CHAPTER 1
Audrey
I ’m standing on the curb. People are passing me in all directions. Men are constantly asking, “Taxi?” I guess that word is universal, or maybe I stick out like a sore thumb looking like a foreigner just asking to be overcharged. Then again I wouldn’t know.
I just got off the first flight of my life, and now my feet are not so solidly planted on foreign soil for the first time ever. It’s crazy how similar, and yet totally different it is at the same time.
While all my friends are preparing to sail around Croatia this summer, I’m preparing for the internship from hell…thanks to my dad.
My dad works for the North American division of his best friend’s international advertising firm. Tamás Buda’s Pest Publishing. It’s pronounced almost like Thomas, but just like the position I find myself in at the moment, it’s similar but totally different at the same time.
I’d grown up around Tamás, but hadn’t seen him for the last decade. He was constantly at our house, and my dad at his, when I was growing up. They were junior advertising executives together at their first jobs. While my dad was happy to do the nine-to-five thing, Tamás seemed more intent on doing his own thing. When he finally took the leap and started his own agency, my dad was the first person to join him.
And I, apparently, was the latest person to join him. This was the summer between my junior and senior year in college, my last chance to be young and free and go off and do whatever I want…until my dad stepped in.
“Honey, I got you an internship,” he said at Christmas. I didn’t think that actually counted as my Christmas present, but apparently he thought it was the most caring gift a father could give his daughter in a tough economy. His heart was in the right place, but I would have preferred a Bed Bath & Beyond gift card to furnish my first real place for when I graduate.
But that was then, and this is now. I’m at Budapest’s Ferenc Liszt International Airport waiting outside like a lost puppy. It’s exactly how I feel.
I’m already wishing I was with my friends, packing up for a summer of fun that’s about to get started not too far south from here, but still worlds away. Sometimes I wonder if my dad is worried about me having too much fun, and that’s why he sent me to Tamás. He’s a huge guy and I know he must have promised my dad he’d watch over me. But what was there to watch over?
I spent most of my time reading, and daydreaming about traveling. I had spent months looking at pictures of the Croatian islands, fantasizing about how nice it was going to be as I looked out my window this past winter as the snow dumped on top of sheets of ice. I studied hard and had maintained a high grade point average, but it wasn’t enough for my dad. As relaxed as he was, he was pushing me. He wasn’t a hypocrite. He just wanted me to have a good start in life.
I hear my phone chirp and dig into my backpack.
Pulling up now, his text says. Black G Wagon.
Before I can reply, I hear a horn and look up. A brand new Mercedes Bends G-Class if three feet in front of me and the door is swinging open.
“Audrey!”
I let go of my suitcase handle as Tamás’ daughter, Tina, wraps me up in a hug.
“Hey beautiful!”
“Hi Tina! So good to see you again.”
“So good to see you! Welcome to Hungary!”
We hug again and over Tina’s shoulder I see him approaching. Tamás. The same man who used to tease me relentlessly when I was a little girl. Great, I’m thinking. Here it comes again.
But it doesn’t. He smiles and hugs me, leaving an appropriate distance between our bodies. I wrap my arms around him and am immediately taken back by his size. I can feel the muscles in his back, and as I release from our hug I just “accidentally” run my fingertips along the sides of his arms. I can tell by his face that he’s not flexing, and not holding his breath, but still his muscles are hard as a rock and huge.
I always knew Tamás was a good-looking guy. All the guys seemed jealous by his trophy wife, and plenty of the girls wished he had chosen them years ago…especially when his company started taking off.
Tamás had nerves of steel and his advertising campaigns proved it. They were in your face, controversial, and very, very profitable. At first companies were reluctant to market so aggressively, but the results from Tamás’ and my dad’s first few clients spoke for themselves. They took a few nickel and dime organizations and turned them into multi million dollar international firms, and took a nice share of the profits themselves. They were profits that the owners were happy to pay, and now companies from around the world approached Tamás for his catchy, curiosity provoking campaigns that you just couldn’t turn away from. His way with words left you no choice but to look, click, and buy.
As much as I hated his teasing sometimes, I had to admit he was creative. He never teased in a way that was straightforward or direct, such as pointing out one of the many obvious insecurities I had growing up. He’d always find a way to say things cleverly…words and phrases that would not necessarily be mean but still would anger me, all the while leaving me little room to respond. His ad campaigns were the same, except they left no other choice but to buy.
He had on a white button-down shirt and black slacks that were as dark as his hair. His shoes were very phallic looking, and probably Italian. He didn’t skimp when it came to the finer things in life.
His hair was cut short, like a buzz cut that had grown out a little. He was sporting a thin beard…more than a five o’clock shadow, but definitely not approaching hipster levels.
I couldn’t tell if his shirt was two sizes too small or he was two sizes bigger than any clothing manufacturer had planned for. He’d always worked out religiously, but he just seemed bigger…everywhere. My eyes scanned his body and I swore I could see a bulge forming in his pants. And it wasn’t the only one. His top three buttons were undone and his chest was literally bulging out of his shirt. He had just the right length of chest hair, and even the right amount of hair on his forearms. Those bodybuilder types with shaved arms are definitely not a turn on to me.
His sleeves were rolled up and I could see he had a nice watch as well. Nothing too big and gaudy and attention seeking, but still something large enough to fit around his massive wrist.
He was a throw back. A self-made man who made his fortune through gold old hard work. And even though he was a lot older than me, he certainly didn’t look it. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t imagine anyone on campus looking so truly confident of himself the way he did. And the icing on the cake was those eyes of his. I certainly hadn’t forgotten his eyes. The way he doesn’t look at you, but more accurately look through you. That furrowed brow. The deep stare.
I caught myself zoning out and quickly shook my head from side to side, shaking the cobwebs loose.
“You certainly have gotten taller since the last time I saw you,” he says, running his eyes up and down my body.
I feel my cheeks get warm, and I know I’m blushing as he completes the visual sweep of my body and his eyes lock in on mine.
“Yeah, I’m not a kid anymore,” I say nervously.
“I can see,” he says.
For a moment I hear nothing, say nothing, and see only him. I can’t take my eyes off his. His stare is too strong leaving me no choice but to return his deep gaze. He looks as confident as I look nervous.
“Shall we go?” Tina asks.
Tamás reaches back and his hand finds the handle instantly, even though his eyes are still fixed on mine. He opens the door, and I reach for my suitcase.
“I’ve got that,” he says, grabbing it with his first two fingers as I feel his other hand grab the top of my backpack.
“Oh,” I say turning back, realizing he’s removing it for me.
“I can put it in the back.”
“Thanks,” I say, sliding my arms out through the shoulder straps.
He carries my stuffed to the gills backpack like it’s nothing and my suitcase like it’s a small box of matches. I can only imagine how strong he really is, and I can also imagine what he must be able to do with all that strength.
“How was your flight?” Tina asks, as she jumps in the back and I sit in the front, next to him.
“Great.”
“First one, right?”
“Yeah, and it was smooth sailing all the way.”
“Speaking of sailing, I know you wanted to go to Croatia this summer.”
“It’s okay.”
“Don’t worry. There’s plenty to do here. This is such a fun, and beautiful town. You’re going to have a blast.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Good” she says, leaning forward from the back.
I’m twisted in my plush leather seat, looking at her, but out of the corner of my eye I can’t help but notice him. The way he so effortlessly drives through traffic. The way other cars move aside as he brings his big Mercedes down the highway. He normally writes advertisements, but right now he’s definitely starring in the one in my mind. I’m interested in anything and everything he has to offer, not that he’s offered me anything yet.
“I’m going to introduce you to Budapest the right way.”
“Oh?”
“Yep. First things on the agenda. Chimney cake, goulash, and a thermal bath.”
Oh no! I know I’m swollen both from the flight and the high sodium foods that were in whatever that stuff was they were passing off as food. As much as I’m terrified of getting in a swimsuit right now, I’m equally as interested in seeing more of Tina’s dad.