The elevator whisked her down twelve floors and out into the grand lobby, which was adorned with marble floors. Its glass walls showcased the lush outdoor gardens at the front of the property and the beach and ocean at the rear. The lobby also had numerous water features that were both soothing and appealing to the eye.
Jade headed out the rear sliding doors of the property, passing the numerous swimming pools, hot tubs, cabanas, chairs, and hammocks on her way to the beach. Slipping out of her sandals, she picked them up and plunged into the soft sand. She found her surroundings soothing: the waves crashing, the bright sun, and the lack of people as she left the resort behind.
She was definitely upset about the accusations and quitting her job, but she was equally upset that she no longer had a chance of getting an interview with Joshua Jewel. Her site got plenty of traffic and she made great money on the advertising, but an icon like Joshua Jewel would be a slam dunk for her, a huge story for her site. He was the acting head of Jewel Enterprises, the oldest of seven, and somehow he had avoided media capturing a good angle of his face for over ten years. The rest of his siblings weren’t so averse to media, and they were all beautiful people with different physical characteristics, but every one of them had the same bright blue eye color. Jade assumed that if she ever met Joshua in person, she’d be able to recognize him because of his family and some old photos a college girlfriend had posted online. There’d have to be a resemblance, right? Not that it mattered to her now. Now she needed to find Joshua Jewel so she could clear her name.Ifhe would even believe her over his CEO, Curtis Slade.
Jade made it to the north end of this stretch of beach. She slowed down when she noticed a weird statue monument ahead of her, blocking her view of the bridge beyond. The concierge had recommended that when she did her morning runs, she should stay on the beach for safety reasons. She turned around and stormed the other direction. It was half a mile each way. She hit the rocky outcropping on the south end and turned around again. Back and forth, back and forth she walked, paying no attention to the people lounging in beach chairs close to the main part of the resort. She was too preoccupied with shedding the anger at Curtis and these crazy accusations.
“You okay?” a deep male voice asked from her right.
Jade jumped and spun to face him. “Holy heck! Can’t you tell I’m in deep meditation?”
The man grinned, and she found herself distracted by his wide grin, his white teeth, and the dimple that appeared in his cheek, visible even through his short, dark beard. She wished she could see past his sunglasses and the hat pulled down low to shade his face. “Sorry for interrupting,” he said. “You’ve stomped along the beach in the hot sun so many times these past couple of hours, I worried you might be in severe dehydration and need me to buy you a drink.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Is that a pickup line?”
“Do you want it to be?”
She realized that she did. His jawline was strong, his lips beautiful, and his body well built. She was definitely attracted to him, but of course it couldn’t be that easy with her. She had never been the trusting type, and she had a lot on her mind right now. She shook her head and gave him a challenging smirk. “I don’t share drinks unless I can see a man’s eyes.”
He smiled. “Well, that’s a disappointment.” Turning away, he glanced over his shoulder at her. “If you change your mind, I’ll be right there,” he said, pointing to a cabana with a couple of beach chairs and a small table with a laptop sitting on it. He walked away without another word.
Jade gaped after him. From what she could tell, he was handsome, fit, and probably successful if he could afford to stay at this place and work on his laptop on the beach, but men didn’t just walk away from her. Men were drawn to her long, dark hair, her green eyes, her smooth skin, her fit body, and—most importantly—her smile and sassy attitude. She was smart, funny, and beautiful, and men instinctively knew that. They didn’t just … walk away from her.
“Excuse me?” she called after him, sinking in the soft sand as she pushed through to his little private cabana.
He turned around and faced her, a smile playing at his lips. “Excuse you?”
Her fight with Curtis earlier had put her on edge. Actually, “on edge” might not be strong enough: she was worried about being framed and ticked that she’d quit her job, and all of it combined to a royal pain in her keister. She was grumpy, and this guy didn’t even have the gumption to fight for a chance to buy her a drink. “Who do you think you are?” she demanded, really wanting to know. There was an off-chance that he wasn’t showing his face because he was a celebrity. She’d heard that this resort was ripe with celebrities; the Jewel family all stayed here regularly. This could be a score for her blog, but she didn’t really care too much about that at the moment.
He put a hand to his chest, and his lips tightened. “Jesse. And you?”
“Jade,” she said shortly. “But that’s not what I meant. You think you’re so high and mighty you can’t even take off your sunglasses or hat?”
He smiled insincerely. “Maybe it’s just really bright out here and I have sensitive eyes.”
She snorted, grabbed his hand, and tugged him over to the shade of the cabana. When they were out of the sun, she didn’t let go of his hand. He was staring at her as if she were psychotic. She felt a little bit off—maybe from the heat, maybe from the turbulent day she’d had, maybe from all the pacing on the beach without any water, or maybe from the way his hand felt clasped against hers. His hand was the perfect size to make her feel delicate and protected. Even though she was already warm, his touch flooded her with glowing warmth that felt like a Christmastime she’d never known in a home without parental love. His hand against hers projected allusions of safety and finding the spot she’d never known she wanted to find.
No. She was probably just searching for safety, as she was in such a mess at the moment.
Releasing his hand, she sank into the most comfortable beach chair she’d ever sat in and murmured, “On second thought, I might need that drink. Water with a lemon, please.”
He stared down at her. Well, she still couldn’t see his eyes, but his head was tilted down toward her as if he were watching her. “Of course.” He lifted a hand, and a second later, a waiter was there.
“Yes, what can I get you Mr. J—”
He cut the man off. “A water with lemon for the lady, and a water bottle and virgin pina colada for me.” He tilted his head toward Jade. “Would you like a daquiri or something as well?”
He didn’t drink alcohol. She liked that, a lot. “A virgin Miami Vice, please,” she said.
“Thank you,” Jesse said to the waiter.
Jesse. Why didn’t the name fit him?
He sank down on the chair next to hers, his head inclined toward her. Jade sat up quickly and flipped her legs around, brushing her knee against his. She startled and pulled back slightly. It felt heavenly just to touch him.
“Jesse?” she asked.
“That’s me.”