by Gina Drayer
“I’m not one of those people who need constant praise every time I do my job.”
“But it wasn’t your job. You were doing the work of three people,” Kim said. “You deserve the praise.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds, a silent understanding passing between them. And just as fast, the moment passed and Kim was up and headed for the door.
“I know this strike of yours is going to cause some issues for a while, but I support your plan,” she said on her way out.
Kira wanted to call her back and let her know that she’d changed her mind, but it really didn’t matter. So long as Kim wasn’t going to cause problems with Jason. Somehow, some way, Kira was going to have figure out a comfortable middle ground.
This is what it feels like to drown, Jason thought to himself as he looked at his to-do list for the twentieth time. Everything was checked off, but he felt like something was still missing. He’d been working on this marketing campaign for the past two weeks while trying to balance the day-to-day hassles of running an office.
Monday was the first meeting with the clients to show them the mock-ups, and everything needed to be perfect. He had to prove to his brother and the rest of the team that he was more than capable of being a managing partner.
But fuck, it had been a hellish two weeks. He didn’t feel like the staff accepted him as their boss yet. Everyone kept going to Kira with their problems, and it didn’t help that the queen of the office was basically avoiding him like the plague. She did everything he asked of her to perfection, but that was it. Not that he expected her to pick up the slack. But there were so many things to juggle, Jason knew it was just a matter of time before he let something slip through the cracks.
A knock at his door drew his attention. Looking up from the pile of papers on his desk, he caught the time: two-thirty. He’d missed lunch. Again.
“Come in,” he said and returned to his inbox filled with neglected emails that seemed to be multiplying by the hour.
“I just wanted to check in on a few things,” Kira said as she stepped into his office. “Namely, have you heard anything from the photographer? I don’t have a contract yet.”
Jason’s blood ran cold. The photographer. Jesus H. Christ. Had he forgotten to book the photographer for the shoot on Friday? Heart pounding, he began searching through the stack of papers on his desk. He remembered Kira giving him a name, but couldn’t remember if he’d called or not. Everything was starting to blur together.
He forced himself to stay calm. People like Kira could smell fear. Pasting a smile on his face, he said smoothly, “I’m just working out some final details. I’ll have a contract to you soon.”
It was a bald-faced lie, and by the look on her face she wasn’t buying it. He was certain she’d call him out, but instead, she bit that plump lip of hers and sighed.
“Okay, then, there are a few more things I need,” she said, moving on to the next subject.
As she went over various tasks, his mind scrambled. Where was he going to get a photographer at the last minute? He wasn’t from New York and even if he had been, he didn’t know any photographers. Well, except Simon’s wife, Julia, and there was no way he was going to ask her and let them know he’d messed things up already.
“I think that’s it for now,” Kira said. “Do you need anything else from me?”
Find me a photographer so my brother don’t see me as a screw-up!
“No, I think I’m good,” he said. “Thanks for all of your help.”
She nodded and exited, and Jason slumped in his chair. The photoshoot was only two days away, and he had enough experience to know that you needed more lead time to book a photographer. How had he screwed up this epically right out of the gate?
He looked at one of his many lists of tasks, and he saw scribbled at the bottom:
Call the photographer!!!
Well, apparently he had remembered that bit of information at one point. Too bad he hadn’t had the foresight to tattoo it on his forehead.
The rest of the day was a total wash. Jason was Googling photographers in the area and calling them one by one. But nobody had any availability. One guy even laughed at him.
By the end of the day, he’d gotten nowhere. The sun was already setting, and he knew that Kira would be waiting on him, again. He sighed and exited the browser—he could just as easily have photographers tell him no at his apartment.
Just as he shut his laptop, Kira poked her head into his office. “Are you going to be much longer? I’d like to head out soon.”
“I remember how to turn on the alarm. You can go on ahead.” He looked down the list of photographers he still hadn’t called. “I’m going to be here for a while longer.”
She frowned, and instead of leaving she stepped inside. Folding her arms across her chest, she asked, “Is everything all right? Are you sure there isn’t anything I can help you with?”
He stared at her. Could he tell her he’d already fucked things up? He knew she wasn’t one to gloat, but the last thing he wanted was her pity—or her disdain for screwing up her perfect workplace. But he was desperate enough that this point, he was willing to chance it.
“I’m trying to get a photographer for the photoshoot,” he confessed, “because it completely slipped my mind.”
“Ah” was all she said.
“Ah, indeed,” he repeated and rubbed his eyes. “I’ve been calling and emailing and begging all day, but nothing. I’m up shit creek without a paddle.”
She bit her lips, and he was sure she was trying to hide a smile. Maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe it was the fact that he knew he couldn’t do this, or maybe it was it was just the fact that he wanted someone on his side, but Jason found himself confessing the truth. “I know I shouldn’t have this job, but I can’t mess this up. Everyone thinks I’m the family screw-up. This would just prove them right. The meeting’s Monday, and if I don’t have photographs to show the client …”
She blinked at him.
God, what was he doing? She didn’t care about his insecurities and she sure as hell shouldn’t have to care about him fucking things up already. He tried to smile. “Don’t worry about it, though. It’s my problem. I’ll figure something out.”
Kira didn’t want to feel sorry for him. This was the type of failure she’d been counting on. But now, standing in front of him, seeing how vulnerable he looked as he confessed to being afraid of screwing up? Damn, but she understood that feeling.
Kira couldn’t help but relate. She’d been a screw-up in her father’s eyes, and she knew exactly how Jason felt as he shuffled through the papers on his desk, looking for answers. There was nothing like familial disdain to make a person feel completely worthless.
He was trying. He’d worked more hours in the past two weeks than anyone else in the office. She hadn’t seen him leave for lunch today.
And so, her soft heart got the best of her. Riley had band practice and would have dinner with her grandmother, so she could stay late and help him fix it. She let go of her resentment and down in a chair opposite him.
“Who all have you contacted so far?”
He looked up, his expression confused for a second. Then his face split into a grin, the smooth scar pulling it up on that side, and her stupid, stupid heart did that annoying pitter-pat. He was handsome—she couldn’t deny that. A lock of hair had fallen across his brow and she itched to push it back in place. She snatched up a pen to keep her hands from reaching out and touching that sandy blond escapee.
“Everyone,” Jason said as he rifled around in his pile of papers.
She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. He was tired and desperate and this wasn’t the time for laughter, but his hair was sticking up and his desk was a complete mess. She put a hand on top of his to stop him.
“Here, let me go through these and put them into some kind of order, while you type up a list of all of the photographers you’ve contacted so far. Then we’ll get this all so
rted.”
He sighed in relief. “Thank you. You’re brilliant, you know?”
A hot blush stained her cheeks, embarrassing her, especially since he wouldn’t stop looking at her. A flash of him staring at her with only a towel around his waist came to mind, unbidden. That blush she’d been trying to hide deepened.
He cleared his throat. “Okay, the list. Yes. Got it. Give me a sec…”
She gathered the papers, trying not to stare at him. He might look a bit disheveled, but with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his thick forearms exposed, her took notice.
Nope, she was not going to pay attention to the forearm porn happening across the desk. She needed to concentrate on organizing the documents. Boring, mundane, utterly unsexy documents.
Once Kira had finished with her stack, Jason handed over a list of photographers that he’d scratched out on a notepad. “I’ve talked to or at least contacted all of these people. Some haven’t returned my calls, but I’m tempted to mark them off my list. I can’t wait around for someone to return my call or reply to an email.”
Kira looked over the names, most of which she knew. She’d been around long enough to have her own long list of people—from photographers to caterers—and she had a few favors that she could call in. “Let me go get my laptop. I’ve got a few contacts you don’t have on this list.” Before she left, she asked, “You want to get some take-out? This is going to take a while.”
Jason smiled. A wide, genuine smile this time, and her heart did that pitter-pat thing again. “That sounds great,” he said. “I’ll put in an order while you get your list.”
She went back to her office and shot a text to Riley, letting her know she’d be home late. While she was alone, Kira took a few seconds to give herself a stern talking-to.
Jason is off limits. Danger. Stay away.
But despite the reminder, her stomach did a flip-flop when she came back to his office and saw him loosen his tie.
It was going to be a long night.
She made her calls, and was able to find someone who was willing to fill in at the last minute. But even after dinner, she stayed, helping him tie up some other loose ends.
Just as she started cleaning up from their working dinner, Jason’s email notification chimed. He frowned at his laptop monitor.
“What is it?” she asked
“This can’t be right,” he mumbled under his breath. “Can you come look at this?”
She came around the desk and stood behind him. he moved his chair so she could lean over. It was a casual gesture, but she became extremely aware of how close he was to her. She could feel the heat coming off his body; the smell of aftershave from his skin.
“What am I looking at?” she asked, her voice annoyingly breathy.
“The contract.” Jason paged through a document. “Is this normal?”
He turned his head so it was almost level with her breasts. A blush crawled up her face.
“It’s…” Kira swallowed, trying to focus on the document and not the feel of his thigh pressed against hers. “It’s a standard contract. The fee is a little high.”
Jason gave her a weird look. “Are you all right?”
No, because I’ve obviously lost my mind. God, just kiss me.
“I’m fine.” She tried to walk backward, but her panty-hosed feet slid on the floor protector. She had to grab his chair to keep from falling on her face, and fell forward. Now, his face was mashed against her breasts, and his arm wrapped around her waist, trying to steady her.
She sucked in a breath and gazed down at him. He was staring up at her, so much like an adoring lover. She licked her lips, and those green eyes narrowed.
“Kira,” he breathed.
That one word made her entire body shiver with anticipation. Her nipples puckered within her bra, begging for his lips. Her core tightened in longing.
What was it about this man that reduced her to hormones and desire?
The elevator chimed as the evening cleaning crew arrived. Kira hurried out of the circle of his chair and arms, picking up the take-out to throw it away. “I’ll be right back,” she said and hurried out to avoid talking about what had just happened.
She waited until Rhonda from housekeeping had made it to his office before she returned, not trusting herself to be alone with him.
“I think you’re ready for your meeting,” she said, gathering her things.
“Yes. Now I won’t have to tell my brother that I fucked everything up.” He leaned back in his chair. He opened his eyes, and his gaze turned serious. “Thank you for your help. You saved my ass, Kira.”
She shrugged. She didn’t want to examine why she’d wanted to help him. Snagging her shoes, she put them on and got up. “I’m glad it worked out. I’ll see you tomorrow. I have to get home, before my daughter eats my pint of Ben and Jerry’s.”
He laughed. “Go ahead. I’ll see you in the morning.”
When she arrived home, she forced herself to stop smiling like an idiot. Riley could sense whenever anything was up—good or bad—and Kira really didn’t need her teenage daughter cornering and asking questions she didn’t know the answers to.
As expected, she found Riley on the couch, eating her ice cream, watching a reality show.
“Did you save me any?” she said over her shoulder, startling Riley. Her spoon clattered to the floor.
“Oh my God, M-m-mom!” Riley stuttered. “You scared the crap out of me!”
Kira snagged the container from her daughter’s unsuspecting hand. “You’re an ice cream thief.”
“But it was just sitting in the freezer, waiting for someone to eat it …”
“Did you do your homework?”
Riley just rolled her eyes. “Don’t I always?”
“Even your biology?”
“Yes, Mom.”
After ascertaining that her daughter had gotten everything done that she needed to do, Kira left Riley to her show, and told her to be in bed by ten o’clock and no later.
Closing herself in her room, she stripped out of her clothes and lay down on her bed, trying to get the image of Jason, looking up at her with longing, out of her mind. But it wasn’t working. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see was him. Jason smiling at her. Jason laughing. Jason and his stupid rolled-up sleeves and open collar. And why had he smelled so good?
She rolled over and punched her pillow. She hadn’t been this obsessed with a guy since Cole, and she’d been all of eighteen at the time. She was thirty-four now: too old to be infatuated with a guy just because he smiled at her. But obviously her mind and body had other ideas.
She sighed, and thought about the kiss they’d shared when they’d been at the hotel. The details were fuzzy, and that frustrated her.
Why couldn’t she remember? She believed him when he’d said they hadn’t slept together, but the kiss … Had there been any touching? Had they really done nothing but talk and hang out in a bathtub, drinking champagne?
“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered into her pillow. “It doesn’t matter, because you aren’t going to throw everything away for a guy. A guy who took the job you deserved.”
With that delusional thought, she closed her eyes, falling into a sleep that included a dream about Jason and his sexy forearms.
Chapter 6
Establish Boundaries Early
The only way to make an office romance work is to establish good boundaries. There are clear work hours and personal hours, but also take into account gray times, like lunches or breaks. Determine early on when you’re a couple and when you’re co-workers—and stick to it.
* * *
Something significant had shifted after that night. The next morning Jason asked Kira outright if she would continue to help him with the project. The humble request shredded the last of her resentment.
It was more than his acknowledgment that he needed her. Jason actually thanked her and admitted that he couldn’t have done it without her. That stupi
d heart of hers did that stupid flip-flop thing with every word of praise. She had to keep telling her heart to cut it out. They’d been over this—no pitter pats! But when he smiled, there was no refusing him.
She resumed most of her duties after that and worked in tandem with him on the PowerSport campaign.
After that, everything ran smoothly. On Friday, the photoshoot went off without a hitch, and the art department spent the weekend mocking up the proof. Come Monday, the clients loved the samples, and gave Jason the go-ahead for a full campaign. The office shifted into full creative mode. There were more photoshoots and art department meetings. Final layouts and ad copy to write.
The two of them spent several late nights working together. The early fall rains had moved in and there was a chill to the air. There was something oddly cozy about being inside the deserted office with only Jason. Something intimate.
Over the last month, they’d fallen into a routine. They’d work past closing and order in. He learned what she liked and they usually fought over the last egg roll.
She wasn’t sure exactly when things had gotten so comfortable between them. Like old friends, they sat next to each other at his desk and chatted about mundane things. The occasional brush of the hand. The casual touching. It was enough to drive her to distraction. And then there was his smell—some kind of woodsy aftershave. Cedar? Sandalwood? Whatever it was, she could close her eyes and get drunk on it.
The campaign they’d worked so hard on was ready to go live. One more late night of proofing ad copy and checking colors, and they’d be done. The fall rain was in full force as the day turned to night. The mood felt different as they sat down for another after-work dinner. There was an almost melancholy atmosphere as they huddled around Jason’s desk in the mostly dark office with the soft beat of the rain against the windows providing the soundtrack, almost like a goodbye.
Jason picked up the last egg roll and glanced over to her with a strange look in his eyes, as though he could feel the shift too.
