Chapter 1 – Jesse
“So are you going to do it?”
I knew what she was talking about, but I didn’t want to appear like I was thinking about him the way I was. I wanted her to think that I wasn’t even thinking about Scott or the crazy proposition that he’d offered me.
“Do what?”
“Don’t play with me, Jesse. Are you going to go out with him or are you closing up shop?”
“Why do you have to put it like that?”
“Isn’t that the way it is? I mean, if you don’t get the money, we are really going to have to close, aren’t we?”
She was right, I knew that, and that was the only reason I was thinking about it to begin with. In any other circumstances, I would have told him no and made sure that he knew I didn’t want to have anything to do with him. I mean, yeah, he was hot, but there was the attitude of his that he couldn’t be turned down. And although it was a little hard to refuse such an offer, I wanted to be the one who did. I really didn’t want to see the bistro closed down, but could I really do such a thing?
“Would you do it?”
I knew her answer before she even gave it. Melissa was the type who was up for anything. I knew that she would have done it if he’d asked for a date with her instead of me. Why couldn’t I be so open? It was just one date, and it wasn’t like I really had to do anything with him, so what was the big deal?
Even as I thought that, there was this inkling in the pit of my stomach that told me that it would be a huge problem if I went out with Scott. I wanted to believe that it wouldn’t be, but I was already feeling more than I should have for him. And there was nothing that I could do. I had to agree to it, no matter what the personal cost to me was going to be. I had to keep dad’s place running. I wouldn’t just lose the business, but I would also lose our home, and I wasn’t ready to do that.
“You know you have to, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know. But I want to think about other options that I might have. There is just too much involved, and I don’t want to be the girl who does something like that to get ahead in the world.”
“It’s not like you have much of a choice, is it?”
I didn’t, and that’s what I hated the most about it. I hated that I didn’t have any other options but the one provided to me by a man like Scott.
“Not that I can see.”
“So when are you going to tell him?”
“When I see him next.”
She gave me a smile that made me want to puke. I knew what she was thinking. Melissa was a romantic at heart, and although I was more pragmatic, I knew that she was going to get her way. It was better to just let her say what she was going to say and get it out of her.
“So, are you going to really give him a shot or are you just going to get the money?”
God, I hated the way she said that. Why did she have to word it like that? It made it sound even worse. Or maybe it was just hearing it said out loud that made me cringe inside.
“It’s just for the loan, and I’m not going to take the money from him, but if I could get him to sign as a cosigner, I know that the banks won’t be able to turn me down. It really is the only way.”
“Yeah, I know, but don’t you think that you could have a good time? I mean, come on, Jesse, don’t act like the man isn’t gorgeous.”
She had a point. Melissa usually did, but even though I saw it, that didn’t mean I wanted to admit it. I wanted to go out with him. That was the hardest part of all. It was the fact that even though I knew what type of guy he was, there was still a big part of me that wanted him. I wanted what his eyes promised, and I was afraid that I would not be able to resist him. That’s really what it was about, my fear of him – and what I would allow him to do to me.
“He’s sort of cute, but you know what guys like him are like. I don’t want to get involved with someone like that.”
“You told me yourself that he wasn’t that bad.”
I’d said that, but I certainly hadn’t said it for it to be thrown back in my face. He was cute and a nice guy, but that didn’t mean that I wanted to be his next plaything.
“He’s not all bad, but we’re living in two very different worlds.”
She kind of nodded her head. While Melissa could say a lot of things, she knew what I said was true. It was fun to fantasize about everything going on, but he was a billionaire businessman and I ran a glorified coffee shop. That reality was not something that I could forget about.
“You know what they say about opposites attracting.”
“Uh huh.”
I tried to ignore the grin on her face and the meaning behind it. I wasn’t going to let her positivity get my hopes up. It was just a situation that I was in. It was just a date that I would suffer through so I would get the help I needed. It wasn’t charity and it wasn’t me doing something crazy, it was just a date and then everything could go back to normal. Scott would most likely realize how boring I was, or that he wasn’t as in to me as he thought he was. Either way I would get him out of my life for good. I just had to go on one date with him.
“I’m going to go out with him and then that will be that. This is all it’s going to be, that’s it.”
She gave me another sound that told me that she didn’t believe me before I turned around, not wanting to see her face anymore. I wasn’t going to let it go any further than that. It was just a date. Just one date, and I was going to make sure that I didn’t make the same mistakes I had in the past.