Billionaire Blaze, page 9
I pulled the emails and documents up on my tablet while I stayed on the phone with Henry. It wasn’t a small amount of information. Lucy had been doing everything she could to get the client to cooperate, and she’d explained everything well enough, in my opinion.
Once I’d been through it all with Henry and gotten him to clarify anything I was still missing, I ended the call and sat back. This wouldn’t take too long to fix, but it was clear that I would need to. It was sometimes that way with really pushy clients. Until the head of a company told them no and made it clear no meant no, there was nothing anyone else could do.
Over the next half an hour, I worded a similar email to one of Lucy’s from the beginning, knowing that it should have been enough on its own. I also made sure they knew that Lucy had already said all this to them, and I was well aware of it.
Although I doubted it would make much difference, I wanted Lucy to know I would stick up for her and didn’t appreciate that her word wasn’t respected well enough. Only after I sent it did I sit back and relax for a moment. It was getting late, but I had no reason not to go down to dinner anymore.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I made it to dinner just as my phone buzzed and beeped in the pattern that let me know I had another email. Although I ignored it, I shifted my hand and stuffed it into the same pocket, wanting to make sure I was sensitive to any further attempts at communication.
The veranda outside the main accommodation was already almost entirely full of people, and it didn’t leave much space for me. I looked around for a seat I could slip into, most people already partway through the numerous courses that would constitute dinner.
A waiter waved me toward a seat, sending for the first course for me. Despite feeling a little bad that I was making it harder work for them, I was grateful they’d kept some food aside.
To my dismay, the seat was right beside Kit. She had another woman I didn’t know on the other side of her.
I tried to hide my frown as I had no choice but to go and sit down beside her.
“Lukas!” she exclaimed as soon as she noticed the commotion and my presence. I nodded to her, not liking how many heads turned toward us. The last thing I wanted was to draw more attention to us when nothing was going to happen between us.
“Hi,” I said quickly and dismissively before looking to see who was on the other side of me, but the guy was paying far more attention to the woman on the other side of him, and I knew I wasn’t going to get much conversation out of him.
“Did you have a good day?” Kit asked, and I could hear the worry in her voice. But it was she who hadn’t wanted to give me the time of day.
“I chilled out. You seemed to be engrossed at breakfast.”
“Yes. I looked for you, but I didn’t see you before I was pulled into another conversation.”
“You appeared to know what you were doing,” I replied, sounding as curt as I felt. I didn’t look her way, focusing on the food in front of me instead. She didn’t reply, and for a moment, there was nothing but awkwardness. Finally, she finished her meal, got up, and left the table.
I barely even looked her way as she went inside the house. No one else seemed to notice, everyone already engrossed in conversation and sitting next to people they were happy with. The waitstaff helped me to catch up to the same part of the meal as everyone else, and the guy beside me was soon rebuffed by the woman he was trying to talk to.
“Gonna be good to head home tomorrow, isn’t it?” the guy asked, waving the waiter over to get more wine.
“I’m definitely ready to. Get back to work and forget about everything here.” I spoke without really thinking, but it was only as I finished that I noticed Kit had returned and was settling into her seat again.
Although I glanced her way, sort of expecting her to want to initiate conversation, she didn’t even look at me as she dug in to the dessert that was being served.
I considered declining mine and going back to the room now that I’d eaten, but the plate was placed in front of me before I could decide to get up. Looking down at the large chocolate brownie and ice cream, I hesitated.
“Don’t like it?” the guy asked, having already eaten a large chunk of his. He spoke with a mouth half full of food, and a small glob of brownie came out and landed on the tablecloth. He didn’t seem to notice.
“Brownie is my favorite. I always have that hesitation eating a new one from an unknown place. Is it going to be good enough?”
“It’s the best I’ve ever tasted,” Kit said, her voice sounding small. “Go ahead and let me know if I’ve been sheltered from brownie heaven.”
Her words hit me, as did the look on her face—of almost wanting to make amends and apologize. This wouldn’t make me choose a relationship with her, but it made me feel relieved that I might at least be able to get through the rest of the evening without it being unpleasant.
For that, I was at least very grateful.
It was easy to talk after that, and I found myself telling Kit what I had done that day before I even touched the brownie. Eventually, she encouraged me to try it again, hers already half gone. I bit into it and immediately wished I had taken my first bite sooner.
“Good?” everyone asked, the whole table now aware that I might have a strong opinion.
“Really good. Not the best. I reserve that for my favorite place in Chicago. This little bakery near my office.”
“Sounds as if you work there because of the brownie.”
“I’m not going to lie. It was a factor when I chose my current office space. Gotta know there’s a good reward for a job well done nearby.” The table chuckled and then went back to eating, everyone enjoying the dessert enough that they soon cleaned their plates.
By the time I sat back, I was stuffed, but I felt a lot better about my final evening on the island. Kit looked more relaxed as well and was smiling again.
“Do you get away from work much?” she asked, almost as if she was fishing for some kind of information about when I might be available in the future.
“Not often at all. I love what I do, and my company often needs me. I had to work this afternoon, actually.” It reminded me that I had received an email. “On that note, I should check something and make sure everything is still going okay.”
I got up, pulled my phone out, and went to look for somewhere out of the way. The email was long, and I would have to reply to it with thought. Eventually, I found a seat out of the way, less light there, but some tables with snacks on them. It was warm enough still that I wasn’t cold, and I settled in to respond.
The email from the client was calmer than it had been to Lucy, but they were still pushing their luck and making demands, and I knew I had to keep pushing back. They’d glossed over Lucy telling them the same thing as me, but I wouldn’t let them get away with ignoring her long term, and at the end of another long email, I informed them that Lucy would be answering any more questions they had and would just be keeping me informed.
Although I hoped that would be the end of it, I knew it was unlikely to be. Some clients just didn’t learn.
I considered going back to the group, but in the meantime, many of them had left the veranda, and I wasn’t sure where they had gone. At first, I didn’t see Kit, so I went up to the bar and ordered a drink. After the day I’d had, I needed it.
Once again, I found myself drinking away my mood, something I wasn’t used to doing at all. Instead of enjoying the peace and quiet, more emails flew back and forth, and again, the client grew agitated with Lucy even though she was handling everything exactly the way I would.
This client was a jerk, and I knew if I had been in the office, I would have been looking for a way to never work with them again and possibly even cut this project off. It was a mess, and I knew that the only way I would rescue it now was to get back into the office and get on the phone.
“Still working?” Kit asked, making me jump. I almost knocked my drink over as I turned toward her.
“You say that as if you disapprove. I have already said I like my job and there’s a lot to do at the best of times. I’m busy and don’t have time for socializing right now.” I was snappier than I wanted to be, and I could have kicked myself for sounding so mean. It wasn’t her fault that my client didn’t respect women.
“I’ll leave you to your work, then. I’m going to go get some sleep. I travel back to the UK tomorrow.”
I knew she wanted me to ask her to stay or come with me, to at least say something, but I couldn’t look at her. This was impossible. She lived in another country, and it was never going to work. She walked away, each footstep she took driving another nail into me. I felt awful, but I couldn’t get any deeper. I just couldn’t.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kit
I had barely slept when Juno knocked on my door and let me know it was time to leave. I had packed the night before while crying. I had been such a fool to let the rich, handsome man seduce me. Caught up in the fairy tale that was Juno’s life and wedding, I had dared to hope that mine might get an equally happy ending.
Wiping away yet more tears, I tried to compose my voice.
“Give me just two more minutes. I’m almost ready.”
“Okay. Just let the staff take your bags and come down to the docks as soon as you can. We’re having breakfast on the boat.”
I frowned, worried that Lukas would be there as well. But either way, I couldn’t stay in the room I was in. I couldn’t stay on the island, and the boat wouldn’t leave without me. If I was late, there would be a fuss, and I would draw even more attention to myself. The only option was to go down and get on with the day.
As soon as I’d wiped my face one last time, I walked out of the room. Juno hadn’t gotten much further, still near the bottom of the stairs with Alma and a woman named Caroline. I’d barely spoken to the latter, but they all greeted me.
“You can walk down to the boat with us,” Caroline declared, her accent thicker and harder to understand than Alma’s.
I smiled and made it clear I didn’t object to the idea. Perhaps I could talk to other guests, and it would help take my focus off everything else. As Alma put her arm through Juno’s, almost like co-conspirators, Caroline did the same to me.
Although I wasn’t sure what to say, Caroline didn’t seem to mind and talked for a good few minutes about how delightful she thought the island and wedding had been. I knew she was saying it loud enough for Juno and many other guests to hear, and I was amused at the strange way to express some sort of gratitude for being there.
“What was your favorite part?” she asked me when she seemed to run out of anything else to say.
“Getting away for a few days. Work can be so demanding. It’s been wonderful to be away from it all and celebrate with friends.” I smiled, pretty sure I’d given the exact sort of reply Caroline had hoped for. Polite but not really meaningful.
It was only as I looked away and Caroline continued talking about how she liked to work but didn’t have a liking for jobs that I saw Lukas had come down as well and fallen in beside some of the men nearby. Our eyes met, and I knew he had heard my comment to her.
No doubt it had sounded like a dig at him, but after his attitude the night before, I wasn’t sure I cared if it hurt him. As soon as I had the thought, I realized it wasn’t true. I never liked hurting anyone. No matter what people had done to me, I didn’t want to hurt them.
I let Caroline take me further down the veranda and away from the house, deliberately avoiding looking at Lukas again, although I was always aware of where he was now.
After a couple more minutes, when we were most of the way down to the dock, Caroline seemed to notice I was distracted and looked around us as if trying to find the source. Although I hadn’t looked at him since the first time, her eyes settled on Lukas.
“What did you think of him?” she asked, at least lowering her voice. “Lukas is considered one of the most eligible bachelors we know. He’s not much for trusting anyone, though. Did he snub you, too?”
“I didn’t try and get him to take me seriously,” I lied, and I felt awful doing it, but I wasn’t going to admit to a virtual stranger that he had played me for a fool.
“Good for you. Although many women have gone after that money of his. And he’s said to be a dream in bed.”
Swallowing, I tried to think of a way to change the subject. This wasn’t helping me feel any better about what we had done together. Had I been just another conquest to him? I didn’t want to believe it, and I wasn’t sure I should trust gossip about him.
“Of course, a lot of his problems with women seem to be since his last big breakup. Everyone called him a gentleman before then.”
“He had a bad breakup?” I asked, unable to keep the eagerness from my tone. Caroline lit up as if she’d finally uncovered my interest, and I could have sworn out loud.
“Oh, this young floozy of a woman. Just wanted his money and the career he could offer her. Almost had it too. Tried to take his company and everything he’d built as if it were her own. None of us ever liked her.” She sighed dramatically and shook her head. I was pretty sure she also faked a tear or two.
It was the strangest reaction I’d ever seen, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. I didn’t get the impression that Caroline knew Lukas that well, so to cry for his heartbreak was baffling. It made me even more sure that I didn’t belong in this world. I didn’t know how Juno could stand it.
Nothing could have told me it was time to go home and leave these people behind more, but Caroline appeared to have no idea that she wasn’t making friends with me at all. She continued to talk as we walked onto the boat and told me all about her daddy’s yacht and how much bigger and newer it was and how she was looking forward to going on vacation on it.
Once again, I thought about asking Caroline what she did for a job, but I was getting the impression she didn’t have one and was still living off some sort of allowance from her parents.
Thankfully, when it came to our meal, which was eaten buffet-style wherever we wanted to sit on the boat, Caroline decided she had taken up enough of my time and thrust herself upon someone else. I found myself with Alma and Kai, both coming to sit on the deck chairs near me.
“While I love getting away to a beautiful place like this, nothing beats going home to your own bed,” Kai said as he leaned toward me, smiling and warmer than many of the others.
“Poor Kit here has a nine-hour flight to get home even after we’re back in the US,” Alma replied to her husband, demonstrating knowledge I didn’t think she had.
“You’re not staying in the US for a bit and making a vacation of it? Exploring New York?” Kai took a bite of his waffle and waited for my answer.
“No. Work won’t allow it,” I replied, only then noticing Lukas had sounded similar. Was I being as inflexible as he was?
I thought over the interactions with him again, neither Kai nor Alma saying anything as they left me to my thoughts and carried on eating. Had I made too many assumptions about Lukas that were negative? Assuming he might come to me or want me with him here? I hadn’t actually made the effort to offer or ask him to join me either.
Now, it was too late. I had screwed everything up. He was angry at me, and I didn’t really know why. All I knew was that he wasn’t what I wanted. Not really.
Alma chose that moment to ask me more about the work I had to get back to, and I talked to her about what I would be doing. Kai soon left us to it, adding that the band was working on a new album concept, and he wanted to run some ideas past Jack before the happy couple went on their honeymoon.
I grinned at the implication that even Jack couldn’t get away from his work for long. Maybe none of us could, and it was the new modern problem for couples. Who sacrificed their career progress for whom?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Three days after getting back, I was standing in the living room of the house I was designing and trying to figure out what wasn’t quite right yet. It wasn’t exactly wrong, but something was still off.
The client hadn’t seen it yet, and I didn’t plan on letting them see it until I had pinpointed what I didn’t like. For the first two days of work, I had been going through the motions, not sure how I wanted to handle anything and certainly not putting in enough effort to get this job done quickly.
I still couldn’t decide if I truly wanted the job with Sarai and Richard. Both of them were lovely people, but it was a lot to risk to leave my usual work area and go and cater to the even richer. The idea wouldn’t leave my brain, however.
While I was supposed to be working on this project, thinking about another that didn’t have official paperwork yet wasn’t smart. Still, it was where my creative mind wanted to flow, and I could barely control that part of me on a good day.
Immediately, I remembered all the times my ex had told me I would be great if I could just focus. How it was my inability to focus on one project and one project alone that kept me from being successful and that I’d never get anywhere until I learned to control it.
Over the years, I had done my best, but I still wrestled with it. I never felt as if I was good enough at putting my all into one job and making sure it was perfect. And here I was, facing exactly that situation again.
If I could stop my mind from wandering, I might be able to figure out what wasn’t right about the room I was in. Instead, I was thinking about themed vacation homes and Lukas. I knew he lived near the location Sarai wanted me to work on, but I didn’t have any contact details for him and had no hope of bumping into him. It was a stupid thing to think about.
Okay, Kit, focus and get this job done. Get paid and go out for the night with friends. That always makes you feel better. The pep talk helped, although I began thinking about where we could go for food and how many of my friends might be free. It hadn’t been the same since Juno was in the US more often than not.
