Because of His Past (5 page)

But despite the fact that she wanted to
argue against everything her brother believed about the Houston family, Grace
had to admit that she was falling deeper and deeper into agreement with him.

The Houston’s were different from other
people.

The world didn’t want to see someone like
Grace paired with Liam.

And perhaps, Liam was going to come to
realize it as well.
 
The universe,
as Scott put it, was going to show Liam in no uncertain terms, that the game
was rigged, and there was no way around it.

***

The conversation with Scott hadn’t
exactly put her in a good mood, but in some way, it had liberated her.

I
need to move on
, Grace
thought, later that night as she lay in bed and tried to fall asleep.

She was still thinking about Liam, still
wondering about him.
 
Thoughts were
plaguing her incessantly—memories of their short time together haunted
her like ghosts.

It was as if he was dead, a spirit that
could no longer be seen in this world.
 
And that hurt badly.
 
But if
he was dead and gone, then in another way, she was free to move on.

Her eyes drifted closed, and she wished
that at least in her dreams, she could be together with him again--if only for
a short while.

But when her eyes snapped open again, it
was morning, even though it felt as though just seconds had passed since she’d
closed them.

Grace yawned, turned on her side and
stared at the alarm clock.

It was 8:45 in the morning, a bit later
than she normally woke up.
 
But then
again, lately she’d been sleeping more in general.

That’s
because you’re depressed.

She sat up and felt for her phone, which
had gotten wedged between the wall and the clock, somehow.
 
As she picked it up, she saw that she’d
already missed a call from an unknown number.

LIAM.

Her heart was racing.
 

Please
let it
be
Liam.
 
I just want to hear his voice again.

It wasn’t his normal cell number, but
Grace theorized that there were a million different numbers a rich guy like
Liam could use to call her.

At least, she hoped it was him, even
though she knew that nothing good could possibly come from them speaking,
except more pain and sadness.

Suddenly, the unknown caller was trying
again, and her phone vibrated incessantly in her hand.
 
The moment she answered and heard the
other voice, she knew it wasn’t Liam Houston.
 
But the voice was familiar.

“Is Grace there?” he asked, his voice
deep and melodious.

“This is she,” she said, feeling puzzled,
but also vaguely excited.

“Hi Grace, this is Red Jameson.
 
How are you?”

Grace sat back, stunned.
 
“Oh, I’m fine.”
 
She opened her mouth and closed it again,
at a loss for words.

“I wanted to check in for a couple of
reasons,” he said, and she could almost hear his warm smile through nothing but
the sound of his voice.
 
“First of
all, I wanted to say that I think you were very courageous and responsible in
getting help for Liam the way that you did the other day.”

“Thank you for saying that,” Grace
replied.
 
“And of course, for
bringing the doctor along and getting him help.
 
You didn’t have to do any of that.”

“I hear Liam’s recovering well,” Red
said.

Grace felt a pain in her belly as she
thought about the fact that this was news to her—she had no idea what was
going on with Liam anymore.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she said softly.

Red paused, as if on the verge of
commenting on her statement, and then seemed to think better of it.
 
“The other reason I’m calling is in
regards to a position I need filled at my company.”

Grace switched the phone to her other
hand, as her palm was so sweaty from gripping it tightly that she needed to
wipe it on her blanket.
 
“What kind
of position?” she asked, wondering why he was calling her about a job opening
at his company.

Red Jameson, after all, ran one of the
biggest advertising agencies in the world.
 

“It’s an executive assistant position,”
he said.
 
“Originally, the post was
filled by Kennedy—the woman who was recently married to Easton Rather in
the wedding ceremony you attended.”

I
didn’t actually attend it.
 
Grace thought.
 
I
was a servant, a service provider for the rich folk who really did attend.

“You’re calling me about an executive
assistant position?” she said. She felt her cheeks getting hot.
 
“I’m confused.”

“I know, it probably seems a little bit
out of left field,” Red laughed.
 
“The thing is, Kennedy was promoted out of the position and we’ve had
some trouble filling it since then.
 
Finding good employees is not nearly as easy as it might sound.”

“My brother runs a wedding planning
business and that’s pretty much all he ever says—how hard it is to find
good help,” Grace said.
 
Which was
true.
 
Of course, usually when Scott
was saying that, it was because Grace was trying to help him with something and
he needed to remind her how bad she was at whatever task he’d given her.
 
Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

“For some reason,” Red continued, “you
stuck in my mind after we met the other
day
.
 
And I kept coming back to the idea that
you’d make a great assistant for Easton Rather.”

Grace swallowed hard.
 
“Really?”

“Really,” he laughed.
 
“Even though I have no idea what your
background is.
 
Do you type?
 
Can you use a computer?”

“I’m okay,” she said.
 
“I type about fifty-five words per
minute—at least, that’s what the temp agency told me a year ago.
 
I’ve got basic computer knowledge, like
how to use Word and pull up the Internet—that sort of thing.
 
But I don’t have all that much office
experience, Mr. Jameson.”

“Call me Red.”

“I don’t have that much experience,
Red.
 
I’m not sure Easton Rather
would be very happy with me.
 
I
mean, don’t people like him usually have assistants that type a hundred words a
minute and know PowerPoint like the back of their hand and all?”

“Usually,” Red agreed, chuckling.
 
“But Easton Rather isn’t a normal guy,
and he hasn’t done well with the few replacements we’ve found since Kennedy
moved into her new role.
 
So I’m
trying to think outside the box.”

“Well, what makes you think I could be
the right fit then?”

There was a slight pause, and she thought
she’d blown it.
 

I
should be selling myself to him, not making him tell me why I should get the
job.
 
What a fool.

But then he answered.
 
“When I saw you stand up to Anne
Houston, who’s a real shark—I knew that you had the kind of backbone
required to make it in my industry.”

Grace couldn’t help but smile.
 
“Fat lot of good that backbone did me,”
she sighed.

“I’m sorry to hear that you’re no longer
in touch with Liam.
 
But I’m not
talking to you because of your connection to him.
 
I think you should consider my
offer.
 
Salary is negotiable, but
off the top of my head, I see this as starting at $65,000.
 
With bonuses and raises, you could be
making close to $100,000 within the next year or two if things go well.”

Grace lost the power of speech yet
again.
 
She’d never considered
trying to apply for a job that paid so well, let alone having one thrown in her
lap.

“I—I accept your offer,” she said,
trying to contain the squeal in her voice.
 

“That’s great news,” he said.
 
“I don’t think you’ll regret it.”

“I can’t tell you how excited I am,” she
said.
 
“And when do I start?”

“Easton and Kennedy are returning early
from their honeymoon, but he won’t be into the office right away. I think it
might be nice for you to start tomorrow, while the office is quiet.
 
Come in and learn some of the basics,
read the usual HR stuff, get used to your computer and all that jazz.
 
I’ll come in at some point and catch you
up to speed on a few things and answer any questions you might have.
 
Sound good?”

“Sounds better than good,” she said,
getting up, her body filled with restless energy now.

“Okay.
 
Come to the office at eight a.m. and
tell the front desk that you’re the new executive assistant to Easton
Rather.
 
They’ll send you in the
right direction.”

“Thanks again!” she cried.

“No, thank you,” Red replied.
 
“I think you’re going to be a big help
to all of us.”

And then the line went dead and Grace let
out a yelp of pure joy, and she danced around in a circle,
then
jumped up and down shouting.
 
“Yes!
 
Yes!
 
Yes!
 
I got a job!” she yelled, her heart
racing.

Grace could hardly contain herself.
 

But she was also torn.
 
On the one hand, she was so happy she
thought she might burst—but on the other, the person she most wanted to
call was Liam.

Why
Liam?
 
You hardly even know him.

There wasn’t an obvious reason, other
than the fact that she was still pretty much obsessed with him.
 
But it wasn’t just an excuse to call him
or see him.

She actually thought that sharing this
kind of news with Liam would make it feel more real,
more
good
, more powerful.
 
She
pictured his blue eyes, his mussed hair, that casual grin.
 

What would he say about this job, about her
working in the business with powerful men like Easton and Red?
 
Would Liam perhaps even be jealous that
she’d be around those other
guys
?
 
Would it make him want to see her, talk
to her?

She had to say, the idea appealed to
her.
 

But only because she wanted Liam to think
about her, to wonder where she was and what she was doing, the same way she
wondered about him.

It’s
over.
 
Just stop.
 
Stop thinking about
Liam Houston.
 
Especially
today, when you just got the best news of your life.

Grace went to the kitchen and made
herself
a cup of instant coffee, added plenty of sugar and
milk, sipping it as she thought about what had just happened.
 
A smile came over her face again.

I
got a job.
 
I got a big, important,
great paying job!

And then the smile faded as she realized she
had nothing at all to wear.

***

A few hours later, she was at the
department store with her mother.

Grace’s mother was short, heavyset, with
curly hair and big boobs that couldn’t be restrained no matter how conservative
the outfit—and she often didn’t dress very conservatively, anyhow.
 
Her fashion sense wasn’t the reason that
Grace had invited her to the department store, however.

“Mom, I need to tell you something,”
Grace said, as they strolled past the purses, and Grace stopped to look at one
of the Marc Jacobs handbags.

“Gracie, you can’t afford that.
 
Why are you even looking at it?
 
And for that matter, why are we
here?
 
We should go to J.C. Penny.”

“Mom, I can afford it, and I need some
nice stuff.
 
That’s what I wanted to
tell you.”
 
Grace turned and looked
at her mother.
 
“I got a job today.”

“You did?” her mother said, her wide eyes
getting even wider.
 
“Oh, Gracie,
baby!” she yelled, throwing her big, powerful arms around Grace and hugging her
tightly to her ample bosom.
 
“I’m so
proud of you!”