Chapter 3
Chapter Three
TWO WEEKS LATER
I still wasn’t comfortable or even used to staying here, but I had to admit, it was a lot nicer than the hotel. The evenings were easy for the most part, I tried to keep to myself as much as possible, and stay out of Jason’s way.
I walked downstairs and right into his study where he was already set up with two cups of coffee.
“What’s this?” I questioned.
“Coffee, you know, that thing you drink in the mornings.”
“Yes, I got that much, just you never made my coffee before. How do you know that’s how I take it?”
“I guessed, or maybe I’ve seen you make your coffee for the past two weeks and I just remembered. Either way, a simple thank you would work,” he huffed.
“Thank you, you didn’t have to but thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I know we are leaving in a couple of days for the first convention and I just wanted to make sure we were completely set up with everything we needed.”
I nodded, “I have photos for people to choose from, I picked those up the other day. Markers are packed and ready to go. All you have to do is pack your suitcase, and we will be good. Max will be here early that morning so we can get to the airport on time. I’m big on being early, so don’t sleep in.”
“I don’t plan on it, but thanks. And you are ready for this type of trip?”
“Do I have a choice? It was my idea after all.”
“True. Alright, well then I have a few things to do today, Max will be driving me so you’ll have the house to yourself.”
“Okay,” I replied.
He slowly walked out of the room with his coffee in his hand.
I could feel him glancing at me as he left.
I sighed and let my shoulders sink a little. It was strange being here by myself, but for the first time in weeks it was nice to actually be by myself.
I dialed Eden’s number.
“Hey! How have you been? I feel like we haven’t talked in ages. How was the event?”
“It was good. Interesting. I moved out of the hotel.”
“Finally! You found a place! Alright, shoot me the details so I can help you get some stuff to fill it up.”
“Well, Eden, no. Not yet. See Jason he kinda had a meltdown when he saw where I lived the night of the event. And he had Max move me into his guest suite.”
She choked on what I hoped was just air.
“I’m sorry, you are living with Jason Baxter? You moved in with your boss? Are you sleeping with him?”
“What? Eden! No. Gosh no. It’s just until I find a suitable place, and I will. I just need to actually find a place.”
“So, until then you get to live with that hunk? Lucky. I wish they would have given me the Jason Baxter assignment.”
I laughed, “it’s not all sunshine and roses you know. He’s a dick. I barely see him unless we are working in the study. Other than that, I tend to stick to my suite, or I sit outside on the balcony for some fresh air.”
“Do you think anything will happen?”
“Like what? I jump his bones? Not a chance.”
“Don’t say never, it could happen. Hell, you two are going away together soon aren’t you?”
“For business.”
She laughed, “sure.”
“You go away with your boss all the time,” I said.
“My boss is married and most of the time, his wife goes with us.”
“Touche. Alright, I better run, I have a few more things to do around here and then I’m going to start apartment hunting.”
“Have a good time this weekend!”
The house was quiet in the middle of the night, something I wasn’t used to. The hotel was always making noises in the halls or around me.
I quietly made my way down into the dark kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. At least I knew where things were down here.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Jason’s voice came from the darkness.
I froze and spun around toward the sound of his voice.
“No, I just needed some water.”
I felt his body get close to mine.
“I usually get up around this time and walk around the house,” he replied.
His body inched closer to me, pinning me between him and the counter.
“I get that. When you have a life change such as yours, your body takes a while to adjust.”
“How do you know so much about that?”
“I’ve had a lot of changes happen to me, so I’ve read up on it,” feeling his body press against mine, I half thought I was dreaming. There is no way that the Jason I knew, the one I worked for would be doing this, but here we were. I could still smell his cologne from earlier this evening.
His arms rested on the counter on either side of me, the bottle of water still gripped between my hands.
“Sage…” he whispered.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, "yeah?"
"I've been wanting to do this for weeks. Ever since you showed up to the house in that dress," he said before pressing his lips against mine.
My body wanted to melt under the feeling of his lips on mine. I could feel his bare chest against mine.
I wanted to push him away, but I didn't. I let myself give into him, dropping the water bottle onto the floor and wrapping my arms around his neck.
With an easy movement, he scooped me up so I was sitting on the counter, his body right between my legs and our lips still together.
I pulled back for just a moment.
"Don't fight this, please," he begged.
I nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck again and pulling him into me.
His lips trailed down to my neck, stopping just above the collar of the t-shirt I was wearing.
His hand slid under the shirt and up my back.
“Come with me,” he whispered between kissing my neck.
I slipped off the counter, his fingers intertwined with mine as he led me up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom.
He spun around and pressed me up against the door, pulling the t-shirt off over my head.
My bare chest pressed against his.
He spun us around again and backed us up to the bed.
“Are you…” I began.
“Yes,” he said pushing me onto the bed.
I rolled over without even opening my eyes, I knew I wasn’t in my own bed. I groaned. It wasn’t a dream I thought as I opened my eyes and looked around.
I sucked in a deep breath and turned over to an empty bed. Not what I was expecting.
Great, that means I might have a minute to slip out of here and down to my own room. I thought to myself as I grabbed the t-shirt off the floor and my panties that were tossed halfway across the room. I slipped them on.
“Were you going to say goodbye or just sneak down the hall?” Jason questioned.
I slowly turned to face his voice. He was standing in the doorway to the bathroom. Naked.
“I uh,” I looked down to the floor.
“I can put on pants if that will make you more comfortable, although, You spent quite a bit of time with me naked last night.”
I sighed and looked back up at him, “you aren’t bothered by this at all?”
He shrugged and walked over to the bed, grabbing a pair of sweatpants. The same ones I remembered removing from his body last night
“No, I’m not. Should I be?”
“I’m your employee,” I replied.
“And we are a complete cliché. So what? Honestly, I don’t regret it, but if you do, we can go around pretending it never happened.”
I shook my head, “no, no I don’t regret it.”
“Good, then why don’t you go get a shower and I’ll put some coffee on. It’s our last full day before we leave in the morning and I’m sure there is a ton of shit that needs to get done. Oh, and by the way, your pay increase will be on your next check,”
“How did you get it done so quickly?”
“I have my way. See you in a bit,” he said.
I walked out of the room and down the hall to my own suite. The first thing I did was check my phone. No missed calls, no messages. Naturally.
“I have to quit,” I sighed as I started the shower.