Her Savior

by Sarah J. Brooks

  “Damn. Anna. He’s gorgeous,” Summer said as he got close enough to hear her.

  “Happy birthday,” Jason said as he gave me a soft kiss on the cheek.

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “Thanks for inviting me,” he replied without letting go of my hand as he turned to say hello to everyone. “I’m Jason,” he playfully added since I hadn’t officially introduced him to anyone.

  “Oh, sorry. This is Jason. Jason, this is Patrick, Amy, Rebecca, and Summer. Lilli wasn’t able to come.

  “Is Lilli the redhead?”

  “Yeah, you know her?”

  “I remember the two of you bumping into me a bit earlier this year.”

  “Oh, yeah. Well, she’s busy with her man nowadays so I hardly ever get to see her.”

  “Dance with me,” Jason said out of the blue in the middle of our conversation. “I’m sorry guys. I’ve got to steal her for a minute or two.”

  “By all means. Do with her as you’d like,” Patrick said jokingly.

  Jason grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor, wrapped his arms around my waist and held me next to him.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I just had to…”

  “What? You just had to what?”

  “I had to hold you,” Jason said as he leaned down and gave me a sweet kiss. “You look amazing. This dress is killing me.”

  “This old thing,” I joked as I pulled away from him and spun around a little.

  While I was spinning, Jason grabbed me and turned me away from him as he pulled my ass toward him. His hands held onto my hips firmly, and we moved together to the music. The dance floor was packed with people, and soon my friends joined us on the dance floor, and we were all dancing and having a fabulous time.

  The lights were low, and the bass was incredibly high as song after song played, and Jason held onto me the whole time. He’d occasionally lean down and kiss my neck while saying something sweet to me, but then we’d go back to dancing.

  “You seem a little excited,” I teased as I let my hand feel his throbbing member through his pants.

  “It’s this damn tiny dress. I can’t take it. This has got to be some sort of torture technique. I’m sure of it.”

  “Oh, yeah. You think in a war they just put a cute girl in front of the guys and tease them with sexy pink dresses?” I joked.

  “Maybe, it’s possible. I’m really glad you invited me. Sorry your friends aren’t getting to spend much time with you, though.”

  “This is perfect. They won’t care.”

  “How about I buy the next round of drinks to make up for taking all your time?” Jason suggested.

  “Yes, they are suckers for free drinks. I’ll just take a Sprite, though.”

  Jason raised an eyebrow questioning what I’d just said. After our last visit to the club, I’m sure he was expecting me to be drinking it up and having a wild time. But I just wasn’t in the mood for drinking. In fact, I was having a great time without being drunk, and that was actually surprising me.

  “I’m not drinking tonight,” I said in response to his shocked face. “I’m trying something new.”

  “Wow, okay. I like it. Let me find our waitress and order another round for everyone.”

  Jason gave me a quick peck on the forehead and then went off to get the round of drinks for everyone. While he was gone, my friends circled around me like they were in the midst of a pit car race and needed to refresh my oil.

  “He’s awesome,” Amy said.

  “Wow, I’m really jealous,” Summer added.

  “A bit of a bore, but I guess he’ll do,” Rebecca chimed in. “Do you think he’s got a brother, though?”

  “Actually, he does have a brother, but he’s married. I don’t know that much about Jason’s life. Just that he’s a dad and does it all alone.”

  “Shh, he’s coming back,” Rebecca said as we all stood still as if he could hear us from across the dance floor in a room with pounding music.

  “Okay, the waitress is coming over, and your drinks for the rest of the night are on me,” Jason said to the group of us. “But I’d like one more dance with the birthday girl if that’s cool?”

  “Take her, she’s all yours,” Patrick blurted out.

  Jason gently intertwined his fingers with mine and led me to the far corner of the dance club. We were far enough away from everyone that they couldn’t see us as Jason put his hands on both sides of my face while he looked down at me. The intensity was palpable as we swayed back and forth to the music and continued looking into each other’s eyes.

  “I’m going to get going after this,” he leaned in and whispered in my ear. “I want you and your friends to have an amazing night.”

  “You have to go?”

  “Yeah, I need to get home and spend time with Clyde before our trip this week. I hope you understand. My brother came over to watch him for a few hours so I could wish you a happy birthday.”

  “Oh, you’re so sweet. You really didn’t have to come all the way out here. I’m going to see your tomorrow.”

  “No, I wanted to dance with you too,” he said with a boyish grin. “And I’m really happy I got to see this dress.”

  “Thanks for coming,” I said and wrapped my arms around his neck. I got on my tiptoes to give him a kiss, and he gave me a bear hug as he picked me up off the ground. I had to grab the back of my dress to ensure it hadn’t inched up too far. He kept holding onto me and started kissing my neck over and over again as I laughed. The prickly feeling from his beard combined with the softness of his lips and how fast he was moving was much more playful than sexy, and I loved that about Jason.

  “I’m going to go before I can’t resist you any longer,” he said as he put me back onto the ground. “I put a thousand dollars on an account for you. Spend what you want and tip the waitress the rest. Have a good time.”

  “Wow, okay, we will. Maybe I will get a drink after all.” I laughed.

  “Hell, buy a bottle of champagne if you want. You girls, and Patrick have a great time. I’ll see you tomorrow evening for our trip.”

  We gave each other one last kiss, and then he disappeared. I walked over to tell the crew the exciting news about the tab that Jason had left for us. It was funny that we all had money nowadays, but we would never have spent that much on my birthday. Jason’s tab was an awesome gift.

  “Where’s Jason?” Patrick asked.

  “He had to go home. He put some cash on the tab for us, though, so we can have fun tonight.”

  “So, he just swoops in, dances with you, and then leaves you to hang out with us the rest of the night?” Patrick asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty damn cool. Guys your age would never be confident enough to let you party with your friends all night. I like this guy, Anna. I really like him,” Patrick said approvingly.

  Chapter 15

  Jason

  “Thanks for coming over Jarad, I appreciate it.”

  “Okay, so now you have to tell me about this girl. Who is she? Obviously, someone important to you if you just had to go to her birthday party.”

  I didn’t really feel like getting into a lot of details about Anna with my brother. Jarad was a pretty by-the-book type of guy, and I just knew he wouldn’t approve—at least at this point with all the business dealings and Anna working with me. But I could see a time down the road where Anna and I could date, and I could tell everyone the funny story about how we met.

  “She’s a contractor at work. Very nice girl. I wanted to at least show my face and wish her a happy birthday.”

  “That’s cool. So, how’s this business deal going with your neighbor? Has he started shooting at you from his living room yet?” Jarad laughed.

  To Jarad, all my business deals had to hurt the other companies. He just didn’t understand that my job was to find the best solution for companies so they could continue on. Sure, sometimes that meant we had to find a new parent company to take care o
f the smaller company, but that was the world, and that was the business. I didn’t run a hostile takeover company, unlike what Jarad believed.

  “It’s going well. I know it’s going to be a tough week of getting deals put together, but I’m optimistic. Plus, Anna will be on the road with me, and people love her.”

  “Anna? Is that the girl from tonight?”

  “Anna? Is she here?” Clyde said as he ran out of his room with the Transformer in his hand that Anna had given him. Clyde had been carrying that thing around religiously since the moment she slipped it into his bag.

  “No, buddy, Anna isn’t here. Let’s get you back to bed,” I said as I lifted him up and avoided the questioning gaze from my brother.

  Of course, when I returned to the living room there was no way around telling him a little bit about her. He could tell by looking at my face that I was hiding something. My brother and I were only a year apart. Although our personalities were drastically different, we were extremely close and could practically finish each other’s sentences.

  “She’s met Clyde?” Jarad asked with a knowing look in his eyes.

  “Not like that. She hasn’t stayed over or anything.”

  “Hmm, but she knows Clyde well enough that she is giving him presents? Oh, come on, fill me in. You know you want to.”

  “She’s Edward’s daughter,” I finally said as I rolled my eyes. “The neighbor, the guy whose company I just put millions of dollars into. Yep, that’s her.”

  “Oh, shit! Jason, you are a dog. That’s really bad ass. Like next level shit. You’re banging the daughter of the guy whose company you just took. You’ve got some major balls, buddy. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

  “It’s not that big of a deal, and I’m not banging her. We are friends. We’ve gone on a date, kissed, you know. Keeping things a little slow right now.”

  “Were you sleeping with her when Elizabeth was here?” Jarad asked as if he’d just figured out some gigantic secret.

  “God, no. Geez Jarad, I didn’t cheat on Elizabeth. She just left because she couldn’t handle married life.”

  Jarad had assumed that Elizabeth left me and Clyde because I had done something wrong. He’d said it more than once and just couldn’t believe that she would leave Clyde if everything had been alright. He was happily married, and his wife Jennifer loved married life, and Jarad just couldn’t understand how a woman could be so unhappy with a family.

  “So, does the neighbor know you and his daughter are doing the nasty?”

  “No, he doesn’t know anything. He doesn’t know we are breaking up his company or that I’ve got a thing with his daughter. I’m pretty sure that either of those things would give him a heart attack.”

  “Wow, your life got exciting all of a sudden. Where have I been?” Jarad joked.

  “Busy with your own life.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. Alright, I better go. We are excited to have Clyde over to the house, and we will be back from our church event around two o’clock or so. You guys can come over then.”

  “Sounds like a deal.”

  When Jarad left, I finally let out a sigh of relief. I loved my brother, I genuinely did, but he was so nosey that I felt on guard when he was around and worried I’d say something I shouldn’t.

  ***

  I spent my Sunday morning hanging out with Clyde. We went for a walk to the park down the street and brought a picnic so we could stay as long as we wanted. For a good three hours, we played on the swings and jumped around just as we had at that same park at least a dozen times before.

  As much as I knew Clyde would be in good hands, I still agonized over leaving him for the week. And even though I knew he was going to have a blast with his cousins, I was more worried about my own guilt over being so busy lately and not getting to spend more time with him. I promised myself I’d take some time off after this deal and really get caught up with Clyde.

  By the time I dropped Clyde off with my brother and Jennifer, it was nearly four o’clock in the afternoon. Luckily, I had already packed my things and given Anna a little bit of a heads up about what time I’d be over to her house. When I pulled into the parking lot, she was looking out the window and came straight down.

  Her hair was pulled up into a loose bun, and she was wearing a baggy T-shirt with shorts. It was certainly a comfortable car outfit, and I couldn’t help thinking she looked a little hungover from her birthday night.

  “How are you?” I asked, not willing to assume she had a hangover.

  “Tired. We pretty much stayed up all night. I got a few hours this morning after you texted and told me what time you were coming. I’ll try not to be too cranky.” She laughed.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen you angry, and I don’t want to see that side of you again.”

  We got on the interstate going south toward Champaign, Illinois. It wasn’t a long drive, but it would take us a couple of hours with traffic. I wanted to get into town and get settled so we could get a good night’s rest and be fresh for the morning. I’d reserved two hotel rooms for that night, just because I didn’t want to assume anything would be going on with us, and I thought it was much more professional this way.

  Anna wasn’t very talkative at all as we inched along in the traffic, and I noticed she was nodding off and falling asleep. I grabbed a sweatshirt from the back seat and handed it to her. She balled it up and leaned against the window to take a nap.

  As we drove, I found myself constantly looking over at Anna. Of course, she was beautiful, but there was such a connection forming between us that I genuinely wanted to let her rest. I was just enjoying admiring her and the fact that she felt comfortable enough around me to sleep.

  When we arrived at the hotel, Anna started to stir and finally woke up when I came back out to the car after getting us checked into the room. Her hair was all over the face, and she had an array of crease marks on her face.

  “Wow, I’m sorry I slept the whole way. I bet that was a boring drive.”

  “It was really peaceful. Here’s your key. We are just across the hall from one another,” I said as I pulled her luggage out of the trunk.

  We had both brought one rolling bag and a small shoulder bag and we wheeled our luggage behind us and into the building. It was a standard road trip hotel, with complimentary breakfast in the morning and a small snack shop just off the lobby. There was a pool out back, a laundry room, and a workout center; none of which we would have time to use.

  “My own room, hmmm,” Anna said when we got to our floor and started walking down the long hallway. “This is exciting. I’ve never stayed in a hotel room alone.”

  “You’re welcome to come visit me if you get bored,” I teased with a wink.

  “I might do that. What time do we need to be up tomorrow?”

  “I’d say heading down to breakfast at eight o’clock. We’ve got an eight-thirty appointment with the company.”

  Anna slid her key card into the door and pushed it open. She stood there for a minute admiring her room before she slipped inside and put her bag behind the door.

  “I’m going to take a bath in this giant tub. Want to order a pizza for dinner and watch a movie on the expensive pay-per-view?” Anna asked.

  “Deal.”

  We both went into our rooms and closed the doors behind us. As much as I was excited to have Anna with me on the trip, I really did have work to do. As soon as I got into my room, I pulled out the project portfolio for the Myer’s Engineering. This company was looking at buying the engineering division. It was the largest of all the deals we were trying to set up, and if this one got locked into place, then it was likely the others would fall in fairly easily.

  I was deep into thoughts and reviewing all the files an hour later when Anna knocked on my door. She was dressed in some comfy sweatpants and the same T-shirt and moved straight over to the pile of papers I was working on.

  “Should we order a pizza first or go over this stuff?”

  “Oh, yo
u don’t have to go over this. It’s okay, I can do it.”

  “No, if I’m going to be of any help, I need to know more about this company and how the engineering division would help them.”

  “Okay, let’s order the pizza, and we can get to work while we wait,” I said, excited to see that Anna was taking this so seriously.

  We went over the details of Myer’s Engineering. They were a small firm that was growing rapidly and was in desperate need of trained engineers. They were looking to get into the construction business in the Chicago area, and setting up this deal would be perfect for them. From all the research I’d acquired, it looked like Myer’s Engineering was an amazing firm to work for, and people talked highly about their jobs there. I’d even read a GlassDoor review from a former employee that spoke very highly of the company.

  Anna paid close attention to all the details as we reviewed the documents, press, and financials of the company. I really hoped that having her with me would help soften the negotiations and make the sale a little more palatable to the buyers. Many companies didn’t like the idea of taking over another company because of the feelings of the employees. Even good employees could have a lot of animosity toward the new owners. But with Anna involved in the deal, I hoped they would see how this transition could be very successful.

  When the pizza arrived, Anna and I devoured it like neither of us had eaten all day. The sandwich I’d had on my picnic with Clyde was certainly not enough to keep me feeling full.

  “Did you eat anything today?” I laughed as she grabbed her fourth piece of pizza.

  “No, I slept, and that was it. I’m starving. Sorry for pigging out.”

  “Uh, don’t ever be sorry for eating like a normal human being. I hate when women feel like they can’t eat. You eat, damn it,” I said as I handed her another piece of pizza.

  She laughed at me, but sure enough, she ended up eating it. We stayed up eating and reading the files until eleven o’clock and then both decided to get some sleep so we could be well rested for the meeting in the morning.