Page 30 of Faith

He shook his head. “Be ready by quarter of.”

“Oh, that’s rich.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You are rarely on time because you tend to primp.”

“I do not.”

Not in the mood for a fight, she shooed him away. “Go on. I have a few people I can contact about this to make sure the press is handling it okay.”

“You know Jules has her own personal assistant.”

“One that is out of his league with something like this. He doesn’t have the contacts.”

“You’re mine, not hers.”

It was her turn to blink. There was a thread of absolute ownership in his voice that shocked her. “What?”

“You’re my assistant. Not hers.”

“Yes, but if I teach David how to handle this stuff, he’ll be a master at it. Then, he can handle it on his own.”

“Fine.”

She knew from his tone that it was anything but fine. She just didn’t have the time to deal with him today.

“Go on. I have work to do and I don’t want to be late.”

“Be that way,” he said almost playfully.

Once he was gone, she grabbed her phone again and started dialing. She didn’t trust Gregor to be discreet. He was boring and bland, but he wanted to be a big boy in politics. She just had to be sure he didn’t hurt Jules in his march to fame and fortune.

With that in mind, she clicked her phone on, then called one of her contacts in New York. It was never good to let the press get out in front of your story. They liked to rip their favorite playthings to shreds. She had learned that from her own personal fiasco.

* * *

Jensen staredout over the lawn of their house to the ocean that lay beyond it. The last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon, and he drew in a breath of the sweet night air. He had been all over the world, and he truly loved to travel. Hawaii was one of his favorite places to come, not only for the beaches, but also the serenity he found here. There was no rush to get ahead for most Hawaiians. Instead, they were laidback, in love with their culture, and always seemed to be happier than many places he had visited. Nighttime was the best in his opinion. Sure, the beaches and scenery were beautiful, but at night, Hawaii seemed like a dream.

“Day dreaming?” Nicola asked from behind him.

He had been trying to deal with the impact she had on him for four years. First, it had been irritation, then amusement, now…well, he didn’t know what to call it.

“Jensen?”

He turned slowly, but it didn’t matter. She always seemed to knock the breath out of him these days. Worse, she had no idea. She stood there with a simple smile curving her lips, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. She definitely didn’t know how much he really wanted to bend her over his knee and spank her. He fought against the shiver that threaded through his blood.

“Are you all right?”

He nodded as he inwardly ordered his body under control.

“It’s not day time,” was all he could come up with in response.

She wasn’t dressed up. Nicola didn’t do that on the islands. Instead, she was wearing what was a deceptively simple dress. Dark blue, with large white flowers on it, it was tropical in feeling but not exactly Hawaiian. The dress was long to her ankles, but there was nothing formal about it. It was a sundress made of gauzy material. Worse, she wore her hair down. She rarely did, but when she did, he had to resist the urge to touch.

“What?”

“What, what?”

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