Chapter 5 #2
“What? I’m just being honest. I’m sure you feel the same way.” She grins and leans back into the wall and brushes her hair back behind her ears. She’s got a dark blue headband on, and I notice she’s got her bikini top on under her blouse. “Can you imagine your lips on mine?”
“Ew.” I pretend to gag as well. “Not at all. I’m pretty sure you suck as a kisser.”
“I’m pretty sure you suck as a kisser too, Luke.”
“I’m pretty sure that Beatrice—who I kissed a couple of weeks ago—thinks I’m a pretty fine kisser.” I smack my lips together. “In fact, she moaned like I—”
“Gross, Luke.” She blinks rapidly. “And who the hell is Beatrice?”
“No one important. So, who have you kissed recently that thought you were a pretty fine kisser?” I don’t know why I ask the question because I don’t really want to know who her Barbie-pink lips have been smooching.
“Well, I wouldn’t say anyone recently.” She runs her fingers through her hair.
“So, maybe I’ll go to Cocktails & Chaos tonight, and I’ll practice with a hot tourist. That way, it can’t get back to Rex, but I can get my flirting skills on because, honestly, I’m not really good at flirting and pretending I’m in a relationship because it’s been so long.
” She takes a deep breath. “So, maybe tonight will—”
“Really, Mia?”
“What? It’s a good idea. I’m going to get all dressed up tonight, and then Juniper and I are going to flirt up a storm with two hot surfers, and I’m going to make out and—”
“Ew. I do not want to hear this story. You’re going to go and pimp yourself out just to practice for when I get to town?”
“I’m hardly pimping myself out, Luke. That’s rude.” She shifts the phone closer to her face, and I can see her skin is glowing. It must be a hot day in Coconut Beach. “We also need to figure out the parameters of this contract.”
“Of what contract? What are you talking about, Mia?”
“I mean the contract between us—obviously not a Fifty Shades of Grey contract or anything,” she says, giggling. “That would be disgusting. But we need to figure out exactly what we will and won’t do to sell this story.”
“I kinda wanna know what a Fifty Shades of Grey contract would consist of, but you can tell me that in person.” I wink at her. “You tell me, Mia, what are some things that you will do to sell our love story?”
“I guess I’ll allow you to kiss me on the cheek.”
“I already kiss you on the cheek.”
“Yeah, but not in a passionate way.”
“There’s a passionate way to kiss on the cheek?”
“Maybe not.” She giggles. “Maybe I’ll allow a quick peck on the lips.”
“Ooh, salacious. Are you sure you can handle being that scandalous, Mia?” I smack my hand to my mouth. “We’ll be on the front page of the newspaper.”
“Shut up, Luke.”
“I’m just saying, if we’re going to sell this, we’re going to need more than a peck on the cheek or on the lips. We’re going to need some making out.” I pucker my lips to the phone. “No slobbering though.”
“No way.”
“I’m just saying, have you ever been around a couple that’s never made out?”
“No, but I’m also not around couples when they make out or are groping each other.”
“I’m not talking about groping you. I’m not telling you to go without a bra. I’m not telling you that my hands are going to be down your pants.” I stiffen slightly as I think about touching her in those ways. I cannot allow my mind to go into the gutter.
“Ew, Luke, really?”
“Mia, we need to discuss these things. Because if we’re doing this, then we need to figure out our boundaries and exactly how far we’re going to go.” I pause. “And how far we want people to think we’ve gone. Have we as a couple had sex?”
“Ugh, I didn’t even think about that. Okay, you can kiss me on the lips. I don’t want tongue though. Tongue is a step too far.”
“No tongue it is.”
“And your hands are to stay above the waist at all times.”
“They can stay above the waist.” I smirk.
“And not on my boobs either.”
“What? You don’t want me to have a quick grope?”
“This was such a bad idea, wasn’t it?” She giggles. “A quick grope, Luke, really?”
“Would you rather me say, Can I fondle your bosoms, Mia?”
“No. I would rather you not say that. We’re not in eighteenth-century England.”
“Would you rather me say, Can I suck on your titties?”
“Oh my heavens, Luke Haverbrook. What did you just say?” Her jaw drops in shock.
“Okay, so we’re not going R-rated. Agreed. I’m just checking what things are going to work and not work for you.”
“You don’t even speak like that anyway.” She rolls her eyes. “Just because I haven’t seen you in person in years doesn’t mean I don’t know who you are and your character. And you don’t say things like suck on titties.”
“You got me there. But you don’t know how I am with the guys.”
“True. And you do live in New York now.” She wrinkles her nose.
“Hey, what’s so wrong with New York?”
“Nothing, I suppose. Maybe one day, I’ll visit.”
“Are you going to come and visit me in New York before I come to town?”
“I would love to come and visit you. I mean, if you ever extended me an invitation.”
I keep my mouth shut. I’m not going to tell her why I haven’t extended her an invitation.
“It’s going to look really weird that I haven’t come to visit you,” she says, “and you haven’t come to visit me.”
I stare at her and nod. “It is going to look very weird.”
“So, do we pretend that it’s happened? No one’s going to believe I left Coconut Beach. And if you say you’ve been back home, your entire family’s going to be mad at you.”
“Then we’re going to have to say that we fell in love chatting on the phone and the computer.”
“Oh my God. I feel like such a loser.”
“Mia, you are not a loser. I will say I came to town a couple of times,” I sigh. “My grandparents and my parents will be upset, but that’s better than us looking like internet geeks.”
“Yeah, you would hate that, Mr. I Program Computer Games for Fun.”
“That was when I was sixteen.”
“Yeah, you still did that for fun.”
“And you played the games and enjoyed them.”
“That’s because I was a good best friend.”
“The very best,” I say. “Anyway, I should get going.”
She wrinkles her nose. I watch as she plays with her long blonde hair. The bangles on her arms clink and clink as she moves her hand back and forth.
“Everyone in my family’s probably talking about me right now, wondering how they didn’t know. Wondering how I kept this a secret.”
“Well, you do have a big mouth.”
“Thank you.”
“What? It’s not like I’m going to tell your parents and your grandparents and your brother—who already looks like he wants to kill me—that you have a big mouth because you like going down on me.”
“Luke Haverbrook. I have never gone down on you.”
“But if you were my girlfriend for real, isn’t that something you would do?”
“We’re putting that in the contract,” she says, laughing. “That is not happening. No way, no how. I don’t care who finds out it’s a lie.”
“Of course not. Just like I’m not going to go down on you.” I start laughing.
“Of course you’re not,” she says, blushing. “I feel weird even having this conversation with you. This is either going to be amazing or it’s going to be the worst decision we’ve ever made in our lives.”
“Let’s stay positive, Mia. It’s going to be amazing. Oh, and, Mia?”
“Yes, Luke?”
“Don’t go to Cocktails & Chaos tonight and get into any trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
“Leave those poor tourists alone.” I hang up to her laughing.
I sit there at my desk and frown. I really don’t want to think about Mia making out with some random tourist—and not just because she’s meant to be my secret girlfriend.
I don’t want her lips touching another man.
I don’t want her doing anything with anyone else.
The thought of her kissing someone else makes me pissed.
The thought makes me want to puke, and that’s not something I want to think about too deeply.
There’s a knock on my door, and I rest my phone on the desk.
“Come in,” I say, looking up.
“Hi, Mr. Haverbrook. Johnson would like to speak to you.”
“You can send him in. Thanks, Rebecca.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Haverbrook.” She gives me her sweet, sexy little smile and backs out.
I know for a fact that my assistant, Rebecca, would love to go on a date with me.
She’s let me know in no uncertain terms that she’s willing to accept anything that I’d offer her, including a one-night stand.
She’d love to go to the wedding with me as well, but there is no way I’d ever ask her.
I sit there, holding my gold fountain pen in my hand, and watch as Johnson—my boss—walks in.
“Haverbrook,” he says.
“Good afternoon, sir.” I stand up. “Everything okay?”
“Yes, and no.” He closes the door behind him and looks around. He walks over and takes his seat in front of me. His bald head looks especially shiny today as he gazes at me sternly.
“We’ve got a problem.”
“Oh? Big problem? A small problem? A problem with me?”
“A problem for you. We’ve got a problem with the Equinox deal.”
My heart sinks. The Equinox deal is the largest deal our hedge fund has ever been a part of.
In fact, I’ve been working on it for the last year, and it’s set to close within the next couple of months.
I know—and he knows—that if I make this deal happen, I will be the next equity partner.
I will run this town. And that’s saying a lot.
“What’s up?”
“Burlington was at the Seminole Club the other evening, and he was having a conversation. I don’t know with who—it doesn’t matter.
He was speaking with one of the waitstaff there, who overheard a conversation between TCO and Ricardo from the Equinox team.
” He pauses. “And it looks like they may have another offer on the table.”
“But we have the best offer. They’ve already agreed to sign with us. They’ve already agreed to this merger. It’s the highest amount per share that they will get.”
“Apparently not. It looks like the Brazilians are now coming to the table with a huge offer.”
“The Brazilians?” I frown. “But I thought the Chinese were the only ones interested.”
“Turns out, the Chinese and the Brazilians have decided to work together. This could blow everything up. You do understand what I’m saying, Haverbrook?”
“Of course, sir.”
“I need you working on this night and day until it closes.”
“Of course.”
And then I remember Mia. And the wedding. And her desire for me to come a week early.
Shit.
“I will be out of town for two weeks, possibly before the deal closes. But I’ll be back in plenty of time.”
“This is not the time for you to be going on vacation, Haverbrook. Are you out of your mind?”
“My brother is getting married,” I say firmly. “I have to be there.”
“Not a good idea.”
“Johnson, how long have I worked here?”
“I don’t know. Multiple years.”
“Exactly. How many vacations have I taken in that time?”
“I don’t know.”
“Zero. How many days have I missed?”
“I don’t know.”
“Zero.” I fold my arms and lean forward.
“My brother is getting married. I have to go back to Coconut Beach for the wedding celebrations. This is my family. This is important. The company has always come first for me. The deal will not suffer. I will work from Coconut Beach. However, I cannot and will not miss this.”
“I didn’t even think you were close with your family,” he says, shaking his head.
He knows he can’t threaten me. That I’ll walk away. He also knows I’m the best guy he has working for him—probably even better than him. That if I walk now, the deal is definitely done.
“My family and I are as close as most families are. This is very important. I will be there.”
“So, you say it’s for two weeks?”
“Two weeks,” I say.
I know I should mention the third week. I need to get to Coconut Beach early so that Mia and I can discuss all the plans.
But I also know that three weeks would be pushing it with Johnson—and also with the deal.
I need to be hands-on. I need to find out what’s going on with Equinox.
I’ll have to take some people out for lunch and dinner.
I’ll have to get to the root of the issue.
I have to make sure that I do not lose this deal.
The one thing I have above my brother is the fact that I am making it on my own.
I am making a name for myself. This isn’t just important for the hedge fund.
This is important for me. This is important for me to show my family that I am a son worth paying attention to, that I am a son worth caring about and nurturing.
Rex might have everything else, but I will not let him take this from me as well.
Jonathan stands up. “Fine. Two weeks. But I’m warning you, Haverbrook. If you have to get back here at midnight on a Wednesday, I don’t want any excuses. If you can’t catch a commercial flight then I want you chartering a plane.”
“Don’t worry. The flight is five hours. If you need me back here at the office for anything, I will be here. This deal means everything to me. I will always be accessible via email as well.” I offer him my hand. “I have to be there for family, but my job comes first, as it always has.”
“Good” he says, shaking my hand firmly. “Well, have fun, and let’s close the deal.”
“Done, sir.” I watch as he walks out, and I lean back in the chair.
Fuck, I think to myself.
I have no idea how I’m going to balance this merger with the wedding.
I have no idea how I’m going to plan with Mia and make sure we’re both on the same page—and sell the fact that we’ve been in a relationship for the last year.
Especially not after I just told her I would come to town early to make sure we could sell it.
She’ll be mad at me, but she is my best friend.
She, more than anyone, knows how important this deal is to me.
She, more than anyone, will understand. I will just have to make it up to her when I get to town.
I’ll buy her a necklace or another bracelet or something that will make her happy.
And then we’ll sell our relationship, break up, and I can come back to New York and live my life the way I have been for the last few years.
I try not to think about the fact that I’ve missed Mia. I try not to think about the fact that I look forward to kissing her. That I’ve always wanted to kiss her.
I try not to think about the fact that a part of me, deep down inside, wishes that this weren’t a fake relationship. A part of me, deep down inside, wishes that we had truly fallen in love.