Family Ties

Part 12

"Jackson, do you think I could have a quick word?" Raymond quietly asked as Jackson walked past his desk.

"Sure." He grinned, sitting down. "So, what's all this about?"

So far the morning had gone great. He'd gone to pick them up as promised, even had Skye ride on his shoulders on their way to his class. He'd been chatting away excitedly, filling every space with his observations, that had Jackson in stitches, as Raymond followed quietly beside them.

"It's about Skye." He started uncertainly. He didn't want to hurt Jackson's feelings, but he also needed to be realistic and Skye having a stable life was most important.

"What about the little one?" He leaned back in his chair. "Maybe we should go for dinner again tonight?" He suggested, still on a high of being with Raymond.

"No more dinners or school visits or gifts." He sat down opposite Jackson, his hands nervously clasped together.

"What do you mean?" He frowned, unsure of where Raymond was going.

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but the less you see of Skye, the better. He gets attached easily, you see." He looked back down at his hands again. "I'm not going to pretend that I don't know that you're sort of interested in me, but I don't do flings and especially at work." He made it clear.

"Well, if you knew, then why didn't you say something? I've been sweating like a maniac just to get you to go out!" He sighed in relief.

"Because I was hoping that you'd stop and not take it any further."

"So, you're not interested in dating me?"

"I didn't say that. All I'm saying is that for Skye's sake, I can't bring random guys home. I want him to have a stable life without my relationships getting in the way."

"So you are interested in dating me?" Jackson perked up a bit.

"I didn't say that either!" He snapped. "You're a really nice guy and everything, Jackson, but I don't think you're ready to date a father and his son.

"When did you get to decide for me?" Jackson slowly got up and walked to Raymond. "This isn't a one-time thing, Cook, or even on the spur of the moment. I really like you and would like to see where it is that we could go."

"And what happens when I have to put Skye first and you can't go to a gala or performance because of an emergency? Or when he gets sick and I have to change plans at a moment's notice?" These were things that Raymond had learned the hard way when he was still actively dating while juggling a baby. Playing happy family was nice until the real work started.

"Trust me, the payoff isn't worth the effort if you're looking for a one-night stand."

"Do you think that little things like that will make a difference? Cook, I want to date you with all those impossible situations that you seem to think will happen. I don't scare that easily, so unless that little monster can climb the walls and spin his head around, I'd say we're good." He grinned leaning against the desk, looking at Raymond's lowered head.

"Aren't you even a little bit interested in me?" Jackson threw caution into the wind, slightly nervous.

"I, you, what I mean to say is..." he blushed unwilling to admit the truth.

"It's a simple question, Cook." He chuckled.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know not to get over-involved in Skye's life, please." Raymond bounced up, looking uncomfortably into Jackson's smiling face. "I'll just go and..." He quickly turned and left in a whirl.

Jackson shook his head, still not sure what to think, but at least his infatuation with Raymond was out in the open. It's probably going to take some work to get Raymond to agree to anything, but he had time and he was nothing, if not persistent.

Sitting at his desk, Raymond's eyes flickered over to Jackson. Who was he kidding? He'd give his right arm to be dating Jackson. The man was nothing short of perfect, even if his personality was somewhat questionable. But he had to think of Skye as well. If he were to be dating someone, then that person would have to be in it for the long run and somehow Jackson didn't fit the bill.

But he sure was a pretty boy, he sighed again getting to work. He needed to get his head back in the game. Things have been dragging out for too long and he still wasn't any wiser as to what he was looking for at Dealers. Almost every avenue had come up clean, with nothing unusual, but he had a nagging feeling that he was looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place.

Later that day, Jackson leaned against Raymond's desk, crossing his arms, an impossible grin on his face.

Raymond jumped up, knocking his chair back, before quickly righting himself to look at Jackson. Dear god, did this man have to be so perfect? He thought to himself, biting his lower lip.

"Shouldn't we go and pick up the little man?"

"Eh, em, no" Raymond stumbled. "Regular schedule is in play again since the family's back." He brightly informed Jackson. Thank god he wasn't going to have to worry about Skye anymore now that everybody was back again.

"Oh." He was a little disappointed. "Do you maybe want to go for a meal then?" His smile was back in place.

"It's parent-teacher night, so I'll have to pass," he grimaced.

"Oh, okay, some other time then." Jackson couldn't hide his disappointment and stalked back to his office, keeping an eye on him until he saw Raymond packing up for the day. There must be a way to get Raymond to give in, he thought. He simply had to be his bullheaded self. It worked before, right?

--

Getting into a cab, Raymond decided to go to the public library on a hunch. So far there was nothing at the company that he could report on. The only other avenue that he hadn't yet explored was Jackson or his family. He had to admit it was a dumb mistake to make, but hopefully, he'd get closer to what he was supposed to find.

Doing a broad search on the family, a small article popped up about the acquisition of a blue diamond, named Heaven's Tear. Scrolling on, he found a small missing person's notice. Raymond's frown deepened. Is this why he couldn't find any information, because it was all hidden in the back pages of a local newspaper? 

The caption under the photograph just indicated a reward with a number on it. It didn't make sense to him that the missing person's notice was so small. Almost as if they were going through the motions. Going online, he tried to refine the search but came up blank. It's as if Jackson's current life was the only life he's lived, almost as if whatever happened before, never existed.

Raymond's interest was piqued. This was obviously more than just some underhanded dealings at a company. He made a photocopy of the diamond and the missing person's picture and headed out into the cold night, pulling his hoody over his head.