Ruby
“Jett, this is incredible,” I said in a breathless voice as I dropped my small purse on a chair in the living room.
My first glance at Jett’s high-rise penthouse had left me stunned.
I’d started to come to terms with his enormous wealth, first on the flight to Ohio, and then to Seattle on his private jet, but the penthouse pretty much blew me away.
Jett leaned a hip against the kitchen counter and watched me flit around the enormous living room as he said, “I thought material things didn’t mean much to you.”
I knew he was teasing. His voice was thick with amusement.
I finally plopped down in a window seat that had a perfect view of the top part of the Space Needle. The penthouse was slightly higher, but it almost looked framed in the window like a picture.
But it was all too real.
“I’m not materialistic,” I argued. “But there’s no way I can’t be impressed by the way the architect designed this place, or the fantastic views.”
I got up and wandered to another large window with a seat and looked at the water. “Is that Puget Sound?”
We were sitting at the top of an incline, so we looked down at sweeping water views.
“Technically, it’s probably Elliott Bay, but it’s still part of the Sound.”
“Can we get closer?” I asked excitedly.
“Why do we need to get closer? You can see it from here.”
“I wasn’t even close to water when I was a kid. And once I got south, I rarely went near the beaches.”
I’d tried to keep my head low and stay out of trouble in Miami. Unfortunately, I’d still fallen for the lies of human traffickers.
Jett chuckled. “There’s a seafood restaurant on a pier not far from here. We can go check it out tomorrow night. You can’t get much closer to the water without swimming.”
I beamed at him, relieved that our relationship was friendly again.
Coping with the revelations about my parents, and the fact that I’d been lied to by my uncle, hadn’t been easy, but Jett had been so supportive that it helped. After I’d cried all over him in the cemetery, we’d talked about some happy memories I’d had with my parents, and we’d fallen into an easy comradery that I’d missed.
I wouldn’t see my inheritance for a while, not until all the legal stuff was done. But at least I knew that my folks had provided for my future, and that I wasn’t completely dependent on anyone.
I turned and stood, crossing my arms as I said, “That means you’re paying for another dinner.”
He nodded, his eyes dancing with humor as he answered, “Makes sense since you don’t have any money yet.” He lifted his hand to stop me from speaking. “And before you start arguing, you can cook the day after tomorrow, and that’s much more than payback for any restaurant we visit. Especially if you make those incredible pastries. I can’t cook worth a damn, so you’ll be saving me money, and we can call it even. Can we agree on that? I’d like to show you Seattle, maybe even get out of the city and check out the wineries and the mountains. But I don’t want to fight every time I pay.”
I lowered my head, purposely losing eye contact with him. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to see the Northwest so badly. “I’m sorry. I just feel so bad because you always have to pay. For everything. It will be nice when I can actually afford to pay you back, and have something to see me through until I can find a job.”
“It won’t be forever,” he said gruffly. “You’ll get on your feet once everything is settled in Ohio. Just let yourself be Cinderella for a while. You deserve that, Ruby.”
I gave him a dubious look, but didn’t say anything.
“So you’re going to accept the fact that I’m going to pay for stuff?” he asked.
“If you agree to let me cook most of the time.” I nodded my head toward the kitchen. “I can’t wait to get into that spectacular kitchen.”
“Done,” he said quickly, then moved forward to pick up my suitcase. “Let me show you the bedrooms and you can pick your favorite.”
I followed him, knowing that the rest of the suitcases were being brought up by a valet.
We took an elevator to the second level, an extravagance I was glad that Jett had available because of his knee.
I took a beautiful room accented in light blue, and with gorgeous views of the water.
“I’ll unpack and then I can fix dinner,” I told him as I motioned for him to drop the suitcase on the king-sized bed.
“You can let my assistant unpack,” he corrected. “And we can order pizza. It’s been a long day.”
My eyes shot up to his face. “You have an assistant already?”
I’d thought I was going to be his assistant.
He grinned. “I have several of them. But you’re the only one who’s going to live here.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “So you didn’t actually desperately need my help or anything.”
His expression grew intense as he looked at me from the top of my head to my feet, showing no sign of what he was thinking.
Finally, he said, “I needed you.”
A spark caught fire in my belly as I met his earnest gaze, unable to look away. I needed him, too, in a way I couldn’t really explain with words. I wanted to throw myself into his arms and beg his forgiveness for messing up the only opportunity I’d had to get closer to him.
Earlier, he’d been a friend and a shoulder to cry on when I needed it. But I wanted so much more.
I regretted running away from him in a stupid panic, but it had been a reaction I hadn’t been able to stifle.
Not then.
And probably not now if I didn’t approach things differently.
But I still wanted to touch him. I craved a connection with Jett, something much more intimate than what was happening between us now.
I stepped forward and put a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” I murmured as I moved back. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
His fists were clenched to his side as he answered, “You’re welcome, Cinderella.”
Jett turned and left the room like his ass was on fire, and I knew it was because he wasn’t comfortable being physically close to me anymore. Not unless I was sobbing my heart out on his shoulder. I’d flipped out on him once before, and he was apparently wary.
I couldn’t exactly blame him.
“Here we go,” a female voice said from the bedroom door. “Your suitcases.”
Our driver and a well-dressed older woman entered my bedroom. Their efficiency was impressive. I watched as the lady pulled a few suitcase holders from the closet, and the driver placed the suitcases on them before he left the room, presumably to deliver Jett’s suitcases to his bedroom.
I stepped forward as the female started to open the first of two suitcases. “I can do that,” I said, feeling flustered because somebody actually thought they needed to unpack for me.
“Oh, no, dear,” the woman said in an admonishing voice that made me feel like a two-year-old. “Mr. Lawson specifically asked me to do it for you.”
“I’m Ruby,” I told her. “And I always unpack my own things.”
She smiled at me patiently, and nodded her head. “It’s very nice to meet you, Ruby. I’m Shirley, Mr. Lawson’s executive assistant, and he pays me well to unpack things for him and his guests.”
She was nice, but adamant, and I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with somebody who worked so closely with Jett.
As she opened the suitcase, I snatched up my underwear. “Can I at least put away my undies?” I asked.
I didn’t have anything particularly sexy, but it just seemed all wrong to let somebody else handle my lingerie.
“Of course. You can help all you want, and let me know where you want your things,” she said cheerfully.
“Honestly, I really don’t know,” I confided. “I’ve never been here before.”
“It’s a lovely home,” she shared as she hung the items Jett had bought for me, most of which I hadn’t even worn. “I think you’ll be comfortable here.”
How in the world could I not be comfortable in a multimillion dollar home like Jett’s? “I’m sure I will,” I answered. “How long have you worked for Jett?”
“Been with him for the last five years,” Shirley answered as she handed me the hung-up clothes to put in the closet when I stepped forward. “Like you, I don’t think he wanted anybody to touch his underwear, either, but he finally got too busy to do everything himself.”
A laugh escaped from my mouth. Shirley was matter-of-fact and professional, and I liked her rather dry sense of humor. “He’s a busy guy. He needs somebody to put his clothes away, I suppose,” I told her.
“Best boss I’ve ever had, and I’ve had quite a few. All three of the Lawson boys are good people.”
I smirked because I wasn’t sure how Jett would react to being called a boy.
“So you knew him before he was injured?” I was curious how much Jett’s accident had changed him. “What was he like before it happened?”
Shirley was storing the suitcases in another closet as she answered, “He was always the most sensitive brother, and his personality is still the same. But his spirit seemed to be broken after his fiancée tossed him aside. That one was never going to make him happy. And he’s lucky she left him, but it hurt to watch a man as gravely injured as Mr. Lawson have to take another blow after the accident. His spirit had taken enough of a beating.”
“How long did it take him to get his spirit back?” I questioned.
“I’m not sure that he really did,” she said thoughtfully. “Oh, I have no doubt he realizes that he made a lucky escape, and he wouldn’t get near the fiancée who hurt him again, but he’s…changed. He doesn’t laugh much anymore, and she shattered some of his confidence.”
“Unless it has to do with his computer skills,” I corrected. “He’s still pretty cocky about those.”
Shirley chuckled as she walked toward the door. “He has a right to be. Have a good night, Ruby. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again soon.”
“Thank you, Shirley,” I called out as she left the room.
I sat down on the bed, thinking.
Since I hadn’t known Jett before his accident, I had no way of knowing if Jett had lost something he couldn’t regain.
His confidence?
His self-worth?
Since I’d never had much of those things myself, I probably wasn’t the best person to help him get them back.
But because Jett deserved to be happy, I was willing to give it my best shot.