The Deal

by Sarah J. Brooks

  After spending just ten minutes freshening up and getting a drink, I came into the hallway to see all the men standing there and shaking each other’s hands. Marcus was patting them on the back and thanking Kevin and Jason for everything they had done.

  “Wow, what did I miss?”

  “I see what you guys are trying to do here,” my father said. “This was what I wanted. Well, not this exactly. But I really did want to retire. I just wasn’t willing to do it until I knew the employees could thrive.”

  “Of course, we would have preferred to keep the company together, but these companies are all amazing,” Marcus added. “We will continue looking through everything, but at this point, I don’t see any issues. I think we’ve got a deal.”

  “Thank you two for spending the day with us and letting us show you what we saw in this deal,” Jason said as he shook my father’s hand.

  “You and I are still going to have to do some talking, young man,” my father replied as he held onto Jason’s hand firmly. “But we can do that after this business is all figured out.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jason said as if he was a teenager standing in front of his girlfriend’s father. “I look forward to it.”

  I gave my father a hug and stood in the hallway with Kevin and Jason as the two men left in the elevator. What a day we had just had. It was the definition of a roller coaster with the ups and downs I’d experienced both physically and emotionally.

  “We are going to your father’s house for dinner on Sunday,” Jason said as we all walked down the hall toward their offices.

  “We?” I asked as I looked at Jason and then Kevin.

  “Not me.” Kevin laughed. “I think you two will have to handle this one alone. I’m not coming near that explosion.”

  “Dad invited you to dinner?”

  “Don’t look so surprised; I’m pretty damn charming. He invited me and Clyde to come. Isn’t that awesome?”

  “Yeah,” I said as I tried to take in what was happening.

  Not only had my father agreed to the business plan, but he had done a complete one-eighty and was inviting Jason to the house. This was blowing my mind. Maybe my little talk with him had actually gotten through. Or perhaps he just planned on continuing to call Jason names when he arrived, but I doubted that.

  Kevin smiled at us. “Okay, lovebirds, I’m going home. We can finish the details in the coming weeks.”

  “Thanks for everything, Kevin,” I said as I shook his hand. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m not going to be staying on here any longer. Not as a regular employee or a contractor.”

  “What?” Jason said in shock.

  “What are you going to do?” Kevin asked me.

  “I’m going to college. I’m going to start at the community college since I can do a late start for this year, and then I’ll transfer to the university next year. I’d like to get my MBA.”

  “How the hell did you get this all figured out so quickly?” Jason protested.

  “Thank you for all your help,” Kevin said as we both ignored Jason for the moment. “We were lucky to have you and can’t wait to see what you do with that MBA of yours.”

  Kevin gave me another handshake and then went to his office to grab his things. Jason stood staring at me the whole time and didn’t speak again until Kevin had passed us and left in the elevator. “What the hell, Anna. You’re leaving?”

  “I would have thought you’d be happy for me because I’m going to college,” I said with a slight smile as we sat down on the small couch in the hallway.

  Jason grabbed my hand and put it up to his heart where I could feel it throbbing out of control. We were silent as we sat there for a few minutes. My hand stayed on his heart even as he tried to talk. “I didn’t think you would leave. It’s stupid, I know. But I thought you might want to stay on since you were so good at doing the deals.”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry at the same time,” I said softly. “I think this is what I want to do, and I’d love it if you supported me in this wild dream of mine.”

  “Oh, crap, Anna. I support you. I’m excited for you. This is really great,” Jason said with more enthusiasm. “I’m just bummed for myself and being a typical jealous guy. Really, I am so happy for you.”

  “That’s more like it,” I said as I climbed onto Jason’s lap and straddled him right there in the hallway of the office.

  “Is everyone gone?” he asked as he looked around nervously.

  “I quit, remember, what does it matter?”

  His hands grabbed onto my ass as I leaned down and kissed him softly. Slowly, we moved our mouths and tongues together as my hips slid back and forth against him playfully.

  “Are you free Friday?” Jason asked between kisses.

  “This Friday or next Friday?”

  “Every Friday?”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked a little confused by what he was saying.

  I tried to go back to kissing him, but he pushed me away a little so we could talk. His hands stayed on my ass, though.

  “Can you keep Fridays free for me? I’d like to take you out,” he asked.

  “Every Friday? That seems a bit excessive. How about we plan for next Friday, and then I’ll look at my schedule,” I teased him.

  “Actually, that’s not going to work for me. I’d really like to see you every week.”

  “Wow, you are getting a little unruly aren’t you,” I said as I let my hands run up and down his chiseled chest. To be honest, I would have kept every day of the week available for Jason, but I was trying to see where he was going with this. Did he just want a booty call once a week or was there more here? Because I felt like there was much more between us than just a booty call.

  “Listen here,” Jason said. He stood up with me in his arms and then put me on the couch and stood in front of me looking all authoritative. “I would like to date you. Not one date, not two dates. I would just like to date you. Like normal people do. I don’t care if it’s Fridays or Sundays. I don’t care if we go eat or play on that damn trampoline of yours. I just want to make it clear that I’d like to have you in my life.”

  My heart must have flipped as I put my hand against my chest and felt the pounding that was happening. I had so much to say, so many ways that I could have said yes to him. But instead, I sat there stunned and grappling for the right words that just wouldn’t come. Finally, I grabbed his hand and held it against my chest so he could feel how hard my heart was beating.

  We stayed there silently looking into each other’s eyes as I nodded my head yes to his offer.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes,” I finally managed to say.

  “Oh, shit yeah,” Jason said as he scooped me up into his arms and twirled me around in the middle of the office. “I was going to die if I found out you were just using me for sex,” he said with a huge smile.

  He slowly let me down to the ground, and our lips met each other as my toes touched the ground. Every emotion was flying through my body at the same time, and I could hardly think straight. My knees wobbled with the excitement, and Jason kept his arm around my waist to steady me.

  As I got lost in his eyes, I ended up laughing at the thought of how I’d had a crush on him for so long. What had started so innocently had developed into something truer than I could have imagined. Back then I hardly knew what love was, but as I stood there looking up at Jason, I had a new understanding of that powerful emotion.

  “There is something I need to tell you,” I said softly as I wrapped my arms around him. “Promise you won’t get mad?”

  Jason furrowed his brow and looked down at me with a bit of worry as he waited for me to tell him something horrible. I could hardly keep a straight face though and finally burst into laughter.

  “What is it?” he asked with concern.

  “I did want you just for sex,” I said with a smile. “But I think I’ll keep you around. I
mean at least on Fridays,” I teased as we kissed.

  Epilogue

  Anna

  “I’ll be there by five, I promise,” I said as I put the car into gear and prepared to pull out of the school parking lot.

  “Hmm, you’re going to visit Summer… I don’t believe you two girls are going to be done in an hour. How about I just have the pizza delivered in two hours?” Jason said as he laughed at my plan to be there so quickly.

  “Okay, I’m not going to argue with two hours. But I could have been there in one, I promise.”

  It was Friday night, and we always had our date night on Fridays. This week, Clyde had picked the movie, and we were having a little family time. But Summer was in the midst of a total meltdown, and I couldn’t leave her hanging, especially considering Jason, Clyde, and I were about to leave for a vacation next week.

  “I’ll take you for your word. See you in two and a half hours,” Jason teased.

  “Oh stop.”

  “Drive safely.”

  “I will. Love you.”

  “You too darling, see you soon,” Jason said as he hung up.

  I hurried straight over to Summer’s house where I did indeed find her crying on the lawn like she had said she was. It was a bit surprising since I had been totally convinced that she was being dramatic about the whole thing.

  Her parents had been threatening to cut her off for years. I couldn’t believe they’d finally done it. Even though Summer should have been out on her own by then, I just didn’t imagine her family would ever actually stop supporting her.

  “They did it, Anna,” she said through her tears. “They actually changed the locks and put my stuff out here.”

  Behind Summer was a huge pile of very expensive clothes, jewelry, shoes, and purses. If she wanted to, she could have sold those things off and lived pretty well for several years. But I knew Summer well enough to know she wouldn’t be doing that.

  “Okay, let’s take one thing at a time. You can stay in my room at Patrick’s apartment. I’m hardly ever staying there anymore.”

  “Eww, I can’t live with Patrick.”

  “Okay, who else could you ask?” I said calmly, although I really wanted to slap her. She was literally sitting on her lawn crying, yet she didn’t want to live with our close friend Patrick? It was ridiculous.

  “Um, I could just get my dad to pay for an apartment, I guess.”

  “Summer, the whole idea behind cutting you off is that they aren’t going to pay for anything anymore. That means they probably canceled your credit cards and closed your bank account.”

  “What?” she screamed as if I was the one who had stopped her constant money flow. “I’ll starve to death.”

  “No, that purse you’re holding is worth ten thousand dollars. I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to starve to death anytime soon. So, who else can you go stay with?”

  Summer took impossibly long to think of someone who she was willing to stay with, and when we called her, the girl practically hung up on us. Summer’s group of friends was pretty small, and most of the people who actually cared about her didn’t have money like she did. After nearly an hour on the lawn, I finally convinced her to go to Patrick’s house for the time being.

  “You can always move when you find something that works better.”

  “My life is ruined,” she cried as I helped her to my car, and we grabbed as much of her things as we could. “What will happen to the rest of this stuff?”

  “I’m sure they will move it into the garage after we leave,” I said as I saw her mother in the window crying and her father comforting her.

  It was a tough-love move that probably should have happened gradually over the years. But it was what it was, and Summer needed the wake-up call. She hadn’t worked a day in her life or finished college, yet she was spending over $30,000 some months. It was insane, and her parents couldn’t keep up with her spending. They had been threatening her for at least a year and finally followed through with it.

  When we arrived at Patrick’s apartment, Summer complained all the way up the stairs, and neither Patrick or I could listen to it anymore, so we brought the rest of her things up to my room.

  Patrick didn’t look happy at all that I was leaving her there. “You’re going on a weeklong vacation and leaving her with me. You owe me so big for this. I mean huge.”

  “I know Patrick, I’m sorry. But we have been planning this trip for months.”

  “I’m just messing with you. I hope you guys have a great time. I’ll be here thinking of you and soaking up the cloudy skies and rain.”

  “At least we have rain,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, just bring me some of the cheap Bahaman liquor when you come home.”

  “Deal.”

  By the time I climbed back in my car to head over to Jason’s house, it was already eight o’clock. I was officially late.

  ANNA: I’m on my way. Save me some pizza.

  JASON: The pizza just got here. Hurry, or we will eat it all.

  He included a picture of him and Clyde with all the pizza piled up on their plates. They were so adorable that I couldn’t stop smiling on the drive over there. My life was truly blessed with these two guys in it.

  “Oh, look who decided to join us,” Clyde said playfully as he hid a plate full of pizza behind his back. “Sorry, we ate all the pizza.”

  “Really, gosh darn it,” I said and went into the fridge to pull out the last cupcake that I had saved in there for Clyde. “I guess I’ll just have to eat this cupcake I saved for you,” I teased.

  “No, I was kidding. Here, we saved you lots,” he said as he thrust the plate in front of me, and I gave him the cupcake.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” I said as I wrapped my arms around Jason and kissed him softly. “They actually kicked her out.”

  “Is she alright?”

  “Yep, I got her to Patrick’s house. I do feel really bad about leaving for our trip, though.”

  Jason didn’t offer to cancel the trip. He had been planning it for months and waiting until I had a break at school that coincided with when Clyde had his break at school. This trip was really important to Jason, and I wouldn’t have asked him to cancel it anyways.

  “Well, should we start the movie? We do need to get to bed so we can make our flight tomorrow.”

  “I’m so glad I packed yesterday,” I said as relief washed over me.

  “I’m glad you did too,” Jason teased as he grabbed me and kissed me again. “I remember how long it took you to pack for our New York trip.”

  “Whatever. You surprised me. I wasn’t prepared.”

  “I know, that’s why I gave you lots of notice for this trip.”

  We all climbed onto the couch with Jason and me sitting next to each other, and Clyde curled up next to me. Jason had flipped the lights off and then pressed play on the movie that they already had cued up.

  Clyde fell asleep before the first half of the movie had finished, and Jason paused the show to take him to bed. I was tired too and had no urge to watch the end of the show at all. Instead, I really had to tell him about my day.

  “Just turn it off. We can head to bed too,” I said as I grabbed his hand and pulled Jason down the hall toward the bedroom. “I have to tell you about my business idea. I shared it with my class, and they really liked it.”

  “You still have a long way to go to finish your MBA, so don’t go giving away your awesome business ideas to others,” Jason said as he closed the door behind us and pulled my shirt up over my head. “But tell me what the idea was.”

  “No, I’m not supposed to tell others,” I teased him.

  “You can tell me. I’m not going to steal your idea.”

  “How do I know? You are pretty sneaky with your business deals, or so I’ve heard through the gossip in town,” I said as I let my hands unbutton his pants and press them to the ground.

&nb
sp; “You’re distracting me instead of telling me your idea.”

  “I’m not doing any such thing,” I replied as I unhooked my bra and let my breasts get a little fresh air before bedtime. “I’m just a little hot. I don’t need all these clothes on.”

  “Nope, you don’t need them,” Jason said as he grabbed me and tackled me onto the bed. “I’ll take care of the rest.”

  His lips moved up my thigh and quickly he was licking me as I lay back on the bed. My eyes closed, and I let my fingers glide through his hair as he delivered glorious pleasure to me. After being together for a year, we knew exactly what each other liked, and Jason went right for it as he slid two fingers inside of me and ran them over my g-spot.

  I moaned out in pleasure and then grabbed the pillow to bite on so I wasn’t making so much noise. Over and over his fingers pressed against me, and soon I couldn’t take it any longer. My thighs tightened around his head, and I thrust my pelvis up in pleasure as a wave of ecstasy washed over me.

  Not to be outdone by his quick orgasm delivery, I push him back onto the bed and held him down as I climbed on top of him. Not only was this my favorite move, I knew it was his as well. Jason’s face lit up as he watched me slide on top of him.

  He let out a deep primal groan when I pressed fully against him and started to move my hips. Slowly, I moved as he held onto me and thrust with me. Our movements were so perfectly timed that I felt my body building up to another orgasm as I leaned over and tucked my face into Jason’s shoulder.

  “Yes,” I moaned as he held my hips and quickened his thrusting. “God, yes.”

  “Cum for me, Anna,” his deep husky voice commanded.

  I did as he asked and felt the wash of pleasure taking over. But this time, Jason quickened his thrusts so he was ready when I was. Harder and harder we moved until I finally let out a loud scream when the final pulse of pleasure shot through my core.

  Jason also released his pleasure as his hips pressed hard into me, and he grabbed me and held me tight against him. Together, our bodies twitched and tingled from the pleasure we’d just delivered to each other.