Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Nicholas’s black Mercedes dropped Jasmine at the front door for the second time that week while Maxwell watched, irritated. He didn’t care if she saw him.
His leather jacket still smelled like cherries, and she was running around with this guy.
Did his car smell like cherries? His sheets?
Did he get the satisfaction of seeing Jasmine walk around in his clothes, the same way Maxwell had seen her warm and cozy in his jacket—a sight he’d enjoyed way too much?
She said she doesn’t love him, a voice whispered, but it didn’t matter. Jealousy was eating Maxwell alive, and he didn’t know what to do about it.
After they argued at her building, he had resolved to keep his distance, convinced there was no point in pursuing someone who had such a low opinion of him. Yet he couldn’t stop thinking about their night together.
The unexpected joy he’d felt when he saw her text at Jayson’s party.
How much he’d relished the hours they spent together at the arcade.
All they’d done was talk and play games, but it was the best Valentine’s Day he could remember spending with a woman.
He had been relaxed and simply had fun, with no agenda planned or expected.
She said she doesn’t love him, the voice whispered again, suggesting he had a shot.
If he was brave enough to take it.
* * *
Maxwell closed his laptop after he finished updating his patient notes. He should have left forty minutes ago, but he had fallen behind schedule spending extra time with a few patients and addressing their parents’ concerns.
The quiet in the office was disrupted by Jasmine’s distinctive footsteps in the hall.
She was there, like him, working late. The logical side of his brain told him to throw his stuff in his backpack and go home.
But the other, less logical side that had emerged recently, urged him to go talk to her.
Casting his eyes around his desk, he looked for a legitimate reason to go into her office. He found it in the form he’d set aside, which she’d asked him to fill out to let her know what he wanted to do for his own community workshop.
He knew exactly what he wanted the workshop to be about and filled out the sheet. Then he walked next door to Jasmine’s office before he could question his behavior and change his mind.
Her door was open, and he knocked twice on the frame.
Jasmine looked up. They’d done such a good job of avoiding each other, having her undivided attention gut-punched him.
“I filled out the workshop form,” he explained, holding up the sheet of paper.
“I’ll take it. Thanks.”
He walked over and handed it to her.
“When a Toothache Isn’t Just a Toothache?” she questioned in a surprised voice.
“It’s an important issue,” Maxwell explained.
“You think it’s enough for an entire workshop?”
“More than enough,” he answered with vehemence.
“You’ll see in the notes that by the end of the workshop, parents will be able to recognize when a child’s dental pain is something that needs urgent care and not just a dentist appointment when they can get around to it.
I’ll go over signs of infection, why they’re serious, and explain why kids often aren’t able to fully explain how bad the situation is.
I intend for the content to be practical and easy to understand. ”
“I’m sure it will be.” She tucked the paper into a folder on her desk. “Was there something else?”
He should answer with a resounding Yes, and he was tired of pretending there wasn’t. Maxwell closed the door in case another member of the staff was also working late. Jasmine watched him do it with a carefully neutral expression.
“I’m not going to take a lot of your time, but I want to know what’s going on. What’s happening between us.”
“Nothing is happening between us,” she said carefully.
“Jasmine.”
She straightened in her chair, squaring her shoulders like a warrior preparing for battle. “We’re colleagues. We had a slip-up on Valentine’s Day, but we’ve moved past it. End of story.”
“A slip-up? I had my tongue down your throat in the parking lot of your apartment building, and you didn’t exactly push me away.”
“What do you want me to say?” she asked.
“I want you to admit there’s more here than a colleague relationship. There’s building tension between us, and pretending otherwise is exhausting. For both of us.”
Jasmine stood, resting the tips of her fingers on the desk and meeting his eyes.
“Let me give you the down and dirty truth. I’ve been in this position before, chased by the charming hot guy in the office.
That’s what happened at my last job. I was the office manager and got involved with my coworker, and our relationship ended badly, forcing me to leave a job I loved because it became impossible to go in to work every day.
I don’t want that to happen again. This job and everything I’ve accomplished is important to me. ”
“You told me before, but I’m not like that guy. All men aren’t the same, and I think we should explore what’s happening between us.”
“Explore? No, thank you. There’s nothing worth exploring between us.”
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
Maxwell kept his voice low and controlled. “I know you feel what I feel, every time we’re in the same room.”
“Unbelievable. You’re so certain?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I told you I’m seeing someone else.”
“You also told me it’s not serious and you don’t love him. Unless something has changed in the past couple of weeks, you can’t use him as an excuse. I’d bet my whole paycheck you like me more than you do him. Tell me what it would take for you to change your mind about me.”
He’d never had to work this hard to secure a woman’s interest, but he refused to give up.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re not used to women who don’t fall all over you. You want me because I’m a challenge.”
“Wrong. I want you because there’s something between us that I can’t shake. I can’t stop thinking about you, no matter how hard I try. Because you’re funny and sexy, and when I’m with you I’m relaxed. I don’t think. I don’t have an agenda. Neither do you. We can be ourselves with each other.”
Jasmine dropped her gaze to the desk, effectively hiding her thoughts from him.
“You feel it too. I know you do, but you’re afraid to admit it,” Maxwell said. But he didn’t want to push or pressure her anymore. When she came to her decision, he wanted her to do so of her own free will. “I’ll leave you alone now. Think about what I said.”
Maxwell left her office and returned to his. He hadn’t planned to say any of that, but he’d meant every word, which was odd. Because Maxwell Santana didn’t make declarations like that. He charmed women and kept his relationships light for an easy exit.
The next step was up to Jasmine, which was a position he couldn’t ever remember being in before. He was the one usually in control. But he was sitting in his office on a Thursday evening, uncertain and anxious about the response she’d give. Which told him everything he needed to know.
Maxwell was very self-aware, and this situation with Jasmine could only mean one thing.
He was in trouble.