Totally Worth It, page 10
Walking back to their parking space, Jesse checked her phone. “Fabulous. Nick can meet at five o’clock.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s four twenty-five now. So that’ll work. I’m going to text him back. Is that okay? I mean are you in a rush to get back or anything?”
“Nope. It’s fine.” Lexi was thrilled to extend her time with Jesse. “Where are we meeting him?”
“The Banana Warehouse.”
“The boy bar?” Lexi did not expect to hear that.
Jesse smiled and rolled her eyes. “Yes, Lexi. Nick is gay, just like us.” She laughed as she pressed the button to unlock the car doors. Climbing into the truck, Jesse was half laughing to herself. “So a few things about Nick Decker. He and I have known each other for about fifteen years. He abuses me relentlessly. He’s gay but very straight looking and straight acting. I’m telling you this so you don’t get confused—I remember the whole jaw-dropping incident with Lucy Weston,” Jesse teased.
“Never gonna let me live it down, huh?”
“Never.” Jesse shook her head, smiling from ear to ear.
*
Jesse filled Nick in on Lucy Weston’s case. He nodded as she spoke, interrupting her only once to tell her that he knew of Dani Calhoun from his days in vice. He added that she was kind of a rising star, no-nonsense and very well liked by the guys, clarifying that to mean the guys she supervised. It was well known that she was a lesbian, not that that deterred too many from giving it the old college try.
Nick assured them both that he would reach out to his buddies and see what he could find out. Then the conversation turned social as the three of them sat together at the bar. Jesse and Nick teased each other ruthlessly about everything from age to work to relationships. Just as they were getting ready to go, Jesse took one last opportunity to call Nick out.
“Really, Nick, when are you going to settle down with one of these lucky guys?” Jesse gestured openly toward the bar, which was starting to fill.
“In a few hours, probably.” He laughed at his own joke. “What about you? You with anybody?”
Jesse took a sip of her drink, and as she swallowed, she squinted one eye, cocking her head to the side, and shrugged a little. It was such a non-answer that even Nick seemed uncertain. He subtly shifted his eyes toward Lexi, asking if it was her. Jesse answered with a furrow of her brow and a brief shake of her head. She hoped Lexi didn’t pick up the exchange. “Anyway, we should probably get going.” Jesse finished her drink and clapped Nick on the shoulder. Looking around she added, “Clear the path for the circling sharks.”
Lexi excused herself for a minute to use the ladies’ room, and as she walked away, Nick watched Jesse’s eyes follow her the entire length of the bar. He interrupted her stare as soon as Lexi was out of sight.
“Seriously, you’re not hitting that?”
Jesse rolled her eyes at him. “Nick, she’s my intern,” she responded as if that were a full explanation.
“Even better. Sexy and transient. Sounds right up your alley.”
Jesse shook him off. “It’s different. She’s different. Amazing, actually.” She heard how she sounded, and she tried to keep her voice even. “You know, smart, hardworking, eager to learn.”
“Terrible qualities,” he teased.
“She’s just—” She swallowed the end of her sentence trying to regroup. “She has a lot of potential.”
“She’s also young and pretty, with fantastic tits.”
“Since when do you care about girls’ chests?” Jesse joked, but her tone was off and Nick noticed.
“I don’t,” he quipped. “But I think the better question is, since when don’t you?” His square jaw hung open a little as he waited for an answer.
“Look, she’s sweet and beautiful, yes.” Jesse peered into her beer hoping for one last sip. “And, well you’ve met her, she’s completely unaffected and intelligent. And adorable.” She shrugged dismissively attempting to make light of her words.
Nick called her bluff. “Nice try, honey.” He spoke directly to her even as he scanned the crowd over her shoulder. “Sorry, Jess, but I’ve known you a long time. This is exactly the type of girl you try to nail all the time. Usually do, if I’m not mistaken.”
“Not this girl.” She turned to see what young stud had caught his attention as she continued. “This isn’t the girl you nail. This is the girl you marry.”
She turned back and looked up at Nick finding him wide-eyed, mouth open. He puffed his chest out and put his hands up dramatically. In the most flamboyant voice he could muster, he said, “Holy. Shit.” With one finger he poked Jesse in the chest, emphasizing each word. “You fucking love her.” He smiled. “Don’t even deny it, girl.”
Jesse was about to talk, but Nick moved his finger, strategically placing it over her mouth as Lexi rejoined them. Jesse turned to her. “Ready to go?” she asked quickly, but it was more of a statement than a question, so Lexi just nodded.
“Okay. I’ll let you know what I come up with on that other thing,” Nick said. “It was nice meeting you, Lexi the intern.” He hugged Jesse and said in her ear, “That’s an idea. An intern. Maybe I’ll get myself an intern. I’m going to start interviewing right now.”
Jesse bit her bottom lip as she punched his biceps, and she wondered if Lexi could see that her boss was blushing.
*
As they headed back to the car, their heads down against the crisp wind, Jesse spoke first. “You going to the party tonight?”
“Yeah. You?”
Jesse nodded a yes as her breath escaped in a cloud, visible against the cold. She glanced at her phone. “Wow. I didn’t realize how late it was. No wonder I’m starving.”
“I know, me too,” Lexi responded, if only to keep the conversation going.
“Oh my God, I didn’t even let you eat today. Come on, I’ll buy you dinner before the party. There’s a cute little Italian place three blocks over.” Jesse’s tone was so enthusiastic that it almost seemed like Lexi didn’t have a choice, not that she wanted to say no. But as she was about to respond, Jesse cut her off. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to assume. You probably have plans with your friends or your, uh, girlfriend.” She sounded flustered. It was adorable.
“No, it’s fine. Let’s eat.” Lexi’s mind was made up the minute the offer had been made. It was still early, and if she was starting to cut it close, she would simply text Julie and the girls that she was running late.
Half an hour later, warmed up at a cozy table for two by the fire, they sipped red wine and rehashed the day together. Lexi had been nervous that they would run out of things to talk about, but the conversation flowed easily between work and non-work topics. When the waiter set down their entrees, Jesse swirled the linguine around her fork and asked breezily, as though they were old acquaintances, “So, Lex, what’s on the agenda for Christmas?”
Lexi took it in stride. “Well, Christmas Eve, we go to my grandparents’ in Brooklyn. My aunts and uncles and cousins will all be there, so it’s pretty big. We do the whole Italian fish thing. And then on Christmas Day, we’ll just stay home. Have a big breakfast, open presents.”
“Sounds nice.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty great. What about you?” Lexi looked down, mixing her Caesar salad around.
“I’m going up to Cape Cod. My family has a house out there, so we do Christmas there every year. I was toying with heading up there tonight. Sometimes I like to get there ahead of everyone. Enjoy the quiet before the storm, so to speak.”
“So, you’re going?”
“Nah, too late. I’ll stop by the party for a bit and then head out in the morning. Christmas isn’t for a few more days. My brothers won’t be there until Christmas Eve anyway. I’ll have some down time still.”
“Do you have a big family?” Lexi asked between bites.
“Three brothers. And my parents, of course. So that’s kind of big, I guess, by today’s standards.”
“Same as mine.” Lexi took a sip of her wine.
Jesse paused. “Sure, yeah. Four kids. I guess it is sort of the same.” She raised her eyebrows. “Except I don’t have any sisters. And my parents aren’t gay.” She squinted one eye closed. “At least, I seriously doubt it.”
Lexi laughed. “What are they like?”
“Who, my parents?” Jesse seemed taken aback by Lexi’s curiosity.
Lexi hoped she wasn’t crossing the line, but the way their back and forth was so seamless, it felt like a natural thing to ask. “Yeah. Your parents, your brothers. Tell me about them.”
If Jesse was put off, she didn’t show it. “Okay.” She thought about it for one second before continuing. “I’m closest with my youngest brother, Justin. He and I talk all the time. I see him a lot when I go up there.” She fiddled with a crust of bread on her plate as she continued. “Which I do a lot.” She reflected on it for a moment like she was unsure what to say next. “I grew up right outside of Boston. They all still live there. It was like I defected when I moved down here after law school. Now when I go back, I mostly just go to the house at the Cape. I love it there.”
“They were mad when you moved to New York?”
“I think more disappointed than anything. See, my dad is a real-estate developer. He has a pretty successful business, and I think he always figured that I would use my degree to join his company. I don’t know why he thought that,” Jesse stated definitively. “I was always very clear about what kind of law I wanted to practice.” She shook her head. “But my older brother, John, joined the company right after he finished school, so I guess my dad thought I would do the same.” She leaned back in her chair. “A few years ago my middle brother, Jake, he’s also an attorney, he finally joined the business too, so Dad relaxed after that.”
Lexi took a long blink, then held up one hand, signaling to Jesse to stop her narrative. “Hold on a second. Do all of your names begin with J?”
Jesse looked down and laughed her deep, sexy laugh. “Yes, they do.” She rolled her eyes. “Not my mom. But the rest of us. All Js. So cheesy.” She finished with a smile, adding, “One more Ducane tradition I will not be subjecting my own children to.”
Lexi coughed to cover her surprise that Jesse had just mentioned having kids, then swished her hand and apologized for the interruption. “Sorry. You may continue,” she said, giving the floor back to Jesse.
“That’s okay. I actually have a question for you, since we’re talking about names.”
“Yeah?”
“How come you’re Lexi Russo and not Russo-Markowski or the other way around?”
Lexi was impressed that Jesse remembered Marnie’s last name. “Good question. Really, it’s just because Chris had me, I mean actually gave birth to me, and that’s what they put on the birth certificate. Marnie had my sister and my brothers, so they’re all Markowskis. My moms always said a name is just a name. Doesn’t make you family. Thank God, though. Russo-Markowski, that’s definitely not fitting on any forms.”
Jesse smiled at Lexi’s response. Smiling back, Lexi spoke again. “So, back to you. How come you didn’t want to work with your dad?” Lexi was halfway through her wine and she could feel it relaxing her nerves, giving her the confidence to ask the questions she was dying to know the answers to.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to work with him. I just had my own ideas of what I wanted to do.”
“Moving to New York, you mean?”
“Well, that’s part of it.”
“And the other parts?” Lexi pressed her lightly.
“Look at you, trying to get my life story in one night,” Jesse teased. “You’re not writing my unauthorized biography, are you?”
Lexi was immediately embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
“I’m just kidding, Lex.” Jesse reached out and momentarily laid her hand on top of Lexi’s reassuringly before withdrawing it just as quickly. “I met Laney when we were at Wellesley. Even though she’s two years ahead of me, we hit it off right away. Ultimately, I followed her to Harvard for law school. Somewhere along the way, we hatched the idea for Stanton Ducane. She’s from New York anyway, and by then I had heard about Bay West. I was sold before ever stepping foot inside the grounds.”
“You started the firm right away?” Lexi had always been impressed by Jesse’s easy success, even more so now, as she was struggling to line up her own interviews.
“Not right away.” Jesse shook her head. “Laney got a job with the district attorney’s office, then she got me in there too, when I finished school. We had a five-year plan. Stay with the DA’s office, get some real experience, then branch out on our own.” She twirled some pasta on her fork and lifted it to her lips, slightly smiling as she swallowed. “After a year, I was ready. I couldn’t wait anymore. Too impatient, I guess.”
Lexi took a risk. She looked at her salad and speared a hunk of romaine. “I guess when you want something, you just go for it.” She looked up to see Jesse nearly choke on her wine. Fearing she had gone overboard, she attempted to reel it back in. “It worked out though, look how successful you are now.”
Jesse finished coughing into her napkin and cleared her throat. “Yes, well. It wasn’t all smooth sailing. We had a lot of help from Laney’s dad—he threw a ton of business our way early on, and still it was tough. Tons of work. Terrible hours. Laney had always wanted to stay with the original plan, but I kept pushing. It very nearly destroyed us.”
“You and Laney were a couple?” Lexi was dumbfounded.
Jesse almost choked again. “God, no.” She wiped her mouth. “I didn’t realize it sounded like that. Not at all. Laney’s been with her wife since we were in college. But all of it was super hard.” She leaned forward and placed her wrinkled cloth napkin next to her plate. “Laney’s relationship with Mira, her wife, was seriously strained in those early days. Probably some of that was my fault because I wasn’t willing to slow down at all. It put a lot of pressure on our friendship, our business, everything.”
“It did work out, in the end, though.” Lexi popped a crouton in her mouth and crunched it over her self-satisfaction at the obvious truth of the statement.
“It did.” Jesse smiled back.
“Being in New York, do you miss seeing your family?”
Jesse shrugged off the answer. “I see them a lot. So, not really.” With a soft chuckle she added, “Hopefully that doesn’t sound too callous. Anyway, I’ll see them all in a few days.”
“They’ll all come out to the Cape?”
Jesse nodded. “Yep. John and his family, he’s got three kids. Jake and his wife and their two girls. My Aunt Cynthia will be there too. Plus, I hear that Justin is bringing his new girlfriend. So that should be interesting.” She took a long drink.
Finishing the last of her wine and feeling its effects, Lexi went for it. “What about you? Do you bring your girlfriend with you?”
Jesse’s laugh was raspy and sexy as hell. “So, what? The wine just unleashes your inner detective or are you really writing my biography?” she asked playfully, her light eyes peering out from under long dark lashes.
Lexi felt the blood rush to her cheeks. There was no turning back now. She fingered the base of her wineglass and teased, “I saw you duck the question with Nick earlier. We’re not at work now.” She tilted her head. “Figured this is as good a time as any to get the inside story.” She teased her lower lip with her teeth, a trait she knew drove Julie wild.
Lexi saw Jesse focus on her mouth and immediately look away at having been caught. She took the smallest moment to regain her composure, briefly running a hand through her hair before meeting Lexi’s eyes. “Well, I have to say, this is a line of questioning I did not expect at all.” She could not stop a grin from spreading ear to ear. “I’m definitely getting you another glass of wine when the waiter comes back.” She took a sip from her own glass. “To answer your question, no, I’m not bringing my girlfriend.”
Lexi knew she was way out of bounds, but if she wasn’t mistaken, Jesse seemed to be enjoying their tête-à-tête. Jesse was clearly about to offer more information, but in a lull between the carols playing on the restaurant’s sound system, they both heard Lexi’s cell phone ringing in her purse.
“Do you need to get that?” Jesse nodded at the oversized bag hanging off the back of Lexi’s chair.
“No, it’s okay.” Lexi pulled out her phone and silenced Julie’s call, noticing as she did so that she had four other missed calls. She was going to have a lot of explaining to do. She continued to hit the ignore button on her phone and placed it to the side of her wineglass before reaching for another sip, forgetting momentarily that she had finished it.
“So why aren’t you bringing your girlfriend to Christmas?” Lexi asked.
Jesse swirled the wine around in her glass, a smile still playing at the corners of her mouth. “Well, Detective, that would be because I’m not dating anyone right now. Or at least anyone that I would consider my girlfriend.”
“Ooh. What does that mean?”
“It means exactly what you think it means.” Jesse’s voice was surprisingly playful. “So how come you get to ask all the questions?”
“You can ask me anything you want. I’m an open book.” Lexi smiled, intentionally showing off her signature dimples. “But I’m not done yet.” She waved her hand at Jesse’s growing smirk. “We were just talking about how you have several different girlfriends.”
“I wouldn’t call any of them girlfriends, actually.”
“Come on, what about that lady with the long black hair, I see her leaving your house all the time. And I’ve seen her at the office too. Or the blonde with the Lexus, she’s also a frequent visitor. Are they aware that you don’t consider them girlfriend material?”
“What’s with the surveillance?” Jesse said, laughing. “You’re not stalking me, right?”
