Chapter 17
Maryellen
Gage was quite distracted once he returned to work from his weekend.
It was understandable. He surprised Harper not only with a proposal over the weekend but a beach house on the Jersey shore he bought for them as well.
I’d been working behind the scenes for the past few months to secure the property.
Once it was purchased, I worked with a designer to help decorate it.
I was immersed in the lives of some very wealthy people.
The price tags of what they purchased, the bottom line of what they spent, were numbers I crunched every day.
It was astounding how the Parkers lived.
I knew the topic of money and lifestyle came up once or twice between Gage and Harper during the early stages of their relationship.
She came from a similar background as me financially, although she still had a good relationship with her mother.
Harper had been able to come to terms with the Parker lifestyle, so I had witnessed it was possible. Whether I ever could was another question.
“Maryellen,” Gage said as he popped his head out of his office. “Can you come in my office? I want to discuss the options you and Chase narrowed down for his assistant.”
Jumping up, I grabbed my tablet and my phone.
“Oh, and call Chase in on this one, too,” he said.
My mouth went dry.
This was Gage’s second day back. And we’d made it to early afternoon, so a day and a half, without the three of us being in the same room together.
“Sure.” I shot Chase a text and went to find my traditional spot in Gage’s office.
Though he wasn’t sitting at his desk like he normally would be. Instead, he was in the sitting area, in the chair to be specific. That left the couch for Chase and me.
“Knock, knock,” Chase said as he entered.
“Hey, Brother,” Gage said, standing up.
“Hey, man, congratulations. How did it go this weekend?” Chase asked.
I was unaware they hadn’t seen each other since his return.
The two talked for a few minutes while I stayed in my seat.
I tried to do a few things on my tablet, but my hands shook too much to get anything done.
Instead, I looked around the office and waited for them to join me, with the hope that Gage would sit with me.
No such luck. Chase even let Gage sit first, and he still chose the chair.
Mind you, I call it a sofa, but it’s more like a love seat.
It’s built for barely two and a half people.
And Chase is not a small person. He’s at least six foot three inches and takes up a lot of space.
He sat against the one corner, his arm along the back, and crossed one leg over his other knee.
When he did that, our legs touched. I slid my leg ever so slightly, but he slid his closer, so we remained touching.
My pulse sped up. I kept my eyes trained on my boss, trying to determine if he noticed. Yet, he seemed oblivious as he moved on with the topic of the meeting.
“So, we seem to have some remarkable candidates for your assistant, Chase,” Gage said. He gestured to the resumes on the table of the three contenders Chase and I had narrowed it down to. “Let’s discuss what we’ll ask during the interviews.”
Chase leaned forward, his leg dropping to the floor.
In its place, his hand moved to the cushion between us, his small finger lingering against my thigh.
I felt as though I might hyperventilate and couldn’t concentrate on a single thing either Parker boy was saying.
Chase must have realized the effect he was having on me.
He shifted his body slightly, enough that we weren’t touching.
While Gage was reading one of the resumes, Chase stole a sideways glance my way.
His tight-lipped smile was a silent apology.
He was trying. He was failing as he tried, but he was trying. Thankfully, his brother was none the wiser.
We carried on with the meeting, the three of us talking as if there was nothing different between us.
The two brothers still argued about the same things they always did by the end of our time.
Chase apparently hadn’t completed a task he promised Gage he would.
So, then Gage accused him of not caring enough about the company.
They both moved away from the sitting area to Gage’s desk to finish their discussion.
I sat there with my hands on my lap, looking as professional as possible, but I checked out. Instead, my brain drifted to the fact I agreed to see Chase outside of work. Even though it was with other people, it was a risk. But the strange thing was, I was looking forward to it.
“OK, Maryellen?” Gage asked.
“I’m sorry, sir, could you repeat that?”
His stern look surprised me, but then I realized my mistake.
“Gage, could you repeat that, please?”
He gestured toward his brother, who had wandered to the windows and I hadn’t noticed. Chase was upset. He wouldn’t look at either of us.
“Would you go with him and help get the reports completed that should have been done already? And then would you schedule the interviews so they all take place by the middle of next week? He obviously needs an assistant sooner than I thought.”
As I stood, Chase finally looked my way. His distraught expression made me wish I had paid more attention to what they had spoken about. I offered him a small smile, hoping it would help, but all he did was storm out of the office.
Gage’s attention was focused on his computer screen rather than his brother. He was used to Chase’s antics here at the office, and I believe he was truly done dealing with them, and him.
“Of course, Gage. I’ll get him back on track. And I’ll cc you on the reply emails for the interviews and add them to the calendar once they’re scheduled.”
Gage looked up, and his face softened.
“Thank you, Maryellen. You’re a lifesaver.”
I swiftly left my boss and went straight to the elevator. It wouldn’t surprise me if Chase wasn’t in his office when I got there with how angry he seemed. As I stepped on his floor, the chords of his guitar drifted down the hall.
I tapped on his door and peeked inside, but he had his headphones on. As I approached, he saw me but kept playing the song on his guitar. He seemed to be doing this increasingly while at work. I sat in the chair across from him and listened.
It was beautiful.
The song was unfamiliar, definitely not a mainstream one from the radio.
And not the one he played for me the other day.
The melody was slow with low notes, making it sound almost haunting.
His eyes had connected with mine as he continued playing.
Then he took his fingers from the chords, removed his headphones, and tossed them to the floor.
“Have you been sent here to babysit me?” he asked.
I ignored his comment, though I heard the pain in his words.
“That song was beautiful, Chase. What was it?”
He strummed the strings on his guitar a few times. The sounds he was able to put together with a few quick movements were amazing. When he was done, he gently placed his guitar on the floor by his feet.
“You wouldn’t have heard it before because I wrote it,” he said.
I was stunned.
“You wrote it?”
He leaned forward with his elbows resting against his knees. His hands came together, his fingers peaked.
“Why does that seem to surprise you?” His hazel eyes peered from under a lowered brow as a wicked smile transformed his face. “What, you don’t think I’m capable?”
“I never said that.” I stood and rushed to his side.
His head bent back as he looked up at me, those eyes of his now completely forlorn. Because of that, and without thinking, I knelt at his side and took his hands in mine.
I was going against all my own rules. My emotions were driving my actions, and I wasn’t considering any possible consequences.
It didn’t matter. He was what mattered right now.
“Chase, I’m sorry if that offended you. I know you’re upset with how things went just now, but don’t let that affect us.”
He shook his head and removed his hands from mine while refusing to look at me. Instead, he stared out the window while his fingers made a mess of his gelled hair. A deep sigh was all he emoted. He had no words for me.
“Listen,” I said. “Gage has a lot on his plate.”
Chase’s head swiveled toward me as his eyes went wide.
“Seriously, Mare?”
I went to his side at the windows.
“You didn’t let me finish. Gage has a lot on his plate, but it’s not fair for him to talk to you that way. I see that. You’re both equals, and I think the brother dynamic must be coming into play. You have every right to be upset with him.”
He dismissed my comment with a wave.
“Ya wanna know something? I’m not even that mad at him. He’s right, I didn’t do my job. I mean, yeah, he’s a dick. But he’s right. I’m mad at myself.”
His body relaxed slightly once he made that admission. I even got one of his sly grins that, no matter what, always came across as sexy.
“Shit, imagine if my big bro Gage heard his assistant trash-talking him.”
At least I gave him a laugh. Then my heart sank. He was right, yet for some reason, I felt relaxed and didn’t have a pit in my stomach.
“Hey,” I said. “This is between us, mister.”
His demeanor changed, turning serious, as he reached out and took my hand.
“My allegiance is to you, babe. No worries there.” He lifted my hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on my knuckles. “I would never break your trust.”
“I know that.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t take my shitty mood out on you.”
His apology was sincere, but it didn’t make him feel any better.
“Do you want to get started on those reports so we can get them out of the way?”
We sat at his desk, working together as friendly co-workers. Eventually he was able to laugh and joke around, but we got his work done. And not once did his hands wander.