After the Night (Romance for all Seasons Book 1)

by Sandra Marie

  “I made it!” she called out, and Jon wiped his already tearing eyes. He’d started laugh-crying as soon as Cassidy told the Leatherface look-a-like to back the hell off, or she would pee on him.

  “It’s about time,” Rebecca said, sliding her phone into her back pocket. Her gaze fell to his pants. “What happened to you?”

  “A cheap glowstick.” He took a spot on the barrel of hay they were sitting on. “How long have you been waiting?”

  “Twenty minutes, give or take,” Julie answered, not bothering to look up from her phone. Jon didn’t know how she typed with all those rings on her fingers, but she managed well enough from the looks of it.

  “We ended up taking the zombie path when it first popped up, and apparently that’s the way out. Chainsaw massacre was right after that,” Rebecca said, leaning against a pumpkin that was propped behind her.

  “It was totally lame,” Julie said. “So not worth the evening.”

  “I don’t know…” Jon said, eyes drifting to Cassidy as she exited the porta-potty a lot more relieved than she went in. “I kinda liked it.”

  Cassidy flopped down on the hay next to him, her leg pressed against his, and a long sigh slipped from her lips. “I say we do dessert. I deserve a treat for battling scary monsters.”

  “I think I was the one doing all the battling for you,” Jon teased. She dropped her mouth in a cute O.

  “Whatever! You were dropping effers just as much as I was.”

  He grinned. “You took the mighty Thor’s name in vain more times than I can count.”

  She playfully shoved his shoulder, rocking him into Rebecca. Oh right… there were other people around—other staff around. Julie’s eyes seemed to be glued to Cassidy and Jon’s adjoining legs. He quickly put distance between them, even though he didn’t want to.

  He pushed up off his knees and wiped the hay off him. “Well, I’m up for a scoop of ice cream or two.”

  “Or five.” Cassidy stood next to him, and the other two ladies looked to each other and had some silent agreement before standing and joining. Jon was almost too distracted by Cassidy the rest of the evening to notice the curious expression Julie kept shooting at every interaction they had.

  A crack popped through Cassidy’s spine as she twisted in the chair in her hotel room, and she let out a long and relieved, “Aaaahhh.” It’d been all day in hard seats, followed by an evening hunched over her laptop, eating Twizzlers and caramel M&M’s for dinner. The pop in her back was the only source of happiness for her then; the breakthrough she thought she’d had in the “Where’s all the money?” case was a dead end. Turned out all the bills that had been sent out to the insurance companies were mailed about three months too late—and she had a real good idea who was at fault with that one—and now those deliveries were going to be a headache and a half to get payments for.

  But that wasn’t the biggest issue. A foreign code stared at her from her screen—one that as far as she could tell wasn’t in any of the system books or coding classes. And the sucker appeared almost in every major billable procedure. C-section, deliveries, D&Cs, ultrasounds… the list went on.

  The most confusing part was the code was always logged in under her name, and Cassidy hadn’t used it in her life.

  She rubbed her eyes and slammed her forehead on the table with a thud. Julie shuffled from her bed on the other side of the room.

  “You okay?”

  “Advil.”

  “I have extra strength Tylenol.” Julie scooted across the bed and picked up the drink menu. “Or, if you prefer, access to booze.”

  A hangover during another day of classes was the last thing she needed. Though, today’s classes weren’t so bad… not with Jon in most of them. She ran a finger over the stain on her hand from all the comic practice she got earlier. Jon had gotten a kick out of Sexy Stan, her sexual harassment super hero she’d created an entire backstory for in their first class. His story evolved throughout the day, and Cassidy grinned to herself over the small, accidental brushes of his arm against hers, how he chose to sit next to her during breakfast, classes, and lunch. She’d also relived the maze in her daydreams, all good things, not the scary stuff as per usual.

  “The Tylenol will do.” Cassidy flipped her laptop shut and called it a night. Losing her job over the weird code wasn’t the worst thing crossing her mind; turned out this was a theft in a grand scale, going unnoticed over several years. The hammer having a party against her skull was all about how to avoid going to prison.

  “Feel like telling me something good?” Cassidy practically begged as she took the Tylenol from Julie’s outstretched hand. “I’ll be dreaming in code all night long.”

  Julie laughed through a yawn, stretching and scratching her mess of black curls. She took off her millions of rings—one on each knuckle—and set them in a Ziploc next to her bed. “You want to talk about the elephant in the room?”

  “What? Where?” Cassidy teased with little luster, pretending to look for the animal. Julie rolled her eyes and grabbed some lotion.

  “A certain doctor, maybe? One you’ve been flirting with all week.”

  Cassidy tried to look shocked. What audacity! But she could hardly deny the attention she’d been giving Jon over the course of the week. Come on, the guy looked like a freakin’ super hero, and he delivered babies. Boss? Yes. Westley? No. Probably not. Most likely not.

  She tried to laugh it off. “I’m just being friendly. The whole office teases and… I guess flirts with each other.”

  “Some more than others,” Julie bit out, mostly to herself, but Cassidy’s hearing was excellent for how late it was.

  She pursed her lips; the worst part about working in an office of mostly women was the gossip train; how she hated it and wished it didn’t happen, but there were those few who fed into the drama. Julie wasn’t the worst offender, but she was the hub of the rumor mill, being at reception and dealing with every department. Cassidy was already dealing with the gossip of her dating around. She didn’t want to deal with the whole “seduce the boss” drama, too.

  Cassidy sucked in a huge breath through her nostrils, hoping to clear the sinuses so her voice didn’t sound as hurt as she felt. “Gotta make a call,” she said, picking up her phone.

  “Hey, I’m not trying to be mean. Just saying… Dr. Bateman is a doc. There haven’t been any rules about interoffice relationships between docs and staff, but it’s probably not the best idea. People aren’t going to be happy; they’ll talk and spread shit around. I’m throwing it out there so you’re careful.”

  Cassidy tugged on her pajama top. “Okay.”

  Julie put her lotion down and stuffed her feet into the bed. “Night, Cass.”

  Cassidy never really minded that nickname, but she found that she was slowly preferring Marvel Girl. “Night.”

  She ducked out into the hall, letting the door click closed harder than she would’ve if she wasn’t so ticked off at her roommate. If Jon had been serious about the offer, she’d be messaging him right now so she could spend some time with Paul Rudd in a suite made for a queen.

  Her back was in need for a stretch, so she walked up and down the hallway, flicking through her contacts on her phone and debating on whether or not to text Shellie about the code. It wasn’t exactly what she wanted to think about right now. And though she shouldn’t be concerned about office gossip, she was. Her reputation had been pretty much non-existent before the Halloween party, and now…

  She stopped at Steven’s name and hit the message icon. Was I a flirt in high school? She sent it off without thinking about it, knowing Steven wouldn’t ask why the question came out of nowhere or why she was asking it. They’d been in and out of conversations since the night she’d asked him to frisk her apartment. It was starting to feel like old times, for sure. Without the whole love thing, of course.

  Ha! I think you were too much of a geek to be a flirt. But I liked that ;)

  Wasn’t that the truth. Cassidy spent too m
uch time arguing over whether Marvel or DC was better instead of batting her eyes. She did that to win over Steven in the first place. He said her nerdiness was what he liked about her, and she liked that he liked it.

  Now she was drawing comics and tossing notes. Jon seemed to like that about her.

  Crap. She was totally flirting.

  Her phone vibrated, and she glanced at Steven’s text. Your mom keeps texting me. She says to call.

  Cassidy wrinkled her nose, thoughts of the last encounter with her mom still fresh in her mind. Why?

  Thanksgiving plans.

  Ever the prepared person, her mom. Halloween was in a week, but she was ready for Thanksgiving. Her mom always planned Fourth of July in April, too. Cassidy flicked to her mom’s name, took a preparatory breath, and called.

  “I knew you’d listen to Steven,” her mom said without a hello. “I text you a thousand times with no response—”

  “I haven’t gotten a message from you, Mom.”

  “Well, I meant to. Thanksgiving. You coming this year?”

  Cassidy stopped at the end of the hall and randomly pushed the buttons on one of the soda machines. “Is Dad?”

  “He hasn’t told me yet.”

  “Then maybe.”

  She huffed. “I’m putting you down for a yes… with a date.”

  “And who would that be?”

  “That man you’re in love with that you won’t admit.”

  Cassidy groaned, and a thud landed in the bottom of the soda machine. Wow, a free Dr. Pepper. Something can go right tonight.

  “’Kay, Mom, I’ll let you know.”

  “Always in a rush to get off the phone.”

  “I’m at a conference in Olympia.”

  “Oh, that’s right! Sorry, get some sleep, love ya, bye!”

  Cassidy smirked at her phone, grateful for the distraction, even if it didn’t do anything to take her mind off of dating. At least she was now more focused on Westley. That’s what she should be thinking about anyway; not Jon, necessarily, but ruling him out as a suspect. She’d done that with nearly every other guy in the office. Why not him? She had to be thorough after all.

  Her phone buzzed, startling her, and she expected her mom again, but it was Steven.

  I’ll be your date, if you want.

  There he went, being her knight. She didn’t need one, though. She didn’t want one. She wanted a pirate.

  Or a doctor.

  I’ll let you know. I’m not sure it’s a good idea.

  Her heart pounded in her throat as she pulled her Facebook app up and hit Jon’s name. Okay… just texting the boss. She took a selfie with him the other day; this should be easy.

  But her fingers shook, and she was sporting some lovely sweat stains now.

  Hey! What kind of car do you drive?

  It was random, but she was random, and she prayed he liked that, whether or not he was Westley.

  Steven’s text popped up, and her heart frowned a little that it wasn’t the doc. You sure? I’m in town indefinitely now. Thought maybe we could hang out more. Get to know each other again.

  She shook her full head, too tired to deal with this on top of the money issues and finding her Westley and falling for her boss. She swiped out of Steven’s texts and pulled up Jon’s message bubble.

  The little dots showed up, and her feet bounced in tune with them, anticipation running hot and cold up and down her arms.

  F-150. Seeing if I’m like every other doctor? BMW seemed a bit too obvious ;)

  She wanted to laugh. She wanted to smile and enjoy the fact that he was writing back so late, that he was joking with her, but her heart sunk low in her belly, and she couldn’t find it in her. She knew it had been a long shot; he’d even said he wasn’t going to the party, and he was far too serious a guy to be the fun Westley she’d spent her night with, but it had truly felt like she’d found him for a while there.

  She licked her lips and messaged back a lame excuse for her curiosity. Just looking for super mobile ideas for my next Sexy Stan comic.

  Go with a Hummer.

  A loud laugh burst from her gut automatically, and it felt good… before the wash of disappointment slipped over her again. After sending him a laughing GIF, she shut off her phone and drank her free Dr. Pepper, ready for that Tylenol to kick in.

  “All right… Let’s pair off for some role-playing exercises.”

  Nope. That was where Jon drew the line. Thank heavens he’d sat in the back. As soon as people started shuffling around, he was outta there.

  The hallway outside the classroom smelled of popcorn, and Jon’s stomach growled, and his nose pulled him toward the source. It’d been a day, that was for damn sure. Thankfully it was the final day of classes, but they’d saved the most torturous for last. The bedside manner class he just sneaked out of was group project hell, and he wasn’t keen on revisiting the worst part of every school he’d ever been to just to get a participation award.

  He sniffed his way to another hallway where the hotel and conference center staff was setting up long tables and prepping for snack time. He had to give them props for at least that; the food had been pretty darn good this week.

  Maybe he could sneak in and grab something before the rush. There had to be only fifteen or twenty minutes left for that session before the last couple of classes—groan. He slowly moved toward the tables, hoping he came off innocent and not like a rebel skipping class.

  The guy on the end glanced his way, his hands busy arranging drinks in a large ice bin. He gave Jon a head nod and held up a bottle of Coke. Jon nodded back and jumped as the guy tossed it his way. The cold drink slipped through his fingers and bounced near his feet. This was why he never went out for football.

  “You want another?” the guy asked through stifled laughter, eyeing the fizz rolling around in the Coke.

  “This is fine.” He bent for it. “Thanks.” He’d just wait a few before cracking the seal. The guy went back to his job, and Jon leaned against the wall, tapping a tune against the cap. Could he get away with grabbing Cassidy some food before the rush, without seeming too interested? He would only be saving her a line. Completely innocent.

  To an outsider’s perspective anyhow.

  He pushed off the wall as the popcorn machine rolled out, his mouth watering like a dog in heat. Lunch was way too long ago.

  Muffled voices filtered in from the hallway he’d just come from, and Jon swiveled and pricked his ears.

  “…I had a head count. Maybe someone is in the bathroom?”

  “Well, hopefully all the docs get that exercise done. They could certainly use it.”

  Dammit, they were looking for him. His eyes shot around the hallway, hoping and praying for an escape route. His fingers frantically ran down the wall until they hit a doorknob. He twisted it and ducked inside before the owners of those voices turned the corner.

  Something hard hit his elbow, and he jerked away from the movement.

  “Hello?” he whispered into the darkness, squinting as his eyes adjusted. A broom slid down the back wall and clattered against the floor next to a pair of red high tops.

  “I thought this was a bathroom, I swear,” a voice he’d recognize anywhere answered in the blackness. A small breath of relief escaped him, and he reached for his phone and clicked the flashlight.

  Cassidy flinched against the light, her nose wrinkling and her hand coming up to block it. He lowered the phone and let out a hushed laugh.

  “Funny seeing you here.”

  “Poaching my hiding spot, I see.” Her lips spread wide, and Jon’s heartbeat tripled in intensity, the scent of popcorn disappearing, replaced by her vanilla and sugar cookie perfume. Her face was inches away, and his fingers twitched against the drink in his hand, itching to stroke her cheek.

  “What class are you ditching?” he asked.

  “Respecting your coworkers.” She made a face. “It wasn’t so bad… until they made us pair off. I said goodbye to stuff like that th
e second I graduated.”

  “I guess we’re two peas in a pod.”

  “You too?”

  “Bedside manner class.”

  Her shoulders shook with silent laughter. “Just a few more hours.” She sighed, checking behind her before plopping down on an upturned bucket. Jon set his phone on a rack next to bottles of glass cleaner and leaned against the door. He couldn’t tell if it was the bad lighting or what, but her eyes drooped, her demeanor a little less enthusiastic than what he was used to from her.

  “You gonna make it?” he asked.

  She lifted a shoulder. “Probably not. I got maybe three hours last night.”

  “Been there.” He shuffled, stuffing a hand into his pocket. Her gaze turned to the Coke, and he lifted it toward her. “Want it?”

  “Yes.”

  He smirked at her honesty. “Go for it. I can grab another.”

  “Or we could share,” she said, the weight of the bottle leaving his hand. “I can’t guarantee I’ll leave you a… ahhh!”

  A kshhhh sounded through the room, followed by a splash. The smell of Coke filled the room, and something soaked through his pants. Jon jumped back, swearing.

  “Sorry, sorry,” he said through curses and laughter. “I forgot it was—”

  “Boobytrapped!” she squealed, and he crouched, pressing against her lips to keep her quiet, but he was laughing pretty hard, so she put a hand up against his mouth, too.

  “Hypocrite,” she said around his fingers. Her breath warmed his skin and set the hairs on his arms on end. Their eyes met, and he wondered if she was sent back to the party night just like he was. She had sat on the counter of that bathroom and let him take her contact out for her. Their laughter drifted away, and he slid his thumb down her bottom lip and rested it on her chin for the briefest of moments.

  Her brows pulled in slightly, and she dropped her hand from his mouth and let it linger near his collar. His breath stole away, and he desperately wanted to ask her what he’d done, why had she run that night. Why had she not brought it up since? Was it because of his status in the office? He hadn’t read a rule about it, but it was taboo, and not just because of their age difference. Maybe it was against her own personal rules.