"Hell no, it didn't! I don't know what came over me." He growled and ran his hands through his hair. " Paul and I have been working on this project for a few days now, but it's just not coming together. I've done my part, and instead of finishing up his part, his ass is up front, dicking around with Kristen. It's getting old."
"And this has nothing to do with the—"
"Yes," he barked. "It has everything to do with it."
"Okay. Well, calm down and we'll figure it out." She walked toward him as he grabbed his keys.
"I need some air. I'm going to walk around outside for a bit.”
“Alex tell you to cool down?”
He moved past her and paused at the door. "Yeah. You wanna come?"
She glanced at her office. She had a million things to do. What would Alex want her to do? Not as a boyfriend but as a boss? “Let me grab my coat and I'll meet you at the front."
"I’ll be outside. I'm not hanging out in the lobby and watching that shit anymore." He walked out and left her standing there. It was the first time she'd seen Mark put any real emotion on display other than sadness.
"Wow." She walked to the front and stopped by Kristen's desk. "If Alex asks where I am, I've gone to lunch with his brother. Okay?"
"You bet. I'll put these resumes on your desk too." She nodded and got up to walk down the hall. The chalkiness of her skin left Jamie's heart aching for the situation between her, Mark, and Paul. All of them were good people, and yet they were getting wound up in something that would wreck them all if they weren't careful.
She got downstairs to find Mark pacing back and forth in front of the building.
"You ready?" She touched his shoulder as he jerked around.
"Yeah. I'm sorry." He glanced up at the tall building or Alex’s office. "I swear I'm turning into my father."
"It's alright. We all have a breaking point. You just found yours." She walked out onto the busy sidewalk with him, wishing she could talk with Alex for a minute or two. Paul was a great guy too. She prayed like hell that Alex wasn’t lighting into him too badly.
Mark stopped in front of the entrance to the city mall and slid his hands into his pockets. "You know what? I’m think I’m calling in today for a personal day. I'm not in the mood for company and I’ll be useless to work now. Are you going to be pissed if I just head home? I need to go for a run or something."
"No, not at all." She turned to face him and tried to ignore the multitudes of people trying to move past them.
"Thanks. I just need some time to myself." The look on his face broke her heart.
"No problem. I'm going to shop around during my lunch break. You go ahead, but call me later tonight and let me know you're okay."
"I will, and tell Alex not to be too rough on Paul. He's a great guy. Things just got out of control, which is probably my fault." He shrugged, and walked away before she could get a chance to reply.
It was a tough situation and everyone involved deserved a free pass on their part in it. She would talk to Alex later, but for the next little bit she planned on finding something sexy to wear for him. She'd force him to go out of town with her sooner or later. Teasing him with a lacy and rather translucent nightie might just help the cause.
Maybe it was a good thing that Mark needed some time to himself. She did too.
Chapter 8
Alex didn’t make it home that night but it was getting to be the norm, and after the craziness of the day, she didn’t blame him. Jamie fell asleep on the couch, watching reruns with Jake tucked against her chest. He’d sent her a text somewhere around midnight to say he needed to find additional help at the firm or talk about Mark taking a bigger position at the company. Something had to give. She didn’t argue. Where she wasn't overly concerned with Alex spending time with anyone other than her, the fact remained that he was only human. He was going to run himself completely into the ground if he wasn't careful.
She spent the early morning hours thinking about his business and toll it was taking on him. He’d made his millions, and his billions. What more did he need? It was fair to want to continue to have a successful company, but if he didn’t slow down he wasn’t going to be able to enjoy it.
He’d mentioned yesterday that he was having chest pains, and it worried her. Hopefully it was indigestion, but anxiety could cause it as well.
She tried to think through how she was going to talk him into stepping back or even down a little. It seemed like climbing a mountain backwards in the snow would be easier. She chuckled at the thought.
Jake jumped around her feet as she worked to get him a bowl of food before heading into the office. The paper was just outside the front door, and whereas she would usually ignore it, the picture on the front caught her attention.
Billionaire's fiancée playing the field?
"What the hell?" She knelt down and picked it up as nausea raced through the center of her chest. A picture of her and Mark at the park having what looked like a lover’s rendezvous was front page news. "No fucking way."