Page 79 of Playing the Game
“Yeah, I bet that’s how you feel.” Jamison leans closer to Dorothy.
“We’re all happy you’re alive,” she says, then addresses Melanie. “Where can I get a cocktail?”
“The server should be here any minute. We just ordered.”Melanie peeks around Jonah. “Look, there are a few open spaces at the bar. We can go get whatever you need.”
“Good. I don’t want to wait.” Dorothy tugs on Jamison’s hand. “Do you think you can make it over there, or do you want to stay here?”
“I’ll stay here. There’s something I’d like to discuss with Hunter.” He shifts and kisses her on the cheek. “Go. We’ll be civil.”
She nods and grabs Melanie’s arm. “We’ll be right back.”
They disappear before we can respond. The server who took our order walks up to us and delivers our drinks. Since Melanie left, there’s an extra dirty martini.
“Fuck it. One shouldn’t kill me, so I’ll have it.” Jamison downs half of it in one swallow as he glares at me.
Jonah takes it as a cue and leaves us alone.
Maybe I should’ve stayed home.
I swirl the whiskey in my glass. “What do you want to discuss, Jamison?”
“Dori’s job.”
“What about it?”
“Having her job back won’t lead to you two getting back together. I told you if you ever fucked up and hurt her, I would fight for her every day until the day I died. That truth remains.”
This guy grates on my every nerve.
“We’ll see about that.” I force down my irritation, along with a nice draw of my whisky. “Once you’re in Miami, I don’t see how you two will stay together.”
He inches closer to me. “That’s where you’re wrong. Our connection is something she craves. Mark my words. She’ll find her way to me no matter what.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure because she craves our connection too.” I hold his determined stare. “And if you loved her like you say you do, you wouldn’t have fired the security team I had in place.”
“I fired them and got our own. She doesn’t need you protecting her. I can do it just fine.” He winces like he was zapped with a cattle prod.
“Yeah, you and the bullet hole in your chest.” It’s a dick thing to say, but he pushes buttons in me I can’t control.
He downs the remainder of his martini. “If it weren’t for you and your insane family, I wouldn’t be in this position.”
“I see Dorothy told you about my concerns.”
“She did. We discuss everything.”
“I’m not responsible for my mother.” My stomach fills with guilt, so I switch the topic. “I’m surprised you’re being this aggressive.”
“You’ve misunderstood my mood. I’m doing great. This is just me telling you how it is.” He shrugs as if he knows he can’t lose.
I grit my teeth. His confidence ignites a fire in me. If he wants to threaten me, I have something I can toss his way for him to stew on for a while.
“You know, I take it back. I’m not surprised.” The ice in my glass clinks against the side as I swirl my liquid gold. “Dorothy warned me you were in a nasty mood.”
His eyes narrow. “And when was this?”
“The other night when we had dinner together.” I flash a smirk just as Dorothy and Melanie return.
“You guys didn’t kill each other.” Melanie slides up to Jamison’s side. “I knew we were going to have fun tonight.”
