Hot Pink Heels (The Street Series) (9 page)

“Just hold on a minute,
Rissa, I’m getting there,” he pleaded. “When I pulled over, of course, all the girls thought I was a customer.”
God, I’m in a jam here. Please help me word this right without hurting Clarissa.

Clarissa’s eyes sparked. They actually sparked. Jack
son rushed to finish the story, anxious to assuage his guilt. “She came over and practically fell into my car and then passed out and hit her head on the concrete,” he said. “EMS came and they tried to take her to the hospital but she seemed so scared and physically okay and then Billy came up, and—“

“Who’s Billy?” Clarissa cut him off. She was definitely listening to his story, so Jack
son quickly added the other details.

“Billy is
her pimp,” Jackson finished. “He threatened her and bruised her arm right there in front of me, so what could I do?” His eyes pleaded with Clarissa to understand.

Jack
son could see her softening, so he continued. “I knew if I let her out of my car that night, he was going to do something terrible to her,” Jackson said.

“Okay, so what
did
you do?” Clarissa questioned.

This is going to be the tough one
. He looked her straight in the eye and said, “I took her home.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Clarissa said, turning away. Jackson touched her arm and she turned back, tears in her eyes.

“Rissa
, it’s not like that,” Jackson said. “I took her to my parents’ house. Not
my
house!” Raising one eyebrow, Clarissa was clearly waiting for him to continue.

“I didn’t know what to do with her, but I co
uldn’t take her back right away. Billy would’ve beat the crap out of her, especially if she came back without any money,” Jackson said, sighing.

“You gave her money?” Clarissa’s voice
raised an octave, attracting the attention of the nearest table’s occupants. Her normally calm manner was completely gone, replaced by a suddenly jealous and very hurt woman.

“Rissa, Rissa, just let me finish,” Jack
son said, pulling her farther into the alcove. “Let me sum it up, since every sentence I say seems to make you more upset. I gave her money, but it was only because I saw that man put marks on her body right there in front of me. Only God knows what Billy would’ve done to her if she’d shown up the next morning without any cash.”

“She spent the night at your parents’ house and then you gave her money,” Clarissa said, suddenly very calm.
Too calm. “What else, Jackson? What else is there, because I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“I was worried about her, so I’ve actually been back to check on her,” Jack
son said, almost hanging his head at the look on her face. It seemed to be made of stone, and the only other time he’d ever seen that look was the day she’d lost her parents in the plane crash. It was the look she wore when she held back all emotion in order to get through something devastating.

“Clarissa, nothing happened. S
he slept all night at my parents’ house, she ate breakfast, I gave her money and, well, then I took her back,” Jackson said, but Clarissa had noticed his pause and she jumped on it.

“So something
did
happen! Jackson, I can’t believe this, I thought you respected me, I thought we might have a real future together,” she gasped out; tears now racing down her face.

“Oka
y, Clarissa, she’s a prostitute. It’s her job to seduce guys, and yes, she tried to kiss me,” he started. “But she didn’t get anywhere with it. I think she could even sense that I was involved with someone, because telling her I was a pastor didn’t stop her, but when I held her away, she asked if I was afraid my
wife
would find out.”

At that, Clarissa’s head snapped up and she locked eyes with Jack
son. He knew she’d been hoping for a proposal, and although these past few years had been pleasant, he was far from a serious commitment. With her.
Where in the world did
that
thought come from?

Amanda was bored out of her mind, but she pretended to listen carefully to Phil’s conversations throughout the
evening. She couldn’t help but wonder if she would run into Jackson before the night was over.

She realized Phil was asking her a question and she snapped back to reality. “I’m sorry, Phil, what was that?” She felt stupid. Her job with the escort service relied heavily on her recommendations from clients, and here she was blowing it with the first one. He was a nice guy, just boring, but he wasn’t asking or expecting her to do anything else except listen to him.
Buck up, girl.

“I asked if you would care to dance,” Phil said as he offered his hand. Without answering, she took his hand and he steered her toward the dance floor, where several couples were already swaying to
a romantic ballad.

Phil’s arm wrapped around her waist, his hand resting at the small of her bare back. Her mauve-colored top was mostly backless, but still tasteful and flattering against her dark hair. Several tendrils had escaped from her elegant
up do, which softened her carefully made up face.

“You’re a very pretty woman, Mandy,” Phil said, looking down at her as they moved across the floor. “How is it that you got into the escort business instead of being married
with a couple of kids by now?”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Amanda said, waggling her finger at him. “Can’t talk about my job, remember? Don’t want to blow
your cover, right?” She smiled at him to take the sting out of her words, tapping him on the chest with the same finger.

Amanda felt a tap on her shoulder before Phil’s face lit up. Turning, her expression froze as she looked up into Jackson’s
silvery eyes. Her eyes widened and her heart thumped, but she realized Jackson was looking at Phil.

“Phil! How’re you doing, man?” Phil and Amanda broke apart as the two men shook hands and clapped each other on the shoulder. “How long has it been?”

“Wow, Jack, it’s been quite awhile,” Phil said. “I’m sorry, I’m being rude. This is Mandy.” Phil’s arm came back around Amanda as he gestured toward Jackson. “Mandy, Jack and I go way back to our college days.”

Amanda extended her hand, waiting for Jackson to take it
, her eyes locked on his again. Once more she found herself hoping he would maintain her secret. Jackson’s hands covered hers, much as his mother’s had just last week.
Home.
There it was again, that feeling of coming home.

Jack
son’s eyes went first to her stomach, then her face, seeking the answer to his unasked question. Amanda’s eyes welled up and she looked away quickly, mumbling an excuse about the restroom.

Freed from the conversation, she moved away, almost blindly searching for the restroom. Finding the proper door, Amanda stepped inside and closed it again, leaning against the wall for support.

Baby killer, murderer
. It’s almost as if she could audibly hear the words passing from Jackson to her.
He knows
, she thought. The pain came, washing over her in waves as agonizing as if she was lying on that table again. Amanda felt short of breath.

A woman in a modest navy blue gown was standing near the full-length mirror, touching up her pale pink lipstick. Although she was trying to appear busy, she was carefully watching Amanda in the mirror.

She was pretty, but obviously worlds apart from Amanda’s reality, as Amanda noticed her designer pumps and the expensive handbag sitting on the counter near her.

Suddenly, Amanda felt trashy, despite her own attractive and conservative appearance.
Wait a minute, I know who she is
.
She’s Clarissa Black, the founder of this event, and heiress to the Black’s millions
. She’d seen a picture and a short bio of the woman on the evening’s dinner card. Rissa Black was known for her philanthropic ways as well as her work with children suffering from cancer.

Amanda smiled at her, but she was very intimidated. “Hi
,” she said, attempting to pull herself together. This woman had no idea who she was.
You want to be an actress; it’s time to try out your talents.
“My name is—“

“I know who you are,” Clarissa said coldly
, surprising Amanda. “My
boyfriend
told me all about how he
helped
you out the other night.” She ignored Amanda’s outstretched hand.

Amanda froze, her hand still held out. Clarissa Black
, multi-millionaire, was Jackson’s
girlfriend
?

“So, Phil, it’s been awhile,” Jackson said. “What have you been up to? Who’s the girl?” He hoped he wasn’t being too obvious, but he had to know what was going on. First he’d felt shock at seeing her in this setting, and then he’d felt utter relief at seeing her there. She was alive, and well.
She’s more than well, Jack
.
She’s gorgeous. But she’s not yours
.

“Her name is Mandy,” Phil said. “She’s a looker, isn’t she? I just met her recently.”

Jackson didn’t care for Phil’s tone or his comment, but he had to let it go. “Where did you meet Amanda?” He realized his error as soon as he said it, but fortunately, Phil didn’t think his use of Amanda’s full name was strange.

“Mandy, she goes by Mandy,” Phil said. “I ah, met her through some friends,” he stated evasively.

“What friends? I thought I knew all of your friends,” Jackson started to question him further, but Phil interrupted.

“Listen, I found her through an escort service, Jack, but please don’t tell anyone,” he pleaded. “She’s a nice girl and I just wanted to have a pretty date for the evening for once.” Phil’s short stature and slightly rounded stomach was a testament to his reason for resorting to this measure.

“Phil, it’s me, Jack. You know your secret is safe with me,” Jackson said earnestly, but he couldn’t get his mind off one question. “So, what
services
did you pay for exactly?” He tried to sound conversational instead of questioning, but it was hard when his heart was racing.
And just why is it racing, buddy?

“Excuse me?” Phil’s voice tightened. “I don’t think I heard you correctly, because it sounded like you just tried to butt into my business. But for what it’s worth, it’s not like that. I’m just dancing with her a little and then taking her straight home. But it doesn’t hurt my situation that she’s so easy on the eyes, am I right?” He smiled convincingly, but Jack
son wasn’t enthused.

“Why do you ask? Interested in hiring her to step in where Clarissa can’t, or are you even still with her?” Phil questioned.

Jackson’s hands fisted at his sides, but his voice was calm. “Clarissa is a lovely young woman who has been through a lot of pain,” Jackson said, forcing himself to sound normal. “She’s not like that, and yes, we are still seeing each other.”

“C’mon, we both know you’re going to have to sow some wild oats before you settle down with Clarissa,” Phil laughed.

Jackson’s eyes narrowed. This conversation was over. “Well, Phil, I hate to run, but I have a couple of things to see to,” he said.

“Yeah, okay, good catching up with you, pal,” Phil said. Jack
son suspicioned Phil had been drinking, and by all signs, he’d already had more than enough. He was going to have to convince Amanda to ride home with him, or take a cab or something. Phil was in no shape to drive and it should be easy to snag his keys from the valet later in the evening.

Turning, he began to look for his hooker.

The lady in question was exiting the restroom, her face carefully repaired, but her emotions were teetering at best. Clarissa Black had been nothing like she expected. After a frosty warning to stay away from Jackson, Clarissa had swept from the room with a smile plastered to her face.

Amanda had remained behind, her
fragile heart in tatters. After pulling herself together, she realized she just wanted to go home. She wasn’t sure how Phil would take that, but she’d give some of the money back to him to make up for it. She just couldn’t stay here another minute and chance another run-in with either Jackson or Clarissa.

All sensors were on alert as she searched the room
. She finally landed on Jackson, who was standing off to the side of the now-crowded dance floor. He was leaning down, his lips close to Clarissa’s ear, no doubt whispering promises to her. He was probably telling her how Amanda was nothing to worry about, just some hooker he’d helped in order to assuage his conscience.

As if confirming Amanda’s suspicions, Clarissa curved into Jack
son’s arms, tucking her head just under his chin as Amanda had only dreamt of doing.
You are truly screwed up. He’s clearly off the market and even if he wasn’t, he’s used to fishing in a pond that is way out of your league
.