What Matters Most

Chapter 46

Leigh had just gotten off of the phone with her mother as she was pulling into the parking lot the next morning. Grace was thrilled at the idea of coming to Atlanta for Christmas. She missed her daughter, and couldn't wait to come see her new place. Plus she was looking forward to meeting both of the new guys in her life. Leigh talked about Christopher and Chase every time that they chatted on the phone. Grace had a feeling that her daughter had feelings for both of these men, and she wanted to meet them in person. Maybe then she could figure out which one Leigh was really falling for. She knew Jackson's mom Ann would be thrilled to fly out to Atlanta with her to see the kids for Christmas. Ann had been alone in her big house as well since her husband passed, and Jackson had moved out. Leigh had asked her to wait to mention it to Ann until after she spoke to Jackson to make sure it was okay with him first.

Sitting down at her desk Leigh sent Christopher a text,
I talked to my mom, and she was all for the Christmas idea.

He replied saying,
Great I will call mom and set up all of the arrangements.

She sent a quick text to Jackson,
Can you please meet me at lunch? I need to talk to you about something.

He replied immediately,
Of course! Is everything was okay?

She replied,
Too much to text, please just meet me at lunch. I need to talk to you as soon as possible.

Jackson was on edge all morning after that message from Leigh. Chase could tell something was on Jackson's mind. Maybe he should ask him what was up at lunch. Walking into the cafeteria the first thing that he saw changed his mind about that idea. Looking across the room he saw Jackson sitting with Leigh all alone at a table for two.

"What the fuck is this," Chase says. "Why are they sitting at a table alone, and where the hell is Jayden?" Then he remembers her saying last night that she had an appointment at lunch today, and she would not be here. So that gave Jackson the perfect opportunity to swoop in and grab a table with Leigh all to themselves. Chase found a seat across the room with one of his costars, but made sure that he had a clear view of Leigh and Jacksons table. They seemed friendly, and Leigh was even laughing at something that Jackson was saying. The more that Chase watched the more pissed off that he became. He tried to pretend to listen to the conversation at his table, but all he cared about was why Leigh was sitting alone with Jackson.

Finally, Jackson stood up to leave. As he walked away he leaned down and kissed her cheek, then whispered something in her ear. Chase lost it. He jumped up and flew across the room to Leigh's table, stopping right in front of her. "What the hell was that Leigh?" Chase asks loudly.

"Chase keep your voice down," Leigh says looking around embarrassed. Chase just stood there staring at her waiting for an answer. "Please stop making a scene and sit down," she pleads.

"Well are you going to answer me?" Chase says as he sits down.

"First of all, it is not what you think. I will explain it to you if you calm down," she says.

"Calm down? Are you serious?" Chase asks sarcastically. "That guy continually takes advantage of you, and you just keep letting him. Why do you keep letting him walk all over you?" he says loudly again.

"That's enough Chase!" Leigh says raising her voice. "I know you are upset over what you think that you saw, but you are wrong. Even so, I will not sit here and let you talk to me like this way," she says as she gets up and walks out of the cafeteria.

Chase sits there stunned and immediately regrets talking to Leigh like that. She has got to stop letting this guy take advantage of her though. Chase heads back to set determined to give Jackson a piece of his mind. As soon as he walks in Jackson calls him over.

"Hey, man did you see Leigh at lunch? Did she fill you in on the plans?" Jackson asks.

"Yeah I saw her, and speaking of Leigh we need to talk," Chase replies shortly.

"Okay, talk about what?" Jackson asks.

"Look you need to leave Leigh alone. She is one of the nicest people that I know, and I will not stand by and watch you take advantage of her."

"Look Chase, I don't know why you are so upset right now, but I'm not," Jackson replies.

"Like hell, you aren't. You show up here early and insist that she help you spend the day looking for an apartment only to lease an apartment in our building the next day. Then she invites you to have dinner with us, so you can meet her friends and not be alone. Now you make sure to jump in and have a private lunch with her while Jayden isn't here. You said you would give her some space, but you are always around."

"I know that you are just trying to look out for Leigh, but who Leigh speaks to and spends time with is really none of your business. You're not her boyfriend. What you obviously don't know is that Leigh asked me to meet her at lunch today," he says sarcastically

"What!" Chase asks angrily.

"Yep. I could lie, and say it was to work on us getting back together just to piss you off, but it wasn't. I don't want any hard feelings between us, especially since we have to work together. Leigh was just doing what Leigh does best. She was trying to make everyone happy and putting everyone else first," Jackson says.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Chase asks frustrated.

"Well, it seems that your brother came up with the idea of Leigh and her mom spending Christmas with your family at your parent's house this year. She called Grace this morning and asked her if she would like to come here for Christmas and Grace agreed. At the same time, Leigh knew that I would probably not be going home for Christmas since there is so much going on here with the movie. So she asked me what I thought of having my mom fly out with Gracie to spend Christmas with me. Leigh knew my mom would be there alone, and I would be here alone. She knew it may be a little awkward between us having both of our mom's here. They have no idea about our past, but she didn't want us to be alone at Christmas."

"Fuck!" Chase says looking back towards Leigh's office building. "I need to go apologize to her. She is really pissed at me for some of the things I said to her earlier," he says starting to walk toward her building.

Jackson grabs his arm stopping him. Chase spins around ready to knock him out. Jackson puts his hands up in defeat. "Take it from me man. It is probably best that you let her cool off before you try to talk to her. She's not gonna want to talk to you about this with her boss nearby," Jackson says.

Chase looks down at his arm that Jackson is still holding out to, and Jackson releases his arm.

"Plus your boss who just got wrongfully accused of being a major dick needs you to get back to work," he says smiling.

"Look Jackson, I'm sorry about that. I don't want us to have any problems about Leigh. I want us to get along. Yeah, she is my brother's girlfriend. She is also really important to me too, and I won't let anyone hurt her. That goes for you and my brother," Chase says.

"I hear you man and I totally understand. I feel the same way. I have felt that way about Leigh for years. That's why I have had such a hard time letting her go. You don't just fall out of love with Leigh. Once you fall in love with Leigh, you love her forever. I'm guessing you are starting to understand that feeling too right?" Jackson asks.

Chase looks a Jackson like he has no idea what he is talking about.

"Come on let's forget about this and get back to work," Jackson says.

"Alright man, thanks," Chase says heading back inside. At least they ended the conversation before he had to admit he has feelings for Leigh. Or more like act like he doesn't have feelings for Leigh.

Chase is not as good of an actor as he thinks he is, Jackson thinks to himself. Clearly, he is already falling in love with Leigh. He's trying to hide it, but not very good at hiding it. His brother will definitely be able to see it when he comes home for Christmas. Maybe those two will stay busy fighting each other about Leigh. Then I can steal her away from both of them.

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