Sweet Talk Ch. 02

The next morning was Friday and Anna slept in. When she woke up, her long-lasting irritation had faded considerably. She'd stayed up late, thinking about Jason, and about Keera's advice, and finally decided that she just didn't want to be mad anymore. She was still firm on her plan to quit, but she needed to smooth things over with Jay so he could, maybe, be happy for her.

That, alone, would help make this easier for her to do.

While she was getting dressed after a rare, late-afternoon shower, she glanced at her bedside clock, which told her it was just past four pm. Jason would probably be at Sugar, manning the counter or in the back kitchen fiddling with new recipes. She'd decided to go see him since he probably still wasn't in the mood to answer a phone call from her.

She wasn't going to apologize, exactly—she just wanted to talk things over with him. Explain her reasoning. Knowing Jason, it'd take a bit of effort, but he'd come around and see that this was best for her.

Dressed in a pair of dark wash jeans, a satiny red button-up shirt and black slip-on ballet flats, she was almost out the door before she remembered her cell phone. Walking to the bathroom, she picked it up from where she'd left it during her shower and noticed she had a message. Clicking the key for her voicemail, she walked back to the living room, absently searching for her keys. But the voice in the message made her stop in her tracks.

"Hello Miss Marsh, my name's Ginger Hallowell. I'm calling regarding your client, Jason Blake..."

As the message continued, Anna's heartbeat sped up and she was vaguely aware of her nails digging painfully into the palm of her left hand. Her breathing turned rapid and, by the time the message ended, her previous anger—with Jason—had returned with tripled intensity.

Snapping her phone closed, she spotted her keys on the arm of the couch and snatched them up. With a yank, she opened her apartment door and stormed out, all plans for reconciliation wiped from her mind by her current fury.

After that voicemail, if Jason had thought she was pissed before, he hadn't seen anything.

This time, she wouldn't even bother with killing him. She just wanted some damn answers.

********

Where the hellwasshe?

Late Friday afternoon, Jason was in his office at Sugar, once again staring at the damn wall, trying to figure out what was up with Anna. She usually didn't stay mad this long. It'd been four days and he hadn't heard a damn thing from her. No phone calls, no e-mails, nothing. And he'd been constantly checking his Blackberry for the last two days.

This whole thing with her had him so on edge that he couldn't even think straight. When he was working, he'd go from silently seething to snapping at the prep cooks and kitchen assistants in two seconds flat. It finally got to the point where he just kept out of the kitchen during the workday. Otherwise, he might have more employees than Anna threatening to quit.

Why the hell couldn't she just call him?

Shealwayscalled him. He couldn't count how many times she'd been pissed off at him for one of a thousand reasons that he never really paid attention to; then, after one of those small arguments, she'd call or stop by and they'd both just get over being mad.

He couldn't understand why she was being so damn difficult. Okay, yeah, he'd pissed her off for some reason—whatever. She always got over it the other times, so what was different about now?

He stared at his Blackberry like his irritation could force it to ring or something.

Fuck. He swiped both hands over his face. He knew what the difference was this time: their fight on Tuesday hadn't exactly been small. She'd been dead serious about quitting and he knew it.

A weird, queasy feeling lurched through his stomach and he clenched his fists, trying to force the uneasiness away. But it didn't work. He didn't want to admit it, or even think about it, but part of his anger on Tuesday came from anxiety. He was little scared.

What if she was right? What if he really couldn't handle this without her? She'd been here, taking care of everything, practically from day one. Hell, everything he had now was because he'd been lucky enough to be accepted by the Marsh family. But with Anna gone, how could he be sure his career, his column in theTimes, his show on K.I.R.A.—even Sugar—wouldn't disappear along with her quiet, dependable presence?

He needed her, even though he hated admitting it. Ever since his mom took off with his little sister, he'd kept himself at a distance from people. And shit, even though he'd come to love the Marshes like his own family, he'd always been too fucking paranoid to think it'd last. Now, with Charlie and Nate gone, Anna was all he had left.

And he couldn't let her leave. Not until he knew he was ready, at least.

An irritating little voice in his head kept telling him to pick up his phone, dial her number—hell, go see her—but he couldn't. He'd grown up cultivating an I-don't-give-a-shit attitude that had helped him survive before he'd met Charlie Marsh. That kind of detachment was hard to shake sometimes.

That's why he kept most of his relationships casual—which is how his date tonight, with Stacey, that receptionist from PBS, was going to be. Right after he'd left Anna standing outside his condo building on Tuesday, he'd called Stacey to set up a date for tonight. She'd agreed to meet him at Sugar right after she finished work so they could continue on to the Blue Room from there.

At the time, he hadn't really considered his reasons for calling Stacey beyond the fact that he was pissed off and needed some kind of distraction. But now, knowing she'd be there in less than an hour, he wanted to back out of the whole thing. She was cute and bubbly and, dear God, those breasts were absolutely mind-blowing, but he hadn't expected to still be this mad so long after that argument with Anna.

Usually, his anger flared hot, then cooled quickly, but now, even days later, it was all he could do to keep from calling Anna and demanding to know where the hell she'd been since Tuesday.

He stared at his cell phone where it sat silently next to his desk phone. He was still pissed off—in a terrible mood, actually—and he knew he'd probably be awful company for what's-her-name. The receptionist. Stacey.

He checked the clock on his Blackberry. 4:38 p.m. She got off work at five. He was cutting it close and she'd probably never speak to him again, but he knew he needed to cancel the date. All he wanted to do was go home.

He'd just picked up his cell phone and started dialing Stacey's number when his office door flew open. His head jerked up and his eyes widened in surprise, only to narrow an instant later.

Then, taking in Anna's form framed in the doorway, one thought flitted through his mind:It's about damn time.

But the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

*********

Anna had stalked into Sugar twenty minutes after listening to that voicemail. The first thing she'd noticed was Sam behind the bar, chatting with two female customers. Like Jason, Sam was gorgeous, but where Jay was big and solid looking, Sam had the long, lanky, but muscular, physique of a swimmer. As she approached him, she saw that even the two well-dressed women drooling over him weren't immune to his easy smile and quiet sensuality—and she couldn't blame them. With short, light brown hair, blue eyes and insanely full lips, Sam Wyatt was quite the delicious package of maleness.

And at least he used his charm for good, unlike Jay.

Glancing up, Sam saw her and, holding up a finger to his admirers, slid a hand down the glossy bar counter as he walked out to greet her.

"Hey, gorgeous," he smiled, coming around the bar to give her a quick hug. When he pulled away, he searched her face with eyes that were, as usual, sensual and laughing at the same time. Then he gave her his Sam-variety grin. "Jay told me you finally came to your senses and dropped his sorry ass," he said.

From his smirk, Anna could tell that he approved. She wanted to laugh at his sad lack of male loyalty, but right now she was still too angry with Jason.

"Is he here?" she asked.

"Uh huh," Sam nodded, resting a hip against a low barstool. "He's been pissy all week, too. Every time I, or any of the staff, try talking to him, he pretty much tells us to shove it."

A mirthless smirk passed across Anna's face. "You can blame me for that," she said. "But is he in the kitchen or his office? I need to talk to him."

"He's in his office." Sam searched her face, then said, "Don't tell me you're gonna go apologize or something."

Apologize? Not even close. This time, he'd be lucky if she ever talked to him again.

"I'm not apologizing," she told Sam, circling behind the bar on her way to the door leading to the back kitchen and offices. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Yes, finally!" Sam called after her, laughing. "Come find me, afterward. Drinks are on me."

When she came to Jay's closed office door, she didn't bother knocking. Why should she?

Heobviously couldn't tell her what was going on in his life. No, she had to learn what he should have told her himself from some stranger's voicemail. So, no, she wouldn't give him the common courtesy of announcing her presence.

Grim-faced, she flung the door open and barged in.

He was sitting behind his desk and, she thought, for a second he'd almost looked relieved to see her. But then he scowled.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" he muttered. "Or did you decide toquitthat, too?"

After four days of not seeing him, her idiotic heart sped up as she drank in his gorgeous, and angry, features. Lucky for her, his sneering voice was all the reminder she needed of her current mood.

She closed the door behind her.

"I have to talk to you."

"Please, come in," Jay sarcastically said. "Not like I have anything else to do." He dropped his cell phone on the desk and stared at her. God he was relieved to see her, but he was fighting hard to hide how anxious he'd been.

Not particularly caring for his sarcasm, Anna planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "I just want to know one thing and then I'm leaving. Why didn't you tell me you were invited to the Sara Lee Dessert Competition in Chicago?"

Fuck, Jay thought. This was the last thing he needed right now. He'd hoped she'd come to say she changed her mind about quitting, but now she was just starting another fight. That competition was still a month away and he hadn't told her about it because he hadn't wanted tothinkabout it yet.

"How the hell did you find out about that?" he muttered.

"Why the hell didn't youtellme about it!" Anna knew she was shouting, but she didn't care. He didn't react, not really, but she saw the irritation flicker in his eyes before he had a chance to cover it up.

Then, his expressionless gaze bore into her. "You don't work for me anymore, so it's not really any of your business, is it?"

Anna gritted her teeth. "Don't give me that, Jason. I just told you I was quitting on Tuesday and one of the competition organizers left me a voicemail saying they contacted you over a month ago."

"And?"

"And you didn't tell me!"

"So that's why you're yelling at me right now?" he sounded so bored and disinterested, she wanted to throw something at his face. See if he could ignorethat.

"No, I'm yelling at you because you're an idiot. Why wouldn't you confirm with them? That lady called me asking whether or not you were going—they're about to bump you from the competitors." When he didn't say anything, she flopped down angrily on the couch across from his desk. "I don't understand you. It's like you're trying to sabotage yourself."

Jay had to work hard to keep his expression neutral. "Like I said, it doesn't matter. You don't work for me, remember?"

Fighting to control her anger, Anna slowly said, "I want to know why you didn't tell me."

Jay stared at her. He couldn't believe she'd shown up after four days and was laying into him about this. But, whatever, if she wanted to know the truth, he'd tell her. "I didn't tell you because I'm thinking about turning them down," he bluntly said.

Anna sat up, perfectly straight, eyeing him like she hadn't heard him correctly.

He'd applied for that competition three months ago; spent weeks working out which recipes to submit, and now that they'd invited him to compete at the Sara Lee headquarters in Chicago, he was acting like he didn't care.

"You're thinking...about turning them down," she repeated, but even coming out of her mouth the words didn't make any more sense than when he'd said them. On top of that, he was watching her with a blank expression on his face, like she was the one acting insane.

After a minute, he stood up, coming around the side of his desk.

"It seems kinda pointless. Things are crazy around here and now that I don't have an assistant," he said, his voice flat, "I can't afford to take a week off work. Especially for some competition."

Shaking her head, Anna stared up at his handsome face, thinking about how much she wanted to slap him, shake some sense into him. Something.

"Two months ago, you didn't think it was just a competition," she said. "Then, it was all you thought about for weeks."

"Two months ago," he mimicked her, "I also had an assistant."

With deliberate control over her seething emotions, Anna got to her feet and stared into his eyes, even though she had to tilt her head back to do it.

"I know it'd be real convenient for you to use my quitting as an excuse for not doing the competition, but you need to get your story straight first," she said, surprised by the utter calmness of her voice. "I quitthisweek. You've been ducking phone calls from the Sara Lee people for almost a month. God, I can't believe you'd be this childish, careless and—"

Furious, Jason cut her off. "Then I guess it's a good thing you quit, huh? No more wasting your life being dragged down by me."

Fuck, he didn't know why he was acting like this. Truth was, he'd been glad to see her. But after four days of being ignored by her, his anger and relief warred inside him—especially since she was pushing all the same buttons she had on Tuesday. Ever since she'd walked into his office he'd been trying to stay calm and cool, but she got to him like no one else could.

Shaking her head, Anna stared at him like he was a stranger.

"This is exactly why I can't work for you anymore," she said. "You act like your career belongs entirely to you, but I've been here, Jay. For two years. Working just as hard as you have, and—"

Anna stopped and turned away. She took a deep, steadying breath, dangerously close to embarrassing herself by crying.

God. She knew he was mad at her right now, and she was still upset with him, but some of the things he said to her sometimes...it was like he was deliberately trying to hurt her.

With her back to him, she crossed her arms over her chest and bowed her head. "I just see you with all of these opportunities and you're taking them for granted." She shook her head again. "I can't take this. I hate that everything with you has to be such a struggle..." she trailed off, not really sure what she wanted to say. When it came to him, she felt like she was talking in circles.

Behind her, Jay stood absolutely still, staring at the back of her head. He wanted to reach out, touch her, but at the same time, he could tell by her voice and the defeated slump of her shoulders that she was leaving. That fucking terrified him. A horrible, achy feeling washed through the pit of his stomach and he had to fight down the urge to beg her to stay.

Then he heard himself say, "If that's how you feel, why'd you wait so long to quit?"

Turning to face him, Anna shrugged, looking into his hazel eyes. "I guess I thought I could handle it. It's not like I didn't know how you are before I came to work for you. You want everything, Jay. And I lov...respect that about you," she said, catching herself before she said something she might regret. "But it's exhausting sometimes. And I can't do it anymore."

Dammit, she really was quitting. Jay was certain now. She was honestly just going to walk out on him.

Staring at her for a long moment, he locked his fingers behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Anna," he said, trying like hell to keep his voice calm. "Donotdo this to me."

"I have to, Jay. I can't— " she started, but, swearing, he cut her off.

He spun around, bracing both hands on the edge of his desk and stared at his empty chair without really seeing it. He hated feeling so out of control of things—almost as much as he hated feeling so damn abandoned right now. Fuck, he hadn't had this sick, shaky feeling since he was a kid. And it was almost that same fear and anger that made him glare over his shoulder at Anna.

"So that's it, then?" he sneered. "You quit out of nowhere and I don't even get the goddamn courtesy of a two-week grace period?" He turned around, towering over her. "Yousaymy career's important to you, but if you really gave a damn, you wouldn't cut out on me like this." He could see that he'd gotten to her, but made himself not care.

And when she opened her mouth to respond, he cut her off. "But, no. Whatever. It's fine, Anna," he said in a flat voice. "I'll figure out a way to handle this. You go do whatever the hell you need to do."

Anna was so angry and hurt and confused that she didn't know what to say. So she just stood there, staring at Jason's clenched jaw, until he roughly pushed away from his desk and stalked past her toward the door. She was deciding whether or not to say something when someone knocked on the closed door.

"Jay?" It was Sam. The door opened and he leaned inside. His brow creased as he took in Jay's tense face and Anna's grave expression. Finally, he glanced back to Jay. "Uh, there's a very good-looking redhead out front asking for you."

Shit, Jason thought, running a hand through his hair. Stacey. He'd forgotten all about her when Anna showed up. Just a few minutes earlier, he'd wanted to cancel the date, but now...he shot a look at Anna. Screw it, he needed the distraction more than he had before.

"I'm coming," he said, stiffly. Stalking to the door, he half-prayed that Anna would keep quiet until he left. He was so tightly wound, he didn't know what he might say if she pushed him.

He'd just brushed past Sam who was shooting him a dark look, when Anna's voice, as cool and controlled as his had been, caught him.

"I'm not done talking to you, Jason."

Damn her. Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut and let him leave? Couldn't she see that he just needed to get away from her? Turning around, Jay ignored Sam and gave Anna a cold stare.

"That's too damn bad," he said, "because I'm done talking to you."

And before she had a chance to say anything, or he had a chance to see the hurt in her eyes, he pushed past Sam and walked away.

***************************

Hey guys,

I've gotta say...I don't know what happened here. When I first started posting on Lit a few years ago, my chapters were short and straightforward. Now...not so much. This one's a doozy. Kinda got away from me, to be honest. Hopefully, it's wasn't too long/drawn out, though.

Anyway, thanks for the great feedback so far! (I love that so many of you don't like Jay, lol).

I REALLY appreciate all of your comments. And, yeah, there's more to come, so let me know what you think so far.

~EVE