Hide: Part One (The Black Letters Series Book 1) (10 page)

My heart sank, then my anger fueled. Scowling at him was easier to do when he was acting like a dick.

My anger subsided into horror when I recognized his date for the evening. She was the attendant at Giorgio Armani who’d thought Nathan and I was a couple. My head dipped low, leaning into Nathan. How were we going to pull this one off? She was too friendly not to say hello and recognize us

“Nathan, this night might get interesting,” I murmured into his shoulder. His brows crinkled as he looked down toward me then followed my line of sight. The slight laugh that escaped his lips made me feel more at ease.

“Yes, it just might,” he added, holding his arm out to me. I took it easily, leaning in closer than normal, making sure Mitch saw the gesture. His eyes darkened and his mouth formed a thin line.
Just the reaction I was hoping for.
I flipped my hair as I turned, feeling satisfied to have wiped the cocky expression off his face.

“Mary, this table is gorgeous. And look at the view.” Becca’s mother gasped as we scattered around the table to find seats. Nathan and I took the far end by Becca and Tyler and, to my terrible luck, Mitch and Armani girl sat directly across from us.

“Oh my goodness, you two came into the store today,” Mitch’s date finally realized. I nodded politely, not wanting her to make a big deal about it. “I knew that dress would look great on you. And so does that sweater.”

“Well, the person makes the outfit, I always say. Isn’t that right, Mom?” Nathan said, raising his hand to the waiter. “I’ll have a vodka tonic. You want the same, Jay?”

Nodding politely to Nathan didn’t go unnoticed by Mitch. His lip quirk was obvious from the corner of my eye. I was waiting for him to order me a beer instead.

“I’ll have the same,” Mitch replied, startling me slightly that he hadn’t ordered his usual Labatts. His date looked at Mitch longingly as though she were waiting for him to order for her as Nathan did for me, but soon gave up and asked for a martini.

“What did you and Tyler do all afternoon?” I murmured to Becca, who was absentmindedly looking over the menu. I had to nudge her a few times to get her to answer.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. He actually had some work to do, so my family and I went to Millennium Park. Heather’s kids loved it.” She smiled when she talked, but I knew her head was elsewhere.

“So how do you all know Mitch?” Mitch’s date asked. She was obnoxiously friendly, and I felt bad that Mitch didn’t have the decency to introduce her to anyone at the table. I wonder if she knew how promiscuous he was, considering he’d been with that blonde last night.

“I’m Nathan, Mitch’s brother,” Nathan said casually, holding his drink in the air to her in greeting. “And this is—”

“I’m Jamie,” I quickly added, unsure how he’d introduce me.

“I’m Mandy,” she said excitedly. Then she whispered across the table to me, “This is the first time Mitch has taken me out.” She covered her mouth while letting out a giggle. Mitch wiggled his eyebrows in her direction, making her blush. The poor girl was clearly fascinated by him.

“This will be her last time as well,” Nathan hummed in my ear. I bit the insides of my cheeks, trying to hold in my own giggle. Nathan had informed me many times before that Mitch never brought the same girl around twice, another reason why I needed to fight our sexual tension.

Mitch’s head craned in Nathan’s direction, his eyes burning as he looked at him whispering in my ear. If I didn’t know any better, pure jealousy for his brother was what those eyes held. My smile was slinky as I leaned into Nathan’s whisper, making his lips barely touch my ear, but I wasn’t sure what else he said because my eyes were glued on the fury in Mitch’s.

“Nathan, tell us about Miami,” Mary asked, interrupting the stare down between Mitch and me.

I turned in her direction, seeing her smile brightly at me as though she’d observed our interaction. I scooted away from Nathan. His mother didn’t need to get the wrong idea about her son, although I was pretty sure she already knew which side he went to.

“Well, we just landed a huge account. I’ll be able to say more in two weeks once we release to the press,” Nathan began. He was animated when he talked, controlling the entire table. I smiled fondly at him, enjoying the enthusiasm and pride he shared with his company.

We managed to dodge any awkwardness with Mandy throughout dinner, probably because Nathan was doing most of the talking while she was trying to get Mitch’s attention throughout the evening. Mitch looked pre-occupied, almost angry about something. Whenever Nathan would refer to him in his conversation with the rest of the table, he gave short answers with a scowl.

“What’s wrong, little brother?” Nathan asked as he gently placed his arm on the back of my chair. It was a gesture he normally did when we were being social.

Mitch’s eyes followed Nathan’s arm as his jaw clenched. “Nothing’s wrong,” Mitch answered irritably. Just as Nathan turned his head to talk to Tyler, Mitch started to speak again. “You two sure are cozy.”

Nathan gave him a funny look. “What are you talking about?”

Mitch glanced my way, then looked back to Nathan. “I didn’t realize how close you two were. That type of relationship can’t be good for business.”

“You mean a professional friendship based on trust and loyalty?” Nathan asked inquisitively.

Mitch laughed under his breath as he shifted in his seat. “A friendship?”

Nathan moved his arm from behind me, shifting his body so his attention was solely on Mitch. “Yes, they’re the best kind to have.”

“Wait,” Mandy stuttered in confusion. “But at the shop you said you were together?”

Well, shit. The entire table turned the focus to Nathan and me, causing my face to flush with embarrassment.

“What?” Becca, Tyler, and Mary asked in unison.

Nathan took a long sip of his drink while I tried to think fast about why we lied to her earlier.

“Yeah… that’s what I thought,” Mitch seethed.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “You know that’s not true.”

“Well, yeah. We all know Jamie isn’t my type.” Laughter escaped Nathan in an awkward way. He didn’t like talking about his sexual orientation. For a man who was so confident, you’d think it’d be easy for him, but discussing his sexuality seemed to be the only part of Nathan that was timid and reluctant.

Mandy looked confused, along with the rest of the group. Nathan’s head dipped low toward his lap. I didn’t like his change in demeanor. Fuck Mitch for bringing up his brother’s personal life that he so obviously struggled with sharing.

“Who was the girl you were with last night, Mitch?” I asked slowly, sitting tall in my chair. The heat moved from Nathan onto Mitch, heads whipping in his direction.

“Um,” he stalled, avoiding Mandy’s eyes.

Mandy’s brows narrowed. “I thought you were with your brothers last night?”

“I was,” he said quickly. “It was Tyler’s bachelor party.”

Mandy’s eyes grew wide. “You blew off meeting my parents to be with a bunch of strippers?”

The stillness of the table was evident as Mitch began to twitch in his seat. My triumphant grin was radiating but soon became deflated.

“Jamie, where did you go last night?” Tyler piped in so our side of the table could hear. I ran my hand through my hair. I’d been absent because my hormones were pulled in an idiot’s direction.

Mitch’s smirk was like a neon sign. “Yeah, Jay… where were you last night?”

“I was there,” I snapped in his direction.

“Dancing, right?” he coaxed.

Keeping my demeanor was a battle I was on the verge of losing. “Yes,” I answered slowly with a fake smile. “Last I heard, dancing was the prime activity while visiting a club.”

Becca and her family thankfully began discussing the wedding again, removing the attention from me. Unfortunately, Mitch wasn’t done giving me a hard time.

Mitch let out a slight laugh. “Oh, that’s right, you found that nerdy guy to dance with, but if I remember correctly, he wasn’t getting the job done.” His eyes burned at his innuendo. He knew he was on the verge of satisfying my every need on that dance floor, and his cocky attitude pissed me off more than ever.

“
Did
you have strippers there last night, Mitch?” Mandy demanded, tugging on Mitch’s arm. Though she was mad, I could see the hurt in her eyes. Bringing up last night to let Mitch feel the heat had been a bitch move on my part.

“There weren’t any strippers,” I murmured across the table. “Tyler isn’t into that.”

Nathan nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but that blonde might as well have been one. Did she keep her promises last night, Mitch?”

Mitch’s eyes bugged out in shock. “Um, no… she didn’t.”

Mandy crossed her arms, moving her body as far away from Mitch as possible. I nudged Nathan’s shoulder. The poor girl looked to be on the verge of tears now. “Why did you say that?” I whispered in Nathan’s direction.

Nathan scowled, then brushed me off. He was as fed up with his brother’s behavior as I was.

***

Mandy left the second we all stood to say our goodbyes. As she walked away, Mitch didn’t blink an eye in her direction. Instead, he stormed toward Nathan and me while we were saying goodbye to Becca’s parents.

“Why’d you do that?” Mitch asked Nathan, pulling him to the side.

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Nathan. You just ruined my night.”

“Oh, please,” I butted in, “I’m sure you can call that blonde from last night. She looked good and clingy.”

Mitch’s eyes darted in my direction. “I need to talk to you.”

“Then talk.”

Nathan glanced between the two of us. “I guess I need to catch up on emails.” He slid between us, my groan in annoyance clear as he passed me. “I’ll be at the bar downstairs.”

I nodded at him, then glared at Mitch. He frowned, then reached for my forearm, guiding me to an open table.

“Why’d you run off last night?” he asked as he took a seat next to me. His knee brushed against mine. I crossed my legs and moved one arm around my waist.

“I didn’t run off,” I lied.

Mitch leaned closer to me, putting his arm behind me on top of my chair. “Jamie, we were practically fucking on the dance floor. You were limp in my arms, then you tensed and vanished. Why?”

“I wasn’t limp in your arms.” My defenses were high now. “We were just dancing. You need to get your signals checked.”

“My signals?” Mitch’s eyes became stormy as his jaw ticked. “What about your signals? You were grabbing my ass and rubbing against my dick!”

My hand flew from my stomach to my hips. “It’s called dancing. Sorry you couldn’t handle it.” I hissed in frustration.

Mitch stood to his feet, staring intently down at me. “Stop fighting this. We could be so good together, Jamie.” He grabbed my arm, slowly pulling me from my chair and to his chest. “The way our bodies moved together…I know you felt it too.” His nose brushed my ear, and that same suffocating feeling pulsed through my veins. I shoved him forcefully, grabbing my neck again. “No, you’re delusional. Go back to the blonde you were with last night, or that poor girl you brought to dinner.”

Mitch rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Jamie, those women mean nothing to me. They’re just retreads.”

“What the hell is a retread?”

A slight grin came across his face. “Girls I’ve already been with and can call for a good time. Like a tire track, a road I’ve traveled on before.”

I groaned in disgust as I shoved his chest, making him drop his arms from my waist. “You’re such a pig.”

“It’d be different with you, Jamie.” He coaxed, moving closer to me. I couldn’t take his proximity when I was so furious with him. The urge to deck him and hump him blurred together obnoxiously.

“You don’t even know what I like.”

His hand moved a strand of hair from my shoulder. “Let me find out.”

“No, not when you’re so willing to go and screw some other woman the second I turn you down!”

“I don’t do that,” he said defensively.

“You sure went to that blonde fast after I left your ass last night,” I snarled.

Mitch’s scowl formed on his face again. “What did you expect? The sexiest woman there got me all worked up. I needed someone to take care of it.”

“That’s what your hand is for, asshole.”

Mitch’s eyebrow rose. “So you’re jealous?”

“You wish.”

I turned on my heels, my hair whipping him in the face as I headed to the elevator. I didn’t even care about the onlookers who were staring while Mitch and I argued. They didn’t seem to faze him either as he casually followed behind me.

“Come on, one date. That’s all I’m asking for,” Mitch murmured behind me. The elevator dinged open before I told him no. “I won’t stop asking.”

“And I won’t stop saying no.” I huffed, crossing my arms and leaning backward against the mirrors that covered the inside of the elevator.

“I’ll walk you to your hotel.”