by Yvette Hines
“Well, even if Mr. Richardson didn’t have a picture of the two of you on his desk, Mr. Coleman described you as the prettiest, petite thing he had ever seen.”
Yasmine was shocked to hear that Jason had placed a picture of them up in his office. His sister had brought a camera and had taken several pictures of the two of them and other people that were at her house for the reception. Then a few weeks after the wedding a package had come to her with a photo album enclosed that contained the snapshots.
Wow, he was really playing this thing to the hilt.
“Well, I’ll have to remember to thank Mr. Coleman for the compliment.”
They both laughed.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, I’m Jeannie.” She stood up and held her hand out to Yasmine.
“It’s good to meet the lady who takes care of my husband at work.” Yasmine smiled at her and thought to herself, Isn’t that what wives of a business exec were suppose to say?
“I try, but I’m hoping now that he has a lovely wife at home, he won’t be staying at the office so late.”
“Let’s hope not.”
“You can go on in. Mr. Richardson will be back in a moment.” Jeannie opened the door to his office so Yasmine could enter.
“Thank you.”
“Is there anything I can get you? Something to drink maybe?”
“No, I’m fine.” She watched Jeannie close the door. Feeling edgy, Yasmine opted not to sit. She walked over to the window beside his desk and looked out.
“Amazing, you’re standing in the exact spot that lead up to our meeting.”
Yasmine turned at the sound of Jason’s sexy voice. He was in the process of closing his office door.
“People always say that everything happens for a reason.” Yasmine expressed, offhandedly, because she didn’t know how else to respond. His tone of voice was making her even more nervous—it always seemed to hold an intimate sound to it.
“By the time all of this is over, I’m sure the reason will definitely work out to my liking.” He moved forward to where she was standing. “I’m glad to see you here. I thought maybe you’d forgotten where my office was located.”
Yasmine chose to leave that alone. She also tried to ignore how his nearness was affecting her—but was less successful with it.
“I’m resourceful at times.” She gave him a small grin. “Jason, the reason I stopped by is because we have a problem.”
“What’s up?” Jason asked, still not moving from the position he held less than two feet in front of her.
“First the good news. We got the twins and we can pick them up next week.”
“Great. Now we can go and pick up all those things we saw at the mall. I also found the beds you wanted to order online for them at a store in Chesapeake.”
Yasmine was once again shocked by how seriously he was taking his involvement in the children’s lives.
“That’s great because otherwise I would have had to buy roll-a-way beds until their beds were delivered.”
“So, are you available Saturday to go shopping? I have some meetings to handle the rest of this week and can’t get away,” he announced.
“Yeah, I’m available.” Yasmine was becoming more dumbfounded by the minute.
“So, what’s the bad news?” Jason asked as he moved away from her and walked the few feet over to sit behind his desk.
She faced him. “Our first social worker visit is scheduled for Friday.”
“Okay. Andrea already told us about that at the interview.” His face held a perplexed look. “You and I decided from the beginning I would come by on those days, to be there for the meetings.”
“Here’s the thing, Jason, Andrea forgot to tell us that the home-study social worker will also be making unannounced visits.”
Yasmine watched as Jason lifted a single eyebrow, but didn’t make a comment.
The longer he sat silent, the more nervous Yasmine became about how they were going to get themselves around the situation.
She tried to keep herself calm and think rationally. “You know maybe this isn’t a problem at all. Most of the time she comes will probably be during a weekday and I’ll just say you’re at work.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be the case since the children will be at the daycare center during the day and with the part-time nanny in the early evening until you get off.”
“That’s true, but it’s not uncommon for people to be working late, particularly in your line of work.” Smiling, Yasmine finished with, “You know, I may have overreacted. If I’d thought it through more clearly, I wouldn’t have needed to come here. Sorry to disrupt your day, Jason.” Yasmine headed toward the door.
“What if she comes by on the weekend, like Saturday? Remember I’m only supposed to spend Sunday after church with you guys and Wednesday evenings.”
Yasmine turned at his question; she was kind of burned to see that he was still sitting calmly behind his desk in one of his nonchalant postures. “Well, we’ll just pray it’s one of those days. Otherwise, like I said, you’ll be at work.”
“Yasmine...”
It was something about the way he called her name, it always seemed unhurried and familiar, like he had grown accustomed to whispering her name softly in her ear. The tone he used was like a lover’s kiss, while you were being loved, slowly and gently.
Yasmine shook herself, soon she would become a single mother of twins without Jason being around, and thoughts like those would not help.
“It will make all of this easier if I just move in.”
“Move in?” That statement was enough to shake her. “São louco?” Then she repeated it in English saying, “Are you crazy, Jason? That was not part of the deal.”
“I know it wasn’t, but it’s the only possibility that makes any sense.”
“I don’t think it does.” Yasmine could hear herself becoming defensive, but she didn’t care. It was her peace of mind that she was trying to save. They needed to remain distant and apart so she could protect herself from becoming even more entangled with him.
“Yes it does, Yasmine and if you stop for a second you’ll realize it.”
“Jason, look, there’s no need for us to overreact. We probably just need to sit back and ride this out until there’s a true need to take this step.”
“There is a true need. You want these kids and I want to give them to you.”
Yasmine paused. How was she going to fight against a statement like that one?
“Jason, there isn’t enough room for you,” she countered.
“Of course there is. You have a three bedroom house.”
“Exactly. Three—one for Joshua, Jessica and one for me.”
“And now me.”
Throwing her hands in front of her body, she waved them as if warding off an attack. “Oh no, Jason. I cannot share my bedroom with you.” Just the thought of it was making her nipples tighten and frisson of desire to roll down her spine.
“Yasmine, where else would I sleep? What if the social worker asks the children about how the house is set up? I’m sure she has to do that and if one of the kids says ‘Dad sleeps on the couch or on the floor outside of Mommy’s bedroom door’, you don’t think she’s going to see that as strange?”
Yasmine would have loved to tell him no, or even tell him off, but his arguments were so compelling, it almost made her believe that he had rehearsed it a few times.
Buzz.
Jason reached over and picked up the phone on his desk.
“Richardson here.” He was all business now.
“Yes, sir, I have them right here...Okay, give me a minute and I’ll have Jeannie run them down to you.” He hung up the phone and grabbed a folder off his desk. “One moment, let me give this to Jeannie.” He glanced down at his watch. “She’s already gone for the night. She usually tells me when she goes, but with you here she most likely didn’t want to disturb us.”
“That’s all right, Jason, we both need time to think this thro
ugh so why don’t we—”
“Yasmine, don’t run away from me. Just give me two seconds and I’ll be right back...please.”
It was the sincerity in his voice that wouldn’t allow her to say no.
“Fine.”
Jason smiled at her, then left his office.
He had been gone only a few minutes when she heard from behind her, “So, you’re Jason’s little Yasmine now?”
Yasmine turned at the sound of the sultry voice and saw a woman who could only be described as tall, thin, and beautiful. Yasmine watched her as she strutted further into the office, her every movement seemed to hold the power, grace and viciousness of a tigress.
She remembered Raquel from the promotion party Jason had thrown at the beach. She hadn’t been blown over by the woman then for some reason, and now the way she came sashaying into the room she surely wasn’t going to care much for her when this farce was over.
“Hi, it’s Raquel, right?” Yasmine queried.
“Yes, good memory.” Raquel eyed her from face to shoes slowly and then met her eyes again with what only could be described as a fake smile. “When I heard Jason had gotten married, I was flabbergasted.”
Big word. “Were you?” It was a statement. Yasmine wasn’t trying to say anything that would encourage the other woman to stay.
“I would have never guessed it would have been you, though.” Raquel folded her arms under her ample bosom, lifting them higher as she gave Yasmine a direct, almost challenging look.
“Why is that?” A definite question as Yasmine arched a single eyebrow.
Raquel began strolling around Jason’s office like it was hers. Going to the desk, she picked up their wedding portrait. “You aren’t his type.”
She wasn’t sure until now, but all the signs and signals seemed to be leading up to it—Jason and Raquel were lovers. That was the whole reason behind the little territorial dance.
“Let me guess, and you are?” Yasmine figured she would take the direct route.
“Oh, no...I’m not the marrying type at all. But, usually Jason’s type has normally been women of his, and my...caliber.” The slight was as clear as the smirk on Raquel’s face.
“All business you mean?” Yasmine gave Raquel the same perusal she subjected her to earlier.
“Don’t take offense. I know you own you’re own little business and all, but let’s be real. Jason is in a different arena all together. I don’t see how anything other than business could fit into his life.”
That hit a little too close to home. But, Yasmine wasn’t going to give this Raquel the opportunity to think she had gotten the best of her. “Well, maybe he desired a change in his life.”
“Maybe...” Heading back out of the office with the same walk in which she came in, Raquel turned at the door. “I guess everyone’s entitled to go slumming every now and then, but sooner or later they return to that which consumed them completely.”
Then she was gone before Yasmine could comment, but what could she have said to Raquel’s final statement anyway? The other woman had just versed the reality of Yasmine and Jason’s life together.
It would have been easier for her to feel more confident after the other woman’s remarks, if Jason and she had gotten married because of love; instead of it having been agreed upon as any of his business arrangements.
Walking over to Jason’s desk and picking up the picture, for the first time Yasmine could see her and Jason smiling like a “happy couple” next to the fireplace mantel in her house. That day in front of everyone, they had played that role to the hilt. If she were looking at a picture of some other set of newlyweds she would have believed that they made a striking couple. The image seemed to portray that they fit well together, even with their significant difference in height. It was a nice picture, Yasmine thought to herself, but it wasn’t real.
Yasmine set the picture back in its place.
Thinking back to Raquel, Yasmine was almost positive that he preferred the arrangement he had with the other woman. She wasn’t a fool. Jason and Raquel were in a sexual relationship—no strings attached. What man wouldn’t want that?
She wondered how long it would take him to go back to the other woman physically, or if he had ever stopped. They hadn’t seen much of each other since they had gotten married a few months ago. Of course, most of that was because she had chosen it to be that way, especially after the wedding night.
Yasmine was extremely nervous at the prospect of the coming arrangement of Jason having to move in, thinking that in those close quarters it may happen again.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Mr. Coleman had a few questions.” Jason walked back into the office.
“No problem. By the way, Raquel came by.” Yasmine couldn’t help it; she had to put it out there.
Appearing unconcerned, Jason stood calmly in front of her, “Really? What did she want?”
You. Yasmine opted not to say that, refusing to appear petty. “I guess to congratulate us.”
Yasmine was impressed, not even a flicker went across his face at the mention of his lover. He’s good, Yasmine thought to herself.
“Great.” He changed the conversation. “So we agree it’s best that I move in, correct?”
Raquel’s entrance hadn’t allowed her the opportunity to think of a plausible reason why he couldn’t move in. “If you think it’s necessary.”
“I do. Since we’re already going to be together, how is Saturday for you?”
“Saturday for what?”
“Me to move my things over.”
“Things?” Yasmine questioned. “I figured a suitcase, maybe two. Things sound like...a household.”
Chuckling, Jason shook his head at her words. “I’m only talking about a couple of suitcases and maybe a box filled with my family pictures and things.”
“Por que não?.” She purposely mumbled in Portuguese, because she couldn’t conceive a reason for him not to move his things.
“Good, I’m going to take that as an affirmative response. If you give me a second, I’ll close down my computer and lock away the files that are on my desk. Then I’ll be ready to go.”
“Go?” Yasmine was beginning to feel as if she were a conversational idiot.
“Shopping for the kids.” He declared.
“I thought we were going to do that on the weekend?” she asked.
“You know what they say, no need to put off until tomorrow. Besides, I’ve shopped with my sister at least once for her kids and it always take more than one day.”
Yasmine witnessed the sparkle enter his green eyes as he smiled at her. She held a tight reign on her body, refusing to allow it to get out of control.
As she listened to the melodic sound of his humming as he completed his task, Yasmine had no doubt it was going to be a tormenting night. It would take everything in her power not to react to being around him as they shopped. Lord, let the stores close early tonight.
Fifteen
Ding. Dong.
Jason stood at Yasmine’s door early Saturday morning. He had just left her less than seven hours ago, with little sleep in between the visits. They had been out shopping most of the night, had grabbed Chinese takeout and had come back to her house to put the kids rooms together; baby doll theme for Jessica and Joshua had sports. Today, the children’s beds and dressers would arrive. Yasmine had a fit when she had found out he had already bought the beds, the day when he had gone to the place, but had them on hold waiting on her final approval. She had liked them, but she had been upset. She told him that she was financially able to take care of the twins and stopped short from calling them hers, when she noticed the look he had given her.
Jason didn’t want to process that look, nor did he want to think about it now as he stood in front of what would be his residence for possibly a year. Neither did he want to hear the voice in his head saying he was getting in too deep and it was going to be hard for him to walk away from the kids.
The door opened.
>
Yasmine stood there in a worn robe, bunny slippers, a granny style long nightgown and her hair askew from sleep.
The voice declared it would be hard to leave her, too.
“I guess it’s time I get a key.” He entered the house pulling two suitcases behind him.
She placed her hand over her mouth stifling a yawn. “Wow, are you always up this early?”
“Most of the time.” He placed the suitcases next to the stairs leading to the upper level where the rooms were located and headed back outside.
“It’s only seven o’clock.” She looked at her wristwatch. “This time of day on Saturday is still considered the middle of the night for me.”
Jason heard Yasmine talk at his back as he walked to his car located in the driveway.
Grabbing the two boxes out of his car, he re-entered the house to find Yasmine gone from the living room. Jason set the boxes down, closed the front door and carried the two suitcases up to her room. They had not technically confirmed he was going to room with her, but neither did they verbalize an alternative plan.
The door was slightly ajar. Jason slowly pushed it fully open and entered. He could see Yasmine curled up under the covers, possibly already back to sleep or at least in a position to will herself to return to dreamland.
Jason didn’t want to disturb her so he just set the suitcases down and turned to leave.
“You can have the tall chest of drawers, it’s already emptied and the right side of the closet is yours. If you need more room than that, there’s a spare closet in the playroom.”
The playroom was actually more like a large closet, with a window. Yasmine had told him it had been a study for her father. It had been empty until they had filled it with toys, a tiny tike’s clubhouse and slide.
“Thank you.” He turned back toward the bed, where Yasmine now sat up with her head balanced on her forearms and raised knees.
Jason smiled to himself, even in Yasmine’s annoyed ragged state there was a sleep-sexy look about her. Her lips still puffy from the night, giving them a pouty look and her eyes only half open held a seductive charm.
“Will it disturb you if I unpack?”