A Wicked Game(27)

“This is Tori Michaels. I’m unavailable right now. Please leave a message. I’ll call you back at my earliest convenience.”

Oh, come on. “Tori, it’s me. Jack.” He felt an idiot for feeling the need to say his name like she didn’t know it was him calling. “I’ll be back in LA next week and would love to see you. Give me a call if you get a chance. Hope you’re doing well.” He remained silent for a moment, not wanting to disconnect his only link to her at the time.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, a hunch settling in his stomach. He looked at his contacts list again and texted her.

Hi, Tori. Please call me or text me when you have a moment, no matter the time. Thanks. He’d just put his phone on his desk when it vibrated.

Jack, it’s great to hear you’re going back to LA. Hope your business dealings worked out. Talk to you some other time.

What? He reread her message a few times before he replied. Where are you? Aren’t you in LA? He stared at his phone, waiting for an immediate response, but nothing came through. His gut feeling told him something wasn’t right, so he texted her again. Where are you?

Still no response came through. He placed his phone on his desk when it buzzed with an incoming message.

I’m where I’m supposed to be.

He blinked at her response. Where are you?

Not that is any of your business. I’m in NYC for fashion week. What do you want, Jack? Don’t you have work to do? I do. Bye.

How the hell was he supposed to know about fashion week? And why did she have to go anyway? Weren’t there others at her magazine whose job was to cover those events? To top it all, she’d given him the cut. He wouldn’t let her get rid of him that easy.

When will you be back in LA?

It’ll be a while.

Could she stop with the short answers and just tell him? How long is a while? Jack hit the send button on his phone.

A while.

If her goal had been to provoke him, she’d succeeded. He took a deep breath before texting her again. How long.

Hmm, let’s see. I’m heading to London next, Milan later, Paris last. So, it’ll be a while.

Could she cut him some slack? Dammit. He’d prefer a slap, or a punch, but not this. He only had himself to blame. He’d caused this. If he’d kept his promise and called her, this wouldn’t be happening. Can you give me a date?

Tell you what, why don’t you Google Fashion Week? You’ll be surprised at all the details you’ll find. Have a good one, Jack.

Have a good one? Like hell he would. He shut down his laptop and collected his belongings. He’d pretty much wrapped up his business here. Whatever he had left to do, he could manage from his office in LA. He’d been an idiot for being afraid of rejection. Now his fear wasn’t rejection—he feared Tori had moved on.





Chapter Seventeen





Three weeks later

Jack was glad to be back in LA but not happy because Tori wasn’t around. He hadn’t contacted her since their last text exchange. He’d give her time to deal with her job responsibilities for now. Even though he didn’t look forward to waiting, he’d find a way to keep himself busy for the next few weeks until she returned, when he planned to have a conversation with her. Picking up where they’d left off would be hard, but walking away wasn’t an option he’d consider.

When the light changed from red to green, he made a right turn. He cursed under his breath, realizing he’d driven into the wrong street, which just happened to be where Tori worked. If this wasn’t a sign he missed her and needed her back, he didn’t know what was.

Jack glanced at the time on his car’s dashboard, noticing it was seven o’clock at night. He could’ve stayed at the office to get more work done, but his mind needed a break. He couldn’t concentrate, knowing Tori was thousands of miles away from him.

He slowed down as he approached her building. He narrowed his eyes at the blonde woman dressed in a royal-blue strapless dress walking out of the building. A cold wave rushed through his body when he caught sight of the man next to her, his hand on her back, leading her to the waiting Jaguar.

Jack shook his head at the honking of the passing cars, getting him out of his shock. “I’ll be damned,” he murmured, pulling over to the side, stopping a few feet away from the car waiting for her. Several thoughts raced through his mind as he got out and walked to the sidewalk. “Tori,” he called.

She glanced his way, halting midstep and holding his gaze for a moment before turning back to her companion and allowing him to help her in the car. The man stared at him for a second too long, nodded, and followed Tori inside.