Page 9 of Heartbreaker

Chapter 3

Jackson

My mother, as predicted is in seventh heaven, she is sitting with Sadie when I arrive and they both have their heads buried in a catalogue at the kitchen table as they ooh and ahh over double buggies. I sneak up behind Maisy, who is playing Play-Doh with Jake, and grab her, twirling her around, planting a sloppy wet raspberry on her tummy. She starts giggling and wriggling as only a small child can.

Swinging her down, I gently put her on her feet, and she promptly puts her arms up and shouts, “Again, again Uncle Jacky.” I dutifully oblige until she is squealing and giggling. Once, again I drop her to her feet.

“Uncle Jacky, look!” she says pointing to her top. In glittery pink, writing it declares, ‘Big Sister’. The glittering writing makes me think of Ashley with her rainbow blonde hair. I wonder what she is doing. Turning my attention back to Maisy I look at the proud smile on her face.

“That is a pretty top,” I say.

“But look,” she says and points again. I smile and pretend to look harder.

“Oh, it says Big Sister. So that means?” I put my finger to my lips as if trying to figure it out. Maisy is jumping up and down now.

“It means mummy has two babies in her tummy and I get to help her, cos I’m the big sister.”

“Wow, you’re going to be the best big sister in the world,” I say turning my head to smile at Sadie who is looking at us. I rise and walk to Sadie and my mum. I lean in and kiss mum's cheek and then do the same for Sadie.

“Congratulations sis, I’m so pleased for you. These babies are the luckiest babies ever to have you.” I notice my brother watching and can’t resist. “And I’m sure that will more than make up for Jake.” Sadie and I laugh as Jake throws me a fake glare from the wall where he is leaning.

*~*~*

Monday morning comes quickly, and I make it into the office before seven. My hair's still wet from the shower I took after my workout at the gym. I like to get a couple hours in before work. I down a protein shake, then flip the switch to wake up my computer.

I had spent the best part of last night resisting the temptation to text Tinkerbell. I’ve never been into women with boyfriends or a woman like her. She was probably a mature student or someone with no life plan. Yet the thought of that smooth expanse of skin, that silky soft hair had me reaching for my phone at least a hundred times.

I have a mountain of emails to catch up on, a load of paperwork to go through and three jobs this week. I like to get a dossier on the girls I’m liberating, because that is how I like to think of it. I am liberating these women from relationships with assholes who probably don’t appreciate them anyway. Let’s be honest, if these guys were real men they wouldn’t need me, would they?

I’m sitting reading through my fourth email when Lindy walks in. “You’re late,” I shout and smile as I wait for the response, because I know it’s coming.

“Screw you,” she shouts back, and my smile gets even bigger.

I get up from my desk and walk out to my reception. Lindy is making herself a coffee and looking at me over her horn-rimmed glasses. She is the one woman apart from my family who I trust. She runs my life, from a work point of view.

Lindy is seventy-three years old and looks like she should be on the cover of OAP Weekly. Her white hair and spectacles give her a school teacher vibe and then she opens her mouth. The woman has the mouth of a sailor. She can use Fuck like a verb until the phone rings or a client walks in. Then she is like Mary Poppins with a plumb in her mouth.

I grab a coffee and head back to my office knowing that Lindy will follow when she is ready. I set the mug down and as I turn back to the computer my phone pings.

Tinkerbell: Morning, how was your weekend?

I can’t help but smile the fact that she has messaged me first.

Jackson: Good, spent time with the family. How about yours?

Tinkerbell: I spent the weekend perfecting the art of pottery.

Jackson: Pottery! How was it?

Tinkerbell: Weird, it felt thick and all wet and kept slipping between my fingers.

My mind instantly conjured up an image of Ashley with something thick and slippery between her fingers. The visual alone is enough to have me adjusting myself in my trousers.

Jackson: Now I have a visual in my head that does not scream pottery.

Tinkerbell: Haha I said pottery not mud wrestling, but FYI I have done jelly wrestling.

Who is this girl? She is the opposite of who I would normally want to get in my bed, but right now she is all I can think about.