33. Kat
The best day ever had been followed by a night where I tossed and turned and thought about how much I missed having Jameson’s body next to mine.
The tossing and turning was more than just missing sleeping next to him, because hello, we’d only spent one amazing night in the same bed. It was more the awareness that as soon as I left Boston, we couldn’t have any more nights like that.
Jameson and I were at that beginning stage of a relationship where things were still new and exciting, but this was on a different, more promising level than I’d experienced before, like we were only beginning to scratch the surface of how good it could be.
Okay, so technically we weren’t in a relationship, but what did technicality matter after this weekend? We’d crossed boundaries, we’d dug deeper, and I’d met his mom.
Ofcourse,thatwasonaccident.
MaybeIcouldextendmytimehere.JustexplaintodadthatI’mlearningsomuch,butIfeellikeafewmoreweekswouldbereallybeneficial.
Wouldheunderstand,orwouldhetellmeIneededtogethomenow,orhe’dturnoverthecompanythatwassupposedtobeminetothejackass?
I didn’t want to disappoint him, especially after he’d been patient with my shortcomings and done everything in his power to make sure I had every chance to be the boss he wanted me to be.
Thinking about that just sent my mind reel spinning again, the same questions that made it impossible for me to sleep continuing to plague me as I tried to focus on work. I was seriously exhausted from the mental and emotional tug of war.
I glanced back at Jameson’s office, wondering if I’d somehow missed his return. He’d been on the phone most of the morning before heading to the conference room for a meeting with the accounts manager. He wasn’t seated behind his desk, though, so the meeting must’ve run long. I knew he liked his meetings short and opposite-of-sweet, so I doubted that’d leave him in a very good mood.
Yesterday when I’d promised to help him catch up on the work he’d neglected in favor of hanging out with me this weekend, I had no idea just how insane his to-do list was. Unfortunately, there was only so much I could help him with since most of his emails required a response from him personally, but I’d taken everything I could off his plate.
Since I had trouble keeping myself under control around him, it was probably for the best that we couldn’t try to do some multi- tasking alone in his office.
IfIstickaroundforlonger,there’llbemorechanceofusgettingcaught. That would be bad for my reputation, people would only question my authority more, then there’d be more disappointment from my dad, and I could kiss being boss of anything goodbye. I wasn’t even going to pretend Jameson and I wouldn’t keep fooling around, either. We’d already failed that test. More than once.
I read through the weekly reports, putting the important highlights in one big doc so Jameson could see it at a glance and wouldn’t have to spend time digging.
WedomakeagoodteamifIsaysomyself.
MaybeIshouldputmyboldnesslessonstogooduseafterworktodayandjusttellhimI’mconsideringstaying,andseewhathethinks.
Obviously that would give away the fact that I’d gotten attached, but I doubted it would come as a surprise to him, and I felt like he was at least a little attached as well.
Whatifhewasonlymoreopenwithmethisweekendbecauseheknewourtimewaslimited? It’d definitely been easier to tell him what I wanted in the bedroom because of that, but that was in the beginning. Things had changed. Right?
It’d crush me if he was like nah better hurry back home.
I forced myself to finish compiling the reports and then emailed it to Jameson, telling him I could give him the highlights if he didn’t have time to read it.
I almost put XOXO at the bottom of the email but decided against it, just in case the threat companies always made about reading emails happened today.
With that task complete, my brain couldn’t wait to throw one final question in my face, and it was the kicker: If I stayed for a little while longer, would it only make it that much harder to say goodbye in the end?
Goodbye,I thought, and my heart squeezed into a tight, painful knot. How was I ever going to go back to boring sex, or solo sex? How was I supposed to let go of the deeper connection I had with Jameson, in and out of the bedroom, a connection I’d never had with anyone before? The situation was impossible, and I wanted it to be the opposite.
My heart was already involved, and I had a feeling it was going to end up broken, no matter what happened.
Deep voices broke me out of my sucky What If game, and I glanced up to see Ben, the chef I’d met at Savor, and another guy I didn’t recognize but could wear the hell out of a suit.
I pushed away from my desk and stood. “Hey, Ben. How are you?”
“Kat.” He stepped forward and hugged me like we’d been friends forever. “Lovely to see you.”
“Right back at you. Are you here to see Jameson?”
“We both are. This is one of our fellow Plymouth Academy survivors, Nathan Fox.” Ben put a hand to the side of his mouth and stage whispered, “He’s a lawyer. We try not to hold it against him.”
I laughed. “I’ll do my best to do the same. I think Jameson’s still in a meeting, but I’ll go tell him you’re?—”
“Hey, guys,” Jameson said as he rounded the corner. My heart quickened and butterflies stirred in my gut. There he was. The guy who proved it was possible to have great conversations and amazing sex. His blue eyes flickered to me, and he gave me a small, secretive smile I felt all the way down to my toes.
“Hey,” I said, even though we’d already exchanged good morning greetings first thing this morning. Realizing it sounded a little too dreamy, I switched into strictly business mode. “Anything you need me to take care of?”
He cocked an eyebrow that spoke of very filthy thoughts, and my cheeks went warm.
“Um, I mean from your meeting with David—I already compiled the reports and emailed them to you.”
Nathan cleared his throat. “Speaking of meetings, are we having ours, or what?”
Ben clapped him on the back. “Heaven forbid Nate wastes billable hours saying something nice like hello.”
“Let’s get on with it, then,” Jameson said, sweeping his arm toward his open office door. But instead of following them inside, he hung back and approached my desk. He set a cup of coffee in front of me, and I wondered how I’d missed the to-go cup in his hand. Then I took in the way his suit coat showcased so many delicious features and how his ice blue tie matched his eyes, and it was hardly a mystery. “The pot in the kitchen was empty again, so I grabbed you a coffee while I was picking one up from the cart downstairs. I already fixed it up the way you like it.”
I quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching us or within hearing distance—luckily most people were at lunch. “You mean hot and strong? Because, as I’m sure you know, that is exactly what I like.” I leaned closer and whispered, “I’ll have to give you a proper thank you later, once we’re alone.”
“Not if I find you alone first.” He flashed me a grin edged with deliciously dirty intentions, and then disappeared into his office.
I took a sip of my coffee and sighed, thinking I didn’t even need another month, week, or day to fall head over heels for Jameson Stone.
Nope, I was already there.