Jason kicked off his shoes, removed his belt, and joined her on the bed. There they lay, completely clothed, and clung to one another for the rest of the night.
Chapter 7
Jason woke first. They were still wrapped around one another as they had been last night, and he found that he could get very used to waking up with Maggie in his arms. Her hand was resting right over his heart; the hand that bore the ring of another man.
“Dammit,” he whispered and then gently tried to disentangle himself from her. Maggie let out a small sound of protest and when Jason was standing and looking down at her, her eyes fluttered open.
“What time is it?” she whispered.
“It’s almost six,” he said, trying hard not to let the anger he felt at himself show. When Maggie made to rise he held up a hand to stop her. “Go back to sleep, Maggie. It’s early yet.”
“I have to pack and we’ve got the meeting at nine and…”
“I’m going alone. I told you that last night. You can stay here and pack. I’ll send the car for you around eleven and we’ll head to the airport.”
“I can be packed in fifteen minutes, Jason,” she countered. “There’s no reason for me not to go with you.” She rose from the bed.
With a huff of frustration, Jason took a step back. “This isn’t up for discussion, okay? I’m telling you, as your boss, that I am going to this meeting alone. I want you to stay here and make sure that everything is packed up and ready to go when the car arrives.”
As if the “boss” line wasn’t enough, his tone said it all. It was clipped and sharp, and was almost enough to make Maggie burst into tears. Again. “Fine,” she said softly. “I’ll make sure everything is taken care of.” Before Jason could say another word, Maggie stepped around him, went into the bathroom, and closed the door.
He took the hint.
Silently leaving the room, Jason walked across the hall to his own room. Once the door was closed behind him, he slumped against it and cursed himself. What the hell had he been thinking spending the night with Maggie? It was all innocent, but did it really make a difference? She was another man’s wife and he had no right to spend the night in her bed. And the fact that she was his employee only made it worse.
Jason always considered himself a reasonable, level-headed man, and yet right now he was feeling anything but. He could go to this meeting this morning without Maggie and it wouldn’t be a hardship, but what was he supposed to do once they were in the car together riding to the airport? Or flying home? Hell, what was going to happen once they got back to the office? How could he possibly look at her, spend time with her knowing that he had crossed so many lines with her?
If her husband came and kicked his ass, he would take it. It was no less than he deserved. Jason had never gone after a married woman. He’d never even given one a second look. That was a line he never crossed. He believed in the sanctity of marriage and never wanted to be the cause of someone’s marriage breaking up.
Until Maggie.
What was it about Maggie Barrett that had him breaking all of his rules? She was supposed to be the answer to all of his problems, but had ended up causing a whole lot more.
Jason dragged himself away from the door and went about the task of packing. It would be good to get home and sleep in his own bed tonight. The thought of this trip finally being over was more of a relief than he ever thought possible. He needed to get his head back on straight, and maybe by the time they returned to the office on Monday he would have an answer for how to work with Maggie without working with Maggie.
It was early and he was organized, so the process of packing took little to no time and Jason found himself sitting on the edge of the still-made bed wondering what the hell to do next. Reaching for his phone, he decided that he needed to talk to someone other than Maggie.
He decided to call the one person who would understand what he was dealing with better than anyone else.
“Somebody better be dead or dying for you to be calling this early,” Lucas said sleepily into the phone.
“Good morning to you, too, Brother,” Jason said, forcing the chipperness into his tone.
“Jason?” Lucas asked, coming a little more awake. “What’s going on?”
“Look, I’m sorry to be calling so early in the morning but…I’ve got a situation on my hands and I need some advice.”
“Give me a minute to get out of bed so I don’t wake Emma,” he said quietly and Jason could hear the rustling of blankets as Lucas got up.
“I wouldn’t have called so early if…”
“No worries, Jace,” Lucas said. “Are you home already? Did everything go okay on the trip?”
“Everything is fine with the trip. We head home today after lunch.”
“Okay, if it’s not about the trip, then what’s up?” Lucas asked around a very loud yawn.
Jason sighed. Where to begin? “You know how I’ve been having problems keeping an assistant ever since you and Emma hooked up?”
Lucas laughed. “You did make for some unforgettable stories. Personally, I thought that all of the women would go after Mac; after all, he’s the next in line to take over Montgomerys.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Jason snapped. “I’m the better looking one.”
That only made Lucas laugh more. “Sure, you keep telling yourself that. Most women are looking for money and power. Mac has got that.”
“I’ve got that,” Jason mumbled.
“No, Brother, you’re the typical middle child. You do your best to stand out and believe me, with two such spectacular brothers, I know it can’t be easy for you!” Lucas was clearly having fun. It had been far too long since they’d just bantered like this.
“Why did I bother calling you?”
“Beats me, but believe me, I’d rather be back in bed with my beautiful wife than sitting here listening to you whine about…wait, what did you call about?”
“I was getting to that!” Jason snapped and then let out a huff of frustration. “How did you deal with your feelings for Emma in the beginning? You know, with her working for us?”
“Wow…” Lucas began, “I don’t know. I struggled with it. A lot. When we were snowed in at my place, that was the biggest hang-up for me. I mean, I didn’t want to cross a line with her or have it come back that I had sexually harassed her or anything, but she let me know that it wasn’t about work or Montgomerys. She was attracted to me.”
“Yeah, but…when you both came back to work, wasn’t it awkward?”
“Well, yeah, a bit, but that was because I still had the mind-set that I didn’t want a relationship. I had to get my head on straight and I didn’t want to drag Emma down with me. I was in love with her, but I thought it was better to stay away. Only I couldn’t.”
“Would you still have felt that way if Emma had been involved with somebody else?”
“Oh, shit, Jace… What have you done?”
“Nothing!” he replied defensively. “At least, nothing that bad.”
“How bad?” Lucas asked.
“My assistant…Maggie?”
“Did you sleep with her?”
“No, not really…”
Lucas growled. “It’s a yes or no question, Jace. Did. You. Sleep. With. Her?”
“Well…”
“Isn’t she married? Wasn’t that part of your criteria, that the person who went with you on this trip be married? How could you do that?”
“I can’t explain it, Lucas. That’s why I’m calling you. It’s a freakin’ mess and I don’t know what to do!”
“Start at the beginning and tell me everything that happened. I can’t get you out of trouble if you start leaving crap out.”
So Jason told Lucas about their trip, from the kiss at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to their spending the night together fu
lly clothed in Maggie’s bed. Then he waited for Lucas to say something. After several tense and silent moments, Jason finally spoke. “Well? What am I supposed to do?”
Lucas let out a pent-up breath. “You need to talk to Maggie, man. You have to know what she’s thinking. I mean, you can’t just assume that you’re both on the same page. A lot of what happened sounds like you were caught up in some weird moment and last night? Well, that was just a bad situation and it can all still be strictly platonic. But she’s married, Jace. There’s no way around that one.”
“What do I do when we go back to work on Monday?”
“You’re going to have to talk to her. If you’re feeling awkward, chances are that she is too. She may not want to stay on as your assistant, but you can’t just make that assumption and transfer her; you could be looking at some sort of human resources claim on that one.”
Jason preferred to think that Maggie wouldn’t go that route. Then again, he also preferred to think that Maggie wasn’t really married, or was maybe in the process of leaving her husband, so his conscience could be clear.
“That is not a conversation I want to have,” Jason admitted.
“Believe me, I didn’t want to have to admit to Emma that I was afraid to get involved with anyone but once the words were out, it was like a giant weight had been lifted.” Lucas paused for a minute. “The thing is, Jace, I can tell you about me and Emma all day long. She wasn’t a married woman. We were two single people who were attracted to one another. You and Maggie may very well be attracted to one another, but do you really want to pursue something with her? What about her husband? How would you feel if you found out some other man was hitting on your wife? And it was her boss? You can talk to her about where she’d be comfortable working, but I would strongly advise you not to pursue this relationship.”
Jason knew his brother was right and he knew these were things that he needed to hear. He had no idea how he was going to go about working with Maggie, seeing her every day and not acting on his feelings, but he was going to have to find a way.
“I know you’re right, Lucas. I just needed to hear somebody say it out loud to me.”
“I’m sorry, man. I know you were kind of hoping for someone to give you the okay to have your cake and eat it, too. But that’s not going to be me. Hell, I hope it’s not anyone. You need to get home and put an end to this.”
“I will. And thanks, Lucas. I’m sorry I got you up so early.”
“Don’t ever apologize for calling when you’re in need. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to bed to kiss my beautiful wife awake and get on with my day.”
“No need to brag,” Jason mumbled.
“Hey, it’s been a while since I had anything to brag about. I’m just making up for lost time.”
It was hard to begrudge him that. They said good-bye and Jason was left alone with his brother’s words. It was now after seven and Jason knew he had to get ready for this last meeting and face Maggie and the decision he had to make.
* * *
Maggie had been ready and waiting in the hotel lobby at eleven o’clock when the car arrived for her. The driver informed her he had been scheduled to pick her up first and then go and get Jason. Once they had gone across town to pick him up, they were on their way to the airport.
“How did the meeting go?” she asked tentatively.
“Just as planned; he signed,” Jason replied, checking his phone for voice mail or texts, anything to distract him from having to talk directly to Maggie. They drove in silence the remainder of the way to the airport and checked in the same way.
By the time they were seated in first class for their flight home, Maggie had had enough. “Look, I know this trip has been difficult for you because of me, but I have had enough of the silent treatment!”
Jason turned and looked at her. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, please, you heard me just fine. I’m sorry I have been such a burden to you. I know you thought you had hired someone who was professional and had her life together, and instead you got stuck with me. I’m sorry I had a meltdown last night and I’m sorry I crossed a few lines with you. But we still have to work together and that’s kind of hard to do with you ignoring me!”
He could only stare. She was taking responsibility for crossing lines? Didn’t she realize he was crossing them just as much? “Maggie, you had every right to your meltdown last night and it was because of me that it happened!”
She held up a hand to stop him. “I don’t want to spend the entire flight laying blame. All I’m saying is that I want to keep working with you, Jason, but I can’t if you’re going to act like this.” Her brown eyes were wide and pleading, and Jason wanted to put her mind at ease.
“I wasn’t sure you’d want to keep working with me,” he finally said. “I know I put a lot on you during this trip and I didn’t always act like I should have. I honestly don’t know if our working together when we get back is for the best.”
There, he’d said it, put the ball in her court.
Maggie continued to stare at him. “Oh,” she said quietly, disappointment marking her features. “I guess you could be right. I’m sorry you feel that way. I thought I had done a good job for you and…”
“No, Maggie, it’s not that you didn’t do a good job. You did a great job! On everything! It’s just that…we seem to have a problem working…together. Do you understand?”
She didn’t want to, and so rather than continue with this uncomfortable conversation, she decided to change modes and pulled out her tablet to go over his morning meeting. If Jason had wanted to pursue their original conversation, he chose to say nothing. They transitioned smoothly back into work mode and by the time they landed in North Carolina two hours later, Maggie felt confident that while she may not be working for Jason much longer, she had fulfilled her obligation to him and his father for this project.
They walked into the terminal. Maggie was determined to get to baggage claim and get home before she let herself cry. A strong hand on her arm halted her progress. “Maggie?” Jason said softly as she turned around to face him.
This was it, she thought. He’s going to give me the speech now so that there would be no scene at the office on Monday. As much as she willed it not to happen, tears began to well in her eyes. She took a deep breath in a feeble attempt to calm her nerves.
“I guess your husband will be here to pick you up,” he said gruffly.
Her husband. She was getting damn tired of that lie hanging between them, but it was probably best to have that excuse to hang on to. “Yes, I’m sure he’s waiting for me down in baggage claim.”
Jason stared down into her face and swallowed the jealousy raging through him. He wanted the right to take her home. He wanted to tell her they didn’t have to stop working together and be able to take her out on a non-work-related date. He wanted…all of the things he couldn’t have.
“I just want you to know,” he began, “that I couldn’t have done this project without you.”
She nodded her head, wishing he’d let go of her arm so she could walk away while her dignity was still intact. “I really need to go, Jason,” she whispered.
“You never crossed any line with me, Maggie. That was all me. But I can’t let you go before I say this.”
“What?” she said, the words barely leaving her lips before his mouth claimed hers. Maggie quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and held Jason close to her. It was madness to be doing this in the middle of a crowded airport terminal, and yet she couldn’t help herself. The kiss ended all too soon and Jason stepped away.
“That’s why we can’t work together anymore,” Jason said, his breath ragged. “I want you too much to work with you every day and not have the right to do that.”
Maggie made to speak but he stopped her. “Go, your husband must be waiting and it looks like a storm is moving in
. I’ll feel better knowing that you got home safely.”
Everything in her was clamoring to tell Jason the truth, but she had to come to grips with what he had just admitted to. All this time, he had been just as attracted to her as she’d been to him! She reached up and stroked his cheek, unable to help herself, before turning and fairly running from him, disappearing into the crowd.
* * *
Jason meant to stay put and wait before heading down to baggage claim, but clearly he was a glutton for punishment. Keeping a safe distance, he only wanted to catch a glimpse of what the man who was married to Maggie looked like. He watched as she collected her bags and then headed out the door and into the rain. Was he waiting for her in the car at the curb to keep her from getting wet?
Carefully, Jason picked his way through the crowd until he could look out the long expanse of windows and see Maggie walking outside. She flagged down a cab and climbed in while the driver loaded her luggage. Where was her husband? Why was she taking a cab? Why had she lied to him?
Taking out his phone, he dialed his father’s number and then went to claim his own bags. When his father answered, he immediately launched into inquisition mode.
“I know all about what happened to Maggie when you met her three years ago,” Jason said by way of greeting. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
William didn’t miss a beat. “It wasn’t my place to tell you. When I hired Maggie to come and work for us, she asked that I not talk about it and really, there was never a reason to. How was the trip? I’m glad she felt comfortable enough to share that with you.”
“She really didn’t have a choice,” Jason said with a bit of annoyance.
“Why? What happened?” Jason relayed the events of the night before to his father. “Dammit, I had hoped that she’d never have to see that bastard again. Is she okay?”
“She was pretty shaken up by the whole thing and by the time we got back to the hotel, she told me everything.”
Wait for Me / Trust in Me Page 24