A Wicked Game (8 page)

One week later

“Hi, Jack. It’s Tori. Um… I called to say hi. Hope all is working out for you. Call me when you have a chance.”

Jack glanced around his hotel suite, playing her message a few more times before he saved it. He looked at the time and ran a hand over his face. The sixteen hour difference between LA and Tokyo wasn’t exactly on his side, or maybe it was. He wanted to call her, even if just to hear her voice on her voicemail, but thanks to his friend’s unsolicited advice, he had a lot of thinking to do.

Who the fuck believed three months were enough time to decide whether to continue seeing someone or not? Three months weren’t enough.
Fuck
. Six months wouldn’t be long enough either—not in his opinion. He couldn’t put a timeframe on stopping or continuing to date someone. Things worked out or they didn’t, regardless of time spent together.
Who does that?
Fucking Ethan. He had him to thank for the confusion pestering his mind.

He’d call Tori when he was ready.

* * * *

Two weeks later

“Hi, Jack.” There was a pause. “I-I. Hey, listen. I hope all is well with you. Guess work must be keeping you busy. Call me if you get a chance.”

Jack tapped the screen of his cell phone to check the time and let out a long breath. It was freaking seven o’clock at night on his side of the world, and three o’clock in the morning in LA. He eased back on his chair, lifting his gaze from the conference table to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. He wasn’t ready to contact her yet. He needed to make up his mind, to figure out what exactly it was he felt for her, what she meant to him.

Ethan’s words still looped in his mind.
What do I feel for Tori?
Their relationship started based on revenge, and developing an attachment wasn’t meant to be part of their hate and lust equation. Accepting that he’d fallen for her would be hard—he wasn’t ready to admit it. He didn’t want to fall in love with her. Not with Tori.

The possibility of falling in love and being rejected—once again by the same woman—wasn’t something he cared to entertain. Jack wouldn’t allow her to reject him twice because he hadn’t fallen for her. No, he hadn’t.
What the fuck am I thinking?

* * * *

One month later

“Hey, Jack. I thought maybe I’d catch you at this time. I’m guessing you’re either still at work or asleep. Who knows, I may even have the times mixed up.” A soft giggle escaped her, then she continued, “Talk to you… I don’t know… soon… whenever.”

Jack pressed number seven on his phone keypad, saving her voicemail just as people walked in the conference room for the meeting he was getting ready to facilitate. If things went right today, he’d be able to go home by the end of the week.

He missed Tori. His day job had been taking every minute of every day, weekends included, making it hard for him to contact her. Not a good excuse, he knew that, but it was his only excuse. He’d had some time to think about them and what they had. Jack still had to sort through some things in his mind, but part of him was ready to move forward. He made a mental note to send her an email later tonight.

* * * *

Six weeks later

“Jack, it’s Brandy. I just received a box here at the office. It’s from Tori. Can you please email me to let me know what you’d like me to do with it? I’m not sure if you want to keep it in your office or have one of the guys take it to your condo or your home in the valley. Talk to you soon.”

Jack frowned. A box? Had Tori just packed the clothes and other belongings he’d left at her place and sent them back to him? Fuck. He dropped the pen in his hand on the desk, staring at the graphs on his laptop screen. He’d been such an asshole. He hadn’t even taken the time to email her. He could’ve at least tried, but that damn part of him that wasn’t ready yet to fully admit his feelings for her hadn’t let him.

The fact remained that he had deeper feelings for her, and fighting what he felt was useless. Whether he admitted it or not, he’d fallen for her.

He breathed out. Wrapping up things here and heading back to LA soon was his top priority now. He had to see Tori. He had talk to her. He yearned to hold her in his arms again, kiss her and most of all, to make love to her. Did Tori feel for him the same way he did for her?

Jack looked at the time—it was four in the morning in LA. He didn’t give a shit anymore. Ready or not, he wasn’t about to lose the woman who occupied his mind all hours of the day. He picked up the phone and dialed her number. Tapping his fingers on the desk, he listened to the tone of the call going through. He’d wake her up, and the asshole he was didn’t care. He needed to hear her voice. She’d be upset that he hadn’t kept his promise of calling her and he’d make it up to her. He swore he would.

“This is Tori Michaels. I’m unavailable right now. Please leave a message. I’ll call you back at my earliest convenience.”

He sighed. “Hi, Tori. It’s Jack. Listen, I don’t have an acceptable excuse for not calling you earlier. All I can say is I’m sorry I didn’t.” He paused. “I’m trying to wrap up things here so I can get back to LA in two weeks. Please call me when you have a moment.” His thumb lingered on the end call button of his phone.

Disconnecting the call was the hardest thing he’d done in a long time.

* * * *

He’d been away in Tokyo for two long damned months. Jack couldn’t wait to get home. He’d called Tori every day for the past two weeks and left her as many voicemails as he’d sent her emails. He still hadn’t heard back from her. What did he expect? Her silence could only mean one thing: she was pissed at him. He’d make it up to her any way he could. How he’d do it, he didn’t have a clue. Jack just knew he’d do everything in his power to get her to listen to what he had to say. He slid his finger on his phone and scrolled down until he found her name. He dialed her number and listened to the call go through.

“This is Tori Michaels. I’m unavailable right now. Please leave a message. I’ll call you back at my earliest convenience.”

Oh, come on.
“Tori, it’s me. Jack.” He felt an idiot for feeling the need to say his name like she didn’t know it was him calling. “I’ll be back in LA next week and would love to see you. Give me a call if you get a chance. Hope you’re doing well.” He remained silent for a moment, not wanting to disconnect his only link to her at the time.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, a hunch settling in his stomach. He looked at his contacts list again and texted her.

Hi, Tori. Please call me or text me when you have a moment, no matter the time. Thanks.
He’d just put his phone on his desk when it vibrated.

Jack, it’s great to hear you’re going back to LA. Hope your business dealings worked out. Talk to you some other time.

What
? He reread her message a few times before he replied.
Where are you? Aren’t you in LA?
He stared at his phone, waiting for an immediate response, but nothing came through. His gut feeling told him something wasn’t right, so he texted her again.
Where are you?

Still no response came through. He placed his phone on his desk when it buzzed with an incoming message.

I’m where I’m supposed to be.

He blinked at her response.
Where are you?

Not that is any of your business. I’m in NYC for fashion week. What do you want, Jack? Don’t you have work to do? I do. Bye.

How the hell was he supposed to know about fashion week? And why did she have to go anyway? Weren’t there others at her magazine whose job was to cover those events? To top it all, she’d given him the cut. He wouldn’t let her get rid of him that easy.

When will you be back in LA?

It’ll be a while.

Could she stop with the short answers and just tell him?
How long is a while?
Jack hit the send button on his phone.

A while.

If her goal had been to provoke him, she’d succeeded. He took a deep breath before texting her again.
How long.

Hmm, let’s see. I’m heading to London next, Milan later, Paris last. So, it’ll be a while.

Could she cut him some slack? Dammit. He’d prefer a slap, or a punch, but not this. He only had himself to blame. He’d caused this. If he’d kept his promise and called her, this wouldn’t be happening.
Can you give me a date?

Tell you what, why don’t you Google Fashion Week? You’ll be surprised at all the details you’ll find. Have a good one, Jack.

Have a good one? Like hell he would. He shut down his laptop and collected his belongings. He’d pretty much wrapped up his business here. Whatever he had left to do, he could manage from his office in LA. He’d been an idiot for being afraid of rejection. Now his fear wasn’t rejection—he feared Tori had moved on.

Three weeks later

Jack was glad to be back in LA but not happy because Tori wasn’t around. He hadn’t contacted her since their last text exchange. He’d give her time to deal with her job responsibilities for now. Even though he didn’t look forward to waiting, he’d find a way to keep himself busy for the next few weeks until she returned, when he planned to have a conversation with her. Picking up where they’d left off would be hard, but walking away wasn’t an option he’d consider.

When the light changed from red to green, he made a right turn. He cursed under his breath, realizing he’d driven into the wrong street, which just happened to be where Tori worked. If this wasn’t a sign he missed her and needed her back, he didn’t know what was.

Jack glanced at the time on his car’s dashboard, noticing it was seven o’clock at night. He could’ve stayed at the office to get more work done, but his mind needed a break. He couldn’t concentrate, knowing Tori was thousands of miles away from him.

He slowed down as he approached her building. He narrowed his eyes at the blonde woman dressed in a royal-blue strapless dress walking out of the building. A cold wave rushed through his body when he caught sight of the man next to her, his hand on her back, leading her to the waiting Jaguar.

Jack shook his head at the honking of the passing cars, getting him out of his shock. “I’ll be damned,” he murmured, pulling over to the side, stopping a few feet away from the car waiting for her. Several thoughts raced through his mind as he got out and walked to the sidewalk. “Tori,” he called.

She glanced his way, halting midstep and holding his gaze for a moment before turning back to her companion and allowing him to help her in the car. The man stared at him for a second too long, nodded, and followed Tori inside.

Jack frowned. His throat went suddenly dry and his heart took a nosedive.
What the fuck just happened?
He watched the car merge into traffic and disappear into the distance. The icy look Tori gave him combined with the shock of seeing her with another man held him in place. He looked down the street, then up again, raking his hands through his hair.

He got back to his car and grabbed his cell phone. Without a second thought, he called her, but as he expected, his call went straight to voicemail. So he sent her a text:
You lied.
Jack placed the phone in his cup holder and drove away, willing off his mind the images of her with another man.

A few minutes later, he parked his car in his garage and grabbed his phone. He was taking the elevator up to his place when his phone vibrated in his hand. A new message from Tori flashed on the screen.

Game Over.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He’d fucked up, he’d give her that. He wouldn’t call it over yet. They were far from over.

The dinner party lasted longer than she’d expected. How she’d made it through the entire evening, Tori didn’t know. Her boss asked her to accompany him to a working dinner party with a new partner, and, given her position at the magazine, she couldn’t very well say no. The new partner was so important to her employer that she’d had to give up going to London.

If she’d gone on her trip as planned, she wouldn’t have seen Jack. What did he expect? What did he want? He left her. He broke all contact between them. He hadn’t even called her, which she’d known he wouldn’t. Regardless, she’d expected him to say something, to tell her they’d reached the end of their affair.

He hadn’t. Jack took the easy way out and left.

It’d been almost three months, and no matter what she’d tried to do, she hadn’t gotten over Jack yet. It’d take her a while before she could see someone else. Tonight, it’d hurt to see him standing there. It took all her willpower to stay put and get into the waiting car. Making a fool of herself, for a guy who had ditched her, in front of her boss hadn’t been part of her evening agenda. She knew better.

Her boss stayed behind and his chauffeur drove her home. Tori was exhausted both physically and mentally. She craved the comfort of her bed. Catching any sleep tonight would be next to impossible. She’d pop a couple of sleeping pills if she had to, but she wouldn’t lose sleep over a guy—a guy who didn’t deserve her—and she refused to wake up with horrendous bags under her eyes. The beauty police department at the office would kill her if she did.

The chauffeur stopped in front of her building complex. She thanked him and stepped out of the car. Not paying attention to her surroundings, she walked to the entrance’s steps.

“Tori.”

She paused midstep and turned to face the man she wished she could forget. Jack stood, leaning on his bike, arms and legs crossed. Tori stared at him, taking in the way his leather jacket fit him just perfectly and how his jeans showcased his strong legs. He looked like the badass beautiful nerd he wasn’t supposed to be.

“What are you doing here, Jack?” she asked.

He sauntered toward her. “We need to talk.”

“No, we don’t. As far as I’m concerned, we have nothing to discuss.” She walked to the steps.

“Who was that man?”

Tori shook her head in disbelief and twisted back around to look at him. “It’s none of your business.”

“Are you seeing him?” he asked.

There was an edge to his voice she hadn’t heard before. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times. “What I do or don’t do is no concern of yours.”

“Are you fucking him?”

She gasped. “Have a good life, Jack.” She turned back to the steps to add more distance between them.

“You lied,” he said.

She spun around and stared him down, lifting an eyebrow. “I lied?” Tori closed the space between them. “I wasn’t the one who promised to call. You did.”

His jaw tightened. Jack reached for her, but she stepped back, avoiding his touch. “I can explain,” he said.

“I’m not asking for an explanation. I don’t need one. You decided to move on. So have I. What are you doing here now, Jack?” Her chest tightened as she tried to breath. Why was he playing with her mind, with her heart? It’d been hard enough to accept he didn’t want to talk to her when he didn’t return any of her calls. He shouldn’t be here now. She’d moved on—or tried to.

“I want to explain,” he said, his intent gaze bore into hers.

“It’s too late for that,” she said, taking a step back, ready to turn.

Jack grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, crashing her body to his. “Tori, I’m sorry,” he whispered, his mouth a breath away from hers.

The heat emanating from his body surrounded her from head to toe. She ached for his touch. She’d missed him so much it hurt, and if she let desire lead her, she’d give in and listen to whatever he’d say. She had to be strong. Her weakness for him would drive her to accept him back in her life. What if he made promises and later left without another word—again? She’d be completely crushed.

Tori stared at his lips, then dragged her gaze to his eyes. “I’m sorrier,” she said, her voice cracking. She untangled herself from him and headed inside her apartment building without another glance at him. Emptiness filled her chest. Walking away from Jack took the little bit of will power left in her. If he came running after her, she wouldn’t be able to say no a second time. Eventually she’d find the strength to move on without Jack in her life. For starters, she hadn’t made it to London, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t make it to Milan or Paris. Ever since she’d started with the magazine, she hadn’t missed the annual fashion shows. This wouldn’t be the first time she did. It’d keep her mind busy day in and day out so she wouldn’t even have a spare second to think about Jack.