Much More Than a Mistress (13 page)

His phone started to ring and he found himself hoping it was Jane, but it was Nathan.

“Hey, I need a favor,” Nathan said.

His first reaction was to automatically say no, because that was the way it had always been between him and Nathan. Nathan, no matter how many times Jordan had dissed him, continued to make an effort, and Jordan cut him off at every pass. But frankly, Jordan was a little
tired of that game. Yeah, Nathan's meddling had made his life less than ideal, but he thought he was helping Jordan. Maybe it was time he let the past go.

Really
let it go this time.

“What do you need?” he asked.

“Ana and I are supposed to go to a fundraiser tonight and our babysitter just called to say she has the flu. We called everyone else we could think of—”

“I'll watch Max,” he said.

There was a pause, then he said. “Jordan?”

“Yeah.”

“I was just making sure. For a second I thought I had the wrong number. I figured I would have to beg or bribe you or something.”

“I love seeing Max. It sounds like fun.” He was supposed to see Jane tonight, but there was no reason why she couldn't babysit with him. She could come by after Nathan and Ana left, and leave before they got home.

“You're sure?” Nathan asked.

“I'm sure.”

“Because I know you're not a much of a kid person.”

“What are you talking about? I love kids, and they love me.”

“When was the last time you changed a diaper?”

Never, but how hard could it be? “I'm sure I can figure it out. Besides, I'll have reinforcements.”

“Reinforcements?”

“I'm going to invite a friend to come by and help out.”

“You're bringing a
date
to babysit?” Nathan asked. “You're joking, right?”

“She's more than just a date. She's…special.”

“Special how?”

“I've been seeing this woman, and it's getting pretty
serious. And I think…” He laughed and shook his head. “I can hardly believe I'm about to say this out loud.”

“You think what?”

“I think I'm falling in love with her.”

For several seconds Nathan was silent, as if he was waiting for Jordan to yell
psyche!
, then he said, “Damn, you're serious.”

“It's weird, I know.”

“When did this happen? Is it someone I know?”

“We met a couple of months ago,” he said, in part so Nathan wouldn't suspect the woman in question was Jane, and because the idea that he could fall in love with a woman after a week—especially after he'd been so adamant that he would never fall in love—seemed far-fetched even to him.

“So, when do I get to meet her?”

“Soon, I think. Maybe she'll be here tonight when you get back,” he said, even though he knew she wouldn't. “So, what time do you need me there?”

“We have to be there at seven, so how about six-thirty. That will give Ana time to drill you and show you where everything is.”

“Sounds good. I'll be there at six-thirty.”

“See you then,” he said, and before he hung up added, “And thanks, Jordan.”

Jordan hung up the phone with a smile on his face. Next he dialed Jane's number. She didn't answer her home line, so he tried her cell. She answered on the first ring.

“I was just thinking about you,” she said, which made him smile again. “I'm at the market and I just passed the whipped cream. I was thinking maybe we need to have another picnic in bed.”

That sounded good to him, but the food play would have to wait until later.

“Slight change of plans tonight,” he said, and told her about agreeing to babysit. And his plan to get her in and out undetected.

“Are you sure that's a good idea?” she asked. “What if they come home early?”

“Then we'll sneak you out the back.”

“I don't know…”

“Jane, I want to see you tonight.” And the night after that, and the one after that.

“Okay, but whatever time they're supposed to be home, I'm leaving an hour early.”

“Fine, I'll give you the code for my front door and we can meet there after I'm done at Nathan's.”

“That would work,” she said, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. Being alone at his place would give her time to search for evidence, which he was sure she would have done this morning while he got ready for work, if he hadn't pulled her into the shower with him. But he had a few things he needed to take care of before he was ready to let her rifle through his personal files. Things that could be taken out of context if someone happened to stumble upon them.

He would stop home before he went to Nathan's and deal with that, then she would be free to investigate. He only hoped that she would find, or not find, what she was looking for soon, so they could start to have a normal relationship.

“I'll text you the address for Ana's condo,” he said. “Be there at seven.”

They hung up and Jordan forced himself to focus on work for the rest of the afternoon. He packed it in at five and went home to take care of his personal files. He gathered all the hard copies, then backed up the computer files onto a removable drive and locked it all in his office
safe. Then he deleted the questionable material from his hard drive, including any emails he may have exchanged that could be misinterpreted. The idea was to give the impression that there was nothing to find, not encourage her to dig deeper.

When he was finished, it was nearly time to leave. He gave his mom a quick call to check up on her, expecting the nurse to answer, more than a little surprised when it was his dad who picked up. At first he thought he'd hit the wrong number on speed dial, but it was definitely hers.

“I was just calling to check on Mom,” he said.

“She's having a really good day. She's napping now, but both the speech and physical therapists were here this morning and they say she's already making remarkable progress. She always was strong-willed.”

Sure, if strong-willed was code for selfish and cold-hearted. “Dad, what's going on? What are you even doing there?”

“I'm helping.”

“What happened to the baron she was so fond of?”

“I guess he showed his true colors. She needs a friend right now.”

“What did she ever do to earn your friendship? I know she seems different now, but there's no guarantee she's going to stay that way.”

“I'll be here for her as long as she needs me,” he said.

Jordan wondered how the future Mrs. Everette number five felt about that, but he didn't ask. He just hoped his dad knew what he was doing. He may have been a real bastard when Jordan was a kid, but he'd really made an effort to change, to be not only be a better father, but a better man. Jordan hoped it didn't come back to bite him in the ass.

J
ane hadn't been convinced that spending the evening at Nathan's place was wise, but she was glad that she'd put aside her doubts and come by. Not only was it a chance to spend time with Jordan—and get some alone time in his apartment later—watching him play with his nephew was probably one of the cutest things she'd ever seen.

Max was just under a year old with dark curly hair, big brown soulful eyes and a heart-melting dimpled grin. And he clearly adored his uncle Jordan. After a pizza dinner, which Max scarfed quite enthusiastically for someone with so few teeth, he and Jordan roughhoused on a blanket on the family room floor until eight when it was time for a diaper change and pajamas. But this time instead of wanting his uncle, he climbed into Jane's lap on the couch and snuggled up with his bottle.

“I guess he likes you,” Jordan said with a grin.

She had never been much into kids. She'd never babysat
as a teen, and neither of her brothers had started families yet, so she had zero experience with them. And that line she fed Jordan about being ready to start a family was only meant to scare him away. But when Max gazed up at her with his big brown eyes she found herself thinking,
I want one of these.

Halfway through the bottle his lids began to droop, and shortly after that he was out cold.

“Looks like he's ready for bed,” Jordan said, gathering his limp little body from Jane's arms and carrying him to his crib.

While she waited Jane spread a blanket out in front of the fireplace and sat down, gazing into the fire. She hadn't expected to have this much fun tonight, nor had she expected Jordan to be such a natural with his nephew. She couldn't help wondering if he had plans to start a family someday.

Playboy that he was, she seriously doubted it, and if he did, she doubted it would be any time soon.

“Have I mentioned how sexy you look tonight?” Jordan asked from behind her.

She looked up at him and smiled. “Only about ten times.”

He sat on the blanket beside her. “And I'll probably tell you ten more times.”

She couldn't deny that she did look pretty good. She had taken a trip to the mall today and splurged on some new clothes. She had updated her professional wardrobe, so why not her casual clothes too? She had always assumed that skinny jeans would only accentuate her lack of figure, but the sales girl had insisted she try a pair on. They looked so good that she'd bought herself three pairs. She'd also purchased two peasant-style blouses and an emerald cashmere sweater that she was wearing now.

She looked young and hip and absolutely nothing like the drab woman she'd been the week before. She only wished she'd given herself a makeover years ago. She wished she'd had the confidence.

“So, we've got a couple of hours before you have to leave,” he said. “What would you like to do now?”

“We could watch a movie.”

“Or we could play a game.”

“A board game?”

He grinned. “I was thinking more of a role playing game. Like, you're the teenage babysitter, and I'm your boyfriend, and you snuck me in.”

She stifled a smile. “Why would I do something like that? I could get in a lot of trouble. If we got caught, they would tell my parents, and I would get grounded.”

He grinned. “Because you find me completely charming and totally irresistible.” He leaned close and nibbled her neck. “Besides, the element of danger is what makes it so exciting.”

“Maybe I'm not that kind of girl.”

“Maybe…” he said, lying back against the blanket and pulling her down beside him “…we could just make out.”

It was tough to turn down an offer like that, especially when he was giving her that devilish grin. And God knows she did love kissing him.

“Just for a little while,” she said, “and only kissing.”

“Scout's honor,” he said, but either he wasn't a very loyal scout or he wasn't a scout at all, because he had a serious case of wandering hands. At least initially, he didn't try to reach beneath her clothes, and because it felt so nice she didn't stop him. And when he slipped his hand under her sweater she figured it was above the waist, so it was okay. But when he undid the button on her jeans she put her hand over his.

“Jordan, we really shouldn't be doing this here.”

“Trust me,” he murmured against her lips, and when he slid the zipper down she let him. He eased his hand inside, touching her on top of her panties. In no time he had her breathing hard and arching against his hand.

“Not such a good girl anymore, are we?” he said with a wicked smile. Then he slipped his fingers past the delicate fabric. She moaned and clawed her fingers though his hair, kissing him hard as pleasure rippled through her. When it got to be too much, she grabbed his wrist to stop him. “Enough.”

“Uh-uh. I want to do that again,” he said, but she wanted to make him feel good too. She got up on her knees and pushed him down on to his back, then she unfastened his jeans.

He grinned and said, “Maybe I'm not that kind of boy.”

Apparently he was though, because when she freed his erection from his boxers he didn't try to stop her, and when she leaned over and took him in her mouth he moaned and sank his fingers through her hair. He pushed his jeans down his hips to give her better access and within minutes she could feel him tensing. He had a special sensitive spot just below the family jewels, and when she touched him there he lost it.

“I think I like this game,” he said, grinning up at her.

Her too, but it was time they act like responsible babysitters and behaved themselves.

Nathan and his fiancée weren't due back for several hours, so they straightened themselves up, laid down together on the couch and switched on the television. But apparently there had been some sort of change of plans because less than half an hour later the door opened and Nathan and Ana walked in.

 

Jane sat at her desk Monday morning, one eye on her computer screen, the other on the phone. She wasn't sure why she was so worried, since technically she hadn't done anything wrong. Nathan knew that the investigation would necessitate her getting close to Jordan. Hell, hadn't he been the one to call her into his office and give her advice on how to keep Jordan
interested?
Well, he was, so she shouldn't feel guilty for doing exactly what Nathan had told her to. Right?

The problem was, when she and Jordan were putting on their coats that night, and Jordan's back was turned, Nathan had given her this
look.
She couldn't help feeling that in his eyes, she had done something immoral. Which technically she had, but as far as she could tell, he didn't know that she'd slept with Jordan. Unless Jordan had confided in him, not realizing that this information would be enough to get her fired on the spot. But Jordan didn't seem the type to kiss and tell.

The fact that Jordan had left for the refinery at least a half an hour ago, and Nathan hadn't summoned her to his office was a good sign, right?

Someone walked into the office and she looked up from her screen to find the Mr. Everette in question looming over her, looking none too happy.

Oh hell.

“Is he here?”

She shook her head, hoping he came to talk to his brother and not her. “He'll be at the refinery most of the day.”

“In his office,” Nathan said, jerking his head in that direction. “Now.”

Oh, this was not good. She got up and walked into
Jordan's office and Nathan followed her in, closing the door behind them.

“This has got to end,” he said. “You need to get the information you came here for and get out before this thing you have going with my brother goes any further.”

Okay, so he clearly knew something was going on, and he believed that if it wasn't sexual, it would be soon.

“I know how that probably looked the other night, but as I told you before, the investigation would necessitate a certain level of intima—”

“He's falling in love with you.”

She blinked. “What? No, he's not…that's ridiculous. Jordan doesn't do love. He doesn't even get tied down.”

“Apparently he does now.”

She shook her head. “No, that's not possible. You've got it all wrong. It probably just looks—”

“Jane, he
told
me.”

No way. “He actually told you that he's in love with
me?
”

“He told me that he's been seeing a woman, and that he's falling in love with her, and he was going to have her come over while he babysat. So unless there was some other woman with you guys at my place, he had to be talking about you.”

Suddenly her heart was beating so fast she could hardly breathe. Could it be possible that Jordan really did love her?

“You're sleeping with him,” Nathan said.

Jane bit her lip. She could deny it, but hadn't she lied enough? And when he learned the truth, wouldn't it just make things worse?

He sighed and shook his head. “Look, I know how persuasive my brother can be, but seriously, I thought you
would have the professional ethics, not to mention the good sense, to know when to draw the line.”

He was right. There was no excusing her behavior. But in her own defense, never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that Jordan would fall for her. And the fact that she was falling for him too was beside the point, because the minute he found out that she'd been lying to him all this time, that would be the end of it. She knew that for a fact because if the tables were turned, she didn't think she could ever forgive that kind of deception. “I take full responsibility for my actions,” she said.

“I could have you fired for this,” he said.

Yes, he could, and she would deserve it. But she was so close to wrapping up this investigation. “I have access to his home office. To his files and his computer. I just need a little more time.”

“Find what you need and end this thing.”

“I will.” Phew, that was a close one.

He pulled the door open and started to leave. “Nathan, wait.”

Hand on the knob, he turned back to her.

“For what it's worth, I really care about Jordan. I could love him.” Could? Hell, who was she kidding? She already did.

“But?”

“But I know that once he learns the truth…” She shrugged, not even sure why she was telling Nathan this. “It's going to be over. He would never be able to trust me again.”

“For good reason,” Nathan said, twisting the knife a little deeper. But she deserved it.

Nathan left and Jane tried to concentrate on work, but her mind kept wandering. Nathan was right. She needed to get this investigation wrapped up. The twenty minutes
she'd spent in his home office after he'd gone to sleep Saturday night, and while he was in the shower Sunday morning, hadn't been close to adequate. There were just too many papers to go through, and she needed more time to copy the files off his hard drive, even though she was convinced she wouldn't find anything. She knew Jordan hadn't done anything wrong.

Her cell phone rang and though she half expected it to be Jordan, it was her sister, Mary.

“We need to talk,” she said. “Are you busy tonight?”

“Actually, I am.” She was meeting Jordan at his place after work for another “picnic” in bed.

“This really can't wait,” she said, sounding almost desperate. And Mary didn't do desperate.

“We could meet for a drink at twelve-thirty,” Jane said.

“That'll work.”

They agreed on a place, and when Jane arrived her sister was already there, nursing an apple martini.

She stood and hugged Jane when she reached the table, which in itself was sort of weird, but when she said, “Oh my gosh, you look fantastic!” Jane knew something was up.

She took off her coat and sat down. “Okay, what do you want?”

Mary feigned an innocent look. “What do you mean?”

“The only time you're nice to me is when you want something from me.”

“That's not true.”

Jane glared at her.

“Okay, maybe it is a
little
true.”

The waiter stopped by the table and Jane ordered a Manhattan. When he was gone she pulled Mary's business card from her purse where she'd stuffed it Friday night. “You can have this back.”

Mary actually blushed as she took it. “I take it you guys aren't just
friends.
”

“It doesn't matter. It was a rotten thing to do.”

She stuck the card in her purse. “You're right. I just thought…” she shrugged. “I don't know what I thought. But his name sounded really familiar, so I looked him up on Google.”

Uh oh.

“COO of an oil company, huh? The guy is a
billionaire.
How'd you swing that one?”

She folded her arms. “Because clearly a man like him would never go for a dog like me.”

Mary blinked. “That isn't what I meant. I've always thought you were pretty, you just never seemed to try very hard to look…nicer.”

Years of resentment suddenly welled up and threatened to choke her. “Maybe because every time I tried, I was shut down. Everyone made me believe I was destined to be Plain Jane forever.”

Mary looked genuinely confused. “When did anyone ever do that?”

“It was constant. Like when I tried your makeup and you laughed at me.”

“Of course I laughed at you. You looked like a cheap hooker.”

“Did you ever think to show me the right way to do it?”

“Why? So you could be smarter
and
prettier than me?”

Jane drew back in her chair, feeling as if she'd been slapped.
“What?”

“You don't like the way you've been treated, Jane? Well, boo hoo. Do you have any clue how hard I've had to work to keep up with you? How many times I had to listen to Mom and Dad bragging about your vast accomplishments to people. And ‘Mary, oh, she's the
pretty
one,' like I was some idiot they kept around because they felt sorry for me.”