Weekends Required (8 page)

~~~

As they finally arrived at Harold and Liz’s Home Claire asked the question that had been on her mind for the last minutes of their trip. “Are you going to say anything to your friends about tonight?”

“No," replied Jason tightly, "I think the less they know the better. You go straight up when we get in the house, and I’ll make up something to pacify them and no one will be the wiser.” Greatly relieved, Claire murmured a quiet thank you and followed Jason to the door. There was no sign of anyone in the foyer as she made her way up the stairs as quietly and quickly as possible.

Claire stepped inside her bedroom and went straight to the bathroom. She quickly peeled off her clothing and stepped into the steaming shower. With a moan, she closed her eyes and let the events of the evening fall away. She eased into the shower seat and laid her head back able to relax for the first time in hours, the steam from the shower causing her eyes to become heavy and hard to hold open.

Suddenly cold air rushed into the shower as the door was jerked open and Claire was again in the bathroom with her boss. “What’re you doing in here?” shrieked a furious Claire.

“I was waiting in your room to make sure you were ok and when it became apparent that you weren’t coming out and there was no noise coming from here other than the shower, I thought you might have fallen and hurt yourself. Do you know how irresponsible it is to sleep in the bath or, heaven forbid, the shower?”

“Well, add it to the long list of things about me that you find irresponsible! Let’s see, there’s my stripping, my drinking and now my sleeping in the shower; is there anything else you want to add to that tonight Jason?” She knew she was starting to get hysterical, so she jumped up, determined to get out of the shower and away from his prying eyes.

Too late, Claire felt her feet start to lose purchase on the slick shower floor and flinging her arms out, desperate to find something to break her fall; she felt pain shoot through her hip as it connected with the seat she’d just been sitting on. Strong arms were suddenly around her, and she was being lifted from the shower and cradled against a hard chest.

Despite her protests, Jason gently deposited her onto a chair in the bedroom and quickly went back to the bathroom for her robe and towel. She grabbed the robe from his outstretched hand and tried to put it on without standing and giving Jason a better view of her naked body. With a muttered oath, Jason pulled her into a standing position and slid the robe on her arms and belted it around her waist. When this was completed to his satisfaction, he pushed her back down into the chair and began drying her hair with the towel.

“I can take it from here Jason,” said Claire as she tried to get the towel from his hands.

“Just sit still for a minute; we don’t need yet another mishap to add to the evening.”

          Claire replied angrily, “There would not have been a mishap if you hadn’t barged yet again into the bathroom with me, were you raised in a barn?”

“If you were more responsible, I wouldn’t have to check the bathrooms to ensure your health. I’m sorry for startling you though.”

Since she knew that the admission must have cost him, Claire decided to let the matter drop. As her boss dried her hair while she sat in front of him in nothing but a thin robe Claire had to wonder where exactly she lost control of this weekend. What would happen to her if she lost her job with Danvers over this whole mess? Jason was not one to tolerate any excuses or anything that disrupted the smooth flow he preferred at work. Even if she was none of the things that he currently believed she was, she’d little hope of ever getting him to believe it. Maybe her only option was to throw herself on his mercy; if that existed.

“There, I believe that’s close to dry. How is your hip feeling? You don’t feel as if anything is broken do you?”

“No, it’s sore but I’ll be fine, thank you. Jason,” began Claire tentatively, "I want to explain about tonight and the nature of my job with Partiez Plus.”

Jason ran his hand through his hair wearily and said, “Claire, we will talk about all of this tomorrow; I’ve reached my limit tonight, and if you insist on doing this now, I’m not certain the outcome will be what you’d hoped.”

She felt greatly relieved to end the evening while still technically employed so she quickly agreed, “Ok, tomorrow then.”

Claire jumped up from the chair, and in her haste tripped on the edge of the robe and landed in a startled heap again his chest. Her cheeks began to flame in embarrassment at displaying yet more of her clumsiness. Suddenly, his hands slid to her shoulders as if to help her. Looking up into those beautiful blue eyes, Claire felt her whole body come to life for the second time that evening.

As Jason started to pull her closer, Claire suddenly remembered that she hadn’t brushed her teeth before getting in the shower. Not willing to risk letting him close enough to realize that, she stiffened and pulled back. Still holding on to her, Jason seemed to be fighting an internal battle before almost reluctantly setting her away from him with a curt, “Sleep well Claire, I’ll see you in the morning.” 

 She couldn’t help but feel a little lonely as the door closed quietly behind him. After brushing her teeth and finding her nightgown, Claire settled gratefully between the cool sheets. The room was spinning slightly as she closed her eyes and hoped that somehow she would be able to sleep tonight.

  Chapter Eight

Claire was shocked to see from the bedside clock that it was 9:00am. Pain pounded in her temples as she stumbled out of bed and to the bathroom. She cringed at the image looking back at her from the mirror. Hair sticking out at all angles, dark circles under her eyes, she looked exactly like someone with a hangover.
Well, hello beautiful.
Claire grabbed a towel and made quick work of showering knowing Jason would be ready to work at any moment.

Claire returned to the bedroom for fresh clothing and was again brought up short by Jason standing in her room. “What’re you doing in here, do you pick locks now?”

“The connecting door was not locked, big oversight on your part.” Even in her current state of undress as well as being generally pissed off that Jason had once again violated her privacy, Claire couldn’t help but notice how good he looked.

Despite probably having no more sleep than her, he looked well rested and fresh. Another pair of low slung faded jeans and a polo shirt made him look good enough to eat.  
Wonder if I could get a coffee with those sweet buns on the side?
She tried to inject disdain in her voice, asking, “Do you mind? I would like to get dressed.”

“No I don’t mind at all, please go right ahead.” The look of amusement on his face made her want to take off her towel and choke him with it.

“I thought we’d have breakfast in my room this morning while we work. It might be less awkward for you than having to lie to Liz and Harold about your evening with your long-lost aunt.” Despite the sarcasm dripping from his voice, Claire was indeed happy to avoid the prying eyes of Liz and Harold and gratefully jumped at the opportunity.

“Is Liz here in the same house as Harold with the wedding today?” asked Claire.

“Yes, she has the top floor and Harold the bottom. I believe she’s gone to get her hair done or whatever women do before the wedding now.”

“Oh, ok, I’ll be dressed in 10 minutes, Er… thank you.” Jason gave her a leisurely look from head to foot lingering on where the short towel ended. He flashed her a rare smile and headed back through the connecting door.

At this rate, I’ll never be able to be in a bedroom again without expecting my boss to come barging in the door.
Claire pulled out a pair of jeans and a soft green tunic and then returned to the bathroom to dry her hair and fixed it in the usual weekend ponytail. With a dab of lip gloss and a light coat of concealer to hide the dark circles under her eyes she was as ready as she was going to be. As she pushed open the door and walked into Jason’s room she refused to allow herself time to worry about whether this would be her last day of employment with Danvers.

“Have a seat Claire, and help yourself to whatever you’d like from the tray.” Claire was impressed to see that the tray contained coffee, juice and a variety of pastries. “I thought you might prefer a lighter breakfast after your late night.” Refusing to be drawn into that conversation, Claire fixed herself a cup of coffee and liberally added cream that had been provided. She selected a croissant and lowered herself into a chair taking a grateful sip of the coffee. She looked up to find Jason studying her with what appeared to be real curiosity. She could feel her cheeks go red as she waited for some snide comment about her being a stripper.

“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.