Love the Boss: Billionaire Romance (Managing the Bosses Book 4) (10 page)

Jamie ignored the rest of the conversation and sank into her thoughts as worry threatened to override just how delicious their lunch was.

Alex might be busy, but she was going to have to butt her way in. He needed to know what was going on.

* * *

After working through the rest of Gina's duties that afternoon, and Gina not showing up as she said she would, Jamie canceled a few of Alex's appointments and walked to his door, knocking lightly.

"Come in." He was bent over his computer, working furiously as she walked in and closed the door behind her. "My next one here?"

"Yup. I canceled the rest of your afternoon.”

He turned slowly in his chair, an eyebrow raised. “Really?” He glanced at the door. “Did you lock it?”

She shook her head. “I need to talk to you." She walked to the window and looked out over the city. Her ankle was starting to throb from the morning’s adventures, which meant a night on the couch and her laptop on her lap. She wasn't going to overdo it and possibly end up on crutches. That wasn't happening.

She half expected him to tell her to wait a second, but he was at her back, touching her shoulders softly as he pulled her against him.

"What wrong?"

She turned in his arms and slid her arms around his waist, leaning into him. "A lot, I think, but I'm not sure."

"Talk to me. You cleared my calendar for a reason. Did I do something? Is this about Annette? Kristen?" He paled a little.

"No. It's about Gina." Jamie pulled from his hold and walked to the table in the middle of the room. "I kept thinking that I was just going to bug you if I brought it up, but I'm not so sure anymore."

"Is this about her dating Nicholas? I told you I was going to look into that. He's up to something. He's a sly bastard, and is probably trying to get her to come work for him." Alex ran his fingers through his dark hair as he took the seat closest to her.

"He's trying to get all of us to come work for him. I agree that you need to look into him, but I think it's more than that." She handed him the file she'd brought in with her. "We've been working on reconciliations and such for the last week or so, and Mark noticed a new ID was added to some of our expenditure accounts. I looked into it, and Barton came back and said that you were the approver, but the expenses are ridiculous. A trip, a grocery store run, and the latest is two hundred dollars at a candy store. Either you guys are throwing some great parties and I'm not getting invited, or something is up."

Alex's brow furrowed. "What? Let me see this."

He took the file as Jamie bit at her lip. The situation with Gina had to come first, then the damn security system, then she could dig into who this Kristen girl was and what she was up to.

This blast from the past obviously had feelings for Alex; how could she not? Alex has saved the girl from an abusive boyfriend... he was her hero. That couldn't lead to anything good. Why was she looking for him after all these years anyway?

Even Mark's eyes had lit up when they started talking about the girl.

"I don't know what this is, but I'll look into it." Alex's voice brought her from her thoughts. "I can't honestly imagine Gina doing anything to hurt me or the company."

"I know. Me neither, and yet she called in sick this morning and was at lunch with Nicholas today." Jamie pressed her hand to her chin. "I wasn't going to look into her dealings, but I couldn't help myself. She's put all of us behind, and I want to choke her after seeing her at lunch. She's not sick at all."

"Damn..." Alex leaned back in his chair and pressed his palms to his eyes. "Surely she's not up to anything. It's Gina. She's like an older sister to me. We've been through more together than you can imagine."

"I’d look into it, Alex. Something’s not adding up. When we were out for drinks the other day, she said she was tired of arguing with you, and she would leave if things didn’t get better. It was her frustration talking, but now I’m starting to wonder. I'll help with anything you need me to. I hope I'm wrong." She reached out and ran her hand up his thigh, squeezing softly. “Maybe it’s just a slew of coincidences thrown in together.”

The sadness in his face drove a stake into her heart as he looked down at her. "I hope so, too. Hopefully you’re wrong, but something tells me you aren't."

Chapter 10

Jamie checked in with Alex one more time before finishing up for the evening, but he refused to come home just yet. Her canceling his appointments might have been the best thing to happen to him. From what she could tell, his mood was lifting even though he was still knee-deep in work.

They all were. Her later mornings in and the day she had taken off with Mark had set her behind as well. Sitting at Gina’s desk, covering, had forced her to stay put and do both jobs at once, but she was still behind. It didn’t matter, though, the work would still be there tomorrow and the files she took home to work on that night could travel with her. This was the kind of job that you never got ahead on. Jamie was beginning to figure out that if you were ahead, then somewhere, somehow, money wasn’t being made.

She rode home with Mark and they stopped by the local burger joint for dinner, neither of them too interested in cooking. She sent Murray a message as Mark parked her car to see if he could take care of meals for Alex and her the rest of the week. She got an automatic reply to say he was away for another ten days.
Must be on vacation, lucky stiff
. She got out of the truck and hobbled to the front door, her ankle starting to feel worse than it had that morning.

"You're going to need to go to the doctor if it swells. I'll put some ice on it for you when we get to the house, and then I'll leave you be." Mark smiled and held the door open, and Jamie moved into the much-needed warmth of the restaurant.

"Sounds good to me. A good glass of wine will be perfect company until Alex finally makes it home." She moved to the counter and glanced up at the board, trying to decide if she should make a good decision or a bad one.

"I usually get two of these beauties, but only finish one and a half. You want the other half, or are you in the mood for a whole one?" He stepped up beside her, saving her from having to make a decision at all.

"I'd love that. I was just thinking how good a bacon double cheeseburger would be, but I didn't want to have all the calories from it." She smiled and pulled out her wallet. "I'll get this."

"Nope. My turn." He pushed her hand back as she tried to hand the lady her card. "Really. Go get a seat and I'll bring everything over. Coke or something else?”

"Diet Coke for me, please." Jamie smiled and walked to a booth, dropping down and sliding in. There had to be hope that Alex would be able to find some semblance of balance over the next few years. She loved hanging out with his brother, and would hopefully be doing so for years to come, but she had to be honest: she would rather be hanging out with Alex.

She stared out the window and tried to sort her head through things. She was thinking long-term, but demanding he change, or telling him he needed to spend less time at the office, was not going to fly. She loved him for who he was, and his business had been his baby for long before she showed up. She worked with him and could see him all day, so why was she complaining? She snorted quietly as she considered how he made up for dinner absences when they went to bed. He knew how to make love. Damn, that was a talent he knew better than making millions, and he was pretty fantastic at knowing how to make money.

She shifted in her seat, having grown warm at the thoughts running through her head. She missed him, and yet she had been well aware what kind of life she was signing up for with him. She pulled out her phone and sent him a quick text, wanting him to know that she was thinking about him and couldn't wait until he got home that night.

Mark brought the food over and set everything down in front of her before taking his seat.

"So... did you get a chance to talk to Alex about his secretary?" Mark worked to cut one of the burgers in half before sliding some of it over to her.

"A little. He's going to look into it, though I honestly hated to put that on him. Gina's been with him since he started the firm. The look on his face was so damn sad." She picked up a fry and dragged it through the puddle of ketchup between them. "I wish I could make it all go away, but I can't. I'm just trying to not pull anything else into the drama right now."

"Anything else like what?" He took a big bite of his burger and groaned. "Damn, I love the food here! They have these burger huts back home."

Jamie smiled and handed him a napkin. "You have ketchup on your chin. I love this place too."

"Stop avoiding my question. What else could you bring into the drama? Something’s bothering you. I can tell." He wiped his mouth and watched her intently. “Spill it, Connors. Or I’ll smoosh this ketchup all over your pretty little face.”

She laughed at his fake-menacing face. “Ketchup? Really?”

“Stop avoiding, and answer the damn question,” he growled, holding the little tub of ketchup close to her nose. “Don’t make me use this.”

She moved to the right and held her hands up in mock defense. “Alright, alright, you win! I’ll spill the beans.” She took a bite of her hamburger and savored the delicious taste of fresh tomato, hamburger, bacon, and cheese. So good. She wiped her mouth with a napkin while Mark patiently waited for her. "It’s silly, I know, but maybe you can help convince me I’m being silly because I can’t stop thinking about it.” She inhaled and stared down at that the salty fries, unable to meet Mark’s eyes that were so similar to Alex’s. “I'm still trying to think through why Alex wouldn't have mentioned Annette coming to the office. He had it on Gina’s calendar but he blocked the time off on the joint one he and I share electronically as personal time. If he had told me, then I'd have gotten over it and been mature about it. I think not knowing makes it look… makes it feel like he was hiding something." She nibbled on a fry, wishing like hell that she had a girlfriend to share all of her silly unimportant concerns with. Mark was filling that spot brilliantly, but she knew it wasn't right. Alex wouldn’t appreciate it. Nor would she appreciate if Alex talked to her sister about his problems.

Marked watched her for a moment, as if trying to figure out how best to respond. "Maybe it just wasn't important to him. The meeting with the girl part, not you getting upset or reading something into his meeting. He probably just figured it was going to be quick and painless, and he could just get rid of her. Why upset you over her stopping by when he had every intention of just kicking her ass back out?" Mark lifted his eyebrow and shrugged. "I wouldn't have mentioned it."

"You wouldn’t have?”

He shook his head. “Why stir the pot that doesn’t need it? Annette is nothing to Alex, but her money might mean something to his business."

She nodded. "I hadn't really thought about it like that."

"What else is going on? Talk to Dr. Mark. Let's make you feel better. I know my brother, and I can tell you that he's beyond smitten with you. You shouldn't let anything get in the way of that." Mark took another bite of his burger. “What else is bugging you? Bitch it out, girl. It’s amazing how much better it makes you feel.” He pretended to sway his head and shake it side to side.

Jamie burst out laughing. “You go, sister! Oops, I mean brother.”

“Spill it, girl.”

“Fine!” Jamie settled back into her seat and tried to think of something else that was bugging her. It didn’t take long. "The girl who came by today. She's incredibly cute, and I know I shouldn't be jealous, Mark, but anyone who has a history with someone else is a little unnerving, you know?" She ate another fry and let out a short sigh. “She’s stinkin’ cute. Cheerleader cute. And you know what that means?”

He raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean.”

“She’s probably a gymnast or crazy flexible.”

Mark covered his eyes with one of his large hands. “Really? I’m having this kind of conversation with you?”

“You’re the one who told me to bitch.”

“Okay, okay. I think I know what you mean.” He took a swig of his Coke and frowned as he set it back down. “I think that one’s yours. It tastes like diet crap.” He grinned and switched drinks. "So my ex, Paula, had this old 'friend' who was supposed to just be a neighbor she grew up with. The guy ends up working with her, and she might not have thought too much of him, but, honey, let me tell you... he thought plenty of her. It's rare to have a relationship with the opposite sex as a kid and not have one of you in love with the other. It happens, I guess, but rarely." He snorted.

"What happened with the guy?" Jamie leaned in, more interested in the situation with Paula than her own.

"He got a little touchy-feely with her one night in the office and she whupped him with her purse and called security. The woman is mean. Really mean. At least that’s the story she told me." He made a funny face and shivered. "I'm glad to be out of that old life. She didn't scare me, of course, but she's just mean- spirited."

"I gathered that." Jamie chuckled. "I guess I just need to talk to Alex about Kristen. She seemed so sweet that I hate to be sitting over here wondering how I'm going to tell her to back off my man. Stopping by to thank him for something that he did years ago was odd enough, but taking him to lunch?"

"Yeah, but, you know, we're from a small town. People don't think about stuff like that. She just found him and happened to be in the city." He rolled his shoulders. "You have nothing to worry about. Seriously. She's as good as they come."

"That's part of what worries me." She took another bite of her burger as her phone buzzed.

"If that's Alex, tell him I said hi, unless he's going to get all hurt and shit again about us eating together. I guess he'd prefer that we eat alone."

“Stop it, silly.” She rolled her eyes and answered the phone. "Hey, baby. Where are you?"

"I'm at home. I thought I would order some pizza and come home to hang out with you and Mark. Where are you guys?"