Betting Jessica Read online

  Betting Jessica

  Gambling for love

  can be a risky business

  Deanne Sprinkle Wilsted

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 2011

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced

  in any form without permission.

  For information contact author via website:

  www.DeanneWilsted.com

  I would like to thank the many people who believed in my dreams and helped to create this first novel; especially my husband Jeff for all his support, my good friend Peter for never questioning that I was an author and my editor Karli Clift for her guidance and help.

  Chapter One

  Jessica leaned her forehead on the toilet and wondered whether she should even try to make it to the phone before the last ring. She placed her hands over her ears to shut out the sound, but it didn’t seem to get any better. When it finally stopped she sighed in relief.

  “God damn it!” she shouted at the phone when it started ringing again.

  She couldn’t believe the person was calling back. Clearly they didn’t realize how badly the sound was hurting her head.

  “Hello?” Her raspy voice was such a cliché Jessica was almost embarrassed.

  “Hey, Jess. What’s up?”

  Only Katie would answer her so perkily after such a bleak reception.

  “Not me, Katie. Good-bye,” Jess said grumpily and was about to hang up when she heard Katie yelling into the phone.

  “Wait, Jess, we really have to talk. I heard about last night.”

  The sympathy in Katie’s voice was a little overwhelming, especially before downing a pot of coffee and a handful of aspirin.

  “Yeah, it wasn’t one of my better nights.”

  “Are you okay?” Katie asked. “I mean, I heard your new job isn’t, well, you know. I guess it isn’t so great?”

  Jessica sighed. “What else is new, huh? But hey, I’ve been here before so I’ll get through it.”

  Jessica suddenly felt clammy and tried to breathe through her nose to make the nausea go away.

  “You know, Katie, I’d be happy to talk with you about the job and, well, everything, but just not this very second. I really have to go. Kay?” Jessica realized she had some pressing business and dumped the phone as she ran back to the bathroom.

  When she was done throwing up she leaned her head against the wall and let scenes of the previous night float through her mind. A lot of the night was blurry, but the early part came back to her vividly. She grabbed the aspirin out of her medicine cabinet and, not having the energy to make coffee, found a Coke in the fridge. Then she made her way to the couch to piece together her evening.

  It had started spiraling out of control the moment she kicked off her stupid high heels after work. She groaned thinking about work. Her head was pounding, and she realized she was in no mood to face thoughts about her first week at her newest job, so she took her aspirin and forced her brain to move on.

  In retrospect, her biggest mistake had been listening to her answering machine. If she hadn’t done that she’d be fine now. Her original plan had involved nothing crazier than a hot bath and frozen fish-and-chips. Instead, though, Becky’s message had cajoled her into believing that what she really needed was a night of fun. How had she put it? Oh yeah, “I know you want to hide out…”

  Totally! What had she been thinking? She could be so stupid sometimes.

  “…But noooo way. It’s a Friday night, and we’ve all had rough weeks before, so we can commiserate. Come out with me—please—we’re meeting at FujiSalsa at eight. Call me, or meet me there… whatever, just COME.” Becky had said this last part so forcefully that Jessica had needed to pull the phone from her ear.

  Then there was the decision to hit her local neighborhood bar. She had moped about for a while waiting to go out but was driving herself crazy. Better to be around people, she had thought, and finally decided to hang out at Pete’s Place before she met up with everyone else. That thought brought a smile to her pale face. Sometimes she was the most naïve person on the planet.

  She knew now that she should have gone to a coffee house. But she had really wanted a cocktail, and when she got to the bar and walked in the door, there was no way she could slink back out without feeling like a complete doofus.

  It shouldn’t have surprised her that no one called out her name and welcomed her when she walked in; she’d never actually been there before, so no one knew her. Putting on an air of bravado she’d sauntered up to the bar, pulled out a stool, and ordered something hard, straight up.

  Since that was about the time things started to get a little blurry, she didn’t remember exactly what kind of drink it had been. It didn’t really matter, but she was pretty sure it had been a martini given the way her stomach turned when she thought about vodka. Anyway, the result had been a really nice mood that swung her all the way out the door, through the cold, busy streets of Boston, onto the T and in the doors of the swanky new Asian/Mexican restaurant.

  Jessica vaguely remembered thinking that it was better to arrive at a party drunk and hungry, than full and sober, and had sat down and scanned the menu. She scowled when she thought now about the obnoxious restaurant. It had to have been Cynthia’s choice. She always knew about the coolest places. But really, when did the rest of them give in to this trend of eating a real dinner at a real restaurant before partying?

  Jessica had thought the seared Ahi tuna in a pomegranate, wasabi, and jalapeño sauce had to be a joke. She had been about to come up with a surely clever and funny comment pointing out just that when Becky had ordered it… with a straight face and everything.

  Not really seeing anything on the menu that she could seriously order, she had landed on nachos. She had ended up laughing anyway when they served it with a kimchee salsa. She stopped laughing, though, when her share of a nacho dinner was sixty dollars that she really, really didn’t have. Obviously no one was considering her finances when they came up with this new plan for splitting checks evenly.

  Jessica rubbed her eyes and sunk lower into the comfy couch. This train of thought had brought her right back to her worries about her job…not where she wanted to be. So instead, she gulped down some more Coke and tried to parse out the rest of the evening.

  After dinner they had gone to another bar and Jessica had a fuzzy memory of shooting pool and laughing. She shook her head and tried to bring back anything else that would explain the way she felt today. It wasn’t just that she felt horribly hung-over; it was like something else was pushing at her head… something she was supposed to do.

  Perhaps it was simply leftover anxiety from her work week. She sighed and scrubbed her hands over her face. Maybe a hot shower would bring it back to her. She rolled her shoulders and slid off the couch. Anyway, it couldn’t have been too important or she would have remembered it by now, wouldn’t she?

  Chapter Two

  Katie sipped her nonfat, soy, chai tea latte and tried not to look at her watch for the third time in ten minutes. She knew Jessica would be here soon; she was usually pretty punctual. Katie hated to waste time, especially when she was anxious about something.

  Instead of thinking about that however, she multitasked by practicing her breathing exercises while mentally reviewing the newest recipe she wanted to try before her next job. It was a big event and an important one for her company; she knew it would require Jessica’s help if it was to be a success.

  She sighed. She needed Jessica in general, though Jessica ne
ver seemed to believe her when she told her that. Katie was a consummate businesswoman, and though she might love her friends, she would never ask them to work for her out of pity. Her job, her company, was just too important to her for that.

  While she cared about Jessica a lot, the reasons she needed her had nothing, or very little anyway, to do with their friendship. It was true that it was fun to work with her. But, more importantly, Jessica had a way of creating a perfect event. Katie was great at food, but it was Jessica who knew how to make the atmosphere fun, or romantic, or inviting, or professional, or whatever it needed to be. She told a story with the decor and music…a story that Katie couldn’t seem to create on her own. She was also a hard worker, something Katie appreciated and respected. They made a great team: and would make an even better team if Jessica would ever accept her real talents and quit the starched-up business world she felt she needed to be part of.

  Maybe today she could finally convince her; Katie hoped so. She’d heard that Jessica had spent most of the night before complaining about her new job. Katie shook her head and, not for the first time, wondered how such a seemingly normal family had messed Jessica up so much. It was obvious to any amateur psychologist that she was trying to live up to her father’s expectations of becoming a great business executive like him. But come on! She was twenty-four years old. Katie figured it was time Jessica got on with her own life, and Katie hoped she could help her do that.

  Katie looked up from her reverie to see Jessica walking through the door.

  Oh dear! She tried hard not to grimace. Did Jessica not have anything but dowdy black pants in her whole wardrobe? It amazed her that Jessica could design beautiful catering environments but had absolutely no style when it came to dressing herself. In many ways Jessica was an enigma to Katie. Even so, Jessica could wear twenty-dollar thrift store pants as much as she wanted and Katie would still love her.

  “Hi Jess,” she called out. “I grabbed the comfy seats.”

  Jessica walked over and dropped her purse on the green velour chair.

  “Mmmm.” She rubbed her hands together. “I am desperate for serious caffeine. I’ll be right back.”

  Katie continued observing Jessica as she waited for her hot drink. She had heard that Jessica had tied one on the night before, but she was still surprised at how sallow she looked. Usually Jessica had perfect rosy cheeks. Today they were totally white and pale…and not in an “I use the best cosmetics,” translucent sort of way, either.

  Added to all this she had obviously slept with wet hair and now her strawberry blonde curls were flat on one side and sticking out on the other. Katie shook her head, surprised that Jessica had made it out of her house at all. This should be an interesting discussion. Perhaps she should wait until Jessica was more herself, but she had tried that tactic before and it hadn’t worked. Maybe by hitting Jess when she was down she would be able to get her attention and force her to consider giving up her corporate job once and for all.

  They were midway through their drinks and conversation though before Katie finally found a way to bring up Jessica’s awful week at work. Usually when Jessica drank she was pretty levelheaded about it. So it seemed telling to Katie that she had felt the need for such extreme alcohol therapy the previous night. In fact, the low point of the evening seemed to be when Jessica had made some ridiculous bet with Erik about dating a celebrity.

  A devious laugh erupted before Katie could stop it. Even Jess’s latest job disappointment wasn’t worth embarrassing herself over. She wasn’t above using something a bit humiliating to remind Jessica of why she had been drinking to begin with.

  “So, wait…” Jessica held up a hand to interrupt Katie after she had started talking about the bet.

  Jessica was obviously trying really hard to follow what Katie was saying; something that was extra funny since she typically picked up on things a lot faster. She tried to give Jess the benefit of the doubt since the coffee house was crowded with people and the noise was distracting. She sipped her tea and let Jess take her time catching up.

  “You mean Becky heard it from Peter who got it from Erik that I made some sort of bet,” Jessica said, as if it was some deep philosophical problem her brain had been working so hard on. “But how did you hear about all this if you weren’t even there?”

  Katie sighed and tried to be patient. She knew she really needed to work on her patience and she added an item in her mental notebook to look into some patience training courses.

  “Nooo, Peter told Cynthia who told Becky who told me…but anyway, that doesn’t matter, does it?” Katie waved her hand around in the air to erase the whole direction of the discussion.

  “The point is,” another long sigh and a deep breath, “the point is, that after you and Erik made your bet, you were talking to everyone about how much you hate your new job and so I thought I would try one more time to convince you to come work with me full time.”

  Jess rolled her eyes. “Katie, we’ve been over this.”

  This time Katie held up a hand to stop Jessica.

  “I know, I know. It’s not a job that a college graduate should be doing.” She rolled her eyes. “But honestly Jess, it’s not like your quote unquote professional jobs have brought you much career bliss, have they?”

  Jessica put her hand on Katie’s arm to quiet her.

  “You know I love helping you with your dinner parties Katie, but I can’t make a life out of that; I just can’t. I’ll make this job work out, you’ll see. It won’t be that bad. I mean I do have a real desk this time.”

  She stopped and took a breath, along with another sip which gave Katie a chance to jump in.

  “Yes, but I think…”

  “Anyway, let’s not talk about that right now,” Jessica interrupted, clearly not wanting to hear what Katie had to say. “Let’s talk about the important part. What was this bet you’re talking about? I don’t remember making a bet at all.”

  Jessica shook her head and looked like she was working really hard on it. “Nope, not a thing.”

  Katie, who rarely lost her focus, stared at her friend silently for so long that Jessica finally asked, “So, what was it? Do you know? Did I drink him under the proverbial table or something? ‘Cause I sure feel like I won that bet.”

  “Well, wow! You really did drink a little too much last night.”

  Katie bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  “That’s what I was trying to tell you this morning when you called,” Jessica laughed also, not realizing the joke was on her.

  Katie struggled with how to tell Jess about the bet. “Well remember, I wasn’t even there, so don’t shoot the messenger here, okay?”

  She waited until she saw Jessica nod somewhat hesitatingly.

  “So I gather from pretty much everyone that you and Erik got into a fight about something.”

  “And what else is new?” Jess interrupted.

  “Anyway” Katie continued, “somehow that led to your betting that, well, I guess the exact bet was that you could get Ian Drake to ask you out on a date.”

  “What!” Jessica cried. “Why on earth would I do that?”

  Katie shook her head kindly and tried not to look like she was wondering the exact same thing herself.

  Chapter Three

  Okay, Jessica thought as she halfheartedly tried to clean up her miniscule apartment, there must be a reason I made such a ridiculous bet. She tried to piece together what she actually knew.

  One, she had been drunk… well, obviously!

  Two, she and Erik had fought… again, nothing unusual in that. She and Erik had been fighting since her brother Peter had brought home his new high school friend.

  Three, the bet was about Ian Drake… admittedly the only celebrity in her book worth making this sort of bet about.

  And finally four, she had made an absolute fool of herself according to Katie… going on and on afterward about all of her plans for winning.

  And that was it, the totality of
her knowledge of the mysterious bet. Jessica sighed and shook her head. Even if it was entirely unlike her to make any kind of bet, her friends clearly thought she was a complete joke. Katie had told her that even Becky, her best friend, had been rolling on the floor laughing every time Jessica insisted that she’d be able to get the date.

  Jessica scowled. She couldn’t imagine what she had been thinking, making such a monumentally impossible bet. She thought about calling Becky to see if she had any explanation, but she was still mad about how disloyal she had been. She wondered if she should go straight to the source and ask Erik. Ironically, he solved that for her by calling.

  Not feeling up to actually dealing with him, though, she let the answering machine pick up and sat there growing more and more disheartened as she listened to his message.

  His smooth, rico suave voice taunted her. “So, Jess, any dates set up with Ian Drake yet?”

  And then laughter….and not only Erik’s laughter; others’ also… multiple laughs. Enough laughs to tell her he was having one of his famous guy barbeques and that she was the brunt of their joking for the afternoon.

  “Be sure and let me know when Ian says yes so I can tag along with my camera.”

  With more laughter he hung up and Jessica realized for the first time that day that she was actually angry; much angrier in fact than she had been in a long time.

  Underneath her anger it struck her that even though it was a ridiculous bet, the pain she felt was because no one had any confidence in her; not just in the bet but in anything she did.

  And why would they? It’s not like she’d had much success lately pursuing any goals, let alone such a terrifically huge and crazy one. But maybe that was the problem. Dreams and goals could be very different things, and she hadn’t been really passionate about anything in a while… probably not since her junior year of college.