Big Box Of New Adult Romance Page 26

  He looked surprised. “Don’t be glib.”

  “I’m not. You want perfection. I never said I was perfect.”

  He strode toward her. “What I want is effort. Dedication. Don’t come into my place of business and make me look like a fool.”

  His eyes burned into her. She met his gaze and didn’t falter. “I’m sorry I came in late. You’re right. I was being disrespectful.”

  This admission seemed to mollify him slightly.

  “But I’ve been punished enough,” she told him. “You humiliated me in front of that awful woman.”

  His expression darkened again. “You don’t decide what’s enough.”

  “You said I could tell you when I’d had enough.”

  “Have you?”

  “In this instance.”

  He made a face of disgust. “Just get out of my office.”

  It stung. But she was angry now, too. He wanted to keep rubbing her face in shit and she wasn’t going to stand for it anymore. “Fine, Red. Have it your way.” She turned and left, not looking back.

  ***

  Nicole had found a new resolve. After returning to her desk, she made a decision.

  She wasn’t going to crack the way she had before. She wasn’t going to give Red the satisfaction of seeing her go to pieces.

  He wanted her too. She knew that now.

  Being apart would be as hard for him as it was for her. She had to believe that.

  So she went to Remi’s office. Remi was concentrated on her computer. She looked up, dazed. “Hey, Nicole. What’s up?”

  “Give me work. Give me as much as you can.”

  “I thought you were getting sick of dancing cowboy pictures.”

  “No. In fact, I’m kind of getting to like them.”

  Remi’s eyebrows went up. “Oh, no. You must be sicker than I thought. You’ve gone off the reservation.”

  “Just give me whatever you can. I want to work until I can’t see straight.”

  Remi shrugged. “I’ll show you a little Adobe and then you can get going on some of these pictures I’m struggling with. But I warn you—this won’t be pretty.”

  “I’m game.”

  “Pull up a chair.”

  And she did.

  Remi kept to her word, first giving Nicole an Adobe tutorial and then emailing her dozens and dozens of pictures to work on.

  Nicole was at the office until well after nine o’clock that night. And she didn’t check her phone once.

  When she got home, Danielle wasn’t in. She didn’t much care, she was a zombie.

  She fell into bed that night and slept a dreamless, deep sleep.

  Her alarm woke her at five the next morning and she got up promptly, showered, dressed, left and caught the train, arriving at the office by six o’clock.

  She was one of the first people in. She made the first pot of coffee and got right to work.

  That night, she didn’t leave until eight. When Nicole returned home, Danielle was in her room with the door shut and loud music blasting. It sounded like Blake Shelton. He was singing how god gave him someone for the ups and downs.

  The weekend came and went. Nicole spent most of it sleeping and recuperating in her room. She and Danielle exchanged very few words, but at least they weren’t arguing.

  She didn’t have the energy for more arguing.

  Another night of falling asleep when her head hit the pillow. The alarm waking her after what seemed like mere seconds.

  Back to the office, which now felt more like home then home did.

  She kept busy, didn’t allow herself time to think about Red or what (or who) he might be doing.

  Remi remarked that she’d never in her life seen an intern pick up Adobe this fast, nor work this hard. She said it was a relief to have some help on the cowboy ad.

  Even Glen noticed the change. He blinked his happiness every morning he came in and saw her already buzzing away.

  ***

  One night, perhaps two weeks later (she no longer kept track of the days, they all blended together) she was at the neighborhood convenience store shopping for something to eat. She was staring at cans of soup and wondering if it would be better to eat chicken noodle or chicken rice.

  “This is no place for a beautiful flower like you,” someone said from behind her.

  She was going to say something extremely rude without even turning to look at the man in question. And then she realized who it was. She continued staring at the soup cans on the shelves, without really seeing them. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.

  “I needed to be with you.”

  She wanted to smile. Her heart was dancing. She hadn’t allowed herself to hope for this moment, but now that it was here, she was beyond happy. At the same time, she didn’t want to give in so easily to him. She didn’t want Red to think he could treat her terribly and then she’d take him back the second he decided he wanted to return.

  “I’m very busy shopping right now,” she said, picking up a can of tomato soup and examining it.

  “I can see that,” he said. And then, insistently, “Look at me.”

  She turned and looked up at him. He was staring at her with longing, with fire, and she was struck once again by his physical perfection. He could have been a movie star, she thought, if he’d wanted to be. Any woman would pay any price to have him, and yet here he was, with her. In this dingy little convenience store.

  “Okay, I’m looking at you,” she said.

  He was dressed in a suit with a light trench coat because it had been raining off an on all day. She could smell the rain on him even now. “I’ve never felt this way about someone,” he said. “I need you.”

  She looked away, unable to deal with the passion she was feeling. If she kept looking at him, she wouldn’t be able to stay strong. “You can’t just toy with me,” she said.

  “I’m not toying with you.” He caressed her cheek, and then his hand cupped her chin and tilted her face towards his. “Look at me, beautiful.”

  She met his gaze once more and felt the tears sting her eyes. “You were the one who threw me out of your office. You humiliated me, laughed at me. And then two weeks of nothing.”

  “I was wrong.” His eyes didn’t waver. “I was…conflicted.”

  “Conflicted about what? Why do you have to make this so complicated?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “You’re the most frustrating, ridiculous person I’ve ever met.”

  “And so are you,” he told her.

  “So where does that leave us?” she asked.

  “I didn’t expect to feel this way,” he said.

  “How do you feel?”

  And then he kissed her, while she held the can of tomato soup that she didn’t even want. His lips were firm and warm, his hands held her face softly, slid around to the back of her neck, her hair. She’d never felt such passion before, hadn’t imagined it even existed.

  Finally they broke off. He smiled at her and she laughed.

  “This is crazy,” she said.

  “Let’s go back to your place,” he replied.

  She shook her head. “No way Jose.”

  “Come on, it’ll be fun. I want to see how you live.” He grabbed her free hand and started for the exit of the store. The middle-aged Korean man who was working the register stared at them.

  “Red,” she squealed. “We can’t!”

  “I’ve done a lot of things in my life,” Red told her. “I built a multi-billion dollar business from scratch. I’ve invested in startups that people said would never amount to anything, and made money doing it. I swam with the sharks near the Great Barrier Reef. I think I can make it through a night at your second-story walkup.”

  She laughed. “My roommate’s home. I can’t.”

  “Already met her.” He cocked his head. “Come to think of it, she wasn’t particularly friendly to me.”

  Nicole stopped dead in her tracks. “Don’t joke aro
und like that.”

  He smiled. “I’m not joking. I thought you’d be home so I knocked on your apartment door.”

  “You didn’t buzz first?”

  “Someone was coming out of your building while I was waiting, so I just went in and knocked like a true gentleman. But the girl who answered the door wasn’t very forthcoming. She refused to tell me where you were.”

  Nicole put her hand to her forehead. “Oh no. No, no, no.” She had a terrible feeling.

  “Relax,” he said. “She’s harmless. And luckily, I know that you have a habit of shopping at this store on weekday evenings.”

  “I really wish you hadn’t gone to my apartment,” Nicole said. “You’re famous—

  she definitely recognized you.”

  “We’re not doing anything illegal,” he smiled.

  He had a point, Nicole thought. Why was she being so secretive about this relationship? Partly because she wanted it to be just between them. She didn’t want to always be answering Danielle’s probing questions, defending her own actions. But also because she sensed that Danielle would judge her, would tell her that it was a mistake. She would say that Red was only going to hurt her.

  “You’re right,” she told him, trying to convince herself that she didn’t care what Danielle knew. “I don’t give a damn what Danielle thinks.”

  The Korean man at the register was unabashedly watching their banter, his face a mask of puzzlement.

  Red sighed. “I think we can do something more interesting than your apartment.

  I’ve got a place in mind.”

  “Where?”

  “Trust me.”

  “Fine. I’m game.” She put the can of soup down on the counter by the register.

  “I’m not buying this,” she told the Korean man, who just stared.

  Red walked her outside. The little bell chimed on the door as they left.

  His car was parked across the street. It was still misty out, but the rain had mostly stopped.

  “Your chariot awaits,” he said, opening the passenger door of the car. She slid into the seat. The inside of the car smelled fresh, as if it had only just been cleaned. And it also smelled of his cologne, which she now associated with pleasure, with passion.

  He got in the driver’s seat and they took off to an unknown destination together.

  ***

  They drove for a long time. Nearly forty-five minutes, and a lot of it on the highway. She tried questioning him, but Red refused to say where they were going. At first, she’d been convinced he was going to take her to that Club Dominion place, but obviously not.

  “Relax,” he laughed, when she got frustrated with his refusal to tell her where they were headed. “The surprise is part of it.”

  So she switched gears and asked him about work.

  “Do you still enjoy it?”

  He thought for a while, maneuvering easily between two cars and then giving the Bentley some extra gas so they shot ahead and into a new lane. His driving was so fast and daring, yet she never felt in any danger from what he did.

  “I do enjoy it,” he said. “But things are different now that we’re so established. I really loved it when the odds were stacked against me. When everyone said I would fail, that I couldn’t land the big account. That I was growing too fast.”

  “And now?”

  He shrugged. “Now everyone expects us to win.”

  “I wish I knew what that felt like.”

  He glanced at her. “Someday you will, Nicole. And you’ll realize it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Coming up is the fun part.”

  Eventually he exited the highway.

  She noticed a few signs for Teterboro Airport and began wondering if it was a coincidence. But as they continued, the signs grew closer together and he continued to follow them, and soon it was clear they were actually going there.

  “Where on earth are we going?” she cried, when she saw the glowing landing strip lights, and a plane flew overhead.

  “I haven’t quite decided.”

  “We need a plane to get there?”

  “Do you not like flying?”

  “Only when I need to get somewhere far away. And last I checked, we’re going on a date.”

  “Right.” He smiled at her. “Glad we’re in agreement.”

  They parked and he led her into the airport, where he was treated like a king. No standing in lines, no waiting. The two of them were escorted immediately onto the tarmac, where a private jet was waiting.

  The pilot personally greeted Red and Nicole as they climbed the steps to board it.

  “Evening Mister Jameson,” the pilot said, his voice betraying a distinctive Southern twang. “Evening, ma’am.”

  “Good evening, Will,” Red said, shaking his hand. “How are the kids?”

  “Great, sir. Oldest just had his eighteenth birthday.”

  “Does he like basketball?”

  “That he does.”

  “What’s his favorite team?”

  “He’s actually a Kentucky fan.”

  “I’m going to have Lacy send him four tickets to the NCAA tournament as a gift.”

  The pilot shook his head. “No way. I can’t accept that.” But he was smiling.

  “You will,” Red laughed as they climbed aboard.

  The interior of the jet was less like any plane she’d ever been on, and more like some kind of futuristic living room.

  There were plush chairs, a long couch, a flat screen television, a full bar. The only thing that proved she was still on a plane was the entrance to the cockpit and the little circular windows that only planes had. Everything was very classy, cream colored, none of the gaudy red and black stuff.

  “Now will you tell me where we’re going?” she asked him when they’d sat in two of the seats and buckled themselves in for takeoff.

  The plane began taxying down the runway.

  He held her hand and looked in her eyes. “Florida.”

  “Florida?”

  “I didn’t want to take you too far from home, but just far enough away to be romantic. We’ll be there in under three hours if the wind stays in this direction.”

  “What are you, a pilot too? You know the wind direction?”

  “Will told me.” He grins. “Let’s have a drink to celebrate our escape from New York.” He buzzed for the stewardess, a beautiful woman who batted her eyes and flirted shamelessly with Red right in front of Nicole.

  But Red clearly had no interest in her. She brought them two glasses of champagne as the plane soared into the night skies. Nicole looked out the windows and watched the tiny bright lights of the city grow smaller and smaller beneath them.

  She felt really happy for the first time in a long time.

  “Here’s to a beautiful night,” Red said, raising his glass, “and the woman who captured my heart.”

  They drank the champagne and held hands.

  Eventually the plane stabilized and they could move about the cabin. So they sat on the couch and watched TV together, feeling like a real couple. She lay with her feet across his lap, and Red massaged her feet softly, gently. His hands were warm and knowledgeable. By the end, she was so relaxed that she dozed off.

  She woke as the plane bumped a soft landing on the runway in Florida.

  “I slept that whole time?” she cried, sitting up.

  Red laughed. “They wanted us to move back to our seats for the landing, but I refused to wake my sleeping beauty.”

  The plane slowed down and came to a stop near the airport. She rubbed her eyes.

  “This might be the strangest night of my life.”

  “Perfect,” he said.

  ***

  It was just after ten-thirty when they arrived, via taxi, at Siesta Key, a small tourist island that Nicole had only heard of, but never been to. The main drag was cute, filled with little outdoor restaurants, bars, some of them with musicians playing for the many customers.

  Plenty of people walked up and dow
n the strip, and everyone seemed to be happy, as if playing bit parts in the romantic movie that was Nicole’s life.

  Red took her to a surprisingly normal grill called Club Baja. They sat outside, where the air was warm and fragrant, and humid. She could smell the beach, the ocean air.

  It was like a dream.

  “This place has the best fish tacos I’ve ever had,” he said. And proceeded to order fish tacos and beer for both of them, not bothering to inquire what she might like.

  Nicole didn’t fight him on this, because by now she expected that he would take charge of just about everything.

  And besides, he was right about the fish tacos. They were incredible. “This might be the best meal I’ve ever had,” she admitted.

  He nodded, chewing a huge mouthful of food and following it with a gulp of beer.

  When the meal was over, they walked hand and hand down the strip with the other tourists, just a regular couple out for a stroll. The only thing that made them stand out was their clothing. Red had taken off his suit coat and tie and rolled up his sleeves, but he was the only guy wearing fancy pants and a button-down.

  Finally they arrived at the beach. Red bent down and began unlacing his shoes.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “We’re going to take a walk on this beach,” he said. “Come on.”

  So she took off her heels and he took off his shoes and socks. He was now carrying so many different pieces of clothing that he eventually dropped it all in a pile by one of the vacant lifeguard chairs.

  She placed her high heels in the pile and they continued their walk, this time right down by the water. The sand was cool on her feet and between her toes. When the water made it to their feet, she shivered a little.

  “How can you suddenly seem so normal?” she asked. “Is this an act or what?”

  Red took her hand and stopped her. He looked in her eyes. His face was bathed in shadows. “I’m doing this because I want to make you happy,” he said. And then he kissed her.

  I love you, she thought. She was frightened to think it, but also glad.

  He took her and laid her down just far enough away from the water that the waves didn’t reach them as they kissed on the beach. She was getting sand all over her, and she didn’t care at all.

  Soon, he’d removed her blouse. And then her jeans came off.