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Usual precursor? Poor diet, too much stress. Clogged arteries were just not his thing.
He ate well, most of the time, and exercised hard at the gym, his second home apart from the office of TLC.
He lay on the bed, eyes open now with a lot on his mind.
Too much on his mind.
He had to satisfy his newest client, Hot Spot Resort, with their impossible demands and get a major photo shoot on the island done ahead of schedule. Hot Spot was having an extreme image makeover and wanted to relaunch this year to compete with other Caribbean resorts. A challenge in this economy. But if it wasn’t a success that meant that Hot Spot might not renew their contract. He knew the owner of Hot Spot, a spoiled rich brat who inherited a whack of cash from her grandfather and teamed up with a friend to get this holiday resort thing going. They were known to ditch contractors at the drop of a cap.
They might be hot but their demands could be damn right cold.
That meant he would have to fly his creative team out there and scout out local talent then get this show going. At such short notice.
Jess groaned.
Stress.
He had to watch his heart and his back in this industry. The owner of Hot Spot already hinted she might not renew. Which could cause a huge financial dent in the company that he’d started with his older sister and cousin.
Chase, his cousin, had told him to take a vacation while down there. Unwind. Get away from office politics and running the business. He even offered to foot the bill out of his own pocket for Jess who promptly refused. Jess just didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary at a romantic resort. He had his share of women but falling in love and romance just wasn’t his thing—never would be. The more he guarded his heart the better it would be. He’d been burned one too many times by gold-diggers and opportunists.
When his parents died, they left him and his half sister with a generous life insurance payout. He felt he would rather have his folks back than the money. If only.
He decided to open up an ad agency after finishing college with Chase but his ever-so-watchful and untrusting older sister didn’t think his decision was wise and since she held the keys to the money at the time, she only allowed him access to the funds on the condition that she could be the company’s accountant and part owner. Reluctantly, he agreed.
But that was the only thing that they agreed upon. Since Lee had been part of the company, which was from the very beginning she’d been nothing but cantankerous and challenging.
With his staff.
With his past girlfriends.
With him.
Still, he couldn’t blame her for wanting to watch her little brother’s back. Though he didn’t always agree with her method.
Of course, she was there for him, when he needed her the most like that deadly lawsuit filed against him with an ex-employee. He still felt sharp pains in his heart when he thought of the devastation.
The lies.
The deceit.
Yet another reason why he would never run for political office.
You never know when somebody would make something up to make a name for themselves. Luckily, into the mediation, the claim was dropped when it was revealed the plaintiff made the whole thing up to get back at him for pulling the firing trigger at her dismissal meeting. She hadn’t been with the company long and was barely finished with her probationary period.
Speaking of meetings. He would be faced with another employee meeting tomorrow. With Alexa Worthington.
Another thing Lee and Jess could not agree on. She never wanted to hire Alexa, because she was young and pretty—she would be a distraction for Jess, especially with his track record. Lee didn’t want any more potential damage done to the company’s name. Alexa also didn’t quite finish college at the time.
But still, Jess took a chance on her. And he was glad he followed his gut instinct—and his male libido, he smiled to himself.
She was fantastic. Not only did she perform her job well and didn’t throw herself at his feet like some of the other female employees but she proved she could get her degree. She studied hard online and got her papers and was now working on her Masters degree online. Something Jess respected about her. She was all business. A smart little go-getter!
And all legs too.
Jess pulled the sheets off his body and got up because he was thirsty. He opened up the door—then on second thought went back over by the bed and picked up his silk boxers to put on. He would often get up in the night and roam the house in the nude. No problem. But when you have a house guest, or someone you were helping out, it was better be safe than sorry.
He yawned as he walked down the hall then scuttled down the stairs to the fridge where he grabbed a cool drink. The digital clock on the stove read: 12:50 AM. He had to get a life. And a good night’s rest.
