Sweet Obsession (Men of Whiskey Row Book 1) (37 page)

“Good morning, sir! How was your vacation?” Margo asked cheerily, smiling as she stood up to greet him.

“It was good, thanks for asking. You look great. I guess me being out of your hair agrees with you,” Jack said, leaning down to kiss her cheek with a loud smack.

She laughed and shook her head. “Hardly, everything has been running smoothly under Mrs. Romankov’s orders.” At his look of surprise, she elaborated; “She said that you were not to be disturbed under any circumstances. She has been dealing with the pageant and Ms. Gaines, who has been on her best behavior, I might add. Mr. Rusnik called several times while you were out. I informed him that you would be in today and he said for you to call him back ASAP,” Margo sniffed. “Joel and David Rothman have been calling for you nonstop as well.”

Jack sighed, knowing he couldn’t put off the older man’s calls forever. He knew that Ira’s sons were calling to harass him about the stipulations placed on the loan for
On a Whim
, but he didn’t give a rat’s ass about those two spoiled dickheads. His phone beeped, signaling a text; and he pulled it out to check, grimacing as he read it. It was from Viv regarding Ian.

Just got off the phone with Gandalf. Ooooooooh you in trouble….

“Thank you for holding down the fort, Margo. Please hold my calls for the next hour,” Jack said before walking into his office and closing the door behind him. After sitting down at his desk, he picked up the office phone and dialed Ian’s number.

“It’s about damn time. I thought I was going to have to take a flight home and put my Gucci loafer up your behind, dear boy,” Ian said in his smooth, dulcet voice. “I’m hearing things, Jack; things that have got my blood pressure up and my beautiful, silver hair turning gray. Talk to me, son.”

Anyone else, Jack might have told to kiss his ass; but not the man who helped to raise him and his brothers. “Your hair’s been gray since you were born. Hello Ian, how is Greece?”

“Jackson Conall Sullivan, don’t think your big, country ass is too heavy to go over my knee!” Ian barked. Jack laughed out loud at the image those words created and leaned back in his chair to relax.

“Exactly what have you heard, Ian?” Jack asked curiously as he stalled for time. He heard Ian sigh and could easily picture him, with his long, silver hair in a man bun and a matching goatee, smoking a cigar as he stood overlooking the Aegean Sea.

“I’ve heard that you finally grew a pair of balls and married my little girl. That’s what I’ve heard,” Ian said bluntly. “And if that’s the case, perhaps now you can stop eye-fucking her every time she enters a room.”

Wait. What??
Jack straightened up in the chair. “It’s true I did marry Noelle.” If he lived to be a hundred, he would never get tired of saying that. “Are you saying that you’ve known how I felt about her this whole time?”

“Are you asking me if I knew that you’ve had a hard on for my precious baby since the night of her twenty-first birthday party? If so, then yes; and it’s a surprise to me that nobody else has come to the same conclusion. It’s quite obvious from the way you make it a point to do all business concerning the Kramer’s in person and at their home; which is the one place that you were sure to run into her. Alicia Kramer could drive the Pope to drink, yet you grin and bear her; attending all the family events just so you can be near Noelle. Also, last time I was in your office, I believe I heard you plucking flowers singing ‘she loves me, she loves me not…’”

“Fuck off, Ian,” Jack said mildly as he stared down angrily at his ring less finger.

“So what else aren’t you telling me? The only reason I know is because I called Alexei yesterday and he commented on the delicious chicken your
wife
made. Naturally my curiosity was peaked. Said he hadn’t had chicken that good since Moira,” Ian said softly.

“Ian, that chicken was amazing. I really wish you could have been there,” Jack reminisced. “I haven’t had chicken that good since Ma. My wife can definitely burn in the kitchen on top of being sweet and fine as all get out.”

“No need to tell me how fabulous Noelle is. Besides, I’ve had the chicken, lad. It was her uncle who taught your mother and her how to make it. Your Ma and I would sneak out of the house and go to block parties in D.C. It was there that I met Harvey. He was serving his famous fried chicken, and it was calories at first sight,” Ian said fondly and Jack knew he was thinking of his beloved late partner. “Now, I want you to tell me why no one knows of your marriage? I would have felt the fire from Alicia about how you took advantage of her baby if she did know.”

“Actually I’m helping her out with a situation that has the potential to become a scandal for her and ultimately her family. After reviewing the cluster fuck from all angles, I felt that marriage was the best way to diffuse it,” Jack said carefully, hoping that his answer would be enough for the shrewd bastard.

There was a long pause before Ian finally spoke in a harsh tone. “So you thought you’d kill two birds with one stone, eh? Be very careful about the games you play, Jackie. Noelle won’t take too kindly to being your pawn and you playing with her heart. If I’m not mistaken, the saying goes ‘One of the cruelest things a person can do is to awaken someone’s love without the intention of ever truly loving them’.”

“It’s not a game for me, Ian,” Jack said forcefully. “I married her with the intention of staying married, and I don’t give a damn what any of you may or may not believe.”

“Does she know that or how you feel? I do not doubt your feelings are real. I’ve seen the way you look at her. All I’m saying is that if you got her under false pretenses, that will be how you lose her,” Ian warned.

“She is my wife and that is how it’s going to stay,” Jack replied fiercely. He was tense, feeling the anger and something else trying to claw its way out of the pit of his stomach. It was the fear of losing his beautiful, sweet wife. He would go to war with anyone who dared to try and interfere in their relationship, including the man on the phone.

“Don’t misunderstand me; I’m very happy for you, Jackie. Despite what you may think, you deserve happiness just like everyone else. As do your brothers, although it should be mandatory that Darby gets his with a shot of penicillin the way he spreads himself about,” Ian said in exasperation. “Vivi just gave me an earful about how she’s going through receptionists left and right because they’re sprung on his ‘damned ginger-headed ass’.” The last part was said mimicking Viv’s voice perfectly.

Jack laughed, relaxing again. “Y’all need to leave Darby alone. Now before I dig into the pile of paperwork on my desk, tell me about your vacation.”

He leaned back in his chair to listen as Ian launched into the details of his vacation, but Jack was only paying half attention because Ian’s words were lingering in the back of his mind.

“If you got her under false pretenses, that will be how you lose her.”

***

What a day,
Noelle thought tiredly as she walked past the two security guards on front door duty and gave them a wave. “Goodnight, guys.”

“Goodnight,” they chorused, smiling and nodding before returning to monitor the surveillance cameras of the building. It was eleven-thirty at night and the venue was all set for Tarik’s party tomorrow. Everything was being done onsite, and the deliveries had been nonstop throughout the day. Her ears were still ringing from the dancers practicing their routine, and Avery’s scream of rage when she discovered the florist had sent the wrong kind of flowers. This pushed the arrangements that she planned on making two hours behind as they waited for the correct ones to arrive.

Four cases of party glasses arrived shattered, so polishing was delayed. They Skyped with Sidra, who was being vague on her whereabouts, regarding the music genre and did a checklist run-through of all the equipment needed for the DJ booth that arrived early that morning. It was one thing after another all day; and the only way she and Avery got through it was by chanting their favorite Nelson Mandela quote to each other when they crossed paths:
“Everything seems impossible until it is done.”

Tomorrow would be another long day, and all she wanted was to go home and get something to eat before bed so that she would be well-rested and prepared for it. Hopefully it would also take her mind off the fact that she hadn’t heard from Jack at all today. As Noelle walked out the doors and into the late evening, she came to a stop. A black, matte Range Rover was parked out front and Jack was leaning against it, staring at the front doors, making it obvious that he was waiting for her. Pleasure stole through her, and she couldn’t contain her wide smile; just to know that he cared enough to come pick her up even if he was mad at her. She marveled at how impeccable he looked, as handsome and fresh as he had that morning except for the tie loosened around his neck. Meanwhile her light makeup had faded away hours ago, tendrils escaped from her braid and curled around her face.

Jack smiled when he saw her and held out his arms. Noelle ran into them, sighing as his strong arms closed around her, holding her tightly to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his ear, “I’m sorry I was a jerk this morning. Please forgive me.”

Jack held her tighter and cleared his throat, “It’s alright. Let’s go home.”

Unease settled in the pit of Noelle’s stomach as he shut the passenger door behind her, and she watched him walk around to the driver’s seat, his expression inscrutable. Just because he came to pick her up didn’t mean all was well between them. His ‘It’s alright’ wasn’t exactly the same as ‘I forgive you’.

When they got to her brownstone, Noelle walked into the tantalizing smell of jerk chicken and quickly followed it to the kitchen where there were bags from the Jamaican restaurant around the corner. She turned to look at him as he shrugged out of his suit and tie, unbuttoning the first three buttons of his white dress shirt.  For the hundredth time she wished that she was back in Whiskey Row with ‘Scruffy Jack’. “It’s as if you were reading my mind; I’m starved! I haven’t eaten anything all day.”

Jack smiled, moving forward to take her workbag and purse. “Figured you would be too busy to eat. Why don’t you take a quick shower, and I’ll make our plates?”

Noelle willingly handed over her things and hurried to do just that. That was really nice of him to be thinking of her after she was such a bitch this morning.
I’ll make it up to him tonight in bed;
she thought, grinning in anticipation as she shed her clothes and stepped into the steaming shower. Fifteen minutes later, she found him in the living room watching the news channel with two heaping plates of rice and peas, jerk chicken, and fried plantains. Two iced, bottled beverages were placed beside them.

“That looks soooo good, Jack. Thanks again,” Noelle said as she picked up a plate and spied the label on the bottle. “Orangina! How’d you know I love drinking this with Jamaican food? I didn’t know you even liked Jamaican.” Picking up her fork, she dug in, ravenous after her long day.

Jack picked up his own plate and started eating as he nodded his head, feigning a look of surprise. He knew she liked Orangina and that she visited the restaurant whenever she had a long day, from the private detective’s reports. He finished chewing. “You’re kidding me right? Who doesn’t have Jamaican food and Orangina together? They go hand in hand.”

“Exactly!” Noelle beamed; glad that he got it, and took a sip of the fizzy, citrus drink. “So how was your day?” The hooded look Jack was giving her from over the bottle let her know what was up. For good measure, she slowly sucked the top between her lips and ran her tongue around the rim.

“It was good.” He cleared his throat, staring at her glistening lips. “We’re taking on a new client, a celebrity chef named Seline Marcuzzo. Familiar with her?”

“Yes, she was really good on that food challenge show. I remember how pissed all the other contestants were with her because she was winning all the time.” Noelle frowned slightly. She also remembered how beautiful Seline was. Resembling a young Sophia Loren in looks and knock ’em dead curves, the chef was also smart and cunning as she played to the male judges and audience. The behind-the-scenes footage with the other contestants had not painted her in the most flattering of lights.

“She’s quite smart, and during lunch today, she laid out her game plan. It was ambitious as hell; I almost felt like I should warn Martha Stewart that she’s about to be dethroned,” Jack said half-jokingly. Seline came from humble beginnings but wasn’t about to let that stop her from getting to the top.
Even if it meant attempting to seduce him to get it,
Jack thought, recalling their lunch meeting today.