Taking Chances Read online

  Sighing deeply Dean continued, “The reason Sara and I thought Jenna would be great as your housekeeper was more to help her than it was to help you. When she was little her parents died. It took almost 2 years for her Aunt Emma to be found due to some family feud or something. So for all that time Jenna was a ward of the state and it was hard on her. Never having a stable home, moving from place to place with what little belongings you have in a bag and the fact that some of the people who are foster parents aren’t always the nicest people it took its toll on her. She doesn’t talk about it much. As a result Jenna suffers from some pretty bad anxiety. She can go weeks without leaving her home. After her Aunt died she locked herself in for the better part of six months.” Tyler could see the sadness in his friend when he was talking about the woman who was practically his second sister. “

  Schedule and structure and familiarity are good for her they make her feel good as much as we know she wants to lead a life more spur of the moment and fly by the seat of your pants , she can’t. That’s why we mentioned the job to her. We needed to get her back out in the world but in a way she would feel comfortable. Jenna doesn’t need to work. Between the money and café her aunt left her and um other interests she has, she’s fine for money.” Dean took another bite of his meal as he watched to make sure what he was saying was sinking in with Tyler.

  “So what you’re saying is I’ve got my work cut out for me?” Giving a sly smile Tyler looked at him. “I’m up for it. Don’t worry I’m not a complete ass; I’m not looking to have a fling or hurt her. There’s something about this girl I like. A lot.”

  Laughing and shaking his head Dean looked at his friend. “my my my could it be that the great Tyler Johnson, one of New York’s most eligible bachelors and king of the fling is ready for something more?”

  “You never know man, you never know” rolling his eyes Tyler went on eating. “Alright enough about Jenna. How’s business with that new artist? I was hoping to get a few bigger pieces to put in the penthouse of the downtown hotel when we remodel it next month.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. Were you looking for abstract or cityscape?” Motioning the waitress for another beer Dean tried to keep from smirking at Tyler’s change of subject. “Have you seen any of the abstract? The artist says it’s what she sees when she listens to music or meditates”

  “This woman seems like a real interesting person. How on earth did you get mixed up with her?” Tyler may not know a lot about art be he knows what he likes and this artist was something special.

  “Sara just came across some of her work one day and fell in love with it.” Dean had to hide a smile. Tyler would flip if he knew that the artist whose work he loved so much he wanted to put it in his hotels was his housekeeper.

  “Well, I’ll stop by the gallery and visit your sister and pick some stuff out.” Tyler finished his dinner and motioned for the check. “I have to run I want to hit the gym before I head home and get ready for my trip to check out the new site in the Bahamas.” Paying the check he patted his friend on the shoulder and headed out of the restaurant.

  “Just think it through Ty that’s all I’m saying. She is special to us and I don’t know if she has it in her to put up with the constant go go go of your life and more importantly, how would your mom feel about you being seen with and involved with someone like Jenna?

  Waving off his friend Dean turned to see what was happening on the TV screens by the bar while he finished meal.

  All the way to the gym Tyler contemplated what Dean had told him about Jenna. Was his attraction to her enough to try and be what Dean says she wants? She really was a knock out. Her hair was long and straight she had recently added some streaks of hot pink that added to her eclectic personality. He has seen three of her tattoos the flowers on her forearm the little Koala bear on the top of her foot and the other day she showed up with a new one, her Aunts name in beautiful script on her neck.

  One day he would find her listening to classic rock, while she worked the next day it would be 80s pop or even some rap. She kept his home clean and in perfect order, and don’t even get him started on the food she left for him. He was used to ordering out or making his own food, and he wasn’t the world’s best cook. But Jenna however left him culinary masterpieces. Everything from coq au vin to perfect lasagna and she always left a nice little note taped to each container with the best way to heat the food up. She very quickly learned what he liked and even made little suggestions for new things he might like to try.

  Smiling to himself as he got out of the car and walked into his gym he had made his decision. Jenna was going to be his. He was going to get to know her, what do her tattoos mean, what does she do for fun, what can he do to make her give him more of those shining smiles and most importantly what can he do to make her comfortable and happy. He wanted to lay his hands on that sweet little body; he loved watching the sway of her hips in the form fitting yoga pants and jeans she wears, the curve of her breasts under that tight little concert tee shirts she favors. He ached to tangle his fingers in her long thick hair and taste her lush red lips. The other important reason for making Jenna his was that she made him want to see what this commitment thing was all about, he wanted to take care of her and make sure she didn’t have anything to fear. For the first time in his life Tyler was looking to the future and not just for business.

  As he changed into his shorts and shirt to workout in Tyler smiled knowing what he was going to do. There would be no games. He was going to let his intentions known to Jenna, let her know she had nothing to fear that he wanted to keep her safe and show her the things she wanted to see. Jenna was going to be happy she was going to see the world and do all the things she dreamed of he would make sure of it. First he was going to do some research on anxiety and see if there were things he can do to make her comfortable and secure.

  Chapter three

  Tyler walked in his penthouse with his suitcase in hand. The trip should have taken 3 days tops, instead it took him over a week. The landscapers were lazy the electrician was a disaster and worst of all; his project manager was an incompetent. After an extensive search through his data base he was able to replace his project manager. The only good thing about his trip to the Bahamas was that he managed to get some parasailing and wake boarding in before he came home.

  The first thing he noticed when he walked in was the music, smiling he noted it was Jenna’s favorite classic rock station. Then the smell whatever it was that was simmering in the kitchen it smelled delicious. Walking further in, he dropped his suitcase by the coffee table.

  Jenna walked into the living room wiping her hands on a paper towel. Looking up she saw Tyler and he was gifted with one of her shining smiles.

  “Oh your back already? Dean told me he heard from you and that you were on your way so I thought I’d stop by and fix you a nice dinner and make sure everything was clean and fresh and nice for you.” Walking to where she dropped his suitcase she picked it up.

  “There’s a pot of stew on the stove. I’ll just unpack this and drop a load of laundry in for you and let you relax after your trip, is that ok with you?”

  “That all sounds fine with me except, how about you join me for dinner?” Undoing his tie and heading towards the kitchen he turned when he got to the door waiting for her response.

  “Um well that’s nice of you but I really don’t like to take the late busses home. Otherwise I’d be happy to join you.” She smiles at him and walked to the small laundry room and set the suitcase on the counter.

  Tyler followed her and watched as she unpacked his suitcase. Separating his laundry then turning to carry his toiletries to his bathroom she stopped in front of him. “Stay Jenna. Have dinner with me. You’ve worked for me for 4 months and I really don’t know anything about you except what I know from Dean and Sara. When we are done eating I will personally drive you home and deliver you to your front door safe and sound. Dean told me a little about your, about yo
ur discomfort with new things and changes and such. You can trust me Jenna I won’t hurt you and I won’t let anything happen to you.” He placed his hand on her shoulder smiling down at her.

  Looking up into his eyes she nodded.

  “Alright just let me finish what I’m doing and ill join you for dinner. Thanks.” She walked into his room to put his things away. Smiling he watched her go noting how perfectly those yoga pants fit around her beautiful curves before heading to the kitchen.

  When Jenna returned to the kitchen Tyler had set the table for two. Two bottles of beer two nice bowls of stew and on the side some of the French bread she picked up at the bakery. He held a seat out for her and once she was seated he moved to sit next to her.

  Tasting the food he sighed “you know you really do know how to cook this is great.” taking another spoonful he smiled at her.

  “Thanks. My aunt Emma was a chef she studied at Le Cordon Bleu and traveled the world learning new techniques and styles of cooking. She taught me how to handle myself in the kitchen. Can you imagine traveling the world like that? Well anyway you can thank Aunt Emma and incase I forget one of her recipes I left a copy of each of her cookbooks in your kitchen.” She took a bite of the bread and looked at him smiling at how handsome he was.

  He was six foot 4 with dark brown hair that was always mussed and sapphire blue eyes. She normally didn’t find the business man thing attractive, however he really did make her just want to sit and stare at him.

  Tyler reached for his beer and looked at her catching her eyes with his. “Dean told me a bit about your aunt and how you came to live with her” he noticed her freeze and get a bit of a haunted look in her eyes. “Now don’t be mad at him he just wanted to make sure I treated you right or that I was my normal hard assed self with you, he and Sara really like you.”

  Giving him a nervous smile Jenna added “I really like them too. Since they told you how I came to live with Aunt Emma than I’m sure you can guess I was a bit of a wreck. Dean and Sara lived next door. Sara would see me sitting at the café up the street with my aunt. One day she walked by with her mom and stopped to talk to me while her mom talked to Emma, Sara started talking to me, she made me feel comfortable, and from then on we were inseparable. For a long time the only place I would go besides school and home was their house. Dean was and is like an older brother to me too.”

  “I can see that.” Tyler sipped his beer as he thought about what he was going to say next. Taking a deep breathe he added

  “When I told Dean I was interest in getting to know has nothing to do with you being my housekeeper and more to do with you being the most intriguing and beautiful woman I have ever me, he made damn sure I knew that if I hurt you I would pay.” He looked at her to see her reaction.

  Coughing as she tried to swallow the mouthful of stew she had just taken, Jenna looked at Tyler as if he had sprouted a second nose. “You’re interested in me? Like interested in me? Even after you heard that I have hermit tendencies?” She watched as he flashed her one of his dazzling smile and couldn’t believe what she just heard. She wasn’t a complete shut in. She has had a relationship of two in her 26 years. However once guys get a peek of her anxiety and fears they take off. Yet here he is Tyler Johnson, sexy, funny, wealthy and able to have any woman he wants; stating his desire to get to know her to be with her.

  “Is that so hard to believe? I mean you have to know how attractive you are and how nice you are.” He reached out and took her hand rubbing his thumb over her palm. He looked her up and down once then met her hypnotic eyes.

  “The minute I saw you dancing around my bedroom I was intrigued. Then you looked at me with your absolutely amazing eyes and I fell a bit. The minute I started to get to know you a more I was lost. You were all I thought about and I will know you Jenna, believe me I get what I want.” Smirking he pulled her hand up and kissed it.

  She forced herself to finish some of the meal. One of the downfalls of her anxiety is the racing mind. She over thought, she fretted about every little thing and right now her mind was going a mile a minute and she felt the tell-tale thump of her heart, yet the panic attack never came for the same reasons that getting involved with Tyler was scary it was also oddly comforting. Her mind was at war with itself. This handsome successful man wanted to be with her.

  Should she say yes she wanted to be with him despite their differences and the fact that she had nothing in common with almost anything in his life, should she say no, she wasn’t looking for a relationship now and go back to her safe life alone with nobody to possibly hurt her? She had to stop listening to the little voice in her head that always told of impending doom and start listening to the voice, which oddly enough sounded a lot like Sara, and told her that sometimes taking a chance wasn’t bad.

  Tyler finished his meal and took her hand, “Come on let’s go sit and talk a bit. Tell me about yourself Jenna, what you do for fun. He led her to the couch in the living room that looked out over the city. “Just chill for a minute I'm going to go change out of this suit.”

  When he came back, he was wearing a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt his feet were bare and for some reason she found that so hot. It added a level of familiarity or something she thought. He sat next to her on the couch and put his arm behind her on the back of the couch. His fingers played with her hair as he watched her.

  “Why are you so surprised I want you Jenna?” Putting his fingers under her chin he made her look at him then put his arm back on the back of the couch.

  “I don’t know I guess it’s just…it’s just that well I don’t look like a girl you would be seen with. I picture you with someone like, well, I don’t know I’ve never met anyone like the woman you should be with. I picture you with someone who is sophisticated and smart and can hold her own when she talks to people. She doesn’t have pink hair and tattoos and live like a hermit. Probably the most importantly reason is, I’m your housekeeper, true it isn’t out of necessity that I do that but what would your friends or family think if you showed up somewhere with me?” Licking her lips as she watched him as he put his now empty beer on the table.

  “Now you are starting to sound like my mother. I’ve been with someone like that before and, they bore me. I look at you and I see someone who is different and unapologetic about it. I see someone who won’t yes me to death just to make me happy.”

  Twirling one of her pink highlights around his finger he adds. “You look like someone who is dying to take some chances has some fun do new things and I want to be the man who helps you.” Leaning in his lips hovered over hers. “Tell me you don’t want this and ill back off, tell me you aren’t looking for someone who can keep you safe and at the same time show you how to get out more and have fun, tell me I’m wrong about everything and we can go back to normal.”

  Smiling shyly at him Jenna closed the small space between them and placed a light kiss on his cheek. “I think you should go find someone who doesn’t keep all this excess baggage of neurosis they carry with them everywhere. I mean you travel the world both for work and for fun. There are pictures of you in some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen and I’m to scared go see my favorite band in concert in a few months because it means I not only have to leave my house and be in a big crowd, but I have to leave New York! I haven’t done that since I was 18 and Aunt Emma took me to Philly to the art museum for my birthday.”

  Sitting back Jenna looked right at him. “A relationship with me is a lot of work.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed from those same pictures you mentioned I love a challenge I love having fun and I love life. I am not going to lie to you Jenna I love to go skiing and sky diving and I absolutely love diving in the Caribbean and Mediterranean but I am not asking you to do those things with me, and I would never force you to do so. Let me show you how it is to live life like that, Jenna, we can start slow but come on. Be my partner in crime let me show you how to have fun without being scared.” Tyle
r ran his knuckle across her soft cheek and he looked into her eyes.

  “I want to be with you Jenna Flynn. I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m madly in love with you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I’m not going to tell you that I don’t want those things either, who knows where we will end up. But I am going to tell you that I want to be with you I want to make you happy, there is something about you that make me want to show you the world and things you have never seen. I want to touch you and be with you.” Leaning in to her he gives her a kiss, a soft, passionate kiss his lips touching her soft lips, his tongue tasting her lips and coaxing them open.

  “Let’s see where we can take this Jenna. Don’t over think it lets just have some fun and see what happens.” Smiling at her, he runs his hand down the side of her face cupping her cheek.

  Sighing and shivering from his soft touch Jenna looking at him, her brain is racing, a million voices telling her a million different things, her mind being bombarded with what ifs and what will people think and how will it work out. As always the voices are all hers. She reaches out and pulls him to her and places a soft kiss on his lips. She pulls back and looks at him giving him a nervous smile.

  She smiles at him and replies with one word “Yes.”