Chapter 21

Jonathan

I hit the lights in my office and froze: There were hundreds of bright silver streamers hanging from the ceiling. Blue and white balloons covered every inch of the floor, and there was glittery confetti all over my furniture. There was even a huge banner strung across the windows that read, “Happy Birthday, Jonathan!”

“Angela!”

She rushed into the room. “Yes, Mr. Statham?”

“Who did you let into my office? I thought we thoroughly discussed the rules. No one is allowed in my office when I’m not here.”

“She wouldn’t take no for answer,” she whispered. “She was very firm...”

“Who is this she?”

“Miss Gracen...”

“Hmmm.” I held back a laugh. “Okay. Thank you for telling me.”

“You’re not going to write me up for this are you? She threatened me...”

“Have I ever written you up?”

“No...” She grinned. “Your eight o’ clock appointment just arrived. Do you want me to have maintenance pick up all the balloons first?”

“No, they can stay. Send the guys inside in five minutes.”

“Yes sir.”

I walked over to my desk and spotted a small white cake in the shape of the letter J and a silver envelope. I picked it up and sliced it open:

Dear Jonathan,

I know you said that you don’t normally do anything for your birthday, but I want to celebrate it with you anyway. I made us a nine o’ clock reservation at Sierra Mar, and I look forward to seeing you tonight.

We can do anything you want :-)

Yours,

Claire

I set the card down and smiled. Whenever I’d told the other women I dated that I didn’t celebrate my birthday, they simply said “Okay” and left it alone. There were no surprise balloons and cake, no surprise dinner dates. There weren’t even simple cards.

Then again, I’d always made sure I was out of the country to prevent that from happening.

“I’m sending them in now, Mr. Statham.” Angela’s voice bounced off my walls.

A young man in a black suit walked through my door, trying his hardest to step around all the balloons. “Good morning, Mr. Statham.”

“Good morning, Mr. Harris. Where’s Mr. Fletcher?”

“Right here, sir.” Another young man walked in right behind him. “It’s a pleasure to see you again. We’re happy you agreed to do this short follow up.”

“It’s an honor to be featured.” I shook their hands and motioned for them to take a seat.

I walked around my desk and sat down, leaning back as they pulled out their digital recorders.

“As you know, Mr. Statham,” Mr. Harris said, “we’re both writers for Tech-Next Magazine. We’re here to get a few personal quotes for our issue that will debut the same day your company goes public. We just had a few that weren’t answered the last time.”

“Ask away.”

“First question: When you started this company, what was your original vision?”

“I’m honestly not sure how to answer that. My former college professor—” I suddenly felt familiar hands unbuttoning my pants beneath the desk.

“Mr. Statham?”

“I’m sorry.” I smiled. “My former college professor didn’t make me outline a plan back then. He only wanted me to develop better computers and come up with new software ideas.”

“Are there any ideas that were scrapped in the start-up years and are going to be developed in the near future?”

I took a deep breath as my pants were tugged down, as Claire placed soft kisses along the inside of my thighs. “Um, no. Most of what I designed back then has already been developed, but there are always newer ideas that come our way. And...” I felt her kisses becoming more forceful, more passionate. “With technology advancing as fast as it has over the past five years, we’re looking forward to putting more products out for the public each year.”

He nodded and looked at his paper. “When your first computer took off, breaking the record for the fastest selling home computer, did you think you would stick to computers forever?”

“No, I—” I suppressed a groan. Claire was running her hands up and down my dick and I was clenching every muscle in my body—trying my hardest to stay focused on this interview and not pull her from under the desk. “I never wanted to stick to computers. At the time, I did that because home computers were what everyone seemed to want, but I was always looking ahead, wondering about the possibilities of the days when computers would be outdated.”

“Are you shocked at how well your company has done over the years?”

“Yes.” I sucked in a breath as Claire’s tongue teased the tip of my dick, as she swirled it around and around. “I’m very shocked...” I sighed as she started to take me deeper and deeper into her mouth.

“Do you have any words of inspiration for those who are trying to enter the software world? Any advice for those who dream of taking your spot at the top of the technology chain one day?”

God, I love this woman...

“I would tell them to work ten times harder than the hardest working person they know. And that there’s a big difference between talent and persistence: It’s nice to have both, but the latter always wins.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Statham! I think we got everything.” “Happy birthday by the way.” They both reached over my desk and shook my hand.

“No, thank you.” For cutting this interview short...

I stayed glued to my seat and handed them my business card. “If you need anything else, feel free to call me. Make sure my secretary gives both of you a sPhone blue before you leave.”

Their eyes widened and they practically screamed “Thank you” before rushing out of my office.

I buzzed Angela. “Please hold any other meetings until I say so.”

“Yes sir.”

I rolled my chair back and pulled Claire from underneath the desk. I didn’t say anything; I just laughed as she blushed bright red and smiled.

“I can’t believe you did that...” I stood up and pulled her body close to mine. “That was very... inappropriate.” I pressed my lips against hers and ran my fingers through her hair.

She let a moan escape her mouth and I pulled her even closer, kissing her like it was the last time we’d see each other.

“Cancel the rest of your day,” I whispered.

“I can’t...”

“Why not?”

“I really need the overtime...” She caught her breath. “Plus, it’s promo week. Everyone is staying at least two hours over. That’s why our dinner reservation is so late. I can try to come back up at six thirty or—”

“I don’t think so.” I picked up my phone and called Angela. “Could you get me Harry in Executive Affairs please? Thank you... Hello, Harry. How are you? I’m great, thanks for asking. I’m calling because I need you to send out a mass memo from my account. The key code signature is eight, one, zero, five, one, six. Make sure you hit seven on the after screen so I can reset the code once the email has been sent...Are you logged in and ready? Good. Type these exact words: Dear Statham Industries employees, thank you for all your hard work over the years. The company wouldn’t be where it is now without you. To show you how much I mean that, today and Monday are surprise vacation days. You will still be paid for your regular shift and you’ll be awarded an additional two hours of pay per day. Thank you for all that you do. Sincerely, Jonathan Statham.” I hung up.

I didn’t give Claire a chance to react. I pushed her against my desk and pulled her shirt over her head.

“Why would you—”

“Shhh.” I unbuttoned her pants. “I’ll do anything to spend more time with you.” I slid her pants down to the floor and smiled at the new see-through black panties she was wearing. “For my birthday?”

She nodded and I laid her across the desk, determined to kiss every inch of her.

“Mr. Statham!” Angela screamed over the intercom.

WHAT?!

“Yes, Angela?”

“Your lead trust advisor is at my desk. He’s demanding to speak with you about that email you just sent.”

I planted kisses across Claire’s stomach, stifling her moans with my hands. “Tell him I’m busy.”

“He says he’ll wait until you’re free...”

Why can’t people just be fucking normal and accept a free off day? “I’ll be out in twenty minutes.”

“Um...Am I allowed to go home sir?”

“Yes.” I laughed. “See you Tuesday, Angela.” I pulled Claire up and tossed her over my shoulder, laughing at her pitiful attempt to act like she wasn’t enjoying this.

I carried her into my adjoining suite and hit the bathroom lights. “I guess we’ll just relax until everyone leaves.” I set her down in front of the Jacuzzi and ran my hands across her legs. “You’re amazing...Do you know that?”

“So are you...” She kissed me and I turned on the water, pressing the “heated spa” setting.

I unclipped her bra and let it fall to the floor. Then I reached around her neck to unclasp her white and red flag charmed necklace, but she gasped and defensively held her hand over it.

She stepped away from me and took several deep breaths, as if she’d nearly drowned and come up for air. She leaned back against the counter and squeezed her eyes shut.

I watched as she tried to compose herself, realizing that I’d never seen her without those two flag charms. Even when she wore a more elegant necklace, those charms were always attached—like they were a part of her.

I tilted her head up and looked into her eyes. “You don’t really have a fascination with red and white flags do you?”

“No...”

I ran my fingers across the necklace and tugged at the white charm. “They mean something to you don’t they?”

She nodded.

“Are you going to tell me what that something is?”

She didn’t say anything, but I could see a hint of pain in her eyes, a small lump rising up her throat. The look on her face was something I’d never seen from her; it was a look of complete vulnerability.

“I’m sorry. I won’t try to take it off again...I promise.” I brought her head close to mine. “Is the heated spa setting good enough for you?”

She nodded and smiled, and it looked like she’d completely forgotten about my attempt to take off that necklace. She slid her panties down to the floor and I immediately picked her up and placed her into the tub.

“I’ll be right back.” I adjusted my pants and headed back to my office.

I walked over to the door and let my lead advisor inside. “Are you coming to tell me Happy Birthday, Milton? Someone already beat you to it.”

“No.” He picked up one of the balloons and popped it. “Is that why you gave every employee the day off? Because it’s your birthday?”

“Would it be a problem if I did?”

“Need I remind you that every move we make between now and—”

“The day we go public will be crucial. There’s no need to remind me. I’m aware.”

“Are you? Because halting production for two workdays doesn’t sound like something a well-informed CEO would do.”

“You think I’m well-informed? It’s not too often that I get compliments from you.”

“I think you’re delusional, and if you think that I’m going to sit around and let you drag this company down to the ground because you want to eat cake and play with balloons all day, then you are sadly mistaken.” He shook his head.

“Milton...”

“Your ass isn’t the only ass on the line, Jonathan. There’s too much work at stake and a random vacation isn’t going to get it all done. You need to send a follow up email right now and get your employees back to their desks before they—”

“Milton—” I cut him off. “Go home and enjoy the damn vacation days. You worry too much. Everyone has been stressing out over the smallest things and worrying about stuff that doesn’t even matter. We could all use a break. By the time everyone gets back from vacation on Tuesday, the workplace will be much happier and we’ll be re-focused on the IPO. Trust me.”

“Fine...” He sighed and opened my door. “Enjoy your birthday.”

“Thank you. I will.”

I shut down my computer and turned off all the lights. I locked the door that connected my office to my living suite and went back into the bathroom.

Claire was busy toying with the remote, turning up the volume on a slow instrumental song.

I quickly undressed and slid into the warm tub, reaching for her. “Come here.”

“I prefer this corner.”

I rolled my eyes and moved over to her side, wrapping my arms around her. “I almost thought my lead trust advisor was more difficult than you are. How wrong that was...”

“Whatever.” She laughed. “Guess who I ran into yesterday?”

“Who?”

“Mr. Henderson...He got another promotion. Apparently he’s going to be working at the high affairs office at our other campus across town. Do you know anything about that?”

Yes... “No, but that’s quite interesting.”

“Is it?”

“It is.”

She sighed. “Admit it. Right now.”

“Admit what?”

“That you’re ridiculously jealous—”

“You already know that.”

“And that you gave him a second promotion because you don’t want him anywhere near me.”

I rolled my eyes. “I gave him a second promotion because I looked through his file and saw that he’d actually applied for the same senior position five years in a row and had been turned down. I gave him a promotion because he has a stellar review record and deserved to be recognized. His coming on to you again was just the catalyst that made me promote him faster.”

“Are you going to promote every man that flirts with me?”

“No. I’ll fire whoever does it next.”

She looked like she was about to go into one of her “I just don’t understand you tirades” but then her face softened and she burst into laughter. 

I picked up a floating loofah and brushed it against her neck. “Is my birthday dinner tonight non-negotiable, even though I don’t want to go?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.” I sighed. “Should I assume that you used your credit card to hold the reservation?”

“Who else’s would I use?”

“You could’ve asked for mine. I trust you...And I trust that you know better than to actually pay for dinner.”

“It’s your birthday, Jonathan. That’s what happens when you—”

“You never have to pay for anything.” I kissed her shoulder. “Ever.”

––––––––

I made sure that tonight’s dinner at Sierra Mar would be placed on my card before we walked inside. The restaurant was nestled high into a barrage of cliffs that overlooked the Pacific Ocean; its panoramic windows revealed the entire shoreline of the California coast. 

The waitress led us past a full room of white clothed tables and into a private room that appeared to sit amongst the clouds.

My eyes immediately veered towards a table with two sparkling gifts, towards the woman that was sitting beside them.

Hayley?! It couldn’t be...

My sister hardly ever came to San Francisco, even when I begged her to. I always had to meet her in Memphis, or in some other city on the East Coast. She claimed she couldn’t stand “the air” on the West Coast and vowed to never come until she started to work for me.

I stopped walking and looked at Claire. My voice was a whisper. “You got Hayley to come here?”

“Is that not okay? I’m sorry if I overstep—”

“It’s more than okay...” I was utterly shocked. Not much in life surprised me.

“John!” Hayley jumped up as soon as her eyes met mine. “Happy Birthday!”

“Thank you.” I hugged her. “I thought you weren’t coming here until the fall.”

She looked over at Claire and laughed. “I wasn’t! Have a seat, have a seat. I already ordered for the two of you since you’re thirty minutes late. Traffic?”

No, sex...“Yeah...”

She shrugged. “Oh well. Claire, it’s great to finally put a face to the name. How was your—”

I zoned out. I couldn’t believe Claire had managed to get my sister to come to town. I still couldn’t believe that she’d decorated my office earlier or set up a surprise dinner. No one had ever done anything like that for me, and I was trying to determine if it was real or not. 

I heard my sister asking me questions as the dinner courses were served, but all I could do was look at Claire and smile as she threw her sexy green gaze back at me. I thought about how much she’d pushed me away in the beginning, how she still had parts of herself that were closed off—completely off limits. I was getting close to her now and she knew it, but she wasn’t pushing me away as much, she was pulling herself closer. 

“Are you going to blow out the candles or are you going to wait until your cake catches fire?” Hayley shook my shoulder. “Hello!”

“What?” I snapped out of my thoughts and noticed the three layer cupcake sitting in front of me. There was a “To Jonathan, From Claire” message signed in whipped chocolate on the side of its plate.

Smiling, I blew out the sparklers and looked over at Claire again. “I didn’t know they served cupcakes here...”

“They don’t,” she said. “But when you tell them your date is Jonathan Statham they’ll make whatever you want.”

“Is that so?”

She smiled. “Would you two please excuse me for a minute? I need to take this call.”

“Of course.” I stood up and helped her out of the chair, giving her a quick kiss before she walked away. 

“Since when do you celebrate your birthday?” Hayley crossed her arms once Claire was out of earshot. “Do I need to buy you a gift too?”

“No.” I laughed. “She made me do this. What made you come during the semester?”

“Your girlfriend is pretty damn persuasive. She made me fly in yesterday. Is she a lawyer or something?”

“No, she works with me at the company...You talk to dad lately?”

“Unfortunately...He got sent to solitary confinement again last week—contraband. It’s going to be a rough six years for him. You talk to mom?”

“New job. Eastern sea-docks. Five months post-rehab. Decent therapy sessions.”

“Noted...Maybe the thirteenth time really is the charm.”

I picked up my wine glass. “We’ll see.”

“You must really like Claire, huh?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well for one, you two can’t take your eyes off one another for more than five seconds. It’s actually quite nauseating. You also haven’t called to check on me in three weeks. Considering that you usually call me every other day...”

“I have checked on you. I texted—”

“No, Greg texted me.” She laughed. “It’s okay. It’s nice not having to report to my over-protective big brother for a change. “

“Don’t get used to it.”

“Trust me, I won’t.” She looked at her watch. “I’m gonna go now. Bring Claire to Memphis this summer okay? My Scrabble tournament is going to be the last week of August. There’s always a blues festival going on if you want to come some other time.”

“You’re leaving? Right now? You just got here!”

“Yeah...You clearly weren’t paying attention to anything I said over dinner were you?” She shook her head. “I kept asking you two questions and you just kept staring at each other and smiling. You think I want to stick around for another second of that shit?”

“I am so sorr—”

“It’s okay. Greg is outside waiting to take me to the airport because my brother is too in love to pay me any attention right now.”

I rolled my eyes and helped her out of her chair. “Have a safe flight. Thank you so much for coming.”

“I will. I love you.”

“Love you too.” I gave her a hug and watched as she left the room.

I realized Claire had been gone for quite a while and stood up. I started walking towards the restrooms, but I saw her walking my way.

“Where’s Hayley?” she asked.

“She was sick of us staring at each other apparently. Are you okay?”

“Yeah...It’s just...Ashley and Caroline are driving me crazy about their shared car again...They called me on three-way to ask about letting one of them drive my car tonight.”

“You said no?”

“Of course I said no. They need to stick together and share what they have.”

“Okay... Are you ready to go?”

“After you open your presents. Let’s do that first and then—”

“I want to open them at home.”

––––––––

I set the two presents—one sparkling red rectangular box, and one fat silver box—in front of the fireplace, waiting for Claire to sit next to me.

“Which one should I open first?” I asked.

“The silver one...”

“Okay.” I took my time un-wrapping it, unfolding every corner and gently pulling away each strip of tape. I placed each torn sheet in a neat stack and stuck all the tape pieces together.

“Why is it taking you so long?” She laughed. “Do you need help un-wrapping it? You’re acting like you’ve never received a birthday present before.”

“I haven’t.”

Her eyes widened and her face paled. “I’m sorry...I was just joking. I didn’t—”

I pulled her close. “You didn’t know. It’s okay.” I peeled the last bit of paper off and flipped over the box. I took the lid off and sucked in a breath once I saw what it was.

“I wasn’t sure what to get you since you seem to have everything already,” she said as she pulled the golden sea hooks out of the box. “Since you love yachts so much I figured I’d get you these...They say that sea hooks are—”

I knew exactly what sea hooks meant, exactly what they stood for. To someone who didn’t know yachts, they were simply huge golden metal hooks in the shape of an anchor, but I knew better. Every man who owned a yacht had a set of loose sea hooks, and whenever he was seeing someone he loved, someone he couldn’t live without, he was supposed to personalize them and weld them onto the ship’s real anchor. They were a symbol of longevity, a way of saying “I want to be with you.”

I looked over them and noticed that she’d already personalized them: Her name was etched alongside the edges in cursive and my name was etched at the bottom.

I didn’t know what to say so I simply opened the other present—much faster this time.

I laughed once I tore the last sheet of paper off. “I didn’t know they made a Harry Potter version of Monopoly...”

“They don’t...” She took the box from my hands. “I did some pretty intense work for Parker Brothers years ago and they owed me one, so I asked them to make a one of kind game just for you. I know that neither of these gifts is a new car or a–”

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers, wrapping my arms around her tightly, not wanting to let her go. I pulled her down to the carpet and ran my hands across her hips, still exploring her mouth with my tongue—saying everything with kisses that I couldn’t say with words.

“Thank you very much,” I whispered once I had to take a breath. “Everything you did today means a lot to me...”

I’d never had a birthday party, birthday gifts, anything. My real parents never gave a shit about birthdays and my foster parents only gave me one present per year—on Christmas, and it was usually a used electronic device or a book. After growing up so long without a birthday, I never saw a point in celebrating.

I slowly let her go and reached into my back pocket. “I bought something for you too.” I handed her a small jewelry box.

“This isn’t an engagement ring is it?” She paled. “I can’t accept or agree to—”

“What?” I sat up and laughed. “No. I think I know you much better than that. Open it.”

“Can it wait until tomorrow? It’s your birthday and I don’t want to—”

“Open. The. Box.”

“But—”

“Now.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “I really don’t want to...”