Much More Than a Mistress (7 page)

Please don't let him see me,
she begged silently, willing herself to be invisible.

“Jane?” Jordan said, his brow furrowed with concern. “Are you okay?”

The man passed by the table, glancing briefly at her, and she held her breath…then he did a double take and stopped in his tracks.

Her heart plummeted into the pit of her stomach.

“
Jane?
Is that you?”

J
ane cursed silently, but pasted on what she hoped was a pleasant, yet slightly disinterested smile. “Oh, hello, Drake.”

Her ex looked her up and down and laughed. “Oh my God, I hardly recognized you. You look…
Wow.
What happened to you?”

What he meant was, what happened to drab, Plain Jane at whom men never cast a second glance? Well, Drake wasn't exactly God's gift to women. He wasn't particularly tall, or well built, or even all that good-looking, and the hairline that had begun to recede in his early twenties was now a full-fledged bald spot.

She ignored his question and instead asked, “How have you been?”

“Great! I don't know if you heard, but Megan and I are engaged. We set a date for this spring.”

“Oh, congratulations,” she said, digging her acrylic nails into the meat of her palms. She knew she was better
off without him, but the news still stung. She had been with him for five years, two of those living together, but they had never once talked marriage.

After only nine months with Megan they were already
engaged?

Drake had always complained that Jane didn't love him enough, and that she put her career before him, and it was probably true. He was her first serious boyfriend, and she had just assumed that he was the best she was ever likely to do, which in hindsight wasn't fair to him or her. He needed someone who worshipped the ground he walked on. Someone he could lord over and take care of. A woman who didn't threaten his massive ego. Megan, who wasn't exactly blessed in the brains department, was the perfect mate for him.

Still, it had been humiliating to be dumped for a woman with the IQ of a pencil sharpener.

Drake shook his head and laughed. “I just can't get over this. I mean, look at you!”

He glanced over at Jordan, who was watching the exchange with a mildly amused expression. “I'm sorry, you must be Jane's…?”

“Jordan Everette,” he said, accepting Drake's outstretched hand.

“Drake Cunningham,” Drake said. “I'm with Cruz, Whitford and Taylor. Junior partner.”

Jordan clearly felt no need to validate his own ego by stating his occupation or position. He only nodded politely.

“I went to school with Jane,” Drake said and Jane cringed inwardly.
Please don't say it
—“U of T Law.”

Jordan flicked a look of surprise her way. “Is that so?”

She cursed silently. Now there were going to be questions, like why a law graduate would settle for a job as a secretarial temp.
Thanks a bunch, Drake.

Drake turned back to Jane. “I heard you left the family practice, but there was no word as to who picked you up.”

And thank God for that. He could have just completely blown her cover. If he hadn't already. “Actually, I've been taking a break from law,” she said, and left it at that. She didn't owe him an explanation anyway.

Drake nodded somberly. “I totally get it. The law is cutthroat. Some people just can't take the pressure.”

She gnashed her teeth and resisted the urge to kick him in the shin. It had always chapped his ass that Jane had a higher GPA, and graduated with higher honors.

He had to be loving this.

“Well,” he said, glancing at his watch, “I have a meeting. But it was good to see you again. And I guess I'll be seeing you at the reunion.”

“Reunion?” Jordan asked.

“Once a year a group of us from our law school graduating class get together and have a party,” Drake told him.

Jane suddenly felt sick to her stomach. “I didn't see your name on the RSVP list.” It was the only reason she had signed up to attend.

“I was supposed to be abroad but I rearranged my schedule.” His face softened and he touched her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Hey, if it's still too hard for you—”

“Of course not,” she said, resisting the urge to bat his hand away. Feeling him touch her turned her stomach, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of thinking she cared one way or the other.

“Great, then I guess we'll see you there.”

We.
Of course it was too much to hope that he wouldn't be bringing his fiancée.

Giving her shoulder a condescending pat, he walked away, and she grabbed her champagne glass and downed it in one swallow.

“Please tell me you didn't date that guy,” Jordan said.

“Um…”

His brow lifted. “
Seriously?
Not only is he an arrogant jerk, but in the looks department you are
way
out of his league.”

That was the first time anyone had accused her of that. “We were together for five years.”

He looked so disappointed in her. “At least you came to your senses.”

“Actually, he dumped me for Megan. About nine months ago.”

“Tell me you're over him. Because you can do better, trust me.”

“Of course I'm over him. He was never the love of my life. I'm just…I guess I'm still a little…bitter. And betrayed, since I'm the one who introduced him to Megan.”

“She's a lawyer?”

“A dog groomer.”

His brow popped up again.

“We owned a bichon frise and we took him to her for grooming. When Drake dumped me, my new apartment wouldn't allow pets, so she got my boyfriend
and
my dog.”

“With the exception of the dog, I'd say you got the better end of the deal.”

He was right of course. She never would have been happy married to Drake, even if he had asked. Her family thought he was the perfect man for her, which in retrospect should have been her first clue that the relationship would end in disaster. She should have taken it as a sign to run screaming in the opposite direction.

“So, you're a law graduate,” Jordan said.

There was no denying it now. “My parents and my siblings, they're all lawyers, so it was just assumed I would be too.”

“Let me guess, they're not too thrilled that you've abandoned the law.”

“Actually, they don't know that I have. I lied and told them I've been working in the corporate law department of Andersen Technologies, a small corporation in El Paso. It's just easier that way.”

The waiter appeared, depositing their salads at the table and refilling her glass.

She took a generous swallow. She should be thankful, that could have gone a lot worse.

Then why did she feel so lousy?

“So when is this reunion?” he asked.

“Next month. But I'm not going.”

“Why not?”

“I can just see it,” she said, breaking her roll and slathering butter on one half, even though she had pretty much lost her appetite the instant Drake appeared. “Me still single and alone while Drake struts around with his new fiancée on his arm. I don't think so. It would be too humiliating.”

“So don't go alone.”

“That's a great idea. The problem is, I'm not dating anyone right now.”

“So take a friend.”

“The thing about ending a long-term relationship is that friends pick sides, and since most of them were Drake's to begin with, I lost those in the split too.”

He shrugged and said, “In that case, take me.”

 

Eyes wide, Jane dropped her roll into her salad. Jordan stifled a grin as she swiftly fished it back out. “Take
you?
”

“Why not?” Jordan said. “I like parties.”

She set her roll down and wiped her hand on her napkin. “Look, I appreciate the gesture, but I can't ask you to do that.”

“You're not asking, I offered.”

She shook her head. “I can't.”

“Jane, that guy takes way too much pleasure from the fact that he thinks you're all alone pining for him. He needs a reality check.”

“But that
is
reality. Except for the pining part. I
am
alone. And taking my boss to a party—”

“So I won't be your boss.”

“But you
are
my boss.”

“No one else needs to know that.”

She nervously licked her lips. “What am I supposed to say? You're my…boyfriend?”

Her discomfort made him smile. She seriously had no clue how attractive she was. “Boyfriend,
lover
…whatever.”

“But it would be a lie.”

She didn't seem to have a problem with lying to him on a daily basis, and lying to her family about where she worked.

“Then you don't have to tell anyone anything.” He slid his hand across the table and slipped his fingers around hers. They were ice cold, so he flashed her a smile that was sure to warm her from the inside out. “Besides, actions speak louder than words.”

Her lips parted with a soft gasp and she tugged her hand free, eyes darting nervously to the people at the next table. “No. He would never buy that someone like you would date someone like me.”

He sat back in his seat. “Why not?”

“Because…” She frowned and shook her head. “Never mind. I just…I think it would be a bad idea. I'm better off not going.”

“Then he wins.”

“So he wins, so what? It's not a competition. I don't care what he thinks any longer.”

Another lie. For reasons that totally escaped him, she did care, which was why he'd offered in the first place. He saw the way she'd paled when Drake approached the table—although that could have had more to do with her fear of blowing her cover. But the pain in her eyes when he announced his engagement, that was real.

Rather than hide behind her morals—and her obvious insecurities—she needed to confront the situation. Confront Drake and Megan. Until she did, she would have a tough time moving on. Not that he had much experience with long-term romantic relationships. He'd never been with the same woman for five months, much less five years. Hell, five weeks was pushing the envelope. But he did know an awful lot about being let down by people he thought he could depend on.

And if that wasn't reason enough, he was pissed that the jerk had ruined her birthday lunch. And even worse, after five years together, he hadn't even remembered to wish her a happy birthday.

He wanted to push the issue, but he had the feeling that once Jane made up her mind, it would be hard to change it, so he let it drop. For now. Instead he tried to engage her in another round of witty banter, to lighten the mood, but she wasn't biting, and she only picked at her food. That guy had really done a number on her.

Honestly, he shouldn't have even cared. The problem was, he liked Jane. The fact that she genuinely seemed to have no clue how attractive she was fascinated him. And though he'd brought her here to screw with her, it didn't seem right to kick her while she was down. Besides, hurting her was never his intention. Hell, maybe he could help her.

There was definite chemistry there. Maybe what she needed was someone to pay attention to her, to make her
see how beautiful and desirable she really was. To make her feel special. And while sleeping with her would of course be his ultimate goal, wherever this thing between them went, he would make certain that it was mutually beneficial.

The sort of woman he usually dated knew what she wanted, and wasn't shy about going after it. And what they usually wanted was his money, but since he had no intention whatsoever of getting tied down, that had never been a problem. Right about the time he began to get bored, they realized that they were wasting their efforts and the relationship fizzled out. No harm, no foul.

It might be an interesting change if, for once, he was the one doing the pursuing. And he was willing to bet, if she would give up what had most likely been a reasonably lucrative career as an attorney, for what he guessed was an entry-level position at an investigation firm, she wasn't hung up on status and wealth. Not to mention that she needed someone to show her that she could do better than that arrogant creep she had wasted five years with.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Yes, she had been lying to him since the minute she met him, but that was her job, so technically there was no malicious intent. Besides, he wasn't exactly being honest either.

Jane was quiet on the ride back to the office, and other than thanking him for the tour and for lunch, didn't say more than a few words for the rest of the afternoon. She knocked on his office door at six to tell him she was leaving for the night.

“Is there anything you need before I go?” she asked. She just looked so…depressed.

“You know, he isn't worth it,” Jordan said.

“I know. The truth is, I don't even know why I'm upset.
I didn't want to marry him. I don't even think I loved him.” She shrugged. “Maybe I'm just a sore loser.”

“Try not to let it ruin your night. Call a friend. Go out for drinks. Do something fun. It's your birthday.”

She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. “I definitely will.”

She was lying.

“Well, thanks again for the tour, and for the lunch.”

“It was my pleasure.”

“I'll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

He had half a mind to walk her back down to her car, but his cell rang. Since it was his mother, he was inclined to let it go to voice mail, but he answered it. “Hey Mom, what's up?”

“Well, did you talk to him?” his mother demanded.

Her brusque greeting didn't phase him. She always did like to get right to the point. “Talk to whom?”

“Your brother.”

Confused, he asked, “About what?”

“The invitation. To Nathan's graduation.”

“You mean the wedding?”

“That's what I said,” she snapped.

He saw no point in arguing with her. “You know I did. I called you yesterday to tell you that he's inviting you. Don't you remember?”

She was quiet for several seconds then said, “No, I'm sure I would have remembered. I've been home all day.”