Chapter Nineteen
Lucas
Waking early Saturday morning, I jumped out of bed with a hard-on and a plan in mind, excited for my day with Valerie.
Actually, I’d decided it was going to be more than just a day.
I texted her and told her to pack an overnight bag.
She sent me back an emoji with a question mark.
My reply: Do it. She sent back a laughing emoji.
Did she not realize I was ordering her to do something? I chuckled. Of course she did, but her reaction wasn’t what I expected. I wasn’t worried. Valerie had worked her way into my heart. Well, truth be told, I don’t think she ever left.
After a shower, some strong coffee, and a quick breakfast, I packed a bag and threw it in my SUV, then I gathered up a couple of blankets and pillows and filled a cooler with water and snacks.
If we used them, great. If not, that was fine, too, but it was better to be safe when traveling in the mountains.
I’d been very lucky, thanks to a last-minute cancellation, to get a reservation at the hotel I wanted to take Valerie to.
I paced, anxious to get the trip started. Glancing at my phone, I saw it was only eight-thirty, and I’d told Valerie I’d pick her up at ten. Could she be ready in thirty minutes? There was only one way to find out. I punched up her number.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“How did you know it was me?”
“You’re programed into my phone.”
Why hadn’t I thought about that? “Do you think you can be ready in thirty minutes?”
“Impatient man,” she muttered.
“I am. Can you?” I wasn’t going to argue with her.
“Yes, I can be ready.”
“Good. See you soon.” I hung up and almost called her back. After double checking the packed car, I climbed in and drove down the street. It hadn’t been thirty minutes, but I didn’t care. I’d sit in her driveway.
Valerie was waiting on the stairs with her bag in hand when I pulled up.
After stepping out of my vehicle, I bounded up the steps and reached for her bag.
“How long have you been standing out here?” I didn’t like the idea that she’d been standing outside waiting for me.
While it wasn’t cold, there was a chill in the air, and she wasn’t wearing a jacket.
“Maybe ten seconds before you pulled up.”
Good, she hadn’t been out here too long. But then it was maybe a minute or so drive to her house. “You all ready?”
“Yep.”
“Did you pack a jacket?”
“Yes, oh impatient man.”
“That I am.” I brushed a kiss over her lips and pulled back before I wanted to. “Let’s get this adventure started.” Taking her hand, I guided her to my vehicle. Once she was seated, I put her bag in back with mine.
“Do you want to stop and grab some coffee and breakfast for the road?”
“That would be nice since I barely got my coffee down before someone decided he needed to pick me up early.”
The laughter in her voice helped me relax, and I flashed her a grin. “Can’t help it. I want to spend time with you.”
She made a raspberry noise, and I laughed. After grabbing coffee for both of us—and food for Valerie—I got us on the freeway.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“I’m assuming it’s far enough that we have to stay overnight?”
“It can be. Stop fishing.”
“I can’t help it. I want to know where we’re going.” She wiggled in her seat.
“You’ll like it, I promise.”
“You can’t promise that I’ll like it.”
Was she having second thoughts? “I can.”
Valerie muttered “know it all” under her breath, and I fought against grinning.
“Talk to me about how you came to work for Fantasies, Inc. You seemed happy where we were.” she prompted after a few minutes of silence.
“I was happy for a while.” After our breakup, I began to realize how toxic the company felt to me.
“What happened?”
“I realized the culture was changing, along with management. They started requiring suits every day, impossible work schedules, and the pressure…” Working for the firm had become impossible task in my book. I should have realized it long before I left.
“I noticed you don’t wear a suit.” She glanced at me.
“I do when I have to, but John created a company where employees don’t have to dress up if they don’t want to, unless they’re meeting clients.”
“That’s nice.”
“I like that I can run my department my way. Is there pressure? Sometimes, but not like working for a big financial firm where outperforming your peers is the only way to get recognized. While I do have expectations and goals, it’s not as bad.”
“Or an accounting firm. I hate that I’m expected to outperform my peers.”
“Do they put a lot of pressure on you?” I didn’t like that idea at all. Valerie was too quiet to thrive in that kind of environment.
“At times.” She glanced at me. “Forensic accounting takes time and sometimes clients argue about the cost in the contract.”
“Then those clients shouldn’t be in business.” My tone was matter of fact.
Valerie laughed. “I agree. My boss usually calms them down, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t ask me to get the job done faster. Or that I’m not the one taking the brunt of the client’s displeasure.”
“Are you getting pressure from your company to hurry up with us?”
“No. I think that’s because you’re paying me directly and giving them a cut as well. Money talks.”
“Not always.” If Valerie had been a freelance accountant, it would have been a very different contract.
“My boss made it very clear that was the only reason they agreed to let me come to work for you under the contract that was presented. They didn’t like I was an employee of FI for the terms of the contract.”
“Ass,” I muttered.
“He’s not a bad boss, but he likes things a certain way and taking me away from my usual workload is not one of them.”
“Why?” Now I was curious about her work situation.
“Probably because I work on two or three forensic accounts at a time.”
“What? That doesn’t seem right.”
“I’m very good at what I do. It also depends on the level of forensics they need.”
“And the one for us?”
“This one is more detailed and complicated than I thought it would be. Especially since Rustic isn’t following normal practices. Which circles me back how you came to work there.”
“After my stint with the firm, I was looking for a new job and came across an advertisement for Fantasies, Inc., I was intrigued. John interviewed me, and two days later, I had the job.”
“You impressed him.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but I was thrilled to get in at the start of the company.” I shifted in my seat. “At first, it was just me and another person. We put in some long days.”
“Wasn’t that why you left the firm?”
“Part of it. With FI, it was more a labor of love, not forced overtime. John was pretty specific about us not working too much. I found it all exciting, getting in on the ground floor, and was having fun.” I continued to tell her about the first year, setting up the company and how everyone else came on board.
“Marcus is the latecomer. He came in about two years ago when Research and Development was added to the company.”
“How come?”
“R it takes anywhere from one to five to oversee each department.”
“You manage that many? The company I work for only has thirty, including three forensic accountants. I know most of our work is for external customers, but yours is all internal.”
“It is. We need that many. R she was studying a set of Nutcrackers on the table. “Our room is ready.”
She blinked at me, then smiled. “I can’t wait to see it.”
“Stairs or elevator?” I asked.
“Stairs. I have a feeling I’m going to need the exercise.”
“You’re going to get plenty of exercise,” I whispered as we made our way up the stairs. There was only one door on the third floor, so that had to be us. I unlocked the door and pushed it open, ushering Valerie in first.
“Oh my goodness.”
I shut the door behind me, then turned to see her staring at the room, her mouth slightly open. The suite was what I’d expected.
“Lucas, this is…” She waved her hand in the air. “Too much for an overnight trip.”
“Probably.” But the cost hadn’t mattered to me.
The look on her face was worth it. “I doubt that we’ll use the kitchen area much, but we have our own sauna if we want, plus a jetted tub, a balcony, and just to let you know, this is a twenty-one and over hotel.
” I placed our bags on the luggage rack in the corner.
“I…” Valerie walked over to me and gave me a quick kiss. “Thank you. This is great.”
“Do you want to explore or relax?”
“Explore. Please. I saw some cute shops as we drove in.”
“You got it. We can grab some lunch and then decide where we want to go for dinner while you shop.” The smile on her face was addictive. I wanted to make her smile like that and more this weekend.