to develop between them.
Naomi booked their rooms: two separate rooms on the same floor in the same hotel. She felt a little strange about going out of town with him, but she knew that it would be a good trip and that if the business worked out for them, it would do a lot to help the company and his relationship with his father.
Jonathon knew the subtle changes in their relationship were a step in a positive direction, though he wasn’t sure what direction it really was.
She booked it right away, and then she was left to wonder what to pack and how it would be. She was left to prepare them for their meeting with Mr. Bryan, and she was left with time to think about what it would be like to travel anywhere with Jonathon Cross.
In the first two weeks after she started working for him, there were small office rumors that centered on what the relationship was between the two of them, but as each day passed, everyone around them saw that it was entirely professional and completely platonic, and no one would ever have supposed otherwise.
That was a great comfort to her, though the more time she spent working with him, the more things between them felt like they were blurred. The definitive lines between work and friendship, between closeness, trust, and business, and something undefined, something deep and strong that was like a current moving so far in the depths of them that it was almost undetectable.
She didn’t spend much time thinking about what any of it was, or what it might have meant, but she did know that things were changing between them slowly, quietly, and in good ways.
The trip began simply. He sent a car to pick her up at her apartment and he met her at the airport. They were seated beside each other in first class, and they were amiable as the plane took off. It felt less constricting being around each other out of the office. It felt like the rules had changed as they climbed higher in the sky and somehow many of the unspoken boundaries and behaviors between them began to relax a bit. It felt more personal to them both, and less like business; less like four walls and a rule book.
They checked into their hotel and he called her to make sure that she had everything in her room that she might have needed. She told him she did and when she hung up the phone, she smiled at his thoughtfulness, and at his protectiveness of her.
The two of them met for dinner and when she walked into the restaurant in the hotel where he had reserved a table, he was left speechless by the dark red stretched satin dress she wore. It was conservative, but the material held her so closely that her form was completely evident. She wore her hair down, and the long wavy curls reached down her back almost to the lower curve of it. Jonathon watched her almost in a trance, trying not to look, trying not to stare. She came to him at the table where they were meeting Anthony Bryan and Anthony’s assistant Shane Redding.
They sat down to dinner, the four of them, and all throughout the meal, Naomi had the distinct impression that no matter who was talking, no matter who was looking, no matter what was going on, Jonathon was listening to everything she said, even if he was turned away from her, and he was looking at her out of the corner of his eye every chance he got, when he thought she wouldn’t notice it.
It felt to her like no matter where she went during the course of the evening, he was always keenly aware of where she was and he was monitoring her to make certain that she was okay. It felt comforting to her, and she nestled into the feeling, loving it all around her like a cocoon.
When they ordered wine, he remembered her favorite kind, and when they had dessert, he suggested the chocolate cake and she grinned at him and leaned over to him, close to his ear.
She whispered, “I love chocolate cake, it’s my favorite.”
He smiled at her and nodded slightly. “I know, that’s why I suggested it.”
Naomi looked at him in
Naomi booked their rooms: two separate rooms on the same floor in the same hotel. She felt a little strange about going out of town with him, but she knew that it would be a good trip and that if the business worked out for them, it would do a lot to help the company and his relationship with his father.
Jonathon knew the subtle changes in their relationship were a step in a positive direction, though he wasn’t sure what direction it really was.
She booked it right away, and then she was left to wonder what to pack and how it would be. She was left to prepare them for their meeting with Mr. Bryan, and she was left with time to think about what it would be like to travel anywhere with Jonathon Cross.
In the first two weeks after she started working for him, there were small office rumors that centered on what the relationship was between the two of them, but as each day passed, everyone around them saw that it was entirely professional and completely platonic, and no one would ever have supposed otherwise.
That was a great comfort to her, though the more time she spent working with him, the more things between them felt like they were blurred. The definitive lines between work and friendship, between closeness, trust, and business, and something undefined, something deep and strong that was like a current moving so far in the depths of them that it was almost undetectable.
She didn’t spend much time thinking about what any of it was, or what it might have meant, but she did know that things were changing between them slowly, quietly, and in good ways.
The trip began simply. He sent a car to pick her up at her apartment and he met her at the airport. They were seated beside each other in first class, and they were amiable as the plane took off. It felt less constricting being around each other out of the office. It felt like the rules had changed as they climbed higher in the sky and somehow many of the unspoken boundaries and behaviors between them began to relax a bit. It felt more personal to them both, and less like business; less like four walls and a rule book.
They checked into their hotel and he called her to make sure that she had everything in her room that she might have needed. She told him she did and when she hung up the phone, she smiled at his thoughtfulness, and at his protectiveness of her.
The two of them met for dinner and when she walked into the restaurant in the hotel where he had reserved a table, he was left speechless by the dark red stretched satin dress she wore. It was conservative, but the material held her so closely that her form was completely evident. She wore her hair down, and the long wavy curls reached down her back almost to the lower curve of it. Jonathon watched her almost in a trance, trying not to look, trying not to stare. She came to him at the table where they were meeting Anthony Bryan and Anthony’s assistant Shane Redding.
They sat down to dinner, the four of them, and all throughout the meal, Naomi had the distinct impression that no matter who was talking, no matter who was looking, no matter what was going on, Jonathon was listening to everything she said, even if he was turned away from her, and he was looking at her out of the corner of his eye every chance he got, when he thought she wouldn’t notice it.
It felt to her like no matter where she went during the course of the evening, he was always keenly aware of where she was and he was monitoring her to make certain that she was okay. It felt comforting to her, and she nestled into the feeling, loving it all around her like a cocoon.
When they ordered wine, he remembered her favorite kind, and when they had dessert, he suggested the chocolate cake and she grinned at him and leaned over to him, close to his ear.
She whispered, “I love chocolate cake, it’s my favorite.”
He smiled at her and nodded slightly. “I know, that’s why I suggested it.”
Naomi looked at him in
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