by Zoe Piper
Kyle looked at Jase. "Your own boss is okay with you not being at work today?" He asked. He was a little confused by the arrangement. How was it Jase was able to drop everything to go and cover his friend's job?
Jase moved back to the desk and pressed a couple of keys on his laptop. Pleased with whatever he saw there, he turned back to Kyle. "No worries there. I can work remotely, hence my laptop, and Mondays are pretty quiet for me. There are a couple of days when I have appointments that I can't really change, but we can work around those. I'll let you know the details shortly when we have our meeting."
Kyle stepped closer and said in a low voice so as not to be overheard. "I’m sorry about Friday night. I haven’t stopped thinking about it all weekend. I really want to see you again soon.”
"Yeah. About that. Seeing as you’re going to technically be my boss for the foreseeable future, we should probably not discuss or repeat Friday night.” Jase shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. The movement caused his button-down shirt to stretch across his firm chest. A chest Kyle very much wanted to get close to again.
"Oh," Kyle responded, disappointed. Maybe Jase wasn't as attracted as he thought and maybe Friday night had been a result of alcohol and opportunity, although neither of them had been drunk, just pleasantly buzzed.
"Not that I don't want to take you up on that rain check we mentioned. I just don't think now is the right time," Jase hastened to add, quickly picking up on Kyle's disappointment.
"Of course. I totally understand. I better get to work. We'll sort things out later, then?” He stepped away from the desk and moved towards his office door. He saw Jase nod and then turn to sit and start tapping away at the keyboard of Sarah's computer.
Kyle escaped into the office he was currently sharing with John, making sure the door was shut behind him. It was a good size room, befitting the position of head of the company with a semi-decent view of Auckland's lower downtown area and harbour. However, it was a little cramped at present with an extra work desk taking up space. Kyle put his briefcase on the desk and his umbrella into the waste bin so the carpet wouldn't get wet as it dried off.
He looked over at the older man. "John, may I ask what Jase's qualifications are and why it's so easy for him to be here today? Not that I'm ungrateful," he hastened to add, "but I'm afraid I'm a little confused."
Smiling, John looked up from his computer screen.
"It's a fair question and I totally understand. I would have rung you last night to let you know what was happening, but it was quite late, and it was easier to let you know when we arrived this morning.” Kyle settled himself into his chair, switching on his computer to warm up while he listened to John.
"Jase currently works part-time doing administration for an organisation called the Sherwood Foundation. They support small charities and businesses around the country, but mainly here in Auckland."
"That's unusual for someone his age, isn't it?" Kyle asked, frowning. He was trying to work out how Jase managed to live while only working part-time. Auckland may be beautiful, but it was New Zealand's biggest city, with a quarter of the country's population living here. It also meant it was not a cheap place to live, as Kyle had found out for himself.
"Yes, it is. He has a business management degree and is very good at what he does. I have tried to get him to come and work here a number of times, but he prefers to help others—his words—and seems very happy where he is.” John mused.
They were interrupted by a knock at the door. John called to Jase to come in, and Kyle watched as he headed over to the spare chair in front of the desks. He was holding the small tablet that Sarah used for taking notes and updating their diaries.
"I've looked over both of your schedules for this week that Sarah had loaded. Is there anything to add or change?" Jase asked looking at them both. Kyle shifted in his seat at the unexpected wave of desire that swept through him at the sight of the man sitting in front of him, emanating competence and control. He cleared his throat and pretended to look at his computer screen.
"No," he said quite brusquely, trying to cover his discomfort. "I think everything is as originally planned.” He saw Jase nod out of the corner of his eye.
"That's great. I don't see any major clashes this week. I will have to leave by two tomorrow as I have a couple of appointments I can't get out of, and on Thursday I won't be in until after ten," Jase advised them. "Can you both work with that?"
"Yes, I can't see that being a problem, do you, Kyle?" John asked. "I'm sure young Ginny in reception can help if anything crops up."
Kyle nodded his agreement. "Yes, that appears fine.” Kyle looked at his screen again, this time actually seeing what was there. "What about the arrangements for Friday?" He asked, referring to the small function being planned for John's retirement.
Jase tapped the screen on the tablet, bringing up a file. "From what Sarah has here, it looks like most things are done. I'll just have to confirm numbers with the caterers on Wednesday, and then on Friday, I believe Ginny and a couple of the other girls were going to help Sarah with the setup in the function room." He smiled at John. "And I don't have to tell you she will move mountains to make sure she is here on Friday to ensure it is all going as planned."
"Yes, well, I just want her to be healthy. If it means she must stay home, please make sure she does, Jase. I don't want her to jeopardise the baby or her own health."
Jase laughed at John's comment. "I'm sorry, but have you met Sarah? Blonde, about so tall." He lifted his arm to show a very rough estimation of Sarah's height. "Stubborn. Control freak. I could go on."
Kyle smiled at the obvious affection Jase had for his friend. John laughed and agreed. "Yes, very true. In that case, I will trust you to make sure she directs operations from a chair and only does what is necessary to make her feel in control."
"John, surely you know by now I can do the impossible, but miracles take a little longer.” Jase winked, and another wave of desire washed through Kyle. Damn, this man was playing hell with his emotions. He felt like a teenager with a crush. He certainly hadn't gotten hard as often as he had this weekend since he'd been a fifteen-year-old discovering how good a hand-job could be. And getting hard at work, before nine o'clock on a Monday morning, while sitting at his desk, was certainly a first.
Clicking the mouse on his desk, Kyle opened a budgets file and decided to try and concentrate on last year's financial figures. That should push away all thoughts of the sexy man in front of him and settle down his wayward dick.
Tucking the tablet under his arm, Jase checked with both men to make sure they had all they needed, and at their confirmation that they did, he left the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Kyle breathed out an audible sigh and focused his attention on the screen in front of him.
✽✽✽
Jase dropped into his chair. Putting the tablet back into its allotted space on Sarah's immaculate desk, he leaned forward and put his head in his hands. He really hadn't thought this through yesterday when Sarah had been advised to go to the hospital by her midwife and he had told her not worry about work, he'd take care of it. He had forgotten, though, that would mean being around Kyle Foster all day. All day and not being able to touch him, let alone shove him into a wall and kiss him again. Like Kyle, he too wanted to repeat Friday night’s kiss, but as he'd said earlier, for all intents and purposes, Kyle was his boss until Sarah returned and it would be totally unprofessional to take things further, and he certainly wasn't going to jeopardise Sarah's position within the company by playing around with her boss.
He had covered for Sarah a couple of times in the past and had even helped in the accounts department for a week when two of the staff had been struck down with food poisoning during the busiest time of the year. John had known him for years, since he and Sarah were children, and knew Jase's hours were flexible at the Foundation. He knew the basic ins and outs of the role and was confident in his own skills to know that he would do a good job holding t
he fort for Sarah.
He had been so scared for his best friend yesterday when she had come out of the bathroom, paler than normal, tears rolling down her face. Fortunately, Jase's sister Jessica had been there and had taken control of things. Jess was an emergency department nurse who normally worked on a Sunday, but had swapped shifts with a friend and had managed to get to the monthly family lunch that was held by their parents and included Sarah's parents and siblings too. A brief call to Sarah's primary caregiver for her pregnancy had seen Mike and Jess whisking her away to the hospital for some tests. Unfortunately, it meant Sarah would be kept in for a couple of days while they ran the tests and made sure everything was okay with both her and the baby. Mike had messaged late last night saying Sarah was resting but stressing about work. Jase had instantly responded he would take care of it and to let John know he would be here first thing in the morning.
So here he was, sitting at his best friend’s desk and trying to tamp down his feelings of desire towards her new boss. Deciding that keeping busy was going to be the only answer, he opened his personal email to check things were fine there and then settled down to go through Sarah's to-do list.
The morning passed relatively quickly, with only a couple of requests from John and Kyle for information. Jase was able to find what they needed quickly thanks to Sarah's efficient filing and record keeping. He was engrossed in a complicated spreadsheet when he became aware he was being watched. Saving the file, he looked up to see Kyle leaning against the open door of his office.
"Sorry, Kyle. Can I help with something?” he asked, trying not to check out the muscled body clad in a dark navy business suit.
The Texan smiled and straightened up, pushing his hands into his trouser pockets. "I didn't mean to disturb you. You looked pretty engrossed there."
Jase waved a hand at the screen. "Oh, it's the groundwork for the budget projections for the next financial year. Sarah likes to make a start on them about now, loading this year's actual to-date figures against last years and then analysing the data to help see what the budget needs to be."
Kyle looked at him in surprise. "That's pretty impressive. I'll admit I haven't had a chance to really go over everything Sarah does. I thought budget analysis would be part of the Chief Financial Officers role?"
"Well, it is, but Sarah has always helped out. She started here as a junior in the accounts department and worked her way up. John likes the work she does and Ross, the CFO, appreciates the help. She's been here longer than he has and the knowledge she has from working here for the last eight years is a big advantage."
"I can see that my PA is a valuable asset to have.” Kyle paused before asking, "Could I ask you to do me a favour, please?"
"Yeah, sure, if I can," Jase replied. "What do you want?" As soon as he said it, Kyle's eyes darkened, his tongue flicking out across his full bottom lip as he stared at Jase. Tension crackled between them. Jase felt his mouth go dry and he had an urge to mirror Kyle's action but stopped himself just in time. They couldn't do this here, not now.
The sound of Jase's cell phone was shrill through the quiet office, breaking the tension between the two men. Jase jumped, startled by the intrusion and quickly reached for his phone on the desk.
"Mike. What's happening? How's Sarah?" he asked quickly into the phone. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Kyle take a half step towards him and then hesitate, as if not sure whether to stay and listen or leave Jase to his phone call. "Mike, hang on, I'm going to put you on speaker so Kyle can hear too. Is that okay?” At his friend’s affirmative, he pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed the speaker icon. He placed the phone on the edge of the desk so Kyle could hear it too. Mike's voice echoed through the line.
"She and the baby are okay. The cramps and bleeding aren't unusual but can be a precursor for complications, but the scans she's had done this morning show everything seems to be where it should be. Her iron count is really low though, which is why she has been so tired."
Jase sighed as a huge wave of relief washed over him. He dropped his head into hands and took a couple of deep breaths to compose himself.
"Mike, Kyle here. Thanks for letting us know. Is there anything that you need?”
"Hi, Kyle. Thanks for the offer, but other than a good night's sleep, we're fine. The doctors have said they want to keep Sarah in for another night just to make sure her iron levels are coming up and that she is resting. They have said she is to stay away from work for the rest of this week and then maybe look at reducing her hours until she finally finishes up with you. She's really stressing about not being there..."
Jase looked up as Kyle interrupted Mike. "Tell her not to worry about a thing. We can cope here and when she gets back we’ll work out the best possible solution for all of us.” He paused and glanced at Jase. "Mike, I realise this is probably not the best time to mention it and I don't presume to know your situation, but please reassure Sarah that she will receive full pay as planned up to her leaving date."
Jase was impressed with Kyle's generosity. So was Mike. "Please, don't feel obliged to do that. We’re okay, and I know Sarah would feel like she's taking advantage."
"She won't be taking advantage of anything. From what I have seen in the couple of weeks I have worked with her, she’s a huge asset to this company and I don't want to lose her. Tell her we’ll discuss it properly when she comes in. I'll leave you with Jase now. Please give Sarah my regards."
Kyle moved away from the desk, nodded at Jase and went back into his office, closing the door behind him. Jase picked up his cell phone and took it off speaker mode. Lifting the phone to his ear, he spoke to his best friend. "It's just me. You're off speaker. Tell me, are you two really okay?"
"Fuck, Jase. What the hell was that all about?" Mike asked.
"Hell if I know, mate. Just go with it for now. Let Sarah loose on him when she's back.” Jase kept his voice low, so as not be overheard. "Everything is really fine with Sarah and the baby?"
A heavy sigh came back. "Yeah. They're both okay. She'll have to take it super easy over these last few weeks, but as long as she can get to about week 35, if she has to deliver then, the baby should be good, if a bit small."
"That's good. You sound tired. I'll let you go and get some rest. Tell Sarah I'll call her later tonight and that everything is fine here at work."
"Thanks, mate. We both really appreciate you dropping everything and covering for her. Was Peter okay with you being MIA this week?"
"Yes. As soon as I explained, he told me not to worry at all about the Foundation's work. The main thing we have on the go at the moment is the Gala Ball and applications for the next round of grants opening this week, but nothing we can't handle." Jase explained.
"What about the others you work with?" Mike asked referring to the small charities and organisations where Jase volunteered his services.
"I've shuffled things around a bit and the couple of places I can't change, I'm seeing as normal and John and Kyle are okay with me not being here for a couple of hours."
"Okay. That's good. I'll talk to you later and thanks again, Jase."
Jase gave his goodbyes and hung up his phone. He carefully placed it down on the desk. Taking another deep breath, he tried to keep his emotions in check. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck, and his emotions had been on a roller coaster the last few days. From hot lust and desire for Kyle to stomach sickening worry for Sarah. Deciding wallowing wasn't helping anyone, he pulled himself together. It was lunchtime and a break with some fresh air may help. The early morning rain had eased off and if he was quick he could grab a sandwich at the cafe around the corner.
He was just about to head out when he remembered Kyle had been about to ask him to do him a favour. Checking his wallet and phone were in his pocket, he grabbed his rain jacket off the back of the chair and then knocked on the door leading into the big office.
He heard Kyle's deep baritone call for him to enter.
"Hi, I'm just going to grab
a sandwich. You wanted me to do you a favour before Mike rang. What was it you needed?” he asked Kyle.
"I was going to ask you to order some flowers for Sarah. Since you’re so close to her I figured you'd know what she'd like best rather than just a random bouquet from a florist."
"Yes, I can do that. No problem. I know a good florist just around the corner. I'll pop in on my way to the cafe and order them. I'll get them delivered tomorrow afternoon so she has them to come home to.” Jase smiled. "She'll love them. She's forever giving Mike grief for not buying her flowers, so this will just give her more ammunition."
Kyle looked a bit disconcerted at this piece of information. "I don't want to cause problems for him."
"Nah, he's a big boy and after twenty-five years of knowing each other, if he can't handle the woman he loves, then he's not half the man she deserves." Jase grinned at Kyle. "And I'll get some more delivered to her later in the week from me, just to add fuel to fire."
Kyle burst out laughing at the mischievous look on his temporary PA's face. Jase felt a flood of warmth go through him at the sound. He liked how it made him feel and he liked he had been the one to make Kyle laugh. He wanted to do it again.
"So, anything else? Can I grab you a sandwich or anything while I'm out?"
Kyle looked surprised at the offer. "I don't normally have much to eat at lunch, but if they have a chicken salad sandwich, I'd love one please.” He reached into his drawer for his wallet. "Let me give you some cash to pay for it." He paused as if realising something. "How are you going to pay for the flowers? Do you need my credit card?"
Shaking his head, Jase rushed to reassure him. "Don't worry, my shout for the sandwich. You can return the favour later in the week, and Sarah has a company credit card for such things and I know where it is, so I'll take it with me. I should be back in about half an hour, if that's okay?"