on. The elevator doors close, and I blow out a breath of relief.
Good girl . . . stay strong.
I put my lipstick on and smile at my reflection in the mirror. Jameson called me when he got home last night to say good night. It feels strangely good to have him back in my life . . . but for how long?
I have this annoying little voice in my psyche that keeps reminding me what he did and how badly he treated me. I’m trying to listen to his reasoning and trust what he’s saying, but it’s hard to pretend that nothing has happened between us.
It wasn’t nothing; it was Armageddon, and my entire world crashed at my feet. I don’t like the way I depend on Jameson Miles for my happiness.
It won’t happen again; I won’t allow it . . . even if that means holding him at arm’s length for the rest of my life . . . or however long we’re together.
See, there it is again.
Negative thoughts . . . ugh.
I make my way downstairs with my luggage for the weekend with me and out the front doors to see Jameson leaning up against the wall—navy suit, gorgeous face, and a swoony smile . . . just for me. “Good morning, my beautiful girl.”
“Hi.” I smile up at him.
He leans down and takes my face in his hands and kisses me, and I feel my knees weaken underneath me. “How did my girl sleep?” He takes my hand in his and takes my suitcase from me.
“Fine, thanks.”
“Can we get a civilized lift to work today?” he asks.
I glance over and see Alan and the limo parked at the curb across the street. “Um.” I frown. “You go with Alan. I want to catch the bus.”
He raises an eyebrow as if unimpressed. “Okay, bus it is.”
“You don’t have to walk me to work, Jameson. I’m quite capable of getting myself there.”
“I know; I just want to spend the twenty minutes with you. I’m not seeing you all weekend, remember?” He gives me a sexy wink, and my stomach does a nervous flip. We walk to the bus stop hand in hand.
“Have you heard anything more about Lara Aspin and Hayden?”
“No. They’ve been charged, but the court case won’t be for a while. I can’t believe you solved it. You don’t know how grateful I am to you.”
I smile, feeling proud of myself.
“How do you like your new job?” he asks.
I shrug. “It’s great.”
His eyes hold mine. “Great as in ‘really great,’ or great as in ‘it will do’?”
“Great as in ‘I’m getting used to it.’”
“Why don’t you come back to Miles Media?”
“No. I’ll be keeping our work lives separate from now on.”
“Hmm.” He frowns, unimpressed. “We’ll see.”
The bus arrives, and we make our way on. It’s crowded today, and I find a seat, but Jameson has to stand. He’s squashed between a smelly man and a woman who looks like she has rabies. I sit and watch him and the horror on his face as he watches the people around him. I have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. Eventually the bus pulls to our stop, and he gets off in a rush.
“That’s it,” he scoffs as he brushes his suit off like the snob that he is. “No more fucking buses. We need to be disinfected right now. Did you see the people on that fucking bus?”
I giggle. “That was just a bad trip.”
“I mean it, Emily,” he snaps. “No more fucking buses. Alan is now your driver. Over my dead body are we catching another bus.”
“Yes, boss.” I smile as he takes my hand in his, and we begin our walk to work.
“What time does your flight leave tonight?” he asks.
“Three.”
His face falls. “You’re going early?”
“Yes. I have a half day today.”
“I was going to take you to the airport.” He frowns as he stares down at me. “I have a board meeting at four; I can’t get out of it.”
“That’s fine.”
“Shit . . . maybe I can cancel?”
“Jameson, it’s fine. You are not canceling a meeting to take me to the airport. Stop it. You will see me when you see me.”
He stares at me as he processes my words. “Alan will collect you.”
I nod, knowing that if I don’t agree, he will in fact cancel his meeting. “Okay.”
We arrive at my work, and he turns me toward him. “You’ll call me the minute you land?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I’ll call you before I go