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.”