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“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Still, I’m staying.” She lies down on the bed.
Yup. That’s what I thought.
I gaze at her body sprawled out on top of the bed. I catch a glimpse of bare skin between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans.
“Are you seducing me again?” I ask her.
She props herself up on her elbows. “Do I have to?”
Doesn’t she know she’s already doing it?
“Fine. Stay. And order room service while you’re at it. I’ll just go make some phone calls.”
Jodie smiles and gives me a salute. “Yes, sir.”
Chapter Fifteen
Jodie
Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten so much, I think as I wash my mouth and face after throwing up for the third time. Or maybe I should have just ordered pizza.
I leave the bathroom and crawl back into bed. As I snuggle against the ivory sheets, I catch a whiff of Leo’s minty aftershave. I grin.
He’s not here right now – he had to go to the office to sort out a business emergency – which I suppose is a good thing because he doesn’t get to see me being such a slob. He was sweet last night, even when he was being naughty and trying to pay me back for teasing him. In the end, he did get his revenge, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. Afterwards, we stayed up, talking about his mom until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I could hear the sadness in his voice, of course, but I could also tell he liked to talk about her, which I got the feeling he hasn’t been able to since she died. Poor guy. He must have been grieving by himself all this time.
Poor guy? Wasn’t I about to throw him in jail yesterday?
Suddenly, my phone rings. My eyebrows furrow.
Who could that be? Leo checking on me? Or maybe he’s calling to say the file has been decrypted and we’re going off somewhere, which is bad because I’m not sure yet that my stomach has ceased rebelling against me. I don’t want him to go without me, and it would be unfair for me to delay him. Should I just take my chances?
The phone rings again. I pick it up, and at seeing the name on the screen – Gladys – my chest swells with relief.
Oh. It’s just her.
I answer the call and put it on speaker before putting the phone down on a pillow.
“I’m okay, Gladys. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Because you have a boyfriend now?”
My forehead creases. “What? Who?”
“I’m more interested in finding out how it happened.”
I let out a sigh. “You’re not making any sense. I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“You swear?”
I glance at the phone and frown. “Is this another direct examination?”
“Just answer the question, Jodie.”
Yup. She’s put me on the stand.
“No, ma’am,” I answer. “I do not have a boyfriend.”
“But you’re sharing an apartment with Leonardo Ursini?” Gladys fires her next question.
“Actually, no. He moved out.”
“He moved out?” She sounds surprised.
Right. She thinks it’s his apartment, so of course she’d think I’d be the one moving out, not Leo.
“It’s complicated,” I tell her as I flop on my back and stare at the ceiling.
“Fine then. I’ll make it simple. Are the two of you boning?”
Wow. She really can be direct when she wants to be.
I want to make things even simpler by saying no, but I have a feeling she won’t believe that.
“Yes,” I confess.
“Is he good?”
I bite down on my lower lip. “Yes.”
Oh God, yes.
“How many times?”
I frown. “Objection. Question is irrelevant.”
“That many times?” I hear the amusement in Gladys’s voice.
I can tell she’s grinning right now.
“But he’s not your boyfriend?” she asks.
“Asked and answered,” I retort.
“Sorry. It’s just that the answer doesn’t match the facts.”
I touch my forehead. “Where exactly does it say that if you have sex with someone more than once, you’re in a relationship, hmm?”
I’d like to know.
“Fine. I’ll rephrase the question. Do you like Leo? Because I’m pretty sure that he’s in love with you.”
My head rises off the pillow and I send a puzzled look at the phone. “What?”
What on earth is she saying?
“You heard me.”
I shake my head. “You’re not making sense.”
“You should have seen that look on his face when he came to my house demanding to see you.”
“That was just him being pissed because I left without telling him.”
“He wanted you back. Badly.”
“Only because he was afraid I was going to get into trouble.”
“He could have dragged you back,” Gladys points out.
“I would have sued his ass.”
“He could have yelled at you. Instead, he tried to understand you and he even offered to help you.”
Wait a second. How does she know that?
“You were eavesdropping?” I ask her.
“No. There’s a bug in my living room,” Gladys answers.
What the hell?
“Just kidding. Yes, I was eavesdropping. I was peeking, too and I saw the way he was looking at you when you were sitting side by side on the couch.”
