32. Jameson
It’d been a long time since my mom looked so happy. The first few minutes of dinner were a little stilted, but once I’d gotten the conversation going, things fell into place. Mom and Kat were laughing together by the time the food arrived, and yes, they were already ganging up on me, both in agreement that I should take more time off. Then they started talking books, and I had no chance of keeping up in that conversation.
I found Kat’s knee under the table and curled my hand around it. She shot me a smile, and I leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “I’m going to grab a bottle of wine.”
For a second I hesitated, wondering if I was putting Kat in an awkward position again, but she turned to my mom, mentioned our trip to the aquarium and asked about when my “penchant for fishy facts” started, and I knew they’d be fine for a few minutes.
They were laughing when I came back to the table, a bottle of red and three wine glasses in hand.
“Uh-oh. Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not,” Kat said. “Just know that I’ve collected enough blackmail material to make you sorry if you ever cross me.”
“Let me guess. She told you the story about how I peed in a fountain when I was a kid.” Mom loved that one, and she hadn’t had a captive audience who hadn’t already heard it in a while.
“No, but I’m all ears.”
Mom’s entire face lit up. “I’d taken him to the mall?—”
“Mom.” I shook my head, but she just kept on going. Why hadn’t I just kept my big mouth shut?
“I just stopped for a moment to put my shopping bags into one big bag, then I see all these people pointing and laughing, and I turned, and there Jameson was, standing on the ledge of the fountain, peeing into the water.”
Before this moment, I would’ve sworn that I didn’t get embarrassed, but I could feel heat rising. “I should’ve known better than to leave you two alone. Next time you’re getting the wine.”
Kat took the glass I extended to her and sipped at it. “She told me about how you liberated a group of baby chickens from the petting zoo.”
“Hey, I swear if you go to the park in that neighborhood, there’s still a chicken hanging out with the ducks, and I’m sure it’s one of the ones I set free.” Because I used to be a softie when I was younger, just like my dad. Not that I regretted freeing those chicks who would’ve been taken home for Easter and mauled, but I couldn’t afford to be soft these days. Kat squeezed my hand and that softening sensation tried to take hold, telling me that I needed to rethink my business plan.
It was the right call, though. Financially, and to help the rest of our employees.
I didn’t want to think about that, though. Future Jameson would have to worry about the fallout. Right now, I was just going to do what Kat said I should—take the evening off from all things business, and just be a guy who was falling for a woman who made him feel more than he’d ever thought was possible.
* * *
KAT’S FATHER had called as we’d been wrapping up dinner, and she’d stepped outside to take it.
I dumped the takeout containers in the trash as Mom washed the wine glasses. I grabbed a towel and dried them, because not working now made me antsy. I glanced out the window, watching Kat pace across the yard as she animatedly spoke on the phone.
Mom placed her hand on my arm. “She’s lovely, Jameson. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy.”
I returned my attention to the glass in my hand. “I am happy, and she is lovely. It’s just temporary, though.” I should’ve realized my mom would get attached. It was just such a different feeling, wanting my mom to meet someone. In fact, I felt like everyone needed to meet Kat.
“But maybe it doesn’t have to be temporary,” Mom said. “A woman like that doesn’t come around every day, you know.”
I did know. She was like sunshine personified, turning everything brighter and warmer. She was also a bit of a beautiful disaster, which made me want to hold her tight and protect her from the world. I’d tried to teach her to be bolder and more aggressive when it came to the business world, but she’d never be as ruthless as she needed to be.
That worried me enough that I was tempted to toughen her up somehow, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I wanted her to be who she was, but just a little bolder. The thought of anyone walking over her made me want to hunt them down and break them.
I leaned back against the counter, finding my mom’s gaze still on me. “She lives in another state, Mom.”
“But if she didn’t…?”
I’d tried not to let myself think about it. If she were going to be in Boston full-time, I might just attempt my first serious relationship in years. Craze could definitely use her big, beautiful marketing brain, even though the plan was to save money and resources by outsourcing. She’d never take the job unless running her father’s company wasn’t an option, so following through with my plan to dissolve that branch might get her to move here, but after that happened, she’d hate me, wherever she lived.
MaybeifIjustgiveittoherstraight.ExplainthatI’munderpressure,too,whyitneedstobedone,andthatitwasintheworkslongbeforeIknewher…
Hoping for something like that, or keeping people employed simply because you’d feel bad they didn’t have jobs would be doing business the way my dad did, and I wouldn’t make his same mistakes. In fact, stepping in before that branch completely crumbled would save Kat the stress of a similar situation, where her niceness got taken advantage of and she landed herself in real trouble a few years down the road, when the branch couldn’t sustain itself anymore.
I curled my hands around the counter. She’llneverseethatit’sinherbestinterest,aswellasthecompany’s.Sheandherdadwillgetagoodpayout.I’llwriteherastellarletterofrecommendationabouthermarketingskills,andoncethisdealgoesthroughandCrazeskyrockets,that’llbeanevenbiggerdeal.Thenshe’llbeoutofmylifeandmylifewillbealotgrayer,butshe’llbouncebackjustfine,andthat’swhat’smostimportant.
“That says it all,” Mom said, and I jerked myself out of my thoughts. “You want her here. You want more.”
“Mom, I?—”
“Just promise me something?” She gave me her serious look, waiting for me to agree, even though I hadn’t heard what she wanted me to swear to. It was hard to disappoint her, and I found I couldn’t flat out say no, even though I knew she’d end up disappointed about Kat and me in the end.
“What?”
“Promise me that you’ll tell her how you feel before she leaves.
She should have all the facts before she makes her decision.”
All the facts. Which just brought me back to where I started, with her being pissed off that I would be the guy who pulled the trigger on shutting down the company that’d been in her family for years. How could I possibly come clean and tell her that my dream for the business meant using hers as a stepping stone?
But time was running out, and the day of reckoning would get here one way or the other. So I’d let this perfect weekend finish on a good note, and then tomorrow after work, I’d call her into my office and come clean.
Maybe by then I’d also find the balls to tell her how hard I’d fallen for her.