Heart Robber (Lifestyle by Design Book 2) by Miranda P. Charles
Authors: Miranda P. Charles
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called her beautiful.
"See? What do we keep telling you, Jess? There are all these men who notice you and think you're very attractive. The only reason you don't notice them is because you refuse to believe they could be attracted to you. Not all men just walk up to girls and say they're beautiful or they're interested, you know. A good number of them start out with giving hints, trying to gauge your level of interest. But most of the time, you ignore them because you just won't believe they're coming on to you."
Jessa was quiet for a long moment. "Really, Clarise?"
"Yes! Remember Paul at that expo we went to three months ago? He was cute."
"Oh, come on. He wasn't interested in me, was he? He just met me then. He couldn't have been wanting to go out with me."
"See what I mean?" she said. "I watched you ignore his subtle signals. He would have believed you weren't interested as opposed to simply being blissfully ignorant of his attraction to you."
"Okay, then. Maybe I'm starting to believe you. But it's not like I could just easily get a date with a handsome man like him."
"As if Rob and that dimpled guy from this morning weren't proof enough. But okay, just wait and we'll come up with ways for you to go out on dates with decent, good-looking guys."
Clarise was excited that her friend was starting to come out of her shell more. She had been hiding under it, putting on a mask of indifference and professionalism. That served Jessa well in her career, for she was truly brilliant at what she did. But she knew the loneliness Jessa felt from thinking she was unattractive when it was simply a belief from her childhood that totally skewed her perception. At least they could be thankful to Rob for helping them with a JAB of his own by asking Jessa out.
When she finished her conversation with Jessa, she was straight on the phone with Faye. They were determined to help Jessa go out there and have some fun. She'd held herself back too much. And if she dated more, they had no doubt she'd find herself a man who would just hold on to her and never let her go. In the end, that was what they wanted for her. They knew deep down it was what Jessa was looking for.
*******
Rob smiled with satisfaction and relief as the second of the big Sydney contracts he was chasing also came through, signed and dated. Now he could fully plan and prepare for a short-term stay in Sydney as he personally attended to these new clients.
He missed the city he grew up in and was looking forward to living there for four months. The good thing was he didn't need an office space there. He could work from the serviced apartment he would be staying at and any support he needed could be handled electronically by his Melbourne staff.
His thoughts turned to Jessa and his body started reacting. He had considered flying to Sydney for the weekend just to see her. He almost arranged it until he realised how crazy that was. How could he disrupt his schedule and fly to another state just for some casual sex? Crazy. He'd be back there in three weeks, anyway. By then, his attraction to her should have diminished so that he wouldn't be contemplating any more idiotic actions for a one night stand or two.
His phone rang. "Will."
"Hey, Rob, how's it going?"
"Good, good. You?"
"All right. Guess who I had coffee with today?"
"Who?"
"Your ex."
Oh, shit. He'd forgotten all about Andrea being in Sydney. "Did she call you?"
"Yes. She's a very insistent woman. Wouldn't let me get away with not having coffee with her."
"What did she want from you?"
"Nothing much from me. She just asked me about places she could go and told me how she was enjoying Bondi and the new people she met on the beach. She did talk a lot about you, though."
"What about?"
"Oh, she was more like reminiscing on your good times together. She wants you back, you know."
Rob snorted and shook his head, then suddenly sat up straight in his chair as he remembered something. "Does Clarise know you saw
"See? What do we keep telling you, Jess? There are all these men who notice you and think you're very attractive. The only reason you don't notice them is because you refuse to believe they could be attracted to you. Not all men just walk up to girls and say they're beautiful or they're interested, you know. A good number of them start out with giving hints, trying to gauge your level of interest. But most of the time, you ignore them because you just won't believe they're coming on to you."
Jessa was quiet for a long moment. "Really, Clarise?"
"Yes! Remember Paul at that expo we went to three months ago? He was cute."
"Oh, come on. He wasn't interested in me, was he? He just met me then. He couldn't have been wanting to go out with me."
"See what I mean?" she said. "I watched you ignore his subtle signals. He would have believed you weren't interested as opposed to simply being blissfully ignorant of his attraction to you."
"Okay, then. Maybe I'm starting to believe you. But it's not like I could just easily get a date with a handsome man like him."
"As if Rob and that dimpled guy from this morning weren't proof enough. But okay, just wait and we'll come up with ways for you to go out on dates with decent, good-looking guys."
Clarise was excited that her friend was starting to come out of her shell more. She had been hiding under it, putting on a mask of indifference and professionalism. That served Jessa well in her career, for she was truly brilliant at what she did. But she knew the loneliness Jessa felt from thinking she was unattractive when it was simply a belief from her childhood that totally skewed her perception. At least they could be thankful to Rob for helping them with a JAB of his own by asking Jessa out.
When she finished her conversation with Jessa, she was straight on the phone with Faye. They were determined to help Jessa go out there and have some fun. She'd held herself back too much. And if she dated more, they had no doubt she'd find herself a man who would just hold on to her and never let her go. In the end, that was what they wanted for her. They knew deep down it was what Jessa was looking for.
*******
Rob smiled with satisfaction and relief as the second of the big Sydney contracts he was chasing also came through, signed and dated. Now he could fully plan and prepare for a short-term stay in Sydney as he personally attended to these new clients.
He missed the city he grew up in and was looking forward to living there for four months. The good thing was he didn't need an office space there. He could work from the serviced apartment he would be staying at and any support he needed could be handled electronically by his Melbourne staff.
His thoughts turned to Jessa and his body started reacting. He had considered flying to Sydney for the weekend just to see her. He almost arranged it until he realised how crazy that was. How could he disrupt his schedule and fly to another state just for some casual sex? Crazy. He'd be back there in three weeks, anyway. By then, his attraction to her should have diminished so that he wouldn't be contemplating any more idiotic actions for a one night stand or two.
His phone rang. "Will."
"Hey, Rob, how's it going?"
"Good, good. You?"
"All right. Guess who I had coffee with today?"
"Who?"
"Your ex."
Oh, shit. He'd forgotten all about Andrea being in Sydney. "Did she call you?"
"Yes. She's a very insistent woman. Wouldn't let me get away with not having coffee with her."
"What did she want from you?"
"Nothing much from me. She just asked me about places she could go and told me how she was enjoying Bondi and the new people she met on the beach. She did talk a lot about you, though."
"What about?"
"Oh, she was more like reminiscing on your good times together. She wants you back, you know."
Rob snorted and shook his head, then suddenly sat up straight in his chair as he remembered something. "Does Clarise know you saw
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