* * *
It was Wednesday afternoon, and Janna was finally finishing up the last round of grading. Her students were clamoring for their scores, and she knew the professor was irritated with the length of time it'd taken her to finish. After returning on Sunday afternoon, she'd been unable to do much but mope around and paint. Brice had texted and called a few times since, but she'd blown him off with excuses about having to work, and he'd given her the space he'd sensed she was asking for. And still, despite keeping Brice at a distance physically, she couldn't keep him away from her thoughts.
Janna was entering the last grade when a knock sounded at her door. She opened it to find Shelby, who greeted her with a big smile.
"Girl, you better get down to the door. It looks like Mr. Moneybags ain't done spoilin' you yet."
Janna followed Shelby downstairs, confused and nervous about what she'd find. What she didn't expect was a tall, reed-thin gentleman with several garment bags in his hands.
"Ms. Puchina?" he inquired liltingly. At Janna's nod, he extended his hands to her. "These are for you, compliments of Mr. Drake."
Janna was sure her jaw must have hit the floor. Compliments of Mr. Drake? "Well, get 'em girl," Shelby said with a laugh and started taking the bags from the man and passing them to Janna. When he'd finally delivered the purchases, the thin man made an elegant bow and left, almost skipping down the steps.
"What is all this?" Janna said, the wonder in her tone evident.
"Most people call them clothes, honey," Shelby teased, helping her carry the bags into the living area.
"But, from Drake?"
Shelby frowned, confused. "Yeah, you're dating Masterson, right? Who's this Mr. Drake? You already got another millionaire on the side?"
"No!" Janna yelped. "Alex Drake went to college with Brice. We met over the weekend, and he...gave me some advice about how to fit into Brice's world. I kind of made an ass of myself at the fundraising dinner. You should see the hideous dress I wore." As she talked, Janna was busy unzipping the first garment bag. Inside was a familiar blush-pink ensemble. "Shit."
"What's wrong?"
"Alex took me to a boutique to give me some style pointers, but of course I couldn't afford anything he picked out, so we left. It looks like he's sent me the outfits I couldn't buy."
"Whoa." Shelby said, pulling out a designer dress and checking its price tag. "My daddy doesn't even make that much in a year. Granted he only works part-time. And for minimum wage. But still...damn."
"I know," Janna said. "What makes it worse is, I wouldn't use Brice's card to pay for a nice dress for the fundraiser, which resulted in all of this. If Brice finds out Alex sent me all these clothes, he's gonna be livid. He already hates Drake."
"Wait," Shelby put her palm up and stared at Janna. "Masterson hates this Drake guy? I thought you said they went to college together."
"They did, but they didn't get along. Brice said Alex got him kicked off the archery team. And stole his girlfriend."
"What? Oh, girl, you're in a hell of a pickle now. What are you gonna do?"
Janna sighed. "I'm gonna call Alex and tell him to take it all back, of course." With one last longing glance at the pile of beautiful clothing that probably cost more than a year's worth of out-of-state tuition, she turned her back on them and grabbed her phone.
Alex had insisted on programming his number into her phone, in case she had any "first-world emergencies," as he'd laughingly called them. She was glad she had it now, and as the phone rang, she tried to decide just how to approach the call.
"Drake here." His voice was clipped, his tone screaming "get to the point."
"Alex, this is Janna. And I have a bit of a problem."
The change in his tone was remarkable. Suddenly his voice was smooth as honey, tinged with that Tennessee twang that told her he allowed himself to relax around her. "Not gonna accept my generous gift, are you?"
"You know I can't," Janna replied, not surprised that he'd already figured out why she'd called. She hoped her tone sounded stern.
"I knew you'd try and convince me that you can't, but I'd still hoped I'd be able to persuade you otherwise."
"Come on, Alex. I wouldn't accept this kind of gift from Brice, so I sure as heck can't take it from you." Lights flashed before her eyes as a connection was made suddenly in her brain. "In fact, I'm beginning to think you did this on purpose, hoping that Brice would find out before I could return them. I can't believe I trusted you when Brice told me--"
"Yeah, what did old High-and-Mighty Masterson tell you? That I was a redneck, a hillbilly with no sense who couldn't see he didn't belong? Don't worry; I've heard it all from him before."
Janna bit back a gasp. Brice had said that? "No, he told me that you couldn't be trusted, that you were pursuing me to get back at him. Is it true?"
The loud bark of laughter was unexpected. "Janna, I don't know what he told you, but it's been years since college, and I have better things to do than hold a grudge against Brice Masterson."
Could Alex be telling the truth? Was Brice being unreasonable? "But you stole his girlfriend in college."
"Yeah, that's what he always said. But she broke up with him a week before we started seeing each other, so I don't really consider that ’stealing.’"
Alex sounded so assured, his tone stating unequivocally that Brice's charges against him were ridiculous. "Then why did you send me the clothes?"
Drake sighed before answering. "You remind me of myself when I was struggling to find my place in the world. I enjoyed spending time with you and wanted to help you if I could. I knew you wouldn't take a gift like this from Brice because of your relationship, but I thought maybe if you got it from a friend, well then maybe you could accept it."
"From a friend?" Janna barely realized she'd spoken, her brain busy trying to sort everything out.
"Yes. A friend. I would like to be your friend, nothing more. So will you accept them?"
His words were persuasive, but Janna knew that she couldn't keep the clothing. It wouldn't be right. And Brice would never understand. "No, you know I can't. I'm sorry. I appreciate the thought."
Alex chuckled. "Of course. Well, you'll have to return them to me then. Why don't you bring them over now?"
"What? I can't drop everything and drive to Portland now!"
"I'm not in Portland." His tone said that she didn't know all of his secrets yet. "I'm nearby. I've got a little place five minutes outside of town. My corporation funds a lot of research at the university, so it made sense to have someplace close for meetings and other functions."
"Sure," Janna murmured. She really didn't want to face Drake now, despite his reassurances. Could she trust him, or should she put her faith in Brice, even if she had her doubts? Regardless of the questions swirling around her head, she needed to get rid of these clothes before Brice found them, or before she tried them on and decided she couldn't live without them. Better to pull the bandage off quickly and get it over with.
"Give me your address, and I'm on my way."