Taming The CEO: An enemies-to-lovers romance (The Whitley Brothers)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cami

As I drove to Essex, I cranked the music loud, putting on my favorite Spotify playlist. I kept thinking about Maddox and the future. I had a very good feeling about selling Essex Adventures. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. And hearing Diane passionately talk about her touring business was giving me ideas.

I didn”t necessarily have to teach... or travel. My heart wasn”t in it anymore. Essex was my home.

During the ride, I placed an order at Dad’s beloved Chinese takeout. Twenty minutes later, I grabbed duck breast stir-fry for him and shrimp stir-fry for me before heading to his house.

I loved his place. He’d moved into a smaller home after Mom passed, insisting he didn’t need too much space. I personally felt that he’d only started to heal after he was no longer living in my childhood home.

He opened the door just as I parked the car.

”I”m starving. Oh, you brought my duck?” Dad asked. The smell probably gave it away. He”d already set the table.

”Yes. We don”t need to reheat the food or anything. It’s still warm,” I said.

We sat down and immediately put the food on plates.

”So, I ran into Miriam in town this morning. She said you spent the night in Boston.” He raised a brow at me.

Oh, Miriam. Way to run your mouth.I’d intended to tell Dad today what was going on between me and Maddox anyway, but still...

”Yes, I did. I met with Maddox and told him about my decision.”

Dad beamed. ”I can enjoy my retirement, and you can go around the world like you”ve always wanted to.”

”Honestly, I don”t really want that anymore.”

”Really? How come? It was all you could talk about a few years ago.”

Almost a decade ago, but I didn”t correct him. ”You know, dreams change. I”m actually thinking that, with my share of the money, I could start a local business here in Essex.”

Dad”s eyes widened. ”Nothing would make me happier. But is it really what you want? You don”t have to stay here for your old man.”

”That”s not why I’d stay.” Although, of course, Dad being here was a huge motivation for me to want to stick around. “Essex is my home.”

”So what exactly are you thinking about doing?”

I smiled sheepishly. ”Maybe open a coffee shop with baked goods that’s also a place of entertainment. With board games, a darts section—of course. Maybe even add an escape room, which would give people something to do when the weather isn’t great. And then in summer, when people are spending time outdoors, I’d take time off.”

Dad nodded eagerly. ”I could see you doing that.”

”I’m going to think about the business plan. It just all came together today.”

”Did you only talk to Maddox or Gabe too?”

”Gabe knows too,” I replied. ”There”s a bit more to this, Dad.”

”I”m listening.”

”I”m dating Maddox.” The second I said the words, I realized they weren”t completely true. He and I were... what? Were we dating?

”Oh, fucking hell,” Dad exclaimed, frowning.

I dropped my fork in shock. ”Dad!”

”No, no, no.” He seemed upset.

”What?” I asked.

”That’s how he convinced you to sell? Do you even want to do it?”

”D-Dad...,” I stuttered. I’d never heard him speak like this.

He opened his mouth and closed it again. ”I don”t like it.”

”What? That I”m selling?”

”No. Maddox.”

I stared at my plate and then back at him, drawing a deep breath. I needed to ground myself somehow. I did not expect this.

”You were the one telling me how great the Whitley brothers are.”

”As buyers. Maddox doesn”t seem like the kind of guy who gets serious about anyone.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, carefully considering my words. I couldn”t exactly contradict him. But how could I tell him that I didn”t mind because I wasn”t looking for forever either? It was a very awkward conversation to have with my dad, but I didn”t want to skirt around the subject or give him the wrong idea.

”Listen, Dad. Maddox and I are on the same wavelength.”

”I”m going to have a word with him.”

”You absolutely won’t.”

”I”m your father. You can”t tell me what to do and what not to do.”

”Until today, I didn”t have a reason to,” I replied.

”Baby girl... I don”t want you to get hurt,” Dad said more calmly.

”I won”t. Now, promise me you will not talk to Maddox about this.”

He said nothing, just took a few forkfuls of food, chewing annoyingly slowly.

I kept staring at him. ”You”re not off the hook, Dad. Promise me!”

”I”m sorry. I”ve considered it, and I can’t do that.”

I groaned. I wasn”t giving up, but I needed a better argument.

Taking my time to organize one, I finished my plate, then snapped my fingers as I got a genius idea. ”Okay, fine. That was too much to ask. Promise you”ll be civil.”

”Is he the one who convinced you to stick around?”

I shook my head. ”What? No, not at all. I haven”t even discussed my business idea with him.”

”Hmm, all right,” Dad said.

But clearly everything was not all right. I couldn”t believe he”d reacted like this. Dad was always laid-back, supportive of anything I decided. But it had been a very long while since I”d introduced him to someone. I never kept him up to date with my romantic life because it was just plain weird. What was I supposed to do? Introduce him to every guy I’d dated over the past few years? Not that I’d been out with many. But I couldn”t keep what Maddox and I had a secret from him. That would just feel wrong.

Crap. I have to warn Maddox.

After Dad and I finished dinner, I went into my cabin and checked my phone. Miriam had called me five times. I called her back as I went inside.

”Finally. You”re back, aren”t you?”

”Yes. I just went to have dinner with Dad, who, thanks to you, knew I spent the night in Boston.”

”I”m sorry. I hadn’t realized that you didn”t tell him. So... how was the sleepover?” she asked.

”Delicious. What are you doing tonight?”

”Well, if my best friend agrees, I’ll come over with popcorn. Then we can have some mulled wine and gossip.”

”Sounds like my kind of Saturday,” I said.

”Great. I”ll be there in five minutes.”

”Wait, you can”t drink mulled wine.”

”I bought some that’s alcohol-free.”

”That”s a thing?” I asked incredulously.

”Yep. Jury”s still out if it”s any good, though. If it’s not, I”ll start buying cranberry juice from now on.”

”I”ll get everything set up. Did you already have dinner?”

”Yeah. My husband keeps me fed even though I’ve told him repeatedly that I absolutely don”t have to eat for two.”

Miriam’s husband was an absolute darling. He’d fallen head over heels for her in high school and always treated her like a princess.

After hanging up, I lit a few pine-scented candles. I loved candles this time of year. I glanced outside, noting that the sky was moody again. It didn”t look like it was about to rain, but it was still very dark.

Miriam arrived a short while later. I was deeply suspicious of the alcohol-free red wine, but hey, why not at least try it? She tossed the popcorn in the microwave while I started a pot for the mulled wine.

”You can definitely make your own,” she said.

I shook my head. ”Hell no. I want to be supportive.” Though, from the way it smelled, it wasn”t going to be very good.

”All right, so spill,” Miriam said as we started eating the first bag of popcorn. I gave her a rundown of the weekend: dinner, breakfast, and then meeting the family.

”Huh,” she said. ”I can’t picture Maddox surrounded by a big family. I got it into my head that he was something of a loner.”

”So did I, but nothing could be further from the truth. By the way, I want to share something else too.”

I laid out my business idea while I stirred the mulled wine and stuffed my face with popcorn.

”Wow, when did you even come up with that?”

”I think it”s been at the back of my mind ever since Dad brought up the possibility of selling. I just didn”t really consider it before.”

”And now you are. It”s the magic dick again, isn”t it?” Miriam said, folding her arms over her chest.

I burst out laughing. “What?”

”You’re staying because of him, right?”

I shook my head vehemently ”No. I mean, he lives in Boston anyway.”

Miriam rolled her eyes. ”Because the forty-minute drive is such a drag. People living in the suburbs commute for longer just to get to work.”

“That”s not what I mean. We”ve got different lives. They”re intersecting right now, and those intersections are delicious,” I said with a grin. Miriam wiggled her eyebrows. ”But neither of us is considering anything serious or long term.”

”Hmm.”

”You disagree?” I asked.

”No, no. I”m still processing the fact that I won”t be losing my best friend.”

”I”m going to work on a business plan, and then I’ll go about making it happen. But I”m really excited about it.”

”Come on, let”s taste this,” she said.

I filled two cups with nonalcoholic mulled wine. I took the first sip and nearly spit it back out. ”Oh God, this is awful.”

”Blech,” Miriam exclaimed. ”Cranberry juice it is, next time.”

We both started laughing, which quickly turned into snorting and boisterous shrieks.

I loved cozy evenings with my best friend. I was glad I didn”t have to give them up.

We spoke about Maddox and my idea until she started yawning.

”Right, that’s my cue to go,” she said, standing up. “I fall asleep everywhere.”

”All right, drive safe. Thanks for stopping by.”

I followed her to the door, and we hugged before she headed out with a wave.

After she left, I opened my laptop. I was so fired up about my idea that I wanted to start working on a plan. First, I needed to look at rental properties. I”d seen a few closed store locations off Main Street, but I couldn”t just assume they were available.

I got into a frenzy, probably filled with all that sugar and the fake mulled wine. I stayed up late, but after a few hours, I had a semblance of a plan.

I’d found a rental property that looked to be just what I needed. There used to be a bookstore there that I’d absolutely loved, but it’d closed down about three years ago when Ms. Hilly retired. The downside was that it belonged to Bill. I’d prefer to deal with someone else as a landlord, but I’d just have to suck it up.

If I stayed in Essex, I couldn”t avoid him. He was part of the county management, for crying out loud.

***

The next morning, I woke up with a lot of energy despite going to bed late. I headed straight to the park because we had some bookings today. They must have signed up late last night, because the calendar had been blank when I’d looked at it earlier in the day. We even had bookings for the next week. I was keeping my fingers crossed for the weather to hold.

On my lunch break, I decided to text Bill even though it was Sunday.

Cami: Hi Bill, I”m interested in your rental off Main Street. When could I see it?

He finally responded a few hours later.

Bill: Cami, it”s good to hear from you. I’m not in Essex right now. I’ll be back in two weeks. I can show it to you that Thursday. Does five o”clock work?

I beamed. I had a really good feeling about this. Things were falling into place.

Cami: Sure, see you then.

This was the first time since Mom passed away that I was concentrating my effort on something other than the park. And it felt absolutely exhilarating.

I had another group today, and I focused on them the whole afternoon. My phone kept buzzing in my pocket, but I didn’t even have time to check it.

The group was small and kept complaining about the wet conditions. ”We”re really sorry, but after storms, it takes a while for everything to dry,” I explained at least a dozen times to the various participants.

After they left, I stayed behind in the main building. My phone buzzed again, and this time I took it out of my pocket. Maddox was calling. I wanted to dance with joy.

I immediately answered. “Hey.”

”Hey, how was your day?”

”It was great. I just finished with a group.”

“So, your dad told Gabe to start preparing the documents.”

”Holy shit,” I said, covering my mouth. ”I totally forgot to warn you.”

”About what?” he asked with a chuckle.

”Listen. Last night at dinner, I told Dad about us.”

”Go on.”

I tried to gauge from his voice if he was upset about it, but I couldn’t tell.

”I think he might give you a hard time.”

”He wasn”t thrilled, huh?” Maddox asked.

”He”s a dad, I guess,” I replied. ”He”s very protective.”

”That”s a good thing, Cami. Don’t worry about it. As for the documents, Gabe and I will have them ready in two weeks, tops. I”ll email you and your dad as soon as it”s all ready.”

“That’s perfect,” I exclaimed. “When are you coming to Essex again?”

“Usually on Tuesday, but I want to focus on the contracts right now, so I’ll skip this week.”

I pouted but didn’t complain. Things were truly falling into place, and I was thrilled.