The Chauffeur Read online

  “Rita?” I say, walking up to her. “Thank you so much. You have no idea —”

  “Yes, I do. I’ve stocked the freezer with ice cream and popsicles to keep you cool. It’s going to be hot today.”

  “Rita—”

  “I know, April. You just take care of my boy. He cares for you.”

  “I love her, Rita.” I hear his voice come from behind me. Rita and I both grin and he wraps his arms around me.

  “I didn’t like waking up finding you gone this morning,” he says. “But thank you for the note. These look yummy.” He steals a tart-looking thing off the tray and licks the fruit filling off his finger.

  “I had so much I needed to do, and when I came to talk to Rita…” I turn and spread my arms out at all the trays neatly arranged on the table. “She did it all. I can’t believe she did everything!”

  “You’ll come to love her just as much as I do.” He wraps his arms around both Rita and me.

  “It’s too late. I already do.” Rita smiles, and her eyes fill before she turns and tends to the hot frying pan.

  “Okay, I need to get home and put my groceries away,” I announce, wiping away an errant tear. I reach up to kiss Jason on the cheek. “I’ll be back after a shower. Everyone should begin arriving around eleven,” I say before stealing a chunk of watermelon off a fruit tray. "Oh, Jason, can you leave the gate open so everyone can just drive through?”

  “Sure. I’ll see you in a little while.” Kissing the corner of my mouth, he licks off some juice with the tip of his tongue. “It feels good to tell you that I love you,” he whispers before turning to leave the kitchen.

  After putting all the food away and filling the cooler with ice, I take a quick shower and shave my legs. I decide on a navy-blue bikini and a lightweight cover-up, then French braid my hair. While digging through the closet for my white flip flops, I'm startled when strong hands grab my hips and yank me back against him. I immediately regret leaving my door unlocked.

  I hop away, then push him out of my closet. “Sam, when did you get here?”

  “A few minutes ago. Emily’s here, too. She’s over at the pool with Kyle.”

  I walk around him, so he has to follow me. “Come on out to the living room.”

  “I miss you, April. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. How come?” He grabs a beer out of the fridge.

  “Well, it’s been busy, actually, but you’ve been busy yourself with your new girlfriend, right?” I want to get this conversation done and over.

  “Well, not so much a girlfriend, but a woman’s been keeping me pretty busy, yeah,” he says, taking a long pull of his beer.

  “Well, I’ve been seeing someone myself.”

  “Oh, really? Who?” I can see the disappointment on his face.

  “Me,” Jason says, coming through the door to stand next to me. He reaches down to kiss the top of my head.

  “Oh?” I look up at Sam and smile. I won’t apologize for loving Jason.

  “How long has this been going on?”

  “Well,” Jason begins, “I’m not sure, but I knew it was love almost as soon as I set eyes on her.”

  My heart melts hearing him say that, and I burrow my body under his arm. But when a familiar look of anger crosses Sam’s face, I know I need to defuse this.

  “Come on, let’s go swimming. Will you guys grab those coolers right there and bring them outside?” Jason smiles, grabs a cooler and takes my hand, leading me out the door.

  Everyone’s arrived except Roger and Sue, but as we near the pool, she walks around the corner, seemingly in slow motion. The breeze has her hair flowing in the wind, which I’ve never seen down before because she always wears it up at the office. She’s also dressed in a black bikini with a matching sarong wrapper that’s so delicate; the breeze has it blowing gently around her slim legs. She has a pair of oversized sunglasses and looks sexy as hell. Even Jason is a little slack-jawed. I look for Sam because I want him to meet her. I’m about to call him over when he catches sight of her and walks straight into the pool. Cooler and all.

  Laughing, we run to help him get the beer cans out of the water and to salvage what little ice hasn’t melted.

  “What happened, Sam?” Adam teases from the other side of the pool before he dives in to help.

  Looking over at Sue, she has a faint blush to her cheeks. She hasn’t taken her eyes off him either. Sam continues to hand us the beer cans, and Sue bends down to take a couple from him.

  “Are you all right?” she asks sweetly.

  “Yeah. My ego is slightly damaged, but it’s all good.” Any woman would be a blind fool not to appreciate his muscular physique, especially with water glistening all over him. He pulls himself out of the pool, and I giggle when Sue discreetly ogles him.

  “Sue, I’m so glad you could make it,” Jason says. “I’d like you to meet one of April’s best friends. Sam, this is my assistant and friend, Sue.”

  We watch Sam take her hand, not letting go.

  “My job here is done.” Dusting my hands, I go to find more ice for the cooler, and fortunately, Rita thought of everything.

  While I refill the cooler with ice, Jason takes Sue around to introduce her to Adam, and that’s when I hear him.

  “April? Girlfriend? I have arrived!” Roger sings. He’s wearing the wildest pair of Speedo’s I’ve ever seen.

  “I was wondering when you were going to get here,” I laugh, accepting his hug. “Roger, only you can pull off Speedos.”

  “Damn straight, baby. Now where’s that hunk of yours?” he asks. Sam looks my way, his face a bit pink, and I hold my hand up to stop him.

  “Sorry, Sam, that title has been laid to rest. I have a new hunk in my life,” I say proudly, my gaze landing on Jason.

  “That’s right, baby.” He curls his arm around me.

  “Brother, are you going public?” Nicole asks, draping her arm over Jason’s shoulder.

  “Yep,” he says, kissing me. “Let’s get some music going. Kyle, go crank up the tunes,” Jason calls out across the pool.

  “On it.” Kyle tugs Emily up, and they disappear into the house. A few short minutes later, Blurred Lines comes over the speakers.

  “I hope you aren’t going to pull a Miley and start twerking, Roger.” I spit my ice tea when he bends over and sticks his ass and tongue out. All of us burst out laughing when he nearly twerks his ass off the edge and into the pool.

  “Where’s your boyfriend, today?” He stops dancing, and his mood suddenly falters.

  “Apparently, he’s still buried ass-deep in the closet if you know what I’m saying,” he says pretending to flip his hair.

  “That's a shame. I hope he knows he’s welcome here.”

  “Thanks, April. Maybe next time. Come on, let’s dance,” he giggles and pulls me off to the side. Emily squeals and joins us, pulling Sue with her.

  “Hey, Sue?” I dance up close to her. “Sam’s checking you out, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “How can she not? He’s been tripping on his tongue since she got here.” Emily giggles.

  “If you don’t want him, Sue, I’ll take him,” Roger declares.

  “Roger, you’ll take anything with a dick,” Sue says, shocking us all to the point we stop dancing and just stare at her.

  “Did I just say that out loud?” she asks wide-eyed, covering her mouth.

  “You sure did, girl,” Roger says, high-fiving her.

  “So, do you think he’s cute?” I ask.

  “I think he’s a lot cute!” she giggles behind her hand again.

  “He’s a good man, Sue. I wouldn’t hook you up with just anyone.”

  “What?” she yelps, spinning around. “You arranged this?”

  “Well, the party was organized for fun, but you and Sam meeting was arranged. You can thank me later,” I say, skipping off to find Jason.

  “April, should you be dancing around like that with your stitches?” Adam shouts at me.

  “Yes, Mo
ther. I got them out yesterday,” I say, sticking my tongue out at him.

  “He’s right, April. You should take it easy,” Jason pipes in.

  “What’s going on?” Sam asks, looking around at everyone.

  “Oh, nothing, they're just worrywarts.” I busy myself with cleaning up a little bit.

  “Worrying about what?” he asks again.

  “Oh, nothing. Are we going swimming?” I ask anyone who will listen.

  “Don’t fucking ‘nothing’ me again, April. You’re shutting me out. Why did you need stitches? What the fuck is going on?”

  Emily walks up and sits down next to him, explaining how I went jogging and was nearly hit by a car.

  Everyone sits around in a circle as the tale of my woe gets told.

  “Who would want to hurt you?” Sam asks, sitting up in his chair.

  “I may have brought this to her door, Sam,” Jason explains. “I was seeing this woman, and after a business deal went bad, she’s been pretty pissed off at me about it. We think Kathryn may be out to harm April, so we’re keeping an eye on her.”

  “Is that the same K-Kathryn you were telling me about, April? The one you took to the airport with that Romeo guy?” Hiding her blush from Jason, April nods.

  “Yeah, Kathryn Walsh, why?” Jason asks at Sam’s hesitation.

  “W-Walsh?” he repeats.

  “Yes,” Jason drags out. “Why? Do you know her?”

  Sam shoots up out of his chair and starts pacing. “Fuck … fuck … fuckity … fuck,” he chants.

  “What is it, Sam?” I ask.

  “Kathryn is Cougar,” Sam admits.

  “You are kidding me. How did you get mixed up with her?” I get up, joining him as he continues to pace.

  “I don’t know,” he cries, his hands fisting his hair. “One day I picked her up at the Executive Airport and from that day on, she started requesting me as her driver. She was on her phone once, and I heard her say the name ‘Jason Rowe.' When I told her I knew you,” he explains, looking at Jason, “and that my best friend was recently hired as your new driver, she started chatting with me. She told me you guys were going in on some business venture and what close friends you were. I didn’t think anything of it.” He stops pacing, opens a beer and drinks it all.

  “One day, she invited me up for a drink and, well,” he looks apologetically at Sue, “I went, and one thing led to another, and suddenly I’m in this cougar relationship with her.

  “April, I had no idea,” he pleads. “She said you all were friends.”

  “What did you tell her?” Jason demands.

  “I was pissed at you for hitting on April. I’ve known her a lot longer than you, and then you waltz in and …” Sam resumes pacing and runs his hands through his hair again.

  “What the fuck did you tell her, Sam?” Jason yells, closing the three steps to block his path.

  I hurry to stand next to Jason to calm him down.

  “She started asking me questions about April. Simple questions, really. Like how long have I known her? Where is she from? Does she have a boyfriend? Also, when I said that you were after her, Jason, she became more and more inquisitive. Now I know why. I’ve been feeding her fucking information, not knowing I was doing it. I was the one who told her you moved into the apartment here, April. I was the one who told her you liked to jog every day, and how we would go together sometimes. She absorbed everything I told her like a sponge.”

  I can tell he’s upset, so I reach over and wrap my arm around his waist.

  “It’s okay, Sam.”

  “No, it’s not fucking okay, April. I put your life in danger. It was pathetically unprofessional and told a client about you. I fucking slept with a client, April. Who does that?”

  Then suddenly, he begins to snicker.

  “What now?” Jason asks.

  “There is the exception of you and April. Didn’t you two get caught having sex at your office?”

  “How the fuck did you know that?” Jason bellows.

  “Emily told me.”

  “Oh, for god’s sake.” Jason presses a hand to his forehead while I attempt to disappear.

  “I’m sorry, April, it was an accident,” Emily apologizes.

  “Not now, Emily,” I say, glaring at her.

  “Sam,” Jason begins, changing the subject, “did you ever see anyone around Kate or her condo when you were there?”

  “Yeah, once,” he answers. “One time I was there, and she got a call. Then shortly after she hung up, there was a knock at the door, and she got up to answer it. I got out of bed to go see who it was because, frankly, if she was bringing another guy into the mix, I wasn’t going to play that game.”

  Everyone looks at Roger when he lets out a little whimper.

  “What did he look like?” Jason asks.

  “I didn’t see his face. He stayed outside. He was a big guy, though. I know that much … and he wore black. Everything was black.”

  Jason and Kyle decide to take Sam into the control room to see the video, in case the man who left the threat was the one at Kate’s door.

  As soon as they go inside, Emily is by my side.

  “April, I’m sorry,” she begs.

  “Emily, don’t. I asked you not to say anything, but you did anyway. So, my very private moment becomes pool party fodder. So, yeah, I’m pissed right now.”

  I join Adam and Nicole for a little while, leaving Emily to visit with Roger.

  “Hey, guys, how’s it going?” I ask, “How’s the club, Adam?”

  “Pretty good. Still number one in Chicago.”

  “Well, you’re the best in town.”

  Nicole places her hand on mine. “April, Jason won’t let anything more happen to you if he can help it. You know that, right?” I look down and nod.

  “This is all so scary, you know? I just …” As the guys come through the door, I look up and jump to join them.

  “Well?” I ask.

  “It’s him. That’s the guy who was at Kate’s house that day.”

  “Jason,” Roger says, quietly behind him. “Um … I may have some information, too. It’s not much, but I think maybe you might want to know.”

  “What is it?” Jason asks.

  “About a week or so before Robin was fired, I caught her coming out of your office holding a file.”

  Both Jason and Sue straighten up and look at each other, then back at Roger.

  “When was this?” Sue asks.

  “It was the day after Mr. Rowe came back from Europe. I remember because April went to pick Mr. and Mrs. Rowe up at the hotel. I think you and Jason left to have your morning meeting. I was coming back from the restroom when I saw Robin coming out of your office, Jason.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” Sue asks.

  “It wasn’t out of the ordinary. She said that Mrs. R wanted a file back that Jason had, so she had to go get it or else Mrs. R was going to go ballistic,” Roger explains, wringing his hands.

  “Do you remember anything about the file? Was it letter or legal sized? Was it a particular color?” Sue asks.

  “It was letter-sized, and it was red.” Jason and Sue’s eyes snapped around to look at each other.

  “MileHigh,” they say in unison. “There’s our mole,” Jason murmurs.

  “Sue, on Monday I’d like you to go through all my files to see if any are missing.”

  Sue presses her lips together. “She could have photocopied any one of them and replaced it after she was done.” Jason snaps his phone off the table and stomps off with Kyle trailing behind him.

  “Dad? It was Kate” “Positive” “Yes, Dad,” he snaps. “I’ll tell you when you get back, but it’s her,” he says while he paces. Kyle hangs back and listens.

  “She’s done,” he says to Kyle, and they both nod and shake hands, like a secret pact or something.

  “Can we have a pool party now?” I ask. Kyle runs back into the house to change the music track, and when he comes back out, Ri
ta and Garrett follow with the platters of food.

  We gather around the patio table like cows to a trough, when an ear-piercing shriek shatters our concentration. We all turn around and see Roger running to the man who just arrived. Roger leaps into his boyfriend’s arms, wrapping his arms and legs around him. When he finally lets go, he brings him over to introduce us.

  Jason recovers first. “Paul?”

  Chapter 16

  ~Jason~

  Paul’s gay?

  “Jason,” April whispers, pulling me off to the side. “Don’t say anything here. It took a lot for him to come here like this—for Roger.”

  “Did you know Paul was—?”

  “Ssh! No. Don’t say anything, all right?”

  I’m pretty sure I heard what she said because even though I nod in agreement, I can’t quite wrap my head around seeing man-whore Paul, who fucked my college girlfriend, kissing the guy wrapped around his waist.

  Wasn’t he out with April just last weekend?

  “Jason? Here they come! Snap out of it!” April hisses, shaking my arm.

  “April, Jason, this is my boyfriend, Paul.”

  “Yes, I know April and Jason, Roger. “April and I work together at the community center, and Jason and I went to college together.”

  Roger’s eyes light up. “Really? You never said—”

  April elbows me in the ribs. “It’s good to see you again, Paul. We’re glad you could make it, aren’t we, Jason?”

  “Um … yes. Nice to see you again, Paul. Would you like a beer?” I ask nervously, still conflicted by this unusual turn of events.

  “That’d be great.”

  I turn around to get a beer out of the cooler and shake off the shock.

  While April introduces him around, I get back to dishing up some of Rita’s country fried chicken.

  ~.~

  After spending the entire previous day enjoying myself at April’s party, today is a lazy day, and we spend it at April’s apartment watching movies—and doing other things. April’s a lot more fun than the movies, but that goes without saying.

  I’ve been mulling over everything Sam told us about his involvement with Kate. I don’t get a chance to talk to my dad about it until late in the evening. I explain to April that I need to see my father and if it isn’t too late, that I’ll be back. If not, I’ll see her in the morning and then run home. I find my dad in his office.