Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set (11 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Mitchell stood by the elevator doors just like this morning. He said nothing as he claimed her waist with one tanned arm, but his eyes took in her whole body. She wore a swingy black skirt, a white wrap-around top tied at the waist, and black flats. Good for sunsets, dinners, and goodbyes.

They walked out the front doors of her hotel and toward a crowd already gathering on a pier up ahead.

“No K car tonight?” she asked.

“
Had to turn it back in. We won’t need it tonight anyway. Mallory Square is just over there, and our restaurant is a short walk.”

“
I’m curious about that car,” Jackie said. “If you love it so much, why don’t you buy it? You’re taking your chances. The rental agency could scrap it out one of these days, or someone else might snap it up.”

“
Sometimes it’s good to take your chances,” he said. “And it reminds me…”

He trailed off, and Jackie stopped walking. She was curious. Could this be a piece of the Mitchell mystery?

“What does it remind you of?” she asked.

“
That I can’t have everything,” he said. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Some things can’t be bought.”

If this were more than just tonight, Jackie would ask more. But it wasn
’t.
Stay unattached. Get it over with. Go home and forget it tomorrow.

They walked in silence to the pier where people celebrated the sunset. Jackie could see why people gathered. Deep roses and oranges colored the sky and lit up the entire area, reflecting off the water where the Atlantic Ocean met the Gulf of Mexico. It was a panoramic view of something so daily, yet so extraordinary.

Street vendors sold Key West souvenirs, street performers executed complicated acrobatics and drew applause from the crowd. Trained cats jumped through flaming hoops and did other tricks. A long line of thirsty revelers wound around the thatched hut of a bar right in the middle of the action.

Jackie gazed at three cruise ships lined up along one side of the pier, bowlines attached to shore, lights on. People milled on their decks and came and went down the long gangplanks connecting the ships to dry land. Their gorgeous gleaming decks confronted her with her own lies. Her supposed ship left in the morning.

“Drink?” Mitchell asked in her ear. He kept his arm around her waist and steered her over to the railing affording the best view of the sunset. His lips reminded her of all the unwisely unchanneled feelings she harbored for him since last night. In only twenty-four hours, her life had changed. And it was about to change more. Because tomorrow morning, she was leaving.

“
I’d love one,” she said.

“
Be right back.”

One of the cruise ships anchored near Jackie towered over her. She overheard a conversation behind her between two people who apparently were passengers on the ship.

“Wish we didn’t leave tonight,” one of them, a woman, said. “I’d love a chance to hit all those bars and party here for the night.”

“
Wish we’d known we wouldn’t get an overnight in Key West when we booked this. We’ll come again, just not on this cruise line,” her male companion said.

“
At least we’ve got ‘til ten o’clock,” the lady said.

Jackie understood their feelings. Seeing this island for one day and one sunset just wouldn
’t be enough. Her two days and two nights were just a beginning. For her, though, it was the beginning of a lot of cold nights in Chicago when she would have only memories of her island fling. If fling was the right word for it.

She glanced wistfully up at the cruise ship and noted the name painted on the side. She scanned the crowd and found Mitchell waiting in the long drink line. Jackie turned back and looked at the sunset. Her arms and hands propped on the railing looked orange and pink in the fading sun. She sighed and looked out at the water.

Her cell phone ringing in her bag jolted her back to reality, especially when she saw Teri’s name in the caller ID. She flipped it open. Just her luck, her friends were calling to tell her that tickets to a fantastic dinner and concert had just shown up and they were going out on the town on Mitchell’s dime. It would serve her right for being so weak-willed that she let Mitchell talk her into just one more evening. Not that it took much convincing.

“
Hi, Teri,” she said, laughing. “Don’t tell me…you’ve got a free pass to Margaritaville itself, and you and Leah are off to party on the generosity of the boss.”

“
Jackie, I’m sorry to interrupt your date,” Teri said. She sounded nervous. “But there’s something you need to know.”

Jackie
’s smile faded, her stomach dropped, and a sick dread stole over her. “Okay,” she managed to say. “Tell me.”

“
Is Mitchell standing right there?”

“
No, he’s gone to get us some drinks.”

“
Good. Here’s what happened. This morning, I called Margie—you know Margie, she’s that secretary on the executive floor that I set up with a date with the man who delivers our copier paper? Anyway, she’s nice, and I figured I could ask her a few things. So, I called her this morning to see what she knew about Mitchell.”

Jackie was afraid to even hear this. Teri wouldn
’t be calling her if it was good news.

“
And…” Jackie said.

“
She wasn’t home when I called, so I left a message. She just called me back. Do you want to hear this?”

“
No choice now. You might as well tell me, or I’m going to assume the worst anyway.”

“
I’m sorry, Jackie. One: Margie’s almost certain he’s selling the whole Chicago operation and we’ll all be out of job by Christmas. We’ve all heard the rumors, but Margie says Hal Burton, the CFO, has been nosing around and looking in lots of files. Also, there’s a big board of directors meeting on Monday morning in Chicago. Only one reason she could think of for that.”

“
I guess I can’t be too surprised,” Jackie said. Although she had hoped maybe none of the rumors were true. She thought she had seen a different side of Mitchell today. Not the corporate exec side all about black numbers on balance sheets. What about Jimmy and rescuing animals? How about what he’d said about the K car and not always being able to buy things? Where was that Mitchell in this equation?

Maybe she had been seeing what she wanted to see.

“There’s more,” Teri said.

Jackie took a deep breath.
“Go ahead,” she said.

“
He’s married.”

Jackie
’s free hand gripped the railing and she nearly dropped her cell phone into the darkening water below. She couldn’t breathe. It couldn’t be true. She spent the entire day with him, had been on the verge of giving herself so completely to him. How could he hide a secret like that? Wouldn’t Jimmy or Marybess say something? This was even worse than selling them all out of a job. How could he make her feel so special, tell her she’s the only one he’s ever taken to Blue Bottle Beach? For all she knew, he said that to every girl he seduced in Key West. For all she knew, maybe he said that to his
wife
.

“
Jackie?” Teri sounded worried.

“
I’m here. Just…stunned. Speechless,” she whispered.

She looked over to where Mitchell still stood in line. The drink line was hardly moving. He was watching her talk on her phone. He had to see she was upset, shocked, even from a distance. She tore her eyes away from him and stared at the cruise ship in front of her. She tried to focus on anything but Mitchell Ames.

“Jackie. Listen to me,” Teri’s reassuring voice commanded her through the cell phone. “Walk away from him right now, come straight back to the room.”

“
Okay.”

“
We’ll order room service, we’ll send out for booze, we’ll go straight to the airport first thing in the morning.”

Jackie didn
’t answer. Her world spun and the pain in her chest made it difficult to breathe, much less speak.

“
Do you hear me, Jackie?”

“
Yes,” she whispered.

“
Do you want me to come get you?”

“
No,” Jackie said quietly. She would get herself out of this mess before she caused her friends any more trouble.

Jackie
’s shaking hands closed the phone and dropped it into her purse. She mechanically put the strap over her shoulder and started walking. She felt like a sleepwalker, stumbling blindly. If she could just make it across the square, across two streets, and into her hotel, she’d be okay. Leah and Teri would be there. They would take care of her.

She was afraid to even look over to the drink line where she last saw Mitchell. She couldn
’t make eye contact, couldn’t even look at him. She had to keep walking. Jackie tried to make her numb legs move faster. Tears blurred her vision as a crowd moved across in front of her and then dispersed. A lady offered her a hat made from palm leaves and she ignored her. A ring of fire appeared and then swept away with an approving roar from the audience.

She kept walking, looking alternately down at her feet and then straight ahead. She was almost across the square when a man stepped squarely in front of her and she ran right into him.

Jackie stared right into his chest and didn’t even have to look up to know it was Mitchell. He took hold of her upper arms in a tight grip. He lowered his face to hers and stared questioningly at her. His face distorted and swirled through her tears.

“
Where are you going?” he asked. His voice was tender, concerned. “What happened?”

Jackie pulled her eyes from his face and stared down at the ground. She took a deep steadying breath and tried to think of her friends waiting for her in their hotel room.

“I’m leaving,” she said.

“
Leaving?” his voice was incredulous. “Tonight?”

Jackie nodded.

To her astonishment, Mitchell pulled her into his arms and held her. She had no idea what to do. On one hand, it felt so good to be in the grip of his strong arms. She smelled the soap mixed with cologne smell she first noticed last night. He must have showered somewhere while she was freshening up in her hotel room.

It was intoxicating.

On the other hand, this man was a total jackass.

He used her for the weekend. He was putting them all out of a job. Worst of all, he had a
wife
. This tenderness and compassion was just a big show so he wouldn’t lose his playmate for the weekend. Why should he care anyway, he knew she was leaving tomorrow. So what’s one night?

“
I saw you on the phone,” he said, still holding her body against his. “Was it your cruise ship? Are you leaving ahead of schedule?”

There it was. He filled in a story all by himself. It reminded her of how he assumed she was a dancer on a cruise ship last night. His talent for filling in stories turned out to be pretty handy for her. Especially since he wasn
’t very good at discovering the truth, and she wasn’t very good at lying.

She nodded.

“So this is it?” he asked. He drew back and looked at her tear-stained face. Maybe he interpreted those tears as sadness at leaving him. Jackie figured he could think whatever he wanted as long as she got away from him. And soon.

“
I hate to say goodbye to you,” he said.

Jackie took another breath and pulled free of his arms. She started to walk away. She made it five steps, and just when she started to feel a little braver, she heard his voice.

“Jackie,” he said. She turned around. She wasn’t going to, but something in his voice made her do it. He stood still where she had left him. Both feet rooted to the ground, but both hands at his sides, palms turned up. It was a gesture showing he was adrift and didn’t know what to do. If she had to guess, it also proved he wasn’t used to dealing with disappointment, either.

“
There’s so much I didn’t say to you. So much I don’t know…”

“
Maybe,” she said, in a tone she hoped would put the lid on and screw it tight, “you know all you’re ever going to.”

She turned and walked away, half fearing he
’d follow her, half disappointed he didn’t. She started to walk faster and faster through the crowd and across the street to her hotel. He didn’t have to follow her, he knew where she was staying. If he wanted her, he could come find her.

She stumbled across the gleaming lobby floor to the elevator where she managed to push the button for her floor. She held her breath as the doors opened on the
fourteenth floor, almost afraid Mitchell would somehow be standing there.

The doors opened.

The hallway was deserted.

Chapter Fifteen

“Could you go just a little faster?” Leah urged the taxi cab driver. One thing they all learned in Key West is that the whole island moves at its own pace. Slow.

Except them. They stayed up way too late last night eating room service and drinking what they could arrange to have delivered. There was no way they were leaving their suite because they didn
’t want to risk running into Mitchell. And they
were not
answering the door if anyone knocked. Jackie alternated between being hurt and angry all night. Leah and Teri had mostly gone with angry. They rehashed the whole brief history of the encounter between Jackie and Mitchell, and Mitchell unanimously won the title of villain.

Now, for better or for worse, they were headed home. They had no idea what awaited them in Chicago, but they knew it wasn
’t going to be good. If the boss never figured out who they were, they might not get in any trouble for calling in sick and taking off for the weekend. All they’d have to deal with is a whopping helping of anger, hurt, remorse and regret when it came to Jackie’s feelings.

If Mitchell did figure it out, he
’d be pissed off and they were going to get it. Probably fired. Possibly tortured first. And worst of all, he would confront Jackie. She knew she was going to get it worst of all. And it was her own fault. She knew she shouldn’t fall for him, even a tiny bit. But she couldn’t fool herself. Her heart ached almost as much as her head this morning.

What had she been thinking? There was only one explanation for her behavior. Tropical weather. She just wasn
’t used to it. It was climate-induced insanity and she wasn’t to blame. It was a flimsy excuse, but it took the edge off the hurt for a little while at least.

She wondered bitterly if Mitchell
’s wife would buy such a lame excuse from her traitorous husband. Why the hell hadn’t Jimmy or Marybess said anything to her about a wife? They had to know, and they had to notice she and Mitchell were not just casual friends. Maybe they were used to Mitchell bringing his girlfriends to rent a moped. Ugh.

Maybe none of it would matter anyway. According to Teri
’s friend Margie, the bigwigs were coming for a Monday morning pow-wow. They were probably discussing how they were going to sell off the Chicago office, piece by piece, floor by floor, one unprofitable accountant at a time. They’d all be let go. And maybe it would be easier to let go of her feelings for her CEO.

Getting canned never sounded so good.

And she’d survived this before. If only her friends weren’t in the middle of this with her…

They were toast. They were about five minutes away from missing their plane. The cab driver fiddled with the radio and pointed out places of interest on the way to the airport as if he didn
’t have a care in the world. The three friends crammed together in the back seat despite the heat because the cab driver looked a little too friendly. The bride and bridegroom were still at the hotel. Shelly opted for a later flight so she could travel back with her beloved. At least the weekend had turned out happily for someone.

Jackie sat between Leah and Teri, not really caring what happened to her today. Miss the flight? Who cares. She couldn
’t possibly go back to work anyway. The chance of running into Mitchell on any given day would be enough to make her life a living hell of dread, ulcers, and pink slips in her nightmares. Maybe she’d go back home and spend some time with her parents. There had to be a job, any job, she could do there until she could forget this whole nightmare. When she was one hundred and fifty years old.

The cab pulled into the airport parking lot and all three girls jumped out and stood by the trunk while the driver opened it with an ancient-looking key. Teri paid him and they grabbed their bags and took off. Mercifully, it was a tiny, one-room airport. Luggage in one corner, tickets in the other, airplanes right out the back door. They already had their boarding passes courtesy of the hotel concierge, and they weren
’t checking luggage, so the three of them hustled out the back doors and onto the white glare of the concrete tarmac.

This was a casual airport. Commuter planes and private charter planes were lined up, and passengers simply walked over, climbed the silver steps, and got on. This was an airport, island style, with about as many rules as the average bar on Duval Street.

They knew they were the last ones to board because they were arriving an embarrassing five minutes before departure. They were usually so responsible, filling in spreadsheets in their gray office. The weekend had been one of exceptions, though, and they were just going with the flow this morning. It was the best they could do after a very long night.

The stewardess standing at the top of the metal staircase on wheels didn
’t look happy to see them. No surprise there, thought Jackie, they were practically late. Stewardesses probably hate late people. Still, it was a surprise when the stewardess put out a hand to stop the three of them when they were halfway up the stairs with their carry-ons in tow.

“
Sorry,” she said, “this flight is overbooked.” She didn’t look sorry, Jackie thought, but she probably had to say it anyway.

“
Overbooked?” asked Teri. “We have boarding passes. We’re checked in.”

“
Well, actually, it’s overweight,” said the grim-faced stewardess. “It’s a short runway, if there’s too much weight, we don’t get off the ground.”

“
So?” asked Leah.

Jackie could tell Leah was about to get belligerent. It would be entertaining, but not very helpful. Jackie put down her bag and leaned against the stairway. She fished her sunglasses out of her purse. Her eyes were killing her from too little sleep over the past two days and way too much crying last night. She was emotionally done in and just wanted to go home to face her fate, whatever it was. And now this.

“So,” repeated the stewardess, “we need to lighten the load. Three passengers and their luggage have to volunteer to get off.”

“
We’re not volunteering,” said Leah.

“
You’re the last ones here, we volunteered you.”

No one moved for a full minute. The hot sun was killing Jackie
’s head and she was willing to lie down under the aircraft and let it run over her. It might not be a bad idea.

“
If you’ll go inside to the ticket counter, I’m sure they can get you on a later flight,” the stewardess said in a fake nicey voice. “And since you’re already here, maybe you’ll be on time for that one.” She disappeared inside the plane and several large men arrived to roll away the steps. The airplane door shut emphatically, and the three women stood there in the bright morning sun with their luggage at their feet. They were still standing there when their plane rolled away to head for the runway.

“
Okay,” said Teri. “Well…alright then, I guess…”

A private jet rolled past them only a few yards away. It was loud enough to interrupt their conversation because it was obviously gearing up for takeoff. They all turned and stared at it. At first, they stared at it because it was loud and there and they had nothing else to do. After a first glance, though, the private plane riveted the attention of all three would-be travelers who were marooned with their luggage on the sunny tarmac.

Emblazoned on the side of the plane in bold blue paint were the words “Ames Worldwide Industries.” A row of windows down the side of the jet provided just enough space to see anyone who was sitting inside, buckled in for takeoff. Leah, Teri, and Jackie could only see one face in the window on their side.

The face they saw looking through the side window was Mitchell Ames himself. It was impossible to mistake his square jaw and dark hair. He stared at them all with shocked recognition for a moment, his eyes locking on Jackie. And then he was gone. The plane must have enjoyed preferential and immediate tower clearance, because it rolled away and was gone in a flash.

“Nice of him to offer us a ride,” said Leah.

“
I think it was nicer of him
not
to,” Teri said, “or that would be one long flight to Chicago.”

Jackie stared after the plane long after it had taken off and made a graceful arc in the sky. She wondered if Mitchell could see her and her friends, tiny dots on the sunny white concrete.