“Hold on, James,” I heard him say. “Lorelei?”

“Yes.” I stopped and turned around.

“Did I ask you to get me this?”

“No, but you always want one at this time.”

“Today I don’t, so please take it away.”

My God, the man was an idiot. I took the cup from his desk and took it back to mine. If he didn’t want it, then I did. Ever since I told him I couldn’t go to Paris, he had the worst attitude with me. It was like he was holding a grudge against me for not being able to go. He walked out of his office and didn’t say a word where he was going. Good riddance was what I thought. The less he was around, the better off I was. In fact, I couldn’t wait for his dumb ass to leave for Paris.

Garrett smiled at me as he walked towards Jack’s office.

“He’s not in there,” I spoke.

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know. He isn’t talking to me at the moment.”

Garrett let out a laugh. “Why? Did you spill coffee on him again?”

“No. He wanted me to go to Paris with him and I told him I couldn’t. So now he’s all pissed off.”

“Did you tell him why you couldn’t go?”

“I lied and told him my mother wasn’t feeling well and I couldn’t leave the country.”

“You really can’t go because of your daughter, right?”

“Yes. You never told Jack about Hope. Why?” I asked.

“There are some things Jack doesn’t need to know and I felt if I told him about your daughter, he would have told me to fire you. He’s not exactly fond of children and he would have felt that you having a kid would get in the way of business.”

“I know. We already had that discussion about him not liking kids.”

“Listen, Lorelei. Don’t let Jack get to you. Just come in, do your job, and all will be good. Jack will talk to you again when he comes back from Paris.”

“Really? Because I like it when he doesn’t talk to me.”

He laughed. “You’re the best PA yet. I have to run. I have a meeting. If you see Jack, tell him I stopped by.”

“That means I’ll have to talk to him.” I smirked.

Garrett pointed his finger at me and winked before walking away.

****

Jack

As I was at the airport checking in, I noticed my boarding pass said “Economy seating.” What the fuck? I pulled out my phone and called Lorelei.

“Mr. Sutton’s office.”

“It’s me. Why the fuck am I sitting in economy?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t make your reservations.”

Shit. That’s right. Amber did. That bitch.

“I can get it changed for my flight going there. Call the airlines and get it switched for the return flight. I don’t have time to deal with this.”

“I’m sorry about that, Jack. Maybe your last PA did it because she was planning on quitting and you pissed her off,” Lorelei spoke.

“Excuse me?”

“Just an observation. I’ll get the return flight changed over.”

“You better!” Click.

I had been on edge all week because Lorelei wasn’t joining us in Paris. This would have been a fantastic experience for her and everything would have been paid. Since she loved fashion and the industry, she could have learned a few things on this trip, plus I would have been with her and been able to spend a lot of time with her. Maybe get to know her better.

As I was talking to the girl at the ticket counter, she informed me that all first class seats were booked. Now I was really pissed and I needed to figure a way to get a seat in first class. Damn that bitch, Amber. Lorelei was right. I bet she did this on purpose and she was probably sitting at home right now laughing her ass off knowing that I’d be stuck in economy.

I took a seat at my gate in between my mother and an older gentleman. I glanced over at his boarding pass that was in his hand and saw he was in first class.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“Yes.” He looked over at me.

“I see you’re sitting in first class. I will reimburse you for your ticket, plus I’ll give you an extra five thousand dollars if you switch seats with me.”

He arched his brow as he stared at me. “Seriously?”

“Yes. I will call my assistant right now and have her wire you the money.”

“You just bought a very expensive seat in first class, son.” He smiled.

I smiled back and pulled out my phone, dialing Lorelei.

“Mr. Sutton’s office.”

“It’s me again. I need you to wire sixty-five hundred dollars to a Mr. Thomas Burkhart. I’ll put him on the phone so he can give you his account number.”

“Umm. Okay.”

Once he finished giving Lorelei his account number, he handed my phone back to me.

“Make sure it’s done ASAP. Like right now, Lorelei.”

“I am doing it now. So let me guess. You just bought the man’s seat in first class, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have a nice flight, Jack.”

“I will now.” Click.

Chapter Thirteen

Lorelei

What a pleasant and quiet week with Jack gone. Such a shame it was coming to an end and he’d be back in the office on Monday. I even snuck out early a few days and picked up Hope from school.

It was Sunday afternoon and Hope and I packed our last picnic lunch of the year and met my mom, Nick, Stella, and Sebastian in Central Park. The weather was starting to change and it was getting chilly. After eating lunch, Sebastian and Nick took Hope over to the swings.

“When is Jack expected back?” Stella asked.

“His flight gets in tonight and he’ll be back in the office tomorrow.” I sighed.

“That man sounds like a horrible person,” my mother spoke. “I don’t know how you can stand working for him.”

“I have no choice, Mom. He can be a handful, but he’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“I think Mr. Sutton has a crush on your daughter.” Stella smiled.

“Stop that! He does not.”

“Well, if he does, Lorelei isn’t that stupid to get involved with a man like that. Right, honey?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“But…maybe a little casual sex wouldn’t hurt.” She smirked.

“MOM! He’s my boss.”

She shrugged. “So what. Sex is sex. It doesn’t have to mean anything. I had plenty of sex with different guys after your father died.”

I covered my ears with my hands. “STOP IT!”

Stella fell back on the grass in hysterics.

“Relax, Lorelei. Did you really think I didn’t have sex until Nick?”

“She hasn’t,” Stella spoke as she sat up.

The look on my mom’s face displayed a great deal of shock as she looked at me.

“For real? You haven’t had sex since Brett?”

“I am not talking about this.”

“Sweetheart.” She reached over and grabbed my hand. “You’re too young to go without sex for that long. What is wrong with you?”

“What? How could you ask that? Nothing is wrong with me. I just haven’t had any interest in men since Brett died. Hope is my life and I’m not going to screw it up by going out and having meaningless sex with strange men.”

“You’re not screwed up, are you?” She winked.

Thank God that Nick, Sebastian, and Hope walked over because I couldn’t take any more of this conversation with my mother.

“Are you ready to go, baby? We need to get you in the bath.”

“Are you going to pick me up again tomorrow?” she asked as she put her arms around my neck.

“No, sweetie. Mr. Sutton will be back in the office tomorrow,” I spoke as I ran my hand down her hair.

“Hey, Hope, I have an idea,” Stella spoke as she took hold of her hand. “I happen to be off of work tomorrow, so how about if I pick you up from school and we can go shopping. I need some new makeup and I would like you to help me pick out some new colors.”

Hope’s eyes lit up and I gave Stella a small smile.

“I would love that. Is it okay with you, Grandma?” she asked.

“Of course it is, baby girl.”

“Thank you.” I mouthed to Stella.

****

After Hope’s bath, we sat down at the kitchen table and I began sketching a new dress while Hope did her homework. Suddenly, I heard my phone beep from my purse. It was my business phone and there was a text message from Jack.