What Jack Wants

   Jack hung his jacket up in his walk-in closet as he mulled over the activities of the day. He had surprised himself when he'd proposed to Lisa his own version of marriage. Sure he'd known what he needed to do, his mother wouldn't stop reminding him of it and he'd long-drawn that contract but he didn't know who he was going to give it to just yet until he saw her. Even bent over, she'd been a sight to behold but when she turned around, his mind was made up. He had been going over his options, considering all the girls that he thought were prospects but his heart just wasn't in it. He didn't want to fall in love, didn't need to. It was too much trouble to go through and still end up disappointed. His mother wanted him to get married and bear children and that was what he was going to do. Who he did it with or how he went about it wasn't really her business. He could understand his mother's persistence however, time was of the essence.    He'd been m

Jack needed to see Lisa again. It had been a week since she turned him down, a week of sending texts and leaving gifts. He was going against everything he believed in because of this one girl. He needed to get her out of his system, it wasn't like him to pine over anyone. Jess had said she would look at the contract and if she was satisfied, they would be married. So that settled the wife thing which was the whole reason he was seeking Lisa out in the first place. Yet he felt like he wasn't done with her. She was a constant part of his thoughts and it was starting to get on his nerves. For all his gifts and attention, she had never given him more than a friendly thank you. He got up and took his suit jacket from behind his chair and headed out. If what he knew about her was true, she would still be at work. Yeah, Jack was keeping tabs on her, who wouldn't? She was the sexiest woman he had seen in a long time, and that was saying a lot because he'd travelled a lot and se

   Lisa almost ran as she made her way to Jordan's room, panicked. The door was locked, probably because Francis was over but Lisa knocked over and over until she came out."Dude, why are you threatening to break my door this early on a Saturday morning?""He called, Jordan." Lisa almost broke as she said the words and Jordan immediately understood and gathered her friend in her arms."What did he want?" Jordan asked after Lisa had calmed down. They were now sitting on a couch in the living room."He said he doesn't have a place to stay and he knows I have an apartment in the city so he wants to come and stay with me, just till he can get back on his feet." Lisa's bottom lip quivered as she said the words. "Which would mean he knows where you live.""I have to leave.""You will do no such thing.""But he's going to come here Jordan, and you know how he gets. I don't want to put you in any trouble."

Jack drowned his fifth glass of Whiskey that morning. He'd gone back to work the previous day after the fight with Lisa and worked himself to stupor. In his mind, everything was alright. But was he wrong? The next day, he woke up feeling like crap. He couldn't wrap his head around it, the feeling couldn't be explained.  He'd dressed up and gone to work as usual but for three hours, he was completely useless. He couldn't think, couldn't function, couldn't even be angry and snap at the staff. He couldn't remember ever feeling like that and he was at a total loss.  He reached for the bottle again at the same time Ben walked into his office. "Woah... What has you indulging so early? " Ben asked as he dropped into one of the seats on the other side of Jack's desk. "I don't know how I feel, man." Jack poured the drink and took a generous gulp, the alcohol couldn't kick in fast enough. "What happened

The engagement party was in a few hours. Jack couldn't bring himself to even pretend that he cared about it. Jess had been handling everything by herself since he literally barked at her to leave him alone. He wired her the funds and asked her to do whatever she wanted with the party. His mother was going to show up and be happy, that was all that mattered to him. It didn't matter if Jack himself was miserable, he was doing what needed to be done. He was doing right by her, fulfilling her desires.  Jack looked at the time, he had barely two hours to sober up and play the doting fiance. The thought of it left a bitter taste in his mouth but it had to be done and that was what he was going to do. He walked to his kitchen and fixed a cup of coffee for himself, the amount of alcohol in his system was enough to knock a weaker man out. Alcohol had become his companion, he didn't know what else to do with his newly discovered feelings. It became clearer that he ha