16

Bianca

The next morning, Jager drove me to my apartment where I showered and changed before work. He had a meeting with the police and said he’d meet me at the office. I preferred that since I wasn’t ready to tell everyone about us just yet.

First, I needed to speak to River about why he kept Jager’s note a secret from me. Depending on his answer, I might be searching for a new place to live earlier than I’d anticipated.

But River wasn’t home, so I rode the bus to work.

Jager surprised me yesterday when he asked me to move in with him. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. The thought of waking up next to him every morning and cooking dinner together at night brought a smile to my face.

But it felt like a betrayal to myself to say yes, as weird as that sounded. My whole life I’d been told what I could and could not do. Even River, who I thought respected me, had taken my options away when he kept Jager’s note from me.

This goal of owning my own place was more than just a personal achievement. Saving my income and making sacrifices was a struggle and to let it go felt like I’d be giving up on myself.

Geez. Saying this in my head, it sounded selfish, and it was partly why I couldn’t say it to Jager. But he had taken it well. Better than I had expected him to take the rejection. But how long would he wait for me? What if it took several more months to save enough to move out?

We’d lost so much time. Was I risking losing more?

My head swam with all these thoughts as I scanned my thumbprint and then rode the elevator to the tenth floor.

Lizzie was the first to greet me as soon as the doors opened. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip. “Tell me everything.”

I smiled. “What do you want to know?”

“What does his apartment look like? Was the sex good? And is his chest as sculpted as I think it is?”

I shook my head.

“I’m serious, Bianca. I’m in a foul mood right now because of your brother, and I need something to pick me up.”

“Did you and River have a fight?”

She waved me off. “You go first.”

I sighed when I sat down at my desk. “His apartment is spectacular. The sex was incredible. And yes, I think my exact words to myself were that his chest would make DaVinci weep.”

She clapped her hands. “I knew it!”

I chuckled. “Why do you look so pleased?”

“Because I was right. I told your brother he was good for you.”

“You and River fought because of me?”

She shrugged. “He was in a pissed off mood all weekend after you left with Jager and worse when he found out you spent the night. I told him that Jager would be good for you. He told me I didn’t know who Jager was, and I should mind my own business.”

“He did?” I asked.

She folded her arms and raised one eyebrow. “Yes. So, we’re not on the best terms right now, especially after I told him he could go fuck himself.”

I laughed. “Good for you. Who does he think he is?”

“Exactly.” She pursed her lips. “I’ve never seen him like this. It’s like he’s another person.”

“Well, whoever he thinks he is, he’s not my keeper. And I’ll be telling him that later tonight.”

“Thanks for the heads up. I’ll stay away until you two work yourselves out. Otherwise, I might never speak to him again.”

“He’d deserve it.”

Janis walked into my office before I could tell Lizzie I agreed with her. “Bianca, Mr. Towers wants to see you.”

“All right. Do you know what it’s about?”

“He wants the final details of the launch. He’s getting impatient.”

I sighed. “Well, it’s not like it’s been easy. The format’s changed three times already.” I picked up my laptop and followed Janis down the hallway toward Towers’ office.

Mr. Towers paced the carpeted floor as he shouted at someone over the speakerphone. “We haven’t been able to do anything yet because our hands are tied with this investigation. Oh, here’s Bianca now. I’ll call you back.”

“Mr. Towers.”

“Bianca, how many guests do we have at the launch?”

“About fifty, sir.”

“Why so little?”

“We had to downsize the event to VIPs only due to security measures—”

“No one cares about the security threat anymore. They want this launch to happen immediately. Otherwise, we might lose the platform altogether.”

“There isn’t much we can do, sir.”

“Yes, there is. Move the date sooner.”

“But Jager—”

“I don’t care what Jager says. This is my company!”

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do. But it won’t be easy. I’ll have to check if the event space is free, andthen find out if our guests can make the new date. Sir, I really would not suggest doing this.”

“Then what would you suggest we do?”

“We keep the event date where it is now, but we start a social media campaign online teasing the new launch. We show everyone that they need to join Grapevine or they’ll miss out on exclusive events.”

He inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Go on.”

“I don’t have a complete plan yet, as I’m thinking and talking at the same time, but what if we use the platform to host the biggest World Series Party this country has ever seen?”

“How?”

“I’ll have to work out the details, but I’m thinking Grapevine will be the first social media platform to broadcast the game live.”

“That makes no sense. People can watch it on TV already.”

“Yes, but can they watch it from the dugout? Or how about the locker room? Aren’t you good friends with the Yankees’ owner? I’m sure you can arrange something like that.”

He rubbed his lips. “I could.”

“We’d have exclusive footage of the pregame pep talk from the coach. People will feel like they’re in the locker room with the players—feel like one of the team. Then, when the game starts, the cameraman takes the feed to the dugout and sits on the bench next to Aaron Judge himself. What this generation wants more than anything else is to experience things. We can give them that in the comfort of their own home. We can give them the experience of a lifetime.”

Towers was nodding his head even before I finished. “I love it.”

“Perfect. I’ll put together a plan with the team and we’ll have a press release on your desk by theend of theday tomorrow.”

“Good.”

I turned to leave Towers’ office when he stopped me. “Good job, Rimoli. I’m glad I didn’t listen to Walsh.”

I nearly tripped on my way out. “Pardon me, sir. Mr. Walsh didn’t approve of you hiring me?”

“It’s not that he didn’t approve. He wanted me to hire his son instead. But that kid doesn’t know his head from his ass. I don’t regret the decision.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As I walked out of Towers’ office, my shoulders tensed. I never knew that VP Walsh wanted someone else instead of me—his son, for goodness' sakes. I replayed every interaction with him over the last year and saw every critique and every frown in a different light. Were those ideas bad, or was he just trying to make me look bad? I shook off the thoughts, as they would only distract me. It didn’t matter. I was here. I earned this position, and I was going to blow it out of the park with this next event. Literally. Mmm…maybe we could get Judge to give viewers a homerun lesson on the platform. I wrote the idea down as soon as I got to my desk.

Over the next couple of hours, I devised a plan for the first social media broadcast of the World Series. My team and I came up with some interactive ideas and takeovers by other athletes and comedians that we were sure would have viewers worldwide tuning in. Unlike television, we didn’t have to follow any rules or regulations. It was exciting, but I had to axe a few questionable suggestions.

“This isn’t a college party. We’re not having a drinking game live on the air,” I told one of my team members. He looked disappointed, but was mollified when Jeremy suggested covering the pre-game tailgate party and I agreed. He smiled at me.

“All right, everyone. We have two hours to get this into a presentation. I’ll work on the press release in the meantime.”

The five team members stood and left my office, discussing who would take which slides of the presentation. Jeremy lingered in the doorway. “Do you need some help with the release?”

“No. I’m good. Thanks.”

He rubbed his lips together. On someone else, it would have suggested nervousness, but Jeremy didn’t look nervous. “No worries.”

When he left, I opened my laptop to start working on the announcement. The time caught my attention. It was nearly noon and Jager still hadn’t arrived at the office. I was starting to get concerned about him.

I was just about to text him when his tall form marched off the elevator. Pressing my foot to the ground, I stopped myself from running up to him. I wouldn’t do that if we weren’t seeing each other. So, I leaned back in my chair and tapped my pen on my notebook while I waited for him to come to me.

He went into Towers’ office first. I tried focusing on the press release, but the expression on his face when he stepped off the elevator earlier had me looking up every ten seconds to check on him. I hadn’t seen Jager in more than a decade, but I felt I knew him pretty well.

More than twenty minutes later, he walked up to my door. “Hey.”

He wore a dark gray suit, black shirt, and a gold watch. He could have modeled that suit for Armani the way it hung so perfectly on him.

I swallowed back my lust. “Hey.”

Then, reading the look on his face, I added, “What’s wrong?”

He rubbed his lips. “I met with Khan and Chaudhary this morning.”

“Yes.”

“We’ve found some information that I can’t share with you yet, but…”

He turned toward my door and took a couple of steps to shut it. Now, I was worried.

“What is it?”

“I want you to stay away from Jeremy Tagert.”

“Ok.”

He had both hands on his hips, and it looked like he wanted to say more.

“I don’t see Jeremy outside of the office, only at events.”

“And the next event is the launch?”

“Yes. Next Friday. Why are you telling me this?”

He closed the distance between us but kept his hands to himself, clasped in front of him, like he was delivering a debrief. “I found some photos on his computer of you.”

“Of me?” His words shocked me. “Why? How? When?” I sputtered.

“I don’t know why. He took them at events. I spoke to Towers about it, but he didn’t feel there was enough there to file a complaint with HR. But has Tagert ever said anything to you that’s made you uncomfortable?”

I leaned against my desk, suddenly feeling off balance. “I’ve gotten strange looks and the ick from him, but I can’t remember him saying anything inappropriate.” My mind went back to the images. “What was I doing in those photos?” It bothered me that he had taken photos of me and saved them on his computer. It was strange and confusing, and frankly, a little terrifying. What did he do with those photos?

“You were working. Maybe I’m being overprotective, but they set alarm bells off in my head and after some information I found out today, I think he could be more dangerous than just some guy who has an office crush.”

“Yeah. I don’t feel comfortable knowing he took those photos of me. Can I do anything about it?”

“You can file a complaint with HR yourself.”

“What do I say? That you found some photos on his laptop of me at events? That isn’t much to go on since he was supposed to take photos at the event.”

He pursed his lips. “Maybe not. But if this guy is who I think he is, you may not need to worry about him for much longer.”

“I hope you’re right. I’ll stay far away from him in the meantime.”

Looking over his shoulder at the door, Jager pulled me into his arms. “I hate that I can’t just remove him from this place and away from you. But I promise you, I’ll take care of him.”

I bit my lip and glanced over his shoulder. The hallway was clear. I pressed my lips to his and swiped my tongue across them. “Make it up to me later.”

He growled. “With pleasure.”

I pushed him away and smoothed down my blouse. “Are you coming with me after work, or would you rather take a cab to my place?”

I sighed. “Neither.”

“What do you mean?”

“I need to speak to River about what you told me last night. It’s not okay what he did, and I have to know why he did it.”

Jager rubbed the back of his neck. “Leave it, Bumblebee. I know why he did it.”

“You do? Did you talk to Jager today?”

“No. I know because I would have done the same thing if I were responsible for you. I wouldn’t want you to be with someone like me, either. I was irresponsible and wasn’t good enough to be with you then.”

“Maybe.”

His eyes widened, perhaps a little surprised that I had agreed with him. “If you let my brother persuade you even for a night that you shouldn’t be with me, then you weren’t ready for a committed relationship. But that was for me to decide, not River. And if River doesn’t realize what he did was wrong, then it’s my job to set him straight.”

“Fuck, you’re sexy when you take charge, you know that?”

I smirked. “I do.”

“All right. But call me when you’re done talking. I have a better use for that sexy mouth of yours.”

I laughed, playfully. “Only if you approve all the details I’ve set out for the launch next week.”

“I’ll take a look at them, but no promises.”

I winked. “Ditto.”

“Hey, that’s not fair.”

“Oh, it is. You give me what I want, and I’ll give you what you want.”

He dropped his head to my ear and ran his fingers slowly down my back. “Are you telling me you don’t want me?”

Bastard . My nipples hardened, and I knew he could see them through my thin silk blouse. “Just look at the plan, Jager. Then decide what you want.”

“Oh, I know what I want,” then he trailed his fingers across my hardened peaks and smiled. “And I know what you like.”

He stepped away and put his hands in his pocket. “But I’ll take a look at your plan and see if it meets with my approval.”

I stared at him, keeping my face calm and collected even though I wanted to pant and beg him to touch me again, harder this time. The brush across my nipple was a terrible tease. It was bad of him to do it in the office and leave me feeling this way.

“I’ll see you later, Ms. Rimoli.”

“Perhaps, Mr. Payne.”

He laughed on his way out of the office, and I shook my head. Trying to keep this from our boss and my colleagues wouldn’t be easy, but it sure would be fun!