"Don't like crazy?" Jamie asked cheekily.
"Um... no."
Alex poked his head in the room, his eyes a little wild. "Hey. I need you in the conference room with me stet."
"Alright. Let me grab my stuff, and I'll meet you there." Jamie moved to her desk and started shuffling through her stacks of papers.
"Better you than me. I'd be a basket-case if Mr. Reid was standing over the top of me all the time. Dude's intimidating."
"Yeah, but it's because he knows his stuff and he's incredibly confident." She walked to the door. "You will be one day too."
"You think?" He wagged his eyebrows.
"Maybe not. No." She laughed and walked out, ready to take on the day ahead of them.
The conference went exceedingly well for the morning session, but Alex not having the time to take anyone to lunch was a little aggravating. Whatever he had to do couldn't wait, which left Jamie with taking a group of stiff old men to lunch.
Nicholas was with her, which made things better, but still... she was Alex's PA and knew enough to keep the conversation going, but not anything close to what he would have been able to do.
They got through the last course, and she waited for the bill by the bar. Nicholas moved up beside her and leaned against the bar.
"Great job today." He smiled warmly.
"Thanks. I'm not sure what the hell Alex had to do that was so important."
"I saw him come in a little while back, but I didn't want to disturb the flow of the lunch. He was with a pretty red-head. Guess the old boy had a meeting that was more important than the whole lot of us." He shrugged, looking rather sheepish.
Sickness rolled through her stomach. "What? He's here?"
"Yeah. Over there." Nicholas moved to the other side of her, close to her back and pointed toward him.
Annette.
Jamie wasn't sure whether to feel good about the fact that Alex was obviously taking the situation seriously enough to push the wayward bitch to provide proof, or if she should be pissed. The conference was a two day even that happened once a year. He couldn't have scheduled the lunch later in the week?
Alex glanced up and looked toward them as if he knew they were watching him. The look on his face said that he wasn't too thrilled to have them spying on him.
Jamie jerked around, not realizing how close Nicholas was. She let out a soft yelp as blush covered her cheeks.
He reached out and touched her arm, squeezing it and moving back a step or two. "Sorry. I didn't mean to crowd you. You stepped back and I thought you were going to fall."
She shook her head. "It's—I’m fine. Really."
"Is he dating that woman? They look awfully cozy." Nicholas glanced over toward Alex again. "I thought you guys were together."
"No, we're not. I told you that." She let out a shaky breath and turned to pay the bill.
"Right. He's coming this way. I'm sure this is going to be fun. He's not with you and yet he's going to be furious with me for being near you. This is why I'm not particularly fond of your boss."
Jamie turned as Alex stopped in front of her. "A word with you."
"Yeah, sure. Just let me finish paying for the investor lunch that you should have been at." She bit out at him and turned back to the bartender.
"We did miss you, old boy." Nicholas touched Jamie's shoulder. "I'll meet you in the car."
"Sounds good. Thanks for helping me today." She glanced over at him as her skin pinpricked with angst. It should have been Alex at the lunch with them. It was his deal and yet he was more concerned with working through is personal shit than making sure she was comfortable in front of his investors. How she got herself in situations like the one she was facing, she would never know.
Alex's fingers wrapped around her arm tightly. "I told you I had an important meeting today. You're more than capable of handling a group of men. I pay you quite well to make sure of that."
She turned. "Let go of my arm, Mr. Reid."
He dropped his hand from her and slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks as she signed the credit card receipt. "You know I don't like you hanging out with Nic."
"He's one of your investors. I'm not sure what you want me to do." She glanced back to see Annette smiling in their direction. The saucy witch lifted her hand and waved as if they were friends. "And I hate the fact that instead of talking with Annette at the office, you have her on a lunch date. Your timing couldn't be worse." She leaned forward. “Why the hell would she come here? Of all places?”
"I’m trying to figure this out." Alex got in her face, his jaw clenched as anger race over his handsome face.