Jana

When I went to Daisy’s house for New Year’s Eve, I’d been deliberately vague about Jake. I didn’t use his name, and I didn’t tell my friends that he’d come to Vermont.

I did tell them we’d started dating—me and a hot delivery driver, nameless and definitely not a secret billionaire—but he’d had to move away for work, and now we were doing a causal long distance thing.

It doesn’t feel casual, though.

And I’m staying at his place for two nights, a fact I need to fess up to Nina when she texts me as soon as I get on the train.

I press my phone to my chest and groan. I’m pretty sure Nina walks past the Aston Corp headquarters every day on her way to work.

I don’t need to. The morning news tells me everything I need to know about my boyfriend.

She’s waiting for me in the main hall of the other Penn Station, this one in New York City. A mile and a half south of Jake’s building. Just thinking of him makes my heart race, and my best friend reads me like a book.

“Look at you,” she chides as she pulls me in for a hug. “So you’ve found love with the delivery driver, huh?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” I say, my cheeks flaming again. I give her a quick squeeze. “Let’s go find that drink you promised.”

It’s unseasonably warm, so we walk instead of trying to catch a cab. We go to a bar she likes on the ground floor of a boutique hotel, and after the bartender makes us drinks called Lavender Is the New Black, she gives me an expectant look. “Dish.”

“I need you to promise you won’t freak out first.”

“Is he an ex-convict? What was he in for?” She’s grinning, so I think she’s kidding.

“He doesn’t have a criminal record.”

She shrugs. “Damn. I’ve been binge watching Sons of Anarchy. I could go for a bad boy if he had a wild history like that. And an MBA.”

I choke on the sip I’d just taken. “Well,” I wheeze. “Jake isn’t…uhh, a criminal and he doesn’t ride a motorcycle, I don’t think. But he does have an MBA.”

“Is he one of those artsy types who turn their back on their straight-laced background? Drives a delivery truck because it frees his mind to write haikus? I’d have to do a lot of squinting to think that’s hot.”

I giggle and take a more controlled sip of my drink. “No. He uses his MBA every day. And stop trying to decide if he’s hot enough for you to bang. He’s mine.”

She frowns and gives me a curious look. “So spill.”

“Secret for now, okay? Don’t tell Daisy.”

She nods. “For now.”

“Jake actually owns a delivery company. He was driving for them as an on-the-job thing.”

“Is it a regional thing? Baltimore to New York?”

I shake my head. “It’s SwiftEx.”

“Your boyfriend owns SwiftEx.”

I nod.

Her frown deepens. “Weren’t they just bought out by Aston Corp?”

“Yeah.” I lift my drink and wait for her to fit the pieces together.

Her head twists to the side, pointing in the general direction of the Aston Corp headquarters. “Aston. Like…Jake Aston.”

Another nod. “Yeah.”

“You’re dating a billionaire.”

“I’m dating a guy named Jake.”

Her gaze re-centers on me. One blink, then she lifts her glass and downs the entire thing. “Right.” She sets the empty glass on the bar and waves for the bartender. “I’ll need another of these.”

“It’s kind of weird. But mostly wonderful,” I say, my words running together. I want to normalize this as fast as possible.

“All those packages we sent you…” She starts laughing. “Wait, the crotchless panties. Please tell me you opened them in front of him.”

“No. I quickly caught on to your ridiculous scheme.”

“Damn it. That would be the best story.” Her giggles fade and she grins at me. “So he’s being good to you?”

“Very.”

“Well, damn, bitch.” She throws her arms around me and squeezes me tight, narrowly missing the new drink the bartender sets in front of us. “I’m thrilled.”

“Mum is the word, though. We’re still figuring out how we do this.”

“Wow. Okay. So you’re staying with him. What time should I come over for dinner tomorrow.”

“No.”

She winks. “Yes.”

“No!” I laugh. “Next visit. He’s talked about introducing me to his friends, too, but…one thing at a time. You can meet him as soon as I tell Daisy.”

She makes a disappointed noise, but accepts my answer—for now. I’ll need to warn Jake that the nosiest attorney in all of New York City now has him in her are-you-good-enough-for-Jana sights.

We finish our drinks slowly, talking about her job, my job, shoes, food, and finally, back to Jake.

“What time are you meeting him?”

I shrug. “Whenever. He told me to come to his office.”

“Can I—”

“No.”

“Fine. Walk me back to work, it’s on the way.”

Me seeing myself to the Aston Corp building had been a compromise. Jake wanted to have me picked up by a driver, but I knew I needed to meet Nina first, and a driver would have just complicated that conversation further.

So I’m not surprised when the security guard knows who I am, and shows me personally to a special elevator at the back of the lobby that goes straight to the top floor. I take off my gloves and tuck them into my bag as I watch the numbers light up. Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two…

When the doors open, Jake is waiting for me.

He’s in a suit and tie, and he looks good enough to eat.

“Hey,” I breathe as I step forward.

“I’ve missed you,” he growls, pulling me into his arms. His hands slide under my coat and around my waist. My small suitcase rolls away, but I don’t care, because Jake’s kissing me.

It’s official—a week is way too long to be apart.

He cups my face, then strokes his hands down my arms and tangles his fingers in mine. “I’ve got a conference call in a few minutes, but you can hang out in my office as I take it.”

Hang out in his office turns out to be code for sit in his lap. He’s got his phone on mute, and he does his best multi-tasking show off by both making out with me and actually listening to the conversation at the same time.

“You don’t mind?” he asks after pausing at second base so he could ask his South American distributor a question.

I shake my head and point to the phone. “You do what you’ve gotta do. It’s sexy to see you in your element.”

He laughs. “No. Sexy is…” He pats his desk. “Here. Sit your ass right here.”

I gasp and say his name, but we both know my protest is weak. I want whatever he’s going to do right now.

He puts his index finger against his lips. Shhhh.

Then he takes his phone off mute at the same time as he pushes my skirt up to my hips. He grins. “Can you repeat that last item, Neil? I missed the particulars.”