Which presents a pretty big problem, considering I’m gunning for the largest case of my career.
Yesterday, while Jessie watched Eli in the morning, I got some more face time with Stewart and Henry. They asked where I’d been this week.
It’s been four days, and they’ve already noticed that I’m not clocking twelve-to-fourteen-hour days, like I usually do.
I lied and told them my mom was sick. It’s a shit excuse, and I know I’m going to hell for it, but I panicked. What I should have done was tell them the truth. I should tell them about Eli. I know it’s the right thing to do. It also would effectively take my name out of the running for this pharmaceutical case.
Tonight is my final night with Jessie here. Tomorrow is Friday, and there’s no reason for her to spend the night on the weekend. I know if I get her to myself for too long, I’m going to do something I’ll regret.
That’s why I’ve made a reservation for us to go out to dinner with Eli. Though at this point, I wonder if being in public could stop me from finally taking her in my arms and kissing those delectable lips.
Just as I’m pulling my shirt that’s covered in Eli’s spit-up over my head, my front door opens. It’s weird, knowing Jessie has a key to my place and just walks in whenever she wants. I like it—and that’s a fucking problem.
“Walker,” she calls from the other room.
Eli is out there in her swing. She probably won’t last long. I just gave her a bottle, but she seemed squirmy, like she wanted to move around. I just needed to come in here and change real fast.
“I’m in here,” I shout as I toss my shirt into the hamper and open my drawer.
“I was thinking that maybe”—her voice sounds like it’s getting closer—“Eli should …” She’s now standing in front of me.
It’s the same damn look she gave me the other day when I opened the door without a shirt on. It’s dangerous because it tells me just how affected she is by me, even when she pretends to hate me.
“Eli should?” I say to try and keep the conversation moving.
Maybe if we both pretend we don’t want to fuck each other’s brains out, the energy between us will settle.
She squeezes her eyes shut for a moment. I try not to smile, thinking if only she knew what I would do to corrupt her if I had the chance. If seeing me without a shirt on creates such a reaction, I can’t imagine what would happen if I got a chance to lick her sweet little cunt.
Fuck, now I’m hard.
“Dinner!” I nearly shout, startling her and making her jump back in surprise.
“What?” she asks hesitantly.
I cough and nervously clear my throat as I try to save face. She’s the only person who can garner such intense emotions from me. I’m not used to feeling like this.
“Dinner. Um, I made reservations for us to go out to dinner,” I reply, trying to maintain a sense of indifference. “I thought getting out of the apartment would be good for Eli.”
“Oh, um, yeah. That sounds great. Dinner.” She shifts uncomfortably on her feet. “I’ll just go, uh … get changed first if that’s okay.”
“Yeah, totally. Get changed. I’ll be out there in a minute.”
She nods her head, then backs away slowly, like she has whiplash and is still trying to figure out what just happened.
I realize I’m going on the closest thing that might ever come to a date with Jessie. For some odd reason, my stomach twists at the thought.
I close my T-shirt drawer and walk into my closet. After taking too many minutes to decide, I land on a plain black button-down with jeans. Nice but can pass as casual with little effort.
I race into my bathroom to put on extra deodorant, run some more paste through my hair, and squirt on some cologne.
When I walk back out to the family room, Eli is starting to grunt and groan in the swing. I take her out and scan the room as panic sets in.
What the hell do I bring out to a restaurant?
Shit. This was a bad idea. What if she’s hungry? Or needs a diaper change? Or poops up the back of her pajamas like she did yesterday? Where will she sleep if she gets tired?
“Okay, I’m ready,” Jessie calls from behind me as she exits my guest bathroom. “What’s wrong?” she asks immediately.
