Chapter Four

Jackson

Jackson’s hands sweated. They were sticky and hot, and he wiped them nervously on his pants the entire way down the elevator.

He hadn’t been this nervous since junior high.

Asking out women was easy. He could smile and get any woman he wanted to hop in his bed for the night with hardly any effort. However, the idea of asking Emma to marry him and have his child to save his company made him nervous.

So, halfway down to the lobby, he decided he wasn’t going to ask her directly. He was going to take her to dinner. That made his palms dry a little, but his heart still raced in his chest. She still made him nervous. She had turned him down before. She was one of the few women that consistently told him no.

He didn’t know why she said no to him. As far as he knew, she wasn’t seeing anyone, and even if she was, he was fucking Jackson Weathers. No woman said no to him. The fact that she could say no actually made him like her more. She was unobtainable.

Maybe that was why his hands shook as the elevator doors opened. Maybe that was why the butterflies in his stomach suddenly came to life. He had done hundreds of high power meetings with men and women worth billions, their entire companies on the line, and he hadn’t been this nervous.

It had to be her. Emma was special.

He took a deep breath, licked his lips, put on his smile, and walked into the coffee shop.

She was at the register counting change out for a customer. He watched her for a moment. Her dark hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail under her company hat. He’d never seen it down, yet he had a feeling it would look lovely framing her slender face and big hazel eyes.

She wasn’t model skinny, which he actually liked. She had real curves to her body that his hands ached to hold onto. She was real, which after dating hundreds of fake women, was suddenly very appealing. His hands started to shake again.

“Mr. Weathers, you’re back.” She looked up at him and her smile lit up her face. He felt warm just being with her and those damn butterflies kicked it up a notch.

“Hello, Emma,” he greeted her. His voice cracked.

“What can I get you?” she asked, ignoring his voice crack for which he was thankful. How did she make him feel like a sixteen-year-old boy just by smiling at him?

“Actually, I’d like to get you something,” he told her. He leaned casually against the counter. “I’d like to get you dinner tonight.”

“Tonight?” Her eyes went wide.

“If you’re available.” His stomach knotted waiting for her to answer.

She chewed her bottom lip for a moment. “I can’t.”

“You already have a date?” he asked. He hated that his chest tightened. Damn the man that was taking his spot.

“Kind of,” she replied. She gave him a crooked smile. “He’s one. Remember how I said I like bald, chubby, toothless guys?”

It took him a moment to understand what she was saying.

“I’m babysitting tonight,” she clarified. She blushed, putting color in her cheeks that made him wonder where else she flushed when she was nervous. “But, I’m free tomorrow.”

Hope surged in his chest and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He’d asked her out before this, so he wasn’t sure why he was struggling with this now. Asking women out was kind of his specialty.

“Tomorrow is great,” he told her. He grinned. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

She winced. “Can you do eight? I work until seven.”

Not a lot of women had the gall to change the time of a date with a billionaire, and they both knew it. She wasn’t making this easy. However, he smiled. “Eight it is. I’ll pick you up here.”

“Sure.” She looked like she wanted to say more.

“What?”

“What should I wear?” She gave a nervous laugh. “I think the nicest dress I own is acceptable for Olive Garden, and I don’t see you taking me to Olive Garden.”

“Do you want to go to Olive Garden?” he asked her. He liked that she was blushing again.

“We can,” she told him. “It just doesn’t seem your style. You seem... fancier.”

He grinned. “I am fancier,” he assured her. “How about I take care of everything? You just finish your shift, and I’ll take care of everything else.”

She frowned. “What should I wear, though?”

“I’ll take care of that,” he told her. She didn’t look convinced. “I’ll get you something. And before you say I shouldn’t, I will remind you that I am a billionaire. And kind of your boss.”

“You are not my boss,” she replied, shaking her head.

“I own the building,” he said.

“Yes, but you don’t own Coffee Shack. I work for Coffee Shack. You can’t fire me. You can kick my employer out of the building, but you can’t directly fire me. So, you’re not my boss,” she explained. He liked the way she smiled as she said it.

“Well, that’s good then,” he smiled. “I don’t have to worry about any of those pesky employee dating rules.”

She giggled and it made his chest tighten. How in the world was he still nervous? She already said yes to the date.

“Can I ask you something?” He kept leaning on the counter, trying to keep playing it cool. “I’ve asked you out before. Why did you say yes this time?”

She shrugged. “Because this time you meant it.”

Her answer threw him off guard. Where normally he would have been able to hold a smile, he was unable to this time. “I meant it every time.”

She shook her head slightly. “Not like this. This time you’re actually asking me. It’s different somehow this time. You mean it.”

She had no idea how right she was. “I’m glad you said yes,” he told her.

She grinned. “Me too.”

“So, I’ll pick you up here tomorrow at eight. Be ready for the time of your life,” he told her. He was already thinking of the best way to get her to like him. He was going to show her a great time so she’d want to say yes to his proposal to marry him and have his baby.

“Okay.” She grinned and hugged her arms to her body. “That sounds great.”

He flashed her his best smile and walked out of the coffee shop feeling like he’d just won the lottery. She had said yes. He felt like jumping into the air and shouting, but decided to just walk calmly to the elevator since he knew she was watching.

He grinned the whole way up. This was going to work.

***

Emma

The clock read 6:58. She only had two minutes left of work and then she had no idea what was going to happen next. She was supposed to go on a date with billionaire Jackson Weathers in an hour, but she had no idea where they were going, what they were doing, or what she was supposed to wear.

She’d packed a small backpack with a cute little black dress, but she wasn’t sure it was going to work if he wanted to take her somewhere nice. She looked down at her khaki pants to see a new coffee stain. There was no way she could wear her work outfit anywhere.

“Excuse me, are you Miss Emma Sheridan?”

A man in a dark brown suit stood at the front of the coffee shop. Everything about him was thin and nervous looking from his brown suit to his wispy brown hair.

“That’s me,” Emma told him, coming out from behind the counter. The clock tripped over to seven.

“My name is Thad Romero,” the man told her. He smoothed the top of his thinning hair. “I’m here to help you dress.”

Emma blinked twice. No one had helped dress her since she was five years old and couldn’t get the buttons straight on her sweaters. “Excuse me?”

“Mr. Weathers has instructed me to help you pick out something appropriate for this evening,” the man explained. “If you’ll come with me, we can begin.”

Emma stood still for a moment before remembering that Mr. Weathers had said he would take care of everything. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but this certainly wasn’t it. With a shrug, she followed this thin man out into the main building.

He walked quickly and efficiently to the elevator, holding the door open for her and then pressing the button to the thirty-third floor. As the doors closed and the elevator began moving, he put his hands on Emma’s shoulders and moved her to the center of the elevator.

“The light is not ideal in here, but we are pressed for time,” he told her as he circled around her, examining her like a hungry shark. He reached up and took her chin in his hand, studying her face. “Hazel eyes? The greens then.”

Emma just stared at him, unsure of what she’d gotten herself into. When the elevator door opened, the man hurried out into the hallway and was halfway to a door when he turned around.

“Well? Hurry up, we don’t have much time,” the man said, holding open a door and motioning impatiently.

Emma shook herself and quickly followed him. The door looked like it should lead to a conference room, but instead of an over-sized table and chairs, there were racks of clothing. She glanced around and saw two women waiting at a full makeup counter, complete with the movie-set lights.

“This is Claire and Shana,” Thad explained, pushing her into the room. “They’re here to do your hair and makeup once I’ve fitted you. Come stand here, please.”

Thad had her stand on a small stool. He pulled out a tape measure and quickly measured her hips, waist and bust with speed and accuracy. He kept muttering the numbers and looking around as he thought.

Suddenly, he paused and smiled. “It’s perfect.”

“What’s perfect?” Emma asked, but he didn’t answer her.

Instead, he dove into a rack of clothing and sorted through it until coming to a specific hanger. He pulled it out and smiled at her.

“I’ll have this ready in just a few moments,” he told her. “If you’ll please go to Claire, she’ll get you started. Claire? Half up-do, please.”

The taller woman in the corner stepped forward and smiled. “Please sit. I’m going to do your hair. Shana will do your makeup. Do you have any allergies or specific requests?”

“Um, no allergies,” Emma replied. “I guess my only request is a more natural look.”

“Oh, with your skin, that will be perfect,” Shana told her. “You’re going to look like a million dollars.”

“Okay.” Emma wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, but she was willing to go with it. Apparently, she was getting a dress, hair, and makeup to go out with Mr. Weathers. When he said he would take care of things, he meant it.

Shana and Claire talked between themselves as they worked. It was the same comforting talk Emma had heard in every beauty parlor and hair salon her whole life and she found it soothing. It was all gossip and interesting tidbits of other people’s lives.

“I probably shouldn’t say this, given that he’s paying us, but did you see the website?” Shana asked. Emma looked up at her curious.

“What website?” she asked.

“It’s called the ‘Bedpost’ and people can make notches on celebrities’ bedposts. You know, if you sleep with them,” Shana explained. “A lot of them are unsubstantiated, but you should see Jackson Weathers. It’s a lot.”

“Yeah?” Emma felt her stomach twist a little. She didn’t like thinking of Mr. Weathers like that.

“You know what, don’t look it up until after your date, sweetie,” Claire advised. “Have fun with him, but be warned. The man is a heart-breaker.”

“What makes you say that?” Emma asked. Claire clicked her curling iron into place in Emma’s dark hair.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve done this for him,” Claire told her. “We don’t do it often, so you should definitely feel special. But, you’re not the first and you won’t be the last.”

“This is something he only does for girls he really trying to impress,” Shana added.

“Oh?” Emma’s stomach twisted a little more.

Shana nodded. “My advice? Enjoy every minute. The guy is loaded and he knows how to spend. Just don’t expect him to call you tomorrow.”

“Oh, I didn’t,” Emma assured the two women.

“You’re sweet,” Claire told her. “We’re only telling you this so you don’t get your heart broken. He’s not a long-term kind of guy.”

Emma nodded. “I kind of figured that. He seems like a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy.”

“Very,” Shana assured her. She pulled back and smiled. “Perfect. What do you think?”

Shana held up a small handheld mirror for Emma to inspect her makeup work. Emma gasped. She looked like a movie star. Her eyes were bigger and brighter, her skin flawless and somehow, Shana had even gotten her nose to look a little smaller.

“Shana’s the best,” Claire agreed. “I’ll be done in two minutes, Thad.”

“Good,” Thad said, coming up behind them. “We only have five minutes to finish.”

Claire finished pinning the curls to Emma’s head, humming and fixing as she went until she smiled. “Perfect.”

With that, Thad hustled Emma over and into a changing area. He handed her a dress made of green satin.

“Take everything off. And I do mean everything. Underwear will show under this dress.” He motioned her into the changing area without letting her say a word in protest. “Step into the dress, please. Not over-head or you’ll mess up your hair.”

Emma looked around at the curtains for a second before stripping down. She folded her clothes into a neat pile on the floor next to her, feeling exposed as she stepped into the dress. The satin was cold against her skin as she shimmied it up her legs and over her chest. She slid her arms into the delicate shoulders straps and pulled the dress up.

Thad pulled back the curtain and zipped her up before she had a chance to even call him. The zipper went up like butter, but it fit her every curve.

“Good,” Thad said, checking her form. “Some simple shoes and you’ll be ready. And right on time, too.”

He pulled her out into the main room again and handed her a pair of green strappy heels that matched the dress. Bowing before her, he helped her put them on.

It was then that she saw herself in the mirror and gasped.

The dress was amazing. The hair was amazing. The makeup was amazing. She looked like a princess in a fairy tale about to meet her Prince Charming at the ball. The emerald green of the dress brought out the green in her eyes and the darkness of her hair. Soft curls of her hair fell like perfect paint strokes to complement everything.

She didn’t know that she could look this beautiful.

“You clean up nicely,” Shana told her, smiling at her from across the room.

“We’re late,” Thad announced, taking her hand and pulling her to the door. “Mr. Weathers is expecting you now.”

With that he hurried her out of the room as she shouted thanks to Claire and Shana. It was on the ride down the elevator that her stomach started to unravel. She was nervous now. She had been fine until she thought about Mr. Weathers seeing her like this.

He’d only ever seen her with her hair up in a ponytail and hidden under a hat. She’d never worn a dress around him, let alone a ball gown. Khaki pants, black polo shirt, and a green apron were the only thing he’d ever seen her in.

The idea of suddenly being beautiful in front of the man she loved to flirt with was suddenly very daunting. When the elevator doors opened, she couldn’t move. She was frozen.

“Come on,” Thad said gently, taking her hand and pulling her into the empty lobby.

Her heels clicked on the marble floors as she held up the hem of her dress and walked to the coffee shop. It felt ridiculous to be this dressed up and going to the shop, but since that was where he was meeting her, that’s where she went.

With only a few steps left to go, Thad jumped out in front of her and made sure everything was perfect. He smoothed a flyaway hair from her face and adjusted the collar on her dress to lay flat.

“You look like a princess,” he told her with a thin smile. “Have fun and don’t worry about the dress. Mr. Weathers already paid for it. Same with the shoes.”

He did one final check before moving out of the way and letting her finish walking to the coffee shop.

Emma swallowed hard. She knew she didn’t have a reason to be nervous, but the butterflies were still mambo-ing around in her stomach like there was no tomorrow. She’d had hundreds of conversations with Mr. Weathers. She knew that she would have a wonderful time tonight, and yet for some reason her heart was pounding and her mouth suddenly went dry.

“Wow,” she heard a voice say behind her...