Come Down Under Page 13

  A fond smile lifted the corners of my lips. “No, Daddy. I’m fine, I promise. I just meant that everyone at work has been very nice to me, but some are taking more time to warm up to the intern than others.”

  Or at least, some were giving said intern emotional whiplash between playing it icy cold one minute and being on fire with her the next. But Dad definitely didn’t need to find out about that.

  “I’m sure they just need to get to know you,” Mom said. “They’ll love you once they do. How was your weekend? We didn’t hear from you.”

  “It was busy. I’m sorry I didn’t call.” I stopped at an intersection and waited for the pedestrian light to turn green. “I had a work thing on Friday night, and a new friend I met at the office took me surfing on Saturday. I spent Sunday catching up on sleep, walking around the city a little bit, and looking into some more options for after graduation.”

  “Well, one thing you can definitely do after you have that fancy degree in your hand is teach your old man how to surf,” Dad joked. “Maybe I can work off some of the beer belly I’ve grown since you’ve been away.”

  “But you’ve been working so hard at growing it,” Mom teased, and I looked like a lunatic by smiling so wide that I attracted a few questioning glances from those walking past me.

  I loved my parents so damn much. Hearing their banter was like a balm to my soul, especially on days like today.

  Despite how eager I’d been to get this internship and to start working, I was starting to wonder if coming here had been a giant mistake. It didn’t really matter since I was here now and I wasn’t giving up or walking away, but surely, I could’ve found a more dedicated and less confusing mentor in London.

  As I turned the last corner to Jude’s building, I frowned when I saw him waiting at the front doors. He looked like a god standing there with the sunlight glinting off his dark hair, sunglasses covering those mesmerizing eyes, and wearing a button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows again.

  For just one moment, I let my eyes linger on his lips. I was far enough away that he wouldn’t catch me doing it, and I was wearing sunglasses of my own anyway.

  Holy freaking moly. I’ve kissed those lips.

  A shiver ran through me at the memory.

  I’ve had my mouth on that mouth, and it kissed me back. It had been the single hottest moment of my life and neither of us had even removed a single item of clothing. Sad but true.

  What was sadder was that it couldn’t happen again.

  Jude grinned when he spotted me weaving my way through the crowd toward him, holding up one of the two coffees in his hands.

  “Rosie, honey? Are you still there?” Mom’s voice reminded me I was still on the call. “Rosie? Bob, have we lost the connection?”

  “No, Mom. I’m here. I’m just about at work, though, so I’m going to have to go. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

  “Okay, darling,” she replied. “We love you.”

  “Love you, too,” I said, hanging up and sliding my phone into my pocket just as I came to a stop in front of Jude.

  If he’d heard me, he pretended he hadn’t. Instead, he handed over one of the coffees and, once his hand was free, pulled his sunglasses off his handsome face.

  “Good morning, Roselyn,” he said, using my full name for some reason. “Shane said you liked coffee.”

  “Thank you.” I took it and hoped he didn’t see the slight tremble of my fingers when I lifted my hand. Nerves had been eating me up inside since that kiss, but now that I was around him again, it was ten times worse.

  Why did I lose control like I that? I should never have kissed him. Talk about unprofessional.

  What would Professor McDonald say if he ever found out I’d kissed my mentor right smack in the middle of the office? I’d lose the internship, for sure.

  A fresh bout of anxiety hit and my hand suddenly shook so badly I was afraid I would drop the cup. To try to cover it, I wrapped both hands around the cardboard and tried to keep it steady.

  “I wanted to apologize,” Jude said, making me almost drop the cup again but for an entirely different reason.

  I looked up at him, narrowing my eyes in suspicion. “You don’t strike me as the apologetic type.”

  “I’m not.” He shrugged. “But yesterday wasn’t fair to you and I’m sorry. From here on out, let’s keep things professional.”

  What? I cleared my throat, nodding my head in an attempt to clear the sudden fog from it. “Sure. Yes. Let’s do that.”

  This is what you want, Rose.

  All day yesterday and all of this morning, all I’d been able to think about was how much of a disaster that kiss could be to my career. It wasn’t that it hadn’t been a good kiss. It had. It had been a great kiss. The best kiss I’d ever gotten, even.

  But it had been with someone who was off-limits to me. So why am I suddenly feeling so acutely disappointed that I can barely breathe?

  In my heart of hearts, I knew the answer to that question. It was because now that he’d said it, the mystery was gone and so was the chance of another heated make-out session. There was a nagging feeling so deep inside me that it felt like it was coming from my soul that I was missing out on something truly magical.

  But what the hell, right? That couldn’t be true.

  Jude Hudson was a party boy extraordinaire, the country’s favorite player. The only thing magical about being with him probably—I hoped so for his sake anyway—would have been his cock. And that wasn’t worth risking everything I’d worked for.

  Never in a million fucking years.

  Jude yanked me out of my thoughts by giving me a playful bump with his shoulder. “Earth to Rose. I’m being serious. I’m going to be a better mentor to you, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said, not fully convinced.

  He must’ve heard my lack of conviction because he smirked and arched an eyebrow. “You don’t believe I can be a good mentor, do you?”

  “Well,” I said as we pushed our way in past the revolving glass doors, “considering that I didn’t drown or otherwise injure myself surfing, I know you can be a good teacher. I’m just not sure you have it in you to do it for entire days at a time.”

  He stopped moving, amusement flashing in his eyes when I turned to frown at him. “You don’t think I have it in me to be a mentor for an entire day at a time, huh? I’ve personally mentored just about every programmer in this company. It might not have been a formal thing, but it happened. I’m a fantastic mentor.”

  “Oh yeah?” I raised my chin ever so slightly, making sure to look directly into those emerald eyes that would never not make me melt a little inside. “Prove it.”

  “I will.” He grinned and lifted his hands to rub his palms together with the arm of his sunglasses stuck between his teeth. “Get ready to eat your hat because I’ve got this one in the bag.”

  Surprisingly, it turned out that he did have it in the bag. When he wasn’t intent on ditching me, dissing me, or kissing me, Jude made for one hell of a mentor.

  “First things first, we’ll need to go over our daily schedule,” he said, ignoring all the looks he got from people on the elevator with us and giving his full attention to me. “From now on, I want you on me like glitter on a stripper.”

  My brow lifted. “That’s not a very professional analogy.”

  The bastard actually winked at me, the corners of his mouth twitching. “It is when you work for me. Our corporate culture isn’t stuck up. We’re in tech, not finance.”

  A couple of people in the elevator snorted or cleared their throats, but Jude didn’t seem bothered he might have offended anyone. He simply smiled and waved hi before turning back to me. “Where I go, you go. Got it?”

  “Yes.” My pulse was starting to spike. As attracted as I was to this man, the way he was being now was what I’d hoped for in a mentor. Maybe this wasn’t a giant mistake, after all.

  “Good.” A low ding sounded on the last floor before ours, and everyon
e but us got off. Just like that, I was alone with him again.

  When my heart kicked into a higher gear and Jude’s eyes snagged on mine, I could practically feel the tension vibrating in the air between us. His nostrils flared and his pupils dilated, but then he swallowed and slid his gaze up to the luminescent blue letters above the door.

  With the moment broken, his smirk came back and I seriously wondered if I’d just imagined the whole thing. Jude didn’t skip a beat.

  “You’re going to be sticking with me, so you need to be prepared for some late nights. It’ll either be late nights or early mornings but very rarely both on the same day.”

  My ears perked. Was he finally about to tell me something about his personal life?

  Why do you want to know? My subconscious screamed at me, and I waved a white flag in my own damn head. Yep, I’m definitely losing it.

  He carried on like he hadn’t noticed I’d spaced out briefly. “I’ll take you through things as we go along. Please don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t be afraid to tip your waiter.”

  It took me a second to realize he’d make a joke. With me. While at the office.

  Looks like I really am in for a totally different ride from here on out.

  Despite my reservations, Jude kept it up all day. He was funny, lighthearted, attentive. It made it really difficult not to wish that the ride I was in for from here on out would have been him.

  But it wasn’t.

  I was just going to have to get used to it.

  Chapter 20

  JUDE

  For the last two weeks, I’d spent every minute of every day at work being the best goddamn mentor I could be. I enjoyed it, too. I’d forgotten how much I liked having someone capable and intelligent under my wing. Watching and seeing them change and grow day by day was really fucking rewarding.

  Already, Roselyn was not the wide-eyed intern she had been only half a month ago, unsure of herself or her place. She’d never been that way in her personal interactions, but at the office, she’d seemed like she felt out of place.

  It had been largely my fault, but it had only been for those first three days. After I’d come to the conclusion that I’d treated Rose the same way an eight-year-old had treated my son, I’d pulled my head out of my ass for real and come to the party.

  It was going really well so far. Wherever Rose ended up, she would be a massive asset to the company.

  The only problem was that kiss, the motherfucking kiss that still kept me up—and awake—at night. Although it seemed she’d completely forgotten about it, I sure as fuck hadn’t. I also hadn’t stopped wanting to do a hell of a lot more than just kissing her.

  Some days, I swore she chose her outfit specifically to torture me. This morning, for example, she’d rocked up to the office wearing a tartan skirt, a white button-down shirt, and a navy blazer. There was nothing indecent about the length of the skirt or the fit of the shirt, but she’d still looked like she’d stepped out of a schoolboy fantasy of mine.

  My eyes had nearly fallen out of my head when she’d walked in and my cock had instantly strained against my zipper. For obvious reasons, I hadn’t gotten up to greet her, nor had I gotten up to welcome the clients we received for a meeting.

  Thankfully, I’d been able to pretend to be busy on my computer and had simply waved them in. I’d gotten good at dealing with situations like that over the last couple of weeks, but I was still glad for the change of pace this afternoon.

  Rose was back at the office with Shane, and I was about to give an interview at a local radio station. The host of the show was a man I’d met before, John Davies. He had bright red hair and a shark-like smile, but he was usually fair.

  “Looking good, Hudson,” he said as he shook my hand with a firm grip. The smile of his came out as he took a step back and ran his gaze over my suit. “Well dressed as always, even for a radio show. You know our listeners won’t be able to see you, don’t you?”

  “I do, but I got dressed up hoping to get a picture with you,” I quipped, used to the banter before the live shows started. “How’s it going, John?”

  “Nothing to complain about,” he replied, releasing my hand and motioning for me to take a seat. The studio was small and there were only three seats around the table with the microphones set up in it. “You? I hear you’re working on some exciting new products.”

  “I am, but I think we should save those for the show, don’t you?” I grinned as I unbuttoned my jacket and sat down, getting comfortable. I was at ease in places like this, and I’d been told it showed.

  John smirked at me as I sat back. “Sure thing. We can leave it for the show. You catch any good waves lately?”

  My mind flashed back to the day on the beach with Rose and that fucking bikini I hadn’t been able to get out of my head. “Yeah, I’ve been out once or twice. There’s never enough time for it, though. Am I right?”

  He nodded as he took his seat. “Absolutely. Let me tell you, I wouldn’t have minded becoming a pro surfer and having that as a career.”

  “But that would require you to be good at it,” I joked.

  John’s head dropped back, his generous belly bouncing as he guffawed. “That’s true. I’d probably also have needed to lose a few pounds.”

  “Nah, man.” I waved him off. “Haven’t you seen that awesome kids’ movie with the surfing penguins? It’s the big one who was the legend.”

  He laughed some more, but when he finally stopped, I saw a glint in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. “Listen, I’m glad you brought up kids’ movies. I need to—”

  “You’re live in five, John,” a disembodied voice rang out in the studio.

  The host gave me an apologetic look and wrapped his fingers around his mic, his gaze moving to the producer’s window behind me. “Good morning and welcome to Your Work Zone with me, John Davies. With us on the show today is Sydney’s favorite son, Jude Hudson.”

  “What’s up, everyone?” I asked, a smirk spreading on my lips as I leaned forward to speak into the mic. I knew there was a camera in here livestreaming the interview to all the station’s social media. “It’s good to be back here, John. Thanks for having me.”

  “Anytime, mate.” He was smiling while he spoke, but that weird glint was still there in his eyes. It was starting to bug me, but I didn’t let it show. “So Jude, tell us what you’ve been up to since the last time we had you on the show.”

  “To be honest, I’ve been pretty busy.” I ran my hand casually though my hair, using the movement to take a quick and discreet look around. When I didn’t see anything that aroused my suspicion, I tried to relax.

  Interviews had become second nature to me. My gut had to be off on this one. John was probably just having a bad day. I flashed him a smile. “We’re in the process of developing several new mobile applications, but we’re also working on a ton of other stuff.”

  “That’s interesting,” he said, strangely not sounding interested at all. I expected him to ask a follow-up question on my work, as was normal to get the ball rolling, but he didn’t. “What about your personal life? Anything been keeping you busy on the home front?”

  “Are you fishing to find out if I’m in a relationship?” I asked, deflecting while trying to remain charismatic about it. Thank you, media training!

  John shook his head, his mouth twisting into that shark-like smile again. “Nah, if you had been, we’d all have heard about it right now. There’s no other bachelor in the city who would incite the kind of pity parties every single woman would throw if you got taken off the market.”

  I chuckled, but my hackles were up. The good vibes between John and I before the show while we’d been bantering had changed, and the tone was quickly shifting. I just didn’t know where it was going.

  “Trust me, no one would have to throw a pity party about that,” I said good-naturedly, forcing myself to focus on the interview instead of the odd atmosphere in the room. “If anything, they should have a pity p
arty for the poor woman who’d have to put up with me for the rest of her life.”

  “Ah, you know that’s not true, mate.” He laughed. “You do everything in life with the same confidence and ease you’re handling this interview with. I’m sure the woman wouldn’t have to feel very sorry for herself if you ever chose one to settle down with.”

  “You’re too nice to me, bro.” I grinned, but I had a feeling the ax was about to drop. “What about you? Any new love in your life?”

  “No one’s interested in hearing about me,” he said. “They listen to me babbling on about something or anything all day. I’m sure they’d much rather hear about you. So, no new relationship then?”

  “Nope.” My grin turned self-deprecating as I shook my head sadly. “I’m still searching for that one special lady to steal my heart and make me hers.”

  I nearly gagged on the words, but Shane and his PR team insisted on me saying shit like that while giving interviews. Apparently, it made the pictures of me more palatable for the public if they thought I was looking for love instead of a good hard fuck.

  At the thought of a good hard fuck, my mind immediately drifted back to Rose and that fucking skirt. What I wouldn’t give to—

  “Speaking about one special lady, there was a time you did have one in your life, wasn’t there?” John’s question ripped me right out of speculating whether it would’ve been better to remove the skirt with my hands or teeth.

  I blinked in surprise but recovered fast. Being asked about relationships was par for the course. “Yeah, I’ve had a few girlfriends over the years. My high school girlf—”

  John cut me off. “What about Audrey, your ex?”

  I frowned. “What about her?”

  He looked right into my eyes, and I realized this was what he’d been steering the conversation toward the entire time. “She’s the mother of your young son, yes?”