Chapter Eleven

THEY PULLED UP TO THEIR hotel and Jack gave the keys to the valet and got their bags while Jessie went to check in. Amanda, the administrative assistant at Drake, had booked a two-bedroom suite. Jessie had assumed they would be in separate rooms.

“Gus and I usually got a suite when we could. Makes it easier to work since we’ll have the common area to share. You’ll still have your own bedroom and bathroom,” Jack explained when she asked him about it as they rode the elevator to their floor.

“Okay,” Jessie agreed.

“If you’re worried you can lock your door,” Jack teased her.

“No, of course I’m not worried.” She looked in his eyes as the elevator lurched slightly and stopped at their floor.

Inside the suite, Jessie took her bag into one of the rooms and Jack went the other way. She unpacked her things and then wandered into the bathroom. She glanced at herself in the mirror and reapplied mascara, light pink lipstick and some lip gloss.

She walked back into the common area of the suite. Jack was sitting on the sofa with his laptop out.

“So we can go whenever you’re ready. I told the client we’d be there sometime after three,” Jack said, all business again.

“I’m ready when you are,” Jessie replied.

They took a cab to the Dennison’s luxury apartment. They were greeted at the door and shown into the sitting room by a uniformed maid.

“Mrs. Dennison will be with you in a moment,” the maid said politely, leaving them seated on stiff furniture in a formal room.

Rachel Dennison was an attractive woman in her late fifties. She shook hands with Jack and Jessie and took the seat across from Jessie and to Jack’s right.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Jack began.

“Thank you,” she replied primly. “My husband was a good man. It’s a terrible tragedy.”

Jack nodded. Jessie was following his lead, watching the way he interacted with their client and learning from him. Sympathetic and polite, but professional.

“So tell me about the money, Mrs. Dennison, and the men who visited you and made the demand for payment.” Jack nodded at Jessie, who opened a small notebook, ready to take any relevant notes.

“On Thursday a man came to see me. He didn’t tell me his name. He said that Sam owed his boss money. A lot of money.” Mrs. Dennison hesitated. “My husband had a bit of a problem with gambling… sports bets, mostly.”

“Did your husband tell you about the debt?” Jack asked her.

Mrs. Dennison shook her head. “No. My husband was a good man. A family man. We have three grown children and seven grandchildren. He’s worked for my family’s business since we married and has been very successful. He tried to shield us from his one and only vice.” Mrs. Dennison’s voice shook slightly and she paused.

“Mrs. Dennison, I’m very sorry but I need to ask you some questions that might be upsetting.” Jack’s voice was controlled and soothing. “How much money did the man tell you that your husband owed?”

“He told me that my husband died owing his boss a million dollars. They have given me two weeks to pay the debt, or that price doubles. The man who came here was… quite threatening.”

“And you don’t believe that your husband owed the money?” Jack asked, glancing at Jessie and then looking back at Mrs. Dennison.

“I don’t know, Mr. Turner. I only know that my accountant informed me that my husband came to him to liquidate assets in the amount of five million dollars in the past two months. He did so, and believes that my husband paid the money to these men.”

“But you said the man that came to see you said your husband owed one million dollars,” Jack said, making sure he had all of the correct information.

“Yes. I don’t know what happened to the five million dollars, Mr. Turner. I don’t know if my husband paid these men the money he owed or not. If he did, I don’t know what became of the rest of the money. These are the details I’m counting on you to find out. I let my accountant know that you would be at his office tomorrow morning.”

Mrs. Dennison got up and walked across the room to an antique desk. She picked up a thick folder and walked back to where Jack was sitting. She handed it to him.

“Mr. Turner, all the information you requested in your email is in this folder. I have provided you with the login information so you can access our accounts online, including credit card accounts. Everything else you asked for is here. I want to know if this debt is legitimate and I want to know why my husband was involved with such people. I don’t want my children to find out any of this. I don’t want them to be hurt. I want to know what happened to the five million dollars my husband withdrew from our accounts.”

Jack nodded. He gave Mrs. Dennison his card, which had his cell phone number on it. “We’ll start right away. I’ll be in touch when we have any information.”

Mrs. Dennison shook their hands and walked them to the door. “Thank you,” she said. “I’m sure you must realize what a difficult time this has been for me and my family. As you know, my family name is well-known and the last thing my children need right now is a scandal. I appreciate your absolute discretion.”

“Of course,” Jack assured her as they left.

THEY GOT BACK TO THE hotel suite in the late afternoon.

Jack disappeared into his room. He emerged five minutes later in black shorts, a tank, and running shoes. “I’m going for a run.”

“Okay.” Jessie glanced at him from her position on the couch in front of the large television.

His body was incredible. She couldn’t help staring at his tattooed arms, which looked like they could lift her in the air and break her in half without even working up a sweat.

“Be back later.”

After Jack left she forced herself to get motivated. She changed her clothes and headed to the hotel gym. She walked on the treadmill for an hour and then started a rotation of the weight machines.

The gym was fairly large and surprisingly crowded. In her experience hotel gyms were usually pretty empty. Most people didn’t stick to their workout routines when away from home.

Truthfully, if Jack hadn’t gone for a run, Jessie would have been happy to lazily sit in front of the television for the rest of the night. Now that she was here though, working out, it felt good.

Jack also ended up in the hotel gym after his run. He noticed Jessie across the large space and paused for a second to admire her form as she straddled the lateral pull-down weight machine, her arms and back lightly toned. She wore black and pink capri workout pants and a black tank with a pink sports bra showing underneath. Her blonde hair was out of the way, secured in a long braid down her back.

He turned his attention to the other side of the gym and got started with his own routine. He noticed that many of the men working out had their eyes on Jessie, stealing glances as they lifted weights or ran on treadmills. She was by far the most striking girl in the gym. Jack smiled to himself. She didn’t even seem to notice. He had never met a girl as attractive as she was that was so oblivious to the attention she received from men.

Jessie sat down at the ab machine and began doing crunches. She finally noticed Jack on the other side of the gym, lifting weights. His body was ridiculous. It occurred to her that Jack was hot enough to score just about any girl he wanted. No wonder he had no interest in a committed relationship. Why should he settle for one girl when he could have them all?

Jessie left the gym first, riding the elevator back up to their suite. She shut herself in her room and stripped off her clothes. In the huge marble bathroom, she turned on the water in the glass-enclosed shower and stepped under the hot spray.

She unbraided her hair and washed it slowly, taking her time in the huge shower that could easily fit another three of her. Then she lathered her body and rinsed, running her hands down her chest, over her breasts, her flat stomach, and finally, below.

Her fingers skipped lightly over herself. She hadn’t had sex since last fall, before she and Scott had broken up. Although, she had never really found much satisfaction when Scott made love to her anyway. She wondered if she would be able to get herself off. Sometimes she could, but often she had trouble bringing herself all the way to an orgasm.

She thought of Jack. She closed her eyes as she imagined him touching her, imagined kissing him and running her hands over his hard, muscular body. She rubbed herself, bringing herself so close to coming. She was almost there, so wet and slick, so turned on thinking about doing naughty things with Jack.

It felt good but she just couldn’t get there. She whimpered in frustration, unable to bring herself over the edge, and finally gave up. She sighed and removed her hand, wondering for the hundredth time what she was doing wrong. Wasn’t this supposed to be easier?

She forced herself to abandon the fantasy. It was silly anyway. She knew she wasn’t the type of girl that Jack liked. He’d probably be bored with her. And who could blame him? She couldn’t even give herself an orgasm most of the time. It wasn’t likely she’d have much chance of satisfying his ravenous sexual appetite.

Jessie rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and then turned off the water. She dried herself off with a fluffy white towel and then walked naked into her bedroom. There, she lathered every inch of her body with strawberry scented lotion and pulled on her comfy pink pajama pants and a white tank top. She slipped her feet into her fuzzy puppy slippers, combed her hair and then towel dried it so it was only damp. She walked out into the common area and plopped in front of the television, pointing the remote control at the huge screen, flipping through the channels.

A few minutes later the door opened and Jack walked in. He was drenched in sweat and looked sexy as hell as he glanced over at Jessie. Jessie felt her body go on alert, her eyes greedily taking in his perfectly sculpted physique.

“Are you hungry?” Jack asked, wiping a towel over the back of his neck, his eyes locking with hers.

“Starving,” Jessie answered.

“We can go out if you want. Or we can order room service.” Jack noticed she was in her pajamas. His eyes traversed her snug-fitting tank and pajama pants appreciatively until they reached her feet. Were those puppies on her slippers?

“Let’s order room service,” Jessie said. “I’m kind of tired. I wouldn’t mind staying in.”

Jack nodded in agreement. He was tired after his late night with Angie and Dawn. An early night appealed to him also.

Jessie got up and looked around the suite. She found the hotel directory, which included a menu of the room service options. She walked passed Jack and his eyes swept over her again. Her ass looked amazing in her low-rise pajama pants.

He tore his gaze away from her, trying to stop himself from imagining taking her pants off and finding out what that sweet little body tasted like. His cock was already semi-hard as the scent of strawberries invaded his space.

He noticed that she wasn’t wearing a bra and that through the white tank top she had on he could make out the outline of her nipples, which hardened when she realized he was looking at them. Watching her nipples harden in response to his stare had just about raised the status of his erection from semi to full-on. He turned away quickly before Jessie could notice the significant tent that had formed in his gym shorts.

“Do you want to look at this menu and let me know what you want to eat?” Jessie asked, trying to pretend that Jack hadn’t just been staring at her boobs. She felt her face heat up. She should have realized that this tank top was kind of see-through. She hoped he didn’t think she was trying to get his attention. That would be too embarrassing.

“Can you just order me something? I’m going to go take a shower and change.” Jack was already to the door of his bedroom.

“Of course. What do you like?” Jessie asked.

“I’ll eat anything,” he answered, as he went into his room, closing the door behind him.

IN THE SHOWER, JACK STOOD with one arm raised, his hand flat against the shower wall, head bent under the spray of water. With his other hand, he jerked himself off. He imagined pinning Jessie’s naked, dripping body to the shower wall, his hands exploring every inch of her. Just imagining her naked body had his cock throbbing and hard as a rock.

She would glance up at him with those amazing blue eyes… she would be shy, her cheeks flushed pink as he dropped to his knees and spread open her pussy lips with his fingers and slid his tongue over her. After he made her pussy wet for him, he would stand up and turn her around to face away from him. He would grasp both of her wrists together with one hand, hold her arms above her, and press her hands against the wall while he thrust his cock in and out of her from behind. He imagined how good and slick her pussy would feel, how she would cry out when he made her come all over his cock.

At that, Jack came into his hand with a low grunt, the release washing over him like a wave.

He shook his head as he cleaned up. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d just had a threesome with two of the hottest girls he’d ever been with the night before. He had a lifetime of mental images for wank material just from that, and what was he thinking about? A girl he’d never even seen naked. It was ridiculous.

Jack came out of his room with damp hair, wearing jeans and a grey Atlanta Braves t-shirt. He picked up his laptop from the dining table and came over to where Jessie was sitting with her feet tucked under her, flipping through channels. He sat on the other end of the sectional and opened his computer on his lap.

There was a knock on the door, and Jessie set the remote control down. She got up and went to the door. She opened it and a hotel worker, a young man in his early twenties, rolled a cart into their suite and began setting up their food on the dining table.

Jack noticed that the guy was having trouble taking his eyes off Jessie, who was smiling and making small talk with him. She signed for the room service and held the door open so he could roll the cart back out.

“Do you want to sit at the table or in front of the television?” Jessie asked him.

“Whatever you want… I don’t care,” Jack answered her.

“TV,” Jessie decided. She brought his plate, a napkin, and utensils to him and set them on the table in front of the sofa. “I got you a steak. I figured that was a safe choice.”

“You don’t have to wait on me,” Jack objected, frowning.

“I know,” Jessie responded. “It’s not like that. I’m already up. It’s no big deal. What do you want to drink?”

She went behind the bar and looked inside the mini-fridge. “Beer? Coke? Water?” The bar was also well-stocked with gin, vodka, rum and tequila. Jessie let him know the options.

“A beer would be good.” Jack watched her walking toward him carrying a Yuengling. She opened the beer and handed it to him.

She got herself a Coke and brought her plate back to the sofa. She sat cross-legged with her plate in her lap and started eating, watching a repeat of an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Jack had set his computer aside and picked up his plate also.

Jessie laughed often as she watched one of her favorite sitcoms.

“Do you watch this show?” Jessie asked.

“No, but I’ve seen it before,” Jack said.

“Oh my God I love it. It’s hysterical.” Jessie took a bite of her red snapper. “This is so good. Want to try it?”

Jack had already finished every bite of his own meal. He glanced at her plate and nodded. “Sure.”

She put a bite of the fish on her fork and leaned toward him, holding the fork to his mouth to feed it to him. He accepted the bite she offered.

“So what are your favorite shows?” Jessie asked.

“I don’t know. Don’t watch a lot of television, really. I mostly just watch sports. I like Archer,” he replied. “Game of Thrones. The Walking Dead. That’s about it.”

“I watch The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, too! I have a major crush on Jon Snow,” she confessed, giggling. “I’ve never seen Archer, though.”

He nodded but didn’t reply. Instead he grabbed his computer and started researching some of the information Mrs. Dennison had given him. He reviewed the past six months of Sam Dennison’s credit card records and found a few recurring charges that were interesting. He made a note of a few things to check out.

While he was working, Jessie called Zoey to check in. She was spending the night with Chris, so she had left Libbie at Jessie’s parents’ house.

After catching up with Zoey, Jessie called her Dad.

“Hi Daddy,” she said. “How are you?”

She noticed Jack glance over at her and smirk.

“What?” she mouthed, giving him a puzzled look.

“Daddy?” he asked sarcastically. “Are you four?”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Such a little princess,” he teased her, smiling slightly and shaking his head.

“How’s Libbie?” she asked, turning her attention back to her father. “Aww… I miss her too. Will you put her on the phone?”

She saw Jack roll his eyes and decided to finish her conversation from her own room.

After she was done talking to Libbie and her Dad, she went back into the common area and started flipping through the channels again. Jack closed the computer, finished working for the night.

“Want to watch a movie?” Jessie asked. “I wanted to watch the Orioles game, but I can’t find it on any of the channels here.”

Jack shrugged. “Okay.”

Jessie changed the channel to one of her all-time favorite movies, “Legally Blonde.” It was just starting.

“Have you seen this?” Jessie asked.

Jack shook his head. “Nah. Looks like a chick flick.”

“It’s really funny. You’ll like it, I promise.” Jessie tucked her legs underneath her and glanced at Jack. His face was serious as he stared at the television.

Jack thought that the movie was kind of stupid, but it was obvious that Jessie was enjoying it. And he was enjoying watching her. She laughed hysterically at the funny parts, glancing over at him to see if he thought it was funny, too. Jack couldn’t remember spending time like this with a girl. Ever.

When he was with Tara, they had each done their own thing, for the most part. Besides going to a bar to drink with friends and coming home to fuck the hell out of each other, there hadn’t been much more to it than that. The only time Jack hung out with women now was also when he was getting laid. Since there was no chance of that happening tonight, Jack was surprised to find that he was enjoying himself anyway.

When the movie was over, Jessie said goodnight and disappeared into her room, closing the door behind her. Jack went over to the bar and made himself a gin and tonic. He sat back down and opened his computer, looking for anything odd in Sam Dennison’s bank account records. He was looking for any patterns or charges that seemed out of the ordinary.

Earlier when he did a quick check of his credit card charges, he had found that Leo’s Diner appeared fairly regularly, about once a week, sometimes twice. The guy also clearly loved the entertainment at a place called Pleasure Palace, because he seemed to go there at least once a week as well. It was a lead he would follow up on tomorrow. Of course it might not mean anything. Likely it didn’t. Lots of guys frequented strip clubs. Hell, Jack might be considered almost a regular at a few strip clubs himself.