Page 5 of Mr. Perfect
“I have a newsflash for you, Ace. I’ve said your name many times over the years. Sometimes so powerfully there’s no way in hell you didn’t feel the rumble, regardless of the miles separating us. I’ll let you decide exactly what I was doing during those moments.” Jude straightened up but didn’t step back.
Felix swallowed hard but didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. His mouth felt like someone had shoved a wad of cotton balls inside it. Felix’s tongue felt too heavy to move. Luckily, he was saved from responding when the Rotary president, Neal Jade, stepped into the vestibule.
“Great,” Neal said, his booming voice echoing off the walls of the small space. “Both our guest speakers are here. They’re about to serve lunch, so come on in and get comfortable.”
Felix was as far removed from comfortable as he could get. The only thing that would make him feel better would be to turn around and walk out of the building. It wasn’t an option. Not only did he refuse to give Jude the satisfaction of running him off, but he couldn’t blow his opportunity to corner an elusive man who could be up to something unethical at best and highly illegal at worst. Felix’s gut told him there was a story there, and he had to pursue it. That thought freed his tongue.
“Perfect,” Felix said. “I appreciate you allowing me to speak to the club today.”
“It’s our pleasure. Savannah is lucky to have such esteemed reporters as yourselves.”
“Honored to be here, Neal,” Jude said.
“Follow me, fellas,” the club president said before turning around and heading back inside the hall.
Jude followed, halting only long enough to lean in once more. “Happy birthday, by the way.”
Felix wasn’t surprised Jude remembered, but he was shocked Jude admitted he did. Felix remained in the vestibule for a few moments to gather himself while Neal and Jude walked deeper into the room. When people noticed Jude, they immediately broke off their conversations and rushed to greet the annoyingly handsome man. Felix squared his shoulders and approached the cluster of people surrounding Jude. He expected some of them to show him equal attention but only received a few smiles and some clipped nods, so he continued toward the head of the room, where a table was set up for the Rotary officers and the guest speakers. Neal Jade’s nameplate sat in the middle of the table and place cards for Felix and Jude sat on either side of it. Thank fuck Felix wouldn’t have to bump elbows with Jude during the meal.
Felix was careful to keep his expression neutral while insidious bile-like bitterness burned a path up his esophagus and threatened to choke him. Once he reached his seat, he took a long drink of water to wash it back down. He was tempted to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand to give Savannah’s finest the show they expected from him. No matter how hard he worked or how many accolades he collected, it would never be good enough for people like them.
He would never be good enough.
A small part of Felix had expected a slight shift in attitude after theSinister in Savannahpodcast took off, especially after the appearance on a nationally syndicated morning show. Nope. The good people of Savannah still chose to fawn all over Jude Arrow. Why? Felix knew Jude’s physical appearance drew people in, and there was no ignoring his charisma. A shiver rolled through him as he recalled the exchange in the vestibule and the flash of heat he’d seen in Jude’s dark blue eyes.
Felix took another sip. Then another.
Jude’s magnetism didn’t just pull at Felix; it grabbed him by the balls. Time and time again, Felix’s gaze drifted to his nemesis and the crowd circled around him. A short, paunchy man said something his nemesis must’ve found hilarious because Jude tipped his head back and laughed heartily before clapping the man’s shoulder. Felix remembered all too well the strength and tenderness Jude’s hands exuded.
“I have a newsflash for you, Ace. I’ve said your name plenty of times over the years. Sometimes so powerfully there’s no way in hell you didn’t feel the rumble, regardless of the miles separating us.”
Oh fuck. No matter how hard Felix tried, he couldn’t stop imagining Jude stroking his cock and calling out his name while coming. Even though Jude was probably just trying to get a rise out of him, he couldn’t deny the words reached him on a visceral level. As if Jude sensed Felix’s gaze, his enemy turned his head and looked into his eyes. Jude’s lips slowly curved into a devilish grin, telling Felix he knew precisely where his mind had gone.Evil bastard.Felix needed to look away, but he couldn’t. Maybe he just didn’t want to.
“Excuse me, sir. Can I get you something to drink other than water?” The soft feminine voice broke the hold Jude had on him. Felix looked over to his right to where a young server stood with a pitcher of water in her hand.
“Sweet tea, please,” Felix said.
“Sure thing. Would you like more water also?”
Felix glanced at his glass and was surprised to see he’d drained it. “I would. Thank you.”
She refilled his glass, then set the pitcher on the table and pulled out a pad from her apron pocket. “Your entrée options today are blackened sea bass with seasoned rice and broccoli, fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, or vegan lasagna. Which would you prefer?”
“I’ll go with sea bass, rice, and broccoli. Thank you.”
The we-love-Jude club broke up as soon as the Rotarians noticed the waitstaff coming in to take orders. It seemed like they loved their stomachs even more than they did the wolf in a tailored suit. While they ate, Felix quietly observed the people and conversations around him. The first thing he noted was a lack of diversity. More than half of Savannah’s population was black, yet only one of the black business owners was in attendance. Where was the representation? There were no Hispanic or Asian members either and only a scattering of women throughout the room. The sole purpose of Rotary was to bring business and professional leaders together to further goodwill and peace around the world. In this room, it seemed that the most significant section of Savannah’s population wasn’t invited to the table.
Neal Jade spent most of the time kissing Jude’s ass during lunch, but Felix didn’t mind as it provided him the opportunity to alter his speech on the fly. He’d originally planned to talk about investigative journalism in the modern era, but he had something more important he wished to discuss. Neal only spoke to Felix when he informed him that Jude would be speaking first. What? He wasn’t saving the best for last? How shocking.
Felix planned to tune Jude out so he could map out his new speech but found himself sucked in once more by the bastard’s charisma, hanging on to Jude’s every word like all the other attendees. It wasn’t so much what Jude said because his speech was safe and dull. Jude’s superpower was in his delivery.
Some things never changed.
Jude’s voice was silky and polished with the perfect amount of timbre. He entertained with self-deprecating humor as he talked about some of his more memorable investigations from his days in Atlanta. The audience gobbled it up. Not Felix. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Then he pondered the same question for the hundredth time since Jude moved to Savannah: why had Jude Arrow given up a lucrative career in Atlanta to move to a much smaller market in Savannah? Felix smelled a story, and he was going to get the answers. He could make a few calls and send out a few feelers, but he would prefer to torture the information from Jude.
“Now it’s time for me to hand the microphone over to a tenacious reporter whom I’ve had the privilege to know for many years now. Please give a warm welcome to Felix Franklin.”
The Rotarians clapped heartily, but Felix wasn’t foolish enough to think they were cheering for him to take the podium. Most of the audience’s attention stayed riveted to Jude even after he returned to his seat. That wouldn’t do.