The Reluctant Assistant - Book One

Rush Part 25

"I didn't want to be alone, and I thought we could talk?" Jackson didn't know what to say or how to start the conversation. He was standing in front of a half asleep Raymond, who may not even want to talk.

Grabbing his hand, Raymond pulled him toward the bedroom, grumbling. "Tell the driver to pick me up at six tomorrow morning!" he snapped, making sure to get the specifics straight. Knowing Jackson, he would leave things open for interpretation, even in his sleepy state, he knew that Jackson couldn't be trusted with instructions. "I might as well get one perk, if I'm dating the boss." he kept grumbling, climbing into bed again. "Come here you big oaf." Half asleep he held his arms open, waiting for Jackson, who didn't need another invitation to slide in next to him.

"You're tiny and skinny. I hardly think we should be calling each other names." he smiled, his mouth brushing against Raymond's, breathing in his intoxicating spicy scent.

"Sleep!" Raymond commanded, immediately falling into a dreamless sleep

At five Raymond sat up, silencing his phone. Looking around, Jackson still had his arms wrapped around his waist. He looked bemusedly at this attractive man who was sleeping like a kid in his bed. He even had a sweet smile on his face. Raymond leaned in to kiss him.

"Hmmm... Five more minutes." Jackson mumbled sleepily, trying to pull Raymond back.

"Not so fast, mister!" He jumped up from the bed, out of Jackson's reach. "I've got a ton to get through today, and my time is your money." he moved to toward the bathroom, to take a shower. He'd just gotten in, when the door opened and Jackson stepped in. Raymond nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Jackson's arms snaking their way around him, pulling him in for a hug under the warm water

"Jackson!" he turned around, gripping Jackson's arms to steady himself. He flushed bright red when he realized how close they were. Not an inch of space between them and obviously, nothing left to the imagination. He leaned down to kiss Raymond, whose skin felt like it was on fire. "Jackson," he moaned against his mouth, "I have to get ready..." his voice trailed away as Jackson's hand moved from his waist, grabbing his ass to pull him closer.

"What the hell!" Jackson roared suddenly jumping back, almost hitting the glass door. Raymond automatically snapped the water off. He'd forgotten that the hot water cuts out after a while. He normally jumped in and out, without it affecting him. Pushing Jackson out of the shower, he threw him a towel. "Will you lay off for just a minute? You're like an overexcited teenager, geez." Raymond muttered as he ran the towel through his hair on his way to getting dressed.

"What's the rush Cook?" Jackson looked confused, while picking up a suit bag from behind the door.

"Where did that come from?" Raymond was confused. He never had any of Jackson's clothes at his place and Jackson certainly never left any there.

"Oh, I brought it over with me. I thought that I should keep some clothes handy just in case." he grinned, dropping his towel and taking his time to get dressed.

"Okay!" Raymond snapped to ensure that he would not jump Jackson right where he stood. "We all know that you're hot and built like a god," it was only the truth, "will you get your ass moving? I need to be out of here by six!" He left Jackson in the room, ducking his head to hide the warm flush that had crept over his face. Jackson naked, intimidating? When did that happen, Raymond wondered. It's not like he's never seen him naked before, but this time Raymond's hormones seem to be interfering and firing off at all the wrong moments.

"Why do we have to be there so early?" Jackson grumbled as they sat in the car on their way to the office, trying to get Raymond's attention away from his tablet. The damn thing was always in the way. Maybe he should just chuck it out the window.

"Because I have to check in with a lot of people over the next two days and since you find that sort of stuff boring, I have to make sure that you get a decent enough report, so that you don't look like a fool in front of your mother." he looked at Jackson, leaned over to kiss him, then turned back to his tablet. "Now, be quiet, I have a lot to get through."

For the rest of the drive they didn't say a word to each other. Raymond's face plastered to the tablet, going through information so fast that Jackson could hardly keep up. They walked together through the building, which was bathed in a soft light, people starting to turn up for work. At his desk, Raymond stowed his bag, grabbed his cellphones and tablet.

"Why do you have two phones?" Jackson asked. He's noticing a lot of things now that he's getting to be so close to Raymond.

Sighing, Raymond looked at Jackson. "One is for emergencies and the other is for regular, everyday stuff. Now, is there anything else, or can I get to my meetings?" He raised an eyebrow at Jackson waiting for a response.

"Can I come with you?" Jackson asked on impulse. Maybe he should take more interest in what Raymond does during the day, when he wasn't stationed at his desk.

Raymond was in two minds. Should he let Jackson trail along and watch as all his carefully laid out plans start unravelling or tell him to sit his ass down, and then having to deal with a moody Jackson later. "I really don't think that's a good idea. It's going to be meetings and other people talking about boring stuff. You're really not going to enjoy it." Why does he feel like he's explaining to a child why they can't go to work with their parents.

"I won't say a word or do a thing, promise." Jackson kissed him again.

"Okay, fine." he gave in. Maybe Jackson will have a better idea of the daily grind after today. "But no more kissing and hugging in front of staff, okay?" he put his hand up to stop Jackson who was leaning in for a kiss.

For the rest of the morning, Jackson followed Raymond around the building, going from floor to floor meeting with people he'd never even heard of. He was surprised how Raymond knew them all by first name and asked about their families, making small talk as if they were the best of friends. But as soon as the presentations started, it was all business. Jackson sat quietly in a corner marveling at Raymond as department after department reported to him, while he interrogated, analyzed and pushed for better results. Jackson also realized that Raymond was really tightfisted when it came to spending company money. If he didn't know where the money was coming from or where it was going, then accounting was on the phone within seconds. How he kept track of all the information that he had to absorb, was astounding.

When lunch time rolled around, Jackson was bored out of his skull. Raymond was brilliant at what he does, but dear lord it was boring. "Can we go for lunch now?" he moaned following Raymond back to his desk.

"For fifteen minutes and then we have to get back to work." Raymond reminded him.

"But that's not even long enough to drive to a restaurant." he moaned, pulling Raymond into his office, lifting his face for a slow kiss. Raymond's breath caught in his throat, reaching up he wrapped his arms around Jackson's neck. This is getting out of hand. Didn't he say he wasn't going to be one of those assistants? He also realized how much he enjoyed kissing Jackson and that was top of the list right now.

"Cook, I think..." Jackson started, leaning his forehead against Raymond's. Before he could finish, however, Raymond's phone started buzzing. "Okay, this is bad, I've got to go." he frowned at the message on his phone, quickly slipping out of Jackson's grasp, pressing the dial button. On impulse he turned around and still holding the phone to his ear, he kissed Jackson again, before leaving the office talking rapidly into his phone.