Chapter Eleven
Saylor
By the time Friday came around, I was exhausted. It had been a busy work week, and it hadn’t been lost on me that Mason had done everything in his power to avoid me since the Jameson presentation. Every single meeting we attended together he completely avoided any contact whatsoever. I wasn’t sure what I had done, but it bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
Sighing, I leaned back in my chair. What had happened since then? Olivia and Mason had both seemed pleased when I had glanced over at them after my presentation. Everything was fine until . . .
My phone buzzed on my desk. Reaching for it, I groaned when I saw Joshua’s name.
“What does he want?” I asked to myself while sliding my finger over my phone.
In a chipper voice, I answered, “This is Saylor Night.”
“Saylor, how has your week been?”
I wanted to say busy. When Olivia had confronted Jenn and Robert about breaking off and starting their own company, they denied it at first. Of course, once Mason got to them, it didn’t take them long to break down and confess they were trying to start their own company and had been using Tate and Cane resources to help them. Not to mention they were trying to convince some of our current clients to move with them. Once they were escorted out of the building, Mason simply turned to me and told me to handle all their accounts. His exact words were “Farm them out if need be.”
Um. Hello? I’m not the boss.
Forcing myself to sound happy, I replied, “It’s been good. What can I help you with, Joshua?”
He laughed. He did it all the time, and it drove me insane. I knew why he laughed. Every question I asked I was sure he turned into some perverted thought in his mind. He had flirted with me non-stop at dinner last Monday night. When Mason said he couldn’t make it, a moment of dread sped through me. That meant I was going to have to hold Mr. Hands off by myself. Not that I couldn’t handle him, I just wasn’t in the mood to handle him. I had to push his hand off my leg I don’t know how many times that night.
“What I really want to say wouldn’t be very appropriate right now.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did you receive my email with the latest boards outlining the ad?”
“I did. They look great. I responded and copied our new PR person on the email.”
“Awesome. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Cringing inside, I knew I had just opened up the door for him to say something sexual.
“I need a date for a benefit dinner tonight. Come with me.”
“Um, I don’t think that would be very appropriate.”
He sighed. “Who cares?”
“Me. I love my job and would like to keep it.”
“So you can’t accompany me to a simple, innocent dinner? Did I mention we are in the planning stages of launching a new product line of workout clothing? I’m sure Tate and Cane would love to pick up that account. Could be worth a lot of money. We could call it a business dinner as well.”
Holy. Shit. He’s bribing me.
A part of me wanted to tell him to fuck off. The other part was in panic mode. If I lost this account, it would not bode well with Mason. The good thing was, this was not the first time some asshole tried to bribe me into going out with him for an account. It happened way more than I cared to say.
“Mr. Jameson, I need you to understand I do not date clients. It’s a policy I will not bend for any reason.”
Laughing, yet again, he followed it with a long groan. “Damn, Saylor. I like you. I tell you what, just go to the dinner with me tonight, we’ll talk about the new line some, and I get a pretty woman on my arm to make tongues wag. That’s all I’m asking for. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“Less would be me not attending the dinner with you.”
“That’s true. I like your company, Saylor. That’s all.”
Chewing on my lip, I closed my eyes and thought long and hard about it. What harm would come of it? It was a benefit dinner. We would talk about the new account, and hopefully on Monday I can present it to Mason to get back on his good side. Why I had moved to the bad side, I had no clue.
“Fine. I’ll meet you there though. Text me the address and what time I need to meet you. I presume its formal attire?”
“Yes it is, and I’ll send the information along now.”
Ugh. I was going to regret this. I just knew it.
***
I stood in the full-length mirror and smiled. I had to admit, I looked good. All those hours of hitting the pavement running and yoga class three times a week paid off.
The silver off-the-shoulder gown hugged my body and my push-up bra was probably allowing for too much cleavage, but what the hell. I smiled when I saw the thigh-high slit in the front. If I had it, hell, I was gonna flaunt it.
Slipping on my over-priced silver heels, I grabbed my clutch and tossed my cell phone and keys into it.
Once downstairs, the doorman called to have a car pick me up. The event wasn’t far from where I lived, and if traffic wasn’t too bad, I would show up right on time.
My phone buzzed in my purse, and I choose to wait until I was in the car and on my way to see who it was. Reaching in, I pulled it out and saw it was from Mason.
Mason: Get those new ads for the energy bar on my desk by tomorrow morning.
I frowned then laughed. Hitting his number, I waited for him to answer. When he did, I could tell he was in a large crowd.
“This is Mason.”
“Tomorrow morning, Mason? You do realize tomorrow’s Saturday.”
“Yes.” He answered with a sharp tone in his voice.
All I could hear was muffled voices in the background. Then a female’s voice came through loud and clear.
“Mason, darling, get me a gin and tonic.”
My heart stopped, and I felt like I was having a panic attack. Okay, maybe not a panic attack, but it was hard as hell to breathe.
“One second, Annie.”
I swallowed hard. My chest rose and fell as the idea of Mason being out on a date hit me. Ugh. I hated that he made me feel this way. I didn’t want a relationship. I left Seattle to get away from the last one that went wrong. Nothing about Mason screamed he wanted anything serious. And again . . . I couldn’t forget he was my boss.
“Is there going to be a problem with that, Ms. Night?”
My mouth dropped open and formed an O as I narrowed my eyes. When he was with his date, I was Ms. Night. Any other time I was Saylor.
“Yes.”
Silence.
My angry face turned into a smile as I pictured him looking shellshocked by my response.
“Excuse me?” he asked. He must be moving away from the crowd. The car pulled up and parked. Much to my surprise, Joshua was waiting outside for me. When the driver got out and opened my door, we both smiled as our eyes met.
“I said no. It’s the weekend, and if you had needed it earlier than you originally had said, you should have told me.”
Joshua walked up and kissed me on the cheek. “You look stunning,” he said.
“Who’s that?” Mason asked.
“No one. I need to go, Mason. I’m heading into a dinner.”
“Ms. Night. I think you seem to forget who you’re talking to. I want the files tomorrow morning, so I suggest you cut your date short and get your ass working on the goddamn ad you said you could do.”
Now I was pissed. I was beginning to think taking the job at Tate and Cane had been a mistake.
“Mr. Quinn, I’m sorry, but I am unable to get you those ads tomorrow, Saturday, morning. I’d be more than happy to work on them this weekend in an attempt to deliver them to you on Sunday, but I cannot possibly guarantee they’ll be ready before Monday morning. Again, this is the weekend. And the last time I checked, I wasn’t required to work weekends.”
I could hear him breathing heavily on the other line, and I couldn’t help but smile. Joshua slid his arm around my waist and chuckled.
Turning to him, I raised an eyebrow, and he held up his other hand as if to say he would behave.
“You’re really honestly telling me no right now, Saylor?”
“Yes, Mr. Quinn. I’m not the receptionist you think you can control any time of the day or night. Yes, I’m your employee, Monday through Friday from eight AM until five PM. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m being rude.”
I hit ‘End’ and dropped my phone into my bag. It wasn’t lost on me that my hand was shaking.
Shit. Why did I push the limits with Mason? One of these days I was going to get my ass fired.
Laughing next to me, Joshua said, “Damn girl, if I hadn’t promised this was a business dinner I’d say something about my dick being hard listening to you put your boss in his place.”
Stopping, I stared at Joshua. “Seriously? You promised.”
He held up his hands again and motioned for me to start walking. Placing his hand on the small of my back, he led me into the grand ballroom. Twinkle lights hung down from the ceiling and cast shadows all around the room, creating a magical feel. Gorgeous fresh flowers were made up in giant vases and peppered throughout the room. The smell alone made me smile. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Let’s head on in and mingle. You may even see some people from Tate and Cane here.”
I froze, and Joshua turned to look at me. “What’s wrong?”
“You said there would be people from Tate and Cane?”
He nodded. “Yes. This is a huge fundraiser both Olivia and Noah’s parents were big supporters of it.”
I relaxed and grinned. Why was I worried? I could easily explain why I was with Joshua, so I wasn’t sure why I had gotten myself worked up. “So Olivia and Noah will be here?”
Placing his hand back on my back, which he really liked doing, he led me over to the bar. “Among other people.”
I swallowed hard. Shit. That’s why I had gotten myself worked up. It had sounded like Mason was at a function.
Quickly looking around, I attempted to look through the sea of people.
“What would you like to drink, Saylor?”
Needing something strong, I focused back on him and replied, “Jameson Rum and Coke.”
Joshua’s mouth turned up into a beautiful smile. It was the first time I actually saw his smile reach his eyes. And strangely enough, I found I liked it.
Returning his smile, I went to say something when all the hair on my body rose.
“Fancy seeing you here, tonight.”
The sound of the voice coming from behind me caused me to freeze. Joshua looked past my shoulder and drew his brows together before realizing what he had done. His smile returned, but it wasn’t the same brilliant smile. Reaching around me, he said, “Good seeing you, Mason Quinn. Figured I would see you among the people here tonight.”
My eyes shot over to Joshua, and I gave him a “What the hell?” look. My body shook, but I wasn’t sure if it was because Joshua had set me up, or if it was from Mason standing so close to me. Either way, they both pissed me off.
Slowly turning, I faced Mason. My breath caught. He was dressed in another tux, looking handsome as hell. My stomach dipped, and the ache between my legs showed up like the bitch she was.
“Mason,” I whispered. Unable to hardly speak because the man standing in front of me did crazy things to me. He made me angry, thrilled me, excited me, and had me longing for something I swore I wasn’t looking for.
His eyes swept over my body quickly before his brown eyes caught my hazel. “You look beautiful, Ms. Night.”
Before I could respond, a beautiful blonde walked up and wrapped her arm around Mason’s.
The pain in my chest was almost too much to stand as reality hit me. I could no longer ignore it. I was falling for my boss. There was no denying the sexual tension between us from day one, but that was something I could deal with. But this . . . this feeling I was experiencing, I didn’t know how to deal with it. Not even with Ron did I experience this type of emotion. It was as if Mason drew me to him and I couldn’t fight it no matter how hard I tried.
“Mason?” the blonde asked as she looked between us.
“Annie Rogers, this is Saylor Night and Joshua Jameson. Saylor is one of my research analysts, and Joshua is a . . . client . . . of ours.”
The way he stressed client made me flinch.
“Joshua Jameson of Jameson Rum?” Annie asked.
Pulling my eyes away from Mason and his date, I glanced up at Joshua to see him wearing a huge smile. “That would be me.”
“Oh wow, I love your rum.”
Mason snapped his head to look at Annie. “Since when did you start drinking rum, Annie?”
She laughed and pushed on Mason’s chest lightly. “Hush up, Mason.”
With a chuckle, Mason shook his head and looked at Joshua. “Watch your back, Joshua, Annie here is a lawyer. She represents a number of large companies in the New York area.”
Joshua’s brows lifted as he nodded. “It was a pleasure, but if you’ll excuse us.”
Taking me by the elbow, Joshua led me away from Mason and his date and over to a large group of people. After being introduced, I stood there and attempted to listen to them all talk about nothing. Golf games, tennis matches, boat rides to finish off deals. None of it interested me. Nothing about these types of dinners interested me. Even though throughout my career I had been to my fair share, I detested them and my hate for them grew with each one I attended.
“Dance?” Joshua asked.
After scanning for Mason and Annie and not finding them, I nodded. “I’d love to.”
It didn’t take long for me to find them, though. They were on the dance floor, and the way Mason held her in his arms caused a ping of jealousy to rip through my chest and practically burst out of my body. I looked away.
“Why don’t you just tell him?”
My eyes swung up to meet Joshua’s. “I’m sorry?”
“Mason. Why don’t you tell him how you feel?”
I let out a nervous chuckle. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He lifted his head and gave me a stern look. “Saylor, please. I noticed the way you two looked at each other the first day I met you both. The way he was smiling at you when you gave the presentation made me jealous as fuck. I couldn’t tell if you were already his or not.”
Swallowing hard, I asked, “Already his?”
“Don’t be naïve. You have to notice the way he looks at you.” Joshua leaned down and put his mouth to the side of my ear. “I’d dare say he wants in your pants even more than I do.”
I pushed Joshua away from me, my face burning with embarrassment. “I think our dance is over.”
He let out a roar of laughter and pulled me back to him. “Relax, Saylor. I’m not going to try anything.”
My heart was racing, my head spinning. I finally managed to find my voice.
“Did you know Mason would be here?”
He looked past me and not in my eyes. “Yes. I overheard him telling someone he would be here. Noah Tate couldn’t make it so he had asked Mason and someone else to attend and represent Tate and Cane.”
I shook my head. “So, did you invite me on purpose? To screw with Mason because you have this crazy idea he likes me?”
When his eyes met mine, I had my answer. “There is no clothing line, is there?”
“There really is one, and I am so interested in seeing your pitch for launching it. That, I swear, is the truth.”
“But you asking me here tonight, what was your reason?”
He sighed. “When I saw the way Mason looked at you, I knew you had to mean more to him than just one of his regular fucks.”
My stomach rolled. “Regular fucks?”
Joshua winked at me. “He was never known for falling for just one girl. I went to the same college as Mason and his cousin, Sterling. I found my girlfriend with Mason one night at a party and let’s say my whole life changed that night. The girl I thought I was going to marry and settle down with had her mouth wrapped around Mason Quinn’s cock when I walked into a room looking for her.”
My hand came up over my mouth.
“I never told her I had seen them together. I just broke up with her. I knew it wasn’t Mason’s fault. She didn’t bother to tell him she was seeing someone.”
Dropping my hand, I took a step back. “You were using me as a payback?”
He shrugged. “I guess you could say that. I figured if I took something he wanted away from him, it would make me feel better for what he took from me.”
Whirling around, I headed to the exit. “Saylor, wait. Please.”
Joshua grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to a stop. “It was childish and stupid, and I’m sorry.”
“Did you seek out Tate and Cane because you knew Mason was working there?”
“No. I had heard he was back in New York, but I didn’t know where until my father had the meeting set up. Mason was cordial with me and remembered me from college, but I quickly found myself getting angry all over again about what had happened all those years ago. When I pieced it together that he liked you, well, that’s when I made my stupid plan to seduce you and flaunt it in front of him.”
Poking my finger into his chest, I said, “I don’t like being played. Just for that, I want your verbal agreement we get the new line.”
His head pulled back, and he stared at me for a good two to three minutes before he busted out laughing. Again.