A Series of Misunderstandings.
Chapter 1
Oscar Goldman was one of the most powerful men in Washington. He had appeared before Congress, spoken at the United Nations, addressed presidents and kings without so much as batting an eye. Yet here he was, in his own office, nervously glancing at his watch, anxiously awaiting her arrival. The Secretary was throwing a party next month at his family's summer home in Newport. To say that the Secretary had come from money was an understatement. His family practically had it growing on their trees. The party was expected to last for the weekend, with many guests staying at the family compound. It was the social event of the season in Newport, and Oscar had been invited -many of the top agents had been – Jaime included. The Secretary was a big fan of hers ever since her mission two years ago, when she had saved him from what could have been an extremely embarrassing diplomatic incident.
Oscar had never been more proud of Jaime during that mission. She had only been with the O.S.I. for two years at the time, but she displayed such keen intuition, intelligence and courage he knew then she would attract the attention of the politicos in Washington. She was the perfect agent – strong, smart and beautiful. Oh, how beautiful. Oscar had been smitten with her since the day he first met her. He had dated plenty of women, but he had never met anyone like her.
She was so young and vibrant, she made him feel twenty years younger when he was with her. His heart would skip a beat whenever he called her, his pulse would soar whenever he saw her, his body would ache with desire when he held her in his arms to greet her when she walked into his office. Desire for something… more… between them. For four years, he had resisted that desire with all his strength. He knew that Jaime cared for him – deeply. But he was her boss, and twenty years older. In his mind, this made it impossible for them to be together. However, changes were afoot within the internal workings of the O.S.I. that would change all that.
Oscar was preparing Russ to take over the assignments of the agents on the West Coast. He was moving out there to be near his wife's family, so it made sense for him to handle that region. He needed the increase in authority, as Oscar was grooming him to one day be his replacement. Besides, now he would no longer be Jaime's boss, at least not directly, and that would remove one obstacle to them being together.
The fact that he was twenty years older could not be changed, but Oscar had begun to dare to hope that maybe it wouldn't matter to her. Maybe she would be willing to give an old horse a try. He was going to ask her to go with him to the Secretary's party. Oscar was not one to give into his feelings lightly. He struggled with this decision since he had received the invitation. He had always kept a pretty tight lid on his emotions, and it was eating him up inside. When he looked back at his life, he felt there was nothing to show for it, except a wall of accolades from a grateful, but impersonal government. He wanted more from life. He wanted to share himself with someone, to care for someone and that someone was Jaime. He looked at his watch again and wiped his brow. She would be here in a few minutes. He bit his lip nervously. It had been 35 years since he first asked a girl out, and he wasn't any less nervous today.
Oscar nearly jumped out of his skin at the knock on the door. "Anybody home?"
It was Jaime, and she looked great. She had flown in to see Rudy for some fine tuning of her bionics - they had been shaken up a bit on a recent mission. Nothing serious, but enough that Rudy wanted to see her. She didn't put up much of a fight, as it gave her a chance to visit with Oscar. Jaime had been thinking about him a lot since her last mission. He was supposed to have flown out two weeks ago to see her, but was tied up in diplomatic work with the Secretary and was unavoidably detained. When he called her to tell her he wasn't coming, she could feel her heart sink with disappointment. She realized she had fallen madly in love with him. Ever since he met her that day four years ago on the tennis court, she had felt a spark between them -she had just been given a clean bill of health by Rudy, and Oscar was asking her about her plans for the future. When he went to embrace her, she resisted the urge even then to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him. Not a friendly peck on the lips or cheek, but a lover's kiss – deep and passionate. He always seemed happy to see her, but that was it – he kept his emotions in check. It was hard for her to read him, which she found maddeningly frustrating. She was good with people, and could usually discover what made them tick. But not Oscar. Maybe that was part of what fascinated her about him. That and the fact that he was one of the most loyal, honest, caring men she had ever known. She loved the way he looked at her – his dark eyes gazing at her with such a sweet, soft expression, it made her heart melt to think of it. He had such a strong, sensual charisma about him, something inside her stirred whenever she was in his presence - she could feel a tingle exciting her body whenever he touched her. These thoughts were on her mind as she strode across the room.
"Babe! It's good to see you!" Oscar had been pacing back and forth by his window waiting for her. He bounded across the room, sweeping her into his arms a little more quickly than he ever had before, but he didn't care. For once, he wasn't thinking with his head, he was thinking with his heart. His lips brushed her cheek and ear as he gently pulled her against him.
Jaime laughed. "It's good to see you too. What's all the excitement about?" Oscar did seem to be in a good mood – almost – frisky? He was still holding her in his arms, his grip on her loosening slightly, but still maintaining contact with her.
He took a deep breath, and tried to sound casual. "Did you get the invitation to the Secretary's party next month?"
Jaime tried to think."Yeah, I think I did – it's in Newport – right? Some big swanky deal I'm sure – you know the Secretary." She rolled her eyes slightly at the mention of him.
Actually, he knew the Secretary better than she thought. His grandparents used to live in Newport, and he had visited there as a child. His family still had friends there. "Oh, I know... Anyway, I was wondering… I mean, if you're going… I was wondering if you would want to go… to go with me – I mean we could go together." Smooth, Oscar, real smooth. He wanted to knock himself in the forehead. Could he have sounded more awkward? It didn't help matters that Jaime was obviously suppressing a giggle.
Jaime tried not to laugh. He was so cute. She was immensely flattered that he was so anxious about asking her. Suddenly it dawned on her that maybe he was anxious because she meant more to him than just a friend. Then she suddenly remembered. She had promised her friend Laura that she would watch her son Tony that weekend while she and her husband had a much needed vacation. Damn! Of all the luck. "I'm sorry Oscar, I can't. I'm spending the weekend with Tony." She neglected to mention that Tony was an adorable, blonde, two year old boy.
Oscar felt sick to his stomach. Tony? Who the hell is Tony? I don't even know what's on my calendar for tomorrow and she knows what she's doing six weeks from now? This Tony must be something special. Oscar could feel the heat radiating to his cheeks, turning them bright red. He hadn't been this nervous asking a girl out since 1947 when he asked Mary Jean Jones to the prom. At least she had said yes. "Oh…no problem. I just thought… it would be nice to have someone to drive with," he stammered. He quickly changed the subject and chatted with Jaime about her school year and the improvements Jim and Helen had made on the ranch. They spoke for almost half and hour, but Oscar didn't hear a word. He was off in a world of his own, watching himself ask Jaime out and hearing her turn him down flat.
As he finally returned to the real world, he came up with a fictitious meeting he had to attend over at the State Department. "Well, I don't want to keep you from the good Doctor Wells. I know he's waiting for you. I've got to run babe. I'll see you later." He kissed her briskly on the cheek and left.
