Chapter 22: I Love You, Jamie

JAMIE

I was in the office going through Mason’s schedule for the week.

Well, to put a point on it, I was in Mason’s lap.

Of course, with me spending most nights in his bed by now, it was hard to keep our feelings out of the workplace.

His hand moved up my leg, bringing the pleated skirt of my knee-length dress up along with it. Over the past few days I’d been used to him trying to cop a feel. But I liked it.

“Stop that,” I giggled, moving his wandering hand away. “We need to be professional. Someone could come in and catch us.”

He clicked his tongue. “You’re all work and no play, Jamie Harris. I figured you’d be up for a bit of office fun.”

“I think we did plenty of playing around last night, and I’m not getting naked in your office. Hands to yourself, Mr. Knight.”

Just as I said it, he pulled my legs across him.

“Can you feel what you’re doing to me in that dress? You wore it just to tease me, didn’t you?”

I looked at him. “Maybe.”

~God, he’s irresistible.~

Dark eyes, stubble, perfectly shaped lips, a jawline for days…

How can I feel this crazy about him when it hasn’t even been that long?!

His hand was on my cheek as he moved in and kissed me, firm and passionate.

His hand glided up my thigh; his fingers grazed my lace panties.

Just then an incoming call came in on his laptop in front of us.

I jumped off his lap and he chuckled. I stood by the desk, out of sight of the camera, and continued with the work I’d come in to do.

Mason sat back in his chair and answered the call.

“Mr. Knight. I hope now is a good time to talk?”

That’s Joshua’s voice!

“Of course, Joshua. I hope you have good news for me?”

“You could say as much. Mr. Blair agreed to your terms. He wants to come to London to settle the rest—sometime in the coming weeks?”

“That’s great news.” Mason looked in my direction. “You can discuss the details with Jamie, she knows my schedule.”

He turned the laptop slightly toward me.

“Jamie! Wow!” Joshua smiled out at me. “Great to see you again, didn’t know you were there.”

I beamed. “You too, you look great.”

“I got a haircut over the holidays, I’m still warming up to it. Anyway, how should we do this?”

“Okay, so, er…how about you email me your availability and I’ll get back to you?”

I looked down at my watch.

“It’s rather late now, but I could have it all approved tomorrow.”

“All right, I’m on it. Keep in touch on your end.”

“Sounds good. Talk soon. Cheers.”

I turned the laptop back over to Mason, and he continued on with Joshua.

I picked up my things and slipped out with one final smile and wave.

I liked how he looked when he was busy. It was very sexy on him.

***

I’d been emailing Joshua back and forth since the video chat earlier—not all work-related.

When we’d first got back from Seattle, I’d talked to him, but not since then.

“I almost think you’d rather be here than at home, Jamie.”

Mason stood in front of my desk, pulling on his suit jacket.

“I’m almost done—oh wow, I didn’t realize how late it was.”

Mason sat down on the edge of my desk.

“I’m leaving now. Come back with me, and I’ll cook you dinner.”

I pushed my glasses farther up my nose.

“Actually, I have plans tonight. I’m meeting Ryan at Lacey’s.”

And I was already running late too. Like I said, I’d lost track of time.

Ryan was always early. I should really be there already.

He furrowed his brows. “You’re what?”

“Don’t act so surprised. Things didn’t end well last week, and I need to apologize to him. I’ve been feeling guilty ever since.”

“You don’t need to go out with the guy to apologize. Send him a text. Call him, even.” He sighed. “I don’t want you going out with him.”

I sighed. “I know you’re jealous—”

“No!” he said abruptly. “I just had plans, and I thought you were done with him after New Year’s—”

“It’s just like I told you,” I interrupted. “I want to apologize to him. It’s just a drink. I can come by yours afterward.”

“Right, fine. I’ll see you later, then.”

He turned and walked away before I had a chance to say anything else. Frankly, it didn’t seem like he wanted to hear it.

He doesn’t want me to have a totally platonic drink with Ryan.

But we haven’t talked about things, and I don’t know if he’s seeing other women…

Just then, I saw Harry coming toward my desk.

“What’s wrong with him?” He tilted his head in Mason’s direction.

I smiled. “Er, I... don’t know, Harry. Just work stress, I think.”

“Jamie.” He looked me in the eye. “I know something is going on between you and my son.”

~Gulp.~

“I just want you to be careful. If you’re looking for a relationship, I doubt you’ll get it from him. Mason doesn’t trust. He doesn’t let people in.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, and when the pause stretched between us he sighed.

“Did he ever tell you what happened to his mother? How she died?”

It was something I had wondered about, of course, but...

“No, he, uh, never told me. I know he doesn’t like to talk about it—about her.”

“I’m not surprised. He still holds a lot of guilt.” He sighed again. “He thinks...”

My phone rang in my bag then.

“Oh, I’m sorry, that’s mine.”

I fished it out and saw that it was Ryan.

“Crap, I’m late, I’m sorry—”

Harry smiled. “No worries, sweetheart. Have a good night.”

He turned around and walked toward his office.

I dialed Ryan’s number as I got into the elevator, Harry’s words slipping from my mind.

***

I walked into Lacey’s bar and saw Ryan sitting in a booth alone, looking down at the half-drunk beer bottle in front of him.

On a Thursday, Lacey’s wasn’t quite as lively as on a Friday. But it was early still.

I sat down in the booth across from him.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, I was caught up at work—”

“With him, you mean?”

Ugh, this is a bad start.

“No, honestly, I just didn’t realize how late it was. That’s all.”

I removed my coat and set it down on the seat beside me. I could feel the tension between us.

“I got you a drink.” He moved a pint across the table toward me. “So, you wanted to talk. We should probably do that.”

I looked down at the glass, trying to form the words.

“I’m sorry... so sorry, for what happened. Seeing other people is not something we talked about, and I didn’t know if you were seeing—”

“I wasn’t,” he cut me off. “I wasn’t seeing anyone else. Just you. I figured it wasn’t something that we needed to discuss as long as things were good between us.”

“Things were good between us. I enjoyed spending time with you,” I placed my hand on the table. “Please forgive me, Ryan.”

“So how long?” He sat forward, folding his arms on the table. “How long have you been screwing your boss behind my back?”

I was a bit taken aback by his question and the manner in which he asked. He looked quietly furious.

“Since Seattle.”

“Since Seattle.” He sighed. “You slept with him the night after you turned me down? After we were in bed together and you told me no?”

Oh God, it’s only downhill from here.

“Did you turn me down because of him?”

“Ryan, I swear I—”

“I love you, Jamie,” he cut across me again. “Look, I know it hasn’t been long, and I know it sounds crazy, but I do. What we had was real. It is real.”

This was a big mistake.

Coming here and seeing him was just making things worse.

“But I won’t be used, Jamie. You’re going to have to make a choice.”

Well, I’ve already done that, I suppose.

And I don’t want to hurt him any more than I already have by saying it aloud.

“Ryan, I…” I stared down at my glass. “I don’t know what to say.”

He sighed. “I guess that’s my answer, then. You choose him.”

He stood from the table and picked up his things, then stopped and looked down at me.

“Please hear this, though. That man is going to break your heart.”