The Biggest Part of Me (9 page)

Jason and Jane just looked at her.

“I used to work for a union arbitrator in Detroit.”  They continued to look at her.  “How about we have a five minute break and take a breath.”  Then turning to Shelly she said, “Let’s give them a few minutes.”

As they left the room, they heard Jane say, “How could you embarrass me like that?  I’m stilled traumatized by Karen Carmichael.”

Sally and Shelly huddled near the closed door.  “Do you think we should have left them alone?” Shelly asked.

“Something tells me they have some issues to work out between them.  That is, if they don’t kill each other first.”  Walking away she added, “Let’s take that break and get some coffee.”

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”  Jason walked towards the window and looking out said, “Don’t you know you had it over Karen in spades.  Her breasts were all she had.”

“Well, in high school, that’s enough,” Jane said fighting unwanted tears.

Still looking out the window, Jason said, “You’ve proved your worth, Jane.  You’re a big time marketing executive.  You can let high school go now.”

“I haven’t even thought about high school until you showed up.”  Jane fisted her hands at her sides in rage.  “I was just fine, happy and content in my life.  Now you’ve got me second guessing my decisions.  Jason, you’ve got to trust me with CARL.”  Jason was looking blankly out the window.  “Jason?”

“Oh, sorry.  I was just thinking about a new game.  Listen to this.  How about a board game that has people going to a high school reunion and guessing what became of the classmates?  Huh?”

Irritated, Jane yelled, “I don’t know!  Maybe.  You weren’t listening to me.  Jason, you’ve got to listen,” she said as she walked towards him.

“And you’ve got to understand how important my business is to me,” Jason answered just as loud.  “I’ve got everything in CARL.  If it flops, I’m ruined.”

“It’s not going to flop.  I guarantee it.  And you’re wrong.  I do understand how important CARL is to you.  The toys have always been important.  They’ve always been the most important things in your life!”

Jason abruptly grabbed Jane’s arm.  “They weren’t always the most important thing.”  His eyes glared at her, emitting hurt and pain.  Jane couldn’t understand it.  They stood looking at each other, frozen in time.

The questioning look in Jane’s eyes was killing Jason.  He was overwhelmed with a desire to give her answers, to fill her eyes with joy, with passion, with . . . 
The hell with it
, he thought as he pulled her into his arms.  His mouth came down on hers with a vengeance.  The taste, the sweetness that was Jane’s essence returned to Jason as a storm hitting his system.  He wrapped his arms around her and plundered her mouth taking in her small gasps.

Jane was too shocked to do anything but react.  She let him take as she surrendered to his ardor.  She was swept away into the passion of the embrace.  She answered his seeking tongue with her own and plunged her fingers into the curling hair on his neck.

Jason’s hands began to roam Jane’s back massaging and caressing.  He remembered what he had put away for years—the beauty, the completeness of being with her.  All the feelings came back so strong that he couldn’t contain them.  They fought to explode inside of him.  Jason jerked back and set her away from him.

It took a few minutes for both of them to steady their breathing.  Finally, Jason said, “Whoa, where did that come from?”

Needing to lighten the moment, Jane replied, “Still got a great tongue, there, Collins.”

Walking away and sticking his hands in his pockets, Jason said, “Ditto, Kendall.”  Then seriously he looked at Jane.  “Jane, that probably was completely inappropriate.”

“Probably.”

“Maybe we needed that kiss to . . . I don’t know, clear the air between us.”

“Yes.  It was probably inevitable that we would need some kind of . . . contact, some kind of closure.”  Jane’s eyes glazed over as she thought about her whole relationship with Jason, not just the breakup but all that came before.  Then coming to herself she said, “Maybe it was a completion of sorts.”

Jason nodded and looked back out the window.  Quietly he said, “I’ve missed our friendship.”

Jane was shocked and touched.  She smiled at him and said, “So have I.”

Turning, Jason said, “Do you suppose we could be friends again?”

“Only if you go back to calling me ‘Janie.’”

Jason laughed.  He wanted to hug her to solidify their bond but the passion of their kiss was still cursing through his body.  If he touched her just yet, he might not let go and he didn’t want to ruin what they were hopefully starting.

The door to the office suddenly flew open and Sally and Shelly came running in, one carrying two mugs and the other carrying a pot of coffee.  Jason and Jane looked at them confused.

Sally said, “It got too quiet in here.  We were afraid you were throttling each other so we grabbed the coffee to divert you.”

Laughter rang out of the office.  Jason and Jane were doubled over holding their sides in glee.

Looking at Shelly, Sally said, “Did you get the joke?”

Later, as Jane was putting her work away for the day, her mind replayed the passionate embrace that she had shared with Jason.  As she placed papers into her case, her hands slowed as her body again felt the warmth and strength of Jason’s arms.  Being with him had always been magical.  It was consuming. 

She shut her eyes and shook her head.  No, it was over.  Just like they said, it was just leftover emotion from the past.  After all, she was engaged to another man.  Jane winced.  Ed had been the furthest thing from her mind when Jason had taken her in his arms.  Trying to expel the guilt, she reminded herself that it was just one kiss.  Nothing would come from it.  Nothing could come from it. 

Jane sighed. 
He wants to be friends
, she thought. 
Okay, I can do this
. 
I can forget the heartache and just concentrate on doing a good job for my “friend.”
  As she grabbed her bag, turned out the light, and closed her office door she vowed that it was possible.  After all, she’d come through worse in her past. 

CHAPTER FOUR

The first big meeting of the Patterson marketing team and the Talbot Toy Executives was scheduled for the end of the next week.  The schedule for the campaign would be discussed and ideas shared.  Shelly was working with Jane to get preliminary information for the meeting ready.  Jane was enjoying getting to know Shelly, finding her congenial and capable as an assistant.

“Shelly, do we need to make copies of these documents?” Jane asked.

“Just for you and Jason.  No one else needs them.”

“So, how did the CARL testing go last week?  I’m sorry I couldn’t get away to be there for it,” Jane said.

Shelly frowned.  She took a deep breath and said, “It was a complete disaster.  The CARL unit that Jason used went haywire.  Something about defective rotating gears.”

“Oh, no.  How did Jason react?”

“He was pretty wrecked about it.  But he went ‘back to the drawing board’ you could say, and has been working hard on it.  He really believes in this toy.  There’s nothing he can’t do.” 

“How long have you worked for Jason?”  Jane couldn’t help asking.

“I’ve been with him for three years now.  And I’ve loved every minute of it.”  Shelly beamed.

“He must be a good boss.”

“He’s the best.  He’s so generous and intelligent.  Of course, that’s in addition to being gorgeous.”  She continued to beam.

Jane felt a tension headache coming on.  “So, you . . . have a little thing for him?” she ventured to ask.

Shelly laughed.  “My husband would be pretty mad if I did.  So would our son come to think of it.”

“Oh, you have a son?  How old?”

“Brandon is six and the best thing to ever happen to me.  That is, other than his dad.”

Jane felt a wave of depression fall over her as Shelly talked about her family.  “My Nick’s a security guard at the Talbot Building.    Jason has helped us out in so many ways.  Nick had some troubles a while back but Jason didn’t hesitate to hire him.  We adore Jason.  He’s always been like a big brother to me.  But I don’t mind saying, I would be glad for him to find someone.”

“Why’s that?”  Jane looked at Shelly.

“He’s such a good man.  I hate to see him alone.”
              “But he could have any woman he wants.”  Jane was confused.

“That’s just it.”  Shelly was into the subject now.  “I’ve never known him to do anything other than date woman.  He doesn’t seem interested in relationships, superficial or serious.  Don’t get me wrong.  He loves women.  I’ve caught him necking with a few in his office over the years.”  Jane tensed.  “But that’s all.”

“Why do you think that is?”

Shelly spoke thoughtfully.  “I think he had his heart broken.  Something happened in his past, I’m sure of it.  Hey, you’ve known him a long time.  Maybe you know what happened.”

Boy did she ever!

Jane swallowed hard and sighed.  Not intending to answer Shelly’s question, she said, “Well, I’m an optimist.  I’m sure he’ll find the right girl one day.”

“I would love to see that,” Shelly said.  “Did anything happen in his childhood that would sour him on relationships?”  Unfortunately, Shelly wasn’t letting the subject go.

How do I answer this
, Jane thought.  “Jay had a wonderful childhood from what I could tell.  His family is wonderful.  His dad used to play sports with him in the backyard; his mom was the typical American homemaker.  His sisters and I were really close.  We played dolls when we were little and then when we got older we had slumber parties and talked about boys.”

“Well, Jason sure does think highly of you.”

“Yeah, right,” Jane said with a chuckle. 

“No!  He does, really.  Every time he mentions your name it’s with . . . oh let’s see, respect and I guess the word is affection.”

Jane smiled.  “We were great friends.”

“And now?” Shelly cautiously asked, not looking at Jane.  She was still having a hard time reconciling the blowup that Jane and Jason had had in their meeting.

“We’re working on our friendship.  Obviously,” she said looking at Shelly.  “We . . . lost touch a long time ago.”  Jane began working diligently at stapling papers as if her life depended on it.

“Well, if anyone could use a true friend, it’s Jason Collins.” 

Jane looked up at this.  “Why do you say that?”

Shelly sighed.  “When you’re rich and successful, everybody is your ‘friend.’  They want to hang out with you, be seen with you, and enjoy all your things.  But that doesn’t make them a true friend.  Jason needs people who see past the success to the kind, generous person that he is.”

“That’s funny.  When I first saw him again, I thought he had become a very cold, hard person.”

“No, he’s not.  He’s just . . . cautious.  Like I said, he was hurt somehow.  He doesn’t want to be hurt again.”

Jane began to feel guilty.  Was it her?  Had she hurt him?  No, it had to have been after her.  He left her.  Then she felt a wave of jealousy.  Then anger. 
Who was this woman that could destroy such a wonderful man
?  Why did she care? 
Because he’s my friend
, she told herself.  Resolved, Jane decided that she was going to be the best friend that Jason could have.  No one was going to break his heart while she was around.  The stapler fell apart in her hands.

“Wow.  I guess you showed that stapler a thing or two,” Shelly said with a chuckle.

Embarrassed, Jane excused herself to get another stapler and then returned to finish preparations for the first official CARL meeting.

The morning of the meeting was met with a snowstorm meaning freezing temperatures.  The temperature in the conference room, however, was sizzling.  The excitement was at a peak as information was shared and timetables and deadlines were laid out.  Jason had given Jane a formal handshake when entering the room.  Seeing that she was a little uncomfortable, he grinned slightly and winked at her. 

She had no way to know that the smile she returned warmed his heart.  Jason sat at one end of the monstrous table and Jane sat at the other end.  The conversation between the two companies was amicable and respectful.  It was going to be an exceptional union.

Lunchtime came before anyone realized.  The pizza shop in the lobby of the building provided food, compliments of Talbot Toys, so everyone could stay close to work.  Sally had salad fixings sent up and made a delicious vegetable salad to go along with the pizza.  Everyone raved over the salad, especially media relations executive Vincent McGrady. 

“Sally, this salad is exquisite!” He said.

“Thanks, Vincent.  I got the recipe a few years ago from the Greek restaurant in Chicago that I worked at.”

“Well, Chicago’s loss is our gain,” Jason said as he walked up.  “Thank you for the incredible salad.”

I really like this man
, Sally thought as she replied, “Your welcome.”  Then she added, “You know, Mr. Collins.  I loved your ‘J.J.’ doll that came out a few years back.  I bought them for all my nieces and then bought one for myself.”