And he hadn’t just sent anyone. He sent someone who clearly knew how to handle deep, stubborn, buried tension. He knew I wouldn’t take care of myself, so he had done it for me.
It was bossy, controlling, and more than a little arrogant.
And infuriatingly sexy.
My throat tightened. I wasn’t used to being thought of this way, to being seen. On the contrary, I’d been feeling invisible since having a baby. But Jonah made me feel so very seen.
When Marla’s session was done, I sat up, feeling mildly sore from the deep tissue work, but my back pain had completely loosened up. I could move without agony for the first time all day.
After getting dressed, I emerged to find Marla packing up her equipment.
That’s when Evie, rubbing her sleepy eyes, wandered out of her room, probably to use the bathroom.
“Mommy?” Evie looked up at me with big eyes. “Who is she? And why does she have a table? Is it someone’s birthday party?”
I knelt down beside her and wrapped her in a hug, kissing the top of her head and holding her longer than necessary.
“No, baby,” I said softly. “It’s not anyone’s birthday.”
I looked over at Marla, who was packing up her equipment with a smile, before turning back to Evie.
“It’s just … someone was thinking about me.”
Later that night, after I’d said goodbye to Marla and put Evie back to bed, I replied to Jonah’s email. I simply wrote a crisp thank you and included my phone number.
After I hit Send, I sat alone in my room, my back feeling much better, and knowing I had just escalated things between us.
On Thursday,our team was busy with a critical app update roll out that was scheduled for Friday. I worked late into the night after Evie went to bed, fielding emails and messages from my team to prepare for the next day’s launch.
After a successful 9 a.m. rollout on Friday, Rafael called us in for a quick team meeting. The mood was lighter than usual. People were discussing everything except work, when Rafael casually mentioned Jonah.
I froze at hearing Jonah’s name. Ever since I’d sent him my phone number, I hadn’t heard from him. It made me uncomfortable, thinking that perhaps I’d gone too far.
“Joe Walkers,” Rafael said, “is throwing a lavish birthday party for his father today. Can you believe that? He’s even flying in Garth Brooks, his dad’s favorite artist, in for the event.”
Garth Brooks? No way.
“I never read anything about that in the news,” Brian said with a grin. Turning to me he added, “And I always read the entertainment section. Ask me about any Hollywood scandal. Go on.”
“I get my news first-hand,” Rafael said, in a smug way. “Some of the directors who actually socialize with Joe Walkers were quite chatty when they invited me out last night. You wouldn’t find this in any newspaper, Brian.”
He looked out through the windows, a grim determination on his face like it was his personal mission to be one of those directors who got invited for drinks with Jonah.
“Joe’s even sending his private jet to bring his cousin from LA,” Rafael added with a laugh. “Word is the cousin’s been in and out of rehab and despises Jonah. But apparently, Jonah never says no to family. He’ll protect anyone close to him.”
It was strange hearing things about Jonah’s personal life from someone who wasn’t him. I wondered how much of that was true. Was this what being wealthy was like? People thought they knew you when they really didn’t?
“Now, all admiration for the super-rich boss aside,” Stacey said quietly, “can we start the meeting?”
Rafael shot her a dark look as he moved to the head of the table and called the meeting to order.
As I sat there, my mind drifted to all the things Jonah had done for me. Sending me work appropriate outfits, and arranging for a professional massage therapist. I suddenly understood that his actions were his way of protecting me, taking care of me.
He didn’tneedto do that. And maybe it was time I stopped running from whatever this was between us.
15
JONAH
