked behind her. Her eyes followed his gaze.
“You like desks?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she replied, continuing to stroke him. “I like them a lot.”