Trust Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy Read online

  I hit Send and sit up on my bed, impatiently waiting for the retorting text. My palms are sweaty, and butterflies are wreaking havoc in my stomach waiting for his reply. My cell phone beeps, and I almost squeal with excitement.

  I’m anything but a typical male, but I do know everything lol. Fine, I’ll let you have it both ways. From, Moronic Smart-ass Man.

  I shake my head smiling and hit Reply.

  Guess I’ll have to wait to find out myself if you are a “typical male” or not. I look forward to it. Jeni.

  I hit Send. I can honestly say I’m looking forward to seeing him. I want to feel that energy surge between us once more. Beep.

  I look forward to it as well, and I get a feeling that you are not a “typical girl” either. I have to go into a meeting now, but I’ll see you Friday. Till then, sweet dreams.

  Sweet dreams makes me wonder if he knows I’ve been dreaming of him. I shake my head. No, of course he doesn’t know. How could he? “I know everything, Jenifer.” I take in a deep breath. Confusion swirls within me. No, he couldn’t know everything, could he? Don’t be silly, Jeni. I hit Reply.

  Okay, Moronic Smart-ass Man, have a good meeting. See you Friday.

  I hit Send and hear Sarah.

  “Dinner’s ready.”

  “Coming.” I jump up off the bed and walk out to the kitchen. Sarah is dancing while dishing out our gourmet meal of macaroni and cheese. She adds a glass of wine to accompany the meal. Over dinner we talk about her lecture today, and she complains about Chris not being here. I nod and agree, just going through the motions. After dinner, I do the dishes while dancing along to the music still playing in the living room.

  I move into the living room. Knowing Sarah will be pissed, I turn the volume down and change the channel to the news. Sarah calls Chris, and when she’s finished, she joins me on the sofa.

  “Chris has a family barbecue next Saturday, and I’m going as his date to meet his family.”

  “Wow,” I say. This is getting serious, fast.

  “Wow? That’s all you have to say?”

  “You didn’t let me finish. Wow, that’s great news.”

  “I’m so excited,” she squeals.

  “Meeting the family, huh? That’s a big step.”

  “I told you. This one is different.”

  I smile reassuringly at her. “Certainly seems different. He gets a gold star from me.”

  We keep chatting for a few more hours enjoying each other’s company.

  Chapter 6

  The next day after work I walk down the hallway toward the kitchen, and again, loud music blares from the television.

  “Sarah, the neighbors are going to complain,” I yell as I put my bag and keys on the buffet then take out my cell phone.

  “Still nothing,” I mutter as I look at the screen. I start to feel a slight depression wave over me. I mustn’t let this guy get me down. I try to convince myself he was probably in meetings all day or something. I walk into the living room looking for Sarah, but she’s not there.

  “Sarah,” I yell. I start to turn down the volume of the television.

  “Ooh, Sarah.”

  “Chris, Chris, ooh, Chris.”

  I realize what I’m hearing coming from Sarah’s room. I very quickly turn the volume back up on the television and giggle to myself. I head toward the bathroom for a shower to help distract myself from what’s happening at the other end of the house. I wash my hair, lather up with body gel, and finish my shower. This time my shower is uneventful, without any fantasies.

  Once I’m dry and decent, I head out to make a start on dinner. I assume Chris is staying, although cooking for a chef is somewhat intimidating.

  * * *

  I finish my meal, alone, and wander into my room. I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling, pondering whether or not to message Aiden. Chris’ thought keeps popping into my head: play it cool. I pick up my cell phone and open Facebook. I scroll through the news feed and read about my friends and see their wedding photos and photos of their children. I shake my head and put my cell phone down. I can feel tears welling in my eyes. My loneliness overwhelms me, and a single tear flows down my cheek. I wipe it away with the back of my hand and sigh. I turn over so my face is in my pillow. Beep. My cell phone tells me there’s a message. I casually pick it up and see who the message is from, assuming it’s my mother. “It’s him,” I say with a shrill of excitement, turning over so I’m lying on my back.

  Hi, Jeni, hoping your day was a pleasant one. Moronic Smart-ass Man.

  I can feel a smile beaming from ear to ear as a sigh of relief engulfs me. It’s almost as if he knew I was dying to hear from him. Those butterflies make another pesky appearance as they flutter in my stomach. I hit Reply.

  Hey, Moronic Smart-ass Man, my day was average, just as usual. How was yours?

  I hit Send. I hold the cell phone to my chest. With my eyes closed, I imagine Aiden and what he might be wearing. Maybe still in his business suit or maybe he’s lying on his bed wearing only his boxers. Mmm. I like the latter.

  My day was full of boring business meetings. Lunch at the Intercontinental. It was average, just a usual day. Are you looking forward to Friday’s surprise? ;-)

  My curiosity sparks. I hit Reply.

  It depends on what the surprise is. Tell me, and I’ll let you know if I’m looking forward to it or not. ;-p So, you know what I do for a job, but what do you do?

  I hit Send. I figure he knows more about me than I do him; it’s time to find out some of the juicy details.

  Well, well, Miss Taylor, who’s the smart-ass now? lol I work in the family business, with my father and sister. We’re in finance.

  “Hmm, finance, huh, fair enough,” I say matter-of-factly. I know nothing about finance, except that my bank account is running low after buying my new car. He must be really knowledgeable. Knowledgeable and gorgeous, you don’t get that very often. He’s so far out of my league. What am I doing? He probably feels guilty about crashing into me, and that’s why he’s being so nice, not because he likes me. Yeah, that must be it. I hit Reply.

  Wow, finance, sounds challenging. I’m bad with numbers lol. Family business, sounds like a small company. Do you have many people working there?

  I hit Send.

  It’s quite a big firm actually. Father has about 200 people working for him. I basically deal with wealthy clients and manage their financial assets. No, it’s not that challenging for me. I’m good with numbers, and you’re bad with them, so I guess that evens us out.

  “Man, I am out of his league.” I sigh. I hit Reply.

  Guess so. Wow, that does sound like a big firm. Anyway, I have to go and cook dinner. See you Friday.

  I hit Send. I feel bad for lying to him, but I feel frustrated that he’s leading me on because he feels guilty. I mean what kind of arrogant ass would lead a girl on because he wants to feel better about himself? I guess men are all the same. I can feel my eyes start to well up again. I started to let myself trust him. Why? I’ve only known him for three seconds. The tears start to run freely down my cheeks. “Why do I do this to myself?” Beep. I hesitate to look at the message as I wipe my tears away.

  Okay, have a great dinner. I’ll see you Friday :-)

  His answer is short and sweet. I sigh and put my head back onto my pillow. I need to talk to Sarah. She always knows how to pull me out of these moods. I look at the clock. Seven twenty, way too early to go to bed. I crawl under my blanket and turn on the television. I flick through the channels aimlessly, not even really looking at what is on. I finally settle on some documentary about shipwrecks. It’s mind-numbing. I notice that the music in the living room isn’t playing loudly anymore. Sarah must have come out and changed the channel. I can hear them mucking around in the kitchen. I’m assuming they’re dishing themselves some of my stir-fry. I continue watching the mindless program on TV.

  “Hey, Jeni, you in there?” Sarah says as she slightly opens my door.

  “Yo
u came up for air, did you?” I snap at her. She opens the door fully, only to see me curled up in bed, holding on to Mr. Snuggles with tissues sprawled across my bed.

  “Oh, what’s wrong?”

  I sniff. “Nothing, I’m fine.” She looks at me like I’ve said the stupidest thing ever. She closes the door behind her and walks to the edge of my bed then sits down.

  “Okay, spill.”

  I sit up in the bed. “I’m not going out Friday night.”

  “Did he cancel?”

  I huff. “No, but he’s taking me out only because he feels guilty for crashing into me, not because he likes me.”

  “I see. Did he actually say that to you?”

  I roll my eyes. “He didn’t have to. He’s drop-dead gorgeous, he’s in finance, he drives a very expensive car, and he’s supposed to be interested in me? I don’t think so.”

  Sarah lets out a small laugh. I glare at her as she composes herself.

  “Have you ever thought that maybe he does want to go out with you? You’re a gorgeous, funny, intelligent woman. Maybe he sees the good things in you and that’s why he wants to take you out, not because he feels guilty. If he feels guilty, he would’ve sent you flowers or an apology note, and that’s it. Why take you out to dinner as well? It doesn’t make sense. My suggestion is stop wallowing in self-pity. So what if he’s only doing it out of guilt anyway? It’s a free meal and time spent with a sexy man. What’s so bad about that?”

  I scrunch my face.

  “You need to go out with him. If it doesn’t lead to anything, then you’ve lost nothing, but if you never try, then you could’ve lost the love of your life. You never know. Take a chance. Jeni, be brave and boldly go where you haven’t gone before.” She puts her hand up displaying the Vulcan sign. “Live, love, and prosper,” she says, slightly changing the wording of the popular Star Trek phrase.

  I laugh and mimic the hand gesture back to her.

  “You good?” she asks me, being slightly more serious.

  I nod, and she gives me a hug as she leaves to eat her dinner with Chris.

  ***

  The next day I’m about to leave work for home, and I head down to the repair shop to pick up my car. I find Bob cleaning my windshield

  “I can drive her home tonight?”

  “Yep, paints all dry. You can take her whenever you’re ready.”

  I wrap my arms around Bob, hugging him tight. He wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. He makes me feel like he’s the father I never had.

  “Okay, get out of here already.” He laughs as he lets me go. He holds out my keys for me to take.

  “Yay! No more taxis.” We both laugh as Bob rolls the roller door up for me to exit.

  He waves at me as I pull out the driveway into traffic.

  I drive home casually and cautiously. I don’t want my car to be back in the repair shop again, that’s for sure. I pull up in the driveway and see Chris’ car parked on the street. “Does he ever work?” I mutter to myself. I park, grab my handbag, and get out of the car. I put the key in to unlock the front door and go inside.

  Chapter 7

  I smile thinking about seeing Aiden today as I pull up at work next to Mel’s car as usual. I walk through the main reception door and around to my desk. I look at my flowers, pick out the dead ones, and put some fresh water in the vase. Mel comes out of her office walking toward me.

  She hands me a pink envelope. It’s an invite to her daughter, Skye’s, twenty-first birthday party.

  “Oh, wow! Thanks, Mel. What should I get her for a present?” I haven’t actually met her daughter before.

  “Nothing, she doesn’t need anything, hun. Your presence is her present.”

  “Wow, I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just say yes that you’ll come.” She hugs me tight.

  “Of course I’ll come.”

  “Great,” she says as she lets go of me. “All the details are on the invitation.”

  “No worries. I’ll be there,” I say as Mel heads back to her office.

  I sit at my desk, feeling elated. This is going to be a great day. I turn on my computer and download the emails and check the phone for any messages. As my emails download, I decide to talk to Bob to see what time Aiden’s car should be ready for pickup. I wander down to Bob’s office. He is leaning back on his chair with his feet up on the desk, his reading glasses at the end of his nose, reading something. I giggle at the sight; the sound disturbs Bob. He looks up.

  “Morning, sweetness.”

  “Morning, Bob. I was wondering if you have the list of customer collections ready for today, so I can advise them of times to collect their vehicles.” I think if I make it sound like work then maybe he won’t figure out what I am searching for. He smiles at me knowingly.

  “Mr. O’Connell’s car should be ready by three o’clock.”

  Damn, busted.

  “There you go, sweetness,” he says as he hands me the paper with the customer collection times.

  “Thanks, Bob.”

  I decide to call the other customers on the list first. I’ll call Aiden last. I pick up the phone and dial the first number. I repeat the same for the next three customers.

  The time has arrived to call Aiden. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach fluttering around like a whirlwind. A lump forms in my throat, and my breathing quickens. I finally gain the courage to pick up the phone and dial his number. As it rings, I take in a few deep breaths and then someone answers the phone.

  “Good morning, O’Connell Finance, Mr. O’Connell’s Office, Benjamin speaking.” I’m taken aback; of course he has an assistant. Why wouldn’t he?

  “Hello?” Benjamin asks again.

  “Hi, um, sorry, this is Jeni calling from ADF Automotive Repairs. Is Mr. O’Connell there?” I somehow manage to sputter out, sounding like an immature teenager calling their high school crush for the first time. Argh. I shake my head and hit myself on the forehead.

  “Miss Taylor, Mr. O’Connell has been expecting your call. Unfortunately he’s in a meeting at present. Would you like to leave a message?” I’m shocked at his words.

  Expecting your call. Then I remember that Bob told him I’d call on Friday to let him know what time to pick up his car, not because he wanted me to call him. Argh. I’m such an idiot!

  “Miss Taylor?” Benjamin asks.

  “Oh sorry, I’m in my own little world today. Um, yes, a message. Can you please let him know his vehicle will be ready at three o’clock? Thanks, Benjamin.” I huff at my stupidity.

  “Sure, Miss Taylor, I’ll pass on your message. Have a great day!”

  “You too, Benjamin.”

  “Goodbye, Miss Taylor.” He hangs up the phone.

  I put my head into my hands and shake my head. “You’re so lame,” I say to myself.

  I take in a deep breath and continue on with my work. I keep looking at the clock, and again, it seems to be going so slow. I’m actually sure it’s going backward. Eventually it’s lunchtime, and the alarm sounds at twelve thirty. I jump up and head out to the kitchen. Looking into the fridge, I grab a baguette and a can of Sunkist. Before I know it, the ritualistic slap on the ass happens. I laugh as I jump like always.

  “Ouch! You could be a little gentler when you beat me up, you know,” I say, laughing.

  “Sorry, Jeni, is this better?” Tim then taps me on the ass with his pointer finger.

  “Much, thank you.” All the guys laugh.

  “You know I’m going to slap you again tomorrow, don’t you?” he asks with a flirtatious smile.

  “Oh, no, you won’t,” I say back, smiling. Tim frowns.

  I walk toward the door.

  “It’s Saturday tomorrow, you moron!” Mark announces as he slaps Tim across the head.

  “See, I told ya,” I say as they laugh. Tim huffs as he crosses his arms. He definitely doesn’t like being made fun of. Mark grabs his shoulders and shakes him.

  “You big baby,” he
says while we’re all still laughing.

  I walk out as they get on with their lunch.

  I head back to my desk, sit down, and start my lunch. I pull out my cell phone to see if there are any messages, and as I suspect, there are none. I finish my lunch in peace and quiet for the second time this week. “It’s a miracle.” I look up at the clock. Twelve fifty p.m.

  “Hmm,” I hum to myself, disappointed. Over the next couple of hours, customers pick up their cars, I process their payments, and they leave. The last lady comments on my flowers.

  “They’re exquisite, for any reason in particular?” she asks.

  “They’re from a customer.” I’m not lying, just stretching the truth.

  “Oh how lovely.”

  I look up at the clock. Two forty nine p.m. I go to the bathroom, adjust my hair, and add a little extra mascara. I take hold of the basin and breathe deeply.

  “Act normal,” I plead with myself in the mirror. I walk back out to the reception desk. Those pesky butterflies attack again, this time with such ferocity they knock me and I feel physically ill. I take a sip of water from the bottle on my desk and try to shake it off.

  This is ridiculous. Why am I getting worked up over one man? Just a man, nothing more and nothing less. Oh, whom am I kidding? He’s not just a man. He’s a supermodel with all the charm and poise, like no other man I’ve seen before. I try to pull myself together. I look out the full-length window and see the same chauffeured vehicle pull up as the one Aiden got into when he dropped off the Aston Martin. I hold my breath. A man in a suit with a hat steps out of the driver’s side and opens the rear passenger door. I stand up from my chair to get a better look. Another man steps out of the vehicle. He has on a pinstriped suit. He looks skinnier than I remembered. The man turns around, and I see that it’s not him. It’s someone else entirely. I huff and sit back down, feeling a little confused. The man comes into the reception area and walks up to the desk. He’s a very good-looking young man. Well groomed with black spiked hair; he looks somewhat feminine in appearance.