I Do The Boss (Managing the Bosses 5)

Not this again...

Jamie pressed the magazine to her chest and nodded. "Yeah, lucky girl."

"Insanely lucky. She must be quite a catch." The girl smiled. "Wish I was that lucky."

After watching her head out to the checkout, Jamie picked up the R&S and GQ and followed the other woman to the front to pay. Alex would want a copy of the GQ article, but knowing him, he'd have a fit over the adjustments the photographers did to his eyes to make him seem a little ethereal. It was brilliant marketing.

Jamie paid and walked back out to the truck, still a little dizzy over how incredibly hot her fiancé was. She wasn't quite sure what he saw in her, but second-guessing his feelings or their future was getting old.

"That took forever. It's going to be packed at breakfast. What was the deal?" He glanced over as she dropped the magazine between them and laughed. "Oh shit. He's going to hate that picture. He looks like a billionaire playboy. Too funny."

"He looks incredible." Jamie picked up a copy and stared at it as they rode to breakfast. "There's nothing not to like about it."

"He got the looks for sure." Mark snorted and pulled up to the Pancake House.

"You're handsome too. You look a lot like him." Jamie opened the door and got out, meeting Mark at the front of the truck and stepping into the restaurant to the smell of maple syrup and bacon.

"I look more like Dad. Alex got a lot of Momma’s looks." He shrugged. "I'm good with it. I'd get tired of women fawning all over me all the damn time anyway."

"Fawning?" Jamie chuckled. "Is that what we do?"

"Around Alex? Hell yes." He sat down in the booth and turned over the upside down coffee cup in front of him. "Well, you don't, but every other girl in the world. You know Kristen probably came in search of him to try to score a spot in his life. Why else? Who comes back after all these years to say thank you?"

"She said she just found him again." Jamie turned her cup over too, and thanked the waitress as she filled up their mugs.

"That's dumb. I like Kristen and all, but think this through. Alex has been in business for over ten years, right? He's been big shit for most of that time too. She knew where he was if she's turned on CNN or any news station. He's been all over the news for years. And on magazine covers."

"That's true." Jamie lifted her cup to her lips. "You don't think she's still after him, right? I was starting to like her."

"No, I don't. I think she realizes that his heart is yours and she's good with it." He picked up his menu. "I'm just not sure that it's time to turn toward a life of being single, at least until a girl that I can't live without turns up."

"You think that girl exists?" Jamie smirked.

"Now who's being the Negative-Nancy?" He glanced over the top of the menu.

"Right. Sorry." She dragged her finger down the list of pancakes and stopped on the light menu. She hated to eat her daily caloric intake in one meal, but chocolate chip pancakes sounded a whole lot better than gluten-free, sugar-free, fat-free pancakes.

Damn things should be free... They're made of air.

"I'll get a meat lover’s omelet with extra cheese, potatoes, and toast. You get a big-ass stack of whatever pancakes you like and we'll share." He set the menu down and leaned back. "Deal?"

How could I deny him?

"Yep. Deal." She moved the menu away from her, promising herself that she would run a few miles later that night and try hard to get back into her routine of taking Jake out for a morning run. The weather was perfect for it.

"So tell me about seeing your family last night. How did that drama go?"

"About as you would expect. My sister blames me for Stephen leaking the information to the press." She pursed her lips as Mark's voice rose.

"What? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life! Crazy. Who are these insane people that you come from?" He ran his hand down his face, making him impossibly cute.

Jamie laughed. "Right? I swear I was dropped off by a fucking stork."

"Must have been." He lifted the menu to the waitress and ordered as Jamie turned and watch an elderly couple help each other get into their car. "And your mom and dad? Are they aware of everything?"

"Yeah." Jamie turned her attention back to Mark. "Yeah, my father’s disgusted, and my mom's loving it. She's as off as my sister is. I don't know what to do about any of them. I'm thinking it might just be best to let Alex and his lawyers handle it. It's not like I can talk sense to my family. My dad's the only one with a brain in his head."

"That sucks." Mark sat back. "My dad was pretty sensible too. He had his faults, but I miss the old bastard sometimes."