Chapter Nine #4
“I wasn’t about to let him one-up me.” She tucks another wayward strand behind her ear, turning into the breeze.
“But then he said he’d walk away and let me have the band if I’d come work for him.
He promised he wouldn’t micromanage me, and he offered to mentor me, which was a huge deal and the biggest compliment someone in my shoes could ask for.
He knew my downfalls, and he was still willing to not only take a chance on me but to teach me everything he knew.
He said if I had his resources and connections behind me, I’d be unstoppable. ”
“Sounds like a smart man. You shine brighter than anyone I’ve ever met, and he obviously saw that, too.” I look out at the water and take a deep breath.
“Am I boring you? Do you want to get off?”
“No. I just love the smell of the ocean.” I cock a grin. “I have no interest in ending our call, but I do enjoy getting off with you.”
She smiles and shakes her head. “I keep forgetting I need to watch what I say to you.”
“What fun would that be?” That earns a beautiful, slightly bashful smile as I walk beside the dunes. “So you took the job and started dating your boss?”
“ No . I took the job and did not start dating my boss. I wanted to, but Harvey fought our attraction. He mentored me just like he promised he would, and we worked closely, staying late every night and working weekends. He taught me about business and negotiating and schooled me in the parts of professional etiquette I needed to hone in order to succeed. I was all guts and glory and not enough finesse, working on a shoestring budget and practically living in Keds unless I had to impress someone. He taught me more than I ever imagined possible, and we made an amazing team. We scouted talent together, and I worked my ass off. With his guidance, I didn’t just soar.
I took off like a freaking rocket, and I loved every minute of it. ”
She takes a deep breath, and her tone softens.
“But I fell in love with him during those long nights and weekends, and even though he wasn’t flirtatious, I knew he had feelings for me.
So I did what any woman in my shoes would do.
I tried to get him to give in to the heat between us without compromising my professionalism, which was hard, because we had crazy chemistry.
” She pauses, her gaze moving to the water and back, before she adds, “Like you and I do.”
Man, I love hearing her admit that, but I’m also glad to hear that Harvey and I weren’t very similar.
It’s no wonder she struggles with our connection.
She says she’s not scared, but with the strength of our connection, how can she not be?
The last man she gave her all to, the one she thought she’d have forever with, was stolen away too soon.
“He must’ve had a will of steel,” I say.
She smiles. “He did, and it was infuriating.”
“Almost as infuriating as trying to get you to dance with me over the holidays? Or at the wedding,” I tease.
“I danced with you at the bar last weekend, and look what happened.”
“I had one of the best nights of my life.” I want to push her to admit she did, too, but I don’t want to scare her off, and I’m interested in knowing how she and Harvey ended up together if he was fighting his feelings, so I let that go and return to our previous conversation.
“You obviously got through to Harvey eventually.”
“Yeah, I did. A few months after we started working together, we hooked up, but he was still fighting it. We’d get together, then he’d back off, then we’d reconnect, and he’d back off again, and all while we were still working side by side.”
That sounds familiar. “That must have been torturous for you.”
“It was, but I was in love with him, so I just tried harder. It took almost a year for him to fully let down his walls, but once he did, nothing could tear us apart, and we got married shortly after that.”
“That’s a beautiful story, Vic. I’m glad you had each other. I wonder why he fought his feelings for so long. Was it because you worked for him?”
“Partly. At first it was because he was used to young women going after him for his money and status, and once he realized I wasn’t after those things, he said he was protecting me.
He knew how important my career was, and he knew people would talk shit about me if we got together, which they did.
I was called a trophy wife, a gold digger, told I had daddy issues and that he had a twisted inclination toward younger women. ”
“People can be judgmental assholes. That must’ve hurt.”
“It stung, but we knew the truth, and that was all that mattered. Or I thought it was. It turned out that Harvey also thought I should be with someone my own age. Someone who was, I don’t know, a little wilder or something.
He worried that I’d get bored, and if we broke up, it would screw with my career. ”
“The truth comes out. Were you a wild child?”
“No. I mean, I liked to dance and have fun, but I’ve never been one to drink myself silly or anything. I’ve always been too focused and goal oriented to go off the deep end. I’m more of a wild worker bee than anything else. But that’s enough about me. I’m sorry for gabbing your ear off.”
I take her cue for what it is—an end to talking about Harvey. “My ears are still firmly attached, and I enjoy hearing about your life. Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me.”
“I think there must have been truth serum in the burger I ate. Want to see something pretty?”
“I’m already looking at the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“This is prettier.” She shows me the sun setting over the water, casting beautiful ribbons of oranges and yellows against the dimming sky.
“Remind me not to take your word for anything in the future. That’s pretty, but it’s not more beautiful than you. I wish I were there to watch it with you.”
“You are.” She turns her back to the water, so I can see both her and the setting sun.
It’s not quite what I had in mind, but I’ll take it.
After watching the sunset, neither of us wanted to end the call, so I stayed on the line as she drove back to her hotel, and I headed up to my house.
That was almost two hours ago. Now we’re on our beds, thousands of miles apart, lying on our sides with our phones propped up, and somehow it feels even more intimate than if we were together.
Victory’s long sleek waves are frizzier and untamed from the sea air, which I love. We’re talking about our favorite things. I’ve already learned that her favorite color is forest green, her favorite music is rock and roll, and her favorite foods are brownies and lobster. “How about movies?” I ask.
“You’re going to think I’m weird.”
“I already think you’re weird.”
“Fine, but if you make fun of me, I’m going to climb through the phone and pummel you.”
“In that case, I’m definitely going to make fun of you.”
“I really need to come up with better threats.” She laughs softly. “I have a lot of favorite movies.”
“Let’s hear ’em.”
“Well, there’s The Princess Bride , because it’s a funny love story, and the first Rambo , because he’s an underdog and Stallone is wicked tough in that movie. I had a huge crush on him when I first saw it.”
“You like tough guys, huh? I’ll have to pull out my fatigues.”
“Sorry, Silver, but you could never be Rambo.”
“I can bulk up.” I flex my arm.
“It’s not that. You’re too well spoken. You’re not rough around the edges.”
“I can fix that.” I do my best Rambo imitation. “Yo, Victory, you’re looking hot. You wanna come over here and take off them clothes?”
She laughs. “I don’t remember Stallone saying that in the movie.”
“I had to improvise. What else ya got? The Matrix ? The Godfather ?”
“They’re good, but they’re not my favorites. I love Silence of the Lambs .”
“So you’re into tough guys and wearing human skin,” I tease. “I don’t think that makes you weird, but it might make you creepy.”
“Shut up. I’m not telling you anything else until you give me something back.”
I’m tempted to say, I’ll give you something , and get dirty with her, but now that we’re lying on beds, I don’t want her to think that’s the only reason I’ve spent this time with her. “I already told you my favorite color is blue, and my favorite foods are lobster and you.”
She rolls her eyes.
“And you made fun of my movie choices, so I’m not telling you any more favorites.”
“I didn’t make fun of them,” she insists. “I merely said it’s not often you hear about guys liking Legally Blonde and The Proposal .”
“Hey, Reese and Sandra are badass babes in those movies.”
“I agree. It’s okay. I don’t need to know more of your favorites. I’m more curious about why you went into the restaurant business.”
How I got my start in the business is tangled up in family history, and I don’t want to weigh her down with that, so I go for an off-the-cuff answer. “It happened the same way I do everything in my life. On a whim.”
“As much as you seem like a guy who could live life on a whim, I’ve seen you at the restaurant schmoozing with customers, and I heard the pride in your voice when you reminded me that you own the hottest restaurant on the island. I feel like it had to be purposeful.”
“You’ve got me all figured out. It’s all I wanted to do since I was a little kid.”
“I love that. But why?”
“Because of my friend Abby’s father, Olivier DeMessiéres. Their family owns the Bistro that Abby runs on the island, and her father ran it when I was young.”
“I met Abby and her sisters at the wedding. It was one of the small-world moments. I’ve known her husband, Aiden, for years through the industry. He manages his sister Remi’s acting career. He’s a great guy.”
“Yeah, he’s a good egg.”
“What was it about Olivier that made you want to own a restaurant?”