41. Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-One
Leo
O ne month later
Birds fly overheard, chirping and singing, as Juliet and I lounge on a blanket in one of our favorite clearings in the forest behind the estate.
A large open field full of wispy grass and wildflowers stretches ahead of us, giving us a perfect view for the picnic I planned. Sunset is coming, but our day isn’t going to end there.
“It’s so nice to finally relax. I needed this,” Juliet sighs as she lays her head on my lap, peering up at the sky as it turns orange and yellow .
I smile and brush her hair away from her beautiful face. “How’d that interview go today?”
Juliet smiles back. “Great. The family really likes me. They want to hire me and have me start in a few weeks.”
After going back and forth on what to do with her career, she decided to stick with long term home care. She’s great at it. She helped Dad so much while he was dealing with his cancer.
Anyone who gets to have her as their nurse is lucky.
“That’s great, baby,” I tell her before leaning down to press a soft kiss against her lips.
“And you, Mr. Double CEO?”
“Double CEO,” I laugh, shaking my head at her.
“We signed off on that property I told you about. Soon, we’re going to start construction on High Rise’s new headquarters.
Some of my New York City team are planning to move here to work at the new office, but a good bit will stay at the New York office. ”
“You trust your CFO to run things over there? ”
I nod. “He’s been there since almost the beginning. He’ll run things just fine. Besides, I’m just a plane ride away if I’m really needed over there.”
“I knew you’d get it all figured out,” Juliet says. “I hope you don’t get too busy, though. Piper wants to spend so much time with you.”
I take her hand and kiss the inside of her wrist. “I won’t. Family comes first.”
It also helps that they’ve moved into my house, so we can see each other first thing in the morning and right before we go to sleep.
“I love you,” she sighs blissfully.
A soft chuckle leaves me as I lean down and kiss her again.
Juliet reaches up and pushes her fingers into my hair, holding me close to deepen our kiss.
I slide my arm under her and lower her down onto the blanket so that I can move over her, nudging the basket full of food and drinks aside with my foot. My hand slides up the base of her throat as I turn her head to the side, my lips moving down her neck .
Juliet lets out a pleased sound as I move the thin strap of her dress to the side to kiss her shoulder. “You know what would be really hot?”
I already know where she’s going with this, and I almost regret the plans I made for tonight.
Before I can answer, I hear the familiar sound of helicopter rotors nearby. I move off her and get to my feet, amusement sparking within me as she stares up at me in shock.
“What are you doing?”
“I might’ve planned something else for us tonight,” I admit as I reach down and help her up to her feet.
Juliet looks away from me, her jaw dropping as the helicopter slows down to a stop above the field before gradually lowering. “What’s going on?”
Laughter breaks from me as she presses herself against my side, the gusts from the rotors blowing our hair everywhere. I wrap my arm around her as the helicopter lands, the rotors gradually slowing down.
“Ready to take a ride?” I ask her once she can hear me.
“Where? ”
“Not too far away,” I assure her before taking her hand and leading her closer to the private helicopter.
The pilot, Stuart, opens the door for us and helps us inside. “Good to see you again, Mr. Galloway.”
“Thanks for coming all this way, Stuart. You’re the only one I trust. I got precious cargo with me,” I tell him as I shake his hand.
“Good to meet you,” Stuart says to Juliet as he shakes her hand.
“You too!” Juliet replies before following me over to our seats. She sits down and lets me strap her in and set her up with a headset that has a microphone so that we can hear each other.
“Good?”
Juliet nods.
I sit down and do the same for myself before giving Stuart a thumbs up.
Stuart turns back to the control panel, slowly easing the helicopter off the ground and back up into the sky .
Juliet loops her arm with mine, her eyes widening as she stares down at the ground through the window. “Oh, wow.”
I chuckle, patting her hand. “What do you think?”
“This is so cool!” Juliet tells me.
Tonight is already off to a good start.
Stuart flies us out of Evergreen Heights, giving us the most incredible view of the sunset. Its bold fiery hue eventually fades into black, but the moon and stars are just as great to admire. City lights soon come into view, and I know that we’re close.
“Where is that?”
“Denver,” I tell her. “We’re about to land soon.”
Juliet squeezes my arm tighter and sits up straighter so that she can keep peering out of the window.
Stuart takes us over downtown Denver before landing on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the area. He shuts off the rotors and looks over his shoulder at us. “I’ll be here waiting for you guys when you’re ready to go home. ”
“Thanks, Stuart,” I tell him before taking off my headset and opening the door.
Juliet takes my hand and follows me out, calling goodbye to Stuart before I shut the door. She turns to me, her cheeks flushed and her smile bright. “What are we doing here?”
“We’re here on a date,” I reply, leading her to a door on the rooftop that leads into the building.
I might’ve called in a bunch of favors for tonight, but I’ve been establishing some connections in Denver that’ll probably do business with me once High Rise is up and running in Evergreen Heights. Let’s just say that Devon will probably have fewer clients soon.
“This is already the fanciest date that I’ve ever been on,” Juliet says as we step inside and head down a few flights of stairs.
“We’ve barely started,” I tell her before opening a door and taking her into a hallway where there’s a bunch of offices and meeting rooms. I lead her to Conference Room 3 and open that door, revealing two clothing racks with a garment bag hanging on each. “Time to get dressed for dinner. ”
A look of shock crosses her face as she approaches the racks. “Leo…this is…”
When she can’t finish her sentence, I place my hand on the small of her back and guide her to the rack on the right. “You deserve the world, Juliet. This doesn’t even scrape the surface of all that I want to do for you.”
Juliet gasps as I unzip the bag and reveal a shiny silver cocktail dress inside with thin straps and a thigh slit. There’s a small bag with jewelry at the bottom, along with a pair of matching heels.
“This is beautiful. You picked this out?” she asks me.
“I might’ve asked Lily for assistance,” I reply with a light laugh. “She had great insight.”
“It’s perfect,” she assures me, her fingers grazing the front of the dress.
I kiss her on the cheek. “I’m going to get dressed across the hall. Meet you outside in fifteen.”
I grab the left rack and roll it out of the room and across the hall. There’s a brand new black suit jacket inside the garment bag with a black button down, black slacks, and black dress shoes. Simple but stylish .
What I’m wearing isn’t the most important thing, though. What’s in my pocket is.
Once I get dressed and fix my hair, I step out into the hallway and lose my breath at the sight of an angel.
“Holy shit,” I mutter as Juliet stands there in her dress, glowing like she’s the sun. “You’re gorgeous, baby.”
Juliet blushes and shakes her head at me. “You look very handsome too, Mr. Galloway.”
I kiss her knuckles and give her a playful spin. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“Starving.”
Perfect.
We take the elevator downstairs and leave through the lobby of the office building. I was strategic with my location planning, so we’re just across the street from the city’s best fine dining restaurants. No one dines without a reservation, and I made mine weeks ago.
“Leo Galloway,” I tell the hostess.
“Right this way,” she says before leading us through the packed restaurant .
Expensive artwork adorns the walls, and the lighting is almost red-tinted but still bright enough to be able to see as waiters and waitresses in button down shirts and slacks roam from table to table.
The hostess takes us up a flight of stairs, past a long bar, and through a set of double doors that leads to a small balcony.
There are a handful of tables out there, but they’re empty. I paid to reserve the whole balcony for us.
We sit at the table in the middle, a gentle breeze blowing over the white tablecloth to make it lightly flutter. Empty wine glasses, cutlery, and cloth napkins already await us.
“Your waiter will be with you shortly,” the hostess tells us before walking away and shutting the doors behind her to keep our area private.
Juliet smooths her dress down as she gets settled in her seat, the breeze coaxing her hair behind her shoulders. “This is so nice. I’ve never eaten on a balcony before.”
“I heard this place is pretty good,” I reply as I glance toward the steel railing to take in the sight of the city at night with its shiny lights and towering buildings .
It’s beautiful, but it’s not as beautiful as the woman sitting right across from me. She means more than anything I could ever find in a place like this or New York City.
Our waiter comes outside with a bottle of red wine that I already pre-ordered for us. He pours us each a glass before leaving the bottle with us.
“We have an incredible special for you tonight if you’re interested,” he says as he looks between us.
I already know the special. I’ve orchestrated every little thing that I possibly could.
“Trust me?” I ask Juliet.
She smiles. “Absolutely.”
I nod to the waiter, and he leaves the balcony. Even if it’s something as small as what she’ll eat for dinner, I’m glad she trusts me.