Trust in Me (6 page)

“Atta girl.”

****

Jason knew how to make things happen.  Within the hour there was a rental car waiting
for them at their hotel and they were packed and ready to go.  Maggie had gone and
made arrangements for them to get sandwiches for the trip from the hotel restaurant
and by seven o’clock they were on the road. 

Jason had been on the phone most of the time they were getting ready and Maggie had
to wonder at who he was talking to.  By the time they were on the road and hitting
the I-90, Maggie had their food and drinks situated in a way so that Jason could eat
and drive.  They talked amicably about some of the sites they had hoped to see and
while secretly Maggie was thrilled to have the free time to explore
New York City
, she knew that she couldn’t let herself get too carried away because she was on company
time no matter what Jason said.

By the time they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge Maggie was sleepy and yet too excited
to close her eyes.  There was so much to see and do and she felt the energy of the
city consuming her already.   Soon they were deep in the heart of the city and she
nearly choked when she saw where they were.

“The Four Seasons?  We’re staying at the
Four Seasons
?” she squealed.  “That wasn’t on our itinerary, Jason!”

He laughed as he climbed from the car and smiled at the valet who was helping Maggie
from the car.  “Well, our hotel couldn’t accommodate us for tonight and so I made
some calls and got us in here.  You’re not disappointed are you?”

Maggie burst out laughing and nearly fell over.  “Yes, Jason, I am extremely disappointed
that I have to stay at one of the top luxury hotels in the world.  Damn you.”  She
barely got the sentence out before breaking out in a fit of giggles again. 

Jason walked around the car and grabbed her hand, something that was feeling far too
natural, and led her into the lobby.  “Now behave yourself,” he teased as he walked
to the desk to check them in.

“Welcome to the Four Seasons, Mr. Montgomery.  We have two rooms waiting for you for
five nights…”

“Five nights?” Maggie interrupted.  “You completely canceled the other reservation?”

Jason nodded.  “This is where I really wanted to stay anyway,” he said simply. 

Maggie felt like a country bumpkin.  She was dressed casually and even in her best
clothes that she had brought with her, she felt hyper aware of the fact that she was
completely out of her element here.  Jason saw the apprehension on her face and questioned
it.

“I wasn’t mentally prepared for this, Jason,” she said quietly.  “I don’t belong here.”

“Nonsense.” Was all that he said as he accepted their room keys and followed the bell
boy to the elevators.  It was late and Jason was exhausted.  He had a lot that he
wanted to accomplish this weekend in hopes of relaxing and maybe figuring out a little
bit more about what was behind his assistant’s apprehension to talking about her husband. 
Even though he had promised himself to stay focused strictly on business, he wouldn’t
be satisfied until he knew the truth about the woman who was beginning to consume
all of his thoughts.

Chapter Four

Once again they had adjoining rooms but had agreed to sleep in on Saturday morning
since they had arrived late the previous evening.  Maggie was completely on board
with that plan because she was totally exhausted and the bed in her room was the most
comfortable one she had ever slept on. 

As much as she had planned on sleeping late, she woke up at a conservative nine o’clock
and ordered herself some breakfast.  The thought of calling Jason and seeing if he
was awake crossed her mind but she was kind of enjoying the little bit of space and
freedom she had.

Since their flight to
Boston
, they had gotten back on track.  The kiss seemingly forgotten.  Out of sight, out
of mind, she supposed.  But at night?  It was the highlight of all of her dreams. 
Sure, during the day Maggie was able to play the part of the engrossed executive assistant
but once she was alone with her thoughts?  They were filled with one Jason Montgomery. 
Even now when she closed her eyes she could feel his lips on hers, the way his strong
arms had embraced her, the smell of his cologne…

Dammit.

Taking the time to shower in the magnificent spa quality bathroom, Maggie felt that
she would be just fine spending the day in there!  The knowledge that she had five
days to luxuriate in this kind of atmosphere was making her giddy. 

By eleven she was dressed, ready and more than a little anxious to go outside and
explore the Big Apple.  She called Jason’s room and was surprised when he told her
he’d been up since seven and waiting on her call.  They agreed to meet down in the
lobby and Maggie told him she was more than willing to let him play tour guide.

Dressed in jeans and sneakers, Maggie was more than ready to walk for however long
Jason planned.  “Was there anyplace in particular that you absolutely want to see?”
he asked as he put on a pair on sunglasses and walked out the front of the hotel. 

“Everything!” Maggie said with a bright smile.  “I’m just excited to have a day to
do this!”

“Remember that you said that,” he said with a wicked grin and took a moment to get
his bearings and then took her hand and led her out onto the streets of New York.

Four hours later, Maggie found herself ready to drop.  She collapsed on a sidewalk
café bistro table and just tried to catch her breath.  “Okay, I know I said that I
wanted to see everything but I didn’t really mean it.”

Jason sat down opposite her and ordered them each a bottled water.  “Don’t quit on
me now.  We’ve barely scratched the surface!”

“Scratched the surface?  Jason, I am dazzled by all that we’ve seen but surely we
can catch a cab for some of it.”

“It’s not the same…” he said sweetly.

“We’ve seen Times Square, we’ve walked Central Park, we’ve eaten pizza and hot dogs,”
she stopped to breathe.  “Then there was
Rockefeller
Center
and
Radio
City
Music Hall
…I think I am done for the day.  I may need to go and soak my feet in my tub-slash-swimming
pool.”

“Well, you could do that but if you do you’re going to miss out on the best part,”
he teased.

She glared at him.  “Best part?  You mean we haven’t seen the best part yet?  What
are you holding out on me?”

“Well, I was able to make some calls this morning and I got us two tickets to the
Ranger game tonight!”

“No way!” she said excitedly.  “Seriously?  You’re not joking with me?”

“I would never joke with someone about tickets to a sporting event.  It wouldn’t be
right.”

“Damn straight it wouldn’t. 
Oh my gosh
!  We’re going to
Madison
Square
Garden
!  I’m going to see the Rangers play on home ice!”  Maggie stood up and began to pace
and then asked Jason a dozen questions in a row about the rest of their day.

“Slow down there, slugger,” he joked.  “We’ll head back to the hotel so you can rest
for a little while and then we can grab dinner someplace and then…”

“Dinner someplace?  Are you crazy?”  Maggie looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. 
“We are going to have the full game experience and that includes eating from the concession
stands in the Garden.”

He wanted to laugh and tease her some more about the whole thing but honestly he found
her reaction to such a simple thing as a hockey game to be refreshing.  Some women
would fish for a nice dinner out before the game or be asking to do something other
than going to a hockey game and yet here was Maggie, completely over the moon because
they were going to eat hot dogs at
Madison
Square
Garden
so she could cheer on her team.

Yet another reason he was finding it hard to not be drawn to her.

“I cannot believe that you got us tickets,” she said as she sat back down and opened
her water.  “This is the best day ever!”  Taking a quick swallow of water, Maggie
placed the bottle down and looked at Jason.  “Thank you.  In case I forget to thank
you later, I just want you to know right now how much this means to me.”

If her words didn’t say it, her eyes certainly conveyed it.  “You are more than welcome,
Maggie.  I have to admit, I’ve never been to a game at the Garden so you’ll have to
play tour guide to me this evening.”

“Deal,” she agreed readily.  “Now, let’s agree to take a cab back to the hotel so
I can rest up for later.”

Jason stood and then playfully pulled Maggie to her feet.  “Deal.”

****

The transformation was remarkable and Jason found that in a crowd of 18,000 screaming
hockey fans, he was speechless. 

Somehow between the time he had dropped Maggie off at her room and the time they met
to leave for the game, she had gone from mild-mannered assistant to rabid hockey fan! 
Her hair was loose and she wore a New York Rangers sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers
and if he listened close enough, he could almost swear that she had suddenly picked
up a
New York
accent!

“Off sides! 
Off sides
!” she yelled at the top of her lungs as she jumped to her feet and Jason sat back
and smiled.  “Dammit,” she muttered as the play was stopped and the crowd settled
a bit.  Without taking her eyes from the ice, Maggie reached for her beverage and
then sat down on the edge of her seat.

While Jason had the urge to say something, anything, that would allow him to interact
with Maggie, for all intents and purposes, she didn’t even realize that he was there. 
Talk about an ego buster.

In between periods they trolled the Garden to purchase more snacks and beer and Maggie
was content to just take it all in.  When she did talk to Jason it was about the game,
the players, the building itself and although it wasn’t a topic that he felt overly
informed about, he was happy to just watch Maggie enjoying herself. 

By the third period he could tell that her voice was raw from all of the yelling but
when the final buzzer rang out and she turned and jumped into his arms in celebration,
Jason knew that he was in serious trouble.

****

It had been a perfect night for Ranger fans with a 4-1 victory over
Philadelphia
.  As the final buzzer sounded out, Maggie jumped up along with the thousands of other
fans to cheer and then jumped into Jason’s arms.  He caught her easily and found her
excitement and enthusiasm to be contagious.  “We won!” she cried.  When she realized
what she had done, she disentangled herself from Jason and joined the throngs of people
walking from their seats.  Maggie was simply glowing with victory as they exited their
row of seats after the game.  “That was amazing,” she gushed.  “Wasn’t that a great
game, Jace?”

He agreed.  “I have to admit, there is definitely a vibe here in the Garden that I
can’t imagine feeling anyplace else. 
New York
fans are something else.”

“You know it.”  Making their way through the mass exodus was time consuming and finally
Maggie just stopped and dropped into a vacant seat.  Jason stood for a moment in confusion.

“Are you okay?”

Maggie looked up at him.  “What?  Oh, yeah, I’m fine.  It’s going to take a while
for the crowd to thin out so I figured what’s the rush?”  She sighed and just looked
around the grand arena.  “Think of the history of this place,” she said in a near
whisper.  “How many games, events, and concerts has it seen?  The number of people
who’ve been here…it’s amazing.”

Jason sat down in the row in front of her and looked around.   He’d never even given
a thought to where he watched his sports, but the look of wonder on Maggie’s face
had him thinking about her words. 

“I know it sounds silly and a bit clichéd, but it would be amazing if these walls
could talk,” she said softly, more to herself than to Jason.  With a quiet sigh, Maggie
stood and stretched.  “Ready to fight the crowds once again?”

Jason stood.  “I think we’ll be okay; it’s pretty empty in here already.”  Wordlessly,
they walked up the steps to the nearest exit and he noticed how Maggie took one more
wistful look over her shoulder before walking through the doors.  He wished that there
was something he could say; something insightful but decided to just let her have
her moment.

They were outside finally and Maggie was a bit chilled but the thought of finding
a cab seemed daunting.  Jason read the indecision on her face.  “It’s not as hard
as it seems.  The trick is to walk a couple of blocks and then hail one.”

Maggie nodded.  “That makes sense.”  They walked silently up
7
th
Avenue
toward
Times Square
.  The city was so alive, she thought to herself and even though they had walked everywhere
during the day, there was something magical about the city at night.  How had she
lived so long without experiencing so much?  The way that she lived had never really
bothered Maggie before, but now?  Traveling with Jason?  She realized that there was
an entire world out there that she was missing out on.

Before she knew it, Jason had stopped and a cab was pulling up beside them.  She climbed
in and listened as he told the driver where to take them and then sat back and watched
the city streets speed by.  She didn’t realize that she’d let out a sigh until Jason
spoke.

“Did you want to walk some more?”

“Oh, no, it’s just that there’s so much to see.  My feet are a bit sore and I know
that taking a cab is the right choice…”

“But…” he prompted.

She smiled, “But, I like to think that I’m super-human and could handle walking the
mile or so back to the hotel.”

Jason chuckled.  “Well, if we hadn’t walked so much today I might have considered
it but I’m not as super-human as I’d like to be either.  I think that tomorrow my
body is going to be cursing me.”

Maggie laughed out loud and Jason joined her.  When they arrived back at the hotel
they commiserated like an elderly couple at all of their aches and pains and Maggie
was literally having a fit of the giggles by the time the elevator stopped at their
floor.

Outside of her door, she took a deep breath and turned to face Jason.  “Thank you
so much for such an incredible night.  It was absolutely the best.”

He arched a dark brow at her.  “Seriously?  It was hot dogs and fist fights!”

“Are you crazy?” she laughed.  “It was a chance to do something that I’ve always wanted
to do!  It wasn’t about the food, per se, it was about the entire experience.  I finally
got to experience a night at the Garden as an adult who got to scream and yell and
watch her team win!”  Maggie caught herself before she flung herself at Jason and
hugged him again.  She was starting to like doing that too much.

With a steadying breath, she opened her door.  “Anyway, it was a fabulous night, Jason. 
Thank you for making the time for us to do this.”  Her tone was serious as was the
expression in her eyes.  She stood there staring at him for a long moment and almost
caved and leaned toward him, something that he seemed about to do himself, when she
took a step back.  “Good night,” she whispered and went into her room and closed the
door.

****

Jason stood in the hallway and just stared at Maggie’s door for far longer than he
should have.  He was confused and disappointed and didn’t know why.  It was the sound
of voices coming off of the elevator that finally had him moving and entering his
own room and once inside he was too keyed up to go to sleep.

Glancing at the bedside clock he noticed that it was barely eleven o’clock.  It was
late, but not too late to call the one person who could possibly help shed a little
light on who exactly Maggie Barrett was.

Kicking off his shoes, Jason pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through his contacts
until he found who he wanted, then relaxed on the bed and waited.

“Jason?” his father said by way of greeting.  “Is everything okay?”

“Hey, Dad,” he said easily, the sound of his father’s voice bringing a smile to his
face.  “I’m fine; I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.”