A Reclusive Heart
Page 38
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“It’s all my mail?” she said, nearly pouting. Not only was there a lot of mail to sort through, but she had been kind of hoping that there was also some chocolate in there.
“Yes, Miss. Harris. Is there anything else I can do for you?” the woman asked with a polite smile.
“No, no thank you,” she mumbled, not at all looking forward to the task of sorting through all of it. Thankfully she’d set up her checking account to automatically pay all of her bills so she didn’t have to worry about those. As the woman quietly left she pulled the box closer to her, dreading every single minute of this chore. She hated sorting through junk mail.
Not even thirty seconds into the dreaded chore she came across a letter.
There was no address, but at least it wasn’t junk mail. She opened the letter and felt the air rush out of her lungs as her eyes widened. With a shaky hand she put the letter aside and practically dove through the rest of the mail, looking for any more letters. She found thirty-five letters in total, each one more gruesome and detailed than the last.
Having absolutely no idea what to do, she placed the letters that made her sick to even look at into the box and headed out of her office, hoping to find Nick. He would know how to handle this, she decided even as she tried to shove away the urge to drop the box and finally make a run for it.
******
“How’s the tour going?” Rick asked as handed him a glass of iced water.
“It’s going really well,” Nick said, wondering when the man was going to get to the point. He didn’t have to wait long.
“That kid isn’t going to sue,” Rick said as if Nick had really been worried. The kid got what he deserved for attacking Jamie. As far as he was concerned the kid was lucky to still be walking.
“He attacked her,” Nick simply said.
Rick nodded his agreement. “I’ve seen the pictures, but from what I understand it was part of a frat house scavenger hunt. He wasn’t trying to hurt her.”
“I don’t care what it was for. He had no business putting his hands on her,”
Nick explained calmly even though the memory of the ass**le putting his lips on Jamie’s left him anything but calm.
“You don’t think that you took things a little too far? You broke his jaw, Nick,” Rick said, sighing heavily as he sat in the chair across from him.
Nick looked over and met his friends eyes as he asked, “If it had been Dana would you have done anything differently?” he asked, knowing the soft spot the man had for Dana Pierce. She was a sweet woman that they both cared deeply about. He also knew the man viewed her as a sister. When Rick didn’t answer, but instead clenched his jaw tightly he had his answer.
“Was there something else you needed to discuss? I need to get back to my office and go over the rest of the dates to make sure there are no last minute surprises,” Nick said, not bothering to wait for the man to speak as he stood to leave. He had too much shit to do to sit here twiddling his thumbs.
“Have you slept with her?” Rick asked bluntly, taking him off guard.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, sitting back down.
“Jamie. I need to know if I should have someone else work with her.”
“Do you have a problem with her work?” Nick demanded.
Rick frowned. “No.”
“Do you have a problem with my work then?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t see how it’s any of your business what we do in our spare time,”
Nick said, refusing to lie and belittle what he had going on with Jamie to save his own ass. If they fired him, and he prayed that didn’t happen, then he’d go with her and watch out for her during the rest of this tour and hopefully when it was finished he’d have another job. One thing was for certain, he wasn’t ready to lose Jamie.
Not yet.
“It’s not that simple and you know it, Nick. We have that particular policy for a reason and I’m afraid I can’t look the other way. You’re going to have to end things with her and I’m afraid I can’t allow you to continue overseeing this tour,”
Rick said grimly.
He would still have the job he busted his ass to get, but he would lose Jamie, he realized. They were never going to last past this tour. This had been a fling, a wonderful, earth shattering fling, but nothing more. They could still be friends and he’d see her whenever she worked in the office and he was in town, but that was all.
He would no longer be allowed to touch her, kiss her or hold her ever again because she would be off limits to him.
As he stood up he couldn’t believe how easily the decision came to him. For years he wanted nothing more than to get his name out there and make a better life for himself and erase every last memory of his childhood. When the best opportunity of his life came he f**ked it up by sleeping with his little recluse. He could either keep his job and he knew that it wouldn’t be long before he came across another chance to make a name for himself or he could keep the best thing that ever happened to him.
It really surprised him that he didn’t have to think about it. “Then I quit,” he said, walking towards the door with every intention of grabbing his little recluse and taking her home where he planned on losing himself in her arms for the rest of the day.
“You’re serious?” Rick said, coming to his feet.
“Deadly,” Nick said without any hesitation.
“She really means that much to you?” Rick asked, sounding more than just a little curious.
“She means everything to me,” Nick said, closing in on the door. “I’ll be out within the hour and just so you know, I plan on going with her for the rest of the tour. I’ll stay out of whoever’s way that you send to take over for me, but I’m not leaving her.”
Rick’s chuckle brought him up short. He turned around to glare at the man.
“What the hell is so funny?”
“I can’t believe the day when the mighty Nick Quinn got brought to his knees by a woman finally came,” he said, shaking his head ruefully even as the bastard continued to grin.
“She didn’t bring me to my knees,” Nick ground out. “I care about her and want to keep her safe.”
Rick waved his comments of which actually pissed him off more than the man’s laughter. “Relax you’re not fired.”
“I quit,” he pointed out.
“I chose to ignore it,” Rick said with a simple shrug. “But you should know that I’ve decided to send someone with you for the rest of the tour.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Rick,” he said, shocked at how relieved he was to still have a job.
“I know you don’t. Even though I’m not entirely comfortable with this situation I’m going to trust that you know what you’re doing,” he explained and Nick just barely bit back his wince.
He had no idea in hell what he was doing. For god sake’s he’d just tried to quit his job for a woman he didn’t plan on seeing past next month. What the hell was wrong with him? This wasn’t like him and he couldn’t help but blame his little recluse for it. If she hadn’t made him fall inNo, no, no, he was not in love with her. He liked her a lot, but it sure as hell wasn’t love. It was great sex and he enjoyed her company, nothing more. Maybe he’d been spending too much time with her. It might be best if he stepped back from her, but then he realized that he didn’t much care for the idea.
Maybe this didn’t have to end once the tour was done. They could be friends, good friends and when the need arose they could have no strings attached sex, often. It wouldn’t be anything permanent, just two good friends who had great sex whenever they wanted, wherever. This could work, he realized as he walked back over to the large sitting area and sat down.
The only problem as far as he could see was convincing Jamie that this was a good idea. He really didn’t see a problem with that. She loved spending time with him, had an insatiable appetite for sex and didn’t expect anything from him. Of course there would probably come a time when she started to date and when that time came……
No, that wouldn’t work for him either, because the thought of his little recluse being touched by another man didn’t sit well with him so they were going to have to figure out something else. He liked being with her and actually liked thinking of himself as her boyfriend so maybe they’d continue with that for a year or two until they worked each other out their systems or got bored. That really did make more sense than torturing himself by allowing another man to get near her.
“Yes, Miss. Harris. Is there anything else I can do for you?” the woman asked with a polite smile.
“No, no thank you,” she mumbled, not at all looking forward to the task of sorting through all of it. Thankfully she’d set up her checking account to automatically pay all of her bills so she didn’t have to worry about those. As the woman quietly left she pulled the box closer to her, dreading every single minute of this chore. She hated sorting through junk mail.
Not even thirty seconds into the dreaded chore she came across a letter.
There was no address, but at least it wasn’t junk mail. She opened the letter and felt the air rush out of her lungs as her eyes widened. With a shaky hand she put the letter aside and practically dove through the rest of the mail, looking for any more letters. She found thirty-five letters in total, each one more gruesome and detailed than the last.
Having absolutely no idea what to do, she placed the letters that made her sick to even look at into the box and headed out of her office, hoping to find Nick. He would know how to handle this, she decided even as she tried to shove away the urge to drop the box and finally make a run for it.
******
“How’s the tour going?” Rick asked as handed him a glass of iced water.
“It’s going really well,” Nick said, wondering when the man was going to get to the point. He didn’t have to wait long.
“That kid isn’t going to sue,” Rick said as if Nick had really been worried. The kid got what he deserved for attacking Jamie. As far as he was concerned the kid was lucky to still be walking.
“He attacked her,” Nick simply said.
Rick nodded his agreement. “I’ve seen the pictures, but from what I understand it was part of a frat house scavenger hunt. He wasn’t trying to hurt her.”
“I don’t care what it was for. He had no business putting his hands on her,”
Nick explained calmly even though the memory of the ass**le putting his lips on Jamie’s left him anything but calm.
“You don’t think that you took things a little too far? You broke his jaw, Nick,” Rick said, sighing heavily as he sat in the chair across from him.
Nick looked over and met his friends eyes as he asked, “If it had been Dana would you have done anything differently?” he asked, knowing the soft spot the man had for Dana Pierce. She was a sweet woman that they both cared deeply about. He also knew the man viewed her as a sister. When Rick didn’t answer, but instead clenched his jaw tightly he had his answer.
“Was there something else you needed to discuss? I need to get back to my office and go over the rest of the dates to make sure there are no last minute surprises,” Nick said, not bothering to wait for the man to speak as he stood to leave. He had too much shit to do to sit here twiddling his thumbs.
“Have you slept with her?” Rick asked bluntly, taking him off guard.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, sitting back down.
“Jamie. I need to know if I should have someone else work with her.”
“Do you have a problem with her work?” Nick demanded.
Rick frowned. “No.”
“Do you have a problem with my work then?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t see how it’s any of your business what we do in our spare time,”
Nick said, refusing to lie and belittle what he had going on with Jamie to save his own ass. If they fired him, and he prayed that didn’t happen, then he’d go with her and watch out for her during the rest of this tour and hopefully when it was finished he’d have another job. One thing was for certain, he wasn’t ready to lose Jamie.
Not yet.
“It’s not that simple and you know it, Nick. We have that particular policy for a reason and I’m afraid I can’t look the other way. You’re going to have to end things with her and I’m afraid I can’t allow you to continue overseeing this tour,”
Rick said grimly.
He would still have the job he busted his ass to get, but he would lose Jamie, he realized. They were never going to last past this tour. This had been a fling, a wonderful, earth shattering fling, but nothing more. They could still be friends and he’d see her whenever she worked in the office and he was in town, but that was all.
He would no longer be allowed to touch her, kiss her or hold her ever again because she would be off limits to him.
As he stood up he couldn’t believe how easily the decision came to him. For years he wanted nothing more than to get his name out there and make a better life for himself and erase every last memory of his childhood. When the best opportunity of his life came he f**ked it up by sleeping with his little recluse. He could either keep his job and he knew that it wouldn’t be long before he came across another chance to make a name for himself or he could keep the best thing that ever happened to him.
It really surprised him that he didn’t have to think about it. “Then I quit,” he said, walking towards the door with every intention of grabbing his little recluse and taking her home where he planned on losing himself in her arms for the rest of the day.
“You’re serious?” Rick said, coming to his feet.
“Deadly,” Nick said without any hesitation.
“She really means that much to you?” Rick asked, sounding more than just a little curious.
“She means everything to me,” Nick said, closing in on the door. “I’ll be out within the hour and just so you know, I plan on going with her for the rest of the tour. I’ll stay out of whoever’s way that you send to take over for me, but I’m not leaving her.”
Rick’s chuckle brought him up short. He turned around to glare at the man.
“What the hell is so funny?”
“I can’t believe the day when the mighty Nick Quinn got brought to his knees by a woman finally came,” he said, shaking his head ruefully even as the bastard continued to grin.
“She didn’t bring me to my knees,” Nick ground out. “I care about her and want to keep her safe.”
Rick waved his comments of which actually pissed him off more than the man’s laughter. “Relax you’re not fired.”
“I quit,” he pointed out.
“I chose to ignore it,” Rick said with a simple shrug. “But you should know that I’ve decided to send someone with you for the rest of the tour.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Rick,” he said, shocked at how relieved he was to still have a job.
“I know you don’t. Even though I’m not entirely comfortable with this situation I’m going to trust that you know what you’re doing,” he explained and Nick just barely bit back his wince.
He had no idea in hell what he was doing. For god sake’s he’d just tried to quit his job for a woman he didn’t plan on seeing past next month. What the hell was wrong with him? This wasn’t like him and he couldn’t help but blame his little recluse for it. If she hadn’t made him fall inNo, no, no, he was not in love with her. He liked her a lot, but it sure as hell wasn’t love. It was great sex and he enjoyed her company, nothing more. Maybe he’d been spending too much time with her. It might be best if he stepped back from her, but then he realized that he didn’t much care for the idea.
Maybe this didn’t have to end once the tour was done. They could be friends, good friends and when the need arose they could have no strings attached sex, often. It wouldn’t be anything permanent, just two good friends who had great sex whenever they wanted, wherever. This could work, he realized as he walked back over to the large sitting area and sat down.
The only problem as far as he could see was convincing Jamie that this was a good idea. He really didn’t see a problem with that. She loved spending time with him, had an insatiable appetite for sex and didn’t expect anything from him. Of course there would probably come a time when she started to date and when that time came……
No, that wouldn’t work for him either, because the thought of his little recluse being touched by another man didn’t sit well with him so they were going to have to figure out something else. He liked being with her and actually liked thinking of himself as her boyfriend so maybe they’d continue with that for a year or two until they worked each other out their systems or got bored. That really did make more sense than torturing himself by allowing another man to get near her.
