CHAPTER EIGHT
Chapter Five
Jackson
When a friend sent me a text sometime before I woke up to ask if I'd spot him at the gym we were both members at, it seemed like fate was telling me to avoid seeing Vanessa first thing. I'd gone too far on Thursday night; massaging her shoulders, touching her waist. Even going around to her home had been unnecessary but she'd sounded so redundant and I knew I could help. Nothing like a fucking hero complex, is there?
I spent the morning with Claire, going through the information Katie Worthington had provided about her husband and the risk assessment we needed while dealing with the case. Claire wanted to take it on, I wanted to implement security for her from the outset and have her stay somewhere other than her apartment, where it was too easy to find her. After I pretended to listen to her arguments for twenty minutes she stormed off and I made the call to an old university friend who now ran a security firm.
I felt mildly more in control when there was a knock at my door. If the person behind it had any sense they'd come bearing coffee, preferably from Amelie's rather than the kitchen. The coffee machine there had a temper tantrum so we were waiting on a new one being delivered as it was clear Callaghan Greene couldn't operate without an unhealthy dose of caffeine each hour.
"Hey," the door opened and the dark-haired goddess I fell asleep thinking about, appeared holding two coffees from Amelie's. "If you're busy I can come back. I just need to run through some details for the retirement ball before I head over to my offices."
I stood up, a bit like we used to have to do when a teacher entered the classroom at my school. She looked like sex and home rolled into one perfectly proportioned woman and it was the home that scared me, made me bite my lips together and ball my hands into fists. Fitted black cropped trousers and a clingy black top gave my imagination enough to make sure I wouldn't need porn for the next decade and I didn't quite know what to say.
"Jackson?"
"Sure, I've got half an hour or so." Or all afternoon. In my bed.
Vanessa passed me one of the drinks and sat down opposite. She smelled of sweet limes and I wondered how she'd react to me leaning over and plundering her mouth with mine then taking her over the desk, because at that moment it was the only thing on my mind. "I've booked a venue. I can cancel it if you don't think it will work but I think it will give the right blend of history and tradition with forward thinking."
It was at this point I decided that she wasn't an employee as technically she was a contractor, and although she was a client it was only short term. I set the rules, therefore I could adjust them as needed. In my head I could manipulate my rules. "Where?"
"The Hop Exchange. They've had a cancellation for June 16th which is the Saturday you wanted." Her eyes were shining and she was radiating a warmth that made me want to lean in and savor it. She licked her lips and my cock shifted like it has been conditioned to wake up whenever I noticed her mouth.
"I like it there," I said. I did, I wasn't just being polite. It was a good choice and exactly what my father would want, not that he was getting a say as he was over in Niagara with my step-mum, Marie, deciding on which winery they wanted to buy. I was having no part of that venture unless they wanted me to taste the product. "What about caterers, music, décor?"
"Alice in my office will coordinate it. I think she secretly wants to be a wedding planner so any events we have she asks to organize. Have you..." she paused, licked her lips again. My cock was still hard from before, "...contacted Richard?"
"Seph's done it under my instruction. He's working on an injunction against Richard so he can't withdraw any more money and what he's taken will be debited to his director's loan account. I'll be checking everything Seph does, but he's good. I wouldn't trust him otherwise. Carry on as normal and me or Seph will keep you up to date." I moved to touch her hair, my blood definitely not in my brain but she tactfully moved back. Fuck knew why I couldn't control myself. I was an intelligent human being, not a fuckwit of a man who couldn't keep his hands to himself unless the woman had suggested otherwise. "Sorry. I shouldn't have and I apologize. I'll be more professional."
Vanessa stood, pushing the chair towards the desk. She shook her head, her expression unreadable. "Claire asked what I was doing after work. I mentioned we were going for drinks and maybe food and she asked if she could join us. Do you mind?"
Yes, I did mind, for fuck's sake. I wanted her to myself, to ask her questions and get to know her, to make her smile and laugh and watch every time her tongue touched her lips. And then I wanted to take her home and tie her to my bed for the rest of the weekend, which made me sound like a kinky kidnapper and I didn't want to come across as being quite that needy. I'd never been needy. If a woman hadn't been interested, which to be fair, hadn't been a frequent thing then I hadn't pursued it – there were always other women who had been. "No, that's fine. It'll give me a chance to catch up with Claire too."
She screwed up her nose. "Max mentioned coming too. That's before he meets some woman apparently although I wasn't sure if he had a fixed arrangement or he was planning on picking someone up. I wondered about gifting him an iTunes voucher for something other than Ed Sheeran."
I stretched my arms behind my head and smiled. "If you do, make sure I'm there to see his reaction. Is Seph joining us too, by any chance?"
"Possibly. He's meeting Payton at Euston first though. I think a couple of the fee-earners from Claire's team are coming. They mentioned something about two for one cocktails at Whisky Ginger." She pulled her hair back into a ponytail with her hands and bit her lips together. I knew she was trying to avoid being on her own with me tonight although having a few drinks with my colleagues and siblings wasn't that much of a chore for me. I figured that she was attracted to me, her erect nipples gave it away yesterday - and now I'd made up my mind to pursue her – date, court, woo, whatever verb you wanted to use the end result would be the same: Vanessa Moore would be in my bed. Or over my desk.
"What about Saturday?"
"What about Saturday?" She looked surprised which was good. She wouldn't have time to think of an excuse.
"Who are you going to surround yourself with on Saturday when I take you out so you don't have to be alone with me?"
Vanessa stood up straight, eyes on fire and I wondered what she'd be like beneath me in bed. "My gran is coming for the day to see an exhibition at the V&A."
I laughed out loud. I didn't expect that. "Which exhibit?"
"The history of underwear. You can join us if you like." She crossed her arms over her chest, raising her tits and pointing her lips in a smile. She had dared me, she'd fucking dared me and there was no way I was going to back down. I hadn't said no to a dare since Maxwell tried to get me to dress up in Marie's favorite ball gown as a thirteen-year-old and I still wasn't sure what that said about him.
"I'd love to find out about the history of underwear. What time are you meeting your gran?" I was standing too, leaning over my desk and looking at her directly in her eyes, their deep blue reminding me of the Irish skies and wild oceans.
"She's getting in at Euston at 9.20 so she'll probably meet me at Borough Market for breakfast at, actually, I'll suggest Amelie's. She'll really like it." The daring look had been replaced with genuine delight.
"I'm sorry, Van," I said. "I don't want to intrude on your day. I'm sure you want some time with your gran." She was clearly looking forward to seeing her gran and her having a good day. I felt like shit, forcing her hand to invite me.
She laughed. "You're not getting out of taking an eighty-year-old woman around an underwear exhibition. She'll enjoy that far too much. Plus, she visits every three weeks, sometimes more. Especially since I left Richard."
"If you're sure."
"I'm sure." She looked thoughtful. "Would you mind picking her up from Euston? She's fine on the tube but if you could give her a lift you'd be doing her a real favor."
"If you think she'll be comfortable with that I can take the car over. Just make sure she knows what I look like. Does she have a phone that you can send a picture to or something?" I was thrown by the request and that she'd made it clear that she wouldn't be coming to Euston herself.
Then there was that smile again, the one that held all the secrets that I want to kiss out of her. "It's okay, Jackson, you won't need the car. My gran loves motorbikes; it'll make her day if she can ride on the back of yours." She gave me a wide grin that lit up the whole of her face. "I'll see you at seven at Whisky Ginger." And then she patted my bicep and I wanted to pull her into me, but instead, I watched her ass as she walked out of my office.