They walked through a comfortable living area and then through an ultra-modern kitchen. Claire caught a glimpse of Liz and Harold sitting at a large wrought-iron table through the glass patio doors. Jason opened the door and stood back to allow Claire to walk out ahead of him. After the dim light of the house it took several moments for Claire’s eyes to adjust to the glare of the bright sun. Standing up from the table, Harold approached Claire and in a quiet voice said, “Claire, I’m Harold; I’m so pleased to meet you.”

Harold was tall and thin with sandy blond hair that was beginning to thin on the top. Claire could imagine that he was probably all legs when he was growing up. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses framed green eyes that could easily be his best feature.

She took the offered hand and said, “It’s a pleasure Harold; I really appreciate the hospitality of Liz and yourself.”

“No problem at all Claire, I know that you and Jason have work to do this weekend, but I also hope you will have time to look around the ranch, and maybe we can all go for a horseback ride tomorrow morning before you leave.”

Jason pulled a seat out for her at the table beside Liz and replied wryly, “I don’t know about that Harold; Claire has a bit of a problem with mishaps so it might be healthier for her to remain on her own two feet.”

Claire could feel the curious gaze of Harold and Liz as Jason took the seat on her other side. Liz reached over to pat Claire’s shoulder and said, “I’m sure we can find something you’d enjoy doing while you’re here Claire. If you’d rather not ride, maybe you could take a nice walk around the ranch with Wolf; it’s really beautiful this time of the year.”

“I’m sure you will both be too busy tomorrow with the wedding for anything else, but thank you very much for the offer,” said Claire.

Claire felt the urge to kick Jason under the table for his previous comment. She settled for shooting him a dirty look to which she received a knowing smirk in return.

“I hope you like chili Claire; it’s one of the few dishes that I can actually make,” laughed Liz, “and we’ve some fresh fruit for dessert.”

“Chili sounds great Liz.” She took a bite of the fragrant chili and looked around the ranch. In the distance, she could see a huge building with a corral in the front and several men leading horses in it. Harold explained those horses were being trained for specific buyers. One buyer was purchasing a horse for his daughter who had been an avid rider but tragically blinded in an accident last year. His daughter wanted to continue to ride, and they were working on a method of training for the disabled. Liz enthusiastically picked up the conversation as Harold paused for a moment to enjoy his lunch.

“This is a project that Harold and I started last year, and it’s been so successful. Training horses for a person with a specific handicap is challenging and often a long process but when we saw the tears of the first young lady we trained a horse for her that had lost a leg in an auto accident; we both knew this was our calling. Harold’s parents mainly dealt in raising cattle. Training and selling race horses was really a hobby for them. This new area is our labor of love, and although it has taken an enormous amount of time and training, we feel so blessed to be able to give someone back their dream.”

“Wow, that's amazing; you must both be so proud of what you’re doing,” exclaimed Claire.

Jason laughed, “Harold and Liz are about the only two selfless people I’ve ever met and to prove that point, look at that mongrel of theirs that they lavish all their love on.” Claire looked in the direction that Jason was pointing and saw Wolf running around in a circle chasing his tail and finally falling over as though the effort had cost him greatly. With everyone laughing, the meal continued in companionable conversation over the local area and stories of other horses they’d trained.

Claire was surprised to find this to be the most enjoyable meal she’d shared with anyone in a long time. Most of her meals with her mother and Louise were spent in constant trepidation of her mother moving into an agitated state when her memory lapsed. Meals with Suzy seemed to revolve around Claire getting out more and getting a social life or, at the very least, just getting laid. So this lunch seemed to be remarkably pressure free. Even Jason who normally was so intense to be around appeared to be relaxed as he pointed out areas of interest around the ranch or told stories from their college days. It was nice to feel like a part of their group, and even though she was Jason’s secretary and here in an official capacity, she still felt relaxed and carefree; a rare occasion for her.

Claire insisted on helping Liz clear the table. They walked in the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher together. “I know this is none of my business, and Harold says that never stops me, but how long have you and Jason been seeing each other?” asked Liz.

Completely confused at this question Claire looked at Liz and said, “do you mean how long have I been working for Jason?”

“No," replied Liz, "how long have you been dating him?” For some reason, this struck Claire as hysterical, and she began to laugh.

When she could finally catch her breath she looked at Liz and said between peals of laughter, “Jason would probably be surprised to realize I’m female; much less the object of his romantic interests!”

Liz joined in her laughter and said, “Oh, I think he knows you’re female alright from the vibes I was getting across the table. I think there was more than the chili steaming over there.”

“Trust me Liz, he would have more romantic vibes towards Wolf than towards me; we’ve a strictly professional relationship.” Claire was vastly amused to think of how shocked Jason would be to think that Liz would consider he had feelings for her. His first question would probably be ‘Claire who?’ and the second would be, ‘are you kidding?’

At just that moment, the object of their laughter strolled into the kitchen and, God help her, Claire had to admit he looked better than any man had a right to. Why must she always feel like she was in perpetual heat around this man? She’d actually been around other hot guys before and hadn’t felt like her underwear was on fire, so what was the problem here?

“Claire, are you ready to work for a few hours before we have to break for the evening?”

“Yes, that’s fine; I’m ready if you are.” Oh yeah baby, I’m more than ready… She shared one last secret smile with Liz before once again letting Jason lead the way as they went back upstairs.

Chapter Five

Jason's room had the same comfortable theme. The walls were painted a pale blue color with a matching comforter on the queen-sized bed and another chest at the foot of the bed. “I love the antique touches that Liz and Harold have in their home,” said Claire appreciably as she pointed to the chest.

“Collecting antiques is a hobby they have and when Liz can find a bargain on a rare piece, Harold says she’s in sheer bliss for days,” replied Jason with an affectionate smile. She couldn’t help but think of how nice it would be to be the object of that affection. Claire quickly looked away from Jason and walked towards the desk he had set up in the sitting area.

“Claire I’ve forwarded the first draft of the contract to your email address; I have the printer ready to connect to the laptop computer for you to work on,” said Jason. She started to go under the table to retrieve the printer plug when Jason said, “No, Claire let me do that!” She jumped in surprise banging her head on the underside of the table with the cord clutched in her hand. She winced in pain, reaching up a hand to rub her head. Claire crawled from under the table and sat back on her heels while she surveyed her latest head injury with her hand.

“Damn, Claire I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have startled you like that, are you ok?” Jason gently removed her hand and ran his own over the area she’d been holding. “I don’t see any blood this time, but you’re probably going to have yet another bump. You really weren’t kidding about the mishaps were you? I have to take the blame for this one though since I scared you.”

Jason extended a hand to help Claire to her feet. He then took the cord from her hand and plugged it into the computer. He led her gently to a chair and said in an amused tone, “Let’s keep you away from all sharp objects and for God's sake, please don’t go near the scissors.” She laughed and marveled at how relaxed she felt around Jason for the first time since she’d started working for him. He seemed to be a different person away from the office and unfortunately, despite her best efforts, Claire found 'this' Jason far too attractive for her own good. She tried not to dwell on that disturbing fact as she powered her computer.

Claire took a quick glance at her watch and saw that it was now almost two thirty. She would need to be on the road by five to allow time to travel to the bachelor party this evening. She said a quick prayer that they were finished with work in time for her to get ready.

“Claire I’ll need you to start making the changes that I’ve listed on the notebook on the desk; the first change will go in paragraph one.” Jason leant over her shoulder and started pointing out the area to make the change and Claire caught the fragrance of his cologne. Distracted by just how good the musky fragrance smelled on Jason, Claire really hoped that she didn’t look like a complete idiot when Jason started asking her for suggestions on the wording of the phrase he wished to insert. What’s wrong with me today? I’ve worked for the man for three years, and I’m now suddenly a constantly drooling idiot like the other women at work! Maybe Suzy is right; I do need to get a life!

“Claire, did you hear me?” Giving a guilty start, Claire asked Jason to repeat his question in hopes that he would not think she was a complete incompetent. Claire went to work on the first draft while Jason took a chair on the other side of the desk and started booting up his computer. She couldn’t help but notice the way the sunlight made Jason’s hair shine, and she also saw red highlights that she’d never noticed before. Claire quickly looked away before Jason caught her staring at him. She lost herself in the revision and was startled when Jason looked up and said, “We should probably call it a day; it’s close to five, and I need to get ready; and I believe you also have plans for the evening?”

She looked at her watch surprised to see that so much time had already passed. “I’ve most of the revisions complete if you’d like to look over them before I close the program.” said Claire.

“No, that’s ok; we will go over everything in the morning so go ahead and close up for the evening.”

Claire gathered her papers in a neat stack and noticed how stiff her back was when standing. Without thinking she took a long leisurely stretch, and she looked up to find Jason watching her intently. With her face flushing she looked away from his gaze and said, “If you don’t need anything else, I’m going to change and get going.”

Jason cleared his throat and said, “Um no problem, have a good evening.”

Claire quickly walked through the adjoining door, quietly clicking the lock into place behind her. She would rather have Jason find her unconscious than walk in unannounced after another mishap. In the bathroom, Claire looked longingly at the bathtub but knew that it was a luxury she didn’t have time for. She settled instead for the shower, letting it warm up as she undressed. Claire gave a murmur of bliss as the hot water cascaded over her tired shoulders, wincing when the water hit the new bump on her head. She gently worked some shampoo through her hair and enjoyed the feel of the water soothing away the fatigue of the day. Loath to cut the shower short, she finished up quickly knowing that she was pressed for time.

She quickly wrapped a towel around her hair and shrugged on her old, pink, ratty bathrobe she’d thought to bring along. She plugged in her small dryer and started the task of drying her hair. She knew she should really get it cut in a shorter style to reduce some of the drying time, but Claire considered this her one item of vanity even though it was worn up more than down.

When Claire first started working the bachelor parties for Pam, she’d arrived for her training and Pam immediately removed the clip from her hair and told her that men loved seeing long hair. This statement really gave Claire a pause as she’d understood from Pam that the clients for these parties were strictly upper class and instead of expecting a stripper performance at a bachelor party, they were content with a pretty girl in a corset and garter belt; no articles of clothing removed.

Claire had originally turned Pam down flat when she explained the wardrobe for the show; she’d never worn less than a one-piece swimsuit in public so she certainly didn’t intend to lose her inhibitions in front of a room full of strange men. The following day, she received the news that her mother’s furnace would need to be replaced. There was no way she could afford the new furnace and her mother’s medicine thus she ended up with a second job that she would have never imagined in a lifetime.