James confronted Jennifer with the fact that they would get the hour back when they returned home. After all, Andrew wasn't back in Chicago so there was really no reason for her to rush back. She was all his for the taking, and that thought brought an ever devlish grin to his face. Jennifer smirked and nudged him in the arm before he positioned himself to decended the two step flight of stairs.
"What's that grin on your face about?" She asked coyly.
James was startled by how closely she watched him. He smiled at her and said nothing more. They chuckled and he descended from the plane. Jennifer exited after him, handing her suitcase and purse down first. On the flight deck, they stood and looked around. James pointed towards one of the buildings.
"We have a car waiting for us over there," the wind was rushing past both of them, making it a difficult to hear. He nearly had to shout. The breeze danced with Jennifer's hair, whipping it about her face. She looked like a goegous model posing liesurly for a shoot. How on earth had he been able to ignore her for so long?
They made their way from the deck towards the pickup vehicle. It was another car much like the one that had chaufferued them from downtown Chicago to the Executive Airport. Inside the vehicle, James slipped his phone from his pants pocket. He hadn't brought anything other than his wallet and phone from Chicago and felt like he was missing something.
He had only stepped in to town to meet and have a light conversation face to face. He didn't need anything else for this day trip. Even then, should something arise and documents be needed, he knew Jennifer brought one of the company's laptops. That would save him in the event a real impromptu meeting was necessary.
They settled into the car quietly, with an easiness falling upon them. The somber nature of their last conversation before business took over seemed to be long forgotten. James hoped it would stay that way. Glancing at the time on his phone's screen, James held it between his hands and looked to Jennifer.
"Are you in a hurry to get back to Chicago tonight?"
Jennifer eyed him. "I don't know. Depends. Why are you asking?"
James smiled. "Well, this is my home. I'd love to show you some places while we're here. You probably don't know any of this stuff about me." Jennifer pursed her lips together in consideration. After a while, she spoke softly.
"I always thought you didn't want me to know much about you."
James held her gaze. He shruggled after a moment and glanced down, but didn't return his eyes to Jennifer's. Instead, he turned in his seat and drew a seat belt over his chest.
"There might have been a time where I thought that was a better choice." It was an honest answer, through and through.
Jennifer ran a hand through her hair and drew her seat belt in the same fashion. The driver situated themselves in the front seat. He made eye contact with James and nodded, not even needing a word as to their first destination. In the back seat, James noticed Jennifer's interest with the passing world as the driver stepped on the gas.
"It's so green here," she commented, a bit in awe.
"You've never been to New Jersey?" Jennifer shook her head. "What about New York?"
"Just for the auction," she admitted, turning back to James. "I've never been this far on the East Coast."
"Beaches?"
"Just the lake," Jennifer grinned. "That counts, doesn't it?"
James laughed. "Wow, woman. You need to get out more."
"I can't. I was too busy busting my ass working for you."
James knew she meant it as a joke, but it struck him somewhere deep inside. Jennifer's face changed, growing serious.
"I didn't mean that," she said quickly.
"Yes you did," James replied just as curtly. His voice was a little more edged than he meant it to be. He wanted to tell her that he never asked her to work so hard, then again, after all those years, he never told her to stop, did he? Not until recently when he finally decided to incur more costs and get someone to supplement the trivial nature of the mential tasks her position covered.
"I guess I've been a bit of a jerk to work for, huh?" James asked, watching Jennifer studiously. A genuine smile played across her full, beautiful lips.
"You never made me work so hard."
"But I never stopped you either."
"How could you know I worked at night and on my days off?"
"You work on your days off?" James shook his head. "Please don't tell me you do that."
Sheepishly, Jennifer shrugged. The smile was falling, but still lingered. She closed her mouth and said nothing more. Within seconds, the gril grew again to another tempting smile. What he wouldn't give to lean towards her and take those lips into his own.
The car felt significantly more cramped than the cabin they had flown into New Jersey on. His leg rested comfortable against Jennifer's leg and he wanted to slide a hand along the top of her thigh.
James grinned back at her, unsure of what signals she was sending to him. The conversation could go one of several ways from where they were, but judging by her smile, James's figured he was on a good path. He just didn't understand why.
"What's going on behind that beautiful smile?" James asked with the most sultry voice he could muster. Jennifer wet her lips and bit the bottom one before answering.
"I could ask you the same thing."
"Hmm."
Tit for tat.
Jennifer raised her eyebrows at him, but said nothing more. She turned towards the window and crossed her bare legs again. James ran his eyes down the length of her body. He tried to discreetly let out the breath he had been holding in. He swore that each and every second he spent in her presence was exponentially growing her level of sexiness.
Maybe he would need to book her a ticket commerically to return home. He didn't like that idea though and he was pretty certain that it would only be taken as an insult.
"So this is where you grew up?"
"Born and raised."
Jennifer turned to him. "When did you make it out to the city?"
"After I made my first ten million," James leaned back into the seats and sighed. "It seems like ages ago but it was really only 15 years," he smirked. "Wow, I'm suddenly feeling very old."
"Oh, come on," Jennifer teased, she pushed at James's leg with her own and crossed her hands over her chest. Her eyes twinkled. "34 is hardly old." James eyed Jennifer thoughtfully. "It's a seasoned age with style."
"I just realized something," James stared at Jennifer blankly.
"What?"
"Was I your first real job?"
Jennifer tried to surpress a smile, but failed. After a moment of hesitation, she answered.
"At the ripe age of 23, yes. Yes, you were," she bite back a smile. James grinned.
"I'm glad it was you," he said finally.
Jennifer lowered her gaze and took an interest in her purse. Before the silence could blossom around them, James's phone began to vibrate and ring within his palms. He didn't bother looking at the caller, but pressed one of the buttons along the side of his phone to silence the call. Lifting her head with renewed determination, Jennifer smirked and nodded towards the phone.
"Aren't you going to see who it is?" She asked slyly. James ignored her taunt.
"No," James said with a straight face. He stared back at Jennifer unashamedly, but she didn't back down.
"Do you want me to answer for you?" Her smile doubled, "As your assistant?" James leaned towards her.
"No," his voice was stern. He wasn't a fool; he knew that Jennifer knew damn well who was calling him.
"I can't believe you didn't change the ringtone," Jennifer smirked. "You two still talking?"
James pressed his lips together irritably. "I'm not."
"But she still calls you … " Jennifer let her voice trail. James turned in his seat to her squarely.
"I don't call her. She's called a couple of times but," he shrugged, "I haven't been available to see what she wants."
With another teasing smirk, Jennifer flicked hair over her shoulders. "Do you plan on talking to her?"
"No," James answered quickly, "not if I can help it," he softened some. "But, if I run in to her, I'll be cordial."
Jennifer nodded, and then took a deep breath. "Well, for what it's worth, I think she lost a good man." James smiled at the kind sentiment.
"I think that's worth a lot," he said softly, holding Jennifer's gaze steady. He pressed his lips together and looked out the car window. He didn't want to discuss Katie. She was just another reminder of his stupidity for the past two years.
Silence fell, but it didn't bother James. He searched for a way to transition to the job, and found it when the driver turned onto the road that would take them to their destination.