CHAPTER NINE

Phoebe woke up in the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in since ever, and it was quick to bring back memories of another bed that had been just as comfortable. Phoebe sprang out of bed as she remembered Jamie.

'That bastard has a lot of explaining to do."

Phoebe looked down and saw that thankfully, she was still dressed in her own clothes. If she was going to confront the world's hottest man, she wouldn't want to do it while looking like she's homeless. So, she jumped in the shower and bathed quickly before brushing her teeth. Opening up the closet, she found female clothes on one side. They were all her size, the shoes too. After blow-drying her hair, she put it up in a bun and wore a pair of baggy shorts and a crop top. In her haste, she just threw on the blouse, forgetting that she had to wear a bra underneath. Phoebe took one last look at herself in the mirror and went in search of Jamie.

Finding him seemed to be harder than she had imagined, seeing as she refused to ask any of the men, mainly because they were holding guns and had a spare in a holster strapped to their waistband. They lowkey terrified her.

Phoebe wasn't able to find Jamie's office but she found the kitchen instead, and as soon as the tempting aromas hit her nostrils, her stomach began to grumble. She invited herself in and found an elderly lady cooking at the stove, Phoebe took a seat at a mini dining table and that got the attention of the lady. The lady smiled as soon as her eyes fell on Phoebe.

"Good morning, sunshine. You must be Phoebe."

"Yes, I am. Good morning. Who are you?"

"Well, I am Alice, you will call me Alice. I am the cook here and I look after Master Jamie, though I see now that the job is about to be taken from my hands."

Alice smiled and it comforted and pricked Phoebe at the same time. Why would she say that?

"I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong Phoebe…I'm not taking your job, Alice. Not today, not ever."

"Are you Phoebe Whitman?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then I'm not mistaken. Though it is a job I am happy to lose, my bones are getting tired of running after that boy all these years…"

"I am not a boy, Alice. Stop feeding Phoebe all of that."

Phoebe's heart jumped into the pits of her stomach when she heard his voice, she had been looking for him but she had not expected his voice to be so sexy in the morning. When he walked past her, she could tell that he had showered, he smelt so fresh and he hadn't shaved. The slight stubble on his chin making him look much hotter. Phoebe gave herself a mental pat on the back for not swooning, instead, she busied herself with her hands on the table and chose to completely ignore him. She wanted to ask him questions but not like this, there were a lot of things he needed to explain.

"Phoebe, dear, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Whatever you prepare, Alice."

"Okay, how do oats and eggs sound?"

"Divine. Could I have some juice while I wait?"

Alice nodded and retrieved a bottle of chilled orange juice from the fridge and two glasses, depositing them on the center of the small dining table. Phoebe and Jamie reached for the orange juice, their hands brushing, Phoebe quickly pulled her hand back like she had been burned, which didn't go unnoticed by Jamie, if the scowl on his face was any indication of his feelings.

Jamie just sighed as he poured out the juice into the two glasses and pushed one across the table to Phoebe. She was still determined not to look at him, she silently picked up the glass without as much as a thank you and drained it in one gulp, sighing as the tangy, refreshing taste hit all the right spots in her body. Jamie just watched her in slight shock as she dropped the glass on the table and poured herself another glass.

"You're ignoring me now? How long do you want to do this?"

Phoebe held her tongue and thankfully Alice saved her from having to deal with his questions.

"Well, breakfast is served." Phoebe stood and helped Alice with the trays she balanced on her hands. Then she sat and began to dish out her meal.

"Oh, wow. You guys must have been really thirsty. I'll just fetch you guys another bottle and some water"

Phoebe blushed as Alice held up the almost empty bottle of orange juice, she didn't know that she was that thirsty. It was either that or she just liked how fresh and tasty the juice was. She dug into her food as Alice made her way back to the kitchen.

Silence reigned as they both had breakfast but Phoebe could feel his eyes on her, following her every movement. It would have bothered her but Phoebe was too invested in her breakfast to address it. Soon enough, she was done, she drank a glass of water and poured herself another glass of juice, this time, nursing it.

Phoebe risked a glance at Jamie and found that he had also finished his breakfast, it appeared he had finished before her. She quickly averted her eyes when she saw that he was also studying her. She drained her juice and stood up to leave.

"Don't you have questions to ask me?"

Oh, she did but that cocky, I'm-always-right grin on his face made her lift her chin and continued walking.

"I know you do, Phoebe. Why else would you have been looking for me this morning?" That got her attention, she quickly turned around and stood next to his chair.

"How did you know I was looking for you?"

"There are cameras all over this building, I get live feed to all of them. I knew when you woke up, Phoebe."

"You knew I was looking for you and you did nothing!?"

"If you really wanted to find me, you would have asked one of my men and they would have brought you to me without a second's thought but for some reason, you didn't. You can't blame me for that."

She was temporarily able to deceive herself that she was intimidated because she was standing over him. All that changed when he stood up, she found herself straining her neck to look at him.

"Come with me, we can't talk here."

Phoebe trailed behind him but rushed back to get the juice and her glass, she just felt like she was going to be needing it. Phoebe tried to memorize the way to his office but there were so many turns that she just gave up, it was no surprise to her now why she couldn't find it on her own. Jamie held open the door for her and ushered her in, she made her way over to the only sofa in the room and sat down.

Phoebe stretched her legs out on the sofa when she saw Jamie coming to take a seat beside her, Jamie sighed and pulled one of the seats in front of his desks and placed it in front of the sofa. Phoebe rolled her eyes, now he was in front of her, she was beginning to wish she had just let him sit beside her. He really was invading her personal space.

"So…"

"So…"

"Phoebe, there are things you wanted to ask me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well…"

"Oh, okay. Um…first, what is your involvement with my kidnapping?"

"I didn't kidnap you."

"I know that I saw my captor. I want to know everything. Tell me."

"You want to know everything? Including the bad ones?"

"Especially the bad ones. Before you start, what am I doing here, and how about my friends, how are they?"

"They're fine and they're safe." Jamie took a deep breath and rubbed his stubble. He couldn't escape this even if he wanted to.

"What did Lorenzo tell you?"

"A lot of things. Said you were a very bad guy, that you sold drugs and guns illegally and you were into trafficking."

Jamie swore under his breath, cursing Lorenzo in twelve different languages. He rearranged himself on the chair, placing his elbows on his knees, bringing him even closer to Phoebe.

"He's not totally wrong, Phoebe. I am not a good man, far from it. Yes, my…businesses…involve the selling of guns and drugs, but not human trafficking. Never human trafficking. That's his forte."

Phoebe released a breath she didn't even know she was holding. In a way, she was happy that he didn't do human trafficking. Drugs and guns, she could deal with but selling humans was a no-no. Why she would be bothered in the first place was beyond her, it wasn't like she had any plans of going into a relationship with him anyway.

"He also said you bailed on his daughter, humiliated him before everyone. You were supposed to marry her, why didn't you?"

"I could never marry Nikki; she is too much like her father. Wanting too much power and ruling out emotion, she will make a good mafia wife but a bad mother. I don't want that for my kids. I don't want them growing up how I did."

"Oh…"

"Was that all you wanted to ask me? I was thinking it would be more than that, and not about Nikki."

Phoebe thought so too, she had so many things on her mind since her conversation with Lorenzo but it was like she was satisfied with what she's been told.

"Um…why did you come to save me? Lorenzo told me that he would give me to you in exchange for some shipment. A very, very expensive shipment. One that you couldn't afford to lose."

"Because you're very valuable to me, Phoebe. More valuable than that shipment."

Phoebe didn't know what to make of that statement, so she made a show of chugging down her juice straight from the bottle and completely ignoring what he had said.

"Oh. Um…how about my friends, do they still live in that house? And my parents…" Jamie waved his hand dismissively.

"Your friends are fine and safe like I told you earlier. They live here now, I moved them here as soon as they recovered from the hospital. And as for your parents…you might want to call them so they don't worry."

Excitement bubbled inside Phoebe, her friends were here and they were safe and she wouldn't have to be alone in this huge house. Stuck with him.

Jamie stood and walked over to his desk, opened one of the drawers, and withdrew a phone that Phoebe immediately recognized as hers. He walked back to his seat and handed the phone over to Phoebe before sitting down in his seat.

"Call your parents. Let's get this over with."

Phoebe excitedly placed the call and her heart skipped a beat when it went through. It's been so long since she spoke to her parents. She almost felt guilty.

"Phoebe?"

"Mom. How are you?"

"Oh, honey. I'm great. But you…how are you? We tried calling you sometimes and it's always switched off. Your dad said that you must be so busy with school that you forget to charge your phone."

"Yes…that is true. So busy."

'Busy getting kidnapped and saved by hot, hunky men.'

"We were even thinking of making the trip to come to see you this weekend. You know, see how you're doing."

"Oh, no, Mom. That won't be necessary, I am completely fine. Dad was right, I've just been so busy. Besides, why would you want to do that when you should be enjoying your newly married, married life. Go on trips, go fishing. Enjoy yourselves."

"Okay, Phoebe. I think I get your point. We should live our lives and allow you to enjoy yours."

"Yes!"

There was laughter on the other end of the line and Phoebe was able to relax. At least they weren't coming to check on her. They chatted for a few more minutes and then they hung up. Phoebe held on to her phone and clumsily picked up the juice bottle, some of which emptied itself on her blouse, Phoebe swore and immediately dropped her phone after making sure it wasn't wet and replaced the cap on the bottle. Phoebe turned to ask Jamie for a napkin but found him entranced by her chest, it was then she remembered she wasn't wearing a bra.

Phoebe felt really embarrassed but she cleared her throat, finally able to get Jamie's eyes to meet hers, she stood up slowly and with as much grace as she could muster given the circumstances. She picked up her phone, her trusty juice, and hightailed it out of his office.

Yep. That was enough questions for one day.