Her stomach tightened, but before she could respond, she felt a solid wall of warmth and strength at her side, and she turned her head to look up and see Jonathon standing right next to her. His hand went to her waist and he pulled her toward his body slightly. Everything in her rushed wildly and she sucked in her breath silently and sharply at the feel of him against her. She tried to appear outwardly as if it was a familiarity between them that happened often, and not something that had affected her so deeply in the moment.
"I see you found my right hand lady!" Jonathon said with a smile and a hint of possession. "I couldn't do anything without her. She's absolutely vital to me in practically everything I do. I have no idea how I ever managed before she came along."
Shane looked up at him and blinked in surprise, and then his eyes moved slowly from Jonathon to Naomi, and his gaze fell to Naomi's waist where Jonathon's hand was clamped. Realization came into his eyes and his face fell as he stepped backward a pace, and nodded.
"Yeah, she's pretty great," he agreed shallowly. He looked around them and then back up at Jonathon. "You haven't seen Anthony, have you? I was hoping to talk with him about your business proposition."
Jonathon's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment and he turned one corner of his mouth up slightly. "Certainly. He's over there talking to Phillip and Vincent. I'm sure he'll be there a while."
Shane nodded and then turned to look at Naomi and she saw desire flame up in his eyes. He leaned forward toward her and kissed her cheek softly as she stood there with Jonathon's arm around her. She felt his hand tighten on her waist as Shane leaned back again.
"Call me soon, and we'll go have dinner and finish what we started." He gave her a wink and then turned and walked away from them. She let out a huge breath and turned to face Jonathon as she sighed.
"You have impeccable timing. Thank you." She told him as she looked up through her dark lashes at him and gave him a smile.
He let his hand stay on her waist as she turned to him, and the feel of her body as it moved against his made him catch his breath as he gazed down at her. "I hope I didn't overstep a boundary there. I know you went out on a date with him while we were at the hotel."
She shook her head, her eyes locked on his as she lost herself slowly in their dark green depths. "No, it's fine. He was coming on to me again and I didn't want him to. I feel like I can't tell him not to be like that with me because of the business deal that we're working on with them, and it bothers me," she admitted to him.
Jonathon was sure he felt his heart swell in him to nearly twice the size. He had never asked her about her date, but if she didn't want to be close to Shane, then it couldn't have gone far and it couldn't have gone well, and that knowledge gave him immense relief.
"Well, let's just say that I would prefer it if you two kept your relationship just business, and Naomi, no matter what we have going on with anyone at any time, if you feel uncomfortable, then say so. You do not ever need to compromise your dignity or comfort for the sake of business. If Shane or anyone else makes you uncomfortable, including me, then say something and stop it. You should never be made to feel that way." His face and his voice were serious, and she was relieved and glad to hear him say it to her.
She shook her head slightly and let her gaze fall to his mouth for a moment as her breath caught in her chest and she tried to remember anything besides what it felt like to be so near him. She raised her eyes back up to meet his and spoke softly.
"You don't make me uncomfortable at all," she breathed. His eyes grew sharper and his lips parted slightly. He looked as if he might be about to lean closer to her, but just then a light airy voice filled the air around them and Jonathon was pulled from her abruptly.
Naomi blinked and drew in a breath as she looked around; the world suddenly rushing back in to her and waking her up to reality. There was a woman standing at Jonathon's side, her arm linked through his, a look of ownership on her pale face.
She was extremely pale with long straight reddish orange hair that hung to her waist. She had big hazel eyes and thin lips. Her face was rounded and slightly chubby. Her small chin was pointed out, like the tip of her nose; both of them had a sharp look to them, while everything else about her was round, from her shoulders and elbows to her thick waist and short legs. Her eyes were even sharper than her nose and chin, and she had a look about her as if she was not more than a moment from snapping out at whoever might be around her.
At that moment, her eyes were locked on Naomi's. She stood there with Jonathon in her clutches and her gaze dared Naomi to get close to him again. Naomi looked from the woman up to Jonathon and she blinked in surprise.
He sighed and his shoulders dropped slightly. Without really looking at either one of them, he introduced them quietly and Naomi heard a hint of regret in his voice. "Susan Grayson, this is Naomi Bradshaw. Naomi is my assistant. Susan is Vincent Grayson's daughter." He spoke quietly and the women shook hands, although Susan's grip was tighter on Naomi's hand than it needed to be.
"Good afternoon." Naomi said with a slightly forced smile. She couldn't say that it was nice to meet Susan. It didn't feel nice to meet Susan. Susan nodded and repeated the greeting back to her.
"I see you've kept my Jonathon busy for a while with work. I think it's high time that he and I spent some time relaxing a little." She leaned up and kissed Jonathon's cheek and Naomi saw his lips press together slightly into a thin line before he sighed in resignation.
Naomi wasn't sure what was going on between Jonathon and Susan, but it was quite clear that they were more than familiar with each other. She wondered suddenly if he and Susan were seeing one another, and the realization gave her a hard jolt to the stomach.
"Well, actually we were working on a business deal that we were hoping to bring to a soft close here." Naomi found herself wanting to take Jonathon back from the redheaded woman before her.
Susan raised one eyebrow slightly. "He can go back to it later. We have some things to take care of and talk about. Goodbye." With that, she turned both herself and Jonathon around and took two steps with him before he looked over his shoulder at Naomi and stopped in midstep.
"No, Susan, she's right. We are working on a very important deal that I want to get taken care of today," he said sternly, his eyes reaching back to Naomi.
Susan lifted her sharp chin and glared at him with her wide eyes. "You and I have some things to discuss with our fathers. They are waiting for us. Now, you come with me and let's not keep them old men waiting, shall we? If you want to work on your business deal, you can do it later. Come with me now," she insisted.
He frowned and his brows furrowed as he sighed and nodded. "Naomi, I'll be back." Then Susan tugged on his arm and hauled him off toward Vincent and Phillip.
Naomi watched him go and as she saw Susan taking him; her arm locked in his, her grin beaming up at him as she looked to him and spoke while they walked, she realized that Susan must be his most serious relationship. It made sense. Their fathers were best friends. The couple reached the old men and both of them greeted Susan with a kiss on the cheek and Vincent reached his hand out to Jonathon's shoulder.
Naomi saw that they were all four very close, and she saw Susan lean up on her toes and kiss Jonathon's cheek again as she wrapped her arm around the back of his waist and held him close to her. It became very clear to Naomi then. Jonathon was with Susan. She had just never known it because he kept his personal life out of their business life. Naomi's cheeks felt flushed with the fires of humiliation and embarrassment.
She had let herself believe that his attentions were for her, that there was something strong and deep between them, but it had been her imagination all the while. He had never been anything more than a friend to her, and as Naomi saw his familiarity with Susan, she understood that he had never been that way with her, and that it was painfully obvious that she was the only one who felt anything other than their working bond friendship.
Her throat tightened and though she felt rooted to the spot, she somehow found the strength to turn away from the scene playing out before her. She walked swiftly to the house and was out of the front door with her driver in minutes. He tucked her into the back seat of the car and all the way back to her apartment, she felt as though her lungs were suffocating from the pain and sorrow that she could barely contain.
She was determined not to cry in front of the driver. Instead, she stared out of the window and acted as though she was looking at everything that they were driving past. The countryside raced past the windows, and then the city passed them by, and an eternity later, the car was at the front of her apartment building and she was out of it and riding up in the elevator to her front door.