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"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 orking"
"Thank you, it’s great"
"We’ve a lot to finish thisaround 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 es 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 frone Met a bottle of that cologne, pour it on ht She tried hard to continue working without Jason beco 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 cohed Claire
Jason threw his head back and laughed as well "I thought I would see how far you illing 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 ht’s insults with possibly a ter 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 knohere her employment stood with Danvers but was afraid to broach the subject and ruin the goodthat 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 ill 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 ht This will probably run a fewthis 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’rehis briefcase, Jason replied, "As you knoe’ve a couple of important deals in the works that will require et Mericom wrapped up, I’m afraid weekend ill be required for the foreseeable future"
"Wh… What do you mean?" sta on Saturday and possibly Sunday for the next few h Mericoht now, I also must turn my attention to the other projects we already have in the works To do this, I’ 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 co how to postpone the 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 soer, it would be wrapped up today and finding reasons to make Claire work on the weekends would have been a little h he didn’t like delays, he couldn’t say he was sorry for how things had worked out The o forward, of that he was certain, but the delay this time was a bonus for him He tried not to ponder what hishis 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 froe 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 hiame 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 hor a boner all weekend long’ With a gri that she’d been in since his announcement of the weekend work requirement
~~~
Claire looked up as Jason rose fro his suitcase She wondered how to broach the subject of the weekend work again without angering hi her job You have until next weekend to work soo 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 naly "I told Harold that I would be downstairs soon He and the other guys are in the rooht now you should be in the clear if you’d rather leave and avoid saying goodbyes"
Overcoratitude, Claire said a heartfelt, "Thank you, I really appreciate it," and quietly left the rooh she felt sure that Harold and Liz didn’t knohat had happened last night, she was still grateful to avoid seeing the 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 e her ite down the drive