God, she needed a few minutes to pull herself together. Storming into the office, she flung herself down on the chair, and threw Jack’s business card into the bin next to the desk.
Jack had made her look like a complete fool. Letting her believe he wanted her for hot and sexy kind of stuff. Well, he actually did, but he should have made it clear from the start that he had a job offer. If he had, then the whole embarrassing moment could’ve been avoided.
He wanted her, but she would not be another woman added to his long list of conquests. No, she wasn’t stupid enough to fall for the smooth-talking, good-looking football hero. She’d fallen for a pretty face and smooth-talker before, and it only caused her terrible heartache. Safer to stay far, far away and never think of him again.
There was too much work to do and she couldn’t stay in the office brooding over one annoying, yet sexy as hell, man. With the decision made, she went back into the store and planned to wipe him from her mind.
But as the day went on Lauren learned it was impossible to not think about Jack. She’d rung up the wrong amount in sales, dropped and smashed a crystal champagne flute, and knocked over a display of greeting cards all because images of green eyes and a sexy smile kept invading her thoughts. She needed to get Jack out of her head before the shop got destroyed.
Lauren could tell Jaime wondered what the hell was wrong. She’d asked Lauren if she was feeling sick and needed to lie down. Yeah, she had a sickness all right, and its name was Jack Henderson. He was infecting her mind and body like a bad disease—heating her skin and blazing through every molecule of her body. The cure? She didn’t think there was one other than distance, and that’s what she planned on doing. There was no reason they needed to spend any time together, so it shouldn’t take too long for the memory of Jack to fade.
Around four-thirty the shop slowed down, so Jaime went home early. Because she couldn’t afford any more breakages, Lauren also called it a day.
Going through the store, switching off lights, she made her way back to the office to check her emails. A bunch filled her inbox and she sorted through them, then sent one to a manufacturer regarding the bracelet order she’d placed two weeks ago before shutting down the computer. When she picked up her phone and keys from the desk, the phone vibrated in her hand. Not recognizing the number, she swiped the screen to answer the call.
“Hello.” She hoped it would be a quick conversation. She wanted to go home, pour a glass of wine, and forget about her day.
“Hey, sis. Long time, no hear.”
Icy dread slithered like a snake over her skin. With dread Lauren dropped back down on the chair.
* * * *
Wandering around the office, Jack took in the empty room, and his body tensed at the sight. For Claire to go to such great measures he must have really pissed her off. He’d known having sex with her was a bad idea, but how was he to know that she’d go allfatal attractionon him? There better not be a dead bunny cooking in a pot when he got home. Well, if she wanted to pay him back for rejecting her, job well done.
There wasn’t anything he could do there until morning, so he locked up and walked the short distance to his car, which he’d parked out on the street instead of the underground carpark.
It would’ve made life easier if Lauren had taken the job. What did he know about decorating and all that crap? A desk to hold a computer and a chair to sit on was good enough for him, but he knew he needed to do more than that. Could he wait three weeks until his mother returned from holidays and ask for help? Not unless he wanted to sit on the floor for the next few weeks. He needed someone now. He would’ve asked Leah to help, but she was busy with the new baby he didn’t want to trouble her.
Coming up with a way to change Lauren’s mind could be difficult. Whatever bug she had up her ass had stopped her from taking the job. Maybe what his mother said about her not associating with anyone like him wasn’t totally bullshit after all.
As he reached his black BMW he noticed it was tilted at an odd angle. “Great. A flat
tire.”
Crouching down to take a closer look, he saw not one but two flat tires. Rubbing a hand along the warm rubber, he discovered they’d been slashed.
Pushing himself up, he stormed around the other side of the car. What he found on the driver’s side was a long, white stripe etched deep into the sleek, black paint.
“Fuck!” he said, kicking the tire and pushing fingers through his hair.
Fury trembled in his chest like a rumbling train. The bitch had gone too far; she’d fucked with his car. His office was one thing, but to trash his car…
You didn’t mess with a man’s wheels and expect to get away with it. He needed to shut her down.
* * * *
After calling a taxi to drive him home to pick up his Landcruiser, Jack stood on Claire’s veranda, banging on the front door. Peeling paint cracked and fell to the ground from the force of his blows. Clenching his fist as he waited for her to open the door, fury boiled in his gut like a bubbling volcano. He took a few deep breaths to calm down. Nope, it didn’t work.
Never in his life had he felt so much anger toward a woman. Needing to take the aggravation out on something, he pounded on the door again. This time the blows were so hard he was surprised his hand didn’t break through the flimsy timber.
The whole office-trashing was easy to let pass. Yes, it was a big, expensive mess, but it had been his fault for leading her on. But she had gone way too far with his car. He still didn’t want to bring the police into it, but he sure as hell would deal with her.
A sharp voice stopped him from breaking the door down. “Would you stop bangin’ on that flamin’ door?”
Turning, he saw a man in his early to mid-sixties approach him. He was dressed in worn, navy work shorts and a faded yellow t-shirt with the wordsthat’s lifepeeling off the fabric. Gray, wispy hair peeked out from underneath a worn green and red cap. He walked with a slight limp, stopping to lean his forearms on the timber railing. A cigarette dangled precariously from his cracked lips.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you, but I’m looking for Claire. Do you know when she’ll be home?”
