Chapter 9
Lucy
I have no idea why Samuel has called me on the carpet, but I’m feeling a lot of pressure and fear. Is he going to make me quit? But then he said everything I am doing is fine, and then he started talking about the kiss. I thought we were going to put it behind us, and I had determined in my heart that I was not going to even think about it today, even if I did happen to see him, because I heard that he was going to be staying in town for the week until the town celebration this weekend.
I thought I might run into him, and I was trying to convince myself that I needed to do it without becoming flabbergasted or becoming beet red.
But I definitely wasn’t expected to be called into...it’s not his office. It’s the drawing room or a morning room or whatever rich people call rooms that one sit in just because of the angle of the sun, and that’s pretty much all it’s for. Sitting in. There are two loveseats which face each other with the coffee table between them, and beautiful, huge windows that would be absolutely gorgeous to take in the sunrise over the mountains.
The sun is up and shining in, giving the room a cheerful, happy look, which I love.
Although right now, I wouldn’t mind being able to crawl out and hide under a rock for a while. I just told Samuel yesterday’s kiss was the best kiss I ever had and gave him the credit for it. He has to know I have a full-blown infatuation with him now.
But I totally get what he’s saying about wanting to be involved with the gala.
“I’m really happy to hear that you’re interested in having a hand in it. I tried to do things the way I think you would or to show off you and your personality to the best of my ability, as well as I know it.”
“You probably know me as well as anyone except for possibly Daniel and Allison. Even better than my parents.”
“I think your parents know you pretty well. I got a lot of my information about you from them.”
He looks taken aback and then a little worried, like they might have said unkind things.
“They’re proud of you. So proud and thrilled that you changed from the way you used to do business.”
“You heard about that?” he says, coming over and sitting down on the edge of the opposite couch.
I feel like we’re going to be talking for a while, but then there’s a knock on the door.
Samuel shakes his head like he totally forgot there was food coming. I always rush out the door without eating, and I’m afraid my stomach is going to growl. I suck it in and remind it to behave itself and stay in its place and not embarrass me.
“Come on in,” Samuel calls out, and then the door opens and a woman in a uniform brings a covered tray in. She sets it on the coffee table, curtsies, nods to us, and then leaves, closing the door behind her.
The interruption seems to have given Samuel a little bit of his confidence back, and he pulls the lid off the tray.
There are Danishes, doughnuts, scones, and even what looks like cheesecake. As well as two steaming mugs of coffee.
“I wasn’t sure how you took your coffee, so I told them to put sugar and creamer on the tray.”
“With all those goodies, I probably better drink it black,” I say, thinking that if I lived here all the time, I would probably be gaining a lot of weight. Everything looks so good I’m not sure what to get, but Samuel encourages me to pick something, and so I do.
“So my parents told you that I didn’t always have the best business practices, and I wasn’t always as ethical as I should have been.” Samuel’s statement is flat, like he’s already accepted the fact that I probably hate him.
“They also told me that about eight years ago you came back to the Lord. That you completely changed the way you did business, and it became even more successful than it was before, and you also tried to make up for what you did wrong before.”
“You can never go back and fix things.”
“Not all the way, but I think it’s the thought that counts. At least, that’s the way I feel about it.”
“I guess I feel like action is more important than thinking or words, but I suppose that shows our differences.”
“We are different,” I say, enjoying the delicious pastry that tastes a little bit like blueberry and a lot like cream cheese only thicker and richer and so, so good.
“Someone told me that the reason opposites attract is because one person’s weakness is another person’s strength and opposites work well together.”
That seems like such an odd statement coming from him, but I agree completely.
“I think that’s true. I think that if you work with someone who’s just like you, then things get overlooked. That might be part of the problem that we have in today’s society, where we’re absolutely opposed to thinking about hanging out with anyone who doesn’t completely agree with us on politics or religion or whatever because we feel passionately about it and don’t want to hear any disagreement on our stance. But a lot of times, disagreement is a good thing. We broaden our horizons, open up our views, and become better, well-rounded people when we allow in ideas and personalities that are not like us.”
“Such wisdom in one so young,” Samuel says, and I believe he’s teasing me. I have to blink and do a double take before I see the twinkle in his eye. I grin.
“Thanks. That’s what all the billionaires say.”
I wonder if I’m allowed to tease him, but he does the same thing I did, looks at me, as though he’s trying to figure out if I truly was teasing, blinks, and then a miracle happens, and his smile breaks out on his face.
“Is that so? Do all the billionaires kiss you too?”