“Jason is my son, and I love him dearly. But he’s also a man, which means he isn’t always as in touch with his feelings as he ought to be,” she began, sighing deeply. “He might not realize it, but as far back as I can remember he’s been hesitant to talk about the Cameron connection. I’ve always understood, though. More than anyone else, I get it because I grew up a Cameron. So many people treated me differently once they knew about my father’s business.”
“I would never do that to Jason.”
“He knows that.” She squeezed my hand. “That’s why I decided to interfere by coming here and meeting with you. The way he talks about you, it’s clear how he feels about you.”
“How is that?”
“I think that question is better answered by me than you, Mother.”
We both swiveled in our chairs to find Jason standing in the doorway, and he looked just as stunned to see me as I was to have met his mom.
15
Jason
I’d been surprised when the hotel manager had told me that my mom was there when I’d bumped into him while walking through the lobby on the way back to my suite after a run. She hadn’t mentioned a trip to Chicago when we’d talked on Saturday. Finding her in the conference room talking to Cecily about our relationship turned my surprise to outright shock.
“Jason,” my mom gasped as she jumped to her feet.
Her blue eyes, almost identical to my own, filled with apology. My frustration with her softened, and I wrapped my arms around her for a hug when she moved towards me.
“What’re you doing here? You didn’t say anything about being in town when we talked.”
“I know.” Her gaze darted between Cecily and me. “It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. You know how moms are, always trying to protect their babies no matter how grown up they are.”
“I’m not sure about other moms, but yeah I know how you are.” I let go of her and moved to Cecily’s side as she stood. “You really shouldn’t have come, though. There wasn’t any reason. I don’t need any protecting from Cecily.”
“I know you don’t, baby, but you do need protecting from yourself sometimes.” She looked at Cecily and smiled. “I didn’t want you to wait so long that you seriously damaged your relationship with Cee-Cee.”
I wrapped my arm around Cecily’s back and cringed when she stiffened.
“In hindsight, it might not have been my best idea ever,” she conceded. “But you have to admit, meeting me wouldn’t have been a big deal if she already knew we owned the hotel where you live.”
“She does have a point,” Cecily muttered.
It was all the encouragement my mom needed to keep going. “And her parents already got to meet you weeks ago. I was feeling left out.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “At a wedding, Mom! Not at an unsolicited meeting they scheduled for the express purpose of interfering in our relationship.”
“It wasn’t just for that reason,” my mom insisted. “I also wanted to meet the girl who—”
“Mom,” I growled, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence because I was afraid of what she would say. “There was a question Cecily asked when I walked in. I’d really like to be the one to answer it. In private.”
“Okay, I’ll leave you two alone for a bit,” she offered.
“Actually, it’s a conversation I’d like to have with her up in my suite.” I turned to Cecily. “If that’s okay with you?”
She scanned my face, searching for something to help her make her decision. I wasn’t sure what it was that she was looking for, but she must have found it because she nodded. “Yeah, that’ll work for me, but I came to the meeting with Sloane. I should probably let her know I’m taking a little time to deal with a personal matter.”
“The day,” I corrected in a firm tone.
“What?” Cecily asked, while my mom laughed.
“Tell your boss that you’re taking the rest of the day off.” I knew I was pushing my luck with her considering she was pissed at me, and rightly so, but I wasn’t going to have this conversation with a countdown clock hanging over our heads.
“Jason,” she sighed. “I can’t do that.”
“You sure as fuck can,” I disagreed.
“Language!” my mom snapped.
I bent closer to Cecily and lowered my voice. “If you’d called in sick, none of this would have happened.”
“If I’d called in sick, there would still be a giant secret between us that I didn’t know about,” she snapped.
“No, I would have just hunted you guys down in Jason’s suite instead,” my mom piped in.
“Mom! Seriously, enough.”
“Okay, okay. I’m going,” she sighed. “And I’ll take care of Sloane on my way out. The meeting wasn’t totally bogus after all. I’ll take her on a tour of the ballroom where I’d like to host a charity event this summer, and you guys can slip out while we’re busy.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Campbell, but it’s not necessary. I can handle Sloane.”
“Call me Alison, please,” my mom insisted. “It really isn’t a bother. I was planning to hire Pied Piper for the party anyway. We need help organizing and promoting it. With you working there, it seemed like the perfect solution.”
“Please don’t hire Pied Piper just because I work there. I’m more than happy to help you with whatever you need, at my usual family discount.”
“I have a line item for it in the budget already,” my mom reassured her. “But just out of curiosity, how much is the discount?”
I wasn’t surprised she wanted to know. My mom grew up with the best that money could buy, but she loved getting a good deal. She always said that just because you had money, didn’t mean you needed to waste it.
“Free,” Cecily laughed.
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly let you do all that work without paying you.”
“Damn straight you can’t,” a dark-haired woman snarled from the doorway, glaring daggers at Cecily. “Pied Piper PR doesn’t offer their services for free to anyone.”
“Your boss?” I asked softly.
Cecily nodded before attempting to explain the situation to her. “I would be doing the event on my own time as a favor to my boyfriend’s mother, Sloane. Pied Piper wouldn’t have anything to do with it.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Cee-Cee. You’re my employee. If you’re involved in a charity event in this city, people are going to assume Pied Piper is a part of it. You can’t just go around working events willy nilly without my approval first.”
Cecily’s boss practically stomped her foot at the end of her tirade, and I wondered how the hell she’d built a successful company with that kind of behavior. I shifted to stand in between them, planning to blast her boss for yelling at her, but Cecily squeezed my arm and stopped me. Although I wanted to take care of the situation for her, I knew my little firecracker had it covered. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were flashing. She was fucking magnificent.
“I’m your employee, Sloane. Not your indentured servant,” she retorted. “You don’t control who I choose to help outside of business hours. I can do whatever I want with my free time.”
“In this set of circumstances, I absolutely do. You represent Pied Piper, and—”
“Not if I don’t work for you, I wouldn’t.”
“Be careful what you say, Cee-Cee. There are some things you can’t take back.”
“I’m not an idiot, Sloane. I’m not in the habit of saying things I don’t mean, either.”
My mom moved to stand next to me, the three of us presenting a united front against Cecily’s boss.
“You’d seriously quit over something like this?”
“Of course she would,” my mom answered. “What did you expect to happen here? Did you honestly think she would be willing to take such abuse from her employer?”
“I—”
My mom shook her head. “Don’t bother. As a business woman who is responsible for thousand
s of Cameron Hospitality employees, I would never speak to one of them the way you just did with Cee-Cee. Not in private, and certainly not in front of others. You’d do well to learn that lesson if you want to remain in the business world.”
The woman must have realized there was no way to talk herself out of the hole she’d dug. After shooting an irritated glance at Cecily, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.
“Holy shit,” Cecily breathed out, collapsing onto the chair she’d been sitting in when I’d walked in and found her and my mom talking. She looked deflated, her shoulders slumping as she dropped her head into her palms.
“I don’t think we can call your visit a success, Mom. My girlfriend is pissed at me and lost her job all in the span of what, thirty minutes? An hour?”
“Oh, dear,” my mom sighed.
Cecily’s shoulders started to shake. I wanted to kick myself for my sarcastic comment, until I realized she wasn’t crying. She was laughing. I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved or freaked the fuck out by her reaction. My mom wasn’t struck by indecision and moved into action.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” she asked, crouching down by her side.
“Yes. I just”—she giggled some more—“fucking can’t even with all of this.” Her head jerked up and she stared at my mom with a horrified look on her face. “Sh—ugar. I’m so sorry for swearing in front of you like that.”
My mom patted her shoulder. “I’ll let it slide, considering the situation. It’s perfectly understandable with everything you’ve gone through today.” She turned and wagged a finger at me. “But not from you. Not even if this poor girl decides she can’t forgive you after my little intervention. Even if you’re mad at me, you have to know I never imagined it would turn into”—she waved her hand around—“all of this.”
“I know you didn’t, Mom.” I gave her another hug. “But I really need you to leave us alone now so I can convince Cecily of all the reasons she should forgive me.”
“You might want to start by telling her how much I’d love to have her come to work for me.” My mom rose up on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss against my cheek. “But don’t forget to tell her the most important reason of all. It’s amazing how much a woman will overlook for love,” she whispered into my ear before leaving us alone.
When the door shut behind her, I squatted down until I was eye level with Cecily. “I’m sorry shit went down the way it did, but I’m fucking thrilled we can go upstairs and talk this out without having to worry about finishing up at a certain time.”
Her green eyes narrowed, and her lips firmed into a flat line. “Who says I’m going upstairs with you?”
“You did,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, but that was before I knew I was going to be jobless.”
“Okay, then. I’m the one who’s saying it.” I stood, yanking her out of the chair and into my arms. “You can choose to walk to the elevator with me willingly, or I’ll toss you over my shoulder and carry you there. But either way, the end result is going to be the same. You and me, in my suite, talking this out until you tell me you forgive me.”
“You’re that confident I’ll accept your apology?”
“It’s not confidence, baby. It’s a refusal to live with any other outcome.”
“Then I guess I’ll give you a chance to convince me.” She stepped back and placed her hand in mine. “I’m pissed and hurt, but not enough to want you dead.”
We both knew I hadn’t meant it that way, but I didn’t bother correcting her—not when the end result was me getting what I wanted. I dragged her out of the conference room, through the lobby, and into the elevator. Another couple tried to get on board with us, but I stepped forward and blocked their entrance.
“Sorry, this one’s full. You’ll need to take the next one.”
It was complete bullshit; Cecily and I were the only two people inside the elevator car. But again, I didn’t give a shit because they instinctively stepped backwards and the doors closed between us before they could argue. The ride up felt like it took hours; the minutes ticking down more slowly than a penalty kill. The stakes had never been higher for me. I’d lost Cecily before I ever really had her, and it had been hell. This time around would be worse because I knew exactly what I would be missing—the woman I loved.
When we made it inside my suite, Cecily quickly moved away from me. She sat down in a black leather club chair across from the couch in the sitting area. Sighing wearily, I shoved the table between them out of the way and dragged the couch across the carpet until it was inches away from the chair. Then I sat down, my knees bumping against hers.
Cecily sat silently, staring at me, her arms crossed over her breasts. She was beautiful in her anger, but I hated that it was directed at me. Even worse was knowing she wasn’t just pissed; she was hurt. I’d hurt her, and I needed to do whatever it took to fix it.
Taking a deep breath, I balled up and said what I should have as soon as I realized it. “I’m in love with you, Cecily. I started falling the first time I met you, and you own a little more of my heart each and every day.”
“You love me?” she whispered, twisting her hands together.
I pulled her hands off her lap and laced my fingers with hers, squeezing tightly. “Yes.”
“You live here because all of this”—she tried to lift her hands up, but I didn’t let go—“is yours?”
“It’s owned by the company my mom inherited from my grandfather, yes.”
Her beautiful green eyes slid closed, and I felt the loss of that connection with her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I wasn’t sure how to make her understand. Hell, I didn’t totally get why I’d let it go on so long. What I did know was that I needed her unlike anything else I’d ever needed in my life—even hockey. If she needed an explanation, she was going to get one.
“It’s not something I like to share with people because most of them tend to act differently once they find out.” Her eyes opened again, but they were guarded as she watched me while I spoke. “Most of my teammates don’t know my connection to Cameron Hospitality, and we’ve even stayed at a couple of our properties during road trips. I guess I just want people to like me for me, not what my family’s wealth can do for them.”
“Is that why you never said anything to me? Because you thought I’d try to use you?” Her voice cracked, and her eyes filled with tears.
“Fuck no!” I rushed to correct her. “It’s just become a habit for me, not talking about it with most people.”
“I’m not most people, Jason. I’m the woman you supposedly love.”
I hated the distance between us; those inches physically separating us as well as the emotional divide. Fuck it, I needed her closer. Releasing her hands, I leaned over and slid mine under her ass, lifting her off the chair and settling her on my lap.
“There’s no supposedly about it,” I said, over her startled gasp. “I love you, dammit. I’ve never said those words to another woman, except my mom. Just you.”
“Really?” she asked softly.
“Yes, really. I know I fucked up, but it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t keep this from you because I thought you’d turn into a gold digger. At first, I didn’t say anything because it didn’t seem important. Later, it was a combination of me losing my fucking mind whenever you’re close and being slightly worried about how you’d react since enough time had passed for you to be rightfully pissed off at me. The last thing I ever want to do is give you a reason to even think about walking away from me. You’re mine, and I have no intention of letting you go.”
“If we’re going to stay together”—I growled deep in my throat at the implication that we might not—“there can’t be any more secrets between us.”
“There won’t be,” I promised.
“I mean it, Jason. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. They can do damage to a relationship, and I don’t want that for us.”
“Neither do I.”
She re
sted her head against my shoulder. “I understand why you didn’t say anything to me at first, but I really wish you’d told me before your mom had to fly here and do it for you.”
Since I wasn’t as worried about her deciding she wanted to try to walk out that door anymore, I decided to get more comfortable. I kicked off my running shoes and socks. Then I pulled off her heels before I leaned against the back of the couch, shifting her on my lap.
“I guess now’s as good a time as any to warn you that my mom can be a bit much at times.”
“Your mom doesn’t seem bad in comparison to my brothers, and you survived them.”
“Hey! I did more than survive,” I protested. “They like me.”
“Yeah, well, your mom seemed to like me, too.”
Thinking about my mom’s whispered words, I smiled. “She more than likes you. Which means my dad will, too.”
“Of course he will, I’m fucking awesome.” She smiled up at me. “On the plus side, at least your mom alleviated one of my concerns about our relationship.”
“You were worried about us?”
“There’s been a little voice in the back of my head asking me if you’re truly ready to commit to a relationship if you can’t even sign a lease for an apartment. Little did I know you had a perfectly good explanation you hadn’t shared with me yet.”
I wanted to kick my own ass for making her worry about that, but I had more important things to focus on. “No more secrets, right? That means we share our doubts and fears with each other, too. My mom took care of one of your concerns. It’s time for me to tackle the others, whatever they may be.”
16
Cee-Cee
It was a fair request to make, considering I’d been the one to say we couldn’t have any secrets in our relationship and my worries could probably be viewed as a small secret. It was put up or shut up time, although I was willing to bet neither of the issues I was going to talk about would be a big surprise to Jason.
Checked Into Love (Bachelorette Party Book 2) Page 14