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CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning, Jamie ignored the multitude of texts from his friends, all asking what the hell had happened after he’d stormed the stage and stolen the entertainment. He’d stayed out all night, and by the time he’d returned to the suite he was sharing with Gabe and Eric, they’d been asleep. They’d stayed asleep while Jamie showered, made coffee, and dressed. By the time Jamie headed back out, no one, including Cole, Luke, and Ryan, who were sharing the suite next door, had so much as stirred, much less woken up.
Now Jamie sat across from Pete Hines, an executive at Whitcomb Enterprises, in a little bistro located inside the Bellagio. He shoved thoughts of Lucy’s undulating hips and his friend’s open mouths to the back of his mind. It was time to work, not analyze whether or not any of his friends realized he’d had a history with the woman stripping on stage the night before.
As they had coffee and croissants, Hines filled him in on the group of citizens attempting to block the opening of the manufacturing plant in Summitville.
Jamie wasn’t surprised that the group’s leader was Mayor Milton Hendrix, Sierra’s father. After all, the man believed Jamie was responsible for Sierra’s death. And Jamie couldn’t deny that one of the reasons he was pushing so hard to have the new manufacturing plant set up in Summitville was to assuage his own guilt.
But it wasn’t just that.
The town had meant something to Sierra, just like Sierra had meant something to him. He wanted to help the townspeople get back on their feet in a way that would be beneficial to everyone involved. Helping Summitville regain its former prosperity couldn’t completely heal the wounds of the past, but it could help.
“I’m sorry, Jamie. The group, spearheaded by Milton Hendrix, is seriously twisting the town council’s arm to reject Whitcomb Enterprises’s proposal. The council’s actually considering taking the discussion off its agenda altogether.”
“Has Hendrix mentioned my name during all his arm-twisting?”
“Well…um…”
His gut twisted. “It’s okay, Pete. I can take it.”
“He has. Numerous times. He says a man born with a silver spoon simply can’t have the needs of everyday citizens on his radar.”
“Right.” In other words, like Sierra and Lucy, Hendrix found Jamie untrustworthy based on the size of Jamie’s bank account. Of course, Jamie knew there was more to it than that, the same way he knew convincing Hendrix that Jamie and his family could relate to the average person just as well as anyone else was a lost cause.
Forget convincing Lucy of that. She’d made up her mind about him. And with her little stunt last night, she’d made it loud and clear what lengths she was willing to go to push him away. Well, she’d finally succeeded.
He was going to keep his distance from her this time. He didn’t like feeling jealous and judgmental. Hated feeling helpless and afraid that everything he said or did was going to be twisted out of context and he was somehow going to be made out to be the bad guy again.
“Jamie…you okay?”
Jamie’s head jerked as he realized Pete was talking to him.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying, Pete?”
Pete took the signed documents Jamie had given him, placed them in his briefcase, and with a chuckle said, “Seriously, Jamie, I’ve never seen you like this before. Did you get drunk and end up married last night, or something?”
He’d definitely done the first. After he’d left Lucy and his friends at the club, he’d gotten rip-roaring drunk then passed out. When he’d stumbled out of bed, gritty-eyed and nauseous, his friends had been dead to the world, so Jamie hadn’t talked to them before his meeting. And God, he wanted to put that off. Put off getting confirmation that each and every one of them had seen his Lucy completely naked…
“It’s Vegas,” Jamie said. “If I did, I don’t have to tell.” He gave Pete what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “So what’s next?”
“I’ve been hustling and blowing up the town council’s phones. I finally got them to agree to meet with you next week. They want to meet the head honcho behind this project in person before they allow you to take the floor at a town meeting.”
Jamie nodded. “Alright, then. Good job. Let’s make it happen.”
“Any idea what you’ll say to win them over?”
“I’ve come up with some great incentives, including the townspeople being given first priority for all of the jobs, even the executive ones, before they’re opened up to anyone else. Also, anyone who was laid off when the automotive plant closed down will automatically have a job.”
“That should be more than enough to get the council on board. The town has really suffered since the automotive plant slammed its doors shut. By reopening the factory to produce airplane parts, Whitcomb Enterprises is offering Summitville a huge opportunity to become economically sound again. They’d be crazy not to see that.”
Maybe, Jamie thought. But crazy or not, there were many in town that wouldn’t trust Whitcomb Enterprises because they didn’t trust him. Their actions gave new meaning to the expression cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
“Well,” Pete said, “I wish you the best of luck. That’s all you and I need to do today. How was the bachelor party?”
Jamie’s mind reformed the image of a scantily dressed Lucy humping that metal pole on the stage while a bunch of horny men looked on. She’d looked so hot in her little white bra and thong, the long blond wig brushing softly across her chest and her hard nipples taunting him through the thin lace material of the bra. His cock twitched and his stomach churned all at the same time.
“It went well,” he said simply, because what else could he add? That his former girlfriend had stripped for his friends? That she’d shoved the fact that they were over in his face? That he hated that part of him for still wanting her?
