Chapter 49

Jay

“Ready to leave?” Mitchell interrupted Jay. Looking at his computer, he realized he was due to meet Kasey for dinner soon. His secretary had made reservations and a grin spread across his face as he realized he’d soon see her.

“Let’s get out of here,” he answered Mitchell, who seemed to be in a better mood.

The two hadn’t spoken since the meeting earlier, and Jay had wondered what else, if anything, Kasey had said to him. Whatever it was must have had some positive impact, because this was the first time all week that Mitchell had showed up for their daily recap.

It felt like the two were growing apart, but Jay was smart enough to understand that Mitchell was just upset. He cared about Passions and didn’t want to see it fail. His commitment only made the company stronger, so Jay wasn’t going to give him a hard time for fighting for the best.

Of course, that was easier said than done, especially when Kasey was involved, so he had gone a bit off the rails in their meeting. In Jay’s mind, Mitchell showing up in his office was a clear indication that he too wanted to make it through this rough time stronger than they’d been before he sold one of the three publishing houses to Renee.

The old friends walked to the elevator with their first lighthearted chat in days, as Mitchell told Jay about his son’s upcoming soccer game, and Jay inquired about golf plans. Things were getting back to normal, and Jay was more than grateful.

“Let me know if you want to get a couple of rounds in this weekend,” Mitchell called out to Jay as they split from the elevator.

“Will do!” Jay answered back, although he knew there would be no exchange between the two of them this weekend.

His decision had nothing to do with not wanting to see Mitchell. Jay’s only mission over the weekend was to spend time with Kasey, so unfortunately his best friend would be taking a backseat.

“Hey Danny! We’ve got a dinner date!” Jay was far from the grumpy boss Danny had recently become used to. The young man was beaming as he welcomed his boss into the Mercedes before racing around to the driver’s seat.

“Everything good?” Danny asked, testing the waters.

“Great! We’ve got about seven minutes to the restaurant. Fill me in on what I’ve missed,” Jay smirked, knowing Danny was dying to tell him all about his life.

By the time they arrived at the restaurant, Jay knew all about Danny’s tough college courses, his ongoing dispute with his parents about moving off campus, and the love triangle he had found himself in the middle of.

“We’ll pick this up tomorrow,” Jay assured him, shaking his head at the troubles of a college kid.

Kasey was waiting for him at the bar when he walked into the restaurant, and seeing her took his breath away. She’d changed into a spaghetti strapped maroon dress, which accentuated the highlights in her long hair. Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and that made him eager to get through dinner so he could get her out of the dress that hugged her perfectly.

“You look amazing,” he whispered in her ear as he hugged her. She inhaled sharply at either his words or their proximity. He couldn’t be sure which one, but he liked having that effect on her.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Mr. Canton,” she teased, calling him by his last name like she did when they first met.

“Let’s eat.”

They were seated at a table in the back of the restaurant that gave them more privacy than the average diner. Jay didn’t want to say anything, for fear of sounding pretentious, but he was one of three initial investors who had opened the restaurant, now hailed as the finest dining in Saint Paul.

“I’m starving. I didn’t want to pig out at my lunch, so I only had a slider,” she took a deep breath while she looked at the menu.

“Where’d you go?” Jay asked.

“Do you know that new burger place downtown? Uh, Minestros,” she asked, peeking over the menu.

“Yeah. How was it?” Jay fought back a smile. He was a part owner of that restaurant as well.

“Oh, Jacob Leary is a thriller novelist, and he’s very accomplished. He wants to be a major star, so naturally I’ve never been the best fit for him. He needs all the bells and whistles of a major firm like Passions. I’m hoping I can bring him onboard for the new program,” she smiled sweetly.

“I see,” Jay nodded. He was only asking about the restaurant and how she enjoyed lunch, but Kasey was so passionate about her work he didn’t want to interrupt her.

“He had an interview with Renee later,” she began, and Jay felt his stomach tense at the name of his arch nemesis. “You know, with the acquisition, she’s offering more as a signing bonus,” Kasey rolled her eyes.

“Sweetheart,” Jay reached across the table, covering Kasey’s free hand with his. “I don’t want to talk about business. I just want to spend time with you.”

She blushed before smiling slowly. “Well, I went to the salon in preparation for this dinner.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. Jay had noticed it was shinier than normal, but his main thought was how he wanted to pull on it later in the evening.

“I never know where you’re going to take me, and I always think I’ll be underdressed,” she looked down, and although it was sweet, Jay didn’t like the thought of her being insecure about anything.

“I’d never take you somewhere you weren’t dressed for, Kasey,” he answered seriously, and she nodded with the sweetest smile of gratitude.

“What were you like in college?” Kasey asked, catching Jay off guard.

“In college? Hmm. I guess I would say I kept to myself. I thought the point was to get a job and get rich, but since the jobs required the degree, I wanted to short circuit the system.”

“You were competitive,” she remarked.

“Always.”

“Did you ever play any sports?”

“When I was growing up I played everything. Soccer, basketball, football, swimming, you name it.”

He smiled thinking of himself back in his athletic days, realizing no one ever asked him about his upbringing. Most people assumed he was born rich, but even more regularly than that, he put up a wall that prevented anyone from asking such a personal question.

“What about you? What was little Kasey like?” he asked, imagining her as a petite teen.

“A rebel,” she answered bluntly.

“No way,” Jay scoffed. Of all the answers that ran through his mind, he never considered Kasey would have had a rebellious stage.

“My mom says I was revolting against never getting a little sister, but I don’t know. I was just combative and feisty for no reason. Everything was an argument with me. I don’t know how my parents put up with me.”

They laughed together sharing intimate stories of their childhood over a three course meal. By the time dinner was over, they were both a little tipsy from the bottle of wine they shared, so Jay insisted they take his car home.

Danny, understanding his role, was silent on the drive despite her attempts to include him in the conversation. Jay realized she wasn’t used to having help. Most people thought private drivers were like personal cab drivers, but they weren’t. The idea was for the two of them to enjoy their ride as if Danny wasn’t there.

Jay was embarrassed to admit just how much some women chose to forget Danny was there, but with Kasey everything was different. She treated the janitor and the CEO the same, and he appreciated her humility.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Danny,” Jay grumbled, before rushing out of the car, anxious to get Kasey into his home. He hadn’t spent a night with her in his bed since before he ruined everything between them.

Kasey waited patiently beside him as Jay input a code, looking over to see her looking away to give him privacy. “Oh-five-one-nine-five-oh.”

“What?” she answered, with a confused look on her face.

“That’s the code.”

Her eyes lit up at the realization. It was the first time Jay had ever given anyone besides staff access to his home, but it felt right. After deciding to build a new company based on her vision, and then learning so much about her at dinner, he wanted Kasey to feel welcome in his home.

“Jay, you don’t have to do that,” Kasey blushed, as she walked into the foyer.

Watching her hips sway, Jay crept behind her before slowly sliding her thin strap down her arm. She froze, her body reacting to every touch.

“Can I take this off?” he asked, and then placed a soft kiss on her shoulder.

“Yes,” she breathed.

Jay removed the second strap, gently tugging at the fabric until it pooled at her feet, leaving her in nothing but a black thong. He smiled at her naked body walking in circles around her like a wild animal. He’d waited all day to have his way with her, and from the look in Kasey’s eyes, he knew she was hungry for him as well.