"Bianchi and Archer, Incorporated." Meredith balanced the phone in the space between her chin and shoulder, attempting to sound as pleasant as possible despite the fact a rather important file was falling apart in her hands. Answering phones had never been difficult for her: in fact, it was relatively easy compared to interacting in person, and her preferred method of communication.

She glanced toward Jet for assistance; however, his desk was just as messy, if not more so, than hers. Colored folders lay scattered amidst greasy fast food wrappers and empty travel mugs. The faint scent of coffee lingered in the air, mingling unpleasantly with the stale whiff of cheap cheeseburgers, causing Meredith's nose to wrinkle.

Jet wasn't normally so slovenly. The disgusting state of his desk caused an anxious worry to permeate her thoughts.

More troublesome still was the unkempt look Jet had adopted over the past few days. In lieu of his soft, wavy locks was a tufted mess of unruly hair that stood up more each time he ran a hand through it in frustration. His eyes were tired and half lidded, ringed with dark circles and weary wrinkles. Mustard stained the upturned collar of his days old dress shirt, which was soiled to the point it might stand up and walk out of the room on its own.

The reason behind the lackluster hue of his eyes and his sudden foray into the life of a hoarder was simple: Lex Archer, his business partner and vice president, had foolishly mistaken a donkey for a mule at the local fair, and upon attempting to mount the ornery beast, found himself in the nearest emergency room with his rump in a sling.

Needless to say, Archer's absence required Jet to perform the work load of two men, and the strain was beginning to have a toll on him.

Meredith listened intently as the person on the other line began to speak, but her sharp blue eyes were trained on her frazzled boss, who was currently muttering to himself in Italian.

"This is Anthony Donnell with the offices of Moretti and Stelle." A crisp, pleasant tenor meet her ears.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Donnell." Meredith greeted, still eyeing Jet warily. "What can we do for you?"

"Mr. Moretti hears you're the best." The cool voice continued, causing Meredith to pause mentally, unsure how to respond. Sure, they'd been receiving some attention in the press lately, and even published an interview with Archer in the daily post, but the firm was still a far cry from nearing stardom.

"Thank you." Meredith settled on the simplest reply she could manage. An uneasy feeling brewed in the pit of her stomach, though she couldn't put her finger on the reason why.

"We have need of your services." Anthony continued, saving Meredith the trouble of repeating herself.

Meredith gazed dejected at the mess of files piling up around the office. "I'm not sure if Mr. Bianchi is accepting any new clients at the moment." She warned kindly. "Do you mind waiting on hold while I discuss it further with him?"

An amused chuckle tumbled through the line. "Not at all. Tell Jet that Joe says hi for me, doll. He'll have time, I promise you."
The assurance felt cold and calculating, despite Anthony's amicable tone.
Meredith gently placed the receiver on her desk.

"Jet." She spoke in hushed tones, careful to keep her voice low so as not to be overheard.
Jet gave no indication that he'd heard her. He'd been staring, unblinking, at the same file for five minutes, all the while babbling incoherently.
Meredith sighed, resigning herself to walk the few feet between them and grab his attention.

"Jet!" She raised her voice a little louder, reaching out a slim hand to softly jostle his shoulder. Her fingers prickled at the contact, sending a radiating thrill up her arm that spread to her chest. The pressure there intensified tenfold as his beautiful eyes darted upward and held hers in a dazed stare. His full lips parted as the haze dissipated from his gaze, and Meredith blushed, realizing she'd been staring at his mouth.

She was ashamed to admit it, but that hot mouth of his now plagued her dreams every night as their passionate kiss replayed in her subconscious. Of course, it was always followed by a very adamant statement from him indicating the whole thing had meant no more than a lesson.

"Mer, what is it?" Jet rasped in agitation, exhaustion evident in his posture. His elbow slipped off a pile of files, scattering them on the floor. He grumbled, again in Italian, and bent to retrieve them at the same time as Meredith.

"Here, let me." She gently pried them from his hand, inadvertently leaning in front of him. He cleared his throat, averting his eyes from the v of her fitted blouse. Her cheeks grew hot and she hurriedly slipped the papers back onto his desk.

"Jet, that kiss..." Meredith's face burned even hotter. She had no idea what possessed her to bring it up again, and she was failing miserably to forget it. "Nevermind. Forget I said anything. You have a call." As she turned in attempt to retreat his hand darted out, long fingers wrapping around her wrist.

"You're an amazing kisser, Meredith. I won't forget that." Jet's voice lowered dangerously, sending excited tremors racing down her spine. " I don't regret it, if you're wondering. I'm not going to try to forget it, either."

He swallowed and stood, pulling her toward him gently. "Are you?" Jet whispered, bringing his mouth close to her ear. She shivered involuntarily.

"I can't." She murmured in reply, tilting her head toward the warmth of his breath. "I keep thinking about it."

"Good. You need to remember that lesson." His voice rumbled deep in his chest, the words sending her heart beating wildly. It almost flew out of her chest when he added "I promise there will be more of those."

Meredith didn't know if she could handle anymore tests from him. She presently struggled to control her breathing, as it was, and her entire body tingled with a foreign feeling.

"Who's on the phone?" He drew her in even closer, an uncomfortable proximity that toed the line between co-worker and something more.

Meredith gasped, wrenched out of her hormone induced funk as she remembered the reason for interrupting him in the first place.
"A prospective client." She breathed out heavily, chest aching.

"I can't accept anymore clients, Mer." Jet admitted, gesturing toward his desk. "I'm a mess."

"It's a gentlemen named Anthony Donnell." Meredith continued, glad to have something else to talk about and slowly regain the function of her brain.
Jet jerked his head up, recognition flickering in his eyes.

"He said to tell you that Joe says hello. Joe Moretti."

"Shit." Jet cursed, running a hand down his face.

Meredith frowned. "Anthony seems familiar."

"That's because you've met him." Jet scowled, stalking toward Meredith's desk.

"I have?"

"At the club." Jet's words were suddenly clipped and his shoulders had gone taught.

"This Moretti, he's important?"

Jet's blue eyes held hers in a serious gaze. "Very important, and extremely influential." Jet lowered his voice, adding, "You don't put his assistant on hold."

Her heart plummeted.
"Crap." Meredith whispered, earning a small half grin from Jet. "Did I mess up?"

He gave a small shake of his head, ocean eyes twinkling as he mouthed 'no'. Meredith caught herself watching his mouth longer than necessary.

"Anthony!" Jet blurted jovially into the phone, though it seemed rather forced to Meredith, who was, once again, a rather brilliant shade of red. "It's good to hear from you!"

Meredith perched anxiously on the edge of her desk, knees just missing Jet's arm where he bent over, elbows propped under his chin.

"Well, we've been very busy, yes." His brow furrowed, and Meredith couldn't make it what was being said on the other end.
"Of course." Jet swallowed, the grin falling from his face. His eyes trained in Meredith and a sharper, more resolute emotion flickered through them. "She's my assistant. Naturally she'd be here."
Then, an almost unnaturally sweet "It would be my pleasure. I'll put it on my calendar."

Meredith flinched as he slammed down the receiver onto the cradle.

"Son of a-" His words died on his tongue as he looked at Meredith. She watched the internal struggle as he debated with himself, lips pressed together in a fine line, brows knitted in thought. His eyes never left hers.

"What?" Meredith frowned back. It wasn't like Jet to become so perturbed, and the fact he was clearly upset disturbed her.

"We're meeting with Joe Moretti tomorrow at nine." Jet raped his knuckles on the desk, scowling at the phone.

"Okay." She breathed out. "Is that all? You're acting very strange."

"Meredith, listen to me." Suddenly her hands were in his and she was back in his arms. The warmth from his body surrounded her small frame, his woody cologne wafting around her, and she found herself willing to listen to indefinitely.

"These men are different from most of the ones you've met. They can be..." He paused, struggling to find the right word.

"Pushy?" Meredith offered, to which Jet countered "Dangerous."

Meredith frowned, skin beginning to squirm in discomfort. "Dangerous? Will I be in danger?" Hysteria threatened to claw its way in to her carefully crafted facade.

"No." Jet growled firmly, arms tightening around her. "You will not be. They're dangerous from a business standpoint." He assured her, adding "I'm like your unofficial bodyguard, anyway. Nobody can get through me."
Jet flashed her a winning, childish smile, making her very aware of his arms locked around her waist.

"You can let go."

"Haven't we been though this?" Jet smirked playfully. "What if I don't want to?"

Meredith blushed but smiled in reply. It had become a kind of game for them. "People will talk."

"Let them." The smirk grew larger and more arrogant.

"Doesn't this get old?"

Jet dropped his hands, releasing her from his pseudo hug. "Never. Let's go." The tone was husky, firm and full of promise. It made Meredith's pulse skyrocket.

Her throat was dry as she issued a reply to distract her emotions from the tension. "Why did you agree to do business with them?"

Jet turned his back to her, roughly grabbing his coat. He tossed her small handbag behind him, sending it flying into her outstretched hands. "I had to." He growled, all humor gone from his countenance. "I didn't have a choice."

Meredith blinked, shock rippling through her body with the sudden change of mood. Her legs faltered and she stopped following him. Jet paused, glancing back apologetically as he took in her frazzled reaction.

"I'm sorry, Mer." He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "I want to explain but I can't yet." His eyes pleaded with hers apologetically. "Let's go."

" Where?" She managed to wheeze, thoughts whirring with all sorts of possibilities, as anxiety ridden brains often do.

"Dinner."

"W-why?" Meredith halted, the prospect of a casual date carrying with it the weight of a multitude of emotion.

"I'm hungry. Aren't you?"

She nodded slowly.

"Then, let's go!" He called playfully, now much father ahead. "I'm tied of burgers. How about Italian?"

Meredith snorted, rolling her eyes at his wagging brows. "Funny, Jet." Then the double meaning hit and she stumbled over her own feet. She didn't know if he intended it, or if the innuendo was all in her kiss-addled mind.

*okay guys I'm here. So sorry for the delayed update. My life is so chaotic. This is horribly unedited so pleas let me know where the mistakes are. Also, vote and share please! Everyone still following this story rocks and thank you so much!!!*