She was professional when he had a question about the promotional efforts for the party. He couldn’t fault her on that. Claire was prompt to respond through emails and texts at all hours of the day. Cheerful but to the point.
It was obvious that she was embarrassed for oversharing and she was now avoiding him. Jason sighed as the weariness settled on him. He had a feeling that he had done something wrong. But what? And would Claire tell him? Probably not.
And now he wasn’t sure whether he should give her space or if he should act as if she’d said nothing. All he knew is that he wanted to be with Claire. Talk to her. Hold her and make everything better.
Jason glanced at the bar below and did a double take. He gripped the metal bannister as he stared at the woman sitting on the bar stool. The beautiful shade of blond hair falling past her shoulders was instantly recognizable. Claire was finally here.
Pleasure, bright and warm, spread through him as he walked to the bar. He drank in the sight of her. Instead of her customary blazer, Claire wore a long-sleeve gray shirt and dark jeans. She sat stiffly at the bar but it seemed as if she was trying to play it cool.
Fine, Jason decided, he would follow her lead. “Claire, it’s good to see you. Have you been waiting long?”
She glanced up and her dark blue eyes flared with joy only to be replaced by wariness. “I came by to give you the marketing portfolio from our last campaign.” She tapped the glossy folder that sat next to her arm.
“Thanks.” Jason didn’t reach for it. He didn’t care about business at the moment. All he wanted was to find out where she had been and why she had been avoiding him. “How was your evening out with your friends?”
She groaned and slowly shook her head. “It’s been two days and I can barely walk.”
Jason narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Let me show you.” Claire pushed her sleeve up and revealed several bruises on her arm. They were dark blue against her pale skin. “The ones on my legs and hips are worse.”
Jason gently grasped her wrist with one hand and slid her sleeve up past her elbow. Every protective instinct screamed in his head. She had gotten hurt and he hadn’t known about it. She hadn’t called him or asked for help.
“What happened?” he asked gruffly.
She pressed her lips as if she was reluctant to tell him. “Roller Derby,” she mumbled.
Jason’s mouth dropped open and he snapped it closed. “You joined a Roller Derby team?”
“No, no, no.” She pulled away from his grasp and waved her hands as if she could clear that thought from his head. “You have to try out for the team. You actually have to be good at it. My friends and I went to a Roller Derby workshop. I got the pictures to prove it,” she said proudly.
“You went through all that?” He gestured at her bruises. “So you could get pictures? You got injured, but it’s okay because it was all to impress Max?”
“It was one night.” Claire rolled her sleeve down her arm. “A few hours.”
Jason shoved his hands through his hair as he held back the anger. He wanted to forbid her from doing something crazy like that again but he knew he didn’t have the right to say it. “Why are you doing this to yourself?” His voice came out raspy. “No job is worth all this.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” A smile played on her lips. “I want the bragging rights. I want to have the job that everyone in my field would kill for. I’ve never been the envy of others and this is my chance.”
“Does Max test everyone this way or just you? And don’t you think it’s weird that he wants you to be someone completely different?” Jason paused and held his frustration in check before he blurted out how perfect Claire already was. “Why is it so important for Max to believe you’re a wild party girl?”
She ducked her head. “I needed an image that was the opposite of who I am.”
He gritted his teeth. “Is that the only reason?”
“Maybe I wanted to know what it felt like to be the center of attention.” Claire motioned with her hands and she tried to come up with the words. “There’s no respect in being the quiet one,” she finally said. “You’re forgotten and overlooked. But a party girl commands attention. Every man wants to be with her. Every woman wants to be her.”
“That’s not true,” he argued. “Some party animals are obnoxious and drunk and no one wants to be around them.”