“This croissant is wonderful, surely Liz didn’t take the time to do this today?” asked Claire.

“No. The caterer for the wedding also provided a buffet for breakfast. I fixed a tray for us to enjoy while we were working.”

“Thank you, it’s great.”

“We’ve a lot to finish this morning, and I have to leave for the wedding around noon.” He was probably going to wait until Monday and fire her at the office; maybe have security escort the alcoholic stripper to her car to ensure she didn’t swipe anything on the way out. When she finished the last of her croissant, she powered up her laptop and began work. Jason handed her a list of revisions that he had made by hand on the contract, and she soon lost herself in the tedious task.

“Claire, I’ve a few more changes that I didn’t include.” Jason’s breath was suddenly on her neck as he leaned over her shoulder to point out the first change. Claire couldn’t stop herself from again inhaling the erotic scent of his cologne. Mmmm, he smells soooo good. I wonder if I can get a bottle of that cologne, pour it on my sheets and roll in it every night. She tried hard to continue working without Jason becoming aware of how much his closeness was affecting her. Claire shifted as close to the desk as she could to put some much-needed space between them. The more she shifted, the closer he shifted until she was practically lying on her laptop.

Could he possibly be doing this on purpose? Claire risked a quick backwards glance to find those blue eyes twinkling down at her trying to look innocent. Despite herself, Claire couldn’t contain the laughter that bubbled out of her. “If we keep going, the desk and computer are going to end up in the floor,” laughed Claire.

Jason threw his head back and laughed as well. “I thought I would see how far you were willing to go to avoid me.” This seemed to break the ice between them, and they worked in companionable silence for the next few hours.

Claire had to admit to herself that she was surprised by his mood today. She’d expected a repetition of the previous night’s insults with possibly a termination of her employment. Instead, Jason was acting as if nothing unusual had happened. He actually seemed more relaxed and comfortable with her. They rarely joked around at the office, but here he seemed like a different person.

Claire desperately needed to know where her employment stood with Danvers but was afraid to broach the subject and ruin the good mood that he was in. She decided to let it go for now hoping that Jason decided to put the whole incident behind him. Claire finished up the last revision and looked over to see that Jason also appeared to be finishing up.

“If you’re finished Claire, go ahead and pack up your computer, and we will continue in the office on Monday.”

“I thought you needed to get this contract back to Mericom today?” asked Claire.

As he leaned back in his chair, Jason focused those beautiful eyes on her and said, “No, there are more issues to address than I’d originally thought. This will probably run a few months until it closes.” Then why in the hell are we working this weekend? I could have saved myself a boat load of embarrassment if we had left this until Monday.

She tried to hide the anger in her voice as she asked what she’d been thinking, “Why the need to work on it this weekend if we’re months out?”

As he started packing his briefcase, Jason replied, “As you know, we’ve a couple of important deals in the works that will require my attention. Until we can get Mericom wrapped up, I’m afraid weekend work will be required for the foreseeable future.”

“Wh…. What do you mean?” stammered Claire.

“I mean that we will be working on Saturday and possibly Sunday for the next few months at least,” said Jason. “Even though Mericom is of course the priority right now, I also must turn my attention to the other projects we already have in the works. To do this, I’m afraid it’s going to take some team effort and sacrifices on both our parts,” finished Jason.

~~~

Jason studied her reaction to the news he had just delivered. She looked completely stunned and for once at a loss for words. No doubt she was busy running through her future stripping commitments and wondering how to postpone them. Part of him almost felt guilty for causing this apparent upheaval in her life, especially since he could easily handle all the current projects on the table and probably a few more as well. Claire, however, didn’t need to know that.

If not for some last minute issues that had come up with the merger, it would be wrapped up today and finding reasons to make Claire work on the weekends would have been a little more challenging. Even though he didn’t like delays, he couldn’t say he was sorry for how things had worked out. The merger would go forward, of that he was certain, but the delay this time was a bonus for him. He tried not to ponder what his motives were in this as he finished packing his stuff up.

He risked one more covert look at Claire and was surprised at how disappointed he was to find her hair up again. She looked young and vulnerable with her ponytail, someone who looked like they needed to be protected from the world. He had the sudden urge to lay his lips on the pulse beating in the curve of her neck.

When he had been standing behind her earlier, the floral scent of her skin had intoxicated him. What started as a playful game had fast turned a corner for him. He had to pull back and hope to walk to the other seat without her noticing the sudden tent in the front of his jeans.

He seemed to have lost all of his poise and polish this weekend and was in high school trying to control his hormones, or as they said back then, ‘having a boner all weekend long.’ With a grimace, Jason stood up and jolted Claire out of the fog that she’d been in since his announcement of the weekend work requirement.

~~~

Claire looked up as Jason rose from the desk and began packing his suitcase. She wondered how to broach the subject of the weekend work again without angering him and jeopardizing her job. You have until next weekend to work something out with him, just let it go for now and worry about it later. Claire stood and packed her side of the desk up and walked quickly towards the connecting door.

“Claire.” Hearing her name, she turned to look at Jason inquiringly. “I told Harold that I would be downstairs soon. He and the other guys are in the room at the back of the house and with Liz gone right now you should be in the clear if you’d rather leave and avoid saying goodbyes.”

Overcome with relief and gratitude, Claire said a heartfelt, “Thank you, I really appreciate it,” and quietly left the room.

Even though she felt sure that Harold and Liz didn’t know what had happened last night, she was still grateful to avoid seeing them when she left. She quickly gathered her clothing and toiletries and was soon packed. When she heard Jason’s door close, she allowed an additional ten minutes and quietly left her room. She made her way cautiously down the stairs, relieved to see that the foyer was indeed empty. She wasted no time in loading her items in the car and heading down the drive.

Claire felt almost as if she were fleeing, the relief was so great when she made it down the driveway and was back on the road. To say she was puzzled by Jason’s behavior was an understatement. Upon awaking this morning, Claire instantly imagined the talk between Jason and herself concerning the previous night. She fully expected a condescending lecture at the very least and a termination of her employment with Danvers International as the worst-case scenario. Claire was hesitant to think that Jason had decided to let the matter drop.

She didn’t know what she would do if Jason pushed the issue of her quitting the job at Partiez Plus. The extra income barely covered her mother’s medication each month. He also mentioned working on the weekends for the next few months. Luckily, the bachelor parties were usually later in the evening, so she didn’t foresee that being a problem; however it would limit the amount of time she could spend with her mother on the weekends. Claire noticed an approaching rest area and stopped to give Louise a call.

Hearing Louise’s voice on the other end of the line always brought a smile to her face. “Hey Louise, how are you doing today?” asked Claire.

“Oh honey, I’m doing just fine; these old bones are still getting me around and the ticker is beating strong,” laughed Louise.

“I’ll be hearing you use that same line twenty years from now Louise,” said Claire with a smile.

“I don’t know about that honey, but I hope to be saying it tomorrow; one day at a time at my age, you know?” She had a similar exchange with Louise on every call.

Truthfully Louise never seemed to age, she still looked the same today as she did when Claire had first met her. “I was going to come over for dinner. Can I bring anything?” inquired Claire.

“Honey I don’t need anything; I’ve everything I need to make the homemade spaghetti you love.”

“Oh Louise, you don’t have to do that, but I would be more than happy to eat it! How is mom doing today?” Hearing the pause in Louise’s voice, Claire knew this was not a good day for her mother.

“She’s fine honey, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you. Give her time today; she’s been a bit confused.”

Sighing, Claire said, “That happens so often now, maybe I should talk to the doctor again about possibly changing some of her medications. The last one he added seems to be making her worse.”

“I don’t know if that will help honey, I think the good lord above controls most everything for us down below,” replied Louise. She said her goodbyes to Louise and started back on the road wanting to stop at her apartment for a shower and a quick nap before going to her mother’s for dinner.

Chapter Nine

When she finally arrived home, Claire pulled into her parking spot and turned to retrieve her suitcase from the back seat. As she was straightening up she heard a voice that made her inwardly cringe. “Claire, you’re back! Old Billy has scored those Neil Diamond tickets that I told you about.” No, No, NO! Please lord haven’t I been through enough this weekend? Please, if you make him go away I promise I’ll go to church every Sunday, be kind to old people and donate something to charity that I’m not counting on my taxes.

As Billy smiled down at her Claire wondered why the universe seemed to be against her this weekend. She’d not made it to her apartment in weeks without being accosted by Billy as she was leaving the car. Could he actually be in his apartment waiting for her every day? No, surely even he had more to do than spend hours watching for her arrival.

“Hey Billy, how’s it going?” asked Claire with a tight smile.

“Did you hear what I said about the Neil Diamond tickets?”

“Er... Yes, I heard that but I’m sure there’s someone you’d rather take than me Billy, maybe Melissa in 4B; she loves concerts,” supplied Claire hopefully.

“Oh no babe, Billy got these tickets especially for you.”

“Um… My mother is expecting me any moment at her house for dinner; we will talk about this later,” replied Claire as she slowly made her way around him and towards her apartment.

Billy looked down at his watch and said in obvious confusion, “It’s only after three, why would you have dinner this early?”

Claire tried to stick as close to the truth as possible, “she has a medical condition and has to eat several times per day, so we’re eating earlier today.”

Luckily, this seemed to occupy Billy’s thought process enough for her to make her way around him and close to her apartment door. With a wave, Claire said, “I’ll talk to you later," and practically ran into her front door wincing at how loud the door slammed in her haste to escape. Claire wondered how much longer she would be able to live with this daily aggravation before she either hurt his feelings or just gave up and moved.

After a weekend of looking at and drooling over the hot body of Jason, being pursued by Billy was a real reality check. It’s like having to settle for sirloin after having the prime rib. You can’t win 'em all girl, for every hot guy you’re looking for five creepy weird guys are looking for you.

Claire walked to the bedroom and sat her suitcase on the floor. The light was blinking on her answering machine, and she pondered not even bothering to check the messages. Hadn’t she had enough bad news this weekend? Curiosity got the better of her though and she pushed the button and was informed she had one new message.

“Claire, it’s me, Suzy, I um… oh Claire, Jeff and I broke up!” Hearing what was plainly a sob Claire walked closer to the machine as if she could see Suzy. “He has been cheating on me; the bastard has been cheating on me with his dentist, can you freaking believe that?!” Now openly sobbing, “I… I’m ok; I just didn’t have anyone to tell, shit!” When the beep signaled the end of the recording, Claire stood rooted to her spot, completely stunned.

Suzy and Jeff had been together since high school and had been engaged for the last three years. Sure, everyone joked about them taking their sweet time to get married but there was never a doubt in her mind that they’d spend their lives together. Jeff was the exact opposite of Suzy, very quiet and serious to her loud and outgoing personality.