Jane had come as soon as she heard the news. I knew when the building intercom buzzed that it would be her. She needn't bother with a text saying she was on her way, not when my bending and publishing her piece critical of Safford policy aided in my getting fired. Even more than that, not when she had spent every night since Paris in my bed whether literally or her voice from the phone lying next to me as we spoke into the early morning hours until we finally dozed off together.
"This is highly inappropriate for the moment, but you look amazing in that silk robe with the morning light on you," she said, her head tilted slightly as she continued to take in my appearance.
She didn't blush. The Jane of a few weeks prior wouldn't have been able to speak that sentence without instantly turning red.
"I think the fact that you have seen me naked should alleviate any fear you have being inappropriate," I smiled over my mug.
"I suppose being the cause of your contented sighs does grant me some license."
Now she blushed.
"That's awfully presumptuous of you, Ms. Sloan."
She chuckled. Placing her cup on the table, Jane made her way to me. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders from behind as she placed a kiss to the top of my head.
"Seeing you naked is absolute bliss," she whispered against my ear.
I felt my body react to the breathy words spoken. I also felt it relax in her arms, easily setting aside the Safford drama. It amazed me how much had changed in such a short period of time, chief among them my ability to lose myself with her.
"Don't you need to be at work?" I sighed, slowing my heartbeat with semi-controlled breathing.
"The thing is, I don't really have a boss to report to at the moment."
"Mmm…you would have had to report to someone new anyway. Change was coming one way or another," I hummed.
I worried for a moment when she released my shoulders, but quickly realized she was wanting to look at me. Sitting down in the chair beside me, she turned her body into mine and took my hands.
"I hate this for you," she sighed. "Does it make me a terrible person that I can both hate this for you and also love this for us?"
I looked into her eyes and saw the shame she clearly harbored there.
"God, don't think that. No, not at all," I said, my hands finding her cheeks and pulling her face to mine for a reassuring kiss. "Do you have any idea how happy I have been the last few days because of you?"
She shook her head, rolling her eyes.
"I'm serious, Jane," I insisted.
"Getting you fired isn't exactly conducive to happiness in my view, Jac."
"Hey, do not try to take on all the responsibility. In fact, none of it is your responsibility. As I recall, you accepted that I wouldn't be publishing your piece even if you had flown across an ocean to pitch it to me again. I also recall throwing caution to the wind and hitting 'publish' on my tablet that day in Paris. I did that. On my own. Honestly, Jane, if I had to leave Scarlet, I much rather it be like this with a decision I made knowing full well what the consequence might be. I chose my path."
She looked at me with those big hazel eyes that could engulf me with one glance and I felt her taking what I was saying to heart. By now our fingers were tangled loosely together, resting in Jane's lap. But as I watched her acknowledge what I was saying, her fingers twitched before tightening around mine.
"You chose me," she breathed.
"Yes."
My heart hammered in my chest with the look she was giving me. We had been over the fact that I didn't publish her article because of what was going on between us personally. It wasn't any sort of quid pro quo. But it had been bigger than what I thought was good for the magazine and for eventual Safford policy. I could only hope it wasn't a cloudy concept for her. I am not sure I could clarify it with words if needed.
"Stand up."
Jane was never so assertive. I did exactly as I was told.
"I want to see what is under that robe."
"You do, hmm?" I managed to say with whatever breath hadn't left my chest.
"Don't be coy, Carlyle. Drop it," she said, looking up at me with increasingly dark eyes.
Once again I did as I was told, slowly undoing the sash and slowly dropping the satin robe over my shoulders and downward until it hit the dining room floor. While it wasn't as if I was naked underneath, pink blossomed on her neck as she appreciated the now obvious fact that I was not wearing a bra under the rest of my clothing. I wasn't hiding anything.
Her hands reached for my hips and pulled me closer. For a brief moment, given the proximity of her face to my chest, I thought she was about to put her mouth on me. She abruptly stood.
"I don't think my boss will mind if I don't return to the office," she spoke the words and I saw her mouth moving, but her eyes were doing the only talking I could hear.
My hands grabbed her hips and pushed her backward, Jane gasping as she connected with the table and was pinned there.
"Mmm… there are benefits to no longer being your boss," I hummed, my lips a fraction of an inch from hers.
"Many, many benefits," she breathed.
She definitely wasn't going back to the office.
###
"Andrew, get me Jane," I said from my desk.
My desk.
What a difference a week makes.
"Jacqueline?" her voice asked from the doorway.
"Come in and close the door."
"It's going to be one of those meetings, hmm?" she cracked.
I looked up and couldn't hide my astonishment. She was dressed in a very short romper that was reminding me of what having her legs wrapped around me had felt like in bed only the night before.
"Oh, god," I groaned. "You aren't going to make this easy on me, are you?"
She smirked and took a seat. Seductively she crossed her legs knowing full well it made the romper ride up the side of her thigh.
"Jane…"
I gave her a look that told her what I was needing from her. She uncrossed her legs, tugged her romper down and ceased playing.
"That's better," I nodded. "Now that Patrick will be running digital and you will be writing for him, I suspect these meetings where you and I are expected to be nothing but professional will decrease. However, I am counting on you to keep me in check. I am human. I am…"
I paused as the words I wasn't ready to say—we weren't ready for me to say—nearly spilled out. I am what? Hopeless when it comes to this young woman? Yes. I am terribly biased and have been from the first day Jane arrived at Scarlet. I am easily distracted by her beauty, her charm, her talent. What else? Oh, yes, the big one. I am wildly attracted to her and falling deeply in love. These things had no place in a professional office. They would have to be said. Eventually.
"A brilliantly gifted editor who has the ability to compartmentalize—personal and professional, want and need. Regardless of who I am writing for, you remain those things, Jac."
I smiled at her with an appreciation only she would understand. She knew my fear of fucking this up. Even more than that, she promised to help me do everything possible to nurture what was developing between us and not let the noise of Safford get in the way.
"Did you need something?" Jane helped us back on course.
"Actually, I called you in to thank you. I am certain the orchestration of nearly three dozen resignations in a single day took considerable work. I am sure you had to talk a few people into making that leap, knowing it could backfire and put you each out of a job."
She shook her head and her silky curtain of hair followed.
"While I did submit my resignation, I didn't have anything to do with the many who followed. You have Kat to thank for that," she glanced out into the bullpen and caught Kat's eye. "We all know you are what is best for Scarlet and none of us would be able to do the job we do here without you. Our little protest was really nothing. Not for us. I am only glad it had the intended effect."
I looked at her and then out at Kat whom I nodded at and received a wide smile in return.
"Without meaning to skip over the whole compartmentalization thing…" I winked at Jane. "What would you think about getting our friends together for dinner or drinks at the loft?"
Jane seemed quite surprised. While we had discussed the fact that her friends knew, we hadn't talked about how we might interact with them outside of Scarlet. With the exception of the lobby of the hotel in Paris and the return home, our interactions together with the outside world had been minimal.
"You mean Kat and Sutton?" she sought clarification.
"And Richard. Adena?" I paused realizing I had no idea what happened when Kat flew home with us from Paris. "Are she and Kat…?"
"She stayed in France. I don't think Kat even knows what they are to one another now," she paused. "Adena's ex is in Paris."
I sighed. Exes made for all kinds of complications.
"Speaking of exes…" she said with trepidation. "Are you worried about Ian finding out about us?"
I looked out and saw Oliver watching us. Talking to Jane came so naturally and I was having trouble remembering that I had returned to Scarlet and none of this conversation was appropriate for the office. Jane read my mind.
"We can talk about this later and yes, let's plan drinks."
Jane was one of mercy and understanding. She stood from her chair and I felt the same pull she was clearly attempting to tamp down. We had been free to touch one another before I returned. Now things were different. It wasn't a kind of different we couldn't overcome. I raised an eyebrow at her, attempting to determine what she was thinking as she started for my door. She laughed and shook her head. Something about the way she looked at me forced me to jump.
"Jane?" she stopped, looking at me with curiosity. "I already told Ian."
If I hadn't known better, she was glued to the floor. She did not move. Her eyes were wide, but not in terror. Her eyes were wide and then they softened. I knew this look. When I surprised her with something that she was appreciative of or touched by, her eyes were incredibly expressive.
"I…" she searched for words. "I have so many questions, but I will save them. I just…"
Before I knew it her feet had dislodged from the spot and she was moving toward me. God only knows what the expression on my own face must have been. Hopefully it wasn't one of fear. My heart was racing as I stood up with my brow furrowed. Her arms were around me before I could admonish or redirect her. Honestly? I didn't care. I didn't care who was watching. I didn't care what they thought. All that mattered to me was this amazing young woman.
She pressed her cheek to mine and held me for a moment, obviously aware of the limitations of this embrace. However cognizant she was, I seemed to lose myself in her scent and spoke without thought.
"I love you," I whispered in her ear. I felt her body melt further into me and her arms hold on.
"I know, Jac," she said with a tenderness I'd never experienced from any lover, partner or friend. "I love you, too."
We both sighed in contentment and begrudgingly let go. She slowly stepped away, revealing the most beautiful smile.
"I'm going to try to go do some work now," she winked.
"Yes, try being the operative word."
I was giddy. I don't recall ever being giddy before. Not to this degree, anyway.
"Bye."
"Goodbye, Jane."
She walked out of my office and across the room to her desk. As my eyes drifted away from her, I once again saw Oliver. He, too, had a grin on his face. He nodded in the way he did when he was congratulated someone or noted his approval. I smiled sheepishly and he rolled his eyes before walking away.
As I sat back down at my desk I was overcome with emotion.
I looked out the windows at the city below and took a moment to recognize that my story at Scarlet wasn't over. My story with Jane wasn't over. And I was happy, truly happy, for the first time since those months after my second child was born.
Sometimes everything aligns and what held us back finally releases us to a world of opportunity and, yes, love.
-finis -
