One Look Ch. 06

She nodded with a little smile curling her lips, noticing that he was beginning to refer to his place as her home now, too, though she still kept a room at the hotel -- just in case. "I have been staying on top of things, but I don't want him to think I'm neglecting my duties to be with you."

Since he'd been also doing a lot of work from home, he knew it wouldn't hurt to go into the office, even just to check in with his staff that luckily for him, mostly ran things on their own.

The next day, back at work in her office, Jamie was at her computer, reading a very detailed email from a client, when out the corner of her eye, she noticed someone quietly inching their way through the doorway. Curious to see who it was, she turned her head and looked over her shoulder. Ugh. Of course it had to be Roxanne. Though they'd managed to be civil since the busty redhead had vented her spleen and let her know what her beef was with her, there was definitely no love lost between them.

Now she had her wondering what she wanted, because she knew darn well that Foxy Roxy wasn't the type to pop in just to say hello.

When she took a seat across from her, Jamie turned and faced her to see what she had to say.

True to form, Roxanne got right to the point. "So, looks like Danny's cool with you seeing Clark Philips, since his buddies showed up to throw their business at the bank."

Jamie fought the urge to roll her eyes. Not sure why she couldn't understand that she and Clark were a couple and it was time she backed off, she still let her finish.

Roxanne flashed a coy little grin. "Thing is, I couldn't help but notice one of his friends that came with him that night. Tall, gorgeous, tanned, sandy-haired hottie was sending out some pretty major vibes the way he smiled at me. So..." She shrugged. "I was wondering if you might have his cell number, so maybe I could give him a call. You know, just to see where things might go."

Not too sure what Steve would think of her setting him up with The Viper from Hell. To try to appease her, Jamie suggested, "Why don't you put your cell number in my phone. I'll pass it on to him, and then he can decide if he wants to call you."

Roxanne leaned in, sounding surprised. "Wow, after the way I've treated you, I can't believe you'd do that for me. But I think this is good. I mean we have to work together, right? And I'm all for burying the hatchet and starting over -- if that's okay with you."

"As long as you're not burying it in my head." Jamie winced when she realized she'd actually blurted that out loud. But when she looked over at Roxanne, she was glad to see her quietly chuckling. So, deciding to get it over with, so she could back to work, Jamie unlocked her phone, passed it to her and let her add her number. Now all she had to do was run it by Clark and let him decide if he wanted to unleash her on his friend.

Glad to see the back of her, once she'd left and gone back to her office. Jamie was just looking over some of the latest market trends, hoping to see something that would be a good fit for Clark's mother Victoria's investments, when her boss Danny knocked on her door, strode in and took a seat. Though she smiled and said, "Hi, Danny," she just hoped he wasn't annoyed with her for working from home, though he had told her it was okay. Still, she wondered why he'd decided to drop in, too.

But she soon found out when he cleared his throat and said, "I got a call this week from our head office, and... much as I'm enjoying having you work here, they wanted me to mention a position in New York that they thought you would be a perfect fit for you. You should know though, that the choice is yours, and you don't have to leave if you'd rather stay here." He gave her a little smile. "Because I really think you've done a lot for us in the short time you've been here. And to be honest, I'd hate to lose you." He got to his feet. "So, think it over, and let me know what you decide. If you're interested, I can give you all the details."

Jamie nodded, feeling stunned. New York? She couldn't imagine moving now, not only from the job she was really enjoying, and the city she loved, but mostly -- how would she ever leave Clark?

-------

The night of the ball, the moment Jamie walked out of the bedroom in her gown with her matching heels, looking like an absolute vision in the shimmering silvery-mauve confection, Victoria clapped a hand to her mouth and murmured, "Oh, my goodness, you just look so beautiful, Clark won't be able to tear his eyes off you."

As Jamie turned from side to side, checking herself out in the floor to ceiling mirror by the door, Victoria came up beside her, and started fiddling with her ears. "I forgot to give you these, they're meant to pair with the necklace," she explained. Since her hair was in a sexy upsweep, Jamie could see that the amethyst and diamond earrings she had slipped into her ears were the perfect match for the gorgeous gem hanging from her neck. She looked at his mother, feeling a little guilty. "You know you've given me everything I'm wearing except for my undies. I can't accept these, too. It's just too much."

Victoria just stood back and smiled. "Since I was never lucky enough to have been blessed with a daughter to spoil, how can you deny me the pleasure of spoiling you, even just a little? Besides, they go perfectly with the necklace, so you can't say no. You just enjoy yourself tonight, and I'll be happy."

Knowing when she was beat, Jamie pressed a kiss to her cheek and murmured, "Thank you, Victoria."

Once Victoria had locked up the room, they took the elevator downstairs together. Jamie noticed that she looked stunning too, in a black floor length beaded dress that gleamed with hints of deep shimmering blue when the light caught it just right. "That's dress is amazing on you. You really look beautiful, Victoria."

Flashing a grin at Jamie, she looked her over. "I don't think it matters much what I'm wearing tonight, since every eye in the room will be on you. You just look so stunning. Now I can hardly wait to see Clark's reaction when he gets his first look at you in that dress."

Jamie blushed, never too sure how to take a compliment, she just hoped that Clark would think she looked okay, too.

The moment they stepped off the elevator, and Jamie spotted Clark in his perfectly-fitted tux, talking to some people across the room, she felt her heart start to flutter in her chest. Sure she'd never seen a more strikingly handsome man; she could hardly believe he was hers.

Just then he looked up, and Jamie started to smile when she saw his eyes go wide and his mouth fall open the moment he noticed her standing on her own, since his mother had quietly made herself scarce. Clark said something to the group he'd been talking with, then with his eyes locked on hers, he strode purposefully across the room. By the time he wound through the crowd and reached her, her heart was nearly beating out of her chest. He just looked so amazing in his immaculate black tux, crisp white shirt and bow tie, striding over to her like a tiger stalking its prey. She smirked to herself. James Bond definitely had nothing on this guy.

As he slowly raked her over from top to toe, he shook his head. "Wow. That is some dress." Then he lifted his gaze and looked into her eyes, echoing her thoughts. "You just look so beautiful that I can hardly believe you're mine. And now I think I'm going to have stay close tonight, so no one tries to steal you away from me."

She reached up, and touched a finger to his bow tie, then traced it up over his lips and grinned. "You don't look too shabby yourself, Mr. Philips."

Though he was dying to pull her into his arms, he settled for a soft little brush of his lips across hers, since everyone would notice if he kissed her the way he really wanted to kiss her, while sliding his hand over her ass, and hugging her tight. As a waiter approached them with a tray of champagne, Clark asked, "Would you like a drink?"

Casting her gaze around the room, tastefully decorated with bouquets of white flowers and lit with little sparkling white lights, looking like a fairy wonderland, she turned and grinned at Clark when she realized he was waiting. "Oh, sure, I'd love a drink," she said, accepting a glass, when it finally occurred to her what he'd asked.

Once he'd had a sip, leaning back on his heels, he seemed to be checking out the sheer back of her dress pretty closely. Not sure why he was looking, she asked, "Is everything okay back there?"

Smiling, he nodded, eyeing her tight little backside that already had his mouth watering. "Oh, yeah, everything's A-Okay. I'm just trying to figure out, once this this thing is over, how I'm going to get you out of that dress."

Though she laughed, she hoped it wouldn't be too hard to get him out of his tux, because now she had a few fantasies she was hoping to play out with him. Like, Lady and the Butler, or she could be a Bond girl eager to get into his bed, to learn all his secrets. Since she realized he did look a little like Pierce Brosnan at his finest, dressed for a night at the casino.

When the band struck up, and started playing a bluesy rendition of Bruno Mar's Just the Way You Are, Clark nodded his head at the dance floor and told her, "Drink up. I want to get you on that dancefloor, so I've got an excuse to hold you close."

Jamie smiled over the glass at him, as she downed the last of her bubbly. His eyes trained on hers, once they were done, he set their glasses aside. And when he slipped his arm around her and walked her to the middle of the dancefloor and took her into his arms, she melted against him, with her head tucked into his neck, lost in his masculine scent as well as the wonderful feel of him wrapped around her. As he gave her a little squeeze, and pressed a lingering kiss to her temple, she decided she had definitely found her match, knowing no one could ever make her body hum like this, especially just from his touch.

As they glided together around the floor, glancing at the other dancers circling around them, Jamie noticed some familiar faces. Tall blond, good looking Steve, whom she'd first met on the junk trip, and later at her bank, smiled and tipped his head, happily hugging a shapely red-head against him as the sultry song filled the air.

Smiling back, Jamie then gave a little wave when she noticed Clark's other friend, burly bearded Bruce, who for some reason always made her think of a lumber jack, picturing him in red flannel with an axe over his shoulder, somewhere out in the bush. Ruggedly handsome, with such a sturdy build, she imagined he'd be strong as an ox. But she also knew he had a soft side since he worked as a vet, taking care of animals.

She noticed then that he was dancing with their mutual friend raven-haired Becca, who she'd also first met on the yacht, at least before they came in to help save her job, insisting on investing with her bank.

"I see a lot of your friends are here tonight," she remarked, glad that they'd also become her friends now, too.

Clark looked around, and exchanged nods with a few of his buddies. "Yeah, they always come out for this. It's a good cause, and they're happy to show their support for my mother. And as you can imagine, she can be pretty persuasive."

Jamie face broke into a smile, just thinking about how sweet she was. She looked up at him and told him, "I just love your mom."

Sliding a finger along her jaw, he was really glad she did, considering she was going to be her mother-in-law -- at least he hoped, providing everything went to plan.

They danced together close for a few more songs, happily smiling into each other's eyes, then Clark, glancing at something over her shoulder suddenly froze in place, looking like he'd been shocked. Taking hold of her arm, he hurriedly walked Jamie to the edge of the dancefloor, got her another drink, and said, "I'll be right back."

As she watched him disappear into the crowd, Jamie took a sip of her drink. But then she looked up and blinked when she noticed that the redhead in Steve's arms was none other than Roxanne. And she sure looked happy, the way she was smiling up into his eyes, like she was totally smitten. Come to think of it, Steve looked pretty happy too. And she was just glad to see it worked out for them.

Glancing around the room, she wondered what had happened that made Clark have to leave in such a hurry, and just hoped that nothing was wrong.

Then she turned her head, looked up and saw him, standing on a staircase... with another woman. Laughing and smiling, with his hands on her hips, she kept kissing him and squeezing his face in her hands. They just looked so over-the-moon happy together, that her hands started to shake and she almost dropped her glass. As a waiter passed, Jamie put her drink down on his tray. Her stomach churning, she felt like she was going to be sick. Obviously, the gorgeous shapely brunette in his arms was why he'd left her standing on her own -- forgotten.

Then she heard Becca gasp, and noticed she was looking at them too, and murmuring, "Oh, my god it's Gia." When she looked over at Jamie, she could see the sympathy in her gaze. Suddenly the words came tumbling back on her like an echo, when she'd overheard the woman on the junk trip, saying, 'If Gia ever came back in his life, he'd kick her to the curb so fast her head would spin.'

Feeling totally blindsided, Jamie stumbled towards the door. She had to leave, because there was no way she wanted to watch another minute of Clark with his lady friend, or wait around for him to tell her it was over. Obviously he had the love of his life back, so he wouldn't need to waste his time with her anymore, pretending.

Too stunned to even cry, all she knew was that she had to go, she had to get out. And she was so glad now that she'd kept her room at the hotel. Except, looking down at her hands, she realized she didn't have her purse, since she'd left everything in Victoria's room when she'd changed.

Standing on the ramp that led down to the sidewalk, she eyed the fleet of luxurious deep green Rolls Royce sedans, lined up in a row. As she looked at them gleaming under the lights, she wondered if the hotel would agree to drive her over to the island if she told them she was a guest at the ball, and that she needed to get back. Then she noticed a red taxi idling at the curb, with its light on, indicating it was available, and thought it might be better if she got him to drive her back. Her hotel could give her the money for the fare, and put it on her bill.

Deciding she'd better try and grab the taxi before he pulled away, she'd just taken a step down the ramp, when she heard Clark's deep voice behind her, stalling her footsteps. "Jamie, are you okay?"

She closed her eyes, wondering why he'd bothered to come after her, when he could have just let her leave.

He strode up and touched her arm, and she flinched as he asked, "What are doing out here on your own?"

Fighting to keep her composure, she turned to face him. "I saw you with her, and I know who she is."

Confused, he looked puzzled. "I was just going to introduce you, when I saw you rushing out the door."

"Clark, just go back inside. I'm sure she's waiting for you. I'll go. And you can forget all about me, and pretend we never met."

Clark blinked, wondering what had happened. "Jamie, what are you talking about?"

She wiped at her eyes. "I'm talking about you kicking me to the curb the minute you saw her again, so fast that my head would spin. That's what the ladies on the junk said about what you have with Gia. Well, they were right. My head's spinning so hard, I feel sick. And I know she's the one you want. So, why don't you just go back to her, and let me go."

Clark shook his head, as shocked as he was confused by what she was saying. "It's not what you think. Gia and I are just friends. We've known each other since we were kids. She's my oldest friend in the world. But I swear that's all she is to me."

He heaved a breath, thinking back. "We met in school when my family first moved to Rome. Kids can be so mean. And they loved to make fun of me, especially being a scrawny kid with glasses. And Gia got picked on for being a little over-developed for a twelve year old. They'd taunt her, and called her awful names. And every chance they got, they'd try and beat me up."

He shrugged. "So, we hung out together, and we had each other's backs. Sometimes we'd skip school and roam around the city, run up and down the Spanish Steps, and poke around in the Pantheon and all the old churches. And we'd have fun playing around in the fountains, till we got kicked out, then we'd go and get some ice cream. Or we'd go fishing, and didn't even care if we caught anything, we were just happy to be out of school and away from the bullies."

He looked hard at Jamie, hoping she'd believe him. "We've never been involved the way you're thinking. Gia's like my sister. And last time she was here, she was having some emotional problems, and I was worried about her, scared she might harm herself; which was probably why everyone thought we were involved, because I was pretty upset when she left. She's doing really well now, though. And she's in a good place. She's met someone and she's getting married. And I was just congratulating her. I told her about you, and she can hardly wait to meet you."

Jamie lifted her gaze, and wiped at her eyes, relieved but still feeling a little shaken, sure she'd never felt as upset. "I don't know if I can do this anymore, Clark."

"What do you mean, you can't do this anymore?"

She looked into his eyes. "I realized just how much I love you when I saw you two together. The pain that gripped my heart was almost unbearable." She heaved a shaky breath. "I've been offered a job in New York, and... I think maybe I should take it."

He shrugged. "I'd be fine living in New York."

She stared at him, shocked. "You'd be willing to follow me, and leave here?"

He took both of her hands in his and gave them a squeeze. "Jamie, I thought you'd know by now that I'd be willing to follow you to the ends of the earth, if I have to. I love you more than life itself, and there's no way I ever want to lose you."

Sniffling, she blinked back a few more tears, not even sure what to say.

Shaking his head, he managed a smile and told her, "This is not how I planned to do this." He glanced up at the hotel. "I got us a nice harbor-view room upstairs, with rose petals scattered on the bed, and a bucket of champagne on ice, hoping it would be romantic, at least a lot more romantic than this..."

Then when he dropped to one knee and pulled a ring box out of his pocket, she gasped when she saw the ring she'd pointed out to his mother, sitting on a bed of blue velvet. He looked up into her eyes. "Jamie will you marry me, and make me the happiest man in the world?"

She blinked again; sure that a moment ago she'd lost him, she couldn't believe that he was asking her to become his wife. And though she believed him, and knew she could trust him, and imagined that Gia really was just his friend, she felt she should be honest. "You know I've got trust issues, right?"

Chuckling, he said, "I noticed."

Her eyes warm on his, she could feel her heart fluttering in her chest, as she murmured, "And I really would love to say yes, because I do love you."

He got to his feet, cupped her face in his hands, and stroked his thumbs over her tear stained cheeks. "Then do it, Jamie. Say yes. Say you'll marry me."

She looked so tormented, gazing into the hopeful look in his eyes. "I really wish I could. But I've realized I can't do anything until I've sorted out my past. Maybe once who I know who I am, I'll be able to move on with my life. But, what if I've got something horrible in my background, something wrong with me, which might be why they gave me away. I can't risk passing something awful onto a child. I'm sorry, Clark, but I think I have to know who I am, before I can promise you anything."