Jake's View

1

The Carrero Effect

~ The First Meeting ~

Jacob Carrero stood in his room in front of the large mirror over the vanity and warmed hair wax between his fingers, smirking at the familiar black and gold branded product on the wooden surface. His father was still lording over the decision to start a male grooming line with Jake's face all over the advertising campaign; not that he cared. He was used to being publicly owned, always on show, and every woman's idea of a fantasy male.

Which guy wouldn't? Women falling at your feet every day. Hell yeah.

He rubbed it through his hair expertly and spiked it up toward the center and forward in its trademark style. He was never really one for much fussing over his hair, this kept it sorted and then he never had to care for the rest of the day or mess with it unless he ran his hands through and mussed it up. If he had his way, he would shave it all off, but he had done that in his teens and he had just looked like a menacing street thug and was met with serious glares from Mamma Carrero.

He caught sight of the girl in the mirror, trying to catch his eye from the bed. She was lounging sexily and letting the bed sheets slide down her naked body in a bid to lure him back in. Jake just frowned at the effort and went back to getting ready for work. He'd had enough playtime these last two weeks, and she was already boring him. This one was his most recent fuck buddy, long legs, a little too skinny for his liking, and surprisingly plain faced after all that muck was wiped off. Another supermodel who was obsessed with dinner parties where she only consumed lettuce and had her face in his lap at the click of his fingers. Nothing remarkable, boringly predictable and zero conversation in that head. He didn't know why he kept falling into the trap of dating the same types over and over.

"I'm feeling energetic still ... if you're game?" She tried for husky-voiced and just irritated him. Sliding his jacket over his crisp shirt and adjusting the cuffs without looking at her once, he continued with the task of getting ready. Jefferson would be waiting with the car now and he had to go. Back to reality and back to running his part of the family empire.

"Nora will feed you, see yourself out." He smirked back at her and felt a tad guilty about the look of sheer disappointment on her face. Just a tad. He stopped caring the second he lifted his shades, slid them on his head, and made his way out of the door.

He was greeted by Nora in the open-plan lounge, wielding a hoover and smiling gracefully, his heart warming a little at the maternal, little widow who kept his apartment for him. He smiled genuinely.

"Can you make sure ... Umm."

Fuck, what was her name? Trisha? Tracey? Shit, I've been sleeping with her for almost a week and I still can't remember the damn thing. I'm such an asshole.

"Tiffany?" Nora blinked at him and he smiled, feeling more uneasy at his mind blank. He knew it just made him look like a dickhead, and he didn't like Nora thinking that way about him. The woman was like a second mother and her opinion mattered.

"Yeah, her. Could you make sure she gets fed and see that she's taken home?" He smiled again and headed toward the kitchen where he grabbed the coffee she had waiting for him in a steel travel mug. He was running late, and she obviously knew it.

Best housekeeper on Earth, she deserved another raise.

"Arrick?" He turned back to her with a raised eyebrow and then dismissed the question as his brother sauntered from the direction of his guest rooms. "Hurry up, man, I'm already late. Margo will have my guts today, she's all in a tizzy about my new PA." Arrick just yawned and ran a hand casually through his sandy hair carelessly.