Trust in Me

by Samantha Chase

  The next hour passed quickly and soon they were in the car and heading for their hotel. Check in went like clockwork and they were handed their room keys and Jason was glad that they had adjoining rooms. They were only going to be in Chicago for two days but it would make things easier if Maggie was close by when he needed her help.

  No sooner were they settled in their rooms than lunch was being delivered. While Jason had been checking them in, Maggie had been taking care of ordering their food. Jason knocked on the door dividing their rooms and Maggie unlocked it and let him in.

  “That was fast,” she commented as she reached for her briefcase.

  Jason stopped her. “Whoa, we’re going to eat lunch like normal people and not talk business for the next fifteen minutes, okay?”

  Maggie more than readily agreed. They had been talking business for weeks and she felt like if Jason were to fall ill, she would be able to handle any and all of his meetings because she knew the details so intimately. To be able to have a few minutes reprieve to eat and relax sounded like heaven.

  Jason had set up their food at the table in his room and waited for Maggie to sit down before he joined her. “I hope that you had enough time to get at least a little settled into your room.”

  Maggie waved him off. “I don’t plan on getting too comfortable. It makes it easier when it’s time to leave if I haven’t taken everything out.”

  “That makes sense. Did you have time to call home?”

  “What for?” she asked without thinking.

  Jason arched a dark eyebrow at her. “I thought you would check in with your husband and let him know we arrived safely.”

  “Oh,” Maggie said, forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to be married. “I texted him. He’s at work so I just figured we’d talk later tonight.”

  It sounded believable enough to Jason but he had to wonder at how good of a marriage she had if they spent so much time apart and didn’t seem to mind it at all. If he was married, he’d certainly be uncomfortable with his wife traveling with another man! What was wrong with Maggie’s husband?

  Clearing those thoughts from his mind, Jason took a bite of the BLT Maggie had ordered for him and then asked, “Have you ever been to Chicago before?”

  She was delicately eating a chef’s salad and held a finger up while she finished chewing before answering. “Actually, I haven’t. It was never really on my radar as someplace that I wanted to see and I’m not really focusing on it now since we’re not here to sight-see.”

  Practical, Jason thought, and for just a minute he felt bad about not making any time to show her some of the sights. It seemed like Maggie led a very quiet, sheltered life and it made him more than a little sad for her. With a husband who seemed to lack any interest in her and Maggie’s quiet acceptance of it all just didn’t sit well with Jason.

  “Are you a baseball fan?” he asked. Maggie shook her head. “Oh, well, I thought maybe we could maybe find time to tour Wrigley Field but if that’s not something that interests you…”

  Maggie gave Jason a serene smile. “I don’t expect you to entertain me, Jason. We’re here to make Montgomery’s grow. That’s not going to happen if we’re off playing tourist.”

  While he should be happy that she wasn’t looking for any personal attention from him, there was just something about her demeanor that was unsettling. Jason made another mental note to delve a little deeper into this as their trip went on.

  “You’re right about that,” he finally answered. “I always tell myself that I’m going to take the time and go and see a game but I never do. Are there any sports that you do enjoy?”

  “Hockey.”

  Jason almost choked on his sandwich. “Hockey? Seriously?”

  Maggie looked at him with confusion. “What’s wrong with hockey?”

  “Nothing, nothing at all it’s just that I thought for sure you would have said something like tennis or golf.”

  She laughed out loud and Jason found that he really enjoyed the sound of it. “Why on earth would you think that?”

  “Well, for starters, you’re a fairly conservative woman. Hockey is a loud, obnoxious, violent sport. I just can’t see you standing up and screaming at a game.”

  “Well believe me; I have done my share of screaming. I think that hockey has got to be one of the most challenging sports there is to play. There’s so much going on and it’s just fascinating to watch.”

  “Who’s your favorite team?”

  “The Rangers.”

  “New York? You’re a New York fan? Aren’t you from Virginia?”

  “What does that have to do with anything? Virginia doesn’t have a hockey team and the Rangers are awesome!”

  “How many games have you gone to?” he asked, still in disbelief that they were even having this conversation.

  “Not nearly enough,” she said lightly. “I’ve only gone to New York twice and I was a teenager. My dad took me to a game at Madison Square Garden and it was amazing. Then last year, I managed to go and see the Rangers play the Hurricanes in Raleigh.”

  “Is your husband a hockey fan, too?”

  “What? I mean, yeah, sure. He’s okay with it.”

  “Raleigh’s not that far away; I’d think that you would try to go more often.”

  “It’s three hours of driving each way. To go to a game would really make it a two day event and I just don’t have that much time to invest, you know? Besides, there’s something magical about seeing a team play on their home ice. The vibe at the Garden is completely different from what I felt in Raleigh.”

  Jason tucked that bit of information away as he glanced at his watch. “If we’re going to get everything done that we need to, we need to finish up here. The car will be back for us in fifteen minutes. Will that be enough time for you?”

  “I’m ready,” Maggie said dismissively, pushing her unfinished salad aside. “All I need to do is grab my briefcase; I’ve got everything that we need for today in there, organized and ready to go.”

  Finishing his last bite of his sandwich, Jason rose from his chair and went in search of his own briefcase and then turned back to Maggie. “So what do you think? Do I stick with the stripes or do I need to change?”

  “Don’t be such a chick, Jason,” she said teasingly as she stood. “You look fine.” Maggie turned and walked into her room to grab her things and Jason stood still for a minute and realized that her opinion really was beginning to matter.

  ****

  It was well after eight when they finally were riding the elevator back to their floor at the hotel. Maggie leaned back against the wall and sighed. “I didn’t think they’d ever stop asking questions. I mean, in every scenario that I played out in my mind, none of them went like this.”

  Jason faced her as he leaned against the opposite wall. “I know what you mean. I think I sort of zoned out there after a while.” He scrubbed a weary hand over his face and let his head fall back. “And as if that wasn’t enough, what was with the dinner they brought in?”

  “Oh, I know, right? I thought that Chicago was known for its good food! I have no idea where that stuff even came from.”

  “Want to order some real food for us or do you want to go down to the restaurant to eat?” he asked.

  “Honestly, I want to kick off these shoes and crawl into bed.” Maggie stopped and considered what she was saying. “Okay, maybe I have the energy from some ice cream but nothing more than that.”

  Jason chuckled. “I may order a pizza.”

  That piqued her interest. “Pizza? I could stay awake for some pizza.”

  “Atta girl,” he said, still laughing. They arrived at their floor and headed for their rooms. “Why don’t you go and relax and I’ll call you when the pizza gets here.”

  “Bless you,” Maggie said as she practically fell through her door. Within minutes she had stripped out of her business attire that was beyond uncomfortable after such a long day and changed into a pair of yoga pants and a t-sh
irt. Certainly Jason didn’t expect her to be dressed in her work clothes all the time, did he?

  She pulled the clip from her hair and massaged her scalp. Working longer hours was taking a little more getting used to. During her stint in customer service her work day was relatively short comparatively to what she was doing now and staying in such a severe look was getting uncomfortable. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Maggie considered what else she could do with her hair to make it look professional without killing her scalp. Running her fingers through her long hair, she shook it out and found that she felt much better. It was almost nine o’clock when Jason knocked on the door.

  “Pizza delivery!”

  Maggie opened the door to him and smiled. “Do you want to eat in here or are you already set up in your room?”

  Jason couldn’t speak. For a moment he could only stare. The woman who he had come to know these last weeks was gone and replaced by someone completely different. With her hair loose Jason realized just how long it was. It was wavy and thick and wonderful and he found himself itching to reach out and touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked. She had bangs that were wispy and light and seemed to drag his attention to her expressive brown eyes.

  Eyes that were staring curiously at him right now.

  Oh, right. Pizza. “I’ve got everything set up inside,” he said gruffly and then turned back toward his room. “I had them send up some drinks, too. I wasn’t sure what you wanted so I got a variety.”

  “I probably shouldn’t have anything with caffeine this late but there is something to be said for a Coke with pizza.”

  “A girl after my own heart,” he said and then realized how awkward that was. “What I mean is…”

  Maggie laughed. “It’s okay, Jason. I know what you meant.” She sat down and helped herself to a slice of the deep dish pizza and groaned with delight with the first bite. “Now that is food,” she said with a sigh.

  Jason held in his own groan. With her new look and the near orgasmic sounds she was making while eating, he was starting to sweat. She was his assistant and she was a married woman! He should not be noticing all of these things about her and yet he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

  “Aren’t you going to have any?” she finally asked.

  “What? Oh, yeah, sorry. I guess my mind is still on the bizarre meeting from today.”

  “Please, no more talk about business,” she pleaded. “I think I’d like to just forget that today even happened.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” he mumbled.

  “So does that mean that Claremont is off the table for prospective clients?”

  He nodded. “I don’t think that we could meet each other’s needs. I’d rather cut my losses now and move on to what’s next.”

  “I’ll email Rose in the morning with an update. Our next appointment isn’t until ten tomorrow and then our flight to Ohio is after dinner.”

  Jason merely nodded again. He couldn’t focus. He wanted Maggie to finish her pizza and go to her own room. His mind was spinning in a dozen different directions – none of which were business related - and he needed to get his thoughts back on track. Knowing he was being rude, Jason grabbed up another slice and stalked over to the other side of the room and sat down with his laptop and did his best to ignore Maggie. Maybe she’d get the hint and leave.

  Within minutes, she did. With a quiet ‘good night’, she closed the door between their rooms and Jason heard the lock go into place. That’s when he let himself breathe again. If this was how he felt after one day, how the hell was he going to survive for another twenty?

  ****

  They were airborne once again the following evening and Maggie could tell that Jason wasn’t pleased with their trip so far. Neither meeting had gone as they had hoped and Maggie could only hope that Jason wasn’t going to let this get him down.

  “Well, tomorrow’s another day,” she said to break the silence.

  Jason merely grunted in response.

  She decided to make another attempt to draw him out. “Neither of them were what Montgomery’s was looking for. I’m glad we got them out of the way early and now we can move on to something better.”

  Jason glared at her.

  Okay, Maggie thought, now what? “I’ve been doing some research on our group for tomorrow. They have a similar history to Montgomery’s and Nick Austin, their CEO, is a huge football fan. I bet we can spend some time talking about Lucas to break the ice a little.”

  “I’m not using my brother’s former career to schmooze anyone,” he snapped.

  That was it, she’d had enough. “Look, I know that you are not happy right now with the way things have gone so far but none of it is my fault. I didn’t research the people to meet with, you did. I came into this whole thing late in the game and so I don’t appreciate having you snap at me for things that aren’t my fault!”

  Maggie snapped the book shut that she was reading and turned to look out at the sun setting in the sky. The view was spectacular but it did little to ease the tension she was feeling right now at Jason’s miserable attitude.

  Jason knew he was being a bastard and it wasn’t fair to be taking out his anger on Maggie but he was beyond frustrated. Between the miserable meeting yesterday, and the confusing way she’d made him feel last night, the very last thing he’d needed was another round of miserable meetings today! So far this trip was a complete disaster and it had only just begun!

  Not wanting to alert his father to the disaster that was brewing, Jason had asked Maggie to wait before sending anything into the office. While he could tell that she wasn’t in complete agreement with him, she’d done as he asked and merely saved the information on her computer and asked that he let her know when he wanted them sent.

  How about never, he thought to himself.

  They would be landing late in Cleveland and Jason knew that there’d be a town car waiting for them again to take them to their hotel. By now, all he wanted was to be alone. His tie was choking him, his head was pounding and he had no desire to make small talk anymore. Tomorrow would be here soon enough and they’d have to go back into schmoozing mode and do their best to kiss up to another group of potential clients that might be worse than what they’d dealt with in Chicago.

  Maggie stayed silent for the remainder of the trip and during the ride to the hotel. When Jason handed her the key to her room, she took it and quietly followed him into the elevator. “Look, Maggie, I’m sorry that I snapped at you earlier. I know that none of this is your fault. I just had so much hope for this trip and none of it is going like I planned.”

  “It’s okay, Jason,” she said meekly. “I know you have a lot on your mind. You don’t need to add worrying about me to the list.”

  “Dammit, Maggie, that’s not what I’m saying!” he yelled and then caught himself. “Let’s just meet up in the morning down in the restaurant for breakfast. Maybe a good night’s sleep with help.”

  They stepped off the elevator and Jason noted that this time Maggie’s room was across the hall from him. “Good night, Jason,” she said softly, her eyes not meeting his and Jason felt ten kinds of crappy.

  ****

  She had to admit, a good night’s sleep did seem to help. But then again she hadn’t had the opportunity to speak to Jason yet. For all Maggie knew, her good mood was going to be shot right to hell before her first cup of coffee.

  They met up at eight in the restaurant and Jason took great care to be overly polite. He held her chair for her, asked how she slept, what she wanted to order, did she want anything special…by the time he unfolded her napkin for her she was ready to scream.

  “Okay, enough!” she said. “Look, we were both on edge last night but today is another day. Not all of these meetings are going to garner the results that we want but we can’t let it freak us out. We’ve got another two and a half weeks to get through and we’ll never make it if we get into a funk when things go wrong.”

  Jason took a deep br
eath and then seemed to relax. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I’m just a damn perfectionist and it’s been a long time since things didn’t go exactly as I had planned.”

  She reached out and placed her hand on his and then gasped. Before she could pull her hand away, Jason’s eyes met hers. Had he felt it too? It was like a spark; a warmth that wasn’t there before and now suddenly was. “Um, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, Jason. I’m sure that there are going to be a lot more successes than disappointments on this trip. You can’t take it personally.”

  Pulling her hand away, Maggie scanned the room for their waitress and prayed their food would arrive quickly. She needed the distraction.

  “Did you tell your husband what a jerk I was?” he asked sheepishly. Honestly he didn’t want to talk about the man Maggie was married to but he needed to remind himself of the fact that she was, indeed, married. Especially after whatever has just passed between them.

  “You weren’t a jerk, Jason,” she said kindly. “You were disappointed.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question,” he returned. “Did you tell him?’

  “It didn’t come up,” she said, averting her eyes.

  Luckily their food arrived and Maggie put all of her attention on that. “I have to admit, I don’t normally indulge in a big breakfast but sometimes it’s a real treat.”

  Jason nodded. “I don’t normally eat a large breakfast either; but when I’m on the road I try to just in case I end up missing lunch due to a meeting. Back at home, if we’re deep in work mode, Rose makes sure that food comes in. I can’t guarantee that same thing when I’m relying on somebody else’s time table.”

  “I can only hope that we don’t have anymore mishaps like that meal at Claremont’s. I think I’d rather skip eating all together than have to eat something like that again.”

  Jason agreed.

  Within an hour they were climbing into a cab and heading for their first meeting of the day. “Remind me again how tight of a schedule we’re on today?”