Family Ties

Part 29

Raymond walked into the office preoccupied, thinking about Jackson and his strange behaviour. He didn't want to give himself too much time to think about it over the weekend, because then he'd be running around in his head, chasing his tail.

It was hard to forget Jackson, with his drop-dead smile and all his stupid antics. Maybe he wanted to give them another try, but who knows what will happen when the next crisis arises. He could run for the hills again and then where would he be? It was risky, but was it too risky for him, he did have Skye to think of as well, after all.

With a groan he slumped into his chair, briefly closing his eyes with his hands. What was he going to do? Before he could go any further his assistant quietly knocked on his door.

"There is a Jackson Dealer to see you?" She asked, knowing that Raymond disliked having his schedule disrupted.

"Send him up." He sighed, squaring his shoulders. Soon he would find out where exactly they were standing in this whole mess.

When Jackson was seated in front of him, he didn't say anything. He watched as Jackson clenched his hands, his heel tapping a frantic rhythm and his eyes darting around the office. He was surprised at how wound up Jackson was. It looked as if his nerves were about to give in.

"Why are you here?" Raymond asked, deciding to tackle things head-on.

"I er... I've come to hire you." He finally met Raymond's eyes.

"Then you shouldn't be speaking to me." He automatically responded, surprised at what Jackson was asking. "What I meant was, if you want Zenith to take on a  case, you should speak to someone else." He clarified when he saw Jackson's frown.

"Why? I don't want to hire anybody else, I want you." His frown deepened.

"Well, my cases are only assigned by Damon and it depends on the skills that are needed." He shrugged. "So you'd have to speak to him..., but tell me what you want to hire us for." He waited, watching as Jackson clenched up even further. Now he seemed to be angry as well.

"I want you to find who wanted my company investigated!" Raymond could hear the anger in his voice.

"We, er, I can't do that. It would be a conflict of interest." He calmly watched as a scowl crossed his face.

"Oh, now you decide to have morals! It didn't seem so much of a problem when you were digging through my company like a worm!" This wasn't exactly why he'd come here, but when he saw Raymond sit behind the desk, dressed to the nines, he was reminded of how he'd pretended to be a kid with no experience. He was more than just an investigator if he had an office that looked out over the city through floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed the view to dominate the room.

"Look, I had no reason to tell you about the investigation other than wanting to have a clean slate when we started dating.  I regret telling you that it was a mistake on my part, but I can't take it back, so..." He sighed. "Sorry, but Zenith won't be taking your case, because it's not in our best interest." Getting up, he brought the conversation to an end, motioning toward the door.

"That's it?" Jackson asked in surprise, not getting up from his chair.

"I didn't think there was anything else, was there?" He looked at Jackson with hooded eyes, almost holding his breath.

"No, you're right." He sighed after a while, getting up, he moved toward the door. "Well, see you around." He smiled awkwardly as Raymond watched him with a polite smile. "Cook, I..." he stopped at the door, turning to Raymond. He got the feeling that he might have missed a chance.

"Goodbye Jackson." He said firmly, turning to go back into his office.

Raymond blew out a slow, steady breath, moving to sit down behind his desk, shoulders slightly slumped. So much for a second chance. Did he think that everything was going to be okay after one conversation? If you could call that a conversation. Jackson was still angry and he had to admit his stupidity in handling telling him.

Well, it's no good crying over spilt milk, he thought. Life has to go on and he had to swallow this bitter pill.

--

Jackson sat frustrated in front of Asuka, staring into space. This morning hadn't gone as expected. He had all the best of intentions, but somehow his anger at what they'd done came bubbling to the surface, scuppering those great plans.

"You've been unusually quiet. Still thinking about the worm?" She sank into one of the chairs.

"He doesn't seem much interested in getting back together again or anything else for that matter. I mean, he's even started dating other guys! It's not even been a year! Who does that?" He sounded incredulous at the thought.

"Eh Jackson?" she asked tentatively. "You only went on a couple of dates, I don't think he should remain celibate for a year, do you?"

"That's not the point. He seems to have forgotten all about me. Not a proper smile. It was all business." His sour expression showed his displeasure. "It's worse than being ignored. Actually no, I'm being ignored at the moment, which is worse!" He slammed his cup down on the table.

"Can you try not to break my cups?" She smiled. "Why don't you come clean with him? You like him, don't you?"

"God! I didn't feel like this when I was in high school!" He said in exasperation. "Was it like this when you started seeing your husband?"

"It was less dramatic and more physical, I'd say. Jackson, you're like a lovesick puppy moping about. Go and tell him you're still stuck on him." She hoped that he would consider this. He spent most of his time moping around the shop when he wasn't at the office.

At some point, he'd picked up an apron and started bussing tables without complaint. The three other waitrons were unsure of how to handle the situation at first, but now seemed more at ease with Jackson being around. On the one hand, it was a pain in the ass, because of his unreasonably high expectations and on the other, it seemed as if business was booming since he started working there at random hours.

 "You can't keep hiding out here, you know?" She prodded again.

"Are you kicking me out as well now? What kinda friend are you?" He morosely accused her.

"I have no objection to you working or hanging out here. If you hadn't noticed, my clientèle is up in the gay and female markets!" Her laughter didn't put him in better spirits.

"Very funny." He got up. "If you're done having fun at my expense, I'll go mope at home then."