Relentless Read online

  After recovering from the momentary shock, Vivien Prentice’s face broke into broad smile. “Jordan, how nice to see you,” she said as she leaned over, and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “It’s been way too long.”

  “It has been a while Vivien. How’ve you been doing?” Jordan asked her mother, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary, as if he always sat around in Michaela’s kitchen half-dressed.

  “I’ve been doing quite well, thank you. So what’s new with you two?” she asked pointedly. Jordan shot Michaela a questioning look, obviously not knowing how to respond to that loaded question.

  If she had the ability to disappear right now she would have, she thought as she unconsciously slouched. Michaela decided she would handle it the way she had been handling everything else this morning, ignore it. “Nothing’s new really, Mom. You remember I had my office Christmas party last night and Jordan was kind enough to be my escort. The evening turned out to be quite late, so Jordan stayed over. We had a lovely time.”

  Her mother though small in stature like herself at times could be quite intimidating; this was one of those times. She eyed them both with skepticism. “Yes, it appears you did have quite a time. That’s nice.”

  Michaela knew that look and tone. It meant that her mother wasn’t buying the story at all. “Do you want some coffee, Mom?”

  “Sure. I’d love some coffee.” She grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured herself a cup. “Although little late in the day for me to have a cup,” she said as glanced pointedly at the clock. “It’s after one in case you haven’t noticed. I just came by to see if you wanted to do some shopping, but I can see the two of you are busy. So tell me about your night,” she said with a devilish grin. “I want to hear all the details…. the party that is. You can leave out all the good stuff about what happened after the party.”

  Michaela rolled her eyes. “Mom! I can’t believe you just said that!”

  Vivien ignored her daughter and turned to Jordan. “So are you two an item now instead of pretending you’re just friends?”

  Jordan answered without hesitation enjoying Vivien’s pointed questions and Michaela’s obvious discomfort. “Yes, I’d pretty much say we have given up on the friendship angle.”

  Vivien glanced at her daughter across the table and then looked squarely at Jordan. “Well it’s about time. I was wondering what was taking you so long to make your move. You know Michaela is not getting any younger and her biological clock is ticking.”

  “Oh My God Mom!” Neither Jordan nor her mom paid any attention to her outburst.

  Jordan gave an apologetic sigh. “I know, sorry about that, but she had to recover from the whole Noah thing and I didn’t want to be the rebound guy.”

  Vivien gave him a broad smile, “Well, it looks like it’s working for you.”

  Michaela gave an exasperated huff. “Hello you two, I can hear you! Could you stop talking about me like I’m not even here?” she paused before adding, “And bedsides Mom, I haven’t decided if Jordan and I are together now.”

  Her mother rolled her eyes, “You’ve got be kidding me! What’s going through that head of yours?”

  “Vivien,” Jordan said, “I have been saying that all morning. Honestly her morning after stupidity is wearing me out.”

  Michaela gave Jordan a dirty look before saying, “We haven’t even gone on a date yet.”

  “You want to date?” he asked. “Fine I’ll take you to dinner tonight. Problem solved, we can move forward now.”

  Vivien gave Jordan another beaming smile. “Well done!” Looking over at her daughter she said, “I almost forgot to tell you, we’re having a little celebration dinner for your brother Donovan and Alaina tomorrow. Alaina just accepted a position as an attorney for the FBI in Boston. So it looks like she and Donovan are now based out of the same office.”

  Michaela was surprised at the news. “Oh that’s great, how does Donovan like working with his wife?”

  Vivien shrugged. “Well, I guess he likes it since he encouraged her to apply.”

  Jordan looked at Michaela with raised his brows as he asked, “Your brother is with the FBI? You never told me your brother is with the FBI.”

  “I try not to bring it up since for some reason people always get kind of freaked out. It’s like they think he is going to run a background check on them or bug their house or something,” she explained. Then she added, “He and his wife have just relocated from San Diego to Boston.”

  Vivien decided to interject. “You of course Jordan are invited as well. I hope you’re available.”

  Jordan gave Vivien a wink since she was obviously on his side. “Wouldn’t miss it Vivien. We’ll be there.”

  Vivien checked her cell and rose from the table. “Oh, look at the time. I’m going to let you two get back to whatever it was you were doing.” She paused briefly before saying, “Do you have a cat Jordan?”

  Jordan looked slightly confused. “No, why?

  Vivien smiled. “Well, those are some pretty impressive scratches on your chest. I just assumed you had some sort of run in with a cat.”

  Michaela once again choked on her coffee at her mother’s comment.

  Jordan grinned completely un-phased by Vivien’s remarks and looked down at his chest. “I can’t imagine how I got those.”

  Vivien’s smile grew broader, if that was possible. “Glad to see you here this morning Jordan.” With a quick glance directed straight at her daughter she said, “Oh and Michaela, we’ll have a long talk later.”

  As her mother exited the room, Michaela shook her head in wonderment. “Of all the mornings for my mother to drop by. You know she doesn’t do that very often. I wonder what else could possibly go wrong.”

  “It wasn’t so bad. Your mother wasn’t upset. In fact she seemed extremely pleased. You’re well over twenty-one after all and she has known me for a long time. Your mom has a great sense of humor. I loved that comment about your biological clock. I was really tempted to tell her about the expired condoms,” Jordan commented while chewing on a piece of toast.

  He looked amused by the whole situation; a situation Michaela didn’t think was funny at all, although the idea that her mother was going to let matters rest made her laugh. “Don’t tell her about the expired condoms. You know my mom is going to ask me about everything when she gets me alone!”

  Jordan smiled in appreciation. “Sounds like something I’d do. I can only respect that.”

  Michaela shook her head in complete disgust. “You would, but you aren’t the one going to be subjected to the third degree.”

  “I’m more than willing to stand in for you and answer any questions your mother might have. I think she’s great.”

  “Jordan that’s not funny. The idea of the two of you talking about last night’s disaster is too scary for words.”

  Jordan raised his brows slightly. “Disaster or the hottest sex of your life?”

  “Call it whatever you want, just don’t talk to my mother about it, okay?”

  “Calm down Michaela. I was only kidding about talking to your mother. Where has your sense of humor gone?” Jordan soothed as he reached over and squeezed her hand. Michaela felt like screaming while Jordan appeared completely calm and rational. Which one of us is nuts, she thought? She noticed he was having no problems eating. It was so typical of a man. You share an erotic night together and in the morning they act like nothing unusual has happened.

  “Michaela,” Jordan interrupted her thoughts, “is there more coffee?”

  “More coffee? We’re dealing with an expired box of condoms and my mother finding us half-dressed in my kitchen and you want more coffee?!”

  Jordan treated her to a mischievous grin, his blue eyes sparkling. “Yeah, I want more coffee, I didn’t get much sleep last night remember?”

  Michaela remembered all too well, his words brought to life images of warm bodies clinging together through the night of hot intense passion. Looking into his eyes she saw that
he remembered too, his eyes conveying that it had been just as intense for him, but then the glimmer of insight disappeared leaving her to think she had imagined the moment. She was left staring at the friend she loved so well who was giving her that irresistible smile that always made her laugh. His smile broke the atmosphere of gloom, which had been permeating her mood since waking. For the first time that morning she laughed, everything all at once striking her as funny. “You’re impossible! I’m trying to have a crisis and you need more coffee. Help yourself to more coffee, there’s plenty.”

  “What are you having a crisis about? You should be happy, you had multiple orgasms last night,” he said in a dry tone as he filled his coffee cup, savoring the brew while he leaned indolently against her kitchen counter.

  Laughing in defeat she admitted, “I guess between the condom fiasco and my mom’s untimely visit, I feel like I am going a bit nuts.” Pausing, she added in a more serious tone. “So you are taking me to dinner tonight?”

  “Yeah,” he said grinning, “but I think we’re doing this backwards. Aren’t I supposed to buy you dinner before I get laid?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I told you before just because you got lucky last night doesn’t mean I am going to sleep with you again.”

  Jordan smirked. “Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. As for me, I’m looking forward to doing you on the kitchen table like I promised.”

  Okay so now he was sexy teasing Jordan, she was meeting all sorts of new Jordan’s since last night. She glanced down at the table, wondering if they would really end on top of it later this evening. “You’re impossible, but if we’re going out, I think you’re going to need some clothes.”

  He looked down at his rumpled tuxedo. “Yeah, I should get back to my place to shower and change since I don’t have anything here.” He reached over and gently stroked a finger across her cheek. “I hate to leave you, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  “Do you want me to drive you to your place? After all, we took a taxi so you don’t have a car here.” She reminded him.

  “That’s okay,” he said pulling his cell phone from his pants. “I’ll just call a cab.”

  He picked up his iPhone and started typing into it, obviously calling a cab company. “Hi, can you pick me up at 138 Palmerston. Thank you.”

  They sat eating and chatting for a short time until there was a knock at the door.

  “That was quick.” Michaela observed with surprise.

  Jordan grabbed his tuxedo jacket, quickly buttoned his shirt and then leaned over to give her a quick kiss good-bye. “I’ll see you about 7:30.”

  “Okay,” she said feeling a little odd with this change in their relationship.

  “Michaela stop stressing. This is a good change for us.” Another quick kiss and he was out the door.

  She watched him from the window as he got in the car. A driver held the door open for Jordan as he hopped in, greeting him with familiarity. Hmmm, that’s funny that wasn’t a taxi. It was a Bentley. It must be some car service he used from work, she thought. Still why would he use an expensive car service? She would have to ask him about it later.

  After Jordan left, the house suddenly seemed lonely forcing Michaela admit what she had been denying all morning, she did not have a simple crush. She was completely head over heels in love with her best friend, a realization she greeted with trepidation despite last night’s lovemaking.

  Jordan was too important for her to lose, but dating him seemed risky. It’s just that her past always seemed to bite her in the ass. Noah hadn’t been the first guy to leave her for another woman. First there had been Steven in college, and then Brian, a former coworker at her first job. She had caught all three of them with other women.

  Steven had been her first serious boyfriend and she had fallen for him hard and quick. Everything had seemed too perfect when they met. The relationship with Steven had progressed quickly without any problems, or so she had thought. They were together constantly and it never occurred to her that when Steven said he was studying, he was actually studying someone else’s anatomy. She might never have discovered his duplicity if Cindy, the girl sitting next to her in History, hadn’t felt the need to expound on her ‘to die for boyfriend.’ After a ten-minute discussion with Cindy, it became apparent they had the same ‘to die for boyfriend.’ To save her ego a further dent she had called Steven and told him it was over; it was the first time she had implemented the pre-emptive strike.

  Several years later she had met Brian while working at an accounting firm. She and Brian had been seeing each other discreetly at Brian’s insistence; after all they worked together and it was better to keep their personal relationship to themselves. She had seen the logic to his argument never thinking Brian might have other motives for being secretive. They had been dating for 6 months when dropping a file off with Brian’s secretary, Denise, told her that she was engaged. Having always liked Denise, Michaela was thrilled at her news and listened with enthusiasm to Denise’s wedding plans. She was completely floored when she heard Denise say that she was going to contact Brian’s wife for the name of her wedding consultant, because their wedding had been so perfect. To this day Michaela thought she would never understand how she didn’t burst into tears right at that moment. Instead she had walked into Brian’s office, calmly informing him that she was sorry, but she had met someone else. Pre-emptive strike number two. He had been shocked at her abrupt ending of their relationship and she had saved her pride, at least on the surface, again.

  Noah’s betrayal had been the worst because not only had she lost a good friend along with her fiancé, but she hadn’t even gotten to use her pre-emptive strike strategy to save herself the pain of confrontation. Things had exploded just too quickly, too fast. After three men and three betrayals Michaela had begun thinking there was something wrong with her not the men in her life. Maybe she had such lousy taste in men that she was doomed to repeat this pattern, over and over again. Alternatively maybe she was the type of woman a man didn’t feel the need to be faithful to; it was a painful yet persistent thought. Those doubts about herself kept her from believing that any type of relationship with Jordan could work out. Would she come home one day and find him in bed with another woman?

  Chapter Four

  Jordan entered his house, intent on showering and changing quickly so he could get back to Michaela. He didn’t want to give her too much time to think, his theory was that their current problems were a result of her thinking entirely too much. She was a smart woman, but sometimes her brain was overly analytical. That was the problem with women, they over thought things.

  A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts as he was about to proceed upstairs. “Hey, Bro, over here.”

  Jordan stopped in mid-stride to find his brother, Ian, sitting on his couch dressed for their squash game. He had completely forgotten they’d had a game scheduled for this afternoon. Dealing with Michaela had put everything else to the back of his mind.

  Ian, two years his junior, bore him a remarkable resemblance in both appearance and disposition, although Ian wore his hair cut much shorter and had a broader, more muscular frame and had inherited their father’s brown eyes. In personality Ian was like him in many ways, he had an intense serious side he masked with humor. While Jordan was very straight forward and said what he was thinking, you often never knew what Ian was really thinking. Their older brother Trevor was intensely private and socialized with very few people. Despite their differences the three of them had always been close, enjoying many of the same activities as well a friendly sibling rivalry.

  Ian leaned back comfortably on his couch, crossing his foot over his knee, a knowing smirk on his face. “It looks like you had a good evening last night. Why don’t you share all of the juicy details?"

  Jordan entered his living room in defeat, Ian wouldn’t rest until he pried everything out of him. He and his brother were a lot alike that way. Throwing himself down on a
chair opposite Ian, he took his time in answering, not really knowing how he was going to begin.

  “Okay Jordan, I’m waiting. I think since you blew off our squash game, the least you can do is kiss and tell.” Ian prodded companionably. “Come on, tell me what happened. I thought you were going out with Michaela last night and expected to be home early.” At the look that crossed Jordan’s face Ian’s eyes widened. “You were with Michaela last night!”

  Expelling a pent up breath Jordan answered, “I was with Michaela last night. After her Christmas Party we went back to her place for a casual nightcap and ended up having some not so casual sex.”

  Ian shook his head in disbelief at his brother’s revelation. “That must have been really embarrassing in the morning. I mean, she’s one of your closest friends. Did you manage to dump her without hurting her feelings?”

  Jordan swore profoundly while treating is brother to a look of disgust. “Why would I want to dump her?”

  “Jordan, relax, I just thought since you hadn’t made a move in all this time you weren’t interested,” Ian responded, looking slightly disconcerted at Jordan’s sudden change of mood.

  Resting his head in his hands, his fatigue obvious, Jordan apologized, “Sorry, I’ve just had a helluva morning. I guess I should’ve expected your reaction since I’ve never told you that I’m completely in love with Michaela and have been for a long time.” It was the first time he had admitted his feelings out loud to anyone; it wasn’t something guys usually discussed. It felt odd to actually say the words, as if by saying them out loud had somehow made them more real.

  “Well, you certainly had me fooled, I had no idea your feelings went any deeper than friendship. What I don’t understand is that if you just spent the night with the woman of your dreams, then why are you in such a foul mood?” Ian asked as he casually twirled his racquet. “Oh, let me guess, she still doesn’t know who you are, does she?”