Chapter 23

Zach

I retreated back into my head, a place I knew I shouldn’t go, but that didn’t stop me from getting obsessed with Jessibelle and that fucking lawyer. My thoughts filled with memories and images of them, wondering what was going on between the two of them. I found myself keeping tabs on the case. It was as much for the good of the company as it was anything else, though I knew I wouldn’t have bothered to do any of it had it not been for Jessibelle’s involvement.

After I dropped off Alana I’d headed back to my mansion just outside of town. I thought I needed some time for myself, and the next stage of the court case wasn’t due to take place for a few more weeks. It wasn’t as if Jessibelle and I hadn’t thoroughly prepared in all the time we’d spent together. It was just whenever I thought back to the points she’d made or the arguments she’d come up with, I thought of her beautiful face, and the way she kissed me, and those memories felt like my heart was being ripped out piece by piece.

But I couldn’t settle down in that big house. I needed some peace, but it wasn’t to be found in those huge empty rooms, beautiful though they were. I wasn’t sure what possessed me when I hopped in my car and headed back to the city, but I knew it was nothing good. I should let Jessi get on with her life, whether she was with that asshole or not. But I couldn’t let it go. I felt I had to tell her I wasn’t with Alana, and that I’d made a mistake in even listening to her and not showing her the door as soon as she walked into the kitchen. I had the feeling that if I’d managed to explain everything to Jessibelle, things might have unfolded a little differently. Yes, I was doing things out of order, but I had to take my chance while I still had it.

I arrived outside her place and saw a familiar car outside. The same one that had dropped her off last week. I hopped out of my car, ran my hands through my hair, and headed toward her apartment.

When I got up the stairs, her door was open, and it was clear I’d arrived in the middle of an argument. I rushed to the door and my heart leaped into my throat. There he was, that asshole lawyer standing there with Jessibelle. My Jessibelle. What was he doing there? Was he hurting her? I’d tear him apart. Then I saw the flowers, a huge bouquet of red roses that were unceremoniously dumped on the counter next to her. Jessibelle looked over his shoulder, and I swear I saw a flicker of relief on her face when she realized it was me. The man turned around, and his jaw clenched when he laid eyes on me.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded, turning to block my way into the apartment.

I threw back my answer, “I think I could ask you the same question,” and turned to Jessibelle. “I’m sorry to barge in on you like this.”

“No, really, you’re not interrupting anything,” she replied, her voice loud and directed at the other man standing there. I had looked up his name, but had forgotten it since. Not that it mattered, I wanted this dickhead gone.

The guy got right up into my face. “You didn’t answer my question.” I didn’t move an inch. As if I gave a shit about his question. Did he think we were in court? I could tell this threw him, because he instantly took a step back and away from me as though on instinct, possibly worried my unmoving stance was an indicator I was going to lash out at him. Which I would have, if he gave me a reason to.

“I’m here to talk to Jessi,” I said through gritted teeth, but my temper began rising at an unhealthy rate. “And I think you’re violating the terms of the case you’re working on by being here.”

“I quit the case, asshole,” he replied, almost sounding proud of himself. “And what excuse do you have for being here?”

“I’m here to talk to Jessibelle,” I repeated myself, but that didn’t seem to satisfy this guy. “Not that it’s any of your damn business.”

“Not my business? What would you be doing at her apartment?” he sneered. “She’s your lawyer, isn’t she? Maybe you should take a step back and realize you’re the one acting unprofessional, storming in here and—”

I cut him off. “And what?” Now I moved into his face. “Fighting with her in front of all of her neighbors?”

Jessibelle looked at me and then at fuckface. She didn’t seem happy with either of us. Rather, she seemed to be dumbstruck, struggling to hold herself together in the face of what was happening. Part of me wanted to grab this asshole and drag him out on to the street, but I knew getting aggressive would only make me seem like the loser. Yet, he was the one acting like an asshole.

He took another step toward me, and I could tell he was all too pleased with himself. There was a big-ass grin on his face, one that didn’t reach his eyes, and it was all I could do not to reach over and punch it straight off his face. He needed to back the hell off, but I could tell he was enjoying the way I clenched my fists at my sides to keep from knocking him the fuck out. He wasn’t going to get that reaction out of me, no matter how damn satisfying it would have been to bust him in the mouth and watch his smile disappear.

“I might not be working on your case anymore,” he murmured slowly, making sure I could hear every single word that came out of his mouth. “But I’m pretty sure I could bring a new case against you. Harassment? Sexual harassment? Of an employee? Just out of law school?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” I fought to keep my voice steady in the face of what he was suggesting.

“So, you’d be fine if I called up your offices right now and told them about you turning up here at this apartment at this hour just to talk to her?” he shot back, raising his eyebrows. I could see the roses he’d brought with him, a streak of red in the corner of my vision, and felt my blood boil in my veins. That anyone could think this was wrong, had been bad in any way—I wasn’t sure I could keep myself in check much longer. I gritted my teeth, wondering if swinging a punch in his direction would be the worst thing in the world.

Jessibelle pushed between us, glaring up at the other dude. “You need to get out of here, Aston. Right now.”

He looked down at her, his sneer still firmly present on his face. I wasn’t sure what was coming next, but she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back toward the door. I watched with satisfaction as she marched him out of her place once and for all. Before he was gone, she grabbed the flowers he’d brought with him and shoved them at him, slamming the door behind him before turning her anger on me.

“You know you can’t just barge in here like this.” Her words were like spears, shooting into my heart. Her eyes darkened and she had that power stance with her hands planted on her hips.

“It got rid of that guy, didn’t it?” I pleaded. But she wasn’t having it. She continued to scold me.

“I only got him out of here because I was worried you were going to punch him like some crazy man. What kind of a beast are you?”

Without thinking I said, “Well if I’m the beast, Jessi, then you’re the beauty.” She cocked an eyebrow, clearly amused before she wiped the expression from her face and continued to chew me out. It wasn’t that I didn’t think I deserved it, but the adrenaline was still pulsing in my veins from the confrontation I’d just had with the jack-off. She ignored my compliment and like the crack lawyer she was, she stayed on topic.

“You don’t own me.” Her unwavering gaze met mine. “You don’t get to come in here and tell people off and act like you’ve got some kind of say over how I live my life. Especially after you dumped me.”

“Dumped you? What do you think happened with Alana?” I held my hand up, stopping her. That made her so angry her brow furrowed into canyons across her forehead.

“You guys got back together, didn’t you?” She frowned at me. “When she came by the house?”

“You really think I’d have given up everything we have for her?” I asked, taking a step toward her. She stood her ground.

“Well, you let me leave and didn’t bother calling me afterward,” she pointed out, clearly pissed. “Any particular reason for that?”

“I was an idiot,” I admitted, and I could feel the heat rising between us again, or maybe it was just the tension that had been building ever since I’d walked into the apartment. But there was something clouding my brain, something messing me up, and I wasn’t certain what it was. But I knew what I wanted to do about it.

Her eyes drifted down to my mouth, and she swallowed heavily and then forced herself to look away again. She let out a sharp breath, as though trying to expel something from her body.

“You don’t own me, and you don’t have any stake in me.” She lifted her chin and met my gaze, her eyes blazing with something I recognized.

“That’s not true.” I caught her chin between my thumb and forefinger and tilted it up. And then, in one swift motion, I leaned in and kissed her.