Chapter 53: Chapter 18: Not the Picture-Perfect Guy.

Jamie

I pulled my car up into my parents’ driveway after getting off the phone with my mom just ten minutes previously.

They wanted to talk with me, about what I didn’t know yet, but there I was with Carmen and Penelope. We had a girly day of shopping planned after this.

I grabbed a sleepy Penelope from her car seat, and the three of us went inside. My parents’ home was always bright and airy, with windows open and fresh flowers on display.

Sometimes I missed my days of living at home, the easy life. That is until I remembered how my dad was always on my case about the whole dating thing.

~No boys in this house!~

~You’re not wearing that thing in public!~

A couple of hours here and there was enough. My father seemed to be interfering in my life enough these days.

We walked down the hallway, hearing a ruckus from the kitchen.

“What’s going on in here?” I asked.

“Your mother can’t find her keys,” my father replied with a smirk on his face. He took Penelope from my arms and kissed her. “Hello, pumpkin!”

My mother released a sigh and looked at the mess on the counter that she had removed from every drawer in the kitchen.

“I give up. I’ll get a new set cut tomorrow. I’ll need one of yours too, sweetheart.”

“I have a spare in my bag.” I opened up my shoulder bag and started to look for my keys.

“Not long until the wedding now, darling. Are you feeling nervous?” my mom asked Carmen.

“A little. The stress is getting a bit overwhelming at times, so we decided to take the day and go shopping. Brent is in Chicago with Mason until tomorrow.”

My father raised his eyebrow. “What’s Mason doing in Chicago?”

“Work, I think. I don’t know.” ~I’m not his keeper.~

As far as my father is concerned, I’m only civil with Mason for Penelope’s sake.

I set the key on the counter in front of my mother. “So you asked me to come over. What did you want to talk about?”

My mom looked at my dad, and I knew from that that something was up. My thoughts immediately ran wild. One of them was sick, maybe.

My mom was leaving it up to my dad to tell me, which meant whatever they had to tell me was not good.

“Well, it’s about this guy you’re seeing,” my dad started and then passed Penelope over to my mom.

~Oh, God! Please don’t start~, I thought. No matter who I dated, my dad was going to have a problem with him.

“Jack? What about him?” I asked, preparing myself to get the big speech about how they didn’t think he was right for me.

Well, I was sure it was more my dad that had a problem. My mom seemed to like him.

“When I met him, I thought I recognized him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Don’t be mad, but I checked him out.”

“Jesus Christ, Dad,” I sighed. “I really wish you wouldn’t interfere in my life. Why couldn’t you just give Jack a chance like any normal parent?”

“I’m protective, Jamie. I will take all measures to make sure you’re safe.” My father grabbed his work briefcase from the kitchen chair and opened it. He pulled out some papers and handed them to me.

“What’s this?” I looked down at the page and started to read.

“I’m sorry. Jack came to me when he needed a lawyer a couple of months back. He’s a wreck, sweetheart. I don’t want you involved with that man.”

I was driving when I noticed Carmen’s eyes on me from the passenger’s seat. We’d been silent since we left my parents’ house, other than Penelope, who was making noises in her car seat.

I was in my head, of course, thinking about how stupid I must be to fall into Jack’s trap.

He wasn’t as innocent as he’d made himself out to be. I wondered what else he was hiding, what else he was too ashamed to share.

“Are you okay?” Carmen asked.

“I’m fine. I just don’t like being lied to. I wish he was just open and honest with me.”

I sighed. “It makes sense to me now though. The way he was that night when we were out at the club. His drinking was scary.”

“I think it’s so ducking crazy when men pretend to be something they’re not.”

“Duck,” Penelope said and chuckled afterward. Carmen and I laughed too.

“Mama. Mama!”

“Okay, we’re almost there.” I glanced back at her and smiled.

We pulled into a parking space a couple of minutes later. “I think I’m going to get in touch with Jack’s friend. Maybe she can tell me something.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Carmen asked and opened the door of the car.

“I probably should go alone. I’ll message her now and see if she can meet.”

I had been smart enough to get Sara’s number after our night at the club. I didn’t know if she would meet me, but it was worth a shot.

I watched the door of the coffee shop, waiting for her to walk through. Carmen and Penelope were shopping while they waited.

While I sat alone, I thought about how I wanted the conversation to go, what I wanted to ask her, and where I would go from here either way.

I looked up when I heard the door of the coffee shop open. Thankfully, it was Sara, and she was alone. “Sara, hi!”

“Hello, Jamie.” She pulled out a chair in front of me and sat down.

Thankfully, the coffee shop was pretty much empty, so we could have a private conversation without anyone overhearing. Sara noticed the coffee cup in front of her. “Is this mine?”

“Yes, I got you a white mocha. I wasn’t sure what you’d like.”

“It’s perfect, thank you!” She took the coffee cup into her hands and looked at me. “So I guess you asked me here to talk about Jack. I had a feeling you would call me after that night at the club.”

“Well, I have some questions. That night wasn’t appropriate for that conversation. I found out some things about Jack.

“He’s been arrested a couple of times for drunk driving. Did you know about this?”

Sara released a steady exhalation. “Yes. He’s been caught several times driving under the influence. Jack likes to have fun, and he doesn’t really care what the consequences are.

“Sometimes, he even drinks while working at the hospital. I’m surprised that someone hasn’t noticed and reported him by now, but he’s a big deal over there. No one gets in Jack’s way.”

Wow! She definitely didn’t sugarcoat it for me. I’d had no idea that Jack was that type of guy. He’d always seemed so together.

I’d witnessed him drunk one time, but other than that, he’s always been the picture-perfect guy.

“I had no idea that Jack was like that. The other night when he was drunk at the club, I thought maybe it was because he was out with his friends. Does his family know about this?”

“Oh, God, no!” Sara replied. “Jack is always on his best behavior in front of his parents. They think he’s Mr. Perfect, just like you did, I guess.”

“He’s the first guy I’ve dated in a long time. I guess I should’ve kept looking.”

I picked up my coffee cup and drank. After an early morning with Penelope, I needed it to keep me going. “Is there anything else I should know?”

She sighed and looked away. I just knew there was something else. “He’s not someone that you should get involved with. I’m friends with him, yes, but only because of Luke.”

“What do you mean?” I couldn’t leave here today without knowing everything. I need to know who this guy is.

“Jack is not a good guy, Jamie. Women are disposable to him. He plays Mr. Nice Guy to get a girl into bed, and after that, they never hear from him again. He also…” She paused.

“He what?” Women are disposable to him. I’ve dealt with men like that before. That didn’t bother me much. It was the ~he also~ that got my attention.

“He records them during. If you’ve slept with him, then chances are he’s got that recording in his own personal stash. You’re just another woman added to the pile of many others.”

My heart pounded in my chest. After hearing Sara tell me about his drinking habits, his multiple DUIs, and the whole thing about drinking on the job, I didn’t think it could get any worse from there.

Obviously, I was wrong.

“Well, Jack and I—we never actually had sex. Now I’m grateful that I was taking my time with him. He acted like he was okay with it.”

“That’s what he does, Jamie. Have you been in his apartment?” she asked, and I nodded in reply. “Then, if you two got even a little intimate in his apartment, Jack most likely has a recording of it.”

The feeling of regret came over me. One time I was in his apartment, we were watching a movie, and things got a little heated. Maybe a lot heated. Am I going to be paying for that now?

“So, what do you think he does with these videos—besides the obvious?”

“I don’t know. I mean, I overheard Jack and Gavin talking about it one time. Honestly, I wouldn’t trust him not to show them to someone.

“He’s the type of guy that would use it against you to get what he wants.”

~This is insane!~ I reclined back in my chair, thinking about what would happen if a video of me ever got out. My daughter, my parents…everyone would see it. They would see me naked!

~Oh, God!~

“I need some time to think about this. Thank you for meeting me, Sara.” I smiled lightly at her and stood from my chair.

“Sure, no problem. Bye, Jamie.”

I walked out of the coffee shop and into the rain. The clouds overhead were just fitting for the mood I was in.

I didn’t know what to do next. It’s not as if I could ask him if he recorded us getting hot and heavy on his couch. It’s not as if he would give me that recording if I did ask.

“Jamie,” I heard Sara’s voice call, and I turned around to see her walking toward me. “You don’t deserve this. No woman does. If Jack recorded you and him in his apartment, I know how to get it.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Because he has one of me too,” she confessed. “I made a drunken mistake, and he’s been holding it over me ever since. Luke can’t find out about this. It would kill him.”

***

Jack

I was sitting in my office chair, looking at the laptop screen in front of me. I was watching her undress, stripping down to her lingerie.

I was already mostly unclothed, eyes fixed on every inch of her body.

I remembered what I was thinking at that moment: ~It’s finally here. This is the day I’m finally getting into Jamie Harris’s pants.~

I stood up from the couch and undid the clasp of her black lace bra, eager to see her breasts underneath.

I wasn’t disappointed. The only disappointment I had was how long it took us to get to that point. I had been wanting her for weeks!

My phone rang on the desk, and I picked it up and looked at the screen. “Hi, babe, I was just thinking about you.”

“Well, I was just calling to see if you were free tomorrow. There are some things I want to talk to you about.”

“What things?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m really busy at work, so I can’t talk about it now,” she whispered. “Talk tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay, tomorrow then. Bye, babe…”

She ended the call without saying goodbye, which was unusual for her.

~I wonder what’s going on. Has that ex of hers wormed his way in?~

I closed my laptop and grabbed the memory stick from the side. I slipped it into the pocket of my jeans, grabbed my jacket, and left my apartment.

A phone vibrated with a text, and I looked down at it on the way to the elevator.

~Where are you? I’m waiting!~

~I’ll be there in ten minutes.~ I pressed a button for the elevator.

~Do you have it?~

I smirked, looking down at my screen.

~Yes, I have it. Remember the agreement we made. I want you to double it.~

I saw the little dots appear on the screen as they wrote their reply.

~Fine. But I want to see it first.~