The Chauffeur Read online

  “Sure, I’ll do it as soon as I’m finished here.” She takes the comb through my damp hair again. “So, a haircut and Armani. You have big plans for tonight?”

  “I have a date.”

  “With a real woman this time?” I know she has to be referencing my disaster of a date last night.

  “Yes! Now quit teasing and get to cutting.”

  She places her hands on my shoulders and squeezes. I enjoy my time with Rita. She’s one of my favorite people.

  “Is this date with someone I know?”

  Now she’s just fishing.

  “Yes, you know her, and you know you know her,” I answer, covering her hand with mine. “Ask your question, Rita.”

  “I like her, Jase,” I flinch at her use of that name. She doesn’t use it often, but when she does, it means something.

  “I like her too. It scares me in a way. I mean, I think she may be the one for me,” I confess, looking around hoping no one else heard that.

  “She’s a good girl, and good girls are hard to come by. I hear she won an award last night,” she says as if she’s a proud mother. “I had no idea she was involved with the Guild. I was surprised to read about it in the paper.”

  “She’s in the paper?” I pull away from Rita and start sorting through the Sunday Chicago Tribune that’s spread out on the table. When I find it, I hold it up and start reading. When my phone vibrates in my pocket, I set the paper down and glance at it to see who’s calling.

  Kathryn.

  “Good morning, Kate,” I answer with an anxious look at Rita, who presses her lips together.

  “I see your little girlfriend made the paper today. How sweet is it that she teaches on the weekends? And at the Community Center no less.”

  The blood drains from my body.

  “What do you want, Kate? I’m tired of your games. Let’s play like adults and cut the innuendos.”

  “I told you I was going to ruin you and hit you where it hurts the most. How’s that for direct and to the point?”

  She begins to laugh maniacally, and someone in the background starts to laugh along with her. I feel sick when she hangs up on me.

  Did she just threaten to make contact with April?

  “Jason, you look like you just saw a ghost,” Kyle says as he walks into the kitchen. “What’s the matter?”

  “Kathryn just made another veiled threat against April. She mentioned April’s hours at the Community Center.” I’m barely able to breathe. “I think Kathryn’s planning on hurting her.”

  It becomes real when I admit my biggest fear out loud. Kyle regards me solemnly.

  “Call the cops.”

  Chapter 11

  ~April~

  I have a date.

  With Jason Rowe.

  I rummage my closet trying to find the perfect outfit, but not knowing where he’s taking me, makes it difficult to decide. Searching my bag for my phone, I text Jason to find out.

  Is this date dressy or casual?

  Thankfully, it doesn’t take him long to respond, and I laugh at his message.

  Casual. Just let me see those long beautiful legs.

  I decide on a light blue sundress with a tight bodice and a full skirt that hits about mid-thigh. That should show enough leg for him. Plus, I have the perfect strappy sandals to match. How girly is that?

  Speaking of girly, I need to talk to my best friend. Dialing her number, I put the call on speaker while I hold my dress up, second-guessing whether it’s the perfect one or not.

  “Hey, April!”

  “Hi, Em. What’s up?” I ask, moving on to my underwear drawer.

  “Not much. I’m waiting for Kyle to come over. We’re going on a ride today.”

  “Well, you won’t have to wait long because I think I just heard him leave. You can’t miss the rumblings of a Harley, you know?”

  “We’re going on a picnic in the country. It sounds romantic, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it does. Just be careful out there,” I say, recalling an accident where the motorcyclist was killed because a driver failed to look in his mirror.

  “Okay, we will, I promise. What about you? You’re done with teaching for the summer, right?”

  “Yep. Yesterday was my last day until August. My students begged me not to take the summer off, but I’ll get burned out if I don’t have any weekends off. I need to play a little bit.” Visions of pool parties run through my mind.

  “Yeah, speaking of which, how about that kiss Jason planted on you last night? Oh, my god! Were you prepared for that?”

  “No! I can’t believe he did that in front of his family. And what about Francine?” I nearly squeak.

  “Kyle says they weren’t romantically involved. They only had a few dates here and there.”

  “I’ll have to ask Jason tonight if she’ll bother him,” I mumble as I select a pair of powder blue hipsters to wear under my dress, foregoing a bra since the dress has spaghetti straps.

  “Tonight?” Emily asks. Nothing gets past her, and I suspect she and Kyle have a lot to talk about when they put their heads together.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you—I have a dinner date with Jason tonight. He’s driving and everything.” Excitement is building in my stomach already, and it’s only twelve-thirty.

  “That’s great, April. But, hey, I promised Kyle I wouldn’t tell you this, so you can’t say anything, okay?” she says in whispered tones as if Kyle is in the room with her.

  “Okay,” I answer, rolling my eyes at her inability to keep a secret.

  “He said that Jason cares for you and that he’s never seen Jason like this before. I guess you had better watch out because when Jason falls, he falls hard.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that,” I say while trying on all the shoes in my closet for the third time.

  “No, but apparently, he gets extremely possessive and protective. Kyle said that it ruined a relationship he had in college.”

  My curiosity is piqued.

  “Like, how possessive are you talking about?” She has my full attention now, and I sit on the corner of my bed to listen.

  “Well, he was so jealous when the guys in school hit on his girlfriend that he got into a lot of fights. I guess he had to be with her all the time,” Emily explains, taking a deep breath. “Kyle said that whenever they were at parties, he’d follow her around and watch out for her. Apparently, this girl had enough and dumped him. Jason was devastated.”

  “That’s … well, that’s just sad.” I have visuals of Jason following his girl like a lost puppy.

  “Anyway, they broke up and got back together several times until he finally left her for good, but Amanda came begging him to take her back, which he did. He also thinks that Jason followed her around a lot more after that because his trust was broken. Jason tried to stay with her until he learned that Amanda slept with some guy. They split for good after that.”

  “Wow. I hope he doesn’t think I’m like that. He did tell me he was possessive and protective. But that was college—I’m sure he’s grown up a bit since then.

  “Uh, April? Kyle said it was Paul. Jason and Paul were in the same fraternity.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me! I swear to God if I had known that, I wouldn’t have accepted Paul’s offer to escort me to the dinner. We went as friends, but still. I thought it odd that they knew each other.”

  No wonder Jason was irritable when he saw us together. And Paul acted as though they were best of friends when clearly there was bad blood between them. Poor Jason. Seeing me with his rival must have brought back some bad memories.

  “What if Jason wants to sleep with you? Are you going to?” I get quiet while trying to come up with something quick, but it’s too late.

  “Oh, my god! You already did, didn’t you? You slut. You better tell me!” She squeals again.

  “Emily, I didn’t ask you about Kyle, did I? And if you leak one word to him, you are officially off my invite list … to everything
. No pool party for you next weekend, do you hear me?” I swear, if she says one word to Kyle, I will scream.

  “I promise, but you had better dish on what it was like. Was it good?”

  “You have no idea.”

  ~.~

  You know you’re a girl when you spend an hour in the tub soaking, shaving, scrubbing and tending to every single nook and cranny, then take a shower to do it all over again.

  After blow drying my hair, I flat iron it, so it’s silky and shiny because I know he likes to run his fingers through it. I wear just enough makeup, but not overdoing it and apply the perfume he seems to like. This is after I polish my toes to match my panties and the little blue flowers in my dress.

  If I’m lucky, he’ll get to see how color coordinated I am.

  I give myself one last look-over in the mirror when I hear him knock. I won’t say anything about the fact that he used his key to get past the master security door either.

  “Well hello beautiful,” he draws out while walking around me, checking me out from head to toe. I smile and give him a treat by twirling around in my dress.

  “Thank you, sir.” I curtsy and place the thin strap of my bag over my shoulder.

  “Mmm, you smell good, too,” he says, burying his nose in my hair.

  “Oh, my, so do you,” I reply, deeply inhaling.

  “Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” He places his hand on my back as we step into the hallway, making sure the door locks behind us. I glance over my shoulder to see him checking me out again.

  “That’s a pretty dress.”

  “This old thing? I only wore it because some lecher said he wanted to stare at my legs.” I flip my hair over my shoulder, giving him a flirty look when he glances down at my legs.

  “Lucky lecher,” he says, running his palm over my bottom.

  Once we exit the building, I stare at the burnt sienna beauty in the driveway.

  “Yowza, Jason. Is that a Ferrari?”

  Walking around it, I admire it by running my hand along its sleek lines.

  “It is.”

  “It’s lovely,” I say in awe as he holds the door open for me. “Whoa! Look at that interior!”

  Once I get my infatuation under control, I climb in, and the seat wraps around me like a glove.

  “You look good in my car, April.”

  “I was about to say the same of you. As if you need anything else to make you more attractive.” I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, and his gaze drops from my eyes to my shoulders, resting on my breasts.

  “Stop that,” I laugh. “We aren’t even out of the driveway.”

  “I can’t help it,” he shrugs. “You're kind of pretty. Plus, you aren’t wearing a bra. Boys like that.” He gives me a sly grin as he starts the engine and fastens his seat belt. Pressing a button on the steering wheel, and the gate begins to open.

  “I guess having that magic button on your steering wheel doesn’t make the gate open any faster, does it?”

  “Nope. That’s the downside of having a gate this large.”

  Once we’re on the road, I sit back and appreciate the smooth feel of the car.

  “So, tonight is all about you, April. I want to get to know you, and I intend to ask a lot of questions, are you okay with that?”

  “All right. When do you want to begin?”

  “So, your parents are still married?”

  “Right now it is,” I reply, adjusting to the quick change of subject. “Um, yes. They’ve been married for twenty-six years.”

  “Did you have a good childhood?”

  “I did. They wanted me to be happy, and they did what they could to make sure that happened. What about you?”

  “Ah ... ah … ah, April. This is about you, remember? But yes, I did have a great childhood. My parents are completely devoted to each other, and to our family, as you can tell.”

  “Yes. My parents are still in love after all these years, too.” Both sets of parents have set a good example, I think.

  “Have you ever been in love?” he asks suddenly and randomly.

  I look over at him, wondering if I need to go into that story or not.

  “Yes. It didn’t work out, and before you ask what happened, it doesn’t matter. It’s a boring story. We just grew up,” I answer, not wanting to get into it. “Neither of us got hurt, and nobody cheated or anything like that. We just grew apart. Have you ever been in love?”

  “I thought I was. She was my first. It was puppy love—we were freshmen in college.”

  “What happened?”

  “Turns out I wasn’t her first or her last … or even her in-between. She broke my heart. I let everyone believe she split with me, though. She accused me of being too possessive. I guess I was in a way, but she cheated on me a few times, and I couldn’t trust her. I wanted it to work, and it didn’t. Have you ever cheated on anyone, April?” I have to give him kudos for not mentioning that Amanda cheated with Paul.

  I look at him and wonder how anyone could ever stray from perfection.

  “No. Never. Have you?”

  “No. Amanda was my only serious relationship.”

  “That was a long time ago. What about Kate and Francine? Have you been serious about them? Can you tell me about them?”

  “Oh, look, we’re here,” he chuckles as he pulls up to valet.

  I grin at him. “You’re not getting out of answering me, Romeo.”

  The valet attendant opens the door for me, and as I get out, I lean in and whisper, “You drive this car with respect, got it?” After I get my desired response, I slip my hand in the crook of Jason’s arm as he guides us inside.

  “What was that all about?” he asks, looking down at me.

  “Oh, just making sure your baby is taken care of.”

  After we’re seated at a table that overlooks the city, the server takes our drink order. I love the ambiance. I enjoy Thai food, and it smells so good in here that I didn’t realize how hungry I am.

  “We’ll have a bottle of number two-forty-seven, please,” Jason requests, handing the wine menu back to the server. He sits forward attentively.

  “So, April—”

  “Um, I still have a question outstanding, Jason.” I laugh at the forlorn look on his face.

  “I don’t want to talk about them. This night is about you.”

  “All right. I just wanted to dispel some of the active thoughts that have been going through my mind, that’s all.”

  We stop our discussion when the server brings our wine and opens it at the table. Jason tastes and approves it, offering to pour it himself. He looks at me and rolls his eyes.

  “I thought the man would never leave. Okay, what do you want to know?”

  “Nothing that can’t wait. You’re right. Why ruin a perfect evening talking about them?” I say, changing the subject. I peruse the menu looking for something that sounds appealing. “Have you been here before? What do you suggest?”

  “Well, well, well. What have we here.”

  Kathryn stands at our table, and I glance over at Jason, whose eyes hold mine.

  “What do you want, Kate?” Jason asks coolly.

  “I just thought I’d come over and say hello. I see you’re dating the hired help now. Fucking me isn’t enough for you? Or is this called fucking me over?”

  “Have you resorted to stalking me? There are laws against that, you know. I could press charges.”

  Tired of Kate’s interference, I get up from my seat, and toss my napkin on the table. Jason opens his mouth to say something, but I hold my finger up to silence him.

  “This won’t take long,” I say, looking directly at Kathryn. When I see the nice man in the nice suit, I call him over. His forehead wrinkles.

  “Is there a problem?” the manager asks.

  “Mr. Rowe and I were enjoying ourselves in your fine restaurant when this woman began insulting me.” I lean and pretend to whisper. “A jilted lover, I fear.”

  “Ah,”
the manager says with an understanding nod.

  “Would you please be so kind and ask her to leave? I would like to get back to my date.”

  Jason’s sitting back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest, trying very hard not to let that smile break out across his face. He shakes his head at me, and I shrug my right shoulder in response.

  “Certainly,” the manager says, approaching Kathryn, who is dumbfounded and obviously embarrassed.

  “Why you little bitch,” she spits.

  “That’s right, Kathryn, I’d rather be a bitch—”

  “Which you aren’t,” Jason interjects, holding up his hand to emphasize his statement.

  I incline my head at him. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure, pet.”

  “What was I saying? I forget.”

  “You were going to say she’s not welcome.” He raises an eyebrow, daring Kathryn to start with him.

  “Ma’am, I must ask you to leave. May I escort you to your car?”

  “Why you little … little … chauffeur!” Kate snarls, tossing her head.

  I burst out laughing. Hard.

  “Is that the best you’ve got, Kate? Chauffeur?” Jason starts laughing and throws his napkin on the table.

  “April, let’s go, my appetite is ruined,” he says, surprising me. Getting up, he reaches for my hand, which I proudly take in mine.

  “Put the wine on her tab since she soured its flavor,” Jason tells the manager.

  “Yes, sir,” he says as we leave. I’m sure it’s a hit to his restaurant to lose a customer like Jason.

  “Jason Rowe,” Kate shouts across the room, “you are finished. Do you hear me? You both are.”

  Jason and I look over our shoulders while she rants and shouts at the manager.

  “Should I be afraid of her, Jason?” I search his face for signs of concern, but he doesn’t give anything away.

  “I’ve got my dad working on it,” he says with hesitation. “But, to play it safe, I’m going to talk to him again.”

  “So, what’s next? I’m kind of hungry,” I say, holding onto his arm.

  With a smile, he takes his phone from his pocket and punches in numbers.

  “This is Jason Rowe. I would like Table Ten by the river, please.” He winks at me.