The Blue Dress
Chapter Twenty Nine: Is This It?

Mr. Wilson thumbed through the reports in front of him and hummed, his fingers tapping an erratic rhythm on the table. He nodded a few times and ran his tongue over his teeth. Finally, after several long minutes, he picked up his head and gave an affirmative nod. "You've done a good job, Miss Roth, Jason. Your reports and investigation are exactly what we needed for this case, and you've done this company proud. We should be able to fully handle the rest of this from here on out." He offered them both a thin smile. "Good work."

"Thank you, sir."

Mr. Wilson rose to his feet and adjusted his suit jacket. "Well, I appreciate all the work you both have done for me. I know it has been an extra workload on your responsibilities, but you've handled the project admirably." He gave them both an appreciative nod. "Should something like this happen again, I will make sure that I choose you for the team. Have a good day, Miss Roth." He looked over at Jason. "We'll have our weekly meeting on Friday as per usual."

"Yes, sir."

With that, he left the small conference room, leaving Jason and Raven staring at each other in silence. She shifted a bit and then began picking up the last few files and piling them neatly on the edge of the table. Jason watched her move, letting his eyes drift over that little, blue wiggle dress, the one that hugged her curves like a second skin and had those stupid fucking buttons. He felt a snarl threaten to escape, and clenched his fists at his side. That dress… that dress that started all of this, of course she had to be wearing it on their last day as a team. It seemed fitting anyway.

So, this was it? This was how their tryst ended? In thick silence? Jason had always thought that if this had ever ended, it would have ended in a blaze of fire and curses, not like this. Not silence and awkward stares, neither one of them knowing how to proceed. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to feel like everything was okay, but they were both teetering precariously on the edge. On one side there was a known sense of himself and distance from anything that might threaten his perfectly laid out life. On the other side, there was blazing hellfire, and a woman so interesting he couldn't stop thinking about her, even in his dreams. Jason was damned sure he which way he wanted to fall.

Taking a slow, deep breath, he tried to keep his head together as he looked down at her. "Well… it's over."

Raven looked up at him, her smirk playing over her lips. "Yes. I guess it is."

"So… now what?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels. "I mean, the case is over. The reports are done."

"We aren't ever going to work together again."

He blinked and reeled back from that statement, listening to the low notes in her voice. There was an edge of coldness to her words, but it was more than that. That frigid air seemed to be hiding the sadness and remorse at the thought that they might not be working with each other every again. That thought sat strangely with him, and Jason found himself shifting his weight from foot to foot as he tried to think of something to say.

He licked his lips and moved closer to her, resting a hand over her own. "Come up and have a drink with me, Raven. A celebratory drink. Once it's over and you never have to see me ever again and we can both go on with our lives as if nothing happened."

He realized what he said as soon as the words left his mouth, and he stared down into Raven's confused expression. Swallowing, he desperately tried to think of something to cover up his faux pas, but nothing seemed to come to his mind. Instead he just stood there and tried to smile, feeling way too much like a complete, raging idiot. He didn't want to forget anything that happened, and based on how easily Raven fit herself into his life, he had to guess that she didn't want this to end either - not that she would ever admit it.

Raven pulled her hand from his and looked up into his face, raising an eyebrow. "Do you honestly think I never want to see you again? Honestly?"

His lips twitched and Jason felt his expression melt back into his stoic one as he tried to gauge her expression. Her eyes were wide, her cheeks a little pink, and she was rolling her tongue in her mouth, and yet he still couldn't find the strength to just tell her that he wanted her. Tell her that he knew she wanted him. This project might have been over, but they weren't, and he would do everything in his power to make her realize that.

He shifted his weight and watched as she gathered the rest of the files in her hand, propping them up on her hip. "Do you want to see me again, Miss Roth?"

A low chuckle escaped her throat and she tilted her head to the side for a moment and looked at him with that dark, enigmatic expression before starting for the door. "I'll think about the drink, Jason…"

With that, she was gone, leaving him practically shivering in the wake of her presence.