Not Quite Dating (19 page)

“The one next to my office,” Sam offered.

“I’m on my way down now.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t care for his dad. He loved the man, but he could be intense at times and beyond domineering.

Jack stepped into the lobby and into an array of people and organized chaos. His dad stood in front of Sam, who was talking rapidly and gesturing with his hands. From afar, Gaylord Morrison was a roadblock, someone who demanded your attention. At six-four and two hundred twenty pounds, he could have passed for a retired linebacker. His hair was peppered with gray, but his eyes were sharp and caught everything. Katie stood at his side, wearing one of her ridiculous miniskirts. Probably to piss the man off. She loved getting under his skin and did so on a regular basis.

Gaylord caught sight of Jack and broke off his conversation with the hotel manager.

“Jack,” he called as he turned.

Jack extended his hand, which his father took in his firm grip before pulling him into a hug. “What the hell were you thinking running off before I came home?”

“It’s good to see you too, Dad.” It was, despite the bad timing.

Around them, porters scurried to assist them with their bags, Sam stood ready to accept any task, and a half a dozen men wearing business suits were trailing after the senior Morrison.

“First Thanksgiving, now
Christmas,” Gaylord bellowed as he pulled away and started to instruct Sam to find a room for his driver and staff.

Katie sauntered to Jack’s side and leaned close to his ear so only he could hear. “I swear I didn’t say a thing,” she whispered.

Jack patted her arm and smiled down at her. “The man’s radar has always been superior to any satellite dish.”

Katie laughed and tossed her head back.

A couple of flashes went off in the lobby. Jack glanced around and noticed a reporter with a photographer at his side. “What are they doing here?” he asked his sister.

“They’re for you.” Gaylord returned his attention to his children.

“For me?”

“I heard there’s a special lady friend in your life, one who might be joining our family soon.” Gaylord’s last word was spoken slowly and nearly sounded like a question.

The smile on Jack’s face slipped into a scowl. He didn’t like the thought of the press invading his personal life to this degree. Besides, he still needed to propose to Jessie…again.

“Isn’t it my call to alert the media?” Jack asked his father.

“So there is a future Mrs. Morrison?” The mere thought of Jack getting married obviously pleased the man. It was hard to stay mad at him.

“There is someone,” Jack confirmed. “But I’d rather not discuss it out here if you don’t mind.”

Gaylord puffed his chest out as if he’d just become a father all over again. “Damn good news,” he said. “When do we meet her?”

“You’re always accusing me of being in the spotlight, Daddy,” Katie scolded. “Can we do this in private? I don’t think Jack wants to discuss this here.”

Jack nodded
to the elevators. “I have lunch coming up to my suite before the meeting. Let’s talk up there.”

Diverting his father took a couple more minutes, but as the man walked toward the elevators, Jack summoned Sam with a crook of his finger. “Lunch for three. Whatever the special is, a bottle of Crown Royal, and a bottle of chardonnay for Miss Morrison.”

“What about the meeting? Your father requested—”

“Tell the kitchen to hurry. We’ll be down in an hour,” Jack interrupted before turning his focus on his family. “Oh boy.”

Danny swung his feet off the edge of the chair as he placed the little edible silver balls on his cookie. If he took this much time decorating one of the treats, they’d be finished with the batch sometime around Easter.

Monica pushed through the front door with a bundle of clean laundry. The apartment complex had its own washers and dryers, but they were outside and around the carport.

Jessie took the basket from her sister so she could close the door.

“It’s getting cold out there,” her sister complained.

“Better cold than hot. It doesn’t feel like Christmas when it’s eighty outside.”

Monica motioned toward Danny. “Is Monet creating a masterpiece over there or what?”

“He doesn’t get that from me. I’d be slapping on frosting and sprinkling those green and red thingies on it and calling it done.”

Monica shook her head. “How many has he finished?”

“Two.”

“He’s going to need these last three days before Christmas to finish the job.”

The two of them picked up
one piece of laundry at a time and started to fold.

Monica changed the channel to the afternoon news. “Any idea when Jack is coming back?”

“I’m not sure.” Jessie set one of Danny’s socks aside until its match showed up from the pile. “He said he needed to check in at the hotel.”

“Isn’t his schedule fixed?”

“I have no idea. Whenever he talks about his job, he acts a little strange.”

“Strange? Strange how?”

“I asked him if he had to work today, and he said ‘in a way.’ What in the heck does that mean? You either have to work or you don’t.” Jessie shook her head. The next sock she picked up belonged with the other, so she folded them together.

“Maybe he needed to work but was going in to see if they could do without him. So he could spend time here.”

“Maybe. Another thing, he’s never talked about where he lives.” Jessie had thought about this when he disappeared. She had no idea where to look for him outside of his work.

Monica lifted a shirt and tucked it under her chin to fold. “Now that the two of you are a couple, he’ll give you all the details. I’m sure you’ll be spending some ‘alone time’ at his place. It can’t be terribly relaxing with Danny so close to your room.”

Jessie laughed. “Not to mention my kid sister right outside my door.”

Monica dropped the shirt into a pile and held up both of her hands. “I didn’t hear a thing…all night. Not at two o’clock or at six this morning.”

Jessie burst out laughing and knew her cheeks were turning red. She tossed the folded socks at her sister and hit her in the chest. “You’re bad.”

“I’m not the one who was up
all
night,” Monica said, laughing.

It felt good to laugh and really mean it.

“Mommy?”

“Yeah, pumpkin.”

“Isn’t that Uncle Jack?” Danny was pointing to the TV. “He looks funny dressed like that.”

Jessie’s eyes traveled to the television. The grin on her face held her cheeks so firmly they started to hurt. She expected to see a sexy man in a cowboy hat who “looked like” Jack. What she found stole her breath clean from her lungs.

“Ohmygod.” Monica recovered quickly and turned up the volume on the TV.

“…Morrison, billionaire tycoon, and his son, Jack Morrison, arrived in the Inland Empire to celebrate not only the groundbreaking venture of Jack Morrison’s chain of ‘family affordable’ hotels, but rumors have it that an announcement is forthcoming of a wedding in Jack Morrison’s future. Sorry, ladies, but it looks like this highly eligible bachelor is about to be taken off the market. Rumors of who the bride is haven’t been confirmed or denied.”

Jessie dropped the laundry from her hands and felt them start to shake.

Jack stood in the center lobby of The Morrison with a slender blonde woman hanging on his arm. Jessie couldn’t see the face of the woman, but whoever she was, Jack was holding on to her arm and smiling down at her with a look that could only be described as loving.

Billionaire?

Jack?

The reporter went on with a list of names, some public, others inconsequential, that the media deemed possible for the future Mrs. Morrison.

Jessie’s name wasn’t on it.

Her jaw trembled and the blood in her head started
a rapid descent to her feet.

“Jessie?”

Jack Moore wasn’t even his name. God, how could she have been so blind? How could she have been so bamboozled that she didn’t know who Jack really was?

“Jessie?”

The reported cut to a different story, but the imprint of Jack standing in the lobby of
his
hotel, holding on to a different woman, and basking in the spotlight with his billionaire father would forever be stamped in her mind.

He lied to me.

“Mommy, are you OK?”

“Jessie, sit down before you pass out.” Monica tugged on her arm, guiding her to sit on the sofa.

“He lied to me,” she whispered. Jessie found Monica’s eyes and saw her own confusion mirrored in her sister’s gaze. “Lied to me, Monica. Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure there’s an explanation—”

“No. You saw the picture. Who was that woman he was hanging on to?” His intended bride? Jack knew she wouldn’t say yes to marriage with a dreamer. Had he planned all along to propose and then remind her that she hadn’t accepted? And for what? Did he want to carry on an affair with her after he married someone in his peer circle? The woman at his side was dressed to kill.

“I’m not sure. We’ve got to be missing something, Jessie.”

Jessie took several quick breaths through her nose. The muscles in her chest started to constrict and her head began to ache.

“I’ve got to go,” Jessie said as she stood and searched the apartment for her purse.

Her only thought was to confront Jack. Surprise him as he’d shocked her.

“Jessie, don’t be rash. Jack cares
about you.”

She laughed without humor. “Right!” Jessie found her purse and dug inside for her keys.

“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Danny cried.

Jack wasn’t hurting only her. Danny had fallen for him, too. “Nothing, buddy. Just stay here with Auntie Monica. I’ll be back soon.” How dare Jack do this to them!

“Jessie, stop and think about what you’re doing.”

“Stop and think? Monica, did you just see the same thing I did? Jack lied to us. All of us. From day one.” How could she be so stupid? “Stay here with Danny.”

Jessie fled the apartment with Monica calling after her, “Maybe he had a reason!”

No reason would be good enough.

Anger in the form of heat raged in her veins. Jessie told herself to calm down so she could drive. She forced her foot off the accelerator and kept her speed to the posted limit.

“Jack Morrison.” She wanted to scream and pound her fist into his chest.
Morrison.
He’d played a waiter in the bar to do what, earn her trust? Trust from a woman while he lied to her on a daily basis?

How could he hold her, make love to her…promise tomorrow when he planned on being with someone else? He hadn’t repeated his proposal last night. Now Jessie knew why. He didn’t plan on her being anything but a diversion. Dipping into the cheap side of town.

“Most eligible bachelor,” she mumbled as she found the entrance to the hotel.

Jessie pulled her car up to the valet and jumped out.

The man standing there held his hand out for her keys.

“I’m not staying,” she told him as she blew past him.

“You can’t park here,” he called after her.

Jessie ignored him and walked into the
lobby. The lobby Jack
owned.
Her jaw tightened and her nails dug into her skin from fisting her hands.

“Ma’am, you can’t leave your car in the turnaround.” The valet was running behind her to keep up.

At the reception desk, Jessie pushed her way around the customer standing there. “Where is Jack Morrison?”

“Excuse me,” the guest at the desk said.

“If you’ll just wait—”

“Where is he?” Jessie raised her voice. “It’s urgent.” She tried to calm down, but her entire body shook. She now knew what a dragon felt like right before it shot fire from its mouth.

“He’s in a meeting, miss. Let me have your name—”

“Where?”

The receptionist glanced over Jessie’s shoulder, giving away the general direction of where Jack was holding his
meeting.

On the far side of the lobby, an archway indicated a conference room.

Jessie pivoted and started marching toward the man she knew as Jack Moore.

The lying bastard.

“You can’t go in there!”

Watch me.

“The market analysis indicated a strong and positive
response to the name change, Jack.” Eric passed around a copy of the charts Jack had asked for so they could finalize the naming of the hotel chain.

Jack sat at one end of the conference table, and his father sat at the opposite side by the door. In between were employees ranging from marketing, accounting, Dean’s second in command from his contracting firm, and a couple of lawyers to ensure the legal department’s advice was followed.

“Then it looks like we have everything set for the…” Jack’s words trailed off as voices outside the conference door indicated someone wasn’t where they were supposed to be.

“You can’t go in there,” said a frantic woman beyond the door.

Everyone in the room turned.

Gaylord shifted in his chair.

“I’ll only be a minute.” Jack heard her voice just as the large mahogany door burst open.

Several people in the room gasped.

Jack surged to his feet. “Jessie?”

She locked eyes with him and ground to a halt. The array of emotions that played over her face in the span of two seconds felt like a punch in the gut.
How did she find out?

“What’s the matter, Jack? Can’t come up with a lie quick enough to explain
this?”

He started walking toward her. “Jessie, I—”

Her hand shot up in front of her, stopping him. “Don’t waste your breath. I’m not here for an explanation. I needed to see with my own eyes if what I saw on the news was true.”

The news? What the hell is she talking about?

“Obviously the media has a stronger grip on the truth than you do.”

“I can explain.”

“Let me guess, you made employee of the year and they gave you the hotel.”

“Jessie, please.”

“Oh, don’t even try that with me.”

“Jack—” He heard his father’s voice but couldn’t stop watching Jessie. Her anger was palpable.

“Don’t bother, Mr. Morrison. It is Mr. Morrison, isn’t it?” Jessie asked his father.

“It is.”

Jessie’s gaze shot from his father to him. “At least someone in the room knows his own name.” She glanced around the room as if noticing it for the first time. “You told me you were a waiter. A waiter? God, I’m so gullible.” Her hand shook as she pointed at him. “Stay the hell away from me and my son. You hear me, Jack
Morrison
. Stay away!”

It took him a second to realize that Jessie had turned and was running from the room.

Jack pushed away from the table and started after her.

His father stopped him at the door. “Is that her?” he asked.

Jack shook off his father’s hand. “Yes.”

Gaylord barked out a laugh. “Ha! I like her already.” Jack had explained everything to his father in the hour they’d shared lunch. Thank God he’d had that hour or this scene would be more
difficult to explain. “What are you standing here for, son? Go.”

Jack ran from the room but didn’t see Jessie in the lobby.

A stunned receptionist stood by sputtering apologies. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Morrison. She just ran in here.”

“Where did she go?” he shouted.

The young woman pointed toward the front door.

By the time Jack stepped out into the sun, Jessie was in her new car, tearing out of the parking lot.

Patting his pants, Jack realized his keys were in his briefcase in the conference room and ran to retrieve them.

Bolting into the room, Jack ignored the questions and stares of his team. Once his keys were in his hand, he rushed to his truck and took off after her.

All Jack could see in front of him was the pain in Jessie’s eyes. He should have told her the truth, explained who he was and why he kept it a secret from her.

He hit the steering wheel when the light at the intersection to her apartment turned red.

Although Jessie only had a fifteen-minute head start on him, by the time he made it to her apartment, she was gone.

Her work said she wouldn’t be returning until after Christmas. Jack couldn’t let her stay away from him that long. There was no way of knowing where she went. Jack left messages on her cell phone, but she didn’t return them. The damn thing was probably sitting in her purse, purposely turned off.

Back at the hotel, Jack learned that his father had finished his meeting and instructed the staff to enjoy their holiday. Luckily, Gaylord wasn’t in Jack’s suite when he returned. Katie, on the other hand, was.

“Any calls?” he asked, knowing damn well the one he wanted
to call wouldn’t.

His sister shook her head. “None. Give her some time, Jack. She’ll come around.”

Katie couldn’t know that for certain, but it was nice of her to lend her support. “I should have told her.”

“Yes, you should have.”

Jack couldn’t even muster the energy to be pissed at his sister for siding with Jessie.

“I think I know what tipped Jessie off,” Katie said.

Jack threw his keys on the coffee table. “What?”

“The media was in the lobby today and must have overheard something about your personal life. You, big brother, are tonight’s entertainment report for the local station. A picture of you and me made it to the headlines.”

“What headlines?”

“About an impending wedding announcement between you and a mystery bride.”

Jack didn’t see the problem. He’d asked Jessie to marry him once and all but promised he’d ask again in the very near future. “Jessie knows how I feel about her.”

“Does she? Did you propose again?”

“No, I told you I needed to come clean first.”

Katie tilted her head and gave him a wan smile. “Did you tell her you love her? Guys suck with the ‘L’ word.”

“I told her I cared for her more than—”

“Blah. You skipped the ‘L’ word. Now she thinks you’re ready to walk down the aisle with someone else.”

“There is no one else.”

“She doesn’t know that,” Katie countered. “She saw a picture of you and me talking; for all we know, she thinks I’m the other woman.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Jack cried. “You’re my sister.”

“I’m sure you pulled out the ole family album
and showed her a picture of me.”

No, he hadn’t done that. Still, Katie wasn’t afraid of the spotlight. Hell, she’d been on more covers of magazines than a lot of top models. Surely Jessie had seen her before. Once Jessie had connected Jack Morrison to Jack Moore, the pieces would fall in line. Jessie would have to know Katie was the woman in the picture.

“Jack, trust me, Jessie is thinking the worst about you right now. A little time will need to pass before she’ll give you a minute to talk.”

Not the words he wanted to hear. Physical pain settled in his chest when he thought of how Jessie must have painted him.

“I’m going out,” Jack said, reaching for the keys he’d placed on the table.

“Where?”

“Anywhere. I can’t stand here waiting for her to call.” He suspected he’d be waiting for a long time. “I need to find her.”

Katie stopped him from leaving the room. “Have dinner,” she encouraged. “Regroup so you have an idea where to look.”

Food wasn’t even on his radar.

Jack placed his hands on his sister’s shoulders and moved her out of his way. “If she calls…”

“Yeah, yeah…go. I’ll call you.”

Jack kissed her cheek and left the penthouse.

Jessie hadn’t intended to run home to Mother, but she didn’t have anywhere else to go. And although they didn’t get along on the day-to-day things, Renee could be counted on in a bind. Besides, when it came to men and the games they played, she could be relied upon to watch Jessie’s back.

Something else boded well for Renee, and that
was her lack of standing in judgment. Even when Jessie had found herself pregnant as a teenager, Renee never judged her.

She hadn’t been happy, but she didn’t judge.

Danny fell asleep on the couch, disappointed that they weren’t going home.

Jessie sat huddled under a blanket outside on her mother’s porch. The cold kept her numb. Numb was a good thing. Feeling nothing would be even better.

How could she be so blind?

What a fool.

Jessie couldn’t even take pleasure in the shocked expression that had shot to Jack’s face when she’d barged in on his meeting. They’d both been stunned silent. She for seeing him dressed in clothes that would take her a month to purchase. Sitting at the head of the table meant he was the big boss, the leader, the billionaire to whom everyone at the table answered.

If only she could cry, maybe then she’d feel better.

The door to the house opened and Jessie’s mother stepped out. “Danny still asleep?”

Renee removed a cigarette from a pack and went through the process of lighting it up. The habit had aged her mother prematurely, Jessie realized. “Like a baby,” Renee said.

“Good. It’s been a big day for him.”

Renee sat beside Jessie on the swing and moved the cigarette to where the smoke wouldn’t blow in Jessie’s face. Renee was thinner than Jessie would like, her skin weathered for her sixty-two years.

Her mom looked tired.

“It’s been a big day for you, too.”

Jessie had heard Monica explaining to their mother what had happened before she ran off to stay with a friend. Jessie made her promise not to run to Jack and tell him where she was. Pinky swears and sister pledges went
a long way in situations like this. Jessie hoped to hell she’d never be in this exact situation again.

“He lied to me, Mom.”

Renee tipped the swing until it rocked back and forth in a gentle motion. “Monica told me, but I kept thinking about something…”

“Thinking about what?”

“About how you would have reacted had you known the truth about his name, his money.”

Jessie had thought of that, too. Would she have treated him the same knowing he was loaded to the tens with money? She would have dated him sooner, which was something he’d been after since they met.

“Doesn’t account for the fact that there is some other woman in his life I knew nothing about.”

Renee took a pull off her cigarette and blew the smoke away. She took her time talking. “Maybe. Or maybe the media got it all wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“You didn’t see the woman hanging on his arm. I’d be a fool if I thought I could compete with that.”

“You stop it right there, young lady. That’s my daughter you’re talking about. The daughter I know and love doesn’t need fancy clothes and makeup to compete. She has everything she needs naturally.” Renee pointed a finger in her direction. “This Jack guy could be so lucky to find his forever with you.”

Jessie was taken aback by her mother’s praise. It had been a long time since her mother had said anything to her like this. “I come with baggage, Mom. I’m not the top pick for the team.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. When Danny’s dad ran off, leaving you to raise your beautiful boy all by yourself, I was ready to run after him and force him to stand by you. Then I realized you’d be much better off without him. You’d have a greater chance of falling in love if you didn’t have that bum by your side.”

“Falling in love is overrated.”

“Bite your tongue. Falling in
love is what makes this miserable life worthwhile. I should know; I’ve done it about a hundred times.”