CHAPTER 65

JORDAN.

I SILENTLY CURSED ALL THE DECISIONS THAT LED ME UP TO THIS MOMENT.

Taylor shrieked and let go of me as Melanie’s coffee landed on her shirt and looked at Melanie like she was something scraped from under her thousand-dollar Louboutin heels.

I quickly noted that I’d avoided most of the damage and walked over to Melanie and patted her back as she coughed and spluttered none too gracefully. With my other hand I grabbed a nearby bottle of water and handed it to her. In case it wasn’t obvious already, I didn’t like this situation. At all.

“You stupid bitch, you ruined my shirt. And it’s new! Jordie, fire her!” said Taylor in the voice I once thought was alluring but now grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. She was flapping her arms about like a distressed duck, probably due to the hotness of the coffee.

Melanie finally got herself under control, “Whoops.” She rasped and chugged more water.

Taylor stared at her in disbelief, “Whoops? That’s all you have to say? This shirt costs more than your paycheck for the month, you coffee drinking lowlife!” she shrieked again.

Melanie jerked back and gave her a stare. I thought Taylor had finally gone too far until she spoke.

“Whoa. Have some respect for the coffee, it didn’t do anything” Melanie said, somehow managing to find humor when faced with the train wreck that was Taylor Anderson. She pulled on a polite professional mask and reached for some paper towels, offering them to Taylor.

“My sincerest apologies, miss. It was an accident.”

I tensed as Taylor smacked the paper towels out of her hand like the brat she was, wondering what Melanie would do next. Rosa had dealt with Taylor for a long time and had built a thick skin to deal with her personality while still bonding with her. Melanie, however, didn’t look like the bonding type.

Melanie just looked down at the paper towels, then shrugged and went to make herself a fresh cup of coffee. I bit back a smile when Taylor’s eyes bugged out like she couldn’t quite believe she was being ignored.

Before she could explode and I be blamed for standing by, I resigned myself to my fate and confronted her.

“Taylor, what are you doing here?” Her demeanor changed instantly. She went from burning mad to smiling like the saint the tabloids thought she was.

“We need to talk, Jordie bear, but can you get her out of the room first?”

I shook my head even as I cringed inwardly at the nickname, suddenly overcome with a strong desire to not be left alone in the same room with Taylor.

“Whatever you want to say can be said in front of Melanie”, I replied.

Melanie shrugged and grabbed her coffee, “It’s fine. I was going to dip out anyways.”

Without thinking, I grabbed her arm. She gave me a startled look.

“No. You’re staying”, I insisted slowly, making sure she realized it was a plea rather than the order it sounded like. She must’ve gotten it, because she shrugged again and went to sit on her chair, bringing her legs up on the desk and crossing them.

When my eyes had finished tracing the length of Melanie’s long legs clad in wool, they returned back to Taylor’s expertly made-up face. She was staring back and forth at Melanie and I with her eyes narrowed. Failing to connect any dots, or to believe in the dots she had connected, she stepped up to me and ran a hand down my arm.

“I haven’t seen you in a while and you haven’t returned my calls either. I had to come and check on you because the only reason why you would ignore me is if something happened, right?” she smiled winningly.

I resisted the urge to dunk the arm she had just touched in a vat of hot water and scrub it vigorously, surprising even myself. Not too long ago, I’d considered her a very sexy woman.

Now I wished I was anywhere but here, even back at that pig farm in Scandinavia where Blaine and I had almost been lunch.

Melanie let out a cough that sounded a lot like “Take a hint” but when we turned to her she was very intently focused on the screen of her computer.

“I’ve been busy. Besides, you’re quite aware of the terms of our arrangement. I see no reason why you should be checking up on me”, I replied Taylor.

Taylor and I had met two weeks after Imelda and I broke up when her father had brought her along to a convention with the hopes of getting her interested in his import and export business.

The only thing Taylor had ended up taking an interest in during those three days was me and we spent a good amount of that time in my bed. At the end of the convention I’d told her point blank that I wasn’t interested in a relationship, not then or at any other time. She’d shrugged it off, said she wasn’t looking for anything serious either and came up with the just sex agreement.

I’d spent a good amount of time making sure she understood and I’d thought she did so I agreed, even though she wasn’t the quickest arrow in the quiver. The sex was good and that was it. But in the last few months she’d been getting clingy even before I cut her off, calling and asking where I was, demanding my presence and insisting I stay and have pillow talk after or resorting to tears when she didn’t get what she

wanted, though I’d walked out the door the first time she tried it and we haven’t been in contact since.

Taylor said nothing, staring at me with her pretty blue eyes.

“Don’t hurt my feelings in front of the hired help, Jordan”, she finally spoke, her voice dropping a few decibels lower than her usual tone.

I arched my brow at the sudden switch and the glint in her eye but stood my ground.

“That’s the issue, Taylor. There shouldn’t be any feelings. We talked about this.”

“But-”, she started and I interrupted with a sigh.

“You shouldn’t be here. Go home. I’ll call a cab for you”, I said and started to walk away.

“But I don’t have anywhere to go”, she called after me.

“You have friends everywhere. I’m sure you can figure something out”, I replied over my shoulder.

I picked up the document I was going to give Melanie before I saw Taylor and started towards Melanie, who was staring at Taylor behind me with a strange expression.

“Jordan, I’m serious. I don’t have anywhere to go”, Taylor enunciated and something in her tone made me pause. She didn’t sound wheedling or manipulative like she did when she wanted. In fact, I’d never heard her sound this way before, and I’ve learned from past experience never to ignore anything.

I sighed and closed my eyes, knowing I was going to regret my next statement. Knowing Melanie would flay me alive if she could, knowing Blaine was going to give me absolute hell for it.

“Fine. You can stay with me temporarily. Melanie will take you when she deems it convenient.”