"Well, I don't want some girl who has to prove that she's smarter than me," one of the boys says.
"With that attitude, she won't have to prove it. Everyone will know she's smarter," Stella tells him, shaking her head.
I see Jeanne looking sadly at the boy's friend, who I find staring at my chest. "My eyes are up here, little boy."
"When you've got it flaunt it, right?" he says with a smirk. If this is who I think it is, we may need more ice cream. Yes, I have a denim jumpsuit on, but it's buttoned almost to the top, and just, no.
"Actually I prefer to flaunt my brain, so if you'd like to ask me some science questions, I might take you seriously."
"Yeah right. You want me to believe that you like science?"
"I could really care less what you believe. I am, however, a scientist. A damn good one, actually. And I can tell you that back in high school, no one would've guessed what I was hiding behind my glasses and baggy sweaters. Think about that, hotshot."
He looks over to Jeanne, and his eyes widen. When I look as well, I see her glaring at him. We're definitely going to need more ice cream.
"Well, we have some shopping to do, so we'll have to say goodbye now," Stella says, picking up on the vibe that's going down.
"Need me to hold your purse, Jeanne," Zack asks, holding his hand out. He really is a good guy, despite the problems Ainsley had with him early on.
"A strong woman doesn't need a man to hold her purse, but I'll let you if you really want to. I appreciate a man who is comfortable with his sexuality."
"Oh yeah, you're already rubbing off on her, Aud. And after spending time with Stell, every boy in this state had better watch out."
"Watch out? They should be thanking us," Stella says, hands on hips.
"Too true," Brayden says. "There's nothing sexier than a smart, strong woman. And I am also secure enough in my manhood to hold a purse or some shopping bags, if the need arises."
"Oh, we know you are, Brayden. Karaoke night will never be forgotten," I tell him with a laugh.
"Can we come along? We'll pay you like Jeanne's doing, and we have better style already," one of the girls says.
"Jeanne's not paying me," Stella says. "She a cool chick, and I want to hang out with her. If you want to try and book me, you can ask your parents to sign up online. I should be available in about five years. Bye now."
She links her arm with Jeanne's, and we all walk into the first store together. I seriously have the best friends ever. We'll make the rest of the day fun for Jeanne, while Reina gets answers from that asshole who tried to take her again. A fun time should be had by all, except for him of course.
Blake
There was a change of plans for dinner. Audrey called me to say that men came for Jeanne again at the mall. She doesn't know how they found her so fast, and is afraid that it's an inside job. Apparently, Reina flew in to torture some answers out of one of the guys while my girl still went on her shopping spree. Audrey texted me dinner orders from everyone, so I still went to Noodles & Co., but we're all eating here now.
I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little stressed out as I get everyone's place set for them. My kid was almost taken-again. I know she has mad computer skills, but they can't be that much better than the other hackers out there. Or maybe they are. I know close to nothing about what she's doing. I've Googled it, even getting a friendly call from my local FBI office after my searches, but there's still too much I don't know.
"Dad, where are you?"
"I'm in the dining room," I yell back.
Jeanne comes running in, and throws herself into my arms. I hold her tight, until she pulls back. "I just needed a hug."
"Good thing I've always got one for you. Nice threads by the way," I tell her as I look her over. She still looks like herself, just enhanced a little.
"You're so old. No one says things like that anymore, Daddy-O."
"Yeah, yeah, I see nothing's changed in the hours you've been gone."
"We were never going to change her, Blake. You should know I wouldn't do that," Audrey says to me.
Fuck. Here I go screwing up again. "I do know that. Thank you for taking her out, and for you know, saving her again."
"We had lots of fun, and I, for one, am starving," the blonde bombshell standing next to Audrey says.
"You must be Stella," I say, holding out my hand, which she ignores. "Friend of Audrey's. Right, so no handshake."
"Behave, Stell. Blake, this is Zack and Brayden. Isa, Darcy, Matt, Faith, and Jake should be here soon with Reina, and Ainsley, whom you've already met."
The guys and I do the nodding thing, and then we all sit down to eat. I'm listening to Jeanne tell me about her day while trying to ignore that Audrey's thigh is touching mine, when everyone else arrives. Everyone stops talking to greet them.
"Did he talk?" Audrey asks.
"You didn't really ask me that, did you?" Reina asks with a smile. "Of course he talked."
"Did you kill him?" Jeanne asks her.
"No, honey. We try to keep as many people alive as possible. He'll be wishing he was dead for a little while, and then once he's out of the hospital, he'll go to jail."
"What did he tell you?" I ask her.
"He was hired through a mercenary magazine. He doesn't know who it was, but he has an email address for them."
"Which I'll be tracking down," Ainsley says in between bites of her pasta.
"You can do that? Find someone that way?"
"Yes, she can, Blake. My girl has skills," Zack tells me.
"Unless the person has better skills," Jeanne says.
"Well, that's when I call in my good friend, Scott Griffin. Between the two of us, there's no one better."
"You know Scott Griffin?" Jeanne asks, her eyes going wide.
"Yep. We went to school together, and we're all good friends with him."
"Wow," I say, because even I know who he is. His family is one of the most powerful in the world.
"You won't need Scott, Ains. You got this," Zack tells her.
"You're sweet, but I never turn down help."
"Needing help makes you weak," Jeanne says, and I whip my head around to look at her.
"Who told you that?"
"Mom."
"Well, that's just one more thing your mother and I will never agree on. Everyone needs help sometimes. We're getting help right now from Audrey and her friends."
"Oh yeah. I guess we are."
"We'll talk more about this later."
"Great. Another lecture from Mr. Perfect."
Where the Hell is this attitude coming from? "I am so far from perfect that I can't even see the shore. You should know that by now."
"I can vouch for that," Audrey says, trying to lighten things up.
"I wish you couldn't," I tell her honestly.
"I know."
"Are you two going to kiss again, because I'm leaving if you are."
"Kiss?" Reina asks, and I see her send a warning glance to Audrey.
"Can we talk about this after dinner, please?"
"Yes, but we are talking about it."
"I know."
Dinner finishes with no more talking as I try to figure out what is going on with my daughter, while Audrey dodges all the curious looks coming her way. I know we're all in a crazy situation right now, but I hope when it all dies down, I can show Audrey that I'm serious about really getting to know her this time around. I could fall in love with her very easily. Again.
Chapter 5
Blake
"Let's go put your new clothes away while we talk about what you said at dinner."
"Wanda said she'd put my stuff away for me tomorrow."
"That right there is another problem-we don't make other people do things we can do ourselves. You know that."
"Wanda has people clean your office, and cook for us."
"That's because I usually work long hours. No one has been in my office in the last couple of days, and no one cooked us dinner tonight."
Why am I explaining myself to her? It's almost like having Misha here again, and God knows that didn't work out well. I won't have Jeanne turning into a mini her.
I lead her into her giant walk-in closet and start pulling clothes from the bags. "Grab some hangers."
"Fine."
"No, Jeanne, it's not. What has gotten into you? I know you're probably scared after almost being kidnapped again, but your behavior right now, and the things you said at the dinner table, are completely unacceptable."
"Why? Just because I said there are people smarter than Ainsley?"
"You asked Audrey to have her friends come here for dinner so you could talk to them. Talking would've been nice. Treating them like they're below you is definitely not."
"They work for us."
"Zack Taylor makes at least as much as I do in year-probably more with his endorsement deals. Jake Mason's mother is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his father runs one of the largest corporations in the world. And Brayden-well Brayden was a King, until he gave up his crown for Darcy. I'm sure the women are all millionaires. Even if they weren't, no one is better than anyone else just because they have money. I don't care what bullshit your mother's told you, you know how I feel, and we shouldn't even be having this conversation."