Authors: Rhonda Sheree
Jaded (14 page)
Syeesha thought about her sketchy relationship with math. “Don’t you have an accountant to help you with this?”
“Not for my accounts. I like to be more in control.”
This is being in control?
Jade tucked some loose papers back into the drawer and shoved it until the latch finally caught and the drawer was snapped shut.
Opening it again is gonna be like opening a jack-in-the-box
, Syeesha thought, noticing a few pages sticking out the top of the drawer.
“Uh, Maria mentioned that she hasn’t been paid.”
“Her check should be here somewhere.” Jade twirled her a French-manicured finger around the desk. “Pretty sure Rodney’s accountant sent it over. He’s never here to give them to her so he leaves that to me. Also, write her a check from my account for five hundred dollars. Quarterly bonus. I’ll square it with Rodney later. He usually has his assistant handle that but I’m sure he forgot.”
Syeesha wrote the instruction on her notepad. “When will you be able to sign it?”
“You can sign for me.” Jade walked to the door.
Syeesha followed her, scribbling some of the other instructions she hadn’t jotted down earlier.
“That way she’ll get it quicker. There’s a credit card in the top drawer for petty cash. Five-hundred-dollar limit. Be sure to keep all receipts from purchases. And Syeesha?”
Syeesha looked up from her yellow pad. “Yeah?”
“See you in the dining room at seven.”
After Jade left, Syeesha immediately sent Christian a text that she was going to be absent for class. He sent back a flip remark,
I’m sure u r heartbroken
, before setting up a time to meet at a bar later that night.
When that was done, Syeesha turned around and looked at the closed drawers.
This mess is enough to keep me busy for the rest of the year.
Syeesha opened the top drawer and picked through a mass of loose papers and envelopes, a few stamped with a red “Past Due Notice,” then threw them all back into the drawer.
She opened each of the other drawers of the cabinet. Each was bursting with paper, except the last one. Syeesha pulled on the handle to no avail. Yep. It was locked.
Not like I don’t have enough to keep me busy.
And she promptly put the locked drawer from her mind.
***
Chapter 17
Christian moved easily through the crowded bar and wedged himself between the narrow space between Syeesha and another patron. Before he dumped his backpack on the floor or asked her how her day was, he cupped her face in his warm hands and kissed her. Syeesha savored the aftertaste of the pink bubblegum that lingered in his mouth, fruity with a hint of mint. His kiss, firm and eager, surprised her every time their lips met. The notion that he was an inexperienced nerd had been eradicated the day he boldly leaned over on the carousel and kissed her. Christian may have been young, but he was still very much a man.
He pinned his forehead to hers. “How was your first day?”
“Not nearly as delicious as the past ten seconds.”
Proud of himself, he grinned and wiggled out of his backpack.
“What about the dinner? You get to meet the superstar?”
Syeesha took a sip of her drink. “How
’
bout I buy you a drink first?”
Christian flagged down the bartender. “I’ll have what she’s having.”
“There was no dinner. Apparently, Rodney had to work late so the housekeeper sent me home.”
“The housekeeper?”
“Maria. I guess Jade was too embarrassed to tell me herself. Before I forget.” She slid a napkin across the table. “I want to give you the address in case you ever feel the need to send me roses at work.” She winked at him. Christian stuck it in his back pocket and leaned against the bar, keeping a hand on Syeesha’s thigh. She gestured to the recently evacuated barstool behind him. He shook his head. Gently, he stroked her leg. Syeesha felt heat rush through her gut, but she kept her cool.
“So my impression is that all is not well in the McCann household.”
Christian took a sip of his drink then looked at his glass as if it were filled with petroleum. “What the hell is this?”
“Diet Coke.”
“I thought it was rum and Coke or something.”
“Sorry. Don’t want to get tipsy tonight. Might do something I’ll regret.”
He set his glass on the bar. “You think we’re moving too fast?”
She smiled, sufficiently intoxicated by his touch. “If I say I think we’re moving too fast, I’ll sound like a prude. If I say I think we’re not moving fast enough, I’ll sound like a slut.”
“How about you remember that when you’re with me you’re in a no-judgment zone?” He moved in closer and whispered in her ear, “Tell me the truth.”
She bit her lip. When she’d managed to gain control of her face muscles she said, “I think the pace is just right.”
It wasn’t the truth at all, moving to third-base was an enticing idea to Syeesha, but saying that to him made her flush with embarrassment.
He looked at her with hooded eyes.
“I’m not too sure I buy that answer, but I’ll accept it.”
“I get the impression that her husband is either rarely home or comes in late and leaves early.”
“You think you’re going to like working for her?”
Syeesha shrugged. “I don’t know. Once I’ve got her desk cleaned up I’m not sure there’s going to be much more to keep me busy all day. But I’ll figure something out.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you need to figure something out? I mean, you said the money is good but if it’s a job that’s underutilizing your talent, why don’t you get back into a law office that will keep you engaged in the legal community? That’s your real future.”
Syeesha shook her head and looked around the bar. A group of guys stood around a pool table, while others played darts. Even when they were off the clock, they were still competing. Life was just one long pissing contest to men.
“You remind me of my father in a way.”
Christian spread his arms wide. “Help a brotha out here. Is that good or bad?”
“He was in the military. Very controlling in nature. My sister rebelled. I played by the rules. I’m getting sick of playing by the rules.”
He made a production of looking around the room. “Where are these rules? And I’m still not seeing the connection to your dad.”
“I didn’t go to school tonight and you know what? I didn’t miss it. I was working in a gorgeous penthouse on the Upper East Side. I’m networking with people who can help me no matter what career I choose to have. Maybe I’ll have time to do more writing while I work for her. And maybe it’ll be years before my book is done. Working for a rich, powerful couple isn’t the worst thing that could happen to a girl.”
Christian stood straighter, removing his hand from her leg.
“Are you trying to say I’m like your father because you think I’m controlling?”
Syeesha became uneasy. She didn’t want to piss him off, but it seemed as if she was well on her way to completing that unintentional objective. “All I’m saying is that I don’t want advice on law school or my career. I’m not competing with anyone. As long as I end up rich, I’m kinda open to how I get there.”
True to form, Christina chuckled. She felt the tension in her body ease when he cupped her face again and planted a quick kiss on her lips.
“You sweet girl. If getting rich by any means necessary is your mission in life, I can give you the names of some very rich porn stars.”
She slapped him on the chest. “Now you’re just being silly. I’d never take off my clothes for cash.”
“You sure about that?”
“Damned sure.”
“Would you take off your clothes for another Diet Coke?”
“Okay, now I’m going home. Alone.”
“It was worth a shot.”
***
Chapter 18
“Oh God!” Jade gasped, swiveling her hips in perfect rhythm to Rodney’s thrusts. As he moved beneath her, his fingers dug into her waist, balancing her and pulling her down harder. Their simultaneous cries erupted in a crescendo, then lingered in their throats like the final notes of a mournful ballad. Jade craned her head, panting, and looked at Rodney. His eyes were closed, lips parted. Labored breaths escaped him. She slid off him and rested her chin on his chest.
She said, “That felt like old times.”
“Mmm . . .”
It was good to see him look so thoroughly satisfied.
“Are you up for round two?”
“No.” He wiped sweat from his forehead. “I’m going to be late enough as it is.”
“Stay home with me.”
“Can’t. There’s a vote on the House floor today.”
“I remember a time when you would be two hours late to the set because of me.”
“The House of Reps isn’t a Hollywood production. Though sometimes I wonder.”
Finally,
Jade thought.
A conversation with my husband that doesn’t involve insults.
“And what happened to your plans of getting back to work on a movie?”
“I will. I’m just not sure it’s the right time. Which reminds me. It’s time you pulled back on your spending.”
Jade propped herself up on one elbow. “Why?”
“Because I’m a government worker and no longer earning half a million dollars to make movies, that’s why.”
“How much are we worth, Rodney?”
A smiled touched his lips as though she’d just made a joke.
“What’s running through that pretty little head of yours, Jade?”
“I just want to know why I have to reel it in. You’ve never complained about my spending before.”
“Life has changed.” He curled a piece of her hair around his finger. “We’ve changed too, haven’t we?”
“I still love you. That hasn’t changed.”
“You loved who I used to be. Not who I am.”
Jade sat up and looked at him. “What does that mean? That you don’t feel the same about me as you used to?”
There was no confusion about that in her head. Lately she had felt the truth lingering in the air between them. But now she wanted to hear it from him.
“Remember how impulsive we used to be? Unpredictable?” He clasped his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. “I miss the excitement. The charge of kissing someone new, discovering someone’s body for the first time. That’s what they don’t tell you about marriage. The endorphins that once made a person crazy with desire become dormant after a while. But they don’t die. They’re still there, waiting to be recharged.”
“I don’t like what I’m hearing.”
“That’s what I miss about acting. Every first day on the set, every beautiful costar, every movie premiere was like . . . I came alive again. Over and over.”
Her heart beat so hard in her chest that she wondered if he could hear it. With every sentence he uttered, the pounding strengthened. The sweat clinging to her naked body felt cold and clammy against her skin. She shivered.
“What are you saying to me exactly?”
“We both know where this is headed, Jade. Now’s not the time though. I need to look as though I’m happily married until I get re-elected, and you need the benefit of my status to help you start your new business. Whenever that gets off the ground.”
He turned and looked at her sternly. “Don’t try to blindside me, Jade. I’m being very lenient with you because a part of me still loves you. But don’t try to fuck with my money.”
“The prenup we have leaves me with nothing.”
“It leaves you with a roof over your head.”
“I need more.”
“Needing it and deserving it are two separate issues.”
Rodney threw the covers from his body and slipped on his shorts. He still wore a T-shirt.
After all these years, he’s still self-conscious about his body.
“I’ll play dirty if I have to, Rodney,” she warned. “You can’t just leave me with nothing.”
He stopped in the doorway and looked at her. It perturbed her that he didn’t appear particularly hurt or angry. If he’d had those emotions about their dissolving marriage he’d already worked through them. Other issues may have been buried inside his heart. But the inevitable divorce that loomed ahead of them wasn’t one of them.
“I’m not leaving you with nothing,” he said. “You’ll have the money we agreed to and you’ll have the condo.” His eyes skimmed her bare breasts. “And you have my word . . . that you are still the best lover I’ve ever had. And believe me when I say that you’ve had some pretty impressive competition.”
***
Chapter 19
The key turned easily in the lock. Jade slipped inside, unnoticed, and locked the door behind her. A faint scent of cigar smoke lingered in the air.