Weekends Required (Danvers #1)(20)
“This croissant is wonderful, surely Liz didn’t take the time to do this today?” asked Claire.
“No. The caterer for the wedding also provided a buffet for breakfast. I fixed a tray for us to enjoy while we were working.”
“Thank you, it’s great.”
“We’ve a lot to finish this morning, and I have to leave for the wedding around noon.” He was probably going to wait until Monday and fire her at the office; maybe have security escort the alcoholic stripper to her car to ensure she didn’t swipe anything on the way out. When she finished the last of her croissant, she powered up her laptop and began work. Jason handed her a list of revisions that he had made by hand on the contract, and she soon lost herself in the tedious task.
“Claire, I’ve a few more changes that I didn’t include.” Jason’s breath was suddenly on her neck as he leaned over her shoulder to point out the first change. Claire couldn’t stop herself from again inhaling the erotic scent of his cologne. Mmmm, he smells soooo good. I wonder if I can get a bottle of that cologne, pour it on my sheets and roll in it every night. She tried hard to continue working without Jason becoming aware of how much his closeness was affecting her. Claire shifted as close to the desk as she could to put some much-needed space between them. The more she shifted, the closer he shifted until she was practically lying on her laptop.
Could he possibly be doing this on purpose? Claire risked a quick backwards glance to find those blue eyes twinkling down at her trying to look innocent. Despite herself, Claire couldn’t contain the laughter that bubbled out of her. “If we keep going, the desk and computer are going to end up in the floor,” laughed Claire.
Jason threw his head back and laughed as well. “I thought I would see how far you were willing to go to avoid me.” This seemed to break the ice between them, and they worked in companionable silence for the next few hours.
Claire had to admit to herself that she was surprised by his mood today. She’d expected a repetition of the previous night’s insults with possibly a termination of her employment. Instead, Jason was acting as if nothing unusual had happened. He actually seemed more relaxed and comfortable with her. They rarely joked around at the office, but here he seemed like a different person.
Claire desperately needed to know where her employment stood with Danvers but was afraid to broach the subject and ruin the good mood that he was in. She decided to let it go for now hoping that Jason decided to put the whole incident behind him. Claire finished up the last revision and looked over to see that Jason also appeared to be finishing up.
“If you’re finished Claire, go ahead and pack up your computer, and we will continue in the office on Monday.”
“I thought you needed to get this contract back to Mericom today?” asked Claire.
As he leaned back in his chair, Jason focused those beautiful eyes on her and said, “No, there are more issues to address than I’d originally thought. This will probably run a few months until it closes.” Then why in the hell are we working this weekend? I could have saved myself a boat load of embarrassment if we had left this until Monday.
She tried to hide the anger in her voice as she asked what she’d been thinking, “Why the need to work on it this weekend if we’re months out?”
As he started packing his briefcase, Jason replied, “As you know, we’ve a couple of important deals in the works that will require my attention. Until we can get Mericom wrapped up, I’m afraid weekend work will be required for the foreseeable future.”
“Wh…. What do you mean?” stammered Claire.
“I mean that we will be working on Saturday and possibly Sunday for the next few months at least,” said Jason. “Even though Mericom is of course the priority right now, I also must turn my attention to the other projects we already have in the works. To do this, I’m afraid it’s going to take some team effort and sacrifices on both our parts,” finished Jason.
~~~
Jason studied her reaction to the news he had just delivered. She looked completely stunned and for once at a loss for words. No doubt she was busy running through her future stripping commitments and wondering how to postpone them. Part of him almost felt guilty for causing this apparent upheaval in her life, especially since he could easily handle all the current projects on the table and probably a few more as well. Claire, however, didn’t need to know that.
If not for some last minute issues that had come up with the merger, it would be wrapped up today and finding reasons to make Claire work on the weekends would have been a little more challenging. Even though he didn’t like delays, he couldn’t say he was sorry for how things had worked out. The merger would go forward, of that he was certain, but the delay this time was a bonus for him. He tried not to ponder what his motives were in this as he finished packing his stuff up.
He risked one more covert look at Claire and was surprised at how disappointed he was to find her hair up again. She looked young and vulnerable with her ponytail, someone who looked like they needed to be protected from the world. He had the sudden urge to lay his lips on the pulse beating in the curve of her neck.
When he had been standing behind her earlier, the floral scent of her skin had intoxicated him. What started as a playful game had fast turned a corner for him. He had to pull back and hope to walk to the other seat without her noticing the sudden tent in the front of his jeans.