Chapter 37

Jay

“Should we stop for coffee this morning?” Danny asked, looking at Jay through the rear-view mirror.

He knew he was glowing, but he didn’t care. Laura had told him he looked happy when she finished making his omelet for breakfast. Jay couldn’t deny that he was on cloud nine after his day with Kasey. After spending most of the morning in bed, the two had spent the day together, getting to know one another in more ways than one.

It was the first time he’d looked forward to hearing from a woman in his adult life. From the moment she left his house he had been anticipating the next time he would get to see her.

Strolling into the coffee shop, he’d completely forgotten why he had stopped coming in for coffee, until she was staring into his face, a frown where her usual cheer would be.

“Oh, uh,” he racked his brain for her name, thankful when the nametag reminded him. “Melissa!”

“Glad you remembered that much,” she rolled her eyes. “Why haven’t you called me yet?”

Usually Jay would continue to lead her on, if for nothing else but for the fun of it. He liked having women fawn over him, even if he never planned to fulfil their desires. But, things were different now, and the last thing he needed was a barista he almost made a mistake with to cause tension between him and Kasey.

“Melissa, I’m not going to call you. I should have never gotten your number. That was a misstep on my part. I’m sorry, but nothing is going to happen between us.”

He watched the hurt morph her narrow face as she looked away with reddening cheeks, calling to the man behind him in line for his order. She skipped over Jay, forcing the cheer in her tone as she continued her job.

“You’re a dick, you know that?” She sneered across the counter after finishing with the other customer. Looking over his shoulder, Jay realized she’d timed the insult perfectly. No one else heard Melissa, and deep down he felt like he deserved it.

Without another word, or the cappuccino he’d planned to order, Jay left the coffee shop before giving Danny strict instructions to never bring him back.

The ride to the office was short, and as he made his way to his office, he sent his assistant to retrieve his coffee, returning to his normal routine. For once, Mitchell was not already in his office waiting for him, so Jay decided to pay his business partner a visit.

“Knock, knock!” He cheerfully called out from the doorway of Mitchell’s office.

“Look who’s in bright and early. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Mitchell smiled, stacking the contracts he was looking over in a neat pile before pushing them to the far-right corner of his desk.

Jay closed the door behind him, looking around Mitchell’s office as he made his way to the tweed chair opposite his desk. It was a rare occasion that they met in this office since Jay had the more prominent meeting space. Mitchell’s view was less than stellar, and Jay made a mental note to upgrade his friend’s office, though he knew Mitchell did not care about such trivial details.

“I met with Kasey over the weekend,” Jay began, and Mitchell’s eyes lit up, before instantly dimming.

“Wait. Is this a friend talk trying to understand women, or a business talk, telling me you re-signed the best agent in Minnesota?”

“Both!” Jay flashed his million-dollar smile, and Mitchell clapped his hands together.

“That’s my man! I knew you could handle it!” Mitchell reached down into a drawer, returning with two glass tumblers and an 18-year old bottle of whiskey.

“It’s not even nine in the morning,” Jay glanced at his diamond encrusted Rolex watch.

“We’re not getting hammered, just a celebratory drink. Not only for the asset we gained as a company, but for the amazing woman you’ve found to join your life,” Mitchell walked around his desk, extending the glass of whiskey to Jay.

“I’m not getting married, Mitch,” he scoffed, pretending not to be touched by his best friend’s support.

“Listen, this might be the closest I get to a best man’s toast, I’ve got to take what I can get,” Mitchell teased him and the two clinked glasses before downing the amber liquid.

Jay enjoyed the burning sensation traveling through his chest, breathing deeply as he felt a freedom he hadn’t experienced in years. For the first time, he wasn’t most concerned with Passions Publishing, there were more pressing issues in his life. It felt good to have a life outside of work, something to look forward to.

The two men discussed their plans for the day and the week, as they did every Monday, before Jay made his way back to his office. Jessica had his cappuccino waiting for him, and he called her into his office.

“Yes, Mr. Canton,” she stood with her notebook and pen, ready to jot down his requests. Mondays were usually filled with Jay rattling off all the brilliant ideas he’d had over the weekend, leaving Jessica to figure out how to fulfil them in the most efficient manner.

“First, I want to thank you for such a great job planning my Saturday evening,” he began, and she looked up from her notepad with a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. It was rare to receive a compliment from a boss like Jay, so she was happy to let it wash over her.

“I’ve added a bonus to your pay this week as a formal reward.”

“Thank you, Mr. Canton!”

“No problem. You earned it. Now, for today,” he nodded, a cue to her to get back into work mode, a hint she took at once. Focusing as he began with her list of tasks for the day, sending a large bouquet to Kasey Wright was at the top of the list.

The day passed like a breeze, as Jay was finally back to his normal self, challenging the staff in meetings, suggesting innovative ways to solve problems, and giving feedback on the list of authors presented as possible new signees.

The staff was thrilled to have their leader back, and he felt invincible as they closed out the final meeting of the day.

“Oh, here he is right now,” Jessica said, as Jay approached his office. “I have Ms. Wright for you,” she whispered, covering the receiver with her hand.

“I’ll take it in my office,” Jay pushed the smile back as he used every ounce of restraint to walk normally into his office. After shutting the door, he settled into his desk chair, lifting the receiver in anticipation of hearing her melodic voice.

“Ms. Wright,” he spoke in his business tone.

“Hi,” she failed to match his professionalism.

“Hi, gorgeous.”

“How was your day?” she asked.

“It’s better now,” he smiled, realizing how cheesy he was with her.

“I wanted to see if you’d be available for dinner tomorrow night?” Kasey asked, and he could hear the nerves in her voice. She had no idea how tightly he was wound around her finger, and he liked that.

“I’d love to,” Jay answered after a pause.

“Okay. I’m not renting out a stadium or anything. I was just going to cook for you at my place,” she teased him for his over the top dinner.

“Sounds better than a stadium,” he said, thinking of her bed not far from the kitchen.

“So, I guess I’ll see you then,” she sung the words over the phone.

“I guess you will.”

“Bye.”

“Bye, Kasey.”

Jay placed the receiver in the holder and stretched back in his chair. He was on top of the world, and glancing out of his office window, he couldn’t think of anything else in the world that could make his day better.

Grabbing his coat from the rack in the corner of his office, Jay walked down to Mitchell’s office to recap the day before heading home.