“Good. Is it okay if I leave before you in case anyone is here?” she asked.
“I’ll go first, and I’ll send you a message that the coast is clear,” he instructed, straightening his tie as he ran his fingers through his hair. Kasey stood in front of him, reaching on her toes to help style his hair.
“It’s not as perfect as usual, but you don’t look as tussled as before,” she smirked.
“Thank you,” he softly kissed her lips before turning towards the door. She watched him leave, feeling like everything was finally going to be okay between them. A few minutes later, she received a text that the office was completely empty, so she walked out, completely satisfied with her day.
Chapter 17
Jay
It had been two weeks since Kasey joined Passions Publishing, and everything was going better than Jay ever expected. She’d found her place within the company and was well on her way to becoming a great leader among the other agents, teaching them the importance of relationship building in addition to strategizing.
“Trisha’s reading was quite impressive today,” Mitchell acknowledged, as he sat back in his usual loveseat as they recapped the week.
In an afternoon meeting, Kasey had arranged for Trisha to read the first two chapters of her next novel, claiming you had to hear the words from her mouth to get the full message.
It wasn’t a normal practice, but afterwards they were all impressed by the impact, deciding Trisha needed to do her own voiceovers for the audio edition. It shocked Jay and Mitchell that Trisha had never released an audio rendition of her work, but it was just a disadvantage to working with the smaller firm before Kasey joined Passions.
“The girl is truly an artist. I didn’t understand what Kasey meant, but I’m glad I listened to her read,” Jay shrugged, conceding how much he didn’t know when it came to her close bond with her clients.
“Seems like you’ve learned to give Kasey the space she needs, Jay. I’m glad to see you two aren’t butting heads the way you did that first week,” Mitchell said.
Jay had to turn towards the window to hide his expression, aware of how easily his business partner and close friend could read his reactions. Mitchell had no idea about Jay and Kasey’s physical relationship, so he could never understand how they had worked through their issues before arriving at a solution.
“She just had to settle in and see how we do things,” he finally said, smirking to himself at the memory of her settling in on his couch.
“You’ve been much calmer too. I think she’s taken a load off you. Whether you care to admit it or not, you were beginning to stress about our lack of innovation, but she solves that,” Mitchell said, always the analytical one.
“Maybe you’re right,” Jay nodded. “So, what do you have planned for the weekend?” he asked, shifting the subject.
“You know me—soccer tournaments and family events. Nothing too exciting. What about you?” Mitchell asked.
A knock on the door interrupted his response, as Kasey popped her head in. She wore her hair up in a ponytail, which Jay had learned was her regular style when she was hard at work.
“You’ve been reading all day, huh?” he smirked, growing more impressed with her by the day.
“How can you tell that?” she quizzed.
“The ponytail,” he nodded his head in her direction.
Her hand ran up the nape of her neck before her finger twirled the long brown hair nervously as she giggled. “Yeah, I read a sci-fi romance thriller today. I know it sounds like a weird mix, but I’m completely captured. I’ll share it with you tomorrow,” she smiled enthusiastically.
“Sounds good,” Mitchell chimed in.
“I was just going to head out for the evening and wanted to see if you needed anything before I left for the weekend.”
Mitchell and Jay looked between each other, silently asking if the other had any pressing business for her.
“No, enjoy your weekend, Kasey.” Jay answered for the two of them.
“Thanks!” She smiled before turning away, and soon Jay could hear her chatting with Jessica before her voice faded away completely. A lingering desire in his body wanted more of her, but ever since their rendezvous in his office, everything had been strictly professional between the two and he refused to see that as a problem.
“I think she likes it here,” Mitchell said, after Kasey left.
“Yeah, I do too.”
“Ready to get out of here?” Mitchell stood as Jay leaned over his desk, turning off his desktop computer.
“Always coming in late and leaving early. I expect more from you guys,” a familiar yet foreign voice announced themselves from the doorway.
Both men looked up to see the smug look on Renee’s face as she strutted into the office as if she owned it, Jessica trailing behind her with her arms flailing. Renee had obviously bombarded her entry, ignoring the attempts of Jessica to stop her. Jay raised his hand to stop his assistant from her pursuit, as she remorsefully mouthed her apologies.
“Just kidding. You both have to know I don’t expect shit from two trust fund kids, playing with daddy’s money.” She chuckled, while walking towards Jay’s desk, positioning herself between the two men.
“What do you want, Renee?” Jay barked, annoyed by her presence and boldness.
“No happy greeting? You’re not happy to see me, Jay?” she teased, before looking over to Mitchell. “And what about you? The boring one that no one really acknowledges. It must suck standing in this one’s shadow. What exactly do you here, anyway? I know Jay flirts with young pretty girls, convincing them to sign over the rights for their work, but you? I’ve never understood your presence?”
She looked between the two of them as if she was truly interested, trying to solve a mystery. Mitchell’s eyebrows raced to meet each other with frustration, and Jay knew she was getting under his skin.
“Renee, I’m going to ask you one more time. What the fuck do you want?” Jay asked, speaking slowly as he struggled to keep his composure.
“Oh relax, you two. As much as I’d like to say I came over to check on your flailing business, I’ve actually got an empire to run. I do have the largest publishing company in the Midwest, you know,” she reminded them.
“You only get that title because you’re only located in the Midwest, Renee. We’re a national corporation, you don’t even begin to compare to our reach,” Mitchell stood from his seat.
“Oh, that’s what you do? Sit around feeding this one useless statistics since he doesn’t understand market reporting. If he did, of course, he’d fire your ass since he’d know how close you are to being dethroned by a little firm with only one office.”
“You need to leave,” Jay said, never having seen Mitchell so bothered by Renee. He always thought he was the only one who hated the sleazy publisher, but now he could see Mitchell was just as annoyed by her as he was.
“I was only in the area looking at properties. I need to expand, business is booming too fast. My accountant got her hands on your books and alerted me that you’ll probably need to downsize soon. Of course, you’ll blame it on the success of your other locations, but we all know the truth— I’m taking your talent quicker than you can find them. At this point, you could probably list yourself as a temp agency, the way you funnel me employees.” She was so arrogant, and unappealing, right down to her ill-fitted pant suit.
“I’m calling security,” Mitchell started towards the door.
Glancing at her gold plated wristwatch that Jay could easily tell was a cheap knockoff, she waved Mitchell off. “No need to go running to protect your master, Mitchell. Just sit back in your seat like the good boy you are. I’ve got a meeting with a new agent I’m looking to sign. Maybe you’ve heard of her? Kasey Wright? Well, she’s probably already at dinner waiting on me to tell her how much better her experience would be without you two breathing down her neck.”
Mitchell looked to Jay, and with both sets of eyes on him, he forced h
imself to remain cool, though he was anything but.
“Goodbye, Renee,” he said, before gritting his teeth to stop from giving her the tongue lashing she deserved.
“Tootles, losers!” She chimed before walking out of Jay’s office as arrogantly as she entered.
Mitchell didn’t say a word before moving to the bar to pour himself a drink. Jay could only wonder why Kasey would even accept an invitation from a competing publishing house. She’d just signed with Passions, and he’d done everything he could to make her feel at home. Regardless of her intentions, he felt betrayed by her actions, and questioned if he’d ever be able to trust her.
Chapter 18
Kasey
It was shocking to Kasey how much things could change in two weeks. What initially seemed like a bad decision had become one she was proud of, and she was certain was one of her best. Passions Publishing had catapulted her, along with her clients, to more success than she’d imagined possible.
Over the past week, she’d developed new promotional items to showcase a client she had flying in from California. The creative team had become her close partners, loving the new ideas she had, which they said other agents rarely provided.
They’d worked together on flyers, mock-up book covers, and even designed websites she could present to clients to show how developed their marketing would be. She was overly excited as she packed her car with the boxes of products for her weekend meeting.
Just as she’d made room for the three boxes in her trunk, she noticed Renee approaching her car. Kasey had never seen Renee at Passions, and wondered what she could possibly be doing here? When she approached her at lunch during her first week, she didn’t let on to any type of relationship with Jay. If anything, she got the vibe that Renee didn’t like him.
“Kasey! How are you?” Renee approached, her arms extended as she walked toward Kasey. It was an awkward embrace, as Kasey was confused by not only her presence, but the behavior of the publisher.
“Hi, Renee,” she said, apprehensively.
“You don’t have to be worried, no one knows about our little meeting. I would never betray the trust of someone I value so much, although I can’t say the same for my competition,” she shrugged looking back at the Passions Publishing building.
“What are you doing over here?” Kasey asked, genuinely curious about her presence in the parking lot. Mostly everyone had gone home for the day, so she doubted there was any scheduled meeting with Jay or other employees.
“Jay is always trying to pick my brain, but I tell him, there’s no substitute for a bond. He’s too cold with his employees, never opening up to let them feel worthy. You know, I’ve been watching what you’re doing, Kasey, and I’m even more impressed than I was at our last meeting.”
“Thank you,” Kasey responded, unsure of Renee’s intentions.
“It’s just, you deserve more. Sure, Jay’s given you a small team to help you, but he’s not paying you nearly what you’re worth. That’s what I want to do. I can really give you the resources you need, and I won’t drool while watching work, if you know what I mean,” she leaned in to whisper the last sentence as if the two were close friends, which rubbed Kasey the wrong way.
“Jay doesn’t drool over me, Renee. In fact, he gives me all the space I need to do my job, and I’m very happy with my position here.” Kasey was proud to be telling the truth, unlike when she pretended to be happy after her first meeting with Renee.
That night, after Jay’s outburst about her bombarding his meeting, she’d seriously considered giving Renee a call. Now, with everything on the up and up with Passions, she was happy she’d never gone behind Jay’s back to speak with the woman she was sure would use it against her.
Looking over her shoulder, Renee seemed to see something out of Kasey’s vantage point. A wall of tall bushes blocked the walkway, and Renee looked pleased at whatever she could see.
“Well, it’s been good chatting,” Renee said, leaning in for another awkward hug as Kasey stood frozen again, confused by her weird behavior.
Just as Renee released her, Kasey saw Jay storming towards them, his jaw tight as his lips pierced together.
“See you in a few!” Renee yelled over her shoulder, just as Jay reached Kasey. A waiting driver opened the backdoor to a black Mercedes-Benz, before running around to the driver’s side. The luxury vehicle quietly exited the driveway, as Kasey turned to face Jay.
The frustration was clear on his face, though she wasn’t sure what was bothering him. Had he wanted to speak with Renee, she wondered.
“Are you okay?” she asked, and Jay looked at her as if she had three heads.
“You’re seriously going to ask that? Like I didn’t just see you hugging our competition?” He spat the words out as if they tasted awful on his tongue.
“Renee?” Kasey scoffed, looking back to where the Mercedes had sat just a minute ago.
“Yes, Renee. Don’t play stupid, Kasey. You’re too smart for that,” he barked.
“Jay, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she tried to sound as calm as she could. It had been a while since Jay showed any sort of animosity towards her, and she wanted to remind him of their bond.
“Oh? You didn’t even know Renee was my competition? You thought I wouldn’t find out? So, maybe I was wrong. You are that stupid,” he smiled a devious smile, glaring down at Kasey as if she’d disappointed him beyond belief.
“Yes, I got the vibe that she didn’t like you, but I don’t know her, Jay. Things have been good between us, but you calling me stupid because some weirdo lady came over to awkwardly hug me isn’t going to do much for keeping the peace,” Kasey shot back.
If it wasn’t for her great day, she would probably be screaming at Jay in the parking lot, completely making a scene. But she could tell he was furious about something, and she tried to convince herself to give him a pass since there was no way his anger could actually be directed at her.
“I can’t believe you’d stoop so low to set up a meeting with her. What is it? You want more money? Kasey, you make three times what you made a month ago. I never took you to be greedy. Are you planning to come back and leverage her offer? Because I guarantee I won’t match it. If you want to walk, walk. As far as I’m concerned, you can’t be trusted after an act like this anyway.” He seemed to be cooling down, but his words were anything but. He was beyond mad, his face reddening as he shook his head with disgust.
“Look, Jay. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m not about to try to figure it out. I’ve got better things to do, and I’m not going to let you ruin my weekend. You can talk this out with Mitchell,” she waved her hands before lifting the three boxes into her trunk, leaving Jay standing alone beside her car as she climbed in the driver’s seat, baffled by his actions.
Pulling out of the parking lot, she tried not to look at him in her rearview mirror, but she couldn’t help herself. He watched her until she turned the corner, before shaking his head and turning back to the office.
She wondered what in the world had happened for him to be so upset. Replaying the conversation, if you could even call it that, she tried to decipher his words as she searched for understanding. He seemed so upset, but it couldn’t be because she spoke to a competitor in the parking lot.
Could he have possibly heard about Renee ambushing her lunch a few weeks ago? Even if he had, Kasey felt his reaction was uncalled for. Then she remembered the mention of her setting up a dinner with Renee, and she racked her brain trying to understand what he was talking about.
Her entire ride home, she went over each detail, so distracted she almost missed her exit on the highway. By the time she pulled into the driveway of her townhouse, she decided Jay was completely out of line.
He’d done a lot to convince her that he could be respectful, but now she was certain he could not. Jay was both unreasonable and disrespectful, and she knew she wouldn’t stand for it. He would need to know how she felt, but now wasn’t t
he time.
So, she carried the boxes into her home trying her best to push the uncomfortable confrontation to the back of her mind, but with every recollection—from his words, to his stance, to the look on his face—she couldn’t forget or forgive the way he talked down on her. She was not going to stand for him behaving like a superior, not even giving her a chance to explain herself. Once again, she began to question her decision to work for Jay Canton.
Chapter 19
Jay
It took half a bottle of 18-year old whiskey for Jay to relax after the meeting with Renee followed by his confrontation with Kasey. He still cringed at her denial, which was almost worse than the act. He could handle her admitting that she wanted to test the waters or see what else was out there. She would never be able to convince him that he’d imagined Renee smiling and laughing while hugging her before reminding her of their meeting.
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