“Watch it,” Jason warned again. “I was going to say great conversations. She’s exciting to be with.”
“So this is serious?”
“I think it could be,” Jason admitted and found it wasn’t such a hard thing to do.
“How does Maggie feel?”
“I’m not sure. We were supposed to have dinner tonight and I’m sort of treading carefully with her because of her past. I don’t want to rush her or do anything to scare her off.”
“So then what are you doing here with me working late when you had plans with her?”
Jason shrugged. “This is who I am; work has always been first and foremost in my life. Maggie knows that.”
Mac laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, there’s a difference between knowing your boss is a workaholic and dating a workaholic. You’ll have to pay more attention to the time, Brother; otherwise you may find that she’s not as understanding as you thought.”
Jason waved him off. “You don’t know Maggie. She’ll understand. But you’re right. I will start paying more attention to the time and try to get out of here more often at a reasonable hour. How hard could it be?”
* * *
By the end of the week, Jason knew how hard it could be. Damn near impossible. He didn’t realize how much of himself he gave to the business until there was something else that he wanted to do, and yet he couldn’t tear himself away. Maggie had been patient all week long, always quick with a word of understanding. It was Jason who hit the breaking point.
At six o’clock on Friday evening, Mac walked into his office and smirked. “Working late on a Friday night? Nice.”
“Shut up,” Jason snapped as he walked around collecting paperwork and shoving it into his briefcase.
“You’ve been here late every night this week,” Mac said lightly. “How’s that working for you?”
Jason flipped him the bird and closed his case, walking toward the door.
“Big plans tonight?”
Jason stopped and hung his head down. “Is there something you wanted, Mac?” he finally asked.
Mac was the king of poker faces, and he gave Jason his best dude, I’m really sorry to have to do this to you face. “Well, actually, I just needed to come in here and let you know”—he paused for dramatic effect—“that I’m glad you’re finally taking your sorry ass out of here and hopefully going out with Maggie.”
Jason was so relieved he practically sagged to the floor. “You’re an idiot,” he murmured as he turned and strode out the door.
“I do not want to see you back here until Monday!” Mac called after him.
By the time Jason got to his car, his brother was all but forgotten. He had to get to Maggie. All day he had tried to pin down plans for them for tonight, but she had been elusive, telling him just to give her a call if he had the time. He hated letting her down. All week. He had not had any time alone with her since that brief time in his office on Monday, and he was ready to explode with need for her.
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 exotic flowers 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.
Jason watched as she arranged the flowers, fluttering 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 waited a moment before asking, “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 10
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 discontentment with his life. The long hours, going home alone—it was starting 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 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 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. How long would it be before other men noticed that about her?
He’d tried feebly to explain his position and how important Montgomerys 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 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 didn’t think you were going to hide that from me, did you?”
“We thought we were being careful,” he grimaced.
“You were. I just knew what I was looking for.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
William sto
od 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. Montgomerys is not going to crumble and fall 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 who 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 maybe whisk her away for the weekend or bring her home to his place and pamper her. It didn’t matter what they did, as long as he was with her.
In the time 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.
He just hoped 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 girls’ 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 found 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 they would stay up all night just talking, and Maggie loved hearing about all 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 Montgomerys.
After 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 was from Jason, and while she hadn’t intentionally blown him off, she kind of felt that it served him right. 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 she should call him back. Maggie changed into a pair of cotton boxers and a cami, 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 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?” he practically growled.
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 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.”
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 just to 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 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 Montgomerys and me. I think I 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 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 any more 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 not to 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 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. 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 mo
re late nights at work. From here on out, I want you to know that you can count on me.” He paused and 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 have a little time to myself, even though you’ve let me have more time alone than I wanted. I need to think about all that we talked about tonight.”
“I’m not going to lie and tell you 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 11
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 as he had on their business trip. 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, placing her purse and jacket back down and following Jason into his office. “Was there something else 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.”
Wait for Me / Trust in Me Page 27