Authors: Michelle Love
MERCY
My back is against the door as Jude gives me a goodbye kiss. He’s made lunch a lot more interesting than it usually is. I’m more relaxed than I bet anyone else in this spa is and that’s saying something!
“How about I pop by later on tonight. I’ll come after nine,” he says as he runs his hands over my face, holding it tight in his strong hands. “I’ll be quiet so I don’t wake those shitty neighbors of yours that have you whispering to me on the phone at night.”
He has no idea how much I wish I could let him come over. “Don’t ruin this great lunch, Jude.”
A frown moves over his gorgeous face and I wish like hell I could get him to understand why it’s such an impossibility. Just last night, Carter woke up, screaming for his mother.
I ran into his bedroom and he mistook me for her and called me, Mom. It broke my heart and I ended up crying too once I had settled him down. Little meltdowns happen all too often at our house. I can’t have him seeing all that.
I can’t have his presence making the kids think he’s the new the daddy come to take their daddy’s place. It’s not right. They’d never understand if things ended up not working out for us.
Jude’s great but the fact is he is spoiled. I have no idea if he has tendencies to get bored with women and move on to the next. I would kind of assume he does have that tendency. He is thirty and single as they come after all.
It would break my heart and that’s bad enough. But it would break the kids’ hearts too if I let them get to know him and let him stay at the house the way he’s nearly begging me to.
His little kisses pepper my face. “Okay, I won’t bug you. But if you get home this evening and you change your mind. Even if it’s the middle of the night. Call me and I’ll be there.”
I laugh and lean my head on his chest. “Okay, but that won’t happen so don’t hold your breath. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
He holds me still and gives me one more kiss. “Okay, walk me out, Miss Noland.”
He laces our fingers together as I open the door. The first person I see is a small young woman named, Amanda. Her cheeks go red instantly and she mutters that she’s sorry.
I pull Jude along with me to the restroom across the hall to check my hair and make-up as she shouldn’t have thought anything that bad to make her blush. And in the mirror, I see where he’s sucked a purple spot on my neck.
He smiles sheepishly. “Did I do that?” he rubs his thumb over it.
I roll my eyes. “This is so not professional, Jude! What am I going to do?”
He pulls my hair out of the high ponytail I put it in and uses his fingers to push it around until it covers my neck. “There you go, not a problem at all.”
“Except now everyone is going to think you and I got all wild in my office and that’s going to start gossip about me and I can’t have that. Oh, this was a mistake.”
He isn’t having any of that kind of talk I can tell by the way his hands grip my shoulders and he turns me around to look at him. “Sex is natural Mercy.”
“Not at work, it isn’t,” I counter.
“I wouldn’t know about that,” he says. “I’ve never had a job. And that just made me think of a great idea. Hire me to work here. I can be a personal trainer or something like that. I’m qualified.”
Moving my hands to my hips, I use my best boss voice to let him know that will not be happening. “You don’t want me to be your boss, Jude.”
“I wouldn’t call you that. Mostly because I am the boss in this relationship. By the way, did you see my social media sites? I made it official. I changed my status to being in a serious relationship with you.” He kisses my cheek and plays with a lock of my hair.
“Why would you even do that?” I ask as I have no idea why people do that at all. “That’s personal information. That’s between me and you, Jude. Not the whole world.”
“You like to keep your business way too private, Mercy. Let everyone know. Hell, most women in your unique position as my girlfriend would be shouting it from the rooftops. You’re almost hiding it.”
And I can see the brat coming out in him as he lets me go and crosses his arms over his chest. “Give me a position here and tell everyone that I’m your boyfriend.”
I walk away from him and open the bathroom door. “This is not the place or the time to start your demands, Jude. Come on, I have work to do.”
He follows me out because he really has no other choice. He quickly catches up to me and grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together again and pulling me close to his side. As we go into the lobby, I see Dave give Jude the thumbs up.
Looking at Jude, I notice they have a little bromance going on as he makes that little call me sign to Dave. So I have to ask, “What’s that about?”
“He wants me to make an exercise regimen out for him and a nutrition plan. Some people like me and want my help,” he says as we walk out the glass doors under the covered entrance.
He gives the valet a hundred-dollar bill and a wink. I watch Bob run to get his car and it floors me that he didn’t even have to guess which one was his. “Getting to know my employees, are you?”
“I am. You got a great bunch of guys working here. You know both of those guys thought it would be such a smart idea to have a person here who can help people get physically fit. Possibly adding years onto their lives.” He puts his arm around me and gives me a squeeze. “I can send you my resume. There is not a ton of work history on it. Well, there’s none, actually. You know what there is, though?”
I shake my head. “What is there?”
“A shit-ton of college. There is a lot of that. And guess what else there is?” he asks me as he continues to squeeze my shoulders in an attempt to show me just how strong he really is as if I didn’t already know.
“What else is there, Tarzan,” I ask him as I push at him to release his death-grip on me which he doesn't do.
“There are many, many recommendations from my professors. I tell you what, you have that meeting with the owners on Tuesday’s, right? Well, I’ll get you that resume before that meeting and maybe you could ask them what they think of the idea. You know, Dave let me know there’s an entire room that’s not being used at all. When I told him I could furnish it with exercise equipment he about crapped his pants. I’ll make sure to add a whole business plan about what all I can do for this spa to help the owners make a decision.”
“Jude, this will not work. You can’t just come to work here. That will make things very hard,” I say as the valet comes back with his car.
With a kiss to my cheek, he lets me out of his grip and gives me a smile. “What’s it going to make hard, baby? You keeping secrets from me?” He gives Bob a high five as Bob gets out of his car then he adds, “Your serious boyfriend.”
Lord, what’s he trying to do to me?
JUDE
With my plan in action, I find Mercy calling me just as she gets off work just like I thought she would when she got my resume and noticed that I sent a copy to the owners as well. “Hey, baby,” I answer my cell.
“Why did you send a copy of your resume and business plan to the owners?”
“I was a little afraid you wouldn’t give it to them. I am an initiative taker, Mercy. I told you when I want something I get it. And I want to be around you more than your schedule will allow. So I made a plan to make that happen. You could make it a hell of a lot easier and just let me come over some and you can come to my place some until we see if this is a thing we really want to pursue and move all the way in together.”
“Jesus, Jude! You’re spoiled completely rotten!” she shouts over the phone.
“I am not!” I say defiantly. “I just know how to get what I want. That’s not spoiled. It’s innovative.”
“Use all the words you want to describe your behavior. The bottom line is I’m giving you all I have to give and you still want more,” she says, sounding exasperated which pisses me off.
“You’re being closed off for no fucking reason, Mercy. There is absolutely nothing that you’re hiding that I can’t cope with.”
“Maybe it’s me who can’t cope with it. Did you ever stop to think about that? Maybe you aren’t the only person on the planet, Jude. Maybe, just maybe, there are other people and their feelings to consider before dropping a person into lives that might not be able to handle it if things between us don’t work out. It’s been a total of three days since you and I got together. Three fucking days, Jude!”
“Who are these people that our relationship will affect?” I ask as now I think she might have some kids somewhere.
“Never mind,” she says with a huff.
“No, I will not, never mind. Do you have kids you don’t want me around? Or you think I’ll dump you because you have some bratty-ass kids? Cause I won’t end this because of some kids who can learn how to act right,” I let her know.
“I do not have kids. And you are by far more bratty than any kids I’ve ever known in my life.”
“Well, that’s pretty rude, Mercy,” I say as I pull away from the liquor store where I bought some wine and cheeses to take tomorrow when I make a surprise visit at her meeting with the owners who sent back an email asking me to join them. But since she’s being so mean, I’m not going to tell her that.
“If you don’t have kids then what the fuck do you have?” I ask as I look for her car pulling out of the spa parking garage. “Where are you, Mercy? I want to give you one last kiss before you head home to your mystery cave or what the fuck ever you live in that has you ashamed to let me come over.”
“I see you, Jude,” she says. “And I’m not stopping. I have to hurry. I have important things to take care of. There’s absolutely no time for any goodbye kisses.”
“I don’t see that little red car. Where are you?” I ask again as I look all around.
She laughs and it makes me crazy as she says, “I see you looking around. You won’t find me, Jude. Now go on about your business and let me go on about mine.”
“Damn it, girl! Where are you? Why do you have to be so damn stubborn?” I look around and can’t see anything even close to resembling her car.
“I’m on the highway now. You missed me,” she says with a laugh. “I suppose I’ll hear from you around nine. Or are you too pissed at me to call me now?”
“I am pissed at you,” I say as I pull away from the parking lot and head toward my place. “Hey, my little sister is calling me. Let me call you right back.”
“Wait,” she says. It’s too late, I’ve already switched calls.
“Hey, little sister, what’s up?” I ask.
“I’m at the gas station filling up my car and a woman who looks like the one you took to Mom and Dad’s party is filling up a tall and very masculine four-wheel-drive pick-up truck, bro,” she tells me.
“What’s she wearing?” I ask to be sure she has the right lady.
“All white. Like a pantsuit thing. I’m going to go say hi and see what’s up. Your lady friend may have herself another man, big brother.” She hangs up without telling me where the hell she’s at so I can go there too.
So I call back but she doesn’t answer. And now my heart’s pounding. If Mercy’s with another man it just might kill me. Or it might him.
MERCY
“Hey, Mercy,” I hear a feminine voice call out to me as I put gas in my brother-in-law’s truck.
I knew it was a great idea to take a car Jude doesn’t know about to work today. I had a feeling he’d try to follow me home. I look around and see a girl I recognize from somewhere.
“Hi,” I say as the girl gets closer. Shit! It’s Jude’s little sister. “Hi, Rose, right?”
She nods and comes up then leans against the truck. “Killer wheels, Mercy. I’d never have pegged you as a four by four junkie.”
“Oh, I’m not. This isn’t mine. Well, it is but I didn’t buy it or anything like that. It belongs to.”
She finishes the sentence for me. “It belongs to a man, doesn’t it?” Her eyes go narrow as she looks me over. “My brother really, really likes you, Mercy. So I need to know what the fuck is up.”
Shit!
MERCY
Here I go with that deer in the headlights look again!
I can’t tell Jude’s sister about my dead brother-in-law. That will lead to telling her about my dead sister and then my dead parents and then how I have my niece and nephew and things will just go downhill from there.
So I say, “It is a man’s a truck. But I’m not seeing him or anything like that. Your brother’s heart is safe with me.”
She looks me up and down. “What is it you do, Mercy?”
She’s just about as intimidating to me as her brother was to her boyfriend. I find that kind of funny. “I’m the manager of a spa. I just got off of work.”
Her head cocks to the side. “Jude hung around the house, moping all day yesterday over you. How come you won’t let him come over to your place?”
This girl gets straight to the point!
“My reasons are very personal,” I say as I take the nozzle from the gas pump out of the tank and put it back up.
“Can I be straight forward with you, Mercy?” she asks me as if she hasn’t been completely straight forward so far.
“Yes, I’d appreciate that, Rose.”
“If you have kids, end things with Jude. He has no patience with them.” Her words hit me hard.
“I don’t have any. But how do you know this for certain?” I ask as I screw the lid on the gas tank and climb up on the rail that runs along the underside of the truck so I can reach the door handle that’s too high to reach without the step.
“Well, when I was a kid for one. He never let me play with him,” she says.
“Yeah, but aren’t you like six years younger than him?” I ask because that’s what he told me.
She nods. “Yeah, but that’s not all. You see, I have this friend of mine and she has two little kids. I let her come over to swim and she brought her kids who absolutely adored Jude. But he couldn’t be bothered to even tell them hello. He acted annoyed they were even there.”
“Oh,” I say as I get this sinking feeling in my stomach.
She nods. “Yeah, and he also dated this woman for like a minute until she told him she had two kids who lived with their dad. He dumped her with a text. It was pretty mean. Even if you don’t have kids, you look like you’re about the age to start wanting them. I can tell you that Jude isn’t the fatherly type. He just isn’t.”
“Well, thanks for the insight. We really aren’t anywhere near close to talking about that kind of thing right now. It’s been three days, that’s it. Only three days, Rose. No reason to get into a discussion about kids just yet,” I say with a laugh but I really feel like crying.
“You’re right, it is too early. So do you want to tell me whose truck this is or are you going to make me get the information myself? One way or the other, I will find out,” she says with a crooked smile.
“It’s mine. It’s registered in my name. It seems you Hurst’s look out pretty close for one another,” I say as I climb in the truck feeling much better up and away from the young woman.
“We do, Mercy.” She steps back as I close the door. “And we have a lot of money to make sure that anyone who hurts a Hurst gets what’s coming to them. That’s not a threat, Mercy. That’s what you call a promise.”
With a nod, I roll the window up and start the truck. Fuck, that chick is intense!
JUDE
My cell rings as I’m hauling ass home and I see it’s my sister. “Where the fuck are you? I called you to find out what gas station you were at so I could go over there.”
“Okay, it doesn’t matter now,” she says. “Something’s not right with her. She’s cagey as fuck.”
“Why do you say that?” I ask. “Whose truck was that? What did she tell you? Did you get anything out of her?”
“Hey!” she yells. “Shut up so I can tell you. Damn, Jude!”
“Sorry. Okay, I’m just kind of freaking out. I really, really, like this one, Rose. You have no idea. She’s so perfect for me. She calls me out on my shit. She makes me feel thirty times better than any other woman has ever made me feel. If she’s got another man, I’m going to go insane. I know I will.”
“Jude! Shit!” Rose yells at me over the phone. “It’s been three days, man! What’s gotten into you?”
“I don’t know. That’s just it. I don’t know. This woman has me craving her. All of her. So tell me what you found out, please.” I tap the steering wheel, nervously with my fingers as I wait to hear what I think will be terrible news.
“The truck is hers. But I want to caution you about her.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief that the truck is hers. It makes no real sense as she isn’t a four-wheel-drive kind of woman but at least it’s hers and not some man’s.
“About what, Rose?” I ask as I pull into our private drive.
“I saw a look in her eyes when I was asking her if she had any kids,” she says.
“Does she?” I ask as I press the brake for no other reason than I think I should go slow to hear this news.
“She said she didn’t. But I can see it in her eyes. She’s going to want kids, Jude. She’s not the one for you,” she says.
“I’m not following you, Rose,” I say as I press the accelerator since I know now that she doesn’t have kids.
“You hate kids,” she says.
“Ha, no I don’t.” I laugh as I drive up to my parking spot and see my old dog coming to see me. “What makes you think that?”
“Because I’ve seen you with them. You don’t like kids, Jude. This woman will want them. You should end it with her. You two are not compatible. Plus, I feel like she’s hiding something. Something big.”
If it’s not a man, then I can handle anything else!
To be continued…