Chapter Two
Josie
How had she found herself in this position? Mistress for a month. Her? To Jax Montgomery; the most sought after bachelor in the city? Granted, he hadn’t specified she would actually be sharing his bed, but for all intents and purposes, she was now the live in paramour to her boss.
When Jax had first laid out the terms for her continued employment, Josie was sure she had been dreaming. Over six feet tall, golden blond hair, the cerulean blue eyes of a tropical sea, and the chiseled physique of a Greek god, Jax had no need in stooping to blackmail for companionship. Hell, half of her coworkers were in love with him; male and female alike! Blinking stupidly at his demand, Josie had been unable to find her voice for several minutes.
Noting her confusion, Jax had gone on to explain that his wealth and status had made casual dating a minefield fraught with strife and conflict. If seen with the same woman more than once, the public jumped to the conclusion of impending nuptials. If he was spotted with different women, he was then cast in the role of heartless playboy. Added to that was the unwanted status as one of the most eligible bachelors five years running in the tabloids. Most of the women he came in contact with viewed him as a trophy to show off, or a notch on their belts.
The firm, Jax went on to explain, was in a critical stage of negotiations to acquire the holdings of a prestigious, family run business that had recently gone on the market. Being a conservative group, Jax’s personal affairs were under close scrutiny and could result in the firm losing the out on that business. In addition, the coming month held a series of family get-togethers, critical social obligations and work related events, Jax couldn’t have this potentially lucrative transaction put at risk by rumors and speculation about his love life. In exchange for her mistakes to be handled quietly, and being able to keep her job, Josie had agreed to move in with Jax and act as his fiancée for the entire month.
“You’re a valued employee Josie” Jax had started. “Everyone speaks highly of you and your work has always been superlative, but this mistake isn’t something I can easily overlook. Emile Dickerson has been with this company for nearly a decade, and trusts us with the most intimate of his business dealings.” Jax had stated solemnly. “A mistake of this magnitude can easily cost this firm his business and millions of dollars in potential income.”
Josie had been unable to maintain his penetrating stare, eyes falling to the hands held so tightly clenched on her lap. “I’m sorry Mr. Montgomery. I know I messed up, but once I realized my mistake, I did do everything in my power to rectify it. I, I, I don’t have any defense for my actions. I can only promise you I will never let it happen again.”
Risking a glance upward, she found him studying the files she had spent so many hours attempting to fix. Cringing, she thought of the original documents that now resembled a pile of confetti after its impromptu trip through the firm’s industrial sized shredder. Realizing her mistake too late, Josie could only stare in horror as the only copies of the valuable files were obliterated in a mechanical whirl. Knowing the mistake was the end of her career at Malone Montgomery, she had attempted to recreate the papers from her limited notes and memory, but even as she scrambled to undo the damage her momentary lapse had caused, she knew her time with the firm was coming to an end.
Breathing out in a large exhale, Jax placed the files aside and captured Josie’s nervous stare with his own. “I can see only two options here Josie, and I’ll leave it to you to decide which route we will follow.”
Nerves beat at Josie as she contemplated the possibilities. Hope began to spark within her: Perhaps termination wouldn’t be necessary.
“Normally a mistake of this magnitude would result in immediate termination.” Jax continued “But there is another option, one that would be beneficial to us both if you choose to go that route.”
Holding her breath in anticipation, Josie almost missed his next words as her heartbeat sounded abnormally loud in her ears.
“Either you will be terminated immediately and security will escort you out….or you can keep your position after you spend the next month with me, living as my fiancée. The choice is yours.”
Shock, she must be having an out of body experience from her panic attack in the hallway, all the oxygen deprivation caused her to go into shock that must explain what she had just heard. Normally, being faced with such a demeaning proposition, she would have slapped the offending party's face, and told him to cram the job where the sun doesn't shine. Somehow, Josie was unable to call forth the expected outrage such a proposal would garner.
In addition to needing the income from her position to fund her aspiring writing career, she couldn’t deny the chance to be in close proximity to Jax held some appeal. So, an hour later, Josie was ushered to Jax's wildly expensive, cherry red Jaguar. Once bundled in the passenger seat, still processing the turn of events, she began to question the proposition...and her reaction to it. Sure, crushing on her boss from afar was one thing; actually, acting on it was far different. And Jax; she still could not understand his motivation in such an arrangement. Something was off about this arrangement, and until she could gather her scattered thoughts, Josie was just going to ride it out. Sigh… yeah, it wasn’t what she wanted to be riding, but she’d take what she could get.
Thirty minutes later, Josie woke with a start. With a huff of annoyance, she realized she had fallen asleep. As far back as she could remember, Josie couldn’t ride in a car for more than five minutes without falling asleep; a habit that had driven her ex-boyfriend Lawrence, crazy. Glancing at her surroundings, she was surprised to find herself in the driveway of a gorgeous Tudor style house. With an amazing stone vestibule and a lush lawn, the residence was everything she had ever envisioned in a home. Looking in surprise at Jax, who was watching her every move with rapt attention, Josie was unable to contain her curiosity.
“You live here?” The corners of his mouth tilting upward slightly at her surprise, Jax simply nodded. “But” she continued in confusion, “I thought you lived in the high-rise downtown? I remember Mr. Malone having me send documents to you at an address downtown?” Brow crinkling in confusion, Josie thought about the incident, and how after gathering and addressing the documents, she had did a quick online search to see what his home looked like. She had been pleasantly surprised to find he lived less than a block away from her, indeed, if he chose to walk to work, he would have to cross in front of her own apartment on the way.
Josie had plenty of naughty daydreams of Jax jogging along the street and bumping into her on her way out of the building. In her fantasies, she was dressed to kill, and Jax had been unable to stop himself from throwing her over his shoulder, and up to her apartment, where he would ravish her until she no longer remembered her own name! Of course, in all her fantasies, she was twenty pounds lighter, her skin held none of the damned freckles that plagued her existence and she was the temptress who could lure a man with the crook of her little finger. But oh, such a pleasant way to fill the boring hours at work, when it seemed the stack of documents waiting to be filed only multiplied as she went.
Looking back at the dream house, Josie’s mouth turned down in a moue of displeasure. All this time, she had thought he lived within arm’s reach, and in reality, he had been here, in this amazing house in…. Wait, where were they again? Looking back at Jax, Josie asked bluntly “Where are we? How long have we been on the road?” In a surprising move, Jax leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose before unbuckling both of their safety belts.
Exiting, he moved quickly around the front of the Jag to Josie’s side. Ignoring her questions, Jax opened the door, reached in and grabbed her hand. Helping her to stand, Jax whispered quietly “Welcome home Baby Doll.”
Jax
He couldn’t believe it. His little Josie was actually here. In the home he had built for her. Soon she would be in his bed, and all the pent up desire and need he had held onto for so long would be satiated. He had expected more opposition, and had he not loved her so, he might have been suspicious of how quickly she acquiesced to his demands. Oh well, he thought with a mental shrug; beggars couldn’t be choosers. She had agreed to a month under his roof, and it wouldn’t be long before she was warming his bed, obeying his every command. Tamping down the arousal that thought produced, he escorted Josie into the home he had had built for her.
It was amazing the information a little online stalking could produce. After meeting her, Jax had pulled up her employment file; reading the documents so many times he could recite the forms verbatim. Josephine Olivia Yandel, age: twenty-eight. Graduate of a prestigious university with a Bachelor's in finance and creative writing. Single, no dependents and an amazing list of references, all of who singing her praises and offer of employment if she ever wanted to return; yeah, like he’d let that happen! No way was his little Josie leaving his side.
Once he had soaked in every bit of information from his limited resource, he had searched for her on every social media site around. Although she seemed to have an account with all of them, her activity was few and far between. Fortunately for him, her pages had not been private, and he was able to devour all of her likes and interests.
As he searched her Good Reads profile, he had come across a short story written by Olivia Dell. Pen name or no, he’d recognized his Baby Doll anywhere. He was both surprised and proud to find his love was a writer: And an amazing one at that. Jax had devoured the small story in one sitting and had been blown away. It was there and then he had decided she was wasting her talents as a paralegal, and he would stop at nothing to make her dreams of being a full-time writer come true.
It was amazing the information a person could garner with just the smallest bit on online stalking. From her Amazon Wish list to her Linkedin page, Jax had scoured the internet for any scrap of information pertaining to his future wife. There had been a rough moment when, combing through her Facebook profile, he’d had come across a post from three years back. A check-in for a couple’s getaway with a man named Lawrence; her boyfriend he thought with a grimace. But no other mentions of the man had been made since, and no Lawrence was currently listed on her friends list, so Jax was able to breathe easier knowing the way was clear for him, not that it would have stopped him.
Armed with her likes and passions, he had bided the time he was unable to be with her by planning the perfect home for his little Josie. He intended to keep his condo in the city, since he wanted a place close to work he could take Josie and have her for lunch; spread decadently atop their large mattress, begging for his touch. But once he was able to convince Josie to quit her job and take up writing full time, he would sell the place and work from the office he had built here. When his obligations pulled him away from home, he would simply drag Josie with him. Jax had spent the first thirty-eight years of his life waiting to start his family; he’d be damned if he would go another day without her by his side!