The Will (Magdalene #1)(149)
Author: Kristen Ashley

At this point, she teared up and made her escape.

Conner spent the rest of evening phoning around to get her number. He succeeded in this endeavor and disappeared into his room. He had not been heard of since and I hoped he at least got Sofie to converse with him over the phone.

I didn’t want him to give up. There was a challenge and then there was beating your head against the wall. But I suspected Sofie would be worth it. I just hoped Conner would understand that, keep at it and break through whatever was creating that wall.

It was at this point that Jake needed to go to the club so he left.

Thus all day and no promised make out session.

Therefore, I made certain the kids were taken care of, Ethan in bed and asked Amber to keep an eye on things and make sure all was well at Lavender House while I went to the club. She agreed. I then took myself off to my room to prepare.

Little clingy black dress.

Very high heels.

Evening make up.

Hair down.

I put on a stylish coat that concealed this outfit and it was tied shut as I made my way up the stairs to Jake’s office.

He was sitting behind his desk and his eyes were on me as I walked up the stairs.

“Surprised, babe. Didn’t know you were coming,” he said on a smile.

“I’m here,” I replied just as my phone in my purse rang. “Hang on a second, darling,” I said, keeping my eyes to him.

I took my phone out of my purse and saw it was Alyssa calling.

I dumped my purse in one of the chairs in front of Jake’s desk as I took the call and put it to my ear.

“Hey, honey,” I greeted, tugging on the belt to my coat.

“Ohmigod!” she cried in my ear. “You…would not…believe,” she stated.

She was quite excited but then again I had a feeling I knew what she was talking about since Conner had secured her daughter’s number.

“What wouldn’t I believe?” I asked, eyes on Jake as I shrugged my coat off one shoulder.

“Is it too late?” she asked back.

“No,” I answered, shrugging my coat off the other shoulder and watching Jake’s eyes drop to my rather clingy dress.

“Get this,” she started. “I just got a call from one of my girls who told me that Pearl Milshorn pulled her money out of the new development that was supposed to be breaking ground in two weeks up by Mills jetty.”

I tossed my coat over the back of the chair, eyes to Jake, assessing his reaction and uncertain why this information so excited my friend, thus murmuring, “Hmm?”

“Pearl is pulling her money out of that development, Josie,” she mostly repeated as Jake’s eyes came back to mine and I held them but his dropped again when I shimmied up my tight skirt. “The one out by Mills jetty. The fancy one with all the shops and stuff they’re putting in. Pearl’s the biggest investor. She was doing it for her kids. She knew inheritance taxes would eat some of it up so if she did that and turned over the shares before she died, she’d be able to give a gift that keeps on giving without Uncle Sam taking a chunk.”

Hand under my skirt, I hooked my fingers in my panties and slid them down my legs until they fell freely to the floor.

I stepped free of them.

Jake’s eyes darted back up to my face and a quiver glided along my inner thighs at the look in them.

As this happened, I said to Alyssa, “That’s quite interesting.”

“Josie,” she sounded impatient. “Pearl was investing in that development. And I mean big time. The woman is drowning in money. She’s the biggest investor in the project, except for Boston Stone. But her pulling her money means that huge project is dead in the water.”

At the mention of Boston Stone, I blinked and looked to the floor.

“Pardon?”

“She heard what Stone was doing to you and she yanked her funding. That’s massive Josie. She told the other investors the only way she’d go forward is if they found someone to replace Stone. She’s squeezing him out and they’re breaking ground in two weeks. We’re talking jobs, material, a lot of people are depending on this and everyone is looking to Stone who screwed the pooch because Pearl made it known she wouldn’t do business with a man who behaved the way Stone behaved with you. This project is gonna cost millions but word is it’s gonna rake in millions more to the investors. Stone backs out, he’s taking a huge hit. Those investors are not gonna let this deal die. They’re going to find someone else and he’s the mastermind behind that. He’ll lose all his time and effort and he won’t make a penny.”

“Oh my goodness,” I breathed just as Jake’s body came into my eyesight which was a fraction of a second before my skirt was yanked all the way up to my h*ps and I started moving backward because Jake was pushing me that way.

I lifted my eyes to him, caught the look on his face and my mouth got dry as I experienced a full body spasm.

“Isn’t that awesome?” Alyssa fairly shrieked in my ear.

“It is, sweetheart. Very awesome. But I have to go. I’ll call you back tomorrow,” I told her.

“Everything okay?” she asked when the backs of my legs hit couch and Jake’s hands found my behind.

“Yes,” I said breathily. “Thanks for calling me and telling me that. I have a feeling it’s very good news.”

“No probs and I have a feeling it is too,” she replied. “Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, honey.”

“’Night, babelicious.”

I barely heard her finish her farewell before Jake had my phone out of my hand. He tossed it without looking in the general direction of the chair in front of his desk. I heard the plonk, however, and knew it hit the floor.

I put my hands to his biceps and told him, “I have some news about Boston Stone.”

“Right now I do not give one f**k about Boston Stone,” he replied.

“Okay,” I whispered.

“You got something else you wanna play out here, baby, or is it my turn?” he asked.

I actually had an entire scenario I wished to play out but although I thought Alyssa’s call was only making that scenario better, it distracted me.

Now I wanted Jake to have his turn.

“Your turn,” I answered.

“Do you know what it does to a man to have a beautiful, classy woman who is looking more than her normal fine—when her normal fine is off-the-fuckin’-charts—walk into his office, show him her fantastic body in a f**kin’ amazing dress then take her panties off right in front of him?”