Page 9 of The Arrangement
He doesn’t reply. So I pause with a hand on the doorframe and look at him over my shoulder. He’s watching me curiously, as if uncertain what to say.
“What?” I ask.
“I’m the boss around here. But when I’m with you? I question it.”
“Smart man.” I smile at him. “You have a call in ten minutes with Towlin. Don’t forget.”
I hold my breath, anticipating Jason’s grimace—my heart hurting for him. Calls with his attorney always increase his stress, and I hate adding them to his calendar.
“Thanks,” he says, sighing. “What are you working on this afternoon?”
There are a hundred things I need to do this afternoon, and I could rattle them off with ease. But if I do that, Jason will start worrying about it all. Instead, I decide to tease him and take his mind off his problems for one more moment.
“The first thing I’m going to do is thank Thomas,” I say, grinning.
“Not on my fucking clock.”
I giggle and swing the door closed.
“I mean it, Chloe,” he says, the words sneaking in before the latch shuts.
My giggle turns into laughter as I toss the card on my desk.
I will get more enjoyment out of jealous Jason this week than with try-hard Thomas this weekend. And if things were different—if I wasn’t working for Jason and actually believed in happy endings—I could get a lot more enjoyment out of Mr. Brewer.
But that’s not life. I’ve learned that the hard way. Life is the opposite of what they dangle in front of you in the movies. Sure, it has happy moments and good things, but the ending always looks more like a drama than a fairy tale.
The only happy ending I’m going to get out of Jason, or anyone else, will happen in my dreams.
Chapter 3
Jason
Iwait for the thud of Chloe’s door closing before I lean back and expel the air from my lungs.
That woman is going to be the death of me.
I massage my temples as the recurring pain I’ve been fighting rears its head again. A massage sounds fantastic, and the fact that Chloe noticed I needed one—and went ahead and scheduled it—is par for the course. It’s also one of the things I love most about her.
One of the many things.
When we met, she was a child. I vaguely remember her tromping around the house with my youngest siblings. I left home when I turned eighteen, heading to college and then the military—anything to avoid living in the same house as my father. I didn’t see Chloe again until we met at a coffee shop four years ago. I don’t like coffee but was there to get my mother a drink. Yet after seeing Chloe there? I’ve been there every day since.
For a solid year, we were coffee buddies during the week and eventually expanded it to coffee shop breakfasts on the weekends. I looked forward to her stories much more than theblack coffee I ordered so I’d have something to hold. She was playful and witty. So freaking funny. And her curves?Holy fuck.
But she’d had a boyfriend and been completely off-limits.
We became such good friends, and even though I’d wanted her then, I accepted our friendship for what it was. If buying her a coffee and listening to her rambles was the only way I could spend time with her, then I’d take it.
Twelve months after we met, she mentioned off-handedly that she needed a job. I offered her a spot at Brewer Air before I realized what was happening. She was the executive receptionist until my EA position opened. Having watched how meticulously and professionally Chloe handled the receptionist role and how she often went above and beyond her responsibilities, I knew she’d be an excellent fit as my new EA. I wasted no time moving her into my adjoining office and promoting Brandi to take her place.
I still haven’t decided whether that was my life's best or worst decision.
“Jason?” Chloe says after a short beep. “I have Mr. Towlin on the line for you.”
I heave a breath and sit up, pressing the speakerphone button. “Send the call through.”
The line beeps as the call connects.
