“Mmm, that sounds great, I love seafood, and I bet it’s wonderful there.” The rest of the drive passed quickly with conversation flowing as if they’d been together for years which, in fact, in some capacity, they were.

~~~

The restaurant that Jason had selected was in the battery district of Charleston on the waterfront. As they pulled to the entrance a valet carefully opened her door and assisted her out. Jason handed the keys to another valet as they walked towards the entrance of the restaurant. Jason had obviously planned ahead and made a reservation as they were quickly escorted to a table overlooking the water. “This is lovely Jason; I’d no idea Charleston was so beautiful.”

“This is only a small part of the appeal of Charleston; I look forward to showing you the city before we leave. Perhaps tonight, if you feel up to it, we will take a stroll on the waterfront before we go to the hotel.”

“Oh yes, please, I would love that.” Claire asked Jason for suggestions on the menu and was relieved when he offered to order a local favorite for them.

When the waiter returned, Jason selected the she-crab soup for an appetizer and the Lobster Newburg with fresh vegetables and wild rice as the main course. It sounded mouthwatering, and Claire was embarrassed to hear her stomach growl in appreciation. Jason apparently heard it as well. He looked at the waiter and said, “Could you please bring a basket of bread with our soup? My lady is hungry.”

Claire playfully stuck her tongue out at him as the waiter left the table. “Don’t give me ideas Claire, I find I can think of many things I would like to do with that tongue of yours.” The desire in his gaze was unmistakable.

Claire leaned forward and bravely said, “I hope you will show me some of them later.”

“If you look at me like that much longer, I’ll show you right now on this table, and I don’t really fancy getting arrested tonight so we’d better behave ourselves for now.”

They chatted quietly about the upcoming merger and also about their plans for the week. When the main course arrived Claire was delighted to see the delicate puffed pastry filled with a cream sauce and slices of lobster. “This looks fabulous; I’ve never tried this before.”

“It’s one of my favorites, especially when it’s a specialty of the house as it is here,” said Jason.

After the main course, Claire finally pushed her plate back, surprised to find it was almost empty. The food, the wine and the company was a combination that was hard to resist. Claire felt Jason’s hand on her leg as he asked if she would like dessert and coffee. “No, I couldn’t possibly eat another bite. I would like to walk for a bit though, if it’s ok with you.” In minutes Jason had paid the check, and they were walking hand and hand on the waterfront.

“This is like one of those perfect moments in time that you read about," said Claire.

“Yes, indeed it is,” replied Jason as he stopped and pulled her into his embrace. His thumb stroked over the bottom of her lip and Claire reached her tongue out and teasingly touched it.

Jason's breath seemed to catch in his chest, and suddenly he was crushing her in his embrace. Gone was the gentleness of a few moments ago. Now it was if a fire raged inside of him that had gotten out of control. His lips took possession of hers, his tongue staking a claim to every recess of her mouth, touching, seeking, devouring. Jason jerked his head back taking several deep breaths as he pulled his hand through his hair.

“If we don’t stop now, I’m going to have you against that seawall in about thirty seconds. Let’s walk back and get the car, I think it’s past time to find our room.” Claire almost laughed as Jason rushed them both to the car at top speed.

~~~

The drive to the hotel was done in similar fashion. They were checked in quickly and were soon in the room. Jason had his arms around her, and they were pressed against the wall before the door clicked shut. “You don’t know how bad I’ve wanted to do this; I didn’t think dinner would ever end,” groaned Jason.

He picked her up and was walking towards the bed when a knock sounded at the door. He halted in his tracks, “Damn, this had better be good.” Reluctantly sitting her back on her feet, Jason took a moment to straighten his clothing and yanked the door open.

The valet took a quick look at Jason’s hard stare and quickly handed him a message. “I’m sorry sir; this should have been given to you when you checked in.” With a curt nod of thanks, Jason shut the door and opened the note.

Jason grabbed his cell phone, quickly checking something and looked at Claire. “I’m sorry, there’s a problem at a customer site with one of our components and they’re threatening to cancel their entire order.”

“Is it Lynwood?” asked Claire. Lynwood was a new customer who Danvers had recently acquired and their first purchase was in the millions of dollars.

“Yeah, that’s the one; I don’t know how this has been screwed up, but they’re livid. I need to see what the problem is and try to smooth it over.”

“What can I do to help?” asked Claire. Jason had already walked over to the desk in the room and was punching in numbers on his phone.

“Let me see what’s going on, and we will go from there.”

Chapter Nineteen

Claire walked over to a chair in the seating area. She was far enough away to give Jason some privacy but close enough to offer assistance if needed. After several phone calls, Jason seemed to reach the person in charge at Lynwood. He put his hand over the phone and asked, “Claire, could you possibly look in my briefcase over next to our luggage and see if you can locate the files on Lynwood?” Claire walked towards the bedroom and located Jason’s briefcase. Claire put it on the edge of the bed and pulled out a stack of folders looking for anything on Lynwood.

She pulled out two folders and continued to thumb through the remainder when a name caught her eye. Confused, Claire wondered why Jason would have a file on her in his briefcase. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Claire opened the folder and stared at the contents in shock, unable to grasp what she was seeing. She thumbed through copies of her loan application from Danvers as well as a copy of the check issued to her.

A note was attached to the check copy, ‘Mr. Danvers; per your instructions, I wanted to advise you that Claire Walters did apply for a loan of five thousand dollars today. As per your directive, the loan was approved immediately, and the funds made available the next day. Ms. Walters inquired about repayment of the loan and I was able to convince her that her payments were deferred for six months due to a special promotion. These funds were issued from your personal account as requested.' On the next page, Claire found an email from Pam at Partiez Plus. Almost unable to process any further information, Claire made herself read the email.

‘Dear Mr. Danvers, It was a pleasure and somewhat of a surprise to hear from you concerning an employee. I was never informed that Claire was under contract to Danvers and that the contract precluded outside employment of our specific specialty. Claire is a valued member of our staff, and as such it is with great regret that I’ll need to replace her. I do, however, understand and commend your need to protect the employment and benefits of a key employee. I will as you requested keep this matter confidential and will notify Claire of my intentions to fill her position. I can’t thank you enough for recommending Partiez Plus to Mr. and Mrs. Smythe; their business will be invaluable. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.’

Claire was numb, her mind desperately looking for another explanation for what she’d read. Jason was behind the scenes of her life directing it like a play. Her turn of good fortune was not actually fortune at all; it was Jason pulling the strings, taking over and making her into someone whom he deemed acceptable. The sense of betrayal on so many levels was overwhelming. At the center was Jason. Leslie the creditor of course owed her loyalty to Jason and even though ethically it was wrong, she probably felt as if she were doing Claire a favor.

Pam in her estimation was as guilty as Jason. She’d basically sold out to him for his contacts. After the years of working for her and what she thought was a friendship between them, Pam had betrayed her confidence and privacy by discussing her employment with Jason. It was obvious from her email that she’d no intention of using Claire any longer despite her assurance that she would have the opportunity to work future parties.

What other problems had Jason decided to solve for her? Were her mother and Louise now on their way to live in Florida with his aunt Ella? Would she come home to a new house herself? Surely, someone living in an apartment wasn’t good enough for the mighty Jason Danvers to sleep with. Well, that was no longer something he would have to worry about. She was finished with Jason and finished with Danvers. Word had probably already spread there by now that she was Jason’s kept woman.

“Claire, what’s keeping you? Did you find the file?” asked Jason from the next room. Rage burned through her causing her hands to shake as she gripped the file. Claire stalked back in the sitting area and smacked the folder with her name on it down in front of him.

Jason gave her a questioning look at the abrupt gesture. He balanced the telephone on his shoulder as he opened the file, not noticing the name on the front. Claire recognized the exact moment when he became aware of what he was looking at. His speech stopped mid-sentence, and he closed his eyes briefly as if in resignation. With a brief, “I’ll have to call you back,” spoken in the cell phone, Jason disconnected the call and turned to face her.

She waited for Jason to defend himself, to say anything, but he continued to sit and study her, seeming to be waiting for her to say something. “Well, surely you have something to say?” snapped Claire. “You have plenty to say to everyone else concerning me so why not to me in person?”

“Claire, you’re upset, let’s leave this until you’re feeling rational enough to listen to reason.”

The tone of his voice, as if he were humoring a child, infuriated her further. “I want you to explain what the hell you thought you were doing invading my privacy and taking over my life.”

“If we must do this now while I’m in the middle of a major problem, at least sit down so that we may discuss this like adults.”

“Fine,” snapped Claire, and perched on the edge of a wingback chair across the room. “Well? I’m waiting.”

After taking a deep breath, Jason stared at her and asked quietly, “What is it that you want me to say Claire?” If possible, the question stroked her rage to an even higher level. It was as if this whole conversation was a nuisance to him, and he couldn’t see what she could possibly be upset over.

“Ok… Let’s go in order, how about explaining the loan from Danvers that apparently wasn’t a loan at all? Then we can work our way to my job with Partiez Plus that you got me fired from. Am I missing anything or is there something else not in the folder? Do I have a new home now that I’m not aware of or maybe my mother has free medication for life?” Breathing quickly, Claire saw an answering anger start to burn in Jason’s blue eyes.

“Listen, I don’t really have time for this right now, and I never took you for such a drama queen. I fail to see what could possibly have you so enraged. I gave you help when you needed it and were too proud to ask. I would have done the same for any employee, since when is it a crime to help someone?”

“You didn’t offer help; you made choices for me. I don’t need handouts, and I’m perfectly capable of handling my own affairs. I told you that when you brought this up in your office yet you ignored everything I said and decided you knew best. Poor stupid Claire couldn’t possibly be able to think for herself, right?”

Jason jumped to his feet and stalked over to her chair glaring down at her. “Oh yes, I can see how great you were doing at handling your own problems. Being a stripper for a room full of horny men is always the answer to every girl’s problems. I thought you were being forced to do that because of money, but maybe I was wrong, maybe it was for pleasure all along. Do you get some type of thrill from parading around half-naked turning a bunch of strangers on? Maybe you just like to play the blushing virgin during the day.”

Claire flew out of the chair, and her hand landed hard against his cheek, the red imprint clearly visible. “Go to hell, what I do or why I do it is none of your concern!” yelled Claire. Harsh laughter erupted from Jason’s chest as he reached out and hauled her against his chest.

“That’s where you’re wrong Claire; everything you do is of interest to me, if that makes me a bastard, then so be it."

His lips swooped down on hers, crushing the protests bubbling from her lips. Claire tried to turn her head to escape his plundering lips, but his hands reached up and locked her in place. His tongue moved insistently along the seam of her lips, not asking but demanding entrance into her mouth. With a groan, Claire felt her body betraying her; her lips seemed to part of their own accord. Jason took possession, his tongue stabbing inside to claim the victory.