Just the Sexiest Man Alive(16)
“Marty’s on it.”
Jason cocked his head in careful contemplation. “It was different with this lawyer. She was . . .” He trailed off, searching for the right word. It was somewhat of a surprise when it came to him. “Condescending.”
He glanced over at Jeremy for support. Just in time to catch his friend’s grin.
“Condescending?” Jeremy repeated, as if appalled. “To Jason Andrews? Do I dare ask why?”
Jason shrugged as he pulled the Aston Martin in front of the VIP entrance of the Staples Center. “I may have blown off one or two meetings with her last week.”
He shut off the car and threw Jeremy an innocent look. “I didn’t think it would make a difference when I showed up this morning.”
Jeremy clutched his heart in feigned shock. “You mean she didn’t immediately fall on her knees in gratitude when you walked through the door?”
Jason grinned as he stepped out of the car.
“It’s fair to say that’s not exactly how she reacted.”
“AND MAKE SURE she gets the message immediately.”
Jason and Jeremy sat courtside at the Lakers game. They had just barely gotten to their seats when Jason whipped out his cell phone two minutes into the first quarter. He had made a decision during the car ride over.
This morning had not been the last he would see of Taylor Donovan.
Upon arriving at this conclusion, Jason had called his manager and asked him to personally convey the following message to her, word for word: “Mr. Andrews very much enjoyed the lesson he learned from Ms. Donovan and respectfully requests the opportunity of another meeting.”
He knew she’d be amused by the subtext. He grinned as he thought about her reaction: she’d smile coyly—perhaps even toy with a lock of that fabulous long, dark hair—as she contemplated an appropriately flirtatious reply.
After hanging up with his manager, Jason happily turned his attention to the game, his mind wandering only once or twice to speculate what Taylor Donovan would be wearing during their next meeting. He liked the whole smart, sexy lawyer thing she had going on that morning. Now if she would merely undo one or two more buttons of her shirt, one might even call her a naughty lawyer. Perhaps she had a pair of serious librarian-like glasses to finish the look. She could pull her hair up in some sort of no-nonsense, I’m-all-about-business twist, which of course would come tumbling down in a most unbusinesslike manner right as they—
Jason’s cell phone suddenly rang, interrupting his internal debate over the most comfortable position to have sex in a jury box. He liked the possibilities that little half wall presented.
He frowned when he saw that the caller was his publicist, Marty. He had expected it to be his manager, with Ms. Donovan’s feigned reluctant (but secretly delighted) acceptance of his proposal. And he frowned because he was fully aware of the belief shared by his agent, manager, and lawyer that only Marty knew how to “handle” him when bearing bad news.
Jason answered his phone on the second ring.
“Yeah, Marty. What’s up?”
SITTING NEXT TO Jason, Jeremy glanced over and watched as his friend’s publicist delivered what apparently was some unexpected news. Jeremy could’ve laughed out loud when he heard Jason’s reply.
“What do you mean, she ‘regretfully declines’ my invitation?” he said, stunned. “Well—did she say anything else?”
Although Jeremy typically had little interest in Jason’s various escapades, he listened with curiosity to this particular exchange. He had overheard the message Jason had sent this Taylor Donovan person, and noted—with quite a bit of surprise—that it had bordered on being an apology. And as far as Jeremy knew, Jason Andrews hadn’t apologized to a woman other than his mother in fifteen years.
Jeremy watched as Jason’s expression turned to one of amusement as Marty conveyed whatever was the rest of Taylor Donovan’s message.
“That’s what she said?” Jason leaned back in his seat and chuckled. “Well, tell her that I saw her ass as she stormed out of the courtroom, and I might be tempted to do just that.”
Jason listened to his publicist talk for another moment, then pointed at the phone with emphasis. “Listen to me, Marty, I don’t want to work with anyone else. I want her. The one who thinks she can walk out on me. Make sure her firm understands that. And then I need you to focus on the London thing.”
He waved his hand impatiently at his publicist’s next words. “I told you, the whole thing was a misunderstanding. I only asked her to go to London. I never said she’d be coming back with me. Tell her manager that I don’t want to see her name next to mine in one more gossip rag. The publicity ride is over.”
With that, he firmly slammed his phone shut.
Jeremy glanced over. “The supermodel again?”
Jason frowned. “Trust me, if you had to listen to that inane babble for three days, you’d have left her in London, too. I don’t care how she looks in a swimsuit—or out of it.”
Hearing Jason’s terse tone, Jeremy said nothing and decided to let the game distract them for a while. He knew full well how much it annoyed Jason when the women he got involved with courted the media’s attention. Actresses, singers, models—it never failed: one phone call from Jason Andrews and they had a table booked at the Ivy and Ted Casablanca on their speed dial.