Chapter 3
JET SETTING PARTY CRASHER
CLAIRE
The elevator dinged at exactly seven forty-five a.m., just as it had every day for three years. Declan was nothing if not punctual. At this point, it was almost a skill to step foot on this floor within the same second every single day.
Or an illness.
There have been a handful of times that I’d wondered if he actually teleported here because the traffic was grid-locked, yet he was perfectly on time.
It wasn’t like he lived far, but it made zero sense without advanced technology or magic powers.
Everyday it was the same routine. He walked past me without saying a word.
I gave him his coffee. I left the current reports on his desk alongside anything urgent that needed his attention.
I let him know lunch plans, and any upcoming important meetings before noon.
Then, I went back to my desk and minded my own—
“Can I see you in my office?”
My head snapped up as the deep, rough voice cascaded over my body. Declan was standing a foot in front of me, looking directly into my eyes.
I pointed a finger to my chest and said, “me?”
“Who else would I be talking to?” He arched a brow at me like I was the ridiculous one here.
“Oh, no one else is here,” I snorted out a nervous laugh. “But, I see you in your office everyday.”
“Right.” Declan looked bored as he continued past me, pausing in his doorway when I didn’t immediately follow.
I squeaked and walked as fast as my cute heels would allow until he closed his office door behind me. This was all a little weird. I mean, sure, I saw him in his office every morning, but he rarely talked to me and never closed the door.
He rounded his desk and placed his briefcase on top of it, fishing out a folder and holding it out to me.
No, seriously, what in the Twilight Zone?
“What is this?”
“The travel itinerary.” He dropped down into his chair and started typing something on his keyboard.
“Oh, was something wrong?” I opened the folder and started flipping through the plans, looking for an error.
“No. It's perfect. I just updated my companion.”
I furrowed my brow and flipped to the plane tickets. That couldn't be right. I double checked the spelling of Declan’s girlfriend’s name no less than six times. What could possibly—
“Me?” My jaw was on the floor as I read my name over and over next to the words St. Moritz and first-class.
“Emeline will not be joining us and I need you there to help me maneuver the trip.”
His words were not registering in my brain as he spoke them. He might as well have been speaking Russian with how I was dramatically blinking at him like there wasn’t a comprehensive thought going through my mind.
“Me? In Switzerland? With you?”
“Is English difficult for you?” His tone was even and he still didn’t look at me.
My mouth snapped shut. “Of course not.”
“Okay, then. Yes. You. Switzerland. With me.”
I wanted to punch his smug little face. Did he not understand that this was a shock for me? I didn’t ditch my life and fly across the world for weeks on a whim. I had a family that had Christmas traditions that I was looking forward to.
Even if they looked different this year.
“I can’t.” My voice was stronger than I felt.
“You can’t?” His eyes finally found mine as he glanced up from his screen. His face read as if the words were poison he just ingested and I was the criminal.
“It’s over the holidays. I have Christmas with my family and then I’m responsible for our office New Years Eve party. I can’t just jet off to Switzerland.”
Declan didn’t look me in the eye as he returned to typing on his computer. He released an exasperated breath before pushing his keyboard forward.
“You don’t have to go, but I need an assistant who can be there for me when I need them. If you don’t go, this will be your last week at Driscoff and Pugh.”
My jaw was officially on the floor. Did that asshole just threaten my job?
I think he did.
I opened my mouth to respond but closed it, unsure of what to do. I wasn’t good with on the spot decisions. I was a meticulous over thinker. I needed a pros and cons list. I needed time. This was too overwhelming.
Declan raised his hand, cutting off any thin train of thought I had. “Take the morning to decide.”
I nodded and spun on my super cute heels to book it out of his office. I closed his door behind me and swiped my phone from my desk before sprinting for the elevator. I made it to the lobby and out to the sidewalk before taking my first deep breath.
This was insane. There was no way that he could fire me over this, right? I mean fabulous all-expenses paid trip to the Alps wasn’t exactly in the job description.
I pulled up Warner’s contact and hit call. It rang three times before her groggy voice answered.
“Someone better be dead,” she rasped. I glanced at the clock and winced. It was an hour earlier in Denver and Warner was probably waitressing last night.
Since she got married when most teenagers were going to college, Warner decided to take some college classes part time. To afford it, she was waitressing at night at a local dive that was secretly open way later than two a.m..
“This is an emergency.”
“Are Mom and Dad okay?” Her voice was suddenly much more clear and I felt instantly guilty.
“No. I mean yes, they’re fine.”
“Okay… so what is happening?”
I stayed silent for a moment, debating how to answer that question. This wasn’t exactly a crisis, but also it sort of was?
Ugh, I didn’t know.
“Cee?”
I released a breath. “My boss just told me if I can’t accompany him on his business trip to Switzerland then I’ll be fired.”
“And why can’t you go?”
“It is literally the month of December. I’ll miss Christmas with Mom and Dad.”
“And?”
“And that would devastate them.”
“Would it? I mean, I love Mom and Dad but they have each other. I’ve been listening to you rant about the itinerary for this trip for months and it kind of seems like a no brainer.”
“Ugh, I don’t know.”
“Look, Claire. When you have a daughter one day, do you want to tell her that you stayed home to sing Christmas carols with your Dad or do you want to tell her that you took off on a once in a lifetime adventure with your hot as fuck boss?”
“He’s not hot as fuck.”
“Stop lying. Answer the question.”
“I want to tell her I wasn’t boring,” I mumbled.
“What was that?” Warner demanded.
“I want to tell her that I took the risk. That I wasn’t boring and went on the adventure.”
“So do that, babe. Mom and Dad will understand, but you’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t do this.”
I inhaled deeply. Warner was right. This was my opportunity to actually do something out of the ordinary for me. I could never afford something like this on my own. It was my chance to enjoy the luxuries that I have earned while experiencing a different way of life.
Boring Claire was being left in the past.
“Okay. I’ll go.”
Warner cheered on the other end of the phone before a familiar deep voice shushed her.
“Okay, I’m going back to sleep. But I’m proud of you, Cee!” She whispered into the phone.
“Love you,” I said.
“Love you, too.”
The call dropped as I exhaled and tilted my face toward the sun. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and marched back into the office lobby with my chin held high. This time, when I entered Declan’s office, I closed the door myself.
Declan looked up in surprise, but other than slightly wider eyes, you would never know.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I’ll go to Switzerland,” I said firmly.
“Great.” He returned to his computer and started typing. A minute later, my phone pinged with an email. “That is a packing list. There are a few events with specific dress codes. If there is anything you don’t have, use the company card. Don’t worry about the cost.”
I swallowed and nodded.
“Take the day tomorrow. Meet me at the airport on Saturday. Any questions?”
About a hundred. “Nope.”
With that, he dismissed me with a wave. I stepped out of his office and closed the door behind me. This was all going to be fine. A month in the Swiss Alps with a bunch of rich people while I waited on my boss’s hand and foot. What could go wrong?
I opened the email that contained the packing list and my heart dropped.
Who the fuck just had three formal dresses chilling in their closet?
It was starting to sink in that I had no idea what I just got myself into.