Employed by the Boss (Managing the Bosses 7)

***

When Mark and Alex came in together that evening, Jamie and Christine were in the kitchen having a snack with the twins, who seemed determined to play ‘how much floor space can I cover with a single cracker?’ Jamie looked up at the sound of footsteps, and found her husband and brother-in-law standing just inside the doorway, watching them both with amused smiles on their faces.

“Hey,” she said, brushing crumbs off her shirt and stepping around the counter to wrap her arms around Alex in greeting.

“Hey,” he repeated, hugging her tight. “I think the answer is pretty obvious, but how did it go today?”

“It went really well,” Jamie said, pulling back enough to smile up at him. “I got about three hours of work done, and Christine and the twins got along great.”

“Glad to hear it,” Alex said, and his smile said he really was. “Actually, Mark has offered to watch them for us tonight, if we want to go out to dinner.”

Jamie glanced over at Mark, who gave her a big smile and a thumb’s up. “Absolutely. I’d love to spend the evening with the kids.”

“I could help,” Christine offered quietly from the other side of the kitchen, where she was still sitting between the twins.

Jamie exchanged a look with Alex, who nodded.

“Sure,” she said. “If that’s okay with Mark.”

“Like I’m going to refuse help,” Mark said. He made a shooing motion at them. “We’ll hang out here with the kids. You two go have fun.”

When Jamie opened her mouth to give instructions, Alex took her hand and pulled her up the stairs.

“They’ll be fine,” he said in the bedroom. “Mark has spent time with the twins before, and Christine just watched them for most of the day. Between the two of them I’m sure they’ve got it handled.

“I know, but I just want to make sure they know where the emergency numbers are,” J

amie said, pulling her shirt off over her head. “And they need to know what time the twins go to bed. They’ll need to feed them dinner in a little bit…”

Alex came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her back against him and resting his chin on her shoulder.

“They’re going to be fine, Jamie. Really.” She felt his mouth curve up into a smile. “And you and I are going to have a good time. Because I missed you.”

He slid his hands up the curve of her waist and cupped the weight of her breasts. The touch woke desire deep inside of her, and she groaned. It had been way too long since they had been together. Days too long.

“I missed you, too,” she said, turning in his arms to wrap her own around his neck, her nipples tightening against the soft fabric of her bra. “I want you.”

Alex leaned down, and his lips met hers. She sighed into the kiss as his tongue pressed past her lips, making love to her mouth.

When they broke apart, he pulled back despite her attempts to keep him close, and slapped his hand against her backside. “Go,” he growled. “Get dressed. We’ve got to be at dinner in a little less than an hour. After that, we’ll think about dessert.”

Jamie groaned in protest but she went to finish dressing, though she did make sure to strip out of her jeans very slowly and fully in Alex’s view. If the sharp intake of breath behind her was anything to go by, he appreciated the effort.

They emerged from the bedroom shortly after, both of them fully dressed and keeping their hands, for the moment, to themselves. Mark and Christine were still standing in the kitchen, chatting quietly while the twins smeared abstract designs across their trays in cracker crumbs. Alex immediately went to them, crouching down slightly to say something to them that Jamie couldn’t hear. Benton flailed a hand at his father, and Alex laughed.

“Okay,” Jamie said as she and Alex stepped toward the door. “So the twins just had their snack, which means they should be ready for dinner in an hour or two. There’s baby food in the pantry. Mark knows where to look for it.” She snagged a pad of paper from next to the phone, and jotted down the number for the twins’ pediatrician. “You know how to get a hold of Alex and me. And the police. If anything happens that seems health-related but isn’t an immediate emergency, you can call their doctor. Make sure you call us, though. Maybe call us first. Unless it’s an emergency, then call the police first.”

“Jamie,” Alex said from behind her.

“And the formula is in the cabinet, too. They each get some right before they go to sleep. They shouldn’t wake up again before we get home, but if they do and they’re hungry give them another bottle. The scooper is inside and Mark, you know how much, right?”

Mark and Christine were both nodding.

“It hasn’t changed since last week, right?” Mark asked, trying to hide a grin.

“Jamie, we have to get going if we’re going to make our dinner reservation.”

“It’s still the same.” She ignored Alex as she went through a mental check list. “And of course you know where the diapers are and all that.”