I’m hoping it’s the case. Until I hear it from his mouth, I’m only guessing, but I think I know Jase well enough.
“I think we should both head back to the office,” I say, knowing that Vanessa is somehow still worried about her job. Still worried about her Dad finding out about us more than anything.
That’s why she’s really upset.
I know that I’ll need to have more at my fingertips than just my phone if we’re gonna get to the bottom of all this.
“Doesn’t this bother you?” Vanessa pleads, still not joining the same dots I have.
I shake my head. “It bugs me that it upsets you,” I tell her honestly. “But it’ll all work out, you’ll see.”
And her Dad?
Well, that one might not be so easy to work out. And there’s a part of me preparing to eat a knuckle sandwich once he finds out what his only daughter’s been doing.
Working directly under her new boss and best friend’s Dad, literally.
The only thing she’s been doing by way of ‘accounting’ at Hart Construction is her climaxes, courtesy of me so far.
The thought makes me smile wider until we’re both interrupted by the sound of Vanessa’s phone chiming and vibrating loudly.
“It’s Jase,” she says excitedly, answering before I have a chance to say anything else.
Sitting right next to her, I can’t help overhearing everything. Everything I felt in my gut to be true.
See, Morgan Phelps, our big client has a daughter. The same daughter who picked up Jase from the airport before meeting with him. The same daughter I had a hunch my Jase might’ve just fallen for in much the same way that Vanessa and I finally found each other.
There’s no other reason for him to spin such a see-through story as breaking down and not using any of his sharp mental skills to find other ways and means to get the job done.
And judging from what I can hear from Jase’s end of the call and how Vanessa reacts, I think we’ve solved our little mystery.
“You did what?” Vanessa asks, sounding shocked. But what’s really baked her noodle is that Jase didn’t tell her anything earlier. Like a best friend should. Like, I think he already knows he should have.
He should have told Vanessa way before he even thought of telling me. Vanessa’s tremendously annoyed with her Jase, and she surprises me when she puts him on speaker.
Asking him to repeat what he’s just told her without letting him know I’m right here.
“…I’m sorry, Nessie,” he drones. “…Okay? How many times do I have to say sorry? I got picked up by our client’s daughter. One thing led to another. And the next thing I know, Bam! I’m not a virgin anymore.”
Sounds familiar.
“…The next thing she wants us to take off, spend a few days doing what she likes me best, " he adds before he senses something’s different.
“Why’d you put me on speaker?” he asks, and Vanessa turns to me, giving me a ‘your turn’ look.
“Jase. It’s your Dad. Uh… I think we need a video call once I’m back in the office. One hour?” I ask, glancing at Vanessa to make sure that gives her enough time to be ready too.
“Dad?” Jase gulps. “I didn’t know you were…. Is Vanessa with you?” he asks suddenly, sounding more confused than anything else.
“One hour, Jase,” is all I add, then I hit end on Vanessa’s cell.
“He found someone,” she murmurs, shaking her head, still wounded because he didn’t tell her sooner.
“He did call you,” I remind her. “Just not straight after the fact. And you never told him about us either,” I add, which takes the sting out of her thoughts about it all.
“I never knew he was a virgin either,” she says, raising both brows.
I clear my throat and shift uneasily in the bed, and I counter that lots of people are.
“It’s not something everyone needs to know, is it?” I ask her.
“I guess you’re right. But what are you gonna do about this contract with your client? Sounds like a disaster,” she reminds me.
Because it is, on the one hand.
On the other hand? Jase has unlocked a part of himself, and it might just be that he’s found the one.
Either way, I know what Vanessa means. I’ll have to go into some sort of damage control with Phelps.
“I just don’t want it to take too long,” I say aloud.
“Too long?” Vanessa asks, shivering as my hand disappears under the covers. Reminding her that no matter what happens, I’ve got what I came for.
She’s mine now, and that’s all that matters.
“Maybe I should’ve said video call in two hours,” I growl, sensing just how much Vanessa’s up to working from home again today.
“Or three,” she gasps as I disappear under the sheets, taking both our minds off work, and stress, and focusing on what really matters.