Chapter 4

Dinner went fabulous. They ended up at a nice little Italian restaurant chosen by Richie. By the end of the night Steph felt right at home with the guys in the band. It was clear that everyone approved of her as everyone hugged good bye. Since Steph and Jon were the only ones headed back to the city, David opted to drive Richie back to rehab and Tico back to his place.

During the drive back to the city, Steph was quiet. She couldn’t believe what a whirlwind few days it had been. Within twenty four hours her life had completely changed. She already loved working for Jon and the rest of the band members were fantastic.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Jon spoke up about halfway back.

“I’m just thinking,” she said softly. “This is such an amazing opportunity.”

“Well, the guys absolutely loved you. I think you’re officially a part of our family now.”

“Which means?” she asked.

“Which means I could never fire you, even if I wanted to. You’re here to stay. The guys would have a fit if I ever sent you away.”

Steph just laughed.  “So I’m in then.”

“Yes you are my lady.”

They arrived back at the apartment a short time later, and changed into comfortable clothes. John wore a pair of flannel pj bottoms and a t-shirt while Steph wore shorts and a tank top.

“So,” Jon said once they got inside, “What’s on my agenda for tomorrow?”

“You have nothing scheduled for the weekend,” she replied.

“Sweet,” he said happily. “Want to watch a movie? You can go through the collection and pick whatever you want.” He leaned back on the couch and reached for a remote and pressed a button revealing a large movie screen and two doors next to it opened up revealing the movie collection. “Don’t worry they’re all in order.”

“Show off,” she said, “It looks like block buster video in here.”

Jon just laughed. “Well check out the new releases section. I may have some that aren’t even out in the theater yet.”

She looked at the wall with a New Releases label, and looked through the DVDs, and movie canisters. Pausing at one, she started jumping up and down, excited.

Jon just gave her an amused grin. “Find something you want to see?”

“Hell yes! I can’t believe you have a copy of this. It’s not even supposed to be out in theaters until November.” She held up a copy of the new Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn.

“I just got that in a few days ago. I have a guy in Hollywood that always gets me the new stuff before it comes out. I am actually a closeted Twilight buff. And if you ever tell the guys that, I may have to break my rule of not firing you.”

Steph grinned. “You’re secret is safe with me. But before we start the movie, I’ll get us snacks.”

“I can do that,” Jon offered.

“Nonsense. It’s my job to make sure you’re taken care of.  Now tell me what you’re favorite movie snacks are.”

“Surprise me. The kitchen is loaded with snacks and I love to snack during a good movie.”

“Do you want an adult beverage or soda?”

“Adult beverage by all means.”

Steph went into the big kitchen and found popcorn and m & ms and a bag of mini reeses peanut butter cups. She spread out the candy on a tray and poured the popcorn into a bowl. Next she scoped out the bar and found all of the ingredients to make her best friends specialty drink. She and her best friend had waited tables and bartended together for three years. Her best friend invented the perfect drink that tasted like Hawaiian punch. She made a little pitcher of them and set that and two glasses on the tray and carried everything out to the living room, and set everything down on the coffee table.

Jon whistled. “Wow , this is a nice spread you got here. What’s in the pitcher? Jungle juice?”

“Ha!” She laughed. “It’s better than jungle juice.  Try some.” She poured them each a glass and debated whether or not to sit on the giant couch next to him or in the chase lounge.

“You can sit with me,” Jon said watching her. “I promise I won’t bite unless you ask me to.”

She smiled and sat down next to him as Jon sipped his drink. “Ok, either there is no alcohol in this stuff or it is positively lethal.”

“You like?” she asked with a grin.

“I do. You have to tell me what’s in it.”

“Nope. Trade secret. However, I can tell you that it is positively lethal.”

He chuckled softly. He clicked the remote and the lights all dimmed and the previews started. It was like being in your own private movie theater. “Wait, I can fast forward too,” he whispered to her, clicking a button on the remote to fast forward through the previews.

“Again,” she whispered back as the opening credits came on, “Show off.”

The movie came on and Jon and Steph sat in silence quietly munching on snacks and sipping their drinks. The movie definitely was not a disappointment to Steph who had read all four of the books in a week. She couldn’t wait to tell her best friend Katie back home that she had seen this already. Katie would probably kill her if she knew she saw the movie without her. Oh well, they could always watch it again. About halfway into the movie Jon was starting to feel the effects of those drinks. He looked over at Steph and wondered if he could get away with putting his arm around her. He decided to try a move that was considered an oldie but a goody. He gave a big yawn and stretched his arms out, gently resting one on the couch behind her.

“Is the movie  putting you to sleep?” Steph whispered at him.

“No,” he replied, “But the drinks might be.” Jon reached for the bowl of popcorn with his free arm and set it between them. He watched her as she reached for some about five minutes later. He decided to do the same. His hands slowly brushed hers as they reached for the popcorn together. She felt a jolt of electricity run through her veins as their hands touched.  He too felt surprised at what he felt when he touched her hand. This girl was smart, beautiful, funny, and feisty. Somehow he didn’t think he’d be able to control himself for very long with her. He looked over at her, and gently lowered the arm that was on the couch so it his hand was resting on her shoulder.  She too was feeling the effects of the alcohol. It felt good to have a strong man’s arms around her. Even if it was her new boss. She gave a contented sigh and rested her head against his shoulder causing him to put his arm around her a little tighter.

Shit, she thought to herself. How buzzed are you? She took another sip of her drink. Oh well, if anything happens tonight I can blame the alcohol. It feels way too good being here.

“Comfy?” he whispered. “I know I am.”

“Hmm.” She said. “Definitely.” She stretched her legs out and laid back with her head resting on his chest. He set the popcorn down and decided that the movie had definitely been a great idea. He took his other arm and wrapped it around her as well. He also found himself thankful that Dot and the kids were off at the shore house for the weekend.  Even though his marriage was technically over, the kids didn’t know that yet. Not that they were kids anymore.  They were all teenagers. Hell, Cassandra and Jesse were 20 and 21. The movie ended with a cliff hanger. Jon knew this and figured Steph did too. As the credits rolled Steph smiled happily.

“So far, the best Twilight I’ve seen,” she said content to be laying in his arms.

“I’m glad you liked it,” he said softly. “I definitely enjoyed it.”

She started to sit up, and realized she felt a little wobbly. Probably from the alcohol and the effect he was having on her. He noticed and chuckled. “Serves you right for trying to get up. I was perfectly content to keep you here.” He reached for her and pulled her back against him.

“But, someone should clean up-“ She protested, realizing she was losing the battle fast.

“We finished the pitcher. Fantastic drinks by the way. And the m & ms and peanut butter cups are in bags and the popcorn is in a bowl with a lid. I think that can wait, don’t you?” He gently turned her around in his arms so she was facing him and their lips were just inches apart.

“I guess so,” she said softly wanting to lean forward and kiss those lips of his.

As if reading her mind, Jon spoke, “It’s ok. You can bite if you want to. I know I want you to.”

She gently lifted her arms up and around him, and leaned in and softly brushed her lips against his. He opened his mouth slightly allowing her access to stick her  tongue in his mouth.  The kiss lasted for what seemed like hours. Jon reached his hands up and slowly massaged her back as they kissed. When they broke apart it was only to catch a moment for air before they went back to hungrily tasting each other. They both tasted of chocolate and those fruity drinks.  He definitely didn’t want to stop kissing her, as this was absolutely perfect. His hands slowly made their way down her back and came around to her front side. She let out a little moan as one hand reached over and gently grazed her soft breasts. The other hand reached is way south, and he gently slid his finger inside the crevice of her shorts and found her quickly and expertly touched her area which was already wet in anticipation of his touch. She let out another soft moan, letting him know that she wanted to take this further. The hand that was lazily circling her breasts stopped what it was doing to gently slide off her shorts. He pulled away from kissing her long enough to look at her laying on top of him.

“Bedroom?” he asked with a ragged breath glancing down at her wet area, which looked more beautiful than he had imagined.

She tried to tell herself it was a bad idea getting involved with him so quickly, and he sensed her hesitation, and definitely didn’t want that. He expertly slid two fingers inside of her causing her to lose all thoughts of it being a bad idea. “Yes, “ she breathed as he kept ducking his fingers in and out of her, teasing her.  That was all he needed to hear. He gently lifted her up and carried her across the hallways of the apartment  and laid her down on his bed.

“Jon,” she breathed. The time it took him to carry her to the caused some of her resolve to come back. “While I’m enjoying what we were doing down there, I’m not so sure we should let it go that far yet…”

He gently crawled into the bed next to her and put his arms around her.  She could feel his hardness pressing against her, and instantly felt bad that she had turned him on only to turn him down. He leaned in and spoke softly in her ear. “It’s ok. I can wait.”

“Seriously?” she asked rolling over to face him. “You don’t feel like I was being a tease for wanting to wait.”

“You wanting to wait is better than where we were at a day ago. You insisted we were a bad idea then. So yes, I can wait for you my little one. I don’t want to do this anyway with you being drunk the first time.”

“I’m not drunk. Well not now anyway,” she said. “The buzz is wearing off. Although, by the end of the movie I was feeling pretty damn good. I still want to wait though. I mean, we barely know each other, and you are my boss, and married too…”

He wrapped his arms tighter around her. “Ok, apparently I’m going to have to do some convincing here. Because it sounds like your resolve that we shouldn’t get involved is back. I don’t know about you, but I felt an instant connection from the moment you smiled at me on the elevator. As far as me being your boss, we can easily keep things on the dl for a little while if that’s what you want. I want to get to know you better and it’ll actually be great for your job to get to know me better and I don’t mean on a sexual level. Although that would be a job with excellent fringe benefits,” He paused to flash a grin at her. “AAs far as me being married, we’ve talked about my situation. In fact, I’m pretty sure Dot has a man on the side.  I think she’s just waiting for me to find someone before she tells me she wants the divorce to happen sooner rather than later. And if it turns out that we don’t work out, I promise I won’t fire you. Or, I’ll give you to Richie. He’s been wanting to get a PA for a long time now. Richie lives on the west coast most of the time, so if we didn’t work out, you wouldn’t have to see my ugly face. So there, I’ve argued all of your points, and I think I’ve done a damn fine job.” He took his head and propped it up with hand and looked at her with a hopeful boyish look.

“You did a fine job arguing my points. Except if we didn’t work out, I’d expect you to stay professional with me, and not turn me over to Richie. Not that Richie isn’t amazing. I just don’t think I’m the right fit to be his PA,” she said.

He chuckled softly, “Yeah, you’re too sweet for him. I need the sweet girl on my side.”

“Hey, I think I’ve proven I’m not all sweet and innocent!” she protested.

“I suppose,” he said leaning in to nibble her neck. “You taste sweet from every part of you I’ve tasted. So? Will you give this thing a whirl with me?”

“Jon, honestly,” she said, “How can one focus on giving the right answer with you doing that?”

He pulled back. “Ok baby. I’m all yours. Now bring up another point.”

She sighed. She wanted to try with him. But her past history was not exactly stellar. And part of the reason for taking this job was because she had been coming off a very bad relationship. But she couldn’t tell him that. “To tell you the honest truth, I don’t think I’m ready to try.” She thought about the things she had been through with her ex, and felt herself get a little teary eyed.

All of a sudden he realized that it wasn’t him. It was her. And it made him want her more. And it made him want to protect her from whatever had so clearly hurt her in the past.

“Ok,” he said, not wanting to push her. “How about we at least try to be friends? I’d like to get to know you and maybe when you get to the point where you’re ready, we can try to see where this could go. I’m a very patient man Stephanie. I’ll wait for you. I’m pretty sure that you’re worth waiting for.”

“We can definitely be friends,” she whispered softly wishing she were ready for more than that. “I should probably get to my own bed now.”

“Don’t go,” Jon said softly. “I’m not saying that something will happen. Because I can guarantee you that unless you say the word I will behave myself. Can friends hold each other?”

She smiled. “I suppose.”

“Good.” He pulled her close to him and she snuggled against him and fell sound asleep.