Who's the Boss Now (Managing the Bosses 3)

The information was a bit of a shock. Nicholas a fireman? No wonder he appeared to be in such great shape.

"And you gave it all up?" Jamie asked. “Those five-year-old fireman dreams?”

He chuckled. "Kind of. I volunteer at a firehouse, but I'm an only child. My parents needed to know that I supported the continuation of their investment firm. I get the best of both worlds now, but it’s rather time-consuming, which leaves me where I am now."

"Which is?"

"Alone." He gave her a sad smile. "It's a choice I made by putting my career in front of the possibility of family, but now I'm wishing I had chosen differently."

The server arrived with perfect timing to take their order. Jamie had no clue what she was going to say to him. He should have been married and a father by now, or so society would say, but he wasn't. Dating sucked royally, and she wasn't sure if she even knew of anyone she could set him up with. Was that what he really wanted? Help finding someone? Surely not.

"Anyway," he started again, “I’m going to shift my focus completely now. It's time to find someone to share all of this stuff with."

"I'm not sure it's your stuff that a woman would be interested in," Jamie offered.

"No? What would a woman be interested in? If you were the center of my attention, and I was hell-bent on getting you to say yes to a life with me, what would you want?"

Her shoulders tightened at the turn in the conversation. "Hypothetically?"

"Of course. I know you're with Alex."

Was she? Not really.

"I would want someone to love me, to accept me, hold me accountable, and support me in the different areas of life that we would walk through together." She pursed her lips and glanced down at her hands. "I think having a partner in all things is at the top of my list." And sex. I would like a fucking lot of it.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. You sure Alex is the one for you?" He winked as they shared a laugh.

Nicholas was nice, handsome, and incredibly charming. If things didn't work out with Alex, she wasn't quite so sure that another date wouldn't be in order.

Chapter 12

Her alarm woke her the next day, which was a bit of a downer seeing as how it was the weekend. With only two days to sleep in, she was annoyed she had lost one. Good thing she liked Alex’s brother, Mark. The e-mail from Alex late last night had been quick and informal: ‘Pick Mark up for me? I'm tied up in the morning.’

He better have meant tied up due to business and not something sexual with Annette. The thought caused her stomach to turn. She had to have resolution soon on things with him or she might go bat-shit crazy. It was starting to feel more and more probable. She had hoped it was all a bad dream and she’d wake in morning and have a laugh over it. Guess that wasn’t going to happen.

The drive to the airport went quick, and she found Mark standing with his bag just outside the departures pickup for his airline. She waved, and he smiled, getting in and slipping his bag between his legs in the front seat.

"I wasn't sure if you or Alex were coming, but if I was a betting man..."

"Right? It's far too early to get up on a weekend, though. Next time I won’t pick you up unless you get a mid-day flight." She frowned, trying to sound grumpy, but it wasn’t working very well.

"And miss lunch in New York? You crazy?" he chuckled and leaned back. "I love this place. It's so full of life."

"Then move here after the divorce is over. I'm sure there are plenty of job opportunities here." She glanced over at him and gave him a smile. He was a handsome guy, with welcoming features and a great smile. Where he was cute, Alex was gorgeous. Some of the jealousy in their younger years had to come from that if nothing else.

"I might actually." He glanced out the window. "When is Alex going to be free?"

"Later this afternoon, I believe." She honked as someone pulled out in front of her, but stopped herself from yelling something highly inappropriate.

"No worries. If you're busy, then I can just hang out in the city and get a cab back to Alex's place. I really want a slice of pizza at the little deli on Fifth Avenue."

"Oh, I love that place." She turned the radio down, trying to think through the agenda for the day. Realistically, she didn’t have anything mandatory. "Do you want to walk around the shopping district and then grab lunch?"

"That works for me, but please don't let me take your day away from you. I know you’ve very little time off, or so I assume. My brother works himself into a coma. I hope he doesn't expect that of you." Mark turned his attention on to her.

"Not really. I love my job. Your brother’s a good boss, very encouraging, and has no trouble covering overtime." She grinned. Her version of overtime was probably different than Gina’s or Paul’s.

"Too bad he sucks ass as a boyfriend." He lifted his hand to point out to the left. "Right over there. I see a parking spot. I've got a bunch of quarters we can use."