2 Leftovers

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts of that horrible time in my life, that I prefer not to think about. I still have the scars on the back of my legs from my fathers belt buckle taking a chunk from my flesh that later became infected and put me in the hospital, thanks to the school nurse after I passed out in class a week later. I set my jaw and get to work, straightening out my thoughts and focusing on getting the job done for the day.

Thirty minutes later, I have my secretary ringing me. "Melita, you have a call from Mr. Morgan on line one."

"Thank you." I tell her, before taking a deep breath and releasing it.

"This is Ms. Xenos." I say as professionally and polite as possible.

"Hello, Melita. I spoke to my lawyers and I would like to go over some of the finer details of the contract with you, just so we're clear before we hear the other proposals. Are you free for dinner tonight?" His voice is like smooth bourbon, causing a warm and comfortable warmth in my stomach. I shake my head at myself.

"Give me a moment, let me check my schedule." I pull up my schedule, it's free, I knew it was clear, but I act like I'll be working him in.

"Well, I won't be free till after seven, Mr. Morgan. Is that time convenient for you?" I try to seem easy going about it, remembering that I needed to seal this deal.

"Seven works with me. Shall I send a car to pick you up?" He asks.

"That's very kind of you, Mr. Morgan. I'll be at..." I give him the address of my townhome, which I was quite proud of. It's in an excellent area of town and I owned it out right. I did not particularly want to give him my home address, but I had given it to previous companies we had worked with, so...

"Alright, then, I'll see you at seven." We hang up and I'm stressing. Over the phone it was easy to hide my emotions, I'm going to have to work to deserve an Oscar, Emmy, and Academy Award after all is said and done.

I get an idea, calling Eric immediately. "Yes, Ms. Xenos?"

"Mr. Morgan just called we have arranged a dinner meeting tonight. May I go and prepare for this dinner and have my team email me the contract after the necessary changes are made?" I ask tentatively.

"Prepare, Ms. Xenos?" Of course he wants me to clarify.

I clear my throat, "You want me to secure this deal, I need an appropriate outfit that will help keep his mind distracted. Enticing him to return, while remaining respectable and representing the company. Something I can play with, Sir."

Eric laughs, "See this is why I knew you were right for the job. The determination and refusal to back down in the face of a challenge, Ms. Xenos. You may leave and take the company card. We'll pay for it."

"Thank you, sir."

A few hours later, I'm looking over the contract my team had sent me, waiting for the car to arrive to pick me up. I wore a classic, dark navy blue, notched collar dress, with buttons securing the material in place like an asymmetrical coat, with a loose fitting belt at my waist to accentuate it. I was wearing two inch heels, which are manageable for me for longer periods of time than the three's I almost went with. My wavy mahogany hair was up in an elegant bun with strands strategically pulled and curled to give me a softer look. I had my diamond studs in along with a simple diamond necklace that hung perfectly above my cleavage. It drew the eye without being too obvious. I knew I looked good and if I had to flirt to get him to choose our contract out of the others, I would.

It didn't hurt that Jacks had grown into a damn good looking man.

I check my ego in that moment. Hell, I may not even be his type. He's probably one of those millionaire playboys who sleeps with super models regularly on the weekend and sends them home before he goes to bed.

I could imagine him too, with those firm muscles that his suit couldn't hide. I wonder if he has any hair on his chest?

"Mmmm...." The sound escapes me as I think of what he looks like with out his shirt on. He had definitely filled out since his early teen years of being tall and lanky.

"Wait. What the fuck am I doing?" I ask myself out loud. Did I really just drool over Jackson Morgan like a love struck teen? After he betrayed me like that? He promised he'd protect me. I trusted him to be there and he wasn't. I need to remember that. He could do the same thing again with this contract too.

Shit. I didn't consider that.

There's a knock on my door so I quickly place the contract back into the folder and grab my coat and purse on the chair next to me. I hear another knock as I make my way to the door.

Wow. Impatient driver, aren't we? I can't help but think.

I open the door as I'm pulling my keys out to lock my door, "Good eve..."

It's not a driver, it's Jackson who's come to pick me up. He looks much more relaxed than earlier, in black dress pants and a gray button up dress shirt that shows off his toned physique and no tie. He looks like sex on a stick and the shock has me dropping my keys on the ground.

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Morgan. I was not expecting you personally to be the one picking me up." I try to brush off my embarrassment, before bending my knees to pick up my keys. He bends down with me and grabs them first, before he offers them to me.

"Please Lita, you may call me Jacks. We're not complete strangers after all." He smiles and I swear my heart does backflips with how handsome he is, but also reminds me of that gangly teen I remember.

Who didn't keep his promise.

That sobers me up and I return the smile and take my keys.

"Thank you Jackson." I lock my house up before we head to the car.

He opens the passenger door of the Maserati MC 20 which has me batting my eyes in surprise. He closes the door for me and climbs in and starts the car. It roars to life and we leave my place. We ride in silence except for the low play of music over the sound system. I shift my legs, knowingly exposing my garter belt, but act like I don't notice it. From the corner of my eye though, I know he notices.

"So that's your home?" Jacks finally breaks the silence and I internally roll my eyes at the question.

"Yes, I bought it a few years ago now. I loved the neighborhood. Very quiet for here in the city." I reply, not sure where he wanted to go with the conversation.

"It is in a highly desired area. You must have had to bid a pretty penny for the place." He states and I nod in agreement.

"I did. It helps when you have a blank bank check for the transaction though." I smile remembering when I was able to use that to my advantage to win the bid.

"I'm happy to hear you've done well for yourself." he says somewhat solemnly. His dark eyes growing darker even in the glow of streetlights that illuminate the inside.

"Yes, well I have had to work hard for it, but it's paid off." I pull on the hem of my skirt, trying to cover my legs a little more and cover my garter. I clear my throat, "It's also nice to see you've done well for yourself too."

He gives me easy smile and I have to swallow hard to battle the butterflies again. I repeat in my mind what he did to me though. He promised, he wasn't there and I carry the scars of that night still to this day. Scars that my last relationship saw and felt I had some heavy baggage that they couldn't handle.... Good riddance. He was just a distraction from my goals anyways.

We arrive at the restaurant and the hostess warmly greets Jackson as Mr. Morgan and we're taken to a circular booth. A waiter appears momentarily and opens a bottle of white and red wine for us to sample.

"I don't drink when I'm working. Coffee and a water will be fine, thank you." I tell the waiter before he pours me a glass. The waiter nods and pours the glass of red for Jackson and leaves to bring me my drinks. I open the folder and pull out my notepad and pen to make my notes on and catch Jackson watching me.

"Shall we begin, Mr. Morgan?" I ask him, giving him a light smile.

He sighs, taking a sip of his wine, before scooting closer to me and pulling the contract closer to look at. My coffee and tea arrive and the waiter sets down appetizers down as well.

Jackson sets the contract down and plates a few of the appetizers on two of the plates and hands me one. "Here you are. I hope you don't mind, I preordered our meals, otherwise, tonight is chefs choice. Which would have been a mushroom dish and if I remember correctly, you don't like mushrooms."

I blink, my jaw drops open, but I quickly close it. "Yes, thank you. Your memory is correct." He actually remembered that? How.... touching. Then he should remember what he promised all those years ago. That puts my mind back on track.

I do my best to keep the steel out of my gaze and take a sip of my coffee. I look at the appetizer, a crusty bread drizzled in a pesto topped with grilled julienned peppers and cheese. I pick one up and take a bite, unable to hold back the little sound of pleasure that escapes me when the rush of flavor hits my palette.

"I'm glad you're enjoying what I chose so far." Jackson smiles, taking a bite of his too.

A bit of pesto sticks to his lips and I smirk, remembering when we were young how he had brought me a gas station pizza for my birthday and I shared it with him. We had not had a lot of food at the time, because my mother had been stealing the money. When he asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I had drooled at the thought of pizza, he had found a way to buy me one.

I wanted to eat the whole thing to myself but he had been kind enough to get it for me. I didn't even hear happy birthday from my parents anymore at that time, much less receive a present.

"Here Jacks. This is your half." I handed the two pieces of the small pizza in the top half of the box in our little clubhouse and had my two pieces in the bottom.

"No, it's your birthday present, Lita." He said, smiling and shaking his head.

"Exactly. So I choose what to do with it and I want to share it with you." I then held up one of the pieces to his mouth for him to take a bite, which he did with a roll of his eyes. When we had finished eating the pizza, he had a piece of an herb from the sauce on the corner of his lips.

"Jacks, you should learn how to put all your food in your mouth." I told him, pointing to the spot.

He just smiled and licked it off his lips, "It's just leftovers Lita." We both laughed at the absurdity of the statement.

I clear my throat and shake my head, "I see you still have yet to learn how to put all your food in your mouth." The words flew out of my mouth before I even thought about it. I cover my mouth, shocked and blush about to apologize when Jackson merely laughs a deep, attractive sound that's not loud but genuine.

"It's just leftovers Lita." He then licks his lips and I can't help but watch his tongue dart over his lips. It's sensual and it may just be me, but he seems to move it slowly. I pick up my coffee and take another sip, knowing my cheeks are reddening. I clear my throat again and remember I'm here to work.