Vicky moved as fast as her legs could carry her. Men were trouble and she didn’t have time for trouble. The man on the elevator made her mouth dry and her knees weak. He’d looked like he was going to say something to her. She wasn’t even going to allow herself the opportunity to act on her crazy feelings. Vicky headed for the exit doors but was forced to stop dead in her tracks. It was raining. Not just raining but it was coming down so hard it might as well have been a Tsunami. Vicky just stared out the window and shook her head thinking that this was just her luck. She’d have to walk to the bus stop in the rain and without an umbrella. Could this day get any worse?
While Jason walked to his car in the parking garage he couldn’t help thinking about what made the woman on the elevator look so distraught. He hoped CkR International wasn’t responsible for it. Who was he kidding it wasn’t like he hadn’t also noticed that she was drop dead gorgeous. She had silky smooth skin that looked like warm caramel. She wasn’t rail thin like most of the women he knew. They typically exercised too much and ate too little. She had an incredible figure. Her jeans hugged her body just right. He loved a woman with a nice ass. Her full lips looked very kissable entirely too kissable. However, it wasn’t her beauty that stopped his breath. It was her eyes. She had the most beautiful doe-shaped eyes he’d ever seen. They were the deepest color of brown. Maybe they were black. He couldn’t be exactly sure what color her eyes were but he did know th
ose long lashes were sparkling with recently shed tears. He had an irrational desire to want to fix whatever was wrong. The moment that their eyes met it seemed like time stood still. He’d felt a sizzle he’d never felt before. Was that the thing he’d been looking for? Jason shook his head. He had been thinking so hard about his life that he must have created all of this in his mind. No woman could possibly have such an immediate effect on a man. He shook his head again trying to clear his mind of the woman and those crazy feelings he’d just had on the elevator. It really didn’t matter anyway he was sure he’d never see her again. Man, he was losing it. It’d been a stressful enough day already reviewing budgets and gearing the teams up for the coming year. Even thinking about another woman with things so up in the air with Bridget was asking for punishment. He needed a vacation.
When Jason pulled out of the parking garage he saw the woman who had just been occupying his thoughts. She was walking, no almost running in the rain with just her bag hovering above her head. Against his better judgment something compelled him to pull over. He couldn’t just drive past her. Jason wasn’t sure why he was so concerned about her but he pulled the car up to the curb, honked his horn, rolled down his window and yelled “You need a ride?” Vicky stopped mid-stride as she recognized that the driver was the guy from the elevator. Her head told her to run and run fast. Her inner voice told her to take a chance and get in that car. She was being paranoid and crazy to turn down his offer when the alternative was to walk in this godforsaken weather. After a moment of hesitation she walked over to the car and opened the door then got in “I’m soaking wet I hope I don’t mess up your car”. “It’s a rental” Jason smiled at her. She was shivering so much that Jason turned the heat up full blast “where to?” Vicky was so thankful for the ride and for the heat of the car. She was a bit nervous getting into the car with him. He was a virtual stranger. However, something about him was vaguely familiar. Vicky couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Jason must have noticed her sudden shift in mood and her apprehension. He tried to reassure her by introducing himself “I’m sorry my name is Ja…Jay Kincaid. My friends all call me JK. ” Jason wasn’t sure why he had given her his childhood nickname. Vicky, still feeling a bit apprehensive asked “Do you work for CkR International?” “Yes. So, there is no need for you to be worried that I’m a serial killer or anything. I saw you walking in this weather and thought nobody should have to brave this rain. I decided to see if you needed a ride before I leave to catch my plane”. What unnerved Vicky the most was not her physical safety. No, she didn’t think he’d harm her. However, everything since she had met him on the elevator felt like an outer body experience. Like, she wasn’t in control.
Vicky had the feeling again that she knew Jason. He was on the CkR International elevator so she must have seen him before at work. Maybe that is why she felt so safe. Vicky laughed to herself. She was being silly “Thanks, it’s raining pretty hard out here and my bus doesn’t come for another twenty minutes or so. I’m glad your car is a rental because I’m making little puddles everywhere”. When Jason heard her laugh time literally seemed to stand still. Maybe that first time wasn’t a fluke after all. She stole his breath away. Vicky must have felt it too because for just an instant they both held each other’s stares. Of course, she was the first to turn away looking outside her window as the car started to pull away into traffic. “I usually take the bus to my daughter’s day care” Mentioning her daughter usually put men off real quick. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath waiting for his reaction. “Shit”, Jason thought. He couldn’t believe he was doing this when although technically available things were up in the air with Bridget and this woman was married with a child. Vicky could see his entire expression change and felt unreasonably hurt. “You know what…that’s ok. You can let me off at the next corner". Jason felt somewhere in this conversation he’d said or done something wrong. It was a subtle change but she was blocking him out like he’d disappointed her in some way. Jason checked his rearview mirror stalling for time “Is the daycare around the corner? Must be nice for your husband to know you are so close to your daughter”. Did he think she had a husband? Was that it? Was that why he seemed disappointed? Vicky hoped so. “Actually, no. The daycare is not around the corner and my husband would be shocked since I don’t have one”. Jason was relieved to hear that and sheepishly asked “So you’re not married?” It seemed like his disappointment was more about thinking she was married than the fact that she had a child. This might be new territory for Vicky. Most men found the quickest way out of a conversation with her once they found out she had a child. Jay didn’t seem to be doing that. Vicky chewed her bottom lip. She used to do that when she was really nervous. It was such a bad habit and she thought she’d broken it years ago. She was attracted to this man. She hadn’t felt this way in a really long time. She responded “No, I’m not married but I do have a three year old daughter, Angel.” Jason’s eyes went straight to her lips. Damn, he wished it was he who was nibbling on them. Where the hell did that come from? He went from being attracted to her to wanting to nibble on her lips. Why should he be surprised? Wouldn’t any warm blooded man feel the same way? She was beautiful. Whatever wall that had gone up between them seemed to disappear again. Jason turned on the charm “I’d feel so guilty if when you got there to pick up your daughter up you were sick from being in this rain. Please give me the address and I’ll put it into my GPS”. Vicky couldn’t help but give Jason the address. She couldn’t resist his smile. It seemed like they’d made it to the daycare center in the no time at all. They had easy conversation. Vicky pointed the center out to Jason and he pulled into the parking lot. The daycare wasn’t in the best part of town but it wasn’t in the worst either. Vicky hated that the ride was over so quickly and wished she had a few more minutes with him. After he’d pulled up to the door Vicky started to get out of the car “Thank you so much for the ride. You don’t know how much I appreciate it. You’ll have to let me pay the favor back the next time you’re in town. Have a safe flight home”. Jason didn’t want her to leave but was so tongue tied he didn’t know what to say. Vicky gave him an amazing smile then got out of the car and ran towards the daycare center. Jason realized he didn’t even get her name. He finally got a coherent thought together, rolled his windows down, and yelled after her “Hey wait…what’s your name?” Vicky turned around and yelled back “It’s Vicky. Vicky Martin” then ran inside the building.
Jason sat there for a minute letting her name run off his tongue. Vicky Martin. It felt good. He wished he had more time to explore whatever this crazy connection was between them. He felt it and he was sure she felt it too. As the rain continued to thunder down onto the windshield it struck him that Vicky would need to take the bus home with a three year old. Wouldn’t it be ungentlemanly of him to let her take the bus in this rain? He just couldn’t let her do that. At least that is what he kept telling himself. At the moment Jason decided to take them home, his cell phone tinged to let him know he had a text message. The message read “American Airlines Flight 1202 delayed due to weather”. Jason felt like he’d just hit the jack-pot. It seemed like someone upstairs was looking out for him. This was working out perfectly and maybe he could steal just a little bit more time with her.
Ten minutes later Vicky emerged from the daycare center carrying her daughter. They were standing underneath the ledge so they were dry for now. Jason grabbed his umbrella from the back seat and got out of the car. As Jason ran over to them he had to yell above the wind and rain to get their attention. “My flight was delayed so can I give you and your daughter a ride home”
? Vicky looked surprised to see him. She thought he had already left to catch his flight. It would be so nice to let him take them home. The car was warm and dry. Not to mention they would be home a whole hour and a half earlier than usual. “Jason, thank you for offering but the bus stop is just over there and it will be here in about 30 minutes” after all Vicky might have been careless letting him drive her to the daycare center but she wouldn’t do it with Angel. Jason saw the look of uncertainty on her face and thought of an idea to reassure her “Look, I would feel awful knowing I let you and Angel out in this. I have an idea. Do you know Franklin Roth?” Vicky nodded “of course, he’s the CFO of the company”. Jason didn’t understand how she was aware of Franklin’s identity but unaware of his? But, he was still grateful she didn’t. Before Vicky could ask Jason why he wanted to know Jason pulled out his cell phone and starting dialing Franklin’s number “he’ll vouch for me that I’m a decent and upstanding guy. Hey Franklin it’s….JK. I’m here with Vicky Martin. She works at CkR International and is in need of a ride home. She’s a little nervous about allowing me to give her and her daughter a ride. Can you vouch for me?” Jason nervously coughed and went on “Just vouch that she and her daughter would be safe with me, you know JK. Sorry, I mean give her my real name, Jay Kincaid” Of course, Franklin thought this was strange “Jason what are you up to and nobody’s called you JK since college. What’s going on? Are you losing your mind?” “I’m putting her on the phone now” Jason handed the phone over to Vicky and she took the phone with a little hesitation “Hello Mr. Roth”. Franklin didn’t know what Jason was up to but decided to play along until Jason could get a chance to explain it to him “Hello Ms. Martin. I’m vouching for uh Jay Kincaid’s character. It is unimpeachable. Both you and your daughter will be very safe in his care”. “Thank you Mr. Roth that is very nice to know” then Vicky handed the phone back to Jason. “Thanks Franklin I’ll call you later to talk about those sales numbers”. With a sigh Franklin grunted “you better”. Jason waited for Vicky to give him the ok. She gave him the nod he’d hoped for and walked them to the car. He helped secure Angel into the back seat. He was so thankful it had a car seat. “Thank you so much for going out of your way to take us home. It’s great being able to shave an hour and a half off of our commute time” The smile that Vicky gave Jason made him feel as though he’d just solved world hunger or something like it. “My flight was delayed so I would have been sitting around in an uncomfortable airport waiting. You guys are actually doing me the favor really.” “Well, thank you all the same”. Jason was the first person in a long time that seemed to show genuine concern for her and Angel.
Vicky’s hesitation about giving Jason her address wasn’t just because of their safety but also because she was attracted to him. She was slightly embarrassed about him seeing her neighborhood and her home. She lived on the other side of the town. The side from all appearances people like him most likely never travelled. Vicky may not know a lot about Jason but she knew he was wearing an expensive watch, shoes and raincoat. Not to mention his rental car was a Mercedes Benz and if he knew Mr. Franklin he was obviously someone high up at CkR International maybe even as high as Joshua Jones. She didn’t want him to look down on her. What was she thinking? First, she would probably never cross paths with him again and secondly, he most likely just felt sorry for her and genuinely wanted to give her a ride home. She didn’t stand a chance with someone like him being attracted to her any way. So, what would it matter if he saw her neighborhood or her home
?
On the ride over to Vicky’s Jason put on some music and turned to an old jazz station. That was a great distraction from all of the silly thoughts going on in her head. Nancy Wilson’s “Tell Me the Truth” was playing. Vicky loved jazz and she loved Nancy Wilson. “So you like Nancy Wilson huh?” Vicky looked at him to answer his question and immediately felt that sizzle that she’d felt earlier when they were in the elevator. She couldn’t hold his gaze and she didn’t trust her voice so she just nodded. A moment or two later when she’d gathered her composure she whispered the chorus ‘Tell Me the Truth Do You Plan to Hurt Me Now’.
“I really love this song”. Jason was so focused on Vicky that he was not paying close enough attention to the road and hit a huge pothole. It jarred the car enough for Vicky to have to hold onto the armrest. His first reaction was to look into his rearview mirror and make sure Angel was ok while at the same time reaching out a hand as if blocking Vicky from lurching forward “Sorry, are you ok?” Feeling like a giddy teenager Vicky nodded yes. That simple gesture, that one simple act Vicky thought could make her fall in love with him.