The Billionaire Op - Lori Ryan Page 0,14

around her. “You’re right about one thing, though. We can trust Chad with her. If Jennie doesn’t want anything to happen, nothing will.”

Kelly was quiet for a few more minutes.

“Text me when you tell them Monday and I’ll call Jennie and see how she’s doing. If she’s totally freaked, you can make an excuse and say it’s cancelled. If she’s okay, we let them go. Sound good?”

Jack nodded and began to rain kisses down his wife’s jaw line, across her neck, to her shoulder. Before he could get much further, Kelly gasped and sat straight up – well, as straight up as her pregnant belly would allow.

“Wait! If you’re sending Jennie away for two weeks, she might not be here when the baby’s born. We can’t do that. She needs to be here, Jack.”

He smiled at his wife, pushing her back on the pillows and continuing his slow caress of the body he loved.

“The doctor said most women don’t go into labor early their first time.” He smiled at Kelly as she whimpered in response to his statement. He knew she was dying to have the baby on time, not wanting to be pregnant a moment past her due date.

“Commercial flight time is only about two and half hours but I promise to have a jet on standby. She won’t wait at the airport or anything. We’ll whisk her out of there and get her home in an hour, an hour and a half, tops. She won’t miss the delivery. I promise.”

Kelly laid back down and grinned at him, as he went back to worshiping the woman who was about to make him the happiest daddy in the world.

Chapter 8

Jennie sat in the comfortable seat in first class but she was anything but comfortable. Her head had been spinning since that morning when Jack gave her and Chad a new assignment.

She’d barely had time to go home and pack for the two-week-long trip, let alone think about what it would mean to be pretending to be Chad’s wife in a tropical resort set up for romance and seduction.

When Jack first explained the assignment to them, she’d had a flash of panic, but there was no way she’d refuse an assignment from him. She loved her work at Sutton Capital and wouldn’t jeopardize it even though going through with this particular job terrified her.

After Kyle died, Jennie had floundered for quite some time, bouncing from one temporary job to the next. The truth was, she hadn’t had much interest in ‘finding her way’ as her parents had encouraged her to. She had just wanted to get by.

That changed when Jack took her on as a permanent member of his security and investigations staff. She had no idea why Jack took a chance on her the way he did. As his temporary assistant she had overstepped her job description and could have been fired for listening in on Jack’s private conversations.

But, her eavesdropping had ended up helping Jack out and Jack Sutton never did anything conventional.

She liked the work. Really liked it. The only downside had been her insane attraction to Chad, but she’d managed to keep her walls up with him. She made sure she kept him at arm’s length at all times and didn’t let their interactions get past superficial conversation and impertinent jokes.

And yet, somehow, they did get closer. Despite her best efforts, she knew Chad saw through her. And there was the one time she’d made a mistake and let him get too close. He kissed her and nearly brought her to her knees. For one sweet incredible moment, she forgot about Kyle. Forgot the hurt. The pain. The loss. The guilt.

And then the kiss broke and the realization had hit. How could she let another man make her forget? How could she do that to Kyle? Hadn’t she done enough to him already?

Jennie chanced a glance at Chad. He’d been even more quiet than usual through the whole morning. He hadn’t said much of anything in Jack’s office, though she’d felt his eyes on her, assessing her reaction. He picked her up at her house and carried her bags to the car, all without a word. He spoke as little as possible as they drove Zeke over to Jill and Andrew’s house, where he would stay for the two weeks she and Chad were at the resort.

And now, he sat silent, by her side. Usually she hated it when he was this quiet. It made her want