"I bet." Jamie took another drink of her coffee. "Are you enjoying the firm now that you're a little more settled in?"
"Yeah, it's great. It's a little too big for my liking, but I figure I'll hang out for another year or so, and then maybe look at starting something myself. A small accounting firm or something. Alex and I spoke a little about it the other day, but I'm going to bring it up again soon. I need to get him to teach me to play golf better. He's damn good at it, but it's a rich man's game. It's no wonder, right?" He smirked.
"Why do you need to be good at golf?" Jamie moved back as the food was delivered. "Wow, that was fast."
"If I want to impress rich people, I gotta act like them. A lot of deals are done on the golf course. Come on, you
know this." He picked up his fork. "Why don't you get him to teach you, and then you teach me? I'd rather hang out with you than him any day."
"And my answer would be no for that reason alone. You guys need to work on your relationship. Golf sounds like a great way to do it." She shrugged and started to cut up the pancakes.
"You and your sister should go shopping more often together." He lifted his eyebrow as she glanced up.
"Right. Point taken. I'll get him to teach me golf." They shared a laugh and kept the conversation light for the rest of the meal. Mark might be Alex's brother, but he was quickly becoming Jamie's best friend.
Chapter 7
Jamie couldn't help but notice the way Mark's shoulders stiffened as she followed him out of the elevator. The source of his discomfort came into view as Jamie moved up beside him and noticed Paul and Kristen laughing at the front desk. Some part of her wanted to snap and remind them that it was working hours, and they should get their asses in gear, but it wasn't her place. She'd talk to Alex about it, probably out of the need to protect Mark more than anything, but either way... flirting half the day away wasn't going to fly.
"See?" Mark glanced over at her. "I'm ready to pull out all the stops to get her attention back on me, but, honestly, I don't want her attention."
"You just don't want Paul to have it." She stopped by her office and glanced in to see Alex sitting at her desk. He was reclined back a little, his hands over his stomach as he watched her intently.
"Exactly. Tell me I'm not losing it." Mark was positioned just outside of her office, not able to see Alex.
"You're not, but get your head on straight. If you don't want her attention, then there’s no reason to dive head-first into the drama of trying to win her over. Get to work and we'll talk later." She waited for him to nod and walk down the hall before walking into her office and trying to get a read on the handsome guy who'd stolen her thoughts.
"Good morning, beautiful." He stood up and walked toward her, pulling her into a tight hug and leaning down to place kisses from her lips down to her neck. "You smell good. Like syrup and lust."
She laughed and wrapped her arms around him. "You always smell good. What's got you in a good mood?"
"Actually, I'm not in a good mood at all. I was so stressed an hour ago that I started to have chest pains." He moved back and walked to the window, glancing out. "I hate all this attention from the press. It gets on my damn nerves. I wasn't kidding the other day when I said that I wasn't interested in being in the spotlight. I want to run my company, love my girl, and live my life. This constant bombardment of shit in the news gets old."
"I know." She moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around him again, pressing her cheek to his strong back. "I missed you last night. I kept hoping you would come home to me."
"I did come home, but I made the mistake of sitting on the couch for a few minutes to pet Jake. I was out before I knew that hit me. Next thing I know, my alarm’s going off. I got about three hours of sleep, which is probably draining me too." He pressed his hands to his face and let out a long yawn as Jamie moved around to his front and touched the side of his face.
"You can't keep pushing yourself like this. Let me know what I can do to help, Alex." She brushed her thumb over his lip, loving the way he looked in person so much more than the superficial sex god on the magazine. The worry lines by the sides of his eyes and soft curve of his lip made him more real, authentic, and attractive than a guy with a paintbrush ever could.
"I'll pull some of the stuff off my list today and hand it over to you. I'll take you up on the offer for some help." He ran his hands over her hips and smiled. "Come in my office when you have a few minutes. I want some time with you before this day takes off."
"Time with me?" She lifted her eyebrow, liking the sound of his offer far more than she should.
"Always." He kissed her nose and disappeared into his office through their connected door.
A warm shiver ran through her, and she stifled a groan. The thought of having him to herself was delicious, and teased every part of her. She thought about checking her e-mail or voice mails and then heading into his office, but something would steal him away if she didn't grab him up first. It always did.
After opening her door, she walked through their shared door and locked it behind her. "Tell Kristen to hold your calls for the next thirty minutes or so. Yeah?"
"Yeah." He got up and walked to the door, calling out to Kristen before turning and locking his door. "Paul's been up there a lot lately. Is it just me, or is something going on? I thought Kristen was seeing my brother."
Confusion swam across his handsome face as he moved toward her.
She reached up and tugged on his tie. "Go sit in your chair. We'll talk about office issues later."
"Yes, ma'am." He watched her for a few more minutes before growling softly and turning to walk toward his desk.
Jamie waited until he was sitting down to walk toward him, keeping her posture relaxed, but holding her chin up just a little. His eyes widened as she licked at her top lip seductively. The fact that she could turn on a man like him was addictive, and helped to reinforce that he might be the Alex Reid, but underneath the money he was a hot-blooded guy who enjoyed a long night with a good woman.