Jamie was in love with it.
Unfortunately, there was no way in hell she would ever wear something like that, or have a place to wear it to. She thought of the maid of honor dress she was supposed to wear. It was red, but nothing near as beautiful as this one. This one could show up a bride’s dress.
She sighed as she continued to stare at the window display. Be realistic, Jamie. That dress looks like a size six. No way are you going to fit into something like that.
Even with her regular workouts at the gym, swimming and new strict diet, it wouldn’t happen. She was dropping weight fast, but was no size six. She smiled wistfully. If she could lose the weight, then she would be a knockout in that dress, she just knew it.
What would her mother or sister say if they saw her in that dress? They’d have heart attacks or their mouths would literally hit the floor. Even Stephen would hate himself for leaving her.
Jamie shook her head. If she was going to lose the weight, she had to do it because of her, not because of some petty issue she had with her sister, her soon-to-be-brother-in-law or trying to show off to her mother.
She should only do it for herself.
The dress would be ridiculously expensive. More than a pay check at her old job. She grinned suddenly. What if she bought the dress and hung it in her closet to remind herself of where she wanted to be? It could be an incentive and if she set attainable goals, she would go out somewhere in that dress. It would probably be to a movie by herself, but what the hell? What was life if she didn’t try to live it a little?
She giggled as she reached for the door to the shop. This was crazy! She wasn’t a spur of the moment kind of person. She didn’t wear dresses. Especially one as sexy and beautiful as this one.
Screw it! That dress was hers.
Chapter 8
On Monday, Jamie spent most of the morning in the office on her own. Gina called in sick and Alex sent her a text message to say he was meeting clients out of the office. When she messaged him back to confirm he would be back in so she could let other investors and trade companies know, he didn’t reply.
Answering both phones, hers and the front office, had her running back and forth between both rooms and barely able to get anything else done. She had a contract that needed to be written, and a million other things to get done. Busy was a good thing, it kept her from worrying if Alex had taken the meetings out of the office as a way to avoid her after their last encounter in her apartment suite. She had been hoping that things would go back to normal, like when they had slept together.
It had taken weeks to find the flow and act normal, and even then they still had lingering looks and unspoken words. Or maybe it was just her. Maybe she was imagining all this shit because she had the hots for him. It was just a crazy physical attraction. It had to be. Why else would she be having wet dreams about him?
She made herself a protein shake for lunch and stayed in the front office behind Gina’s desk, her Mac notebook in tow.
After trying to call Alex a third time, she gave up, almost throwing her cell across the room in frustration. “Answer your damn phone, dickhead!” she hissed as she tossed the phone on the desk.
“Remind me not to tick you off.”
Jamie jumped at the sound of a male voice.
Mark stood just outside the elevator, a smile playing on his lips, his arms crossed. He carried himself with the same confidence his brother did.
She froze when she saw him. "Um, Alex isn't in, right now," she mumbled, her face heating up.
"I know," Mark said and moved toward her. "I made sure he wasn't. I didn't want you to get in trouble for seeing me.” He grinned. “Plus, all he would have done is throw me out of here again."
"You wanted to see me?" Jamie raised her eyebrows. This couldn’t be good.
"Yeah." Mark cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably.
What was she supposed to do? Kick him out or listen to what he had to say? Alex wasn’t here to make the executive decision. “How about we go into my office to talk?” She checked her watch and then set Gina’s phone to call-answer like Gina did when she took her lunch break.
Mark nodded and followed her into her office. He moved to the chair in front of Jamie's desk. "May I sit? I promise to only take up a few minutes of your time. I don’t want you to get in trouble, but this is very important."
"Yes, of course." Jamie gestured toward the chair and then settled behind the desk in hers. She watched him, taking a moment to really study him. He looked similar to Alex, but even though he looked older than Alex, Jamie knew he was younger. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the callouses on his hands were noticeable, even at a distance, and while he was dressed nicely, it was not the same expensive taste Alex had. Like Alex but completely different. Jamie wasn't much of an expert when it came to clothes, but Mark dressed like she did—middle class—at least before Alex bought her new work clothes.
Mark watched her at the same time. Probably wondering why Alex would hire a person like her. Or maybe why she worked for a person like Alex.
There was definitely something weighing heavily on Mark's mind. "What do you want to talk about?"
“Our father." Mark cleared his throat. “My father.” He hesitated and Jamie noticed his jaw twitch as he tried to figure out how to explain things to her. "Alex and my dad. He's sick. He has cancer. Alex doesn’t know. Or maybe he does and chose not to acknowledge it.” Mark shrugged and sighed. “For the past three months Dad’s been doing chemo and radiation. But it’s not working. He's not sure how much time he has left.” His jawline twitched again as he fought to control his emotions. He straightened and cleared his throat again. “He really wants to make peace with everyone and right his wrongs. He’s been trying to get a hold of Alex for a long time now, but he won't answer Dad’s calls or emails." Mark ran his fingers through his hair, a gesture that reminded Jamie a lot of Alex. "There have been a lot of wrongs. On all our parts, but Alex needs to come see Dad. I need you to convince him of that.”
Alex’s father had cancer and he didn’t know? That was awful and so terribly sad. She wanted to cry for the man in front of her and his brother. She didn’t know them except for a picture on the wall and her heart broke for the pain they must be going through.