Jemma wasn’t normally a big drinker so the next morning she was paying for her fun the night before. She flopped on the bed after taking a long, hot shower. Thoughts of where Braden had gotten off to so early, where fresh on her mind as she laid on the bed, to rest her eyes.
“There you are darling,” Rosemary said as she came into the bedroom.
Jemma took a deep breath and fortified herself as she sat up to face Braden’s mother, knowing her visit wouldn’t be good news.
“Hello, Rosemary. Braden isn’t here right now, but I’ll be sure and tell him you stopped by when he returns.”
“I know he’s not my dear. I sent him off to pick up breakfast so we could have a moment alone to talk.”
“Oh? What is it you wish to speak to me about?”
“Don’t play coy with me. The second you landed in Fiji with my son I had you checked out. You and I both know what I found.”
Jemma sighed. She was hungover, and this was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now.
“So, you want to tell me what a girl like you is doing with my son?”
“We are just having a good time. You don’t have to worry Mrs. Washington, I don’t have grand plans for the future with your son. I’m not delusional. I know we come from two very different worlds.”
Rosemary smiled. “That’s good my dear. I’m glad to see we are on the same page. I would hate for this to get ugly.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Rosemary just smirked.
“I’m not embarrassed by my past. So, if you are trying to slut shame me, it won’t work. I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I was young; I was having a good time and making a lot of money in the process. But even still, it’s been years since I’ve done anything like that. I’ve moved on and so should you. Now I’m a legitimate actress in Hollywood.”
“You are an aspiring actress dear, and you are right, there is nothing wrong with wanting to reach for the stars, but I’ll be damned if you are going to use my family name to do it.”
“I would never,” Jemma protested. “Look, I get it. You don’t want your son with me. After we leave Fiji, I doubt I would ever see him again anyway. We don’t exactly run in the same circles. Heck, we don’t even live in the same state.”
“That may be all well and good Miss James, but the more time you spend here with my son, the more of a potential complication you can be. I don’t want his name getting associated with you, not even as a one-time weekend fling.”
Jemma rolled her eyes.
“It’s too late. I’m here with him already, and I have no plans to leave.”
“I beg to differ. I happen to have quite a few friends in the movie industry.”
“And your point is?”
“If you get on the next flight out of here without causing a scene, by the time you land your agent will have filled your voicemail with offers for movie roles.”
“And if I don’t go?”
“Don’t toy with me, Miss James. I assure you, I have far more experience than you do. You won’t win.”
Jemma stood her ground. She folded her arms over her chest and just glared at Braden’s mother, not planning on giving in that easy.
“If memory serves me correctly, you have a younger sister back in England?”
“I do,” Jemma said cautiously. “What does she have to do with any of this? She doesn’t even know I’m here with Braden.”
“It would be a shame if anything were to happen to her is all I’m saying.”
Heat blazed in Jemma’s eyes. “You are positively insane. You threaten my family just to keep me away from your son? A son that doesn’t even seem to like you.”
Rosemary raised an incredulous arched brow in response.
“My son doesn’t have to like me, he just has to marry the right girl, and as his mother, it’s my job to ensure that is exactly what he does. You have to understand; it’s nothing personal. I’m sure you are a very nice girl. You just aren’t the right girl for Braden. His children will be heirs to the multi-billion dollar Washington fortune. They will need a mother who can help guide them through the duties that come with that sort of privilege.”
Jemma opened her mouth to say something but then snapped it back shut and gritted her teeth.
“Stop looking at me like that dear. I’m not your enemy. In fact, I’m offering you a very nice consolation prize. It’s an offer that most girls in your position would die for. Be smart, and go pack your bags. Tell my son you have some sort of family emergency.”
Vivid images of Braden flashed through Jemma’s mind. Should she leave? Could she? If she did, would Braden still pay Jessica? Jemma wanted to do the right thing and help Jessica out, but she didn’t know it would be this difficult. She was starting to have real feelings for Braden but his mother was certifiably insane, and that brings things to a whole new level. She didn’t know what to do, and she only had a few minutes to decide before Braden would return.
“I must be going now before my son returns. I would say I’ll see you at lunch, but I’m sure you’re smarter than that.”
Braden’s mother walked out the door, and Jemma fell back on the bed as tears rolled down her face. What in the hell was she going to do? If she did stay, would that crazy woman really try and hurt her sister? Surely not.
Who was she kidding? She couldn’t stay in Fiji with Braden if her sister’s life might be in danger. Braden had already paid Jessica half of the money. Jemma would just have to find a way to help her get the other half. But not like this. Not knowing something could happen to her family.
With her decision made Jemma quickly began packing her belongings. Just as she finished, she heard Braden return. The last thing she wanted to do was face him. She didn’t want to tell him about his mother; she just wanted to go away peacefully and let this whole nightmare be over.
It wasn’t just that his mother was completely insane, but also that Jemma had begun to have real feelings for Braden, and that probably scared her most of all. It was all just too much.
“Breakfast is served,” Braden called out from the other room.
When she didn’t respond, he came into the bedroom looking for her, only to find her with a suitcase in hand.
“What the hell is this?”
“Do you think you can help me with the rest of my bags?”
“I have to go,” Jemma started to explain.
“I can see that. But why? What the fuck did my mother say to you?”
Jemma shook her head, trying her best to hold back the tears.
“Whatever my mother said, ignore it. She’s completely off her rocker. You knew this. That’s why I hired you in the first place, to help me avoid having to deal with her insanity.”
When Jemma still didn’t respond, Braden took her by the hand and led her over to the bed, sitting down next to her.
“Please Jemma, I need you. Don’t go. I’ll pay you double.”
With wide eyes, she just glared at him.
“Are you kidding me? I’m not here for the money. I made more than that on my last movie. Sure, I’m not as wealthy as you, but I do alright on my own. I only agreed to come on this trip to help Jessica, but I didn’t sign up to have my family threatened or be treated like a two-bit whore.”
What exactly did my mother say to you?
Nothing I wasn’t expecting. She found out about my past and went apeshit. She demanded I leave before I taint your precious reputation and when I refused she said she would hate for anything to happen to my sister back in England.
Braden wasn’t shocked hearing this about his mother. He knew she could be ruthless when it came to getting what she wanted.
“Listen, Braden, you are a nice guy but she’s right, I was pretty wild when I was younger and …”
“You think I don’t know about your past? Before we finished our shopping trip, I had my people do a full background check on you and your entire family. I know about every job you’ve ever done since you were fifteen years old. I even have extensive histories of the last five men you’ve dated. Do you think I give a fuck about any of that?”
Jemma wasn’t sure what to say about that. She had no idea he did that, but I guess it makes sense he would probably want to make sure his traveling companion wasn’t a criminal or something. Still knowing about it yourself and having your whole family find out about it are two very different things.
“I told you when we first met, my mother has an idea about the kind of person she wants me to marry and anyone who doesn’t fit that perfect mold is trash to her. I’m not my mother though. I have my own money. I’m making my own way in the world. I’m not going to let my last name dictate my future. So, if I want to hook up with a Playboy bunny, a porn star, or a hooker from Tijuana, that’s my choice. My mother doesn’t get a say in my life. I’m a grown-up, a thirty-five-year-old man who doesn’t give two fucks what his mother thinks about his life choices.”
“I’m sorry Braden, but I’m not going to put my sister’s life at risk. I just couldn’t in good conscience do that, no matter how much I may enjoy spending time with you.”
“Of course, not. And if I thought for even a moment there was any real danger, I would understand and let you go. But I know my mother is all bark and no bite. She isn’t going to do anything to your sister. She just wanted to scare you off. She has this insane notion that you and I are more than we are. I tried to tell her that this thing between us is just a fling, but she kept going on about how I look at you as if somehow that mattered. What the hell does she know?”
Jemma still didn’t know what to say. She wanted to stay, more than anything she wanted more time with Braden, but she still wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do.
I need you here with me Jemma for the next week. I can’t be here alone with my crazy ass family, and I can’t leave my sister alone. I can assure you that nothing will happen to your sister. I will guarantee it.
“You can’t know that for sure.”
“Yes, I can. Because after breakfast I’m going to have a little talk with my mother and tell her to enjoy her time with me this week because when we leave Fiji, it will be the last she’ll ever see of me. Actually, no, strike that. I will not be here this week, not without you. If you leave Fiji, I’ll be going with you. If there is no Jemma James in Fiji, then I won’t be here either.”
“No, Braden. No. Absolutely not. I’m not going to be the cause of a rift in your family. Like her or not, she’s your mother.”
“Jemma sweetie, you are not. I told you, I don’t get along well with my family. This is just a drop in the bucket compared to some of the stunts my family has pulled in the past.”
“Braden, if I do stay, this thing between us can’t keep going on like it is. There is no chance in the hell for a future with us.”
“Who says there is no future for us?” Braden demanded to know.
Jemma blew out a breath. “Braden, you and I both know that’s not going to happen. We are from two very different worlds. Hell, we don’t even live in the same state.”
“I’m not saying there is going to be something between us beyond this week. But I’m also not saying it won’t happen either. How do we know what the future holds? You are discounting any possibility right from the start. Why not let, whatever happens, happen?”
“As your mother so eloquently put, your children will be the heirs to the multi-billion dollar Washington family fortune. They will need a mother who can guide them through the duties that come with that sort of privilege.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the Washington family fortune. What can I say to get that through your thick skull? I will raise my children with the woman I think would be a good mother and it won’t be based on what anyone but me thinks. And if I don’t care about her past, I don’t give two fucks what anyone else thinks about her past.”
“Braden look, I’ve known you for less than a week. I’m not trying to plan out our wedding or anything. Hell, we aren’t even a real couple.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Braden asked in frustration.
“The problem is when I agreed to this deal I didn’t realize your mother would hate me so much that she would threaten the life of my family.”
Braden sighed. “I promise she isn’t going to do anything.”
“I believe you. I really do. I’m sure the thought of not getting to see you ever again will be enough to make her back down, but that still leaves the other problem.”
“What other problem is that?”
“This one is a little harder to explain,” Jemma said hesitantly.
“Whatever it is, please just tell me Jemma, and we’ll work it out together.”
“I’m not a silly romantic, with my head full of fanciful ideas about love and finding my Prince Charming. But that first day that I met you, something happened. I can’t even explain it. All I can say is that it’s never happened to me before.”
Braden started to speak, but Jemma quickly raised her hand.
“Please just let me finish Braden. I’m not trying to say I want a relationship with you. Just the opposite. I’m one of those types of people who don’t like to waste time on something I know has no purpose. You and I clearly have no future, so anything we do can only end in one way. I don’t want that. Nobody wants to be hurt, and only a crazy person would go into something knowing that is how this would end.”
“Jemma I would never intentionally hurt you. You have to know that.”
“If I’m going to stay in Fiji, then it would have to be with our original terms, no funny business. I’ll play the role of your devoted girlfriend, but when we are alone, we don’t act on our feelings of desire for each other. We keep it professional, truly professional. Can you do that?”
“I don’t want you to leave Jemma so if that means I have to keep my dick in my pants to make that a reality, then so be it.”
After breakfast Jemma unpacked her things while Braden paid a visit to his mother, to lay down the law.
He wouldn’t dare admit it to anyone, but he was falling for Jemma James and he sure as fuck wasn’t about to let his mother get rid of her, not when he was having the best time of his life.
