"I wasn't sure what you liked. I figured, get some of everything."
She shook her head. "Well, let's dig in. Did you get any chicken with cashews or General Tso's chicken?"
"I'm sure they're in here somewhere," he muttered.
Holly was surprised at how comfortable they were together eating dinner like this. She'd expected there might be some awkwardness, but there was none. She realized that those kinds of feelings usually happened with a regular date, but Jason wasn't a regular date. Their practical agreement took away any clumsy attempts to act as if you cared more than you did.
The truth was that she and Jason enjoyed each other's company. They got each other's jokes and understood work-related issues. He was asking her now about Mrs. Stone.
"How did you know she would be right for me? What's your secret at matching people up?"
"No secret really, just observation. And in this case, I thought how you reminded me of, well, me. With your work ethic, and long hours, and I thought about my situation. I have a Mrs. Stone of my own, you see. Same age, same type of personality. Lana--that's her name--keeps me on track. I'd be lost without her. Once I put that together with you, Mrs. Stone jumped to the forefront of people who might fit with you."
"I guess we'll see if you were right. She starts tomorrow. I have a good feeling about her."
"You know what's funny is that my Lana recommended her to my agency. It seems that she and Marla Stone are friends."
"That is funny. Did you want any of this sweet and sour pork?"
"No, thanks. I'm getting full."
"What are we going to do with all this?" he wondered aloud.
"How about you take part of it home and leave some here? That way we both have breakfast in the morning."
"Chinese food for breakfast?"
She laughed at his horrified look. "What, you never eat leftovers?"
"Not for breakfast!"
"Oh right, I was forgetting about the protein shake."
"It's healthy."
"Sounds awful to me." She grinned at him. "You try some moo goo gai pan for breakfast and then let me know what you think."
He laughed. "Fair enough. I guess I should go home."
"Or you could stay. I'm not telling you or asking you to stay. I'm just putting the offer out there."
"Hmm. Let's put this food away and I'll think about it."
She knew that he was probably more comfortable in his own space. She would have said she was most comfortable here by herself. Until now. There was something quite satisfying about seeing him in her space. He filled it up, like he belonged.
"I still can't believe you turned a bedroom into a closet. I didn't know it was possible to have so many clothes," he said as she wiped down the table. "Although, this robe turned out to be convenient."
"Feel free to leave something of yours here to wear, if you want."
"I'll think about it."
He sounded distracted and she looked over her shoulder to see his eyes on her body and realized she was bent over the table. "Oh," she said. "I'm clearly not getting to bed on time."
* * * *
Jason woke up and stretched--and was startled to feel someone snuggled up at his side. He shook his head with eyes closed. I'm still at Holly's. Oh boy. He felt her move against him, silky skin smooth against his body.
"Good morning," she whispered. "What time is it?"
"Early. My internal alarm clock always wakes me up at five."
"What?" She raised her head to look at him, brown eyes blinking rapidly. "Why so early?"
"To get my workout done before I go to the office."
"Ah. Well I do that too, here on my elliptical trainer, but not so damn early."
"I didn't expect to sleep here last night."
"You didn't have a choice. We wore each other out," she said and laughed softly.
"Yeah, I'm thinking I don't really need my workout this morning," he said with a grin.
"I'm for a nice hot shower followed by nice hot coffee. Should we dare sharing a shower?"
"No dares either way this morning. I think I should get back to my place. I'll shower and change there."
"Sounds like a plan. Would you mind terribly if I didn't get out of bed to see you off? I can get another hour of sleep before my alarm goes off."
He laughed and ruffled her hair with his hand. "You know, you're kind of cute when you're all sleepy like this."
Her dark brown eyes popped open wider and stared at him. "Kind of cute? Wow, talk about the morning after. Last night you said I was--"
Embarrassed he stopped her. "Yes, yes, you're gorgeous. I'm leaving."
She laughed delightedly. "Call me if anything comes up with Marla Stone."
"Will do. See you later, Holly."
She was already snuggling into the covers. "Later," she mumbled.
He gave a soft laugh and gathered up his clothes. He shut her door and headed for the guest bathroom to get dressed. As he was leaving he remembered the Chinese food and grabbed the bag she'd prepared last night out of the fridge to take with him.
In the cab home his mind was overwhelmed with images from last night. He couldn't believe how well-matched they were. He'd never had this kind of compatibility with anyone else. And he appreciated her sense of fun. Sex didn't have to be a serious business, which he recalled was how his last girlfriend had approached it.
All in all he thought this agreement of theirs was going to work perfectly. They each got what they wanted, nobody got hurt, nothing could go wrong. He sighed with contentment.
The cabbie looked at him in the rearview mirror. "Good night?"
"The best."
When he got to his office it suddenly occurred to him to send flowers to Holly--then he stopped because he wasn't sure. Wouldn't that be more like a regular relationship? Flowers were out, he decided. But he did have an urge to send her some token of his thanks for a great night. Finally he chose not to give in to the impulse. Even though they seemed to be on the same page about this arrangement, he didn't want to start anything.
Mrs. Stone arrived on time and began setting herself up in the outer office. By the time he'd thought of it, she'd already gone around and introduced herself to all the employees. She took one look at the coffee machine in his office and declared it was antiquated and that she would order him a single-serve brewer. He smiled, remembering how Holly raved about hers.
By ten in the morning he already felt comfortable with his new assistant and they were on a first-name basis. She came into his office carrying a vase filled with brightly colored gerbera daisies.
"What's this, Marla? Have you decided I need flowers in my office?"
"No, these just came for you. Here's the card."
Puzzled, he took the card and opened it, scanned it and burst out laughing. "That woman!"
Marla raised one eyebrow at him.
"Ah, a friend, playing a joke. But let's leave them in here. Brightens the place up."
Marla looked like she wanted to ask questions but held back.
Jason glanced at the card again. 'I knew you'd be wondering if you should send me flowers. These flowers have no meaning except to say thanks for a wonderful time. Sometimes a flower is just a flower. P.S. Did you have Chinese for breakfast?'
How had she known that he would have gone back and forth over the question of flowers? And he had, in fact, eaten some Chinese food for breakfast instead of his protein shake. He had to admit, it tasted much better than his normal fare.
He glanced at the flowers and chuckled. She was some woman.
* * * *
Holly spent her time in between clients daydreaming about the night before. Jason was an incredible lover. Today she felt relaxed and happy and well-satisfied with their agreement. She thought he'd enjoy her sending him the flowers. Basically, they were making this up as they went along. There were no rules, except one--no deep involvement. And one other. They'd decided last night that what went on between them stayed between the
m. Or in other words, the rule was you don't talk about the arrangement. She had let him know that her sister Anna had guessed about the day in Sully Point but that Holly had no intention of discussing anything else with Anna about the two of them.
She wondered how he was getting on with Marla Stone. She just knew that relationship was going to work. Holly heard Lana come in and turned her chair back around from looking out the window.
"Someone had a very good night," Lana said.
"Yes, someone did."
"Another hunk, Holly?"
"Well, you know, there are just so many out there." She felt like a kid hiding a secret from a parent by not mentioning Jason. It was kind of fun.
Lana sighed. "One of these days you're going to wake up, and realize that true love is out there."
"I know it's out there. I've seen it with my sister and brother in their marriages. But I'm beginning to think it's not out there for me."
Lana frowned but didn't say anything else about it. "Mr. Tremaine called and would like to meet with you and Jason Earlington for dinner."
Holly sat bolt upright in her chair. "Mr. Earlington? Tonight?"
Looking puzzled, her assistant said, "Yes, if possible. I wanted to check with you before I called Mr. Earlington's office."
"I see. All right. Of course it's all right. Tonight is fine. Terrific. Not a problem."
"Holly?"
"What?"
"Is everything okay?"
"Sure, sure. Everything is fine."
"I'll let Mr. Tremaine know then."
Lana left and Holly stared at the wall. It held a painting done by Anna, and usually inspired peace within her mind. Not today. Of course, there really wasn't a problem with going to dinner with Jason and Rob. It was just that they'd gotten so comfortable together, and Rob was way too observant, and they did want to keep things under wraps...no, it would be fine.
* * * *
Jason didn't think it was a great idea to be going out to dinner with Holly and Rob Tremaine. He couldn't pinpoint exactly why it felt like a bad idea, he just knew that it did. He thought it might be awkward or strange in some way. But he guessed Holly felt it would be okay since she'd agreed to go.
"Marla!" he yelled.
"There's a button right there on your phone that you can push to get me--no need to yell."
"Oh, yeah. Okay. Sorry." He felt relieved when she smiled at him.
"What did you need?"
"Did Mr. Tremaine's office say where we were going to dinner?"
"I believe it's the private dining room at Lavelle's."
"Private dining room. Great."
"Is anything wrong, Jason?"
"No, no. Everything is fine."
"I wanted to know if there is anyone special I should know about--a girlfriend perhaps, that you want to always have put through to you if they call."
"Yes. I mean no, no girlfriend. Not at the moment." He thought about Holly and wondered just what he would call her if not a girlfriend.
"Okay then, I'm off for the evening if there's nothing else. You need to head for the restaurant within the next twenty minutes."
"Thanks, Marla. It's great having you here. See you tomorrow."
She smiled and left his office.
In the cab on the way to the restaurant it occurred to him to wonder why Rob Tremaine needed to meet with both him and Holly. Could it be that something was already not going well with the project?
He arrived at the table just as Holly was seated. After all the greetings, with Mr. Tremaine insisting once again that Jason call him Rob, they settled down to look at the menu. They ordered and got their drinks before Rob addressed the reason for the meeting.
"I wanted to see both of you because you'll need to be working together. I simply don't have the time right now to devote to the project. Financially, yes, that end of it will be taken care of with no problem. But anything beyond money will have to rest with other members of the family. Since you two live here in the city, it seems appropriate for you, Holly, to be the family point man, or woman as it were. Jason, any time you need something from the family, get in touch with Holly. Don't get me wrong--Sam and Anna, Cody and Julia, Frank, even Mrs. Gilchrest--they all want to help. But I'm afraid there are too many people, and it would confuse matters not to have a clear cut path of communication. Holly is right here for you to use as your contact to the rest of the family."
Jason used all his powers of self-control to keep from bursting out laughing. Rob had just given them the perfect reason to see each other, legitimizing any contact they might have. Saying that Holly was 'there for you to use' was a bit much. "That sounds like a good plan, sir," he said. He grabbed his wine glass, took a gulp of wine and almost choked on it because he made the mistake of looking at Holly. She had turned an interesting shade of red and her eyes were looking just a bit wild.
Rob patted Jason on the back. "There, are you okay?"
"Yes sir, I'm fine. Went down the wrong way."
The older man turned to Holly. "I know this may be a lot to ask with your schedule but--"
She waved a hand. "No, no I don't mind."
Jason thought of last night and fought down a grin. No, she wouldn't mind at all.
"That's good of you, Holly," Rob said. "Tell me Jason, do you have any idea what you'll start with in the first phase of the project?"
Jason quickly gathered his thoughts of Holly's naked body and tucked them safely away in a corner of his mind. "Yes sir, I have some thoughts on it."
The conversation remained fully on discussion of the project plans from that point forward. A dollar figure for the first phase was put forth and Rob didn't blink an eye at the cost. Jason still wasn't clear on who had the most money in this endeavor, but that didn't matter. It was a relief to be dealing with a group who knew what they wanted and were willing to pay for it. Jason always insisted on top quality materials--especially today in the world of new materials science. Compatibility between materials became more serious when the composition of one could be affected by another. Both Rob and Holly agreed that the family wanted only the best materials used, even and especially in the case of the low cost housing. One section of that type of housing would be included in Phase One.
"What about publicity?" Jason asked.
Rob looked at him blankly. "What about it?"
"It seems to me that publicity enters into this in two ways. First, in Sully Point itself. We want the town behind the project. Second, here in the city. Given the fact that my buildings are somewhat popular at the moment, anything I'm involved in will generally be talked about. Once people here realize I'm working on a smaller project in a small town away from the city, they're going to wonder."
"Questions won't bother us," Holly said confidently. "I suggest that you turn over publicity requests to Mrs. Stone to handle in coordination with Lana in my office. If we need to put a spin on it we will."
"The biggest problem I can see is that some city-dwellers are going to want to move to Sully Point when this whole thing is finished. It will become an ideal place to live," Rob said. "Part of our goal is to bring in new business to the town, but we also don't want it inundated."
"If we need to, we can bring in Maggie Carter."
Both men looked at Holly blankly.
She smiled. "Maggie is Sam's sister and she's in publicity. She does some P.R. for his books, and has other clients as well. She moved here about a year ago, but has been so busy we hardly ever see her. Sam has mentioned the project to her, and I know she was interested in helping out if we needed her."
Rob said, "I knew Sam had sisters but I didn't realize one was living here in the city. We'll have to all get together for dinner."
The dessert had been delivered to the table and Jason finished up his piece of chocolate cake quickly. He saw Holly frown at her plate. "What is it? Is something wrong with your cake?"
"Yes, it's not my recipe. This really doesn't compare to the chocolate cake we do at the bakery. I sho
uld seriously think about bringing the bakery into the city."
Rob laughed. "Holly, I don't see how you would have the time. But I do agree that your chocolate cake is better than this."
Jason shook his head. "If it's better than this, I'm not sure I should ever have any. I'd probably become addicted in no time."
"I miss baking, but I'm so busy these days...I suppose you're right, Rob. Starting the bakery here in the city would be a major undertaking."
"Let me get this straight," Jason said. "When you opened your bakery in Sully Point, you were the baker? You didn't just operate it as a business, but you were in the kitchen?"
"Yes, of course. After my mother died, my father took over in the kitchen. I would join him and learned how to cook. I began experimenting and it turned out I had a flair for baking specifically. When I got out of college I decided to open the bakery. Even though it was crazy hard work in the beginning, I do miss it."
Jason thought about the tenacity it took to start a business like that from nothing. He found himself admiring her for more than just her body as he watched her talking to Rob. She was a complex woman.
The evening drew to a close, and they said good-bye to Rob as his car pulled up in front of the restaurant entrance. Jason said, "A car and driver. That is a man to emulate."
Holly replied, "He's a good man too, which is rare to find in the world of high finance."
They continued looking down the street and not at each other. "It was a nice evening," he said.
"I agree."
"It could be even better."
"I was just thinking that."
"Your place or mine?"
"Yours. You've already seen mine."
Jason hailed a cab, still without looking at her. He suddenly wanted her so badly that he knew he'd grab her right there on the street if he glanced at her.
"Once a week isn't going to be enough is it."
"Not nearly enough," he replied forcefully.
* * * *
Holly was not surprised to discover that Jason lived in the year-old Golden Dome building. It had another name of course, but nobody used it. It was a complex of several buildings surrounding a tall structure with a dome that glowed golden in the sun. It was a striking landmark in the city. It used some kind of new material that wasn't blindingly bright, but instead seemed to glow.
Love Captures the Heart (Sully Point, Book 3) Page 5
