about the answer. Unless it affects my work, my schedule and my time. And from here forward it does not. Are we clear?”
“Crystal clear.”
She didn’t glance up so she didn’t know if there was sarcasm or respect in his eyes. His tone was cool and neutral so she couldn’t identify his intent either. She didn’t care. Not after this. As long as he didn’t treat her like shit or mess with her. Spinning her wheels around an asshole’s inappropriate behavior wasn’t at the top of her to-do list.
God, how she loved her quiet, reserved, shy and unsure mother. Joelle spent years being twisted around by her uncle, Rob Williams. Lacking self esteem, Joelle didn’t protest or even try to set a limit.
With her dad, Joelle found her voice. Outside of their family, however, she still appeared quiet and unsure.
Joelle drilled Jody not to let anyone do that to her. Jody was bright, intelligent, fiery, and interesting. She was also stubborn, annoying, unwilling to admit when she was wrong, and often too rigid in judging others. Joelle Lassiter taught her to embrace herself. She told her to decide how she wanted to interact in the world, since no one else had control over her or the right to dictate anything. Personally and professionally speaking.
The younger Jody might have been considered promiscuous by some, but Jody never saw herself as that. She embraced her sexuality, desire, curiosity and interest in sex as her prerogative. She always practiced safe sex. She made it clear to her partners. When she engaged in one-night stands in her youth, she did so unashamedly. She attended the University of London for her bachelor’s degree and thoroughly enjoyed all facets of being in an entirely different country.
No one could tell Jody she was slutty or whorish or immoral. God, no. She was well aware of herself. Her values were never defined or associated with sex. How could an act determine the essence of anyone? It was healthy to enjoy sex without harming herself or others and she never stressed over it. What did she care beyond that?
Of course, her parents struggled with her undying curiosity from early on. She’d gotten into trouble occasionally at the private high school she’d attended. Her indiscretions were nothing big and she had not been rebelling because her rich family only gave her their attention when she was being a troublemaker. Her sibling, a special needs child, didn’t make her feel neglected either. Nope, her problem was simple curiosity. She was not spoiled but she liked to experiment, and she took her punishments when merited, apologizing when appropriate. Jody figured out whom she was and what she wanted to be early in life. Warning her not to do something didn’t really teach her, so she had to experience, process and decide not to do it on her own.
Now, as an adult, she couldn’t be manipulated or bullied. Given her small stature and obvious youth, she surprised many of the people in the industries she chose to work in.
Jody possessed extraordinary intelligence. She should have skipped a few grades but she declined and chose to devour all the books and information that caught her interest outside of her usual course of study. She finished high school with a plethora of college credits from online courses that she took to supplement her too-easy high school curriculum.
Jody’s resume was packed with legitimate degrees as one might expect from someone for whom the costs of higher education did not factor. The large aptitude of her brain was never flaunted by her, although she could have.
All the partying she did at school didn’t affect her perfect grades. Doing her own research almost as a hobby taught her more than any class she was enrolled in.
Curiosity about all subjects could have been a curse but not to her. Meeting someone like Ross, so uninterested in everything, was very unusual for Jody. She found it hard to be patient with someone so bent on stabbing himself in the foot for no reason. It seemed perfectly obvious… don’t do that.
Whatever. It was on him now. Rob? She wondered how Rob would handle Ross. Perhaps she’d never see Ross again. At this point, she didn’t care either way.
Chapter 4
JODY LASSITER WAS A barracuda. Ross gave her a grudging respect as he wandered around aimlessly, killing the day. Standing on a staircase that went from the street level down a steep incline that would take him to the water level street, he caught