Carly Sevens
The immense relief I should have felt at it all being over and done with wasn’t as fast in coming as I’d hoped. I was working on the theory that, eventually, my heart and head would get in sync and verify the decision I’d made as the sensible one for all of us.
It was just better for everyone this way.
And I hoped like hell he was going to remain professional for our next mentor session together.
Which was in thirty minutes.
Because if he didn’t, I was quite prepared to walk away from the program. I had a job to go to and my finals would be done and dusted soon. I’d go home and he could continue with his life here, sans complication.
I kept telling myself this, but I didn’t know why. It wasn’t like he was chasing me down. Jack never responded to my final text message.
Rebecca had, thankfully, let me off the hook with Livvy and we got to spend a few hours together going over business stuff. It was only when I walked away with books and files that I remembered Jack was my ride. Lugging them back on the train was a pain in the ass, but now at least I had something to occupy me.
Life apparently went on.
When I got back it was like I’d never been away. My housemates were all absorbed in their own stuff and hadn’t really noticed I was missing. Only Sascha came to say hello. We chatted briefly but I knew I was preoccupied. I was working hard to convince myself that the fling with Jack, my brief walk on the wild side, was over.
I could do this.
I could pick up my life and carry on.
I was Carly Sevens and I’d suffered worse heartbreak than this growing up, and that hadn’t broken me.
I would not let this break me either.
I made contact with Xavier to catch up on the study groups I’d missed, and when he asked me to go to Dooley’s that night, I declined. I couldn’t bring myself to party just yet. I needed to focus on college and work towards picking back up and finishing my degree.
When I woke that morning, I felt nervous. I knew it was the first time I would see Jack and after not much sleep either, because I was stressing and had a full day of classes. I was starting to feel ill about it.
I could do this, though. I could it make it through the day… which went way too quickly.
Thankfully, his trashy office was still out of commission, which meant we were still meeting in the library. I was already sat at a desk in the middle of the study area when I spotted him swiping through the door. My heart juddered as he got closer and I had to say, the angrier Jack looked the more attracted I was to him. Deep down, I knew it was because some of the best sex ever I’d ever had had been when he was taking his frustrations out on me.
Jack wore a black blazer with a simple white shirt underneath. The neck of the shirt was open and had a tie pulled loosely apart at the knot, sitting under the collar. His hair was mussed up and his eyes looked bright and sparkly, like he was ready for a fight. As he sat down and said my name, I watched him swallow and the sexy lump of his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.
I struggled to draw my eyes away from it. I’d kissed that. I’d licked and nipped at it when we fucked and it was simply killing me.
I watched as he opened and clenched his fists gently. “Did you get here okay? I forgot. I should have checked that you had a ride back.”
“I caught the train. Thanks anyway.”
He went silent for a beat, trying to see if I was going to say anything else, and when I picked up a pencil to urge him to get started, he understood and sighed.
“Okay then. I want to talk about entrepreneurs and inventions today. That one idea that was a game changer. When you leave here, you’ll be searching for the next game changer. Tell me about some.”
As I began to list things like computers, apps and my old favorite the combustion engine, I could see he was getting frustrated. “You’re thinking too literally. In this day and age to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to think about degrees of separation.”
“I don’t understand.”
He had a smug look on his face and I hated it. Jack wanted me to feel off kilter and making me feel stupid was his way of achieving that. With an ankle propped on his knee, he leaned back to get comfy. “How does your grandpa Oli make his money?”
“Lots of ways. You know this. He’s involved in everything. He diversifies.”
“He does, but doesn’t his main income come from lease agreements on buildings he owns?”
“Yes! That’s it—renter’s contracts.”
“Wrong,” Jack snapped, making me feel like a wayward child for falling into his trap. I watched as he interlocked his fingers together and leant forward to place his forearms on the table. I was mesmerized by them. I had amazing memories of what those fingers could do to me. Had done to me. “You’re not getting it. Tell me what’s in those buildings.”
“A dance studio, a coffee shop, a clothing boutique and a kid’s nursery. Do you want the whole list?”
“Fuck, Carly, think about it.”
“I am,” I bit back.
“Oli Hart only leases his buildings to the businesses he knows the town needs or will benefit from. If he has a successful business in that space, he makes guaranteed money. There’s a lot less risk of them not being able to afford the rent and it satisfies demand.”
I thought about what he was saying and I understood. Oli was careful about the businesses in his properties. Clearly this was a clever part of his business model, which increased his success and guaranteed a return on investment.
As I was musing, Jack interrupted. “What’s the most successful company you can think of right now?”
“Apple.”
“Why?”
This rapid fire questioning was annoying but fun. “Because of their product line.”
“Okay, which product is the most successful and put them on the map?”
“The iPhone.”
“Wrong,” he berated again. “It’s the iPod. The iPod revolutionized the way we listen to music, but its real genius was the access it gave consumers to music. People didn’t have to schelp to a music store or get a physical CD. They could log on and in seconds have that music. And because music is ever changing in trend and can be rehashed, mixed or reborn, it means iTunes will be alive and earning money for Mr. Apple for generations to come.”
It wasn’t the device; it was the accessibility that was the genius part and once again he’d succeeded in exciting me with his teaching. Hell, Jack was a genius.
“So, the moral of today’s story is separation. Whatever your idea is for the next game changer, make sure it has more levels of change that give it the scope to outlast some faddy app.”
“Shit. Wow, Jack. That’s brilliant. I—”
I watched as he got preoccupied with retrieving his cell from his pants pocket before frowning at the number. “Hello?”
I tried to refocus on my studies but all I could see was him, and all I could smell was Jack. I missed him.
“Oh, hey, Jackie. No. Honestly, it’s no trouble,” he continued. “No. My brother didn’t push me into it.” He laughed a genuine laugh and it made the skin around his eyes crinkle. God, he was gorgeous. “No. I don’t do the blind date thing either. Sure. Dooley’s later. Look forward to it.” Jack finally ended the call then seemed to remember where he was and who he was with. Although maybe he realized because I was scrabbling around like a mad woman, trying to get my pad and pens stuffed into my bag so I could be gone from him. I wanted to be angry that he’d already moved on, but my emotional dial was firmly set at upset. If only I could replace him so quickly. I was surviving day to day at the moment as it was.
“Carly—”
“Don’t. Stop. No explanations. I called time,” I mumbled, praying that he wouldn’t be able to see the physical cracks appearing.
“Carly,” Jack whispered, reaching across the desk.
“Our session’s over now, right? Good. And fuck you, Jack Griggs.”
Kicking my chair back, I stormed off.
Part of me prayed he was following me. I was desperately hoping that he was hot on my heels with a need to make me see that I was wrong, that he wasn’t going on a date. If he did then at least I’d know he cared even the smallest bit about the time we’d been together.
But he never fucking moved.
When I got to the library door, I took a chance and glanced back at the table. I could see he was still there. There was no tension in his shoulders. He wasn’t even hunched over and didn’t seem bothered about what had just happened. He just sat there.
Feeling more irked and a little bit psychotic, I sent Xavier a text telling him to come and pick me up. I was going to Dooley’s tonight come hell or high water.
If Jack was dating then I wanted to see it and make it as uncomfortable as possible for him.
* * *
Fucking hell.
Fucking. Fucking. Hell.
She was stunning.
I felt violently sick when I walked in and saw him sat in a secluded corner of Dooley’s with her. That should have told me everything. Whoever she was, she meant enough for him to desert his bar stool and sit at an actual table.
His blind date had long, flippy blonde hair and one hell of an athletic figure. She wore barely any makeup and simple clothes, but it worked for her. Jackie—as he called her—was the exact opposite of me. She was confident in herself, she looked invested in the conversation and what was worse, so did he.
I followed Xavier and his teammates to the bar, catching Jack’s eye only once, but I held it for as long as possible with a glare. I wanted him to know just how pissed off I was. I wanted him to see that it was hurting me that he was already dating. I know I asked for space but did he have to fill the void the minute my back was turned?
“Guys and gals.” Lila, the owner of Dooley’s voice interrupted the music. “Tonight is Dooley’s annual paint parrrtaay! Guys, pick a girl and get ready to use your imagination. The lucky winning couple will get a thousand dollars. But be warned, this isn’t for the faint hearted. Are you brave enough to enter?”
Before I could stop myself, I spun Xavier around to face me. The action was so over the top, it meant he had to balance himself to stop from spilling his beer. “Enter with me!”
“Uh… No. You do not want to do this.”
I had no idea whether I really did, but I needed to do something bold and cut loose. I needed to have some fun and act like the single girl I was. Jack Griggs was taking up too much head space.
“I do. How hard can it be to paint a picture? It’s just a bit of fun.”
“Carls, it really isn’t,” he tried, while his friends kicked him and whisper-shouted that he was being a pussy. Between us, we had him on the ropes.
“I’ll do it with Mickey then.” My announcement made Mickey step forward with the biggest smile on his face.
“Fuck. You will not,” Xavier replied in a resigned voice I didn’t understand, but in truth, I didn’t care either. “Come on.”
After we’d signed up and stood with the other couples, Lila carried on. “Okay, folks, we have our entrants. Painters, await your human canvas over there. Models, here are your… outfits.”
Human canvas?
“Models?” I muttered at Xavier’s back as he wandered off.
“I did try to warn you. Go get changed. You are not wimping out now.”
With a paper bag in my hand, I followed the line of females who clearly understood what was going on. There was no way an outfit could fit in this bag and dread was building inside me.
What the hell was I doing?
When were reached the bathroom, I stood with five other girls who seemed a lot less nervous, and watched in horror as they started to strip off. Nobody else cared about nudity while the dread inside me grew at an alarming pace. Then without a care in the world, a huge breasted girl turned to me, completely unashamed, and barked, “I’ve got nipples the size of coasters. These pasties won’t cover shit.”
It was then that I put the pieces together.
Human canvas, paint and nipple pasties.
Oh fuck.
Now I was seriously regretting my moment of bravery.