Vacation (27 page)

Chapter
30

Two
Days Later

Vivian

Easton hadn't called all week. By the time
Friday rolled around, I was ready to force myself to get over us. If he didn't
have the decency to check in with me, then I didn't matter in the way I needed
to with him. It was most likely my neediness from having Jackson destroy my
future that made me so high-maintenance, but whatever it was, it wasn't going
to change.

"You look like hell." Casey
walked into the dorm room and lifted a small bag as the smell of cinnamon and
sugar moved through the room. "I brought treats."

I glanced up from the desk beside my bed
and forced a smile. "I'm good. Just trying to get some studying done. I'm
so ready to be out of school. It seems like it's just dragging on and on at
this point."

"I understand that all too
well." She moved to sit on my bed and pulled at the back of my rolling
chair, forcing me to turn and face her. "I've been your friend all my
life. This isn't just about school. Did he call today? Did something
happen?"

"No. That's the problem, Case.
Nothing has happened." I closed my eyes and fought back tears. No damn way
I was crying another tear over a man. "My mom was right. Guys are
assholes. Jackson cheated on me, and this guy can't even touch base with me for
four damn days after spending the night promising me the world."

My tone must have been harsh because Casey
flinched twice during my rant. She handed me the bag and gave me a sad smile.

"I wish I had an answer. Eat those
cinnamon twists. They'll make you feel better for a few minutes at least."
She reached up and brushed my hair behind my shoulder. "I just didn't get
a vibe that Easton was an asshole. He honestly seemed like the opposite."

"Oh yeah? How so? I'd love to move
from borderline hating him back to remembering why I agreed to dinner last
Sunday night." I snatched the bag from her and pulled out a twist, shoving
half the thing in my mouth and calming quickly thanks to the sugary goodness of
it. I glanced at the clock, realizing that I hadn't eaten in the last ten
hours. No wonder I was bordering manic.

"Well, he didn't get upset at the
airport when you knocked him over, and then bumped heads with him, which was
entirely your fault." She laid back on my bed and propped her feet up.
"He took you to a great restaurant our first night in Miami and kicked
some robber-dude's ass in the dark alley for you."

"True." I took another bite and
nodded, hoping that she would keep going.

"He took care of me when I got hurt
and carried me all the way to the clinic, remember? He didn't have to do that,
but he did."

"Yeah, and he kissed me at the clinic
and then told me that he wasn't looking for anything long term. Like I'm a slut
that's going to spend the night with him and expect nothing but a good lay from
it." I growled and shoved the last cinnamon stick in my mouth.

"Um, you did sleep with him, and it
was you that pushed him away, left him in a hot tub, treated him like shit at
the club until he was willing to help you make Jackson jealous, and I'm pretty
sure you left Miami without a word to him." She shrugged. "If we're
counting asshole moves, you're winning, my bestie."

My phone began to ring. I turned to see
who was calling me, but left the phone alone. I hated unknown numbers, and if
it were anyone important, then they would already be in my contacts.

"I get it, okay? I'm just struggling
with all of this." I licked at my fingers and turned as the phone dinged.
Whoever it was left a message.

"Then dump him and get it over with,
or go all in and shut up about it. He's perfect for you, and he's put up with a
torrential amount of stuff for a guy who doesn't deserve any of it. So you have
baggage, Viv. We all do. Fuck Jackson for ruining your future, but Easton
doesn't deserve to lose the chance at something great with you because of
Jackson. Does he?" She moved to the edge of the bed. "I love you, and
I'm telling you to let this go. He didn't call for a reason. Ask him why. Pull
it out of him."

"Alright. You're probably
right." I ran my sticky fingers through my hair.

"I always am. Now, see who left us a
message."

"What are you, my agent now?" I
grumbled at her and turned my back to her to listen to the message. The woman's
voice was curt and professional.

"Hi, this is Sherry Jackson. I'm the
assistant to Jon Williams at Wilmington and Branch. We've received your
application, and Jon would like to schedule an interview. If you'd like to call–”

I stopped the message and turned to face
Casey as my mouth dropped open.

"What?" She asked. "What is
it? Good or bad?"

"Really good. That was Wilmington and
Branch. They want to give me an interview." I squealed and jumped up,
bouncing on my feet like a ten-year-old. Casey joined me and we danced around
the room until she jerked me to a stop.

"Wait. Who are these people?"

"Easton's company." I beamed.
There was a chance that I could get a job with him and be beside him instead of
having to watch him leave town all the time. Nothing could have dented my mood.
Fate was alive and well, and even if I didn't believe in her, she sure as hell
seemed to believe in me.

"Oh wow. Did he set that up?"

"No. I applied myself." I
pressed my hands to my mouth. "Oh no. You don't think that he'll think
that I was being too forward or stalker-like, right?"

"What? No way. That's the dumbest
thing I've ever heard. He'll probably see it for what you meant it to be. A new
opening for a career and the possibility to be with him more. Can you get your
jobs lined up to travel together?" She yelped. "Oh my God! Wouldn't
that be insane?"

"Yes, but I need to get the job
first."

"You need to go to the interview.
Call them back."

"They didn't leave a number." I
turned back to the desk and realized I'd cut off the message in the middle of
it playing. "Wait. I think I cut it off early."

I replayed it and motioned for Casey to
get me a pen and a piece of paper. I jotted down the number as excitement
rushed through me. I needed to tell Easton what I'd done, but I'd rather do it
face to face.

"Call them back!" She wrapped
her arms around my shoulder and squeezed. "How exciting, Viv. Your first
interview for your dream job."

"Yeah. It is." I smiled and read
the number a few times before letting out a long breath and calling. The woman
was professional and nice, and the interview was able to be scheduled for later
that day.

*****

            
I sat in my car for twenty minutes,
trying to still my racing heart as I sat outside of Wilmington and Branch's
main office on Times Square.

"Just stick to the script. You've
gone through your education and know the ins and outs of it. You can tell them
that you know Easton, just to keep things on the up and up. He's a good friend.
No, he's my boyfriend." I growled. They would get the wrong impression
possibly if I told them that Easton and I were dating, but I couldn't lie. I
hated liars.

Getting out of the car, I worked to still
my thoughts and pulled out my phone, deciding to text Easton and wish him a
safe flight home. I told him to call me the minute he got in, and that I missed
him horribly.

Some part of me was still a little angry
and wanting to be reserved, but Casey was right. The scale was vastly tilted in
favor of my being a jerk, and yet he'd still called the minute he'd got back
into New York from Miami and taken me to a beautiful dinner.

I smiled as I walked into the building and
stopped at the front desk. "Hi. I'm here to see Jon Williams of Wilmington
and Branch."

"Of course. Take the elevator to the
twelfth floor and his assistant, Sherry Jackson, will help you out." The
woman smiled brightly.

"Thanks." I turned and walked to
the elevator as I smoothed down my dark blue business suit. My hands wouldn't
quit shaking no matter what I did, so I was just going to have to go with it. I
could lay out a disclaimer to the guy that I was scared to death. Hopefully he
would remember his first real job interview and go easy on me.

I rode the elevator up with a crowd of
people and got off on the twelfth floor to find a motherly-looking secretary
who stood as I walked toward her.

"You must be Vivian Hall?" She
extended her hand. "I'm Sherry Jackson. Nice to meet you. Jon's ready when
you are. Just knock once before going in."

I swallowed hard and turned, gripping my
portfolio under my arm as if it might fly away any minute. I glanced back at
her and she gave me a slight nod.

"Just knock. He's a great guy. You'll
love him. We all do."

"Okay," I whispered and knocked
on the door.

"Come on in." A loud boisterous
voice responded.

I walked in and gave the handsome older
man a curt nod and extended my hand. "I'm Vivian Hall. I appreciate you
seeing me on such short notice."

"Of course. After reading your
submission, I'm not sure I had much of a choice." He shook my hand and
motioned for me to move to a small table in the middle of the room. "Come
have a seat and let's talk. You should know ahead of time that I brought your résumé
and several others to my top reviewer in the company, and he was more than
impressed with you."

"Oh. Do I know him?" I had an
inkling that he was talking about Easton, but I let him continue. It would be
nice to see what Easton referred to me as with his boss. I was grateful that if
nothing else, it just saved me from having to figure out whether he was a
friend versus being my boyfriend. Here he was saving me again without even
trying.

"I should hope so. He said that the
two of you were dating." A smile played on the side of Jon's mouth.

"Easton." I smiled and let out a
short chuckle. "He's a dream."

"I agree, but don't tell him I said
that. Alright. Let's talk about you, Missy. Your submission was the best I've
read in years. Makes my top ten list. Tell me about your studies, your history,
and then your demands for a possible employer."

My nervousness dissipated as Jon and I
continued to talk, and I could see why Easton loved working for Wilmington and
Branch. I answered all of Jon's questions and gave him my thoughts and desires
on everything.

"Well, that's all very doable, and I
like what I've seen thus far. Anything else before we move on to round two of
the interview?"

I lifted my eyebrow, wondering what round
two included. "Just one thing, and it might be a total no-go, but I have
to try."

"Shoot for the moon, honey. The stars
will catch you if you fall. Good place to be." He gave me a smile that
should have been on the big screen.

"I'm not sure where my relationship
with Easton is going, but I want it to go far. I'd like to be paired up with
him as my mentor and hope that we could be assigned the same areas as often as
possible. I'm very professional, and he is too, but it would be nice, should I
get the job, to spend our down time together." I pressed my hands into my
thighs as my nervousness reared to life again.

"Something that I would consider, no
doubt. The second part of the interview is hands on. I'll send you to a
restaurant if you have time, and you'll critique two dishes for me, create a
write-up, and I'll review them. Should they impress me as much as your last one
did, the job is yours. The man that you'll be interviewing with next is a great
guy too. You'll like him, and most likely we'll pair you up with him for
training. He's just a better fit, I think."

"Excellent." I stood and
extended my hand. "Thank you again for the opportunity to interview."

"Absolutely. It was a pleasure
meeting you. I'm glad to see you're just as intriguing in person as you are on
paper. Stop by and get the restaurant location from Sherry before you go, and
good luck, Vivian."

"Thank you, Sir." I turned and
walked from the room on cloud nine. Nothing could top the emotional high I was
riding. Well, seeing Easton maybe, but nothing else.

Chapter
31

Easton

Excitement and nervousness raged through
my stomach, each fighting for dominance as I waited for Vivian to show up to
the restaurant. Her text from earlier in the day played past my mind's eye over
and over. She missed me.

"Not nearly as much as I missed you,
baby," I spoke softly to the empty room, wanting so fucking bad to call
her and spill everything.

Jon was willing to make my part of the
interview a surprise by letting me conduct a portion of it, but now that I was
waiting to hear from either of them, I was going nuts. He should have been done
with the question and answer portion, but he often got long-winded. I ran my
fingers through the tulips that I'd picked up for her and smiled. I wasn't sure
what type of flowers she enjoyed best, but tulips reminded me too much of her
not to pick them up. They had a tough exterior, and yet were beautiful beyond
imagination.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it from my
pocket, almost losing my grip on it as I fumbled to get it to my ear.

"This is Easton."

"Hey buddy. She just left here. With
traffic, she should be with you in ten minutes tops." Jon sounded
exceptionally happy.

"Awesome. So? Did you like her?"
I held my breath in anticipation of his response.

"Nope."

I let out a sigh. "Really? Why? She's
perfect for this, Jon."

"I loved her. She's every bit the
talent that you said she was, and damn... Can I just say you are one lucky bastard?
She's a classic beauty. I tried hard not to stare at her too much. She's
breathtaking, though." He cleared his throat. "She's quite into you
from what I could tell. Tread lightly, my friend."

I chuckled as relief flooded me.
"Tread lightly? Fuck that. I'm going all in with this girl. I'll conduct
the interview in a professional manner, but then I'm telling her everything.
She needs to know how crazy she makes me feel."

"Yeah, she does. She seemed like the
kind of chick that could handle you calling ten times a day with your needy
ass, by the way." He laughed again. "I'll let you go. She's in if the
second part of the interview goes well. Give me a write-up and
recommendation."

"Can we travel together, Jon? I
promise to keep things completely professional.”

"Yeah, buddy. She's already asked.
It's part of the stipulation to hire her. She's your travel partner and you're her
trainer, but I expect nothing but the best from both of you."

"And that's what you'll get. Thanks,
boss." My cheeks hurt from the smile on my face. I was glad that no one
was around to see me cheesing it.

"No, thank you. Great job. You saved
the company a huge headache with Kevin, and you've helped me possibly replace
him with a great writer, who's quite capable of stealing the readers’ hearts
like it seems she stolen yours."

"She has. I'll check in tomorrow.
Night, Jon."

"Night, buddy."

I hung up the phone and pulled a mint out
of my pocket as a million emotions rolled through me. I wanted to call my mom
and scream into the phone that everything was most likely going to work out,
but I didn't want Vivian to walk in to me losing my shit with my parents. She
would know soon enough just how important they both were to me. The only person
that would take a place above them would most likely be her.

"Right this way ma'am." The door
behind me opened, and I turned to greet my guest.

"Thank you." She stopped short
by the door, her eyes widening a little. "Easton."

"Hi, baby. I'm sorry for not calling.
Jon made me promise not to until he worked out everything with you. He's all
about appearing objective. Forgive me?" I took a few steps toward her as
she moved toward me and slid into my arms, pressing her lips tightly to mine.

I moved my hand into her long silky hair
and brushed my tongue over the crease of her lips, pushing a little as she
opened up to me. Tightening my hands in her hair, I rubbed softly as my tongue
rolled by hers, licking at her flavor and drinking her in deeply.

"Damn, I've missed you so much."
I pressed my forehead to hers and smiled. "But, right now is about your
interview. Let's get on with it and then we'll enjoy the rest of the night, just
the two of us. That sound okay?"

"Sounds like bliss." She kissed
me once more and moved to the table, sitting down and pulling her phone from
her purse. "Mind if I record this and then I can type it up?"

"Not at all." I sat down across
from her and took her in. "You're so fucking beautiful."

"That's not professional in the
slightest, Mr. Parks." She lifted her eyebrow playfully.

"Yeah, neither is my raging desire to
crawl beneath this table and lick every inch of you." I licked at my lips
as her face grew flush.

"Get on with the interview. I have
plans to make this handsome guy I know scream my name." She shrugged as if
we were talking about the weather.

"Oh yeah? I'm almost jealous of him.
I usually like my women pressed to something, crying out for more. A man
screaming seems a little much, no?" I motioned for the server to come and
save us from ourselves.

"Tease," she whispered and
picked up the menu. "Do I get to choose what dishes I'm critiquing?"

"Yes, but the house favorites and new
additions to the menu will always be at the top of the list. Choose those and
two additional dishes. If you like the restaurant or are keen on helping
support them, then you choose items that they wish they were selling more of
but aren't currently." I picked up the bottle of red wine between us and
poured us each a glass. "Order for us."

"How do you know what the house
favorites are or the items that they're trying to sell?" She glanced up at
me, her playful sex-kitten expression all but gone.

"You ask your friendly, neighborhood
server." I sat back as she had a quick but pleasant conversation with the
server.

She finished up, ordered a handful of
items and turned her attention back to me. "That all sound good to
you?"

"Delightful. I haven't had anything
here that I didn't like." I licked at my lips absently. Her eyes shifted
down to watch me, and my body hardened farther than it already was. "How
was the interview with Jon?"

"Great. He seemed like a good guy. I
can see why you like working for him." She took a tentative sip of her
wine. "What happened to the other food critic that worked alongside you?
Kevin, I think you said his name was, right?"

"He was fired. Piss poor judgment in
lying about testing out a few dishes while we were in Florida. That and a sense
of entitlement. Never bodes well for people like us." I slid my hand
toward her, leaving it palm up in hopes that she would press hers to the top of
mine.

"I'm not worried about acting rich
and famous." She slid her hand on top of mine, the softness of her skin
leaving my body to ache for more of her.

"What are you worried about, Viv? Be
open with me."

"Is this still the interview?"
She smiled and glanced around.

"No. The critique is the interview.
You've won me over completely. I don't even need this additional part, but Jon
does for the company records. The job is yours if you want it."

"I'm worried about falling so far in
love with you that I can't find my way out." She smiled playfully.

"I plan on making that happen."
I licked at my lips. "Are you excited about the job opportunity? Do you
want the position?"

"Do you want me to have it?" She
wrapped her fingers around my palm as she searched my face. "I applied for
the job to be closer to you, but then I almost felt silly having done it. It
seemed like a stalker-like thing to do."

I smiled. "I mentioned you to Jon the
minute I got back into town. I was ready to throw my weight around with him if
I had to just to get you an interview, but then I felt silly. You're an independent
woman and wouldn't want a man messing around with your future." I wrapped
my fingers around hers and squeezed softly. "I would have hated for you to
see me as a controlling ass."

"Do you want me to work beside
you?"

"More than anything else." I paused
and tilted my head. "Wait. I want that second to one thing."

"Which is?" Her eyes misted and
I got up, pulling her from her seat and brushing my fingers down the silky skin
of her cheek as a tear rolled down slowly.

"Which is to have you with me. We can
work together, but if it ever interferes with us being a couple, I'll leave or
you can. I want us first, and then this partnership with Wilmington and Branch
a distant second."

"Good." She turned her face and
kissed my palm softly, captivating me with her soft feminine movements. "I
was so hurt that you didn't wake me up on Monday morning, but I understand it a
little better now."

"I'll not do that again, then. You
only have to tell me when I do something wrong, and I'll correct it." I
brushed my thumb over her full bottom lip. "Can we talk about you moving
in with me soon?"

She laughed and pulled from me as the
first dish arrived and was placed on the table. "Not this soon. I'm
graduating in a few months, so even if I do take this job with you and Jon, I
can't start until late May."

"That's okay. Stay with me at the
penthouse apartment on the weekends when I'm home." I moved to the table
and motioned for her to do the same. "We can work it all out. Do you want
the job?"

"Hell yes." She awarded me a sexy
smile. "It gives me the chance to say that I've tasted the finest foods,
slept in the most expensive rooms, and made love to the most handsome man in
every country."

"You're not sleeping around while we
travel." I picked up my fork and gave her a playful warning look.

"No? Shame. I was hoping to have you
explore me in every room we stayed in." She shrugged and sighed. "Too
bad really. I'm just starting to get curious about the various ways my body
might feel pleasure."

"Tease," I grumbled under my
breath and picked up my fork. "Describe the salad and record yourself
while you do. I'll hush for a few minutes while you work through this dish,
then we can talk a little more."

"Alright." She looked down at
the dish and back up at me. "Thank you, Easton."

"For what?" I pressed my fork
into a thick slice of tomato, but paused.

"For believing enough in me when you
barely knew me. For putting up with my drama in Miami and for giving me a
chance at a new life. A life with you." She glanced down and started to
recite the various ingredients in the salad.

I sat in stony silence, wanting to say a
million things, but knowing better. She was recording, and the cheeky thing
timed her sweet words perfectly. I had no choice but to remain silent. I'd get
her later for it and offer up my own thank you. She'd opened me up in ways I'd
almost forgotten existed. We could spend the night wrapped around each other,
but in the morning, I was taking her to meet my parents. If she thought Jon was
a great guy, she had a huge surprise coming. My mom and dad would blow her off
her feet as they welcomed her into our family.

I love you sat on the tip of my tongue,
but it wasn't time just yet. I used the rest of my wine to wash it down and
savor it deep inside of me instead.

She would hear it soon enough from me, no
doubt. Baby steps would take us all the way to the end of our lives, and we
would take each one together.