Looking at his phone, Jason thought about calling her and telling her that he was on his way over but he wanted to surprise her. After a quick detour to pick up flowers he finally pulled in at Maggie’s complex and, as he had the first time he’d come here, he sprinted up the stairs two at a time to get to her.
“Jason!” Maggie exclaimed when she opened the door to him moments later. “I thought you were going to call when you left the office.”
Not quite the greeting he was hoping for but he could work with it. “I had to see you,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to call and give you the chance to tell me not to come by.” He handed her the bouquet of wildflowers and waited for her to invite him in.
She didn’t.
“Is…is this a bad time?” he finally asked.
“What? Oh, no…sorry. Bad manners. Come on in.” She stepped aside as he walked in and then she headed for the kitchen to find a vase. Maggie could feel the nervous energy coming off of Jason but she needed for him to realize that she wasn’t just going to jump into his arms the moment he made time for her. He would have to wait.
Jason watched as she arranged the flowers and fluttered around the kitchen and he wanted to just grab her and kiss her and make love to her all night long. Fortunately, he was smart enough to know that caveman tactics would probably not be appreciated right now. “Have you had dinner yet?”
“No, I haven’t. I was planning on heating up some pasta and watching a movie.” She had to hide her smile when she noticed the hopeful expression on his handsome face. Maggie was many things but she wasn’t mean spirited and she couldn’t torture Jason any more. “Would you like to join me?”
A wicked smile crossed his face as he stalked her from across the kitchen. Without asking permission, he hauled her up against him and kissed her with all of the pent up passion and frustration he’d felt all week. Luckily, Maggie was ready for his sexy assault and wrapped her arms around him to keep him close.
Jason broke the kiss long enough to pick her up and haul her over his shoulder while she shrieked with laughter.
Maybe caveman tactics weren’t such a bad idea after all.
Chapter Ten
Six weeks after Jason and Maggie had returned from their trip, their work was done. Not completely done because these were new clients and they’d be working with them for a long time but all of the initial set up and meetings and the like were finally in place. It was a late Friday night and Jason was sitting at his desk staring at his computer screen, barely able to hold his head up when his father walked in.
“Another late night?” William asked.
Jason nodded. “Hopefully the last one.”
His father arched an eyebrow at him. “Seriously?”
Looking away from the computer, Jason focused on his father. “Yeah, seriously, why?”
“I’m just surprised to hear you talk like that. You are the king of the late night negotiations. I thought you were going to move in here at one point.”
“Ha, ha, very funny,” Jason said and then scrubbed a hand across his weary face.
“What’s going on, Jace?”
What could he say? For weeks Jason had felt a level of discontent with his life. The long hours, going home alone, it was staring to wear on him. All of those feelings were compounded by the fact that he had little to no time to spend with Maggie. She was always patient and understanding but Jason knew it was just a matter of time before she’d had enough.
When they had been on the phone the previous night, Maggie had made a small comment about how there was a new movie out that she wanted to see on opening night. Tonight. Jason had told her that he would try his best to leave the office early and Maggie had just given him a sad laugh. When he pushed her for what was wrong, she’d told him that she was just going to plan on going alone or with a friend.
The thought of her going out without him wasn’t really an issue; the thought of her going out without him and meeting someone else did. Maggie was a beautiful woman and since they had gotten back from Miami, she had blossomed with a new level of confidence that she didn’t have before. How soon would it be before other men noticed that about her?
He’d tried feebly to explain his position and how important Montgomery’s was to him. Her simple response of “But at what cost?” had hit him square in the chest. At what cost, indeed? Life was passing him by and while everything he was doing was helping the company grow, Jason realized that he’d lost friendships and missed out on weddings and parties and casual get-togethers with people who really mattered to him because he was spending his life behind a desk.
How much more was he willing to sacrifice in the name of the company?
“Jace?” his father interrupted his thoughts.
“What? Sorry, Dad; I just sort of zoned out there for a minute.”
“I thought you’d be with Maggie tonight.” Jason’s look of shock made his father laugh. “Oh, please, you don’t think you were going to hide that from me, did you?”
“We thought we were being careful,” he grimaced.
“You are; I just knew what I was looking for.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
William stood and waved his son off. “Nothing, nothing at all. Go home, Jace. Or go to Maggie’s. Just leave the damn building and go and enjoy yourself for the weekend for crying out loud. Montgomery’s is not going to crumble and fail because you’re not behind your desk.”
Jason knew his father was right and hated that he was that transparent. He stood and closed his laptop and packed up while William watched and the two men left the office together. Placing an arm around his son’s shoulder, William gave him a firm hug. “Life is meant to be enjoyed. There’s nothing wrong with working hard but you have to remember to focus on the people that mean the most to you.”
“I do, Dad; I enjoy working with you and Mac and Lucas…”
“And Maggie?”
For a minute, Jason was sure he blushed. “And Maggie.”
William’s smile went from ear to ear. “You won’t find a better woman than Maggie, Jace. Don’t keep her waiting too long or some other lucky man will come in and sweep her off of her feet.”
A frown marred Jason’s features. Like hell some other man was going to take Maggie from him! “I have to go, Dad,” Jason said, his stride quickening. He looked down at his watch and saw it was after ten. He had no idea if Maggie was home or at the movies but no matter where she was, he would find her and see her tonight and maybe whisk her away for the weekend or bring her home to his place and just pamper her all weekend. It didn’t matter what they did, as long as he was with her.
In the time that they’d been together, neither had made any grand commitments or even talked about their feelings. Well that was going to end tonight. When he finally found her, Jason was going to tell Maggie how he felt.
And hoped that he wasn’t too late.
****
Tired of sitting home and waiting for the phone to ring, Maggie had taken a bold step and called an old friend to go to the movies with her. It had been a long time since she’d had a girl’s night out and once she had parked her car at the theater and met up with her friend Theresa, she knew it was the right thing to do.
She had been too focused on Jason for weeks now and was finding herself becoming more and more dissatisfied with the relationship. While she admired Jason’s work ethic, it was becoming painfully obvious that work was Jason’s first love and probably always would be. The thought made her sad because when he finally stepped away from the office, they always had an amazing time.
It wasn’t all about sex; although that was fantastic. There were times that they would stay up all night just talking and Maggie loved hearing about all of the places Jason had visited and what it was like growing up with his brothers. The problem was that as much as she loved spending time with him, she didn’t see their relationship going anywhere and she was tired of taking second place to Montgomery’s.
A
fter the movie, she and Theresa went out for coffee and dessert and spent the night just getting caught up with one another. It was well after midnight when Maggie got home and while she was getting settled in, she remembered that she’d turned her cell phone off. Taking it from her purse, she turned it on and saw that she had several missed calls.
Eight of them to be exact.
Sighing, Maggie knew that each and every one of those missed calls were from Jason and while it wasn’t intentional that she essentially blew him off, she kind of felt that it served him right. Let’s see how he liked waiting all night for the phone to ring!
She was beyond tired after a long day at work and a late night out but decided that she should call him back. Maggie changed into a pair of cotton boxers and a cami and then settled on the couch and dialed Jason’s number.
“Maggie? Are you all right? Where have you been?” No greeting, just an anxious demand for answers.
“I’m fine, Jace, how are you?” she said, dripping sarcasm.
She heard his frustrated sigh. “Okay,” he began. “I’m sorry; I was just worried about you. Your phone was off and I didn’t know where you were!”
“I told you that I wanted to go to the movies tonight. So I did.”
“Alone?”
She didn’t like his tone. Sure they were sleeping together but that didn’t mean that she had to report to him every time she went out. “As a matter of fact, no.” She knew she’d have to elaborate but enjoyed his shocked silence. “I went with someone.”
Jealousy was new to Jason and he knew immediately that he didn’t like it. He did his best to stay calm but his words came out through clenched teeth. “With who?”
Maggie could just picture the look on his face and almost burst out laughing. She knew that would only fuel his anger but again, it served him right. “Actually, I met up with an old friend.”
“Maggie,” he said in his best menacing tone, letting her know that she was testing his patience.
“I hadn’t seen Theresa in well over a year. We met up at the theater, saw the movie and then went out for coffee and dessert. It was a lovely night.”
Tension slowly left Jason’s body and he let out a sigh of relief. “Oh…that’s good. How was the movie?”
“We enjoyed it very much.” As for this conversation? Not so much. As much as Maggie wanted to talk to Jason, she was hurt. And tired. He needed to understand that she wasn’t the type of woman who would be happy to just sit around and wait until he made time for her. Maybe it was time for her to let him know.
“Look, Jace, it’s late and I’m tired. I just wanted to call and let you know that I was okay.”
It was her tone. Jason knew Maggie well enough by now to know that something was definitely wrong. “I was worried about you,” he said softly, “and I miss you.”
She smiled sadly. “I miss you too. The thing is,” she paused to collect her thoughts, “I can’t keep doing this, Jason.” There, she’d said it.
“What do you mean?” Worry laced his voice and Jason had a feeling that he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“I love being with you but your work is your life and I’m just starting to live mine again. I don’t want to sit home waiting for the phone to ring or have you call me after you’ve already missed our date.”
“That happened once…”he began but she cut him off.
“It’s been more than once, Jace, and you know it. I’m not going to make you choose between Montgomery’s and me. I think I just need to step aside so that I’m not a distraction.”
Jason desperately wanted to get in the car and see Maggie in person, to make her see how wrong she was. “You’re not a distraction, dammit! You have to believe me! I know that things have been crazy at work and I promise it’s going to cut back some now. Things on the expansion are all in place; there won’t be anymore late nights, Maggie. Trust me. Please.”
She wanted to believe him. Oh, how desperately she wanted to trust in him. “I think maybe we just need to take a break,” she said quietly. “On Monday I’ll talk to Ann about finding you another assistant and…”
“Don’t do this, Maggie,” he said urgently. “I’m asking you to not do anything drastic. Give me a chance to prove to you that I can put work aside and put you first!”
A lone tear rolled down her cheek and she was glad that she was all alone. “I don’t want you to have to prove anything to me. I want to be important enough to someone that I’m a priority just because of who I am, not because I’ve laid a guilt trip or given an ultimatum. Eventually, you’ll resent me for it and you’ll be making excuses to me or your family and I just don’t want to be in that position. I’m sorry.”
“One more chance,” he begged, his voice thick with emotion. “I’m not perfect, Maggie, I know that. But all I’m asking is for you to let me make this right. I had no idea you were so unhappy. How can I possibly know if you don’t tell me? And then how can I fix it if you won’t let me?”
He had a point. Her mind was spinning and all she really wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. “Okay, Jason.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. You won’t regret it, I promise. No more missing dates, no more late nights at work. From here on out, I want you to know that you can count on me.” He paused and actually felt himself relax for the first time in hours. “Can I see you tomorrow? Maybe we can go to lunch and then…”
“I really think I need the weekend to myself,” she said hesitantly. “I need to just have a little time to myself even though you’ve let me have more time alone than I wanted. I just need this weekend to think about all that we talked about tonight.”
“I’m not going to lie and tell you that I’m not disappointed, because I am,” he said honestly. “I wanted to see you tonight; I stopped by your place and I waited for an hour just to see you.”
“Please don’t try and make me feel guilty…”
“No, I’m sorry; that was wrong of me. I just want you to know, Maggie, that when I’m not with you, I truly miss you.”
More tears fell and she almost caved. “I miss you when we’re not together, too, Jason. But it’s really for the best for us to just take the weekend to do our own thing.” She paused and wiped at her wet face. “I’ll see you Monday morning, okay?”
“Okay. Sleep well, sweetheart,” he said sadly.
“You, too…”
Chapter Eleven
By Monday, Maggie felt much more in control of her emotions. She was confident that she could work with Jason and yet hold herself back enough that she wasn’t going to be tempted to jump when he was ready to spend some time with her.
Jason was the consummate professional all day. As much as it pained him, he kept his distance and treated Maggie in a professional manner, much like he had on their business trip, and it wasn’t until five o’clock that he finally was ready for something more.
“Maggie, can I see you in my office for a minute?” he asked as he saw her gathering her things to leave for the day.
“Sure,” she said and placed her purse and jacket back down and followed Jason into his office. “Was there something that you needed?” she asked once they were alone.
He smiled at her. He was a respectable foot away from her and yet his fingers itched to touch her. Holding himself in check, he replied, “I was hoping that I could take you to dinner tonight.”
Without conscious thought, Maggie launched herself into his arms and initiated the kiss she had been craving for days. Jason was on board immediately as he lifted her off of the ground as he reached for his office door and closed it. “I swore I wasn’t going to do this,” she said between kisses.
Jason’s hands were finally on her and it pained him to release her just long enough to lock the door. “This whole day has been hell for me; the weekend seemed to never end,” his words were clipped as he dragged his mouth along her jaw, her neck and then finally up to her lips again. His tongue dueled with hers and when he placed her back on her fe
et, he led her over to the large leather sofa and tugged her down with him.
Maggie kicked off her shoes and smiled as Jason lay her down and then lined his muscled body down on top of hers. He stroked her cheek and just gazed down into her eyes. “You are so beautiful, Maggie,” he said reverently. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve someone as beautiful as you.”
She blushed at his words. A sassy comeback was on the tip of her tongue but with the way he was looking at her, she knew he was being deadly serious. She whispered ‘thank you’ and reached up to touch his face. His jaw was scratchy and it felt good against the palm of her hand.
“I love to look at you,” he said, “to touch you.” He paused as his hand wandered over her in the gentlest of caresses. “I love being with you.”
“I love that, too,” she replied. And it was in that moment that she realized something that made her heart actually lurch; she loved him. She was in love with Jason Montgomery. Maggie wasn’t sure when it actually happened and for all of her issues with him as of late, the truth of the matter was that she was so hurt because she was in love with him. She wanted to say the words to him; to tell him exactly how she felt but he was lowering his head, his lips a whisper away from her own.
“I know I said dinner,” he said softly, his breath hot against her mouth. “But I think I’d like to start with dessert.”
“That’s the best part,” she said as she threaded her hands through his dark hair and pulled him down for what promised to be the most decadent of desserts.
****
They did manage to make it out of the office and to dinner. Maggie was a little self conscious of her slightly disheveled appearance but the fact that she and Jason were finally out and away from the office made her slight discomfort worth it.
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