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COLIN
Going over the contract with my attorney was fast and straightforward.
Jaxon wasn’t trying to tie me down and he wasn’t trying to claim any of the rights. He seemed to honestly want to help me and my company which I appreciated after the rough tension between us.
The tension. The strain crossed my mind more often than it should. Why couldn’t I just brush it off? Even when I went for my walk, I didn’t dwell on the past like I used to. Instead I went over and over the conversations I’d had with Jaxon and searched for things I could’ve said or done differently. I even came up with things I could say in the future or resolve to do better at.
Oddly enough, I came back to the office and glanced toward his office as if he might be in there and I might catch a glimpse.
The contract had been a welcome distraction and I ignored the fact that all it did was give me a reason to focus on Jaxon. I didn’t need excuses. I needed resolutions.
I returned the contract to my attorney for completion and typed a text to send to Jaxon.
Papers signed. Congratulations and welcome to ClickandWed. Next step, we need to get you matched! 😊
I stared at the words, a pit tight in the bottom of my stomach. What was the problem? That I’d signed the papers? That I sounded too excited to have him onboard? Or that I was trying to get him to sign up and be matched?
In case it was the latter, I hurriedly hit send and shook my head. I wasn’t the jealous type.
My phone dinged after a minute and I furrowed my brow at his response.
I will, if you will.
What kind of a response was that? I leaned back in my office chair and stared at the phone. I didn’t know what to say and I suddenly regretted hitting send in the first place.
~~~
INSTEAD OF WORKING on anything productive since getting the contract and sending it back, I pretty much stared at my phone or caught myself checking it for a text. I might have even tried to come up with a reason to leave the office and see if Jaxon was in his office or getting ready to leave.
Carlisle walked into my office, bringing in the vision board he’d been working with Jaxon on the last two days during lunch when I’d been out. “The international flow looks great. I think he’s captured the essence of the site. Maybe he should join, just to see who he’d be paired with.”
I jerked my gaze to Carlisle’s face. Did he know about my text to Jaxon? Why would he say that? What if he knew about Jaxon’s challenge? I couldn’t join ClickandWed for a variety of reasons.
There it was again. The sick feeling in my stomach I recognized from when I sent my text telling him to sign up. For some reason, the thought of Jaxon being paired with anyone made my stomach ache. I brushed it off, holding out my hand to accept the boards.
Flipping through them, I was glad I was sitting down. Jaxon had captured exactly what I’d been trying to convey to Shandie. I didn’t know how to describe the visa option or the conversion rates and he’d fit it in nicely.
“Have you seen him since he got the office?” Carlisle sat in the chair he’d seemed to pick as his. In fact, when he brought people into my office for meetings, he usually maneuvered them around in such a way that he always ended up in his chair.
I twisted my lips to the side and set my hands on the top of the desk. Leaning forward, I narrowed my eyes. “He brought me coffee yesterday.” I winced at the possible teasing Carlisle would toss my way, but I needed a straightforward opinion and Carlisle was nothing if not frank.
“Really? You hate coffee. Doesn’t he know you’re into chai right now?” Carlisle winked at me. He folded his arms and watched me. “Did you at least say thank you?”
Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “Why would he know that or anything else about me? We don’t know each other at all.” How could we know each other? Every advance he made, I shut him down. He’d even shown up with Chinese to-go and asked if I wanted to share lunch with him.
My rejection of him had been less than graceful as I’d been on my way out and shaken my head, ducking out for my daily appointment. He didn’t know I needed my daily escape – more so now than before.
He didn’t need to know why I wasn’t interested. He didn’t need to know me.