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 sparkling 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 in 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 Rangers game tonight!”
“No way!” she said excitedly. “Seriously? You’re not joking with me?”
“I would never joke 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 began to babble, asking 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 refreshing. Some women would fish for a nice dinner out before the game or want to avoid the game altogether, 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 sipped her water. “This is the best day ever!” Taking a quick swallow, Maggie placed the glass 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 this evening.”
“Deal,” she agreed readily. “Now, let’s agree to take a cab back to the hotel so we 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 eighteen thousand 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 with jeans and sneakers, and if he listened closely 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 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 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 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 Rangers 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. “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 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 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 contemplating 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 there was something he could say, something insightful, but decided just to 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 Seventh Avenue toward Times Square. The city was so alive, there was something so magical about it at night. How had she lived so long without experiencing so much? The way she lived had never really bothered Maggie before, but now? Traveling with Jason? She realized 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, watching 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 taking a cab is the right choice…”
“But…” he prompted.
She smiled, “But, I like to think that I’m superhuman and could handle walking the mile and a half back to the hotel.”
Jason chuckled. “Well, if we hadn’t walked so much today I might have cons
idered it but I’m not as superhuman as I’d like to be either. I think 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 about all of their aches and pains, and Maggie was 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 fistfights!”
“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 staring 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 to 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. It was late, but not too late to call the one person who could possibly 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.”
“At eleven at night? Lucky for you I’m in the study and your mother is upstairs reading, otherwise she’d think there was some sort of terrible emergency that had you calling so late at night.”
“Stop with the theatrics, Dad,” Jason chided softly. “I know it’s a bit late but…”
“Are you sure everything is okay? Is it the meetings? Are they going all right? I haven’t seen any red flags in what you’ve been sending in.”
“No, no…it’s not the meetings; everything is fine there.”
William was silent for a moment. “So where are you now? Still in Boston? You’re due in New York on Monday, right?”
“Actually, we’re in New York now. We drove down late last night after our last meeting and decided to relax this weekend.” Jason couldn’t hide the smile in his voice. “I took Maggie to a hockey game tonight.”
“Hockey?” William said with disbelief. “Why on earth would you take Maggie to a hockey game?”
Jason laughed. “Believe it or not, she’s a fan. For a woman who is quiet and unassuming during the day, she is a rabid hockey fan when she’s watching her team play. It was quite an eye-opening experience.”
Something in his son’s tone caught William’s attention. “So she’s a hockey fan? Who would’ve guessed? I can’t imagine her sitting there in one of her conservative outfits, hair all pulled back, yelling and cheering for her team.”
“There was no conservative outfit, Dad. She wore her hair all loose and wavy and a pair of jeans and a New York Rangers sweatshirt… She fit right in. She was like a kid in a candy shop. We ate hot dogs and pretzels and drank beer and Maggie said it was the best night.” Jason sighed. “I never met a woman who was content just to eat hot dogs and drink beer.”
William was glad Jason could not see him grinning like the cat that had eaten the canary. “Not all women want to be wined and dined, Jace. Maggie’s a sensible girl with simple tastes. I’m sure she’s unimpressed with the whole concept of spending a lot of money frivolously.”
His father’s words made sense, but Jason had a ton of questions that he needed answered if he was going to figure Maggie out. “No, you’re right; Maggie’s definitely not impressed with money. We’re at the Four Seasons and she just about freaked out on me for spending the money.”
William chuckled. “Sounds just like her. How did you end up there? That wasn’t on your itinerary.”
Jason explained about how their last-minute change of plans had dictated the change in hotels. “The thing is, I never gave much thought to where we stayed. All our lives we’ve stayed at some of the finest hotels in the world and to me, they’re just a place to sleep, but the look of awe and wonder on Maggie’s face when we walked in? It was priceless.” An image of that face came to Jason’s mind. “Then she was embarrassed because she didn’t think she was good enough to stay here.”
“Well, I hope you convinced her otherwise!” his father scolded.
“Of course I did! Geez, what do you take me for? An idiot?” Jason sat up and raked a hand through his hair. “Look, there are some things about Maggie that just don’t…fit.”
William waited. And waited. “Like what?” he finally asked.
“Okay, for starters, there’s the fact that she’s even on this trip with me.”
“Why is that a problem?”
“It goes back to that initial interview. Why has she worked for us for so long and I’m just now seeing her and hearing about her? How could you leave her down in customer service for so long when she is clearly such an asset to the company?”
“It wasn’t my decision to make, Jason. Maggie didn’t want to be an assistant; she was happy working in a low-pressure job. It was what she wanted.”
“But why? She’s so talented and intelligent! What happened at her last job to make her want to hide away in a mindless position?”
“That’s not for me to discuss with you. Have you asked her?”
“What? No!” Jason nearly shouted, frustrated that his father wasn’t giving him any information at all. “Look, you seem to know Maggie very well and I’m asking you to help me fill in some blanks!”
“Jason, she’s your assistant. You work with her every day. Surely you must have some down time where you’re not talking about business. Why don’t you ask about her personal life?”
“Because when I do she…changes. I can’t quite explain it, but any mention of her personal life and she just sort of goes blank. I tried inviting her husband up here for the weekend and she nearly bit my head off!”
William stifled a laugh. “I think maybe you’re overexaggerating, Jason. Why would she be mad about you inviting her husband to come to New York for the weekend?”
“That’s what I’d like to know! If you ask me, this guy must be a world-class jackass.”
“Why?”
Where did he even begin? Jason stood and began pacing the large room. “Okay, first of all, he let her come on this trip.”
“And that makes him a jackass? If you remember correctly, you specifically asked for a married assistant who would travel with you. We found you one! How could that be a bad thing?”
“It’s not that it’s bad, not really, but he just doesn’t seem to care that she’s away. From what I can tell, he doesn’t call Maggie and she doesn’t call him. Doesn’t that seem odd to you? You call Mom every day!”
“Well, your mother and I aren’t like a lot of married couples. Maggie’s young. I’m assuming her husband is young as well. How do you know they aren’t calling one another?”
“Because I never see her on the pho
ne!”
“Are you sharing a room with her?” William asked innocently.
“Dammit, Dad, you know I’m not! Why would you even say such a thing?”
“I’m just saying, Jace, that you have no idea what she’s doing in her room when she’s away from you. For all you know she’s curled up in bed right now, all relaxed and sweet-talking her husband.”
That image lodged itself in Jason’s mind and made him angry. His hands were clenched at his sides and he wanted to walk across the hall, kick down Maggie’s door, and see if that was the case. His father’s voice was the only thing stopping him.
“You can’t get angry at Maggie for doing what you asked,” William sweetly reminded his son.
“What the hell did I ask?”
“You made it clear that you didn’t want to waste time dealing with a needy spouse. Sounds to me like she is following your rules, not spending her work hours on the phone and keeping her personal life separate from your business hours.”
When his father said it, it made sense, but to Jason it still didn’t seem to fit. “Okay, sure, fine, I guess that could be the way that it is,” he said finally.
“But…” William prompted.
“We went to a benefit the other night,” Jason began, “and we danced.” For a brief moment Jason swore he could still feel Maggie in his arms, and then remembered that he was supposed to be proving a point to his father. “And she said the last time she danced was in high school at her prom.”
William let out a hearty laugh. “Son, I’m sure you’re trying to tell me something but for the life of me, I don’t know what it is!”
“Married couples dance, Dad! At their wedding, on dates, or whatever,” he said defensively. “How is it that Maggie could be married and not have danced since high school?”
“Maybe her husband’s a poor dancer?”
“Or maybe he’s just a jerk,” Jason countered. “Look, all I’m saying is that the guy seems to show absolutely no interest in Maggie. Any time we go anywhere or do anything it’s like she’s…living for the first time! I have to be honest with you, Dad, I’m worried about her.”
Wait for Me / Trust in Me Page 21