Billionaire Blaze, page 8
But would she want the same? I didn’t know if I was anything to her other than a way to amuse herself or an added bonus to the vacation. And there was a part of me that still couldn’t help but worry that I was a career stepping stone to her. It wouldn’t have been the first time.
I didn’t get a chance to think about it much longer. There was a knock on the door, and she stirred.
“Who is it?” I called.
“Juno.” The feminine voice was polite but barely audible. “I wondered if you’d seen Kit. She’s not in her room, and I’ve not seen her since last night.”
Kit woke up enough to look at me, her eyes going wide.
“Do you want her to know?” I whispered, not sure how she felt about us hooking up.
“I’m in here, and I’m safe,” Kit called back before smiling shyly up at me. I chuckled, wondering what Juno would think.
“Cool beans,” Juno replied. “Come on down for breakfast whenever you’re both ready.”
I thought I heard a hint of amusement in her voice, but nothing more followed, and Kit shifted beside me to get a better look at me. Again, she gave me a shy smile, her cheeks a pink color that added to her perfection.
“Sorry. I hope that was okay,” she said, her gaze turning up to see if I was upset with her.
“Perfectly. I’m pretty sure everyone saw us dancing last night, and we weren’t exactly discreet about heading to bed together. This lot will talk.”
She frowned, almost as if she didn’t like that idea.
“I’m sure Juno won’t,” I added, not sure if it would do much good and feeling more concerned that this bothered her, even if only a little.
“Juno is a darling. She wouldn’t gossip about anyone. I...” Kit trailed off, flustered again. She lifted a hand to tuck errant strands of hair behind her ear, but there weren’t any, and it only made me more worried for her. I didn’t want her to be nervous.
“What is it?” I asked. “You can tell me. I won’t bite, I promise. At least, not unless you want me to.” I grinned mischievously, and she gave me a wry smile. It calmed her down, which was what I had been aiming for.
“I don’t normally do this sort of thing,” she eventually said. “Normally, I take a lot longer to get to know someone. I’d like this to not just be...”
“Sex?”
She nodded, searching my face once more.
“I don’t want this to just be sex either.”
As soon as I’d spoken, she relaxed against me. I kissed her, considering another round, but she fidgeted and pulled away soon after.
“We should probably get up and go join the others. They know we’re awake.” She looked toward the door again, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to push it. The thought alone had aroused me, and so did the sight of her body as she slipped out of the bed. Everything about her curved in all the right ways. The right proportions.
Sighing, I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to think of something less enticing than pulling her back into bed and screwing her hard. I had to behave. The lady had said no, and that meant no.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Kit
I tried to contain all the various emotions I felt as I walked out of Lukas’ bedroom and into the hallway. Thankfully, no one was around, and if Juno had waited at all to see if I’d emerge, she hadn’t waited long.
Although I had done my best to straighten my hair and get my dress back on, I still needed to get back to my room to get fresh clothes.
Now I understood why it was called the walk of shame when someone had to return to their house or room while wearing the night before’s clothes. I was so obviously in my bridesmaid dress that one glance and anyone would know I hadn’t been to my own room yet.
On the other hand, Lukas was amazing, and I wasn’t sure I would have minded anyone knowing that the two of us were involved. He was also fully dressed in new clothes, however.
Trying not to worry, I walked across the hallway and opened the door to my room. I ducked into the room and mostly out of sight before looking back at Lukas.
“I’ll meet you downstairs when you’re ready.” He smiled and looked me over one last time before he walked off. I shut the door behind me and drew a deep breath to calm my pounding heart. I could feel it hammering in my chest, and for a moment, I placed my hand over it as if the action would help to steady it.
It didn’t, but I felt better nonetheless. Moving over to my bed, I sat on it and thought through my clothing options. I found myself wanting to choose whatever would be most flattering to my figure, but I had no idea what that might be.
Despite wanting to appear perfect, I also didn’t want to keep Mr. Handsome waiting, so I did my best to clean up some more, put on a fresh dress that I thought hugged my figure in all the right places, and did some makeup. I only let myself take another twenty minutes, hoping Lukas wouldn’t mind waiting that long.
As I came out of the room again, I looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. I exhaled and took a moment to try and compose myself again. Even after spending the night with him, I had butterflies in my stomach. Although he had been wonderful to me this morning so far, I feared him growing cold and deciding he hadn’t enjoyed spending the night with me all that much.
So many times, I had started a relationship just to find that the guy I was with wasn’t a decent person or just wanted to screw and not much else. I didn’t want that here, but I feared that I had already made it far too easy. It was hard to deny our chemistry, however.
Pushing the worries aside, something I was getting used to since arriving here, I made my way downstairs to the veranda to see how many others were having breakfast.
Juno was easy to spot, at the far end and sitting on Jack’s lap. The two of them had already finished breakfast. I looked around for Lukas, but before I could find him and see if he still had space at his table, a woman approached me.
“I’ve spent the last hour hearing all about your interior designs and seeing the photos of your work Juno has on her phone, and I must say that they are fantastic. I have a project that I might like you to work on. Can we talk it over while we do breakfast?”
“You’ve not eaten?” I replied, and then I could have hit myself for being so blunt and rude. “I mean, thank you for the compliment. But I don’t want to keep you if you’ve already had food. I’m sure we could talk whenever is most convenient for you later.”
“Oh, nonsense,” the woman replied. She linked her arm through mine and steered me away to a table that was mostly empty, giving me no opportunity to look for Lukas at all. “I didn’t get a chance to eat. I was too busy checking out what you’ve done. I googled you as well. I hope you don’t mind. You’re on the verge of being one of the next big designers, and I want to be able to say I had you on my project before everyone else wanted you.”
I felt a thrill of delight at the compliment but also the fear that came with that kind of pressure. I hadn’t been pursuing the limelight. Intentionally not.
“I’m Sarai, by the way. You’re Kit, right?”
Again, I nodded and didn’t say much. Sarai seemed more than willing to do most of the talking, and for now, I was happy to let her.
“You’ve been talking to Lukas a lot as well, haven’t you?”
“Yes. He’s a complete gentleman.” I frowned, trying not to show my fear as I wondered where she was going with that. This was a strange conversation, and I already felt overwhelmed by it.
“I’m glad you like him. I think he’s a darling, and he’s amazing at what he does. Just like you.”
“I’ve not seen much of his work, but Juno thinks he’s good and I trust her opinion.”
“Oh, as do I, sweetheart. As do I.”
Over the next hour, Sarai ran through her proposal for some themed vacation parks and how she wanted me to be involved. Although I had been nervous, the more she spoke and referenced photos of my work she had seen, the more I could pull up even more examples of past work and the more excited both of us got.
At some point, her partner Richard joined us and also enthused over the idea, both of them clearly wanting to be involved and somehow on the same page. It was even more of a boost to see the couple supporting each other and making space for each other so well. I relaxed and let the conversation happen at its own pace.
It took a long time for us to actually focus on breakfast, and by then, most of the rest of the guests had gone off to do something else. Juno had briefly come over to let me know she wanted some girlie time alone with me that evening before I left the island. It seemed strange, but I wasn’t about to refuse her anything, and I still hadn’t seen any sign of Lukas since coming down for breakfast.
If he had come down as well, he had come and gone without saying another word to me.
“I think this seems like a done deal,” Richard said once we’d finished eating and been through every aspect of the design I might be involved in. “We like the ideas you’ve had already, and you are clearly someone who will hear ours and not only work with us but enhance what we come up with. We want to start on the first stage in about a month, maybe a little sooner. Can you work with us that soon?” Richard sat back, his empty plate in front of him.
Although I wanted to say yes immediately, I knew I had to consider the projects I already had. I’d never abandoned one client for another in the past, no matter how tempted, and I didn’t think I wanted to this time either.
“I can definitely do it in a month. If I can get a project I’m currently working on wrapped up sooner, I’d gladly come on sooner, but I can’t promise it.”
“That will do for an answer. We’ll have you on board as soon as you’re ready.” Sarai clapped her hands in delight.
I smiled at both of them, grateful for the opportunity. If nothing else, coming to the US for Juno’s wedding had made me a bunch of friends, and I was loving the enthusiasm for more work. It would let me travel, see some more of the US, and get paid to do it.
“Oooh, we should think about where Kit can stay while she’s working with us. Would you like to stay in one of our themed cabins? We’ve got one that’s not too far away, and we can also arrange a car for you.”
“I would love that.” Again, I felt a thrill of delight. This was a huge opportunity.
Sarai squeezed my hand and finally got up. “That’s all settled then. We’ll communicate over the next week or so and get it all organized. You’re going to love staying with us, and we’ll make sure your weekends are full of sightseeing. There’s so much to show you near us.”
Thankfully, Sarai didn’t go on about anything more, Richard encouraging her to go with him to their room to freshen up.
Although I wasn’t sure what they needed to freshen up for when we had been sitting around eating and talking all morning so far, I was grateful for a moment to myself. I looked around for Lukas again, but I still couldn’t find him. I could only hope he didn’t mind that I had been distracted by work.
I tried to remember where Juno had gone with the others, but I didn’t know enough about the island to follow them. And that gave me two options. To go inside and amuse myself with a book or try and talk to whoever else hadn’t gone with Juno and was in there.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lukas
I frowned as I saw Kit still deep in conversation with Sarai and Richard. She had been talking to them for some time and hadn’t even tried to come over and spend time with me. After she had tried to claim that she wanted to spend the day with me and didn’t want anything between us to be just one night, I was more than a little confused.
Knowing the pair who were talking to her, I could imagine she was doing only one thing—trying to get herself some work. She kept showing them photos from her phone, and I shook my head every time.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Kai asked as he sat next to me.
I shrugged, not wanting to talk to anyone about her yet. “Nothing important.”
“Want to come for a ride out on the water to look for dolphins and have a snorkel or something?” He studied me as if he didn’t buy what I was saying but was offering me a way out anyway.
I looked over at Kit, still deep in conversation. Kai followed my gaze, but I smiled at him anyway. “Sure. I’ve got nothing to do here.”
Before he could suggest otherwise, I got up and abandoned my half-eaten breakfast. I was definitely done here, and I wasn’t going to come back for a while. That suited me just fine.
Within twenty minutes, I was sitting in the back of a small boat, swimming trunks on and surrounded by the rest of Jack’s band. Jack himself wasn’t with us, doing something else with Juno, but plenty of the other men were, many of them also single. It kept the talk of women to a minimum. Instead, Kai took it upon himself to help us find the interesting areas around the island where we could see exotic fish and swim with the wildlife.
There were snorkels and flippers for all sizes, and I donned those, too, wanting to enjoy the experience. For the next few hours, I switched off from everything and explored the water. Kai was right alongside me for a lot of it, still spry for his age and eager to see and experience everything.
It was infectious, and I soon forgot everything and enjoyed the moment. Once we were done in the water and sitting on the back of the boat on towels, he looked over at me again.
“Jack said you were wrapped up in your work a lot of the time, and I gotta admit, I wasn’t sure you’d be fun company, but you know how to relax too. Thank you for being here on this one.” Kai reached out his hand to shake mine, and I eagerly shook back.
“I’ll confess, I wasn’t sure about spending a few days on an island in the middle of nowhere, but it’s been good to get away from work and let it all go. It will still be there when I get back.”
“It’s always there if you let it. You should spend more time having fun. Kit seems to be willing to spend time with you. When she doesn’t have Sarai talking her ear off.”
“I think they were both talking each other’s ears off. Kit likes talking about what she does.”
“Don’t we all?” Kai chuckled and smiled as if I hadn’t just criticized Kit. “You should hear Alma sometimes. I think it’s adorable as long as they’re happy and not harming anyone. Life is hard enough on women when it comes to their careers. If I can support her to make up for it, I will.”
Although I didn’t entirely agree with the sentiment, I nodded and smiled politely. It was clear that Alma and Kai loved each other first and foremost. Helping someone who had your back and loved you was different from being taken advantage of by someone who was only with you for what they could gain.
I wasn’t about to make Kai worry about that when he was already safe and didn’t have to, though. As soon as I could, I asked him what Alma did, letting him talk about her and enthuse about her work while I listened. It was clear he enjoyed talking about her, and it helped pass the time on the way back to the island without him prying any more into my situation or insinuating that I should pursue a relationship with Kit.
So far, I had seen everything I needed to. She was only interested in me if a better business opportunity wasn’t around. And I didn’t want to be a girlfriend’s business opportunity or financial security. I was done being used in that way.
Now all I had to do was get through the rest of this trip and head home in the morning. I had plenty I could be getting on with, and if nothing else, I could say that I’d had a good time on the island and enjoyed the company at any point during the vacation.
It would be interesting that evening if Kit wanted to eat with me again, but one battle at a time. I wasn’t even back on the island yet. Not that it took us long to sail back. And everyone was hungry and ready for dinner by then.
Kit and most of the other women were nowhere to be seen, which made it easy for me to make some excuses and head to my room to be alone for a while. I wanted to change after getting wet and being out in the sun the rest of the day.
Once I was dressed in a clean shirt, feeling refreshed again and ready to rejoin everyone else, I made the mistake of checking my phone. There were twenty missed calls from my PA and several from the office, too.
Although I considered ignoring them and going down to dinner anyway, I opted to call them back and see what they needed.
“This had better be urgent,” I said as soon as Henry answered.
“Sorry, boss. I didn’t want to disturb you, but it looks like Lucy is still having trouble with the client of the Grintock project.”
I frowned. “Can she straighten it out before I get there tomorrow?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. They’re asking for you and refusing to do any kind of deal. They think that only you can understand them and respect what it is they’re trying to achieve. Something about artistic differences.”
“How does Lucy feel about that? I can’t imagine she’s happy they’re treating her like that.”
“No. I think she’s hoping you’ll tell them to go to hell for being misogynistic assholes.”
“Tell her that I’ll make my feelings clear about them not treating her with respect, and have any communication so far forwarded to me so I can get started on catching up with the whole thing.” I considered leaving it, knowing that it would delay the project until the next day, but I knew it also gave me a good excuse to be late for dinner and avoid the worry that Kit would be looking for me.
“Sorry to do this to you on your last evening. None of us felt we were the right ones to tell these guys where to shove their opinions, and Lucy is about ready to murder someone.”
“It’s okay. I was about done here anyway. Only so much socializing I can handle, and I’m all tapped out. This is oddly welcome.” It was the closest I would admit to having something go wrong, or at least feel like it had.
This seemed to make Henry uncork his filter, and he launched into a twenty-minute explanation while sending document after document to me. It was thorough, and it was clear he had already looked into all the information Lucy had given him and read the communications as well. Although I would still have to solve the problems, it was good to know he had been trying to sort it out.
