Nick pursed his lips with a bemused frown, while my skin blushed scarlet.
“Jake, I really need you to shut up now—”
But Jake was beyond hearing me. Waves of adrenaline were still coursing in his eyes, and he seemed absolutely determined to save his beloved boss from career suicide.
“I mean, you didn’t think he was someone else, did you?” he asked desperately. “Closed your eyes too soon? Or maybe you were just so drunk, you had no idea what you were doing?”
“Jake, please—”
“Allison guessed that you had elevation sickness from the plane, but I thought that was a bit of a stretch. It was probably something much simpler, right? Something that made sense.”
By now, Nick was shaking with silent laughter in the corner. Jake had dripped an entire puddle onto my hardwood floor. And I was beginning to think I was going to have to move to the west coast just to escape the embarrassment of this one, impossible morning.
“Did you just not see him?”
At this point, even I had to take a step back. My head snapped up, and for a moment, I stopped trying to silence him. I simply wanted to understand.
“...I’m sorry?” I shook my head incredulously, trying to follow his convoluted line of thought. “Did I just not see him? Like...did I trip or something and land on his mouth? How, in your deluded little mind, does that possibly make sense?”
Jake threw up his hands.
“Don’t ask me to unravel the impossible reasoning of you women! Maybe in the dark, he looked like someone else. Maybe, you thought you were being kidnapped and were trying to make the best of a bad situation. Maybe you were struck with temporary amnesia and had no earthly clue that you were making the biggest mistake of your life!”
His voice had risen in volume with each accusation. So that by the time he got to the last one, he was basically shouting.
Let me be clear: my employees do not get to speak to me this way. There’s a clear pecking order at the office, and I happen to reside at the undisputed top of it.
That being said...Jake kind of had a point.
Nick raised his eyebrows, mouthing the words biggest mistake with a rather delighted look on his face. I rolled my eyes and avoided his gaze.
“Because I can’t possibly believe that the woman I know, the woman who taught me everything I know, would possibly be so foolish. I can’t even begin to comprehend how you could throw everything away just to share a kiss with—”
“Nicholas Hunter.” The little rant came to a screeching halt as Nick stepped forward and offered out his hand. “It’s Jake, right? I think the two of us have met once or twice?”
Jake, for all his previous bluster, was stunned silent. He simply stared at Nick with his mouth hanging open, until a pointed ahem from me, made him reach down and shake.
“Yeah, it’s...Jake, I’m...I mean...” He pulled in shaky breath, trembling all over like a recently deflated balloon. “That’s my name.”
To his extreme credit, Nick didn’t laugh. (It was another thing I loved about him, the fact that despite his social status, he took great care to address everyone he met as an equal.) Instead, he pursed his lips and shook the man’s hand, offering him a kind smile when they were through.
“Well, Jake, please allow me to explain things: you see, Abby here would do it herself, but she’s at the slight disadvantage of not wearing any pants.”
I closed my eyes with a pained grimace, as Nick moved cheerfully onward.
“Things fell rather permanently apart with Ella Campbell, and since I was reluctant to continue on with anyone who I didn’t sincerely know, Abby kindly stepped in to take her place.”
That British accent was coming through again. Clear and strong.
“Which I’m hoping will explain our televised kiss, as well as everything else I’m planning to do with your friend.” His lips twitched up in a faint smile, as a look of pure mischief danced through his eyes. “I’m also hoping it will relieve your obvious concern that Abby was making...how did you phrase it? Ah yes. The biggest mistake of her life.”
Jake paled, glanced helplessly at me, then paled again.
“I meant of...of her professional life,” he tried to amend.
Nick nodded graciously.
“Of course, of course.”