The Deal

by Sarah J. Brooks

  Chapter 12

  Anna

  “You aren’t going to work again?” Patrick asked as I came in the door to our apartment.

  “No, I’m not going back there. I hate them all.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Well, I’m still not going back there.”

  “So, you’re going to get a different job that pays you twenty-five dollars an hour for doing what you love?” Patrick said as he started to laugh. “Just so you know, I only make seventeen dollars, and I hate my job.”

  “I don’t know, maybe I’ll start college.”

  “Classes are already starting, so you’ll have to wait at least until the next semester and probably until the next fall.”

  Patrick seemed like he was trying to get me to go back to work with Jason, and I just couldn’t do that. He was a rotten man without a conscience, and I didn’t want to be friends with him, work with him, or kiss him ever again.

  I could find a different job. It didn’t matter to me. Jobs weren’t that hard to find; I’d just get out there and start applying to some. I could finish my college application material as well and start school the next semester. I did love business, and getting my MBA sounded like a really good plan.

  “I’m going to take a shower so I don’t have to be grilled with your questions any longer,” I grumped as I went down the hall to our bathroom.

  “Maybe it was all a misunderstanding,” Patrick blurted out. “You should at least talk to him first before you feed him to the wolves.”

  “Why do men always defend each other? I thought you were on my side.” I huffed and slammed the bathroom door.

  As I showered, I was getting myself more and more worked up thinking about Jason. It wasn’t just that he was trying to trick my father, but he was trying to trick me as well. He’d convinced me he was a good guy. I’d been utterly in love with him and thought he was so honest and respectable, yet he was going behind my back and going to sell my dad’s company off in tiny pieces? That wasn’t something a person I respected would do.

  By the time I climbed out of the shower, my blood pressure was sky-high, and my hands were shaking with anger. I wrapped a towel around myself and stormed back out to the living room to talk to Patrick.

  “He’s a liar, Patrick. I was falling in love with a liar.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do. And you know what? I’m going to tell him that to his face. I have to tell my dad what’s going on before they lay this news on him, and I’m going to talk to Jason before I tell my dad.”

  “Good, you should do that. Call him right now,” Patrick said as he handed me my cell phone.

  “I’m going to.”

  “Do it,” he encouraged.

  I dialed Jason’s number, and it rang four times. Just before the voicemail picked up, Jason answered, and I could tell instantly he was driving and I was on speaker phone. I worried that Clyde might be in the car, so I didn’t yell and scream at Jason, which was what I wanted to do. “We need to talk,” I said firmly.

  “I’ll be right over,” he replied and then hung up.

  Patrick looked at me strangely as I put the phone down rather quickly for a phone call. I just stared at him for a minute as the brief conversation played in my head. Was he coming over this very second? I better go get dressed.

  “Voicemail?”

  “No, he says he’s coming over,” I replied.

  “Good, you two need to have this conversation in person. I’m going to head in to work. Text me if you need anything. And give the guy a chance. A lot of times there are different ways of looking at a situation. So just try to see things from his point of view if you can.”

  “I don’t know how ripping someone’s life work from them can be positive in any way, but sure, I’ll give him a chance.”

  Patrick grabbed his bag and opened the door to leave, and there was Jason standing in front of our door. He was out of breath from climbing the stairs and hunched over with his hands on his knees.

  “Wow, that’s a workout,” he said as he stood up and tried to slow his breathing.

  “Okay, well, I’m out of here. Enjoy your talk,” Patrick said as he slipped past Jason and down the stairs.

  “I need to get dressed,” I said quickly and then hurried back to my room.

  Having Jason standing at my door threw me off and made me feel like I wasn’t in control at all. I took my time finding what I wanted to wear while Jason stayed out in the living room. First, I grabbed some jeans and a T-shirt but then decided I might want to look cute when I talked to him. I looked at my dresses and couldn’t find one that I liked and was basically standing there looking at my closet contemplating what I should wear and the implications of every outfit when Jason knocked on my door.

  “Are you really getting dressed or just hiding in there?” he asked.

  “Sorry, I’m getting dressed,” I said and put the jeans and T-shirt on.

  “It’s okay. I’ll wait all day if I have to.”

  When I finally came out of my room, Jason was sitting on my couch with one arm around the back cushions. He looked really comfortable there and so handsome that I had to look away to try and avoid getting swept away by his good looks. His blond hair was combed back nicely and his scruffy beard trimmed up. He was wearing a perfectly tailored dark gray suit and an aqua blue tie that made his eyes absolutely shimmer as he looked up at me. The slight smile spreading across his face simultaneously made me weak in the knees and angry all before I’d even said a word to him.

  “I’m not coming to work today. I think it’s best if I quit.”

  “Why?”

  “You know why. Let’s not pretend here.”

  He grimaced a little but still didn’t look upset at all by what I was saying. His delicious blue eyes kept staring at me like he was waiting for me to say something else, but I didn’t have anything to say. Jason was the one who should be apologizing and explaining himself, not me.

  “Humor me and come sit down, please,” he said as he tapped the couch.

  “You can’t win me over with that damn smile and charm of yours. I’m not falling for it. I heard you saying you were going to break up my father’s company. There’s no way you can deny it.”

  “You’re right. That’s what we are going to do…”

  “See you’re a liar and a crook, and I don’t want anything to do with you. Why are you even here? I can’t imagine that you need an assistant that much. I’m sure you can find some other girl to lie to.”

  Jason rolled his eyes at me and then unbuttoned his suit jacket as if he was planning on staying awhile. He stood up and slowly took the jacket off before sitting back down and starting in on the sleeves of his shirt. “This is going to take a while,” he said as he began rolling up each of his shirt sleeves.

  “What’s going to take a while?” I said as I crossed my arms and looked at the spectacle he was making of himself.

  “Convincing you that I’m not a monster. It’s going to take a while, and I’m staying until I’ve done a good job of it.”

  “So, you’re just going to invite yourself to stay here?”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s what I’m doing. Do you want me to make some food? I’m hungry, and I bet you’re hungry after your run as well.”

  “No,” I yelled as I stood up. “I don’t want you to make me any food. I don’t want to even talk to you. You can keep your ridiculous explanations—I don’t need to listen to them.”

  Jason didn’t move a single muscle as he stayed put on the couch. He actually looked amused at me as I became more and more angry.

  I grabbed the door and opened it in an effort to get him to leave, but he still just sat there. “Are we going out for lunch?” he asked with a playful smile on his face.

  “No, you can go wherever you want. Anywhere but here would be preferable.”

  “Come on, Anna, you know me. You know I wouldn’t do
something that was horrible to your father. Give me a chance to explain what’s going on. This is going to help your dad. It’s going to ensure the employees that want to keep working will have a more stable working environment. Please, let me explain,” Jason said, and he stood up and walked slowly toward me.

  He wasn’t about to leave because his suit jacket was still sitting on the couch. Instead, he moved in closer and closer to me as his eyes locked with mine, and I felt that electric connection that the two of us had. It was undeniable, it was strong, and I felt my power sliding away as my desire for Jason slowly grew.

  “Just tell me now. How is this supposed to help?”

  “Anna, you’re angry, and you won’t be able to hear me right now with all this going on,” he said as his hands waved over me and focused on my arms crossed over my chest. “You have to calm down a little. Please, let’s go get something to eat, and we can talk about it. I’ll explain everything.”

  “I don’t see why you can’t just explain it to me right now.”

  “Please,” he said as his hand gently grabbed mine and held onto it. “Let me take you to breakfast, or lunch, or just a smoothie. Let’s go and talk.”

  His voice was smooth and sexy and exactly what I didn’t want. This was why I had ignored his calls and texts. I knew if he was in front of me, it was going to be really hard for me to stay angry at him.

  “You’re impossible. I bet you always get your way, don’t you?”

  “Says the girl with the pink bikini and the trampoline.” He laughed.

  “Fine, I’ll go to lunch. But don’t think I’m going to be any less upset with you just because we’re eating food.”

  Jason grabbed his coat, and we went downstairs. I actually was starving and convinced myself that this was the only way to get him to explain what was really going on. I didn’t get how he could actually think this plan of his was anything but hurtful. Jason knew my father had worked his life helping to build this company. My father had even been offered to buy the company outright when the original owner passed away, but we didn’t have the money for that fifteen years ago when it happened.

  Instead of my father buying the company alone, he went in on the deal with Morgan Sparser and Marcus Conner, and the three of them owned it together. Unfortunately, Morgan had passed away a few years ago, and he’d given his portion of the company to my father and Marcus. The three of them were inseparable when they were young and first employed by the company, and they remained friends throughout their time as owners. Marcus and my father weren’t businessmen by trade, and they had clearly made some business mistakes over the years. But that was why Jason and his company were there—Jason was supposed to be saving my father, and instead, he was ruining everything.

  I sat quietly in Jason’s car and didn’t look at or talk to him for the entire ride to the restaurant. He was clearly dressed for work, and I was in my casual jeans, so I wasn’t exactly sure where he was taking us to eat. Chicago was packed with great food though, and I wasn’t a picky eater, even when I was angry.

  “Ready?” Jason asked as we pulled up to the valet parking at Rupert’s.

  As the valet opened my door, I climbed out and waited for Jason to come around to the sidewalk. I’d uncrossed my arms and stopped pouting a little bit, purely because I didn’t want to look ridiculous while we were waiting to eat.

  “I’m still angry,” I said as Jason gently grabbed my hand, and we walked straight into the restaurant to sit down.

  “Yes, I know,” he said with a smirk. “We can eat and talk, and you can stay as angry as you like.”

  We didn’t have to wait at all, and Jason just waved to the hostess as we walked past. He held onto my hand while we weaved our way in and out of the tables until we got to the very corner of the room. I could have let go of his hand, but I didn’t. The feel of his fingers and mine together was perfection, even though I was upset at him. There was no denying that I still longed for his touch.

  “So now will you explain to me what’s going on?” I asked as he pulled my chair out and waited for me to sit down.

  “Can we at least order our food first?”

  Like clockwork, the waitress was at our table handing us menus and pouring ice water. She smiled kindly at the two of us. Her brown hair was filled with wild curls, and her freckles seemed especially prominent in the lighting of the restaurant.

  “What would you like to drink?”

  “I’ll have an orange juice,” I said.

  “Bloody Mary,” Jason added.

  “We are serving breakfast still until eleven, but if you really want lunch, I’m sure we can convince the chef.”

  “Thank you,” Jason said as he put his menu down right away and looked at me while he waited for the waitress to leave. “You look amazing,” he said to me.

  “I’m wearing jeans and a T-shirt.”

  “And you look amazing.”

  I ignored his compliment. “So, we are waiting until we order and then you’re going to tell me what’s going on?” I asked. If he thought buttering me up with compliments was going to stop me from being upset, then he really didn’t know me at all.

  “Can’t we just have a nice meal and talk when it’s done?”

  “No. After we order, you are telling me what’s going on or I’m leaving,” I said firmly. “This isn’t a date, Jason.”

  He smiled at me as if I was being ridiculous, but I could see by the smile and glint in his eyes that he thought he could charm his way out of this. He was really damn charming, but I still needed answers. I wasn’t going to let him rip my father’s company apart all because he happened to be drop dead gorgeous and made me wet when I looked at him.

  “Okay, whatever you’d like. It’s your date,” he antagonized me a little.

  I huffed and crossed my arms as I leaned back in my chair and waited for the waitress to come get our order. Fifteen minutes later, she showed up with our drinks and then had to run off and help another table quickly. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought Jason had coordinated this whole thing with her somehow. It seemed really odd to me that this waitress hadn’t even taken our order yet.

  After sitting quietly and not talking to Jason for fifteen minutes, I finally caved in and leaned in toward him. With my elbows on the table, I gave him a huge smile. “Was Clyde excited about school today?” I ventured with the only safe subject I could think of.

  “Yeah, he showed me around the school and didn’t even cry when I left. In fact, I think I was probably more nervous than he was.”

  “He’s a really great kid. You must be doing something right.”

  “It was nice of you to stop by and give him that toy. It was really cute,” Jason said. “I’m glad I was running late and got to see you. I’m glad you agreed to come on this date too,” he snickered.

  I just rolled my eyes and shook my head at him. He was purposely antagonizing me just for the fun of it. I did my best not to look at him and bit my lip to prevent myself from feeding his ego by smiling at his joke. If I wasn’t so worried about my father and what Jason was doing to him, I might have been inclined to think Jason was funny.

  There was a lengthy silence, and I looked down when I noticed Jason’s arms moving a little. He had his phone in his lap and was punching in a text message. I quickly reached over and grabbed the phone from him and read what was on the screen.

  JASON: Not yet, another 10 min.

  “What’s this?” I asked as I looked around the restaurant and saw our waitress laughing and running off to the back room. “Are you texting her and telling her not to come to our table? You know her? You’re such a weasel,” I playfully punched him on the arm and slid his phone back over to him.

  “Sorry.” He laughed and motioned for the waitress, who was looking out from the back room, to come over.

  “What can I get for you guys?” she said as her eyes stayed glued on the order pad she held.

  “An e
gg white omelet please,” I said.

  “Same,” Jason added.

  “Okay, now tell me why this plan of yours is a good one and not the most horrible thing in the world.”

  “Let me explain it to you the best I can. Think of your father’s company like a Walmart. It has everything there is to have for construction. You’ve got top-notch equipment, engineers, software, and even a new high-end support device that everyone on the market wants. Got it?”

  “Sure,” I replied although I wasn’t sure at all that I understood what he was trying to say.

  “So, let’s just say you have eight awesome divisions in your store. It would be best to have someone in charge of each of those divisions—preferably someone who understands that area and is very knowledgeable about it, right?”

  “Okay.”

  “But what if instead of having individually run divisions you just had this guy Bob sitting at the front of the store. He knows the store; he can point you in the right direction, but he can’t do a very good job of selling the services of each division because he’s trying to do everything by himself. Bob is sitting there at the front of the store, and he doesn’t have any help. Customers are leaving because they like to have help when they need it. Understand?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said as I started to laugh a little. “Is my dad Bob in this scenario?”

  Jason looked frustrated at me as he tried to think about how he wanted to explain what was going on in different terms. He opened his mouth like he was going to talk on a couple occasions but then didn’t say anything. When the waitress arrived with our food, it was an excuse for us to eat while he was trying to think of another way of explaining whatever it was that he was trying to tell me.

  It was actually endearing how hard Jason was trying to explain what was going on to me. Each time he came up with an idea of how he was going to describe things, he looked excited for a moment, then retreated back into his thoughts. I was still upset, but the fact that he was trying so hard to explain things did make me believe that Jason’s intentions were not bad. Whatever was going on, Jason appeared to genuinely be behind this decision.