Chapter One

JAMIE

It was already 3:59 pm when I glanced at the clock. I wanted to kick myself for putting the report off until the end of the day. Amy asked me to have it ready for her by close of the business day and now I’m typing as fast as humanly possible with one hour lefts, hoping to not let her down.

It has been a long road for the two of us, despite her and Sam’s previous history and her undeniable attraction to him, she has been very respectful of me at work. She was still my boss and I didn’t want to upset her by missing a manageable deadline. Of course, it helped that Sam and I didn’t flaunt our relationship in her face, but she’s not blind either.

It still felt surreal, the idea of Sam and I. After so many periods of hit and miss, for a minute there I sincerely believed that things wouldn’t work out between him and I. I was sure that things would turn out like all of the rejections I suffered in my past. Here we are though, three months later getting to know each other without rushing into anything too fast or putting an official label on it.

Granted, we only spent time with each other and despite his busy schedule, he continued to make time for me.

“Noth again! Ugh!” I cursed aloud as I realized I made another error as I rushed through the report.s

My best friend, Lisa, always told me to relax on the pressure I was placing on myself at work. I love what I do, and I’m very good at it, so that’s what I want my co-workers to judge me for. Besides, Sam is a harsh critic himself, and I can’t imagine him keeping me around if I wasn’t doing a good job.

When I landed my last client, he was happy, but not too ecstatic, like he expected that type of success from me, and I have to be honest, I liked that. I’m not the type of girl who had anything handed to her, and I would never want that to change.

Everything I’ve had in my life, I worked hard to achieve, and Sam might not know my whole story, but I know he’s aware of the differences in our life. Cotton Wood Beach is a friendly, close-knit community, but it is no Sutton Hill, that is for sure.

I can’t begin to imagine what growing up in such a stuffy community was like for him, and I guess he must feel the same about me. Cotton Beach doesn’t really define me though, but Sutton Hill is always the first thing out of anyone’s mouth from that community. They wear their zip code like a badge of honor, something I’ve never understood.

Fortunately, Sam isn’t like the majority of people I’ve met from his esteemed neighborhood. He’s chill and very down to earth. Really, he has no choice because the majority of the workers at the Jerry Ellis Foundation, where we work together, do not live in his wealthy gated community.

That aside, I’ve never seen him have a problem with any of the workers, and he is a very involved boss, the kind that knows everyone’s name and remembers birthdays. Sam is sweet in that way – he likes to make other people feel special, and I love that about him.

Here I am, gushing about him again, making a mistake after mistake on this document to Amy. I’ll have to go through and edit it if I have time. Although I know she won’t even look at it until Monday morning, I have to meet our set deadline to ease my pride.

Every so often, I ask Sam what Amy has said about me, and while he always assures me she was good things to say, I never want that to change, so I go above and beyond especially when she is involved. She’s the Vice President of the organization, so I think she deserves that much respect and consideration.

Hopefully, one day I’ll be filling her shoes because this organization means a lot to me, and I can’t ever see myself working anywhere else. Founded in memory of his late father, Sam took over the family businesses, both this non-profit foundation and the for-profit Jerry Ellis Enterprises. In the years he’s managed them, both have soared passed previous benchmarks and projections, so he must be doing something right.

I’d love to play a role in revamping some of the current programs to affect more communities, whereas they currently provide arts and humanities opportunities for children in surrounding communities, focusing primarily on Sutton Hill.

Knowing their family has lived in the exclusive community for decades, I understand the attachment, but those kids don't lack opportunity, and I’d love to help children with no other options. When I mentioned the idea to Sam he seemed to agree, but he was working on his laptop, and sometimes I feel he’s not even listening to me when he’s typing on that thing.

Don’t get me wrong, I like that he’s busy and dedicated to his career, but if he ever wants to start a family like his older siblings he’s told me about, he’ll have to switch up his priorities one of these days.

Gosh, I sound like a nagging girlfriend! I don’t mean to be, but sometimes I feel like the more mature person in our relationship, and Sam is twelve years older than me. His professional life hasn’t really left him much time for dating, and although he’s never blatantly admitted it, I think I’m his first girlfriend.

The learning curve is ever present when we’re handling issues because he has no idea what a normal relationship looks like. I’ve had to explain everything to him, but it’s not as frustrating as it was in the beginning. At least I know he’s trying and willing to make an effort, which means the world to me.

Just then, my cell phone vibrates, the loud buzz making me jump as I glance over at the flashing screen. It’s my bandmate Aaron, and while I know he can’t want anything serious, I answer the call just in case.

“I’m at work, so make it quick,” I greet him as I continue to type feverishly.

“Are you kidding me? You’re working on a Friday night? Oh no, we have to fix this. Come out with us. There’s a bar crawl over on High Street tonight. It should be fun,” he suggests over loud music playing in the background.

“A bar crawl? I don’t need to be crawling home, Aaron,” I sigh, kicking my foot against the ground as I notice another error in my report.

“Oh come on! You’re the hardest working twenty eight year old in the world! You need to live a little and let your hair down!” He yells into the phone, and I actually want to close my laptop and go to meet him immediately, but I’m close to finishing, so I try to ignore him.

“I can’t. But I want to, so don’t be mad. I have to send in this report before the day is over,” I explain.

“The day is over, Jamie. It’s time to party it up for the weekend,” he chuckles.

“I know, but I told my boss I’d have it in and I don’t want to let her down,” I reason.

“Well, how much do you have left?” He asks.

“Ummm…” I stall, trying to muster all my focus to finish my conclusion.

“Hello? How much more?” He repeats.

“Done! I just finished. Now I just have to edit it,” I sigh a little relieved to finally have gotten through the tedious report.

“Edit? No, you need to drink. Send that as it is and get down here.”

“Aaron, I can’t. I’ve already noticed at least three edits I need to make. I like to send her perfect work because she’s delightful to me, and, well, she doesn’t have to be,” I decided against explaining the entire situation between Amy and me because he along with my other bandmates still doesn’t know about my relationship with Sam.

“I triple dog dare you to turn it in as is, Jamie,” he teases, knowing I’m the daredevil of the group.

“You can’t use that with work,” I scoff, shocked by his low tactic.

“Well, I just did. What are you doing now?”

With my hand on the mouse, I hover the cursor over the submit button, my heart racing, because I know I shouldn’t do it. The report is riddled with errors, although I’m sure I’ve made the point and articulated myself well. Amy shouldn’t have problems with it, it’s just not my best work.

“Do it!” Aaron yells in the receiver, knowing my silence means I was contemplating his dare.

Closing my eyes, I click the button and send the file over to Amy before I can stop myself.

“You’re a bad influence. I’ll meet you guys at the bar. Bye.”