Chapter 7 Donovan
DONOVAN
Acouple of days later, a knock on my door pulled my eyes away from the budget screen I had been staring at.
“Tucker?” I greeted him with question. What was he doing here?
Tucker was Maeve’s long-term boyfriend, but she was out grabbing lunch with Cora and Audra.
“Please come in. What’s going on?” I stood up as my stomach dropped, realizing something might have happened to her.
She’d only been gone like twenty minutes, but that guy on the bike was struck in a fraction of a second.
“Hey, Donovan. Yeah, everything is fine. Sorry to drop in unexpectedly, that’s usually Maeve’s MO, but I have to make this quick before she makes it back.
I can’t call because I don’t have your number, and even if I called the office, I’d have to go through her.
Anyway, I’ll make this quick—I want to surprise Maeve with a two-week-long vacation, and she will have to take ten days off work.
I want to clear it with you because I’m going to tell her that all she has to worry about is packing.
She talks about how you guys have a ton going on with the resort, so I’m asking if there is a time frame that would work better than another.
Right now, I have a little wiggle room with dates.
I’m not going to make you pull out your calendar right now, but here is my phone number”—he handed me a slip of paper—“when you get a chance, can you look through your schedule and let me know if there are any hard no’s or any weeks that might work better?
” He sped through what he had to say, appearing nervous.
I really appreciated this heads-up. No one in New York gave a fuck about running dates by people. “Yeah, that sounds great, Tucker. Can I let you know by the end of the week? Where are you guys going?”
“For sure, by Friday would be great, thanks. We’re heading to Hawaii and doing three of the Islands with an emphasis on the Big Island. It’s on her bucket list,” he smiled.
“That’s great. Does she have a big birthday coming up?
Or something to celebrate?” As the words left my mouth, I should have just inserted my foot in it because I’m pretty sure I already knew the answer.
He had to be proposing. Good. They were perfect for each other.
He stuttered and started to turn red, so I interjected, “Let me know if you want any recommendations. I love the Big Island, and know a couple of great, off-the-beaten-path spots.”
Maeve’s voice drifted up the steps, clearly on the phone with someone.
God, she was so damn loud. Worked out well today, though.
Scrambling to put Tucker’s number in my top drawer, I turned to him with wide ‘oh shit’ eyes.
He looked unfazed by it as he went to sit at her desk, which was wild because two minutes ago, when he was telling me, he appeared to be frazzled.
It was then that I noticed a couple of wrapped cookies in his hand.
Normally, I was the one who had the best poker face in a room.
Not today, apparently, because if he wasn’t giving off that calm energy, I can’t say for certain I wouldn’t have given away that something was up.
She busted through the door, tilted her head, and brightly smiled at Tucker; like seeing him had just made her day.
I had another unfamiliar pang in my stomach with how she looked at him.
Not that I wanted her looking at me like that, but when’s the last time anyone looked at me like that?
Maybe before my mom started interfering in my life.
Making her way back to her desk, she said goodbye to whoever she was talking to and leaned in to give Tucker a quick peck.
I heard the conversation start. “I stopped by to give you a treat because I was thinking about you, but you weren’t here. Lunch with the girls again?” He asked.
“Thanks, babe! Yep, having them here is the greatest,” she replied happily. “I just need Jules to move here, too.”
Closing the door to my office, I tried to give them a little privacy.
My office space wasn’t big at all. There was a conference room for meetings, my office, and a reception area that Maeve sat in.
I could have shopped around for something bigger, but I wanted to be right on Main Street.
There was a certain charm to this building on this little street.
It was the opposite of my old office in New York and such a breath of fresh air.
Sure, there was substantial wealth in this town, but it felt different here; there was a genuineness that I wasn’t accustomed to.
I really enjoyed running my businesses out of this snug second floor space.
But my gears were already turning. I would need to find someone to step in while Maeve was away, and I was not looking forward to that.
A temp agency was out because I needed it to be someone I trusted.
Truth be told, there would be no good two-week period for her to be gone until after opening, but I wasn’t that much of an asshole that I couldn’t prioritize important things.
And getting engaged or celebrating a recent engagement is a priority.
It was just not what I wanted to be dealing with this morning.