Page 161 of One Bad Idea

But surprisingly, they didn't – except for one girl, who began calling at least once a week.

And apparently, she wasn't giving up.

Chapter 60

Sitting at my desk, I gripped the phone far too tightly for my own good. Trying to smile, I said, "No. He's not available. Can I take a message?"

On the other end of the line, she asked, "How about Jax? Ishethere?"

By now, the routine was all too familiar, and I wondered why on Earth she kept calling in spite of the fact that both brothers were obviously avoiding her.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Jax is out of town."

This was true. He and Cassidy were on a weeklong vacation somewhere in the Bahamas. Even his assistant was on vacation, which meant – unfortunately – that it was just me and Darla in the office.

Oh yeah. And Jaden.

But I didn't want to think abouthim.

And why?It was because I'd thought about him all last night, and the night before that, and so on.

Now, other than business interactions, we almost never spoke. It was the strangest thing, because he seemed like a totally different person, devoid of any real emotion.

I could so relate.

And yet, I couldn't make myself regret the decision to end it when I did. After all, just like I'd told him, ithadto end sometime, right?

On the phone, the caller was saying, "Well, just tell him that I called, okay?"

By now, I no longer needed to ask her name. It was Luna. She never gave a last nameortold me why she was calling. The one time I'd asked, all she'd said was, "It's a family thing. Jaden knows what it's about."

By now, I was half convinced that he had a secret love child somewhere. I was dying to know more, but had no idea where to begin. Already, I'd asked Cassidy if the name Luna meant anything to her, but she had no idea either.

I'd even asked Morgan in a roundabout way, and allshe'dsaid was, "Ohher? Trust me, youdon'twant to know."

She was wrong. Ididwant to know, even if it was really none of my business.

When I hung up the phone, I jotted down the message and added it to the stack. As I did, I wondered whether or not she was calling his cell phone, too. Did she evenhavethe number?

Unable to stop myself, I took the stack of messages and crossed the hallway that separated my office from Jaden's. From the open doorway, I said, "I've got your messages."

He looked up and said, "Yeah, so?"

"So, do you want them?"

He eyed them with zero enthusiasm. "If I wanted them, I'd ask."

I paused. Ever since our breakup – or whatever it was – he'd been polite to a fault. Either those days were over, or he was in a seriously rotten mood.

Either way, I was determined to keep it professional. "Right. I know, but you haven't asked in like two days." I lifted my hand and gave the messages a little wave. "And they're sort of piling up here."

"So?"

"So, youreallydon't want them?"

His eyes were dark and hollow. They looked eerily similar to my own eyes whenever I looked in the mirror. But where mine were hollow from tossing and turning in my empty bed, his were probably hollow from tossing and turning with someone else, or a series of someone else's, assuming that he'd returned to his old habits.

I never saw these other girls, but I wasn't so naive to think that he'd suddenly become celibate. I mean, this was Jaden Bishop we were talking about.