The Temporary Wife - By Jeannie Moon Page 0,28
into the counter and watched Meg and Harper check each other out. Finally, Harper rose from the table and stuck out her hand as she moved toward them.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Meg. I’m Harper Poole, Reliance’s director of operations and Jason’s assistant.”
Meg shook her hand. “Megan Rossi. Nice to meet you, too.”
“Gosh, Jason,” Harper said as she walked around Meg. The contrast between the two women was striking. Meg was petite, curvy, and had a mass of blond hair and big, tilted green eyes. Harper was tall, slender, and had straight dark hair with round hazel eyes. Both women were attractive, but Meg was more bombshell beautiful, while Harper exuded a cool elegance. Basically, oil and water.
“She’s so cute!” Harper’s enthusiasm was affected, and he could see this wasn’t going to end well. “So, you’re a teacher?”
Jason had no idea what Harper was up to, but Meg was looking from her to him and he could see she wasn’t happy about the way she was being checked out.
“Yes, I teach kindergarten.”
“I don’t know how you handle all those little kids all day. At least you’re not dealing with something hard, though, like math or science. I guess if you’re organized, it’s like a cool babysitting gig.”
Jason watched Meg’s face harden, and even though he didn’t know what went into her day, he never questioned that what she did was far more involved and important than babysitting. He couldn’t believe Harper thought something so stupid, or that she’d said it out loud.
“Babysitting?” Meg said. Her voice had gone from soft to lethal. She fixed her gaze on Jason, who pushed away from the counter and came to her. “I think I should go,” she said just to him.
“No, don’t go.” Jason hadn’t seen her in days. He’d been busy, and they’d been taking care of wedding arrangements over the phone. This would give them time to talk before the wedding and for him to spend time with Molly.
Harper was poking through one of the bags Meg brought in and came out with something covered with ribbons and bows. “Oh, my God! Is this one of those tacky bridal shower hat bouquets? How cute! You had a shower?”
Jason was just about to say something when a look from Meg, cool and dangerous, told him she didn’t want help. Based on the fire he saw in her eyes, he was tempted to tell Harper to run.
“My friends at school threw it for me.” Meg grabbed the hat bouquet from Harper and put it back in the bag. “It was very thoughtful of them.”
“Of course,” Harper said. She kept eyeing Meg, and Jason hoped Harper had enough sense to rein in her nasty streak, but the way things were going that was too much to hope for. “So this must be a big change for you. Going from a little house to this?” She motioned around the room. “Marrying a billionaire certainly has its perks.”
Meg folded her arms and advanced toward his assistant, her killer heels clicking on the floor. “You know what I find there’s an abundance of? People who only define Jason by his billions. If anyone took the time to get to know him, they’d know there was more.”
Jason took a hit right to the heart, while Harper was stunned silent. Owen, Nate, and Molly were still watching the show, eyes wide, from the kitchen table. And Meg was like an angry fairy, responding to Harper without the slightest hesitation. Meg wasn’t intimidated, like Jason thought she’d be, but rather seriously pissed off.
Harper put up her hands, feigning innocence. “I was referring to the lifestyle.”
“I’m not marrying the lifestyle, I’m marrying the man,” Meg said, and walked right to Jason, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. “I’m going to take Molly home. Stop by when you’re done here?”
Her words dripped with so much invitation, he almost thought he might get laid when he got to her house, but the flash of anger in her eyes told him she was going to rip him a new one. She just wasn’t going to do it here; she was keeping it between them.
Harper may not have learned tact and discretion, but Meg sure had. She was amazing, and he was starting to feel like a very lucky man. “Give me an hour, okay?”
“Can’t wait,” she purred, and kissed him again. “Come on, Molly girl. Let’s go home.”
Molly ran to her side, deliberately avoiding Harper, who was shooting daggers at Meg. Before