Family Ties

Part 28

Weeks later, Jackson sat in his office staring blankly at the paper in front of him. No matter where he turned, he always found a way to think about Raymond. In the beginning, it was annoying and he kept brushing it aside, but he had to admit that he missed him. It could really have worked out between them if he wasn't investigating his company.

But so far nothing had happened. He was on high alert for anything that may come out of whatever information  Raymond had gathered. Maybe he was telling the truth, or was he only trying to convince himself that's what it was?

He looked up and saw his sour-faced assistant working away, looking like a dried prune that might snap at any moment. Since Raymond's departure there had been a mad scramble to find a replacement. He had to go back to his usual routine of getting to the office on time and had to attend the mind-numbing meetings that he normally got a one-page report on. He missed the worm, as he'd come to call Raymond over the past weeks of discussing what could have been with Asuka. He was sure that she had had enough, but there was no one else who'd listen.

Looking down at the report, he threw it down, getting up to grab his coat. He might as well mope while having a good cup of coffee.

Opening the door, with its quaint jingle of bells, he stepped inside. As always, the restaurant was filled with the heavenly smell of baked goods. It was quite busy, that's why he always avoided coming during the day. It had quickly become a favourite spot in the neighbourhood, which meant finding a table could be hard.

Moving right to the back to an alcove where two high-backed chairs and a small table were hidden from the rest of the buzz. He'd just turned the corner when he spotted Raymond's blond head sitting in his chair, chatting to a handsome dark-skinned man, who had his long fingers stretched out over Raymond's arm.

"What exactly is going on here? You bring every strange guy to our special place?" There was murder in his voice. Seeing the two of them together, with Raymond smiling and happy made his blood boil. That should be him sitting there dammit!

"Oh, Jackson!" Raymond jumped up, unsure of the stormy look on Jackson's face. It looked like he'd done something wrong. "I... er... I, em..." He stuttered as Jackson stood scowling, with Tom glancing in confusion between the two of them

"Jackson, Tom, Tom, Jackson. He rushed through the introduction. "I worked for Jackson before." He smiled at Tom, shooting a warning glance at Jackson, who only raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'd say it was more than working together." He clarified for Tom's sake. "So what, you're going to make him fall for you and dump him at the first convenient time as you did with me?" Okay, he was being unreasonable and a bit of an asshole right now, but he couldn't stand watching them on a romantic date. He should be the one having romantic dates!

"Right, because that's what I did, was it?" He didn't know which way was up. Jackson's argument made no sense, especially not since he was the one to withdraw and start a cold war. "Only thing is, I remember it differently." He watched as a flush crossed Jackson's cheeks.

 "Maybe I should give you guys some time to talk." Tom got up looking uncertainly between the two who were now seemingly engaged in a stare-off. "Eh, Ray? Give me a call when you're free." He smiled, reaching over to grab Raymond's hand, but quickly pulled it away when Jackson slapped it hard.

"Sorry, Tom. He's a bit of an asshole. I'll give you a call when I'm done." He smiled. Tom was really nice guy with a big heart. He cared about his job and his patients and he seemed to be getting on well with Skye, which were all plusses in his book. He didn't need Jackson to interfere when he had no right to.

"Was that really necessary?" He turned to Jackson who'd now taken up Tom's vacated seat.

"Well, I'm not the one going around town hooking up with every pretty boy that happened to be free!" He snapped, his irrational anger quick to the surface.

"Jackson, what are you doing?" Raymond asked, not wanting to get into a fight, which Jackson seemed bent on starting.

"What do you mean? I was happily going about my life when you came around, kissed me and pinned me to the desk like a policeman. Then you went and made me fall for you by doing the cutest things and smiling at me as if the whole world was lit up. And then you ran off without a word." He finished not sure if he was making any sense.

Who was he kidding? Raymond had been running around in his head more often than he'd cared to admit. Talking it through with Asuka he'd come to the conclusion that it may be time to speak to Raymond, only he wasn't prepared to find him out on a date. And, so what if his reasoning was flawed?

"Right, you seem hell-bent on making me the bad guy. I told you the truth because I thought we could work out, but you didn't take it too well, which I get. But Jackson, you knew where I was, it's not like I ran away." Did Jackson expect him to live chastely in misery, pining away for him, crucifying himself with pain?

"Well, I thought you were going to harm the company, I mean why else would you investigate it?"

"I told you, Jackson, I gave Dealers a clean bill of health and the client's got no information from the company other than what is already online. That's not how we work. He said emphatically. "I didn't need to tell you anything, but I did, which should say a lot."

"I'll get going then." He got up with a sigh when it didn't seem as if Jackson was going to say anything.

Jackson sat watching Raymond walk to the front of the restaurant and out of site. Maybe he'd burnt his bridges already, he sighed. What was it about Raymond that made him so special that he kept popping up in his mind the whole time? It's not as if they'd spent months dating, but if what he was feeling was anything to go by, then he missed having him around, even if he was a sneaky worm.