Page 6 of Don't Lie to Me

I smiled as I thought about how comfortable the two had looked together the prior week when I walked in on Jack teaching Logan how to play Madden NFL on his Playstation. One muscular arm draped around Logan’s tiny shoulder as he described which buttons did what. I knew he meant nothing by it, just being friendly to him, but to me - and Logan especially - it meant everything.

I played with my hair nervously for a second before smiling and wrinkling my nose. “She was pretty bad, Jack.”

A slight smile appeared on his lips, forming just enough to cause a dimple on his left cheek to appear. I loved that dimple.

“I know. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

I did. She came from a perfectly well-groomed family, was stunningly gorgeous and had a brain the size of a pea; the exact replica of all the other women I had seen him date over the last few years. I wanted to ask him why he always chose the women who were just after his name and his money but I bit my tongue. My job wasn’t to advise him on his personal life, just schedule it.

He nodded towards an Irish Pub a few doors down. “I was going to head in for a drink. Want to join me?”

I hesitated for a moment as I tried to figure out what was going on. Ten minutes ago I was on a date with Dean, laughing about Logan flushing his Lego people down the toilet and now I was standing on the sidewalk, with Jack.

I glanced down at my watch. It was just after eight. Logan would still be awake and I knew Macy wasn’t expecting me home, or at least hoping I wouldn’t come home, for hours yet. I had no reason to decline other than the thought of spending time alone with him right now sent my nerves into overdrive.

I nodded and tried my hardest not to jump when his hand lightly touched the small of my back as he led me through the doors into the small and musty bar.

I scrunched my nose at him once we were sitting on stools at the small bar. “This doesn’t seem like a place you would normally hang out at.”

I eyed the traditional Irish decorations and beer logos all over the wall. There were bowls of shelled peanuts along the bar and booths, the floor littered with shell crumbs. It looked much dingier than the places I normally planned for his dates and nights out with clients.

He turned to the bar and raised two fingers to get the bartender’s attention. “What do you want to drink?” he asked when the bartender walked towards us, white towel haphazardly slung over his shoulder.

“Vodka tonic, please.” He eyed me suspiciously at my choice before he turned and ordered a simple bottled Budweiser. My stomach felt like a thousand butterflies had taken residence and I needed something stronger than the glass of red wine I had earlier with Dean.

“You’re also not a Budweiser guy either.” I didn’t bother hiding my smile. I did all the shopping for Jack, and in five years, I had bought every type of alcoholic beverage you could imagine. Never was there anything on his list as simple as a Bud heavy.

The corners of his lips twitched slightly. “I can be a normal, hangout and drink a beer kind of guy.”

“Sure you can,” I deadpanned. I looked around the bar again and for the second time wondered why Jack would be in a place like this. It wasn’t bad. Macy and I came here often with Tate, but it was just a long way from the Streeterville hi-rise where Jack lived. It was even farther from where the Opera was, and nowhere near Jessica’s house.

“Why are you here, Jack?” I asked him after a couple sips of my drink.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he took a long swig of his beer without removing his eyes from mine. He set it down, and wiped his lips with his thumb.

“I wanted to make sure you were safe.” He sounded like he hated himself for his admission.

It irritated me, again. I leaned a bit away from him and crossed my arms. “So, you followed me?”

I watched as his eyes erased any emotion they previously held and went back to his typical professional indifference. He was starting to give me whiplash with his looks that looked like he cared, only to have them erased immediately.

He shrugged unashamedly. “You’re important to me.”

I had a sense there was something more to his statement, but I was too nervous to ask. If Jack cared about me for something other than my job, it would cause disaster. Because as much I was attracted to him, I knew his style, and I knew it wouldn’t last. And if something happened, and then ended, it could be uncomfortable working at his place all day. The best thing for me to do, regardless of how much I wanted to be important to him in an unprofessional way, was to shake it off.

“I’m sure you could find another housekeeper.” I rolled my eyes in a teasing way, hoping to break the ice. It worked.

Eventually, we fell into an easy banter, much like we normally shared during the week as we talked about a few new properties he was investigating. The man in front of me was a finance genius.

All things I could appreciate since I majored in finance and headed into corporate law before I dropped out of law school.

“So, your date tonight.” He frowned and waved for the bartender to send him another drink.

I smiled as I thought about how nice Dean was. He was wholesome, the perfect boy next door. He was the guy every mom wanted their daughter to bring home. Unfortunately, he caused nothing to stir inside of me, unlike the man currently sitting in front of me.

“We will be good friends,” I answered with a slight grin. I didn’t miss the sudden tenseness that rippled across Jack’s chest and shoulders as he shot to a straighter sitting position.

“Friends?” He asked after he took a sip of his beer.

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