His Hired Mistress: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (8 page)

Chapter6

“I should have known,“ Stephanie said from the end of the hall.

Jaime’s chest heaved as she stood on the opposite end of the hallway. Her hands shook and she felt like she could throw up at any moment. She was a woman who was groomed to deal with terrible situations, but in this one, she was clueless. Standing next to a shocked Nathan didn’t help.

So many emotions surged through Jamie. How was she supposed to explain why she was kissing another woman’s husband in her own house? If Stephanie pulled out a gun and shot them both, they would possibly deserve it. Everything seemed like a terrible idea now. Her affair with Nathan was stupid, so stupid. Why would she get involved with someone that was married?

Shit!
she thought to herself.

Stephanie stood at the end of the hallway looking like a first wife Barbie. Her blonde hair was bone straight and fell around her like a halo. She wore an expensive but simple white dress. Her exaggerated, curvaceous frame was enough to intimidate a slender woman such as Jamie.

Jamie looked at Nathan for help. He looked just as clueless as she did. It was his wife! He was the one that should have fixed the situation. The gorgeous, six-foot-tall man with an immaculately-maintained beard looked like a complete idiot. He combed his hand through his wavy black hair and sighed.

“Since it’s clear that neither of you idiots are going to say anything, let me help you out,“ Stephanie said. Her voice was amazingly calm and the look of shock that Jaime expected to be on her face was non-existent. In fact, the expression looked to be more annoyed. Stephanie looked at her husband, “You lied, yet again.“

Nathan frowned, “I’m sorry that you had to see this, but you know—“

“I know what?“ Stephanie yelled. “That my husband is a lying cheating sack of shit that would actually put the moves on someone in the house that we share?“

“No, you know how things have been between you and me,“ Nathan said. “We haven’t been happy with each other for a very long time.“

“So this is what you do? This is how you handle conflict in our marriage? You sleep with the help?“

Jamie trembled. Did that bitch just refer to her as “the help”? She was far from being considered the help. She was a top public relations expert and they needed her. Her services were sought after and she built a fortune and a brand worth millions. However, it was difficult to be self-righteous with a woman after you got caught kissing her husband. So, Jamie opted to remain quiet in the midst of the arguing.

“Steph, we can talk about this later,“ Nathan said.

“No, we’re going to talk about it right now. This seems like the perfect time to me,“ Stephanie said with a light-hearted shrug.

“I’m just going to excuse myself,“ Jamie said with her head held high. She couldn’t let Stephanie see her sweat. Stephanie was a shark and would be all over her if she smelled blood.

“Oh, so that’s all you have to say?“ Stephanie chuckled. “Typical.“

Jamie walked towards her, her stomach clenched as she passed her on the staircase. She couldn’t help but envision Stephanie pushing her down the long staircase. She could feel Stephanie’s eyes on her. When Jamie finally cleared the staircase, she was able to breathe bit easier and made her way straight to the double doors.

“By the way, you’re fired!“ Stephanie shouted.

Yeah, Jamie figured that.

Jamie walked to the black escalade that waited for her. Her driver Perry got out of the car and opened the back door for her. He looked at her with concern. He’d been her driver for quite some time so he knew when there was something wrong with his usually confident boss. However, he also knew when it was best to be quiet.

She crawled inside, sat in the plush leather black seat, and cried. Had that really just happened? She was about to sacrifice and tarnish everything that she’d built just to sleep with a married man. How did she ever think that it was going to work? She wasn’t any better than the clients that she represented. What if word got around that she was sleeping with Nathan Sparks? Then she would have to hire her own team to cover her ass.

When she arrived to her loft, she just wanted to sink into bed and forget that the day ever happened. She could do that right? Just pretend as if Nathan didn’t exist and pretend like Stephanie didn’t look at her as if she were complete filth? She put her keys on the hook by the door and walked to her bedroom. She stripped off her clothes and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

“What are you doing?“ she said to herself. “Why would you do that?“

She was beautiful; many desired her smooth, dark cocoa skin on with a slender frame. Her slender nose and full lips gave her a touch of the exotic. She could have been a model if she had a different personality type. The truth was, she couldn’t deal with anyone critiquing her body, she did that enough herself. Furthermore, her grandfather taught her to use her brain and not her frame to get what she wanted. She was smart and always had been.

So why would she sleep with a married man who also was a client? Because he was downright sexy and sultry, that’s why. She’d bought everything he sold her, hook, line and sinker.

“It’s okay, you can fix it,“ Jamie said to herself before she crawled into her huge bed. Sleep didn’t come easily for her, she tossed and turned but eventually it overtook her.

***

That evening, Jamie sat on her huge, expensive, brown leather sofa and ate ice cream while watching Love Jones. See, that’s what love was about. It was about finding your soul mate and letting fate do the rest. It wasn’t about sleeping with married men.

She did everything she could to ignore all calls and enjoy the evening as best she could. In the state that she was in, she wouldn’t be able to help anyone. Tonight, she would mope and tomorrow she would be back to her usual self. All she needed was some time to herself.

Why couldn’t she find someone like Larenz Tate but at least five inches taller? She would love to find a poet, a man who felt everything and knew how to express himself through words; a man that took her to poetry clubs, that sexed her down in the middle of day, and that brought her a CD with her favorite tunes on it. She sighed; he was so awesome. Well, he was awesome minus the needy and narcissistic part. Hell, he could hardly take a photographer’s work schedule; he would absolutely hate hers. Her imaginary bubble was popped before it got a chance to truly take flight. Fantasy and reality were two very different things.

An hour later, the doorbell startled her. It was such a shrill noise; she hated it. It was loud and obnoxious. Who in the hell would be at her door without calling first? Jamie wasn’t the kind of woman that enjoyed surprise visits. There was a reason that phones existed. She loved her personal space. She padded her way down the hall and looked out of the peephole. Her breathing hitched in her chest when she saw that it was Nathan. He wore a T-Shirt and jeans. He looked so good in them even though the clothes looked a little out of place on him. He wore a pained and weary expression on his face.

What the hell did he want? Was he coming to tell her that they couldn’t see each other anymore? If he was, then there was no need for him to stop by. She knew that already. Furthermore, hearing it from his own lips would break her heart. They didn’t need to have a final showdown and she definitely didn’t need closure. She didn’t feel the need to have closure on a chapter that should have never been written in the first place.

Then there was a knock on her door. She stared at him more and then stepped back when he looked directly at her. It was as if he knew that she were looking at him through the peephole.

Jamie opened the door, “Yes?“

“I’m sorry to show up at your house like this, but I really need to talk to you. Can I come in?“

Against her better judgement, she opened the door wider and took a few steps back. He coolly and casually walked into her house and took a seat on her couch. Jamie inhaled deeply and closed the door. Before she turned around, she slowly released the deep breath that she held. She’d read that the body couldn’t feel anxious during deep breathing exercises. Whoever said that was a liar because her brain was going a mile a minute. It was annoying as hell and she just wanted the entire ordeal to be over.

She walked over to where he sat, instead of sitting next to him on the couch, she chose a chair on the side. They sat in silence for a few awkward moments. Jamie’s eyes darted over her loft. She thought about how she needed to clean her counters. The maid wasn’t due to come back for another two days and her kitchen looked a mess. She would have to get better at housekeeping herself. Her grandfather would be ashamed if he saw the state of her place. Her grandpa was a very clean man and he took care of everything that he had no matter how much or how little it cost.

“Okay,“ Nathan said breaking into the silence, “I came here to talk so I may as well begin. I’m so sorry for what happened earlier today. I should have taken a cue from you and not push things in my own home. I promise that it will never happen again. I put you in a terrible situation and I can’t apologize enough for that.“

Wait, so he still wants to continue?
Jamie thought. She was honored and disgusted at the same time.

“I’ve spoken to Stephanie about it and we’re resolving everything. The commotion has died down a bit and she just needs some time to process,“ Nathan continued.

Jamie shook her head, “You have to be insane if you think that I’m going to continue this with you. You don’t have to apologize to me. I’m an adult woman who made the decision to sleep with a married man. For that, I’m truly sorry. What happened today was the result of bad choices and I got terribly embarrassed for it. What we had was fun and special but it’s not an experience that I have the right to have. I didn’t have the right to have fun and special moments with you. You’re married and it’s not to me.“ There, she’d finally said it out loud. It was the words that she’d been thinking since earlier during the day. The truth hurt, but it was therapeutic.

“Oh no, don’t beat yourself up over this. We can fix it,“ Nathan said quickly.

The desperation on his face hurt her heart. He looked like he was in physical pain. Jamie fought the overwhelming need to sit next to him and comfort him. He was an adult man. The same way she made decisions and had to live with them, he would have to as well. She couldn’t take on his guilt as well as her own. She also couldn’t continue on the path that she was on just because they wanted each other.

She shook her head, “No. We have to end this now. I will send you all the details on your competitors that I have. I’ll also send over the plan that I’ve drawn up for your next few ventures. Take it and give it to whomever you hire next. I have two suggestions for people that will do very well with you. I think that you’ll be pleased.“

“But I don’t want to work with anyone else. You’re the best,“ Nathan said. “That’s why I hired you. There is no one better in the field.“

“That’s true, but I’m giving you the plan. The people that I refer you to will be able to take my plan and run with it. It will work out.“

“I can convince Stephanie to rehire you. That won’t be a problem. She knows that you’re the best as well and she spoke out of anger,“ Nathan explained.

Jamie scoffed, “What kind of world do you live in? You think that I can work side-by-side with her now? You think that she’ll want me around? Hell, I don’t want to be around her anymore. I want to forget about all of this. I want to tear this chapter out of my life and burn it!“

“You’re just saying that because you’re hurt. All of this is really fresh for you. Can you take some time to think about it before you make a decision?“ he pleaded.

Jamie closed her eyes and tried to breathe steadily. She couldn’t be sucked back into his orbit. No matter how handsome and amazing he was. If they’d met at another time, maybe it would have worked out but it wasn’t in the cards for them this time around.

“I’ve already thought about it,” she explained, “My decision is final. Please don’t ask me to change my mind. This is difficult enough.“

He rested his head in his hands, “Please don’t tell me it’s over. I can’t remember the last time that I’ve been this happy. Knowing that I get to spend time with you and be with you gets me through my week. It gets me through, Jamie. You can’t tell me that you don’t feel the same way. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I never thought that these kind of feelings existed.“

Hearing the words that were in her heart articulated from him made her rise to her feet, “No. All of that would be a very bad idea. Life is just too complicated to live it this way. You have a wife and I’m single. So you will continue to be married and I’ll try to find what we have with someone that’s actually available. I want to be with someone that I can be with in public. I’ve done things that I swore I would never do. I’m done. I’m sorry that things have to end this way, but I’m not sorry that they’re ending.“ She walked to her front door and opened it for him, “I think it’s best that you leave.“

His eyes bored into her for a few moments. Jamie tore her gaze from his and looked straight ahead at the painting on the exposed brick walls. If she stood there long enough with the door open, he would get the idea. He couldn’t stay at her place forever. After what felt like an eternity, Nathan stood to his feet and walked past her and out of the door. As he passed she got a whiff of his cologne and could feel his body heat. The things that he did her internally without trying were insane. She could have pulled him to bed with her then but she needed to show some restraint. She wasn’t a wild animal with no self-control. He was just a man, and she could find plenty more where he came from, right?