Page 8 of Just One More Affair
“She’s out with her friends,” he grumbled. “I’ll be home and showered before she even comes back from dinner. I was just getting ready to leave.”
Jared shook his head. “Not the point and you know it. Explain your behavior to me because I don’t understand. We’ve done everything we can to remove the stress from your life. All you need to do is work less hours, moderate your diet, and stop smoking those damned cigars.”
His father’s face turned from stoic to sad, his mouth turning downward in a frown. “You don’t know what it’s like getting older. Being told what I can and cannot do. Even Lizzie looks at me differently. What if I slow down and she wants a younger man? The kind of man I was before the heart attack?”
With a sigh, Jared lowered himself into the seat across from his dad’s mahogany desk. A photo of his yacht covered one wall and a family portrait was on another. If Alex wanted more time with either, he needed to behave.
“Dad, I can’t pretend to understand how you’re feeling, but there are a few things I know for a fact. One is that Lizzie lovesyou. It doesn’t matter to her what you can or can’t do. You’re still the same man she fell for. And two, your kids want you around for the foreseeable future.” He leaned forward in his seat, hands clasped in front of him. “We love you, Dad. Don’t you want to be there when Fallon has the baby?”
“Of course I do!” he said loudly, slamming a hand on the desk.
Tough love was all Jared had left. “Then get your act together!” Bracing his arms on the chair, Jared pushed himself to his feet. “Now, unlike you, I’m leaving early. I’m wiped out from getting in at seven a.m. You should do the same.”
“I’ll meet you by the elevators and we can go down together,” his dad said. “Changing the subject, will you be at the get-together at the house on Saturday? Since Aiden is home on a break, I’m looking forward to having all my kids together under one roof.”
Jared’s youngest sibling was a traveling reporter, breaking stories around the world, but he’d confided that the wandering lifestyle was getting old. It made Jared wonder what, if anything, his change of heart had to do with Brooklyn. While growing up as teens, Brooke, as they all called her, had been close with his brother. Until they weren’t. And neither ever spoke of what had changed.
“I’ll be there, Dad.”
“Great! The twins invited their mother. Should be interesting hearing about her exploits and what they found during her dig.”
He stood up straighter. “Charlotte is in town?” He hadn’t heard anything about her from Fallon or Noah and had known better than to ask. At the sound of her name, his heart began a steady thump and his dick… well, let’s just say he needed to excuse himself before his father noticed his reaction.
“She wrapped up her excursion and is staying in a hotel until she finds a place to live. The girls want to be with her constantly, so she’s invited.”
“Sounds good,” he said, playing off the information as if it meant nothing to him. “I need to go to my office and get my things. Meet you by the elevator.” He strode out of the office and walked to his, his thoughts on Charlotte and their night together.
Since he was alone, he adjusted his cock and began to pack up for the night. Though he hadn’t heard from her since she’d left—not that he’d tried to reach her either—she’d been on his mind. Constantly. He hadn’t dated often before Charlotte, having given up after trying when he was younger and working to learn the business. After Charlotte? He’d had no interest. Not even in a casual hookup to take the edge off.
She’d been special. He might not have been looking for anything more than a one-night stand, but they’d gotten along so well and the sex had been incredible. Better than anything he’d experienced before, probably due to their level of comfort with one another and the strength of the attraction. Though sleeping with someone so connected to his family hadn’t been his brightest idea, he still couldn’t wait to see her again.
For the first time in a long time, he had something to look forward to.
Chapter Four
Charlie had beenback in New York City for the last two weeks. She’d spent the time acclimating to the time change, to the hotel she was living in until she found an apartment she liked and could afford, sending out résumés and spending time with her girls.
She drove to Jared and Fallon’s parents’ house in the suburbs, the kids seat-belted into the back of her rental car, chatting away.
“Mommy? When you move can we get a dog?” Dakota asked.
“I want a cat,” Dylan said.
“Hmm. Did you know a pope decided cats were bad and had them all killed? And that’s why the bubonic plague spread! ’Cause there were no cats to catch the rats. Maybe we should get a cat to keep the rats away,” Dakota jumped in with one of herfunfacts.
Oh, her smart, wise-ass child, Charlie thought, doing her best not to laugh at Dakota because she found her so darned cute.
“No, sweetheart, that’s a myth.” It was more complicated than that but she didn’t feel like getting into it now. Not when her stomach was twisting with nerves because she was going to have to face Jared soon.
“Then I still want a dog.” Charlie glanced in the mirror in time to see Dakota fold her arms across her chest, and she had no doubt Dylan was gearing up for the cat argument.
“Mommy!” Dylan wailed.
And there it was.
“Girls, we’re at Grandpa’s house. Can we stop arguing and just enjoy the day? There won’t be any animals in the near future because you two are in school all day and I, fingers crossed, will have a full-time job.”
She pulled into the driveway and parked the car. The girls unbuckled their seat belts and opened their doors, running for what was sure to be the unlocked front door.
