"Cal," Jasper reached for Cal's arm as I passed, "put these messages on my desk. Now."

Jasper's tone sent a shiver down my spine, and I scurried away faster than I'd planned, covering my mouth the entire time to prevent my tipsy giggle from ruining my life any further.

Taking off my wool coat and the thick red scarf Jasper gave me last winter, I hung both on the hook behind my door before closing it. My shoes were covered in slush that froze my painted toes, so I reached down to pull off my heels, resting my left hand against one of the leather chairs in front of my desk.

The door creaked open behind me, quickly closing as Jasper's cologne blew in an intoxicating swirl around my shivering frame.

"What's going on, Rose?" His warm palm spread against the small of my back before I stood to move toward my chair. My back tingled when he took his hand away to sit in the chair I just leaned on, his elbows pressing into the armrests. Jasper tapped his fingers against his perfect lips, his eyes burning with deep blue irritation.

"What are you talking about?" I sifted through the stack of messages Dahlia placed on my desk while I was out.

"Callum was your lunch meeting?"

"Plans fell through." I eyed him. "You know how that goes."

"That's low, Rose."

I glanced at Jasper, startled by the intense, steady glare his steely eyes exchanged with mine. He inhaled deeply, continuing to watch me, as he slowly nodded.

"Jas," I sighed, closing my eyes for a second, "I didn't mean anything by that. Please."

Jasper's tie dangled from his throat as he leaned forward in the chair, his hands falling from his lips. "We worked incredibly hard to build this. Please don't throw our reputation away on drinks with your assistant."

Stealing my breath, Jasper stood and wiped his hands to press the wrinkles on his thighs before buttoning his suit coat and turning to leave me in a pillowing cyclone of his moody visit. I was silently mocking his words, sneering at his cruel accusations, when my door opened again.

"I can hear you." Only Jasper's head poked through the small crack, his eyes less vexed.

"I didn't say anything."

"You were mocking me. Don't do it again. Just," he shook his head, stepping into my office and closing the door before coming to my side, "remember how hard we worked to get this. All of this."

"I do. Daily."

His soft palms that stretched into long, capable fingers, cocooned my pink cheeks. I wanted to lean into his touch, but I couldn't.

"You're cold," he mumbled. "Shake it off before our meeting with Pulp at three." He towered over me, briefly kissing my forehead.

"Jasper," I warned, groaned, willed...

"Old habits die hard, Rosebud."

Jasper's expression softened, melting into a mischievous grin that the stirring in my belly fought against. He knew it, too. When he turned to leave, saying no more to me, my gaze greedily followed him, leaving me in the frustrating vacancy of my corner office.

***

Hanging my head back in exhaustion, I waited for the elevator to approach my floor. It seemed tediously slow, as though preventing me from sleep was its delight. I left work close to eight. Nicole and I were the only people who remained, and I hated to imagine what she spent her time doing in Jasper's office since he left uncharacteristically early.

When the elevator door finally peeled apart, revealing the antique chest and mirror in the shared foyer, I was overcome with relief and quickly entered my security code in the pad next to my condo door. The heat was a welcomed sensation as I peeled off my scarf and coat, dropping them on the love-seat on my way to the kitchen, where I graciously poured a large glass of water to carry into my bedroom.  I was to that point of supreme fatigue, beyond it actually, where my feet could barely sense the floor beneath them.

As I went to set the glass on my night table, I noticed something on my bed. Resting on my pillow beneath one long-stem red rose was a handwritten note. I pressed the rose to my nostrils, inhaling the sweet fragrance, reading his words.

Rose. You could never ruin what we have built. You're the one who holds it all together. I'm sorry. –J

I didn't think twice about the fact Jasper entered my house while I was at work, or that he came into my bedroom, or even how he spent enough time in there to write a note and leave a rose on my pillow. This was his home for four years and, as he told me earlier, old habits were hard to break. I wish I could break the habit of Jasper. I wish we could break the habit of each other. No I don't. No I didn't.

I placed the rose on my night table and slid Jasper's letter into a small box I kept beneath my bed. I couldn't even undress and, once my head hit the pillow, I was done for.

***

I swirled my tongue around the cap of my pen as I struggled to listen to Cal's detailed itinerary for next week's trip to New York. My thoughts were on the iced hazelnut latte I forgot to grab earlier because I overslept, Jasper's kind gesture that welcomed me home last night, and the run in my black nylons that I could already feel tickling up my calf.

"Are you even listening to me, Rose?" Cal laughed, dropping his clipboard against my desk in playful exasperation.

"No," I teased, pulling the pen from my mouth. I blinked to clear my glossed stare. "I'm sorry, Cal. I'll listen now. Tell me where we're staying."

"I've booked you a room at the Knickerbocker in Times Square."

"Where's Jasper staying?"

"I think Nicole booked their rooms at the Waldorf. They're within a couple blocks of each other so..."

"Their rooms?" My heart leaped into my throat, my stomach twisting with unease.

"Should I call HR and get her fired today? I'll do that for you so fast, Rose. You won't even have to think about it."

I laughed at his determination. I lived with the steady influx of young women attracted toJasper for years. There was always someone new, someone eager to replace me, but the thing about Jasper was that he never noticed. 

He never knew, or he was such a gentleman that he didn't let me know he knew. When I was with Jasper, I was all he noticed. He didn't know that he was still all I noticed.

"Don't be ridiculous." I rolled my eyes, playing it off. "He knows she is a gold-digging ladder climber. And besides, Jas isn't stupid enough to mess around with his assistant."