Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Sam
I t’s not unusual for me to walk the halls of The Sands, smile on my face, greeting each person I meet. Today, however, I know there’s a little something extra in that smile, in my demeanor, and I know everyone can see it.
I couldn’t hide it if I tried.
This is, hands down, the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. Joy and excitement and hope for the future are pumping through my veins like the fountain of youth, energizing my every step. By the time I make it down to Reef for coffee and a cinnamon roll and back up to my office, I’ve already chatted with a dozen people, all of whom were smiling by the time they walked away, no matter how heavy their morning was before they found me.
I’m a walking ray of sunshine.
I settle into my desk and spend a few moments just enjoying the perfect contrast of the sweet pastry with the rich, strong black coffee. This might be the best breakfast I’ve ever had.
I smile at my ridiculously good mood.
I know exactly where the credit lies.
Hopefully, she’s still lying in my bed.
Yesterday was so incredible. Waking up together and having a little breakfast date in town like a real couple. Napping on my couch like it was something we did all the time. She’s always just as excited as I am to head out and tackle yard projects, and watching her experience the joy of transforming the bedroom with just a paintbrush and a little elbow grease was one of the highlights of my life thus far.
Suddenly, everything that’s ever happened to me, all the wonderful, memorable moments, seem to pale in comparison to yesterday.
The day I officially fell in love.
It’s been coming for a while. I could see it like a boat offshore, careening toward the beach as if it had lost control entirely.
That’s a pretty good summation of how I feel. Moving too fast for the environment I find myself in. Speeding headlong toward an inevitable end. Blissfully unbothered by the coming impact.
I’ve passed the point of turning back. Of letting her go.
Now that I’ve experienced how it can feel to have it all—my dream job working at the resort I own and my dream home life with a woman I love waiting there for me—giving it up is no longer in the cards. It’s exactly what I’ve imagined all these years. A work life and a home life. Both equally satisfying. And gloriously separate. A home that’s still my refuge from the resort, as much as I love it here. I know that’s what I need.
I inhale deeply and breathe the air out, not wanting to sink into worry about what’s going to happen when we decide it’s time to go public. Not ready to ruin the high of this morning.
Unfortunately, my high is short-lived.
My office door gets pushed hard from the outside and swings open quickly, hitting the wall and bouncing off again, only to be caught in the hand of Dom himself.
Speak of the devil.
It’s not that I want to think of one of my best friends that way, it’s just that, since this whole thing started, he’s officially the only thing standing in the way of having everything I’ve ever wanted.
No, it’s not him. It’s a conversation. A difficult conversation, sure, but a simple one. That’s what’s standing between me and my new relationship being more than a special little secret.
And I am nothing if not good at handling difficult conversations.
“Morning, Dom.”
He folds his arms across his chest and narrows his eyes at me.
Wait, does he already know?
My mind starts to reel, even as I keep my face calm and neutral.
Fran knows, but Naomi said she was going to keep it to herself. But that was before the little trip they just took to blow off steam after the wedding. Who knows what kind of drunken conversations went on.
I brace myself.
“We’re all meeting at the big table down at Reef.”
I blink at him and then glance down at my desk calendar to see if there’s a meeting scheduled for this morning that I somehow forgot about. Nothing.
“We?” I ask.
“Yeah. Me and the guys and Fran and Reina. You planning on joining us?”
I’m already getting to my feet, replacing the plastic lid on my coffee cup. “This is the first I’m hearing about it, but of course I’ll join you. Ben’s here?”
“He came to Honduras with us. Now he and Victoria are here for the day.”
“For this meeting. What’s this all about?” I’m starting to get nervous. I know I’m not going to get much out of Dom, but it’s worth a try. Better to be as prepared as I can for whatever I’m walking into.
“Resort stuff.”
I almost smile at his gruff, predictably short answer.
“Resort stuff,” I reply, tucking my phone into my pocket. When I glance up, however, he’s already gone.
I hurry to catch up as he storms through the hallways toward the stairs leading down to the pool patio. When we blow through the café doors, I find everyone already seated at a long table against the back wall. Ben, Avery, Fran, and Reina. They’re all lounging casually, drinking coffee and laughing. This looks nothing like the grim dressing down I was expecting after Dom’s gruff invitation.
“Morning Sam,” Reina calls, climbing to her feet. I offer her the embrace she’s expecting and find my seat.
“We missed you in Pristine Bay,” Ben calls out in greeting, a kind, knowing expression on his face.
I offer my usual smile and eyebrow raise. “You guys have a good time?”
The next ten minutes are filled with lively stories of sun, pool time, and late nights at the famous beach club restaurant and bar on the property. I take in the words, nodding and smiling, feeling genuinely happy that they had a good time.
Even as I grow more and more antsy to learn why we’re all here.
“Enough. Let’s get this over with so I can go back to work.” For once, I agree with Dom’s harsh pronouncement.
Reina just laughs. “You are such a beast.”
Dom smiles over at her, softening.
That’s the look that’s going to save me. The fact that this man now knows what love can do. He’s not going to deny me that, is he?
Avery clears his throat, and we all look to him. “We did some talking on our trip and we have a great idea for how to make the resort and all of our future events even better.”
I feel my eyebrows lift as I try not to laugh in surprise. “Okay. Fantastic. Let’s hear it.”
A hush falls over the room, and I look from face to face, trying to determine the source of it.
Finally, Fran speaks. “After a fabulous lunch meeting, where we poured over the content from the last wedding and were so inspired by her enthusiasm and positive attitude, Ave and I, and now the rest of the team, came to the only possible conclusion. We want to offer Naomi the position of social media manager for Paradise Events and The Sands.”
The hush returns to the table, the group waiting with bated breath for my answer as if they know what kind of bomb this is.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, no one has any idea. Not even me.
“No.” The word is out of my mouth before I even think.
“Sam, it’s?—”
“No!” I hear myself shout but can’t seem to stop it.
My heart races, and I’m starting to sweat. My brain is descending into madness, and I can’t bring a rational thought forward through the muck of internal screaming.
No.
This can’t be.
She’s my home, not work.
They can’t have her.
She’s mine.
I’m on my feet, even though I don’t remember standing up. All my friends gape at me, a couple of mouths actually hanging open.
Of course, it’s Ben who also stands. The voice of reason. “Sam, we were just thinking that since she did such a good job on the wedding and The Sands already lost their onsite social media manager?—”
“No.” I shake my head like a crazy person. “It’s a terrible idea. She’s completely inexperienced in high-end resort social media management. We haven’t even interviewed for the position yet. To just choose her without holding interviews would be inappropriate. Nepotism.”
I’m grasping at straws here, my defenses sounding ridiculous even to me. They’re going to override me. I can already tell. This isn’t a meeting to ask my opinion, it’s a meeting where they tell me something they’ve already decided.
They decided to take Naomi from me, turn her into just another thing to handle at work. Just another coworker who I smile at in the hallway. Someone who will want to talk about the resort at home, the last thing I ever want to do.
I need my work and home life separate. A thick, black line drawn between the two. Work is where I have to be who the guys need me to be. Their lesser, the one who was never good enough.
Home is where I just get to be me.
I can see it in their faces. They’re surprised by my reaction, but not a bit worried.
They don’t need to be.
They clearly have the votes.
I pull my trump card out and consider the damage it might cause.
I don’t have a choice.
I throw the damn thing on the table.
“She’s already caused one terrible scandal that got her canceled from the internet. How can we trust her to manage the resort’s reputation after what she did to her own?”
A different kind of hush falls over the table now. I finally get the nerve to look up from where my hands rest on the smooth, cool wood, bracing myself for the shocked faces.
But no one is looking at me.
With cold dread pumping through my veins, I follow their gazes behind me.
Where I find Naomi, looking just as shocked and hurt as she should.
Our eyes lock for a split second, in which time I try to convey to her how sorry I am and all my many reasons for saying the terrible things I just said.
But it doesn't work.
She turns and runs from the room.
I follow after her immediately, ignoring the surprised shouts behind me.
Down the hallway I run. Up the stairs to the lobby level and then up a few more flights. She’s running aimlessly it seems, just trying to lose me.
It’s not going to work. She may have a head start, but I’m bigger. I know my way around these hallways better.
I catch sight of her golden brown hair glinting in the sunlight from a high window as she disappears down the third-floor hallway, around the corner, and through the door into the emergency stairwell.
With a deep sigh, knowing that I have little recourse here, I pull open the door and follow her in.
Once the heavy fire door closes behind me, the world goes cool, dim, and quiet. The only sound is her flip-flops hurrying down the concrete steps.
“Naomi, stop.” My voice echoes through the stairwell.
She does not stop.
“Naomi, let me explain.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Her words bounce off the walls, breathless and angry.
She still doesn’t stop.
I start to jog down the steps but I’m too far behind. I hear the ground floor exit door slam when I’m making the turn to the second floor. By the time I emerge into the hot morning sun, she’s nowhere to be found.