Drake's Rock Read online

  Drake’s Rock

  By Alex Riordan

  Drake’s Rock

  Copyright 2014 Alex Riordan

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author.

  Cover Photo By: KSD

  My first story. This one would never have happened without the love, support and patience of two people.

  To MJP. You know who you are. Words cannot express how much your love and support have lifted me up over the years. I have no doubt that you’ll see this wherever you are now. Friend, Spiritual Advisor, Teacher, Second Mother. Thank you so much for all that you have been and all that you will ever be. Know that you are forever in my heart and my thoughts. Thank you so much for working through the Sci-Fi Fantasy story with me. I promise, that one’s coming! Oh, and thanks for all the help in that English class. I never would have gotten an A without you. Thanks too, for helping me solve the world’s problems all those early Sunday mornings!

  To KSD. The best partner I could ever hope for. Thanks for tolerating all my moods and weirdness. You’re a saint and the kindest person I have ever met. You’ll never know how truly grateful I am. Just suffice it to say that I always want you around.

  And, to my readers on P&P. I want to thank each and every one of you who not only read my work, but wrote to me. Your kind words of encouragement gave me the courage to do this. I hope I never disappoint you.

  Table of Contents

  Drake’s Rock

  Chapter One

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter One

  Jessie Drake rolled over and slapped at the alarm clock, knocking it to the floor. Rolling her eyes and sighing loudly, she threw the covers off and climbed out of bed. “Damn, I hate mornings,” she said out loud as she walked through the dark room past her walk-in closet and down the short hall to the bathroom. As she made her way, she tripped over the end of the rug, stubbing her big toe in the process. Cursing loudly, she finally managed to make it to the bathroom and flip on the light.

  She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust. As she looked bleary-eyed into the mirror, she shook her head. “Lookin’ old, Jess. Lookin’ old,” she mumbled to herself, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and absurdly grateful that she still hadn’t found any gray hairs in her long black tresses. Eventually managing to make it through her shower without drowning herself or falling, she got out and wrapped a towel around herself. Running another towel over her head to dry her hair, she made her way back to her room to get dressed.

  Finally, hair combed and dressed in a pair of black dress pants and a red fitted blouse, she pulled on the matching suit jacket and walked into the kitchen for breakfast. Opening the fridge, she was disappointed to find that there was no milk. “Shit, I forgot to stop and get milk, yesterday,” she said to herself as she rolled her eyes again. Oh well, she thought. “I’ll just grab something at the gas station.”

  Grabbing her car keys, her briefcase and her gym bag, Jessie headed out to the red Nissan Xterra sitting in her driveway. Throwing her bag and the briefcase in the back, she climbed into the driver’s seat and threw the car into gear, heading for work.

  Ten traffic lights, one near miss, and enough frustration to drive her nuts, she finally pulled into her reserved parking space. As she rushed into the building heading for her office, her best friend and paralegal, Theresa, caught up with her.

  “Morning, Jessie,” Theresa said, falling into step with the brunette.

  “If you say so,” Jessie said in answer. She really hated mornings.

  “Bad drive in?” Theresa asked with a slightly amused glint in her eyes.

  “Not the best. I forgot milk yesterday, so I had to resort to a muffin from the gas station this morning,” Jessie answered, arriving at their office and tossing her gym bag in the corner.

  Theresa nodded in understanding. “Late night last night?”

  Jessie nodded. “Yeah, I got in around 3:30 this morning. We played the Blue Rose last night.”

  Theresa’s eyes lit up. “Oooh, I love that place. I wish I could get Brian to go with me more often.”

  “It was pretty cool,” Jessie agreed. “The place was packed last night.”

  “You’re gonna be a star soon, Jess,” Theresa teased. “If you make it to the big time, will you still speak to all us little people?”

  “I’ll always talk to you, Theresa,” Jessie said, laughing and shaking her head. It was an old joke between them. She’d been playing at being a singer and musician for most of her adult life. They both knew that she wasn’t going to hit the big time. Not now that she was in her thirties, anyway. Besides that, these late nights were starting to kick her ass more and more often.

  She sat down at her desk and rifled through a drawer. “Why can’t I ever find a pen?”

  Theresa handed one over. “Here, use this one. By the way, Mr. Mason wants to see you at ten this morning.”

  Jessie frowned and sighed. “Did he say why?” This was all she needed. Not only did she have a late night, her toe hurt, she was still hungry from the lack of a proper breakfast, and she had a bad case of road rage that had yet to dissipate.

  Theresa shook her head. “Nope. Just said to tell you he wants to see you at ten.” Turning around, she sat down at her own desk and turned her computer on.

  Well crap, Jessie thought to herself as she wondered what she could have possibly done to cause her boss to want to talk to her. As far as she knew, she hadn’t pissed anybody off recently. Sighing loudly, she turned her computer on and got busy. No need to waste the entire morning worrying about it, anyway.

  At 9:50, she logged off her computer and stood up. Stretching, she grabbed her empty Diet Coke can and headed for the break room. Stopping to hit the bathroom on her way up to Mr. Mason’s office, she passed Theresa, who was on her back to their office from the break room.

  “Good luck, Jess,” Theresa said as she passed.

  “Thanks a lot, T,” Jessie answered sarcastically.

  She fidgeted nervously on the elevator on the way upstairs, still wondering what Mr. Mason could want with her. Rewinding the last few days in her head, she couldn’t think of one thing that would call attention to herself. Sighing, she leaned against the wall and waited. When the elevator door slid open, she straightened up and stepped off.

  “Good morning, Leslie,” Jessie said, greeting Mr. Mason’s secretary. “Theresa said that Mr. Mason wanted to see me?”

  Leslie nodded, smiling, “He’ll be with you in a minute, Jessie. Have a seat,” the 40ish Leslie
said, waving her toward one of the dark brown leather chairs sitting along one wall of the office.

  As she went to sit down, the door to Mr. Mason’s office opened, causing her to stand back up before her rear even touched the seat. Straightening her fitted blouse, she waited for him to notice her. She was slightly surprised when he poked his head out the door, smiled and waved her in.

  “Jessie,” James Mason said, as she stepped into the office. “It’s good to see you again. Everything going okay?” he asked as he ushered her toward yet another leather chair.

  Confused, she nodded, “Uh, fine Sir. Everything’s going well.”

  “Good. Good,” he said, taking a seat behind his desk. “So, you still playing music?”

  “Yes, Sir,” she answered, still not understanding where he was going with this. “Just last night, in fact.”

  “Fantastic,” he said enthusiastically. “So, I know you’re wondering why I called you here.” He didn’t wait for her to answer, but continued on. “You see, the thing is…I’ve been working with a few friends lately, attempting to develop a television show. It’s been picked up by a TV network, and the actress who’s been cast in the leading role is coming here to…” he stopped and thought for a minute, before saying, “Study, I guess you’d call it. She’s going to be portraying an associate in a law firm, and she wanted to see exactly what an associate does. So, when her agent called and asked if I’d mind her coming here for that,” he shrugged, “I thought of you.”

  Working hard not to show her surprise at his revelation about the TV show, she asked, “Me? Mr. Mason, I’m afraid I’m not following,” Jessie said carefully, not wanting to upset him. His moods were legendary around the office.

  “Relax, Jessie,” he said, smiling. “What I mean to say is, that I’d like for her to sort of ‘intern’ with you while she’s here. Just…show her the ropes, take her out to meet with clients, that sort of thing.”

  She breathed easier. “Oh, okay,” she agreed easily. After all, it was part of her job to train new employees. This wouldn’t be too difficult.

  “And…” he said, taking a drink.

  She quirked a brow. And? Why did there always have to be an and?

  Setting down his bottle of water, he continued. “And, I have another assignment for you, as well. You see, I thought that since you’re in the entertainment industry, you might be willing to…shall we say, ‘escort’ the young lady around while she’s here.”

  “Escort, Sir? I’m afraid I’m not sure what you mean,” Jessie said carefully, beginning to worry. For Christ’s sake, she was no escort!

  “Oh, you know,” he said, waving a hand in the air. “Show her around town, take her out to dinner. Spend time with her so she’s not lonely while she’s here. Maybe you could take her to one of your shows?”

  Jessie felt her heart sinking. What the Hell? Didn’t she put enough time in at the office? Now she was going to have to baby-sit some stuck up actress, too? Biting back on what she really wanted to say, she said, “That sounds wonderful, Mr. Mason. I’d be happy to escort her around town and keep her company. When’s she due to arrive?”

  “Excellent,” he said, clapping his hands together. “She’ll be arriving in town on Sunday evening and she’ll report here Monday morning. I’ll have Susan from HR bring her to your office when she arrives.”

  “Wonderful,” Jessie said, faking a smile. “I’ll try to put together some things for us to do while she’s here.”

  “That would be great,” he said, rising from his chair to let her out of his office. “By the way Jessie, I’ll be giving you an expense account for this. So whatever you decide to do, dinner, clubbing, museums…it’s on the card.”

  Smiling now for real, she said, “Thanks, Mr. Mason. I’ll do my best.”

  “You always do, Jessie,” he said, watching as she got on the elevator.

  * * * *

  “Well, in the grand scheme of things, it could have been worse,” Jessie said to Theresa as she walked back into their office.

  “So you’re not fired or anything?” Theresa asked jokingly.

  “No. As a matter of fact, he gave me a new assignment,” Jessie said, popping the top on her can of Diet Coke.

  Theresa quirked a brow. “And that would be…?”

  She gave Theresa the rundown, concluding with, “So now, I’m stuck babysitting this girl who’s probably a spoiled brat. Like I don’t have enough to do in my life already.”

  “I don’t know Jess, it might be kinda fun,” Theresa said, trying to stay positive.

  Jessie just snorted and rolled her eyes. Fun my ass, she thought to herself.

  Chapter 2

  Monday morning found Jessie barely able to move. Performing at a club the night before, she vaguely remembered finishing the show around two in the morning. Somehow, she apparently managed to make it home, but damned if she could remember how. As she lay there in bed, wishing that the room would stop spinning, she realized two things: 1) she wasn’t alone, because she felt someone’s arm draped over her stomach, and 2) she was naked. Oh God, she thought, what did I do last night?

  Sucking up her courage, she turned her head and looked to her left. As her eyes focused, she took in the smooth, tanned skin, and the toned arms. The dark hair fanned out on the pillow made it official. She’d brought Alex home last night. Blowing out a breath, she stretched and moved to get out of bed, but was stopped when she heard Alex’s voice.

  “Morning, beautiful,” Alex Fagin said quietly. She was thirty, olive skinned, with an athletic body that wouldn’t quit. And, she worshipped Jessie Drake.

  Jessie stopped moving and rolled over to face Alex. “Hey yourself,” she said softly. Her head hurt like Hell and her mouth was so dry she felt like she’d swallowed half the Sahara last night. Still, she couldn’t help but smile at her bed partner.

  “You’re not going to work, are you?” Alex asked, running a hand slowly over Jessie’s stomach.

  Closing her eyes and shivering at the touch, Jessie looked over at the alarm clock. “I have to Alex. I’m training someone today.”

  “Mmm, let someone else do it,” the brunette said, smiling.

  Jessie shook her head. “I can’t. This is a special job for Mr. Mason. If I blow this off, I’ll probably get fired,” she said in answer. Although, she thought to herself, the offer was tempting. Alex wasn’t just some stranger she’d brought home. They’d been good friends for years, and this wasn’t the first time they’d ended up in bed together. Still, if she wasn’t at work on time, there’d be Hell to pay.

  Leaning over, she kissed Alex slowly. When she pulled back, she said, “I’ve gotta go. Make sure you lock up when you leave, Alex.”

  Alex sighed. “Well, if you’re sure I can’t convince you to stay, Jess…” she trailed off; giving a pout that was just too cute. She knew it worked on the other woman…well…sometimes anyway.

  “I’d love to, Alex, but I just can’t,” Jessie said, regret tingeing her voice, finally forcing herself to get up and get moving. Had she mentioned she hated mornings?

  “All right,” Alex said, resignedly. She sighed. They’d both been here before, numerous times. Getting up herself, she managed to find her clothes and get dressed by the time Jessie had returned from the shower.

  “You can stay until you’re ready to leave,” Jessie offered, coming back into the bedroom and noticing Alex pulling on her shoes.

  Alex shrugged. “It’s okay, Jess. I have things to take care of today myself.” She walked around the bed and kissed Jessie softly. “Thanks for last night, Jess. It was fun.” Backing away, she turned and walked out of the room.

  Jessie didn’t move again until she heard the front door close. Damn! Why did she always have to go to work? Why couldn’t she, just once, give in and stay in bed? She and Alex had been dancing around each other for the last two years. Maybe she should stop trying to find the perfect one and take what was right in front of her? Sighing, she shoved the thought to the bac
k of her mind and finished getting dressed. Then she hurried out to the kitchen to grab her lunch. She was running late and needed to hurry if she was going to make it to work on time.

  * * * *

  She arrived at work in record time, but Theresa was already at her desk, when Jessie came hurrying into their office. “Hey, Jessie,” Theresa said in greeting. Then actually looking at her friend, she noticed the way she looked. “Jesus, Jess…rough night last night?”

  “I uh…I don’t remember getting home last night,” Jessie answered, slightly embarrassed by the admission. Flopping into her chair, she turned on her computer. “And…” she looked over at Theresa pointedly, “Apparently, I took Alex home with me last night.”

  “Mmm, Alex is hot. Congratulations,” Theresa said, smiling.

  Jessie rolled her eyes. Theresa was always trying to fix her up with someone. “Thanks. The only thing is…I don’t even seem to remember what happened.”