Page 135 of Jaked
Chapter 52
A couple hours later, we were sprawled in his penthouse, watching the city lights through the open window-blinds. We had showered together and thrown on some lounging clothes. For him, it was running pants with no shirt. For me, it was new lace panties and another oversized T-shirt from Jake's closet.
Snuggled against him on the sofa, I looked down at our clothes. "Hey look," I said, pointing downward. "Together, we make up a full outfit."
Jake gave me a sleepy smile. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," I said. "You have the pants. I have the shirt. See?"
"Maybe I should have both," Jake said.
I laughed. "Now you're just being selfish."
"Selfish?" he said, running a hand over my hips. "Or smart?"
I burrowed against him and heard myself sigh.
"What?" he said.
I groaned. "Tomorrow's Monday."
"So?"
"Well forme," I said, "that means I've gotta start looking for a new job." Actually, I needed to find two jobs, but that was beside the point. I pulled back to look at him. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"I don't want to fight or anything," I said, "but why did you quit my jobs? I mean, they weren't my dream jobs, but still…"
"Screw those jobs," he said. "Come work for me."
I practically laughed. "Doing what?"
"For one thing," he said, "It looks like I need a new event planner."
I rolled my eyes. "Are you talking about Bianca's job? Technically, she wasn't even your employee."
"She was close enough," Jake said. "And your degree's in the same thing, right? Come on. I could use the help."
Liar.Iwas the one who needed help, and he damn well knew it. Still, the offer was way too tempting for my comfort. In one fell swoop, I'd regain almost everything I'd lost over the last few weeks.
As if sensing weakness, Jake added, "And one thing about Bianca, she wasn't cheap."
I stiffened. Had Jake and Bianca lain across this very same sofa? Had he offeredherthe exact same deal? Hadshebeen bought and paid for, only to be discarded the moment someone new came along?
The old Luna would have jumped at this chance. The new, mostly reformed Luna, was a little more cautious, and with good reason. If I agreed, Jake would practically own me. Even now, I had nearly nothing to my name except the things he had purchased.
I bit my lip. "That's a really nice offer."
"So take it."
"I can't," I said. "I need to find my own job, and besides, you never answered my question. Why would you burn my bridges like that?"
"Maybe I wanted to keep an eye on you."
"But why?" I said. "Because of my stupid ex-boyfriend?"
"Hell no," he said, "Rango's a pussy."
