Chapter Twenty
Annie – Friday
It felt a little weird to leave Rae behind because I hadn't spent a lot of time away from her since the day that she was born – particularly not in another city – but I knew she would be okay with Mom. I had to remember that she was Rae’s grandmother, and that she loved her just as much as I did. She would be looked after well, plus, I could call at any time I wanted. I could even video chat with them if I needed to.
Anyway, the three-hour drive to Portland was almost over, and what I really needed to do was get my head in the game. I had no idea what way this weekend was going to go, and I had to have a steely focus to just get through it. It was so confusing to even be around Justin in any capacity, so this could really go either way.
“Oh my God,” I muttered to myself, as I pulled up outside a very fancy building. I knew that it had to be Justin’s; after all, he was the richest man I knew apart from maybe Roy, but it was much fancier than I was expecting – all clear white with gold trimmings and massive, clean windows. I even glanced down at the piece of paper that I’d written the address down on, just to check that it was right.
I pulled the car mirror down to smooth my hair down quickly, hating the way the long drive made me look so shabby. How the hell am I supposed to strut in there without falling apart? I did not fit in with this world – that was obvious.
“Okay,” I whispered, trying to ignore the tremble in my voice. “Just do this.”
I didn’t want to. In fact, what I actually wanted to do was turn the car around and drive all the way back home, but I couldn’t. I’d made it this far…I couldn’t turn back now.
So with that in mind, I literally forced myself out of the car, and I made my legs walk towards that terrifying building, my heart hammering in my chest the entire time.
Luckily, just at the moment I was about to throw up because I was freaking out so much, Justin’s friendly face greeted me at the door, causing every inch of me to focus on him, instead.
When I was drinking in his cute smile, his gorgeous eyes, the way that he looked incredible in a vest and tie, I wasn’t worried about what everyone else would think of me. It might have been acutely obvious to everyone that I was far too small town to even be seen in a place like this, but with Justin on my mind, it suddenly didn’t seem like such a huge issue.
“Hey, how are you?” he asked warmly. “How was the drive?”
“Traffic wasn’t too bad,” I smiled brightly at him, enjoying that sense of familiarity that I could feel between us now. “How are things here? Your building is lovely.”
“Wait until you see inside!” he teased, before pulling me in for a hug. As my body pressed up against his, my emotions got all mixed up once more. He just felt so comfortable and sexy…
Nope, not sexy!
I pulled back sharply and looked up at him hoping that he could see the sorrow in my eyes. I didn’t want to push him away, but we had no choice.
“My financial advisor Harry can’t be here today, but he’s making a special trip down tomorrow.”
“Right, okay,” I nodded as if I understood. I half wanted to ask him why I didn’t just wait to come up then, but I zipped my mouth closed instead. “So what’s the plan for today?”
“Well, I can show you around the building, give you a better feel of the place, if you like.”
“Yeah, sounds good,” I replied, smiling to hide to the nerves. “That’s what I’m here for, after all.”
He led me inside, calling out random names as we walked through the sleek hallways. I tried to take in at least one of the names, but they were floating over my head.
All I could really concentrate on were the dirty looks constantly being shot my way. At first, I couldn’t work out why everyone seemed to dislike me so much, it seemed to be so much more than the fact that I simply didn’t fit in…until I realized that it was actually jealousy. I started to get the sense that people could tell that something had gone on between me and Justin, and that they were actually jealous about it.
And in a weird way, that turned me on a little bit. Just knowing I had something they wanted helped me to overcome the sense that I didn’t fit in, and I couldn’t stop myself from encouraging it. As I got dirty looks, I moved in closer to him. As Justin spoke to me, I acted a little flirtier with him…I just couldn’t seem to stop myself.
Well, that was the case until I met the next person!
“Annie, this is my brother, Garrett.”
As I shook Garrett’s hand, I couldn’t stop myself from recalling all the negative stuff I knew about him. He was a troubled guy with a bit of a past, but he was trying to overcome it. I could see that he was trying hard, but I got the strong sense that he was struggling with it all much more than he was letting on. There was a definite pain there that he didn’t seem to know how to express.
“Hi, Garrett,” I smiled in a way that I hoped was friendly. “It’s nice to meet you.”
But all he did was raise his eyebrows and grunt back, not giving me anything in return.
“Come on,” Justin placed his hand on the small of my back. “Let’s go to my office.” He’d picked up on his brother’s unfriendly treatment of me, but of course, that wasn’t the sort of thing that could be dealt with in a professional office environment.
As soon as he clicked the door shut behind us, I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. I felt like I could relax around Justin, much more than the strangers sitting out there, so it felt good for us to be by ourselves.
“Urgh, sorry about all that craziness,” he sighed deeply. “As you can imagine, it’s a bit tense at the moment. Things between me and Garrett aren’t great at that moment, so…yeah, it isn’t fun.”
I nodded, not really sure what I could say at that moment. Family stuff was hard. I knew how complex it could be, and I didn’t really think that it was my place to get involved.
“Anyway, is Rae excited to be here? Is she with the babysitter now?”
“Oh, actually, she ended up staying behind at my mom’s house,” I replied excitedly. “She doesn’t really get enough time with her grandma, so she couldn’t wait for it…” I trailed off as I noticed a strange look of disappointment in his eyes. What is that about?
“Oh, I was looking forward to seeing her!” he exclaimed, totally taking me aback. Admittedly, a big part of my wariness when it came to dating was Rae and the fact that not only would she not get along with another man, but also the fact that no one would want me.
Not that this was dating, of course! I really needed to remember that fact.
“I got her a gift. Would you be able to give it to her?” As he reached under his desk and he pulled out a box, I felt my chest swell with a happy, loving sensation. Could this man be any more perfect? He brought my daughter a present, just for no reason!
“What…what is it?” I stammered in shock.
“Just some toys for her. Quiet ones, the sort that she could play with in the shop if she ever needs to be there with you again.”
“Wow, that’s so thoughtful,” I smiled, still unable to respond properly. This was all just so much! “Thank you.”
“And since you’re all by yourself tonight, I’m going to take you out to dinner,” he slid backwards in his seat and gave me that heart-stopping grin. “So, I’m going to pick you up from the hotel at seven.”
He wasn’t actually giving me a choice in the matter, which I found myself liking much more than I thought I would. “You know where the hotel is, right?” he asked. “Not far from here.”
“Oh, erm yeah…that sounds good. Thank you.”
“I actually also got you a gift,” he looked a little shyer as he said that. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Mind? What sort of girl would mind being spoiled? I wasn’t some sort of gold digger, but I couldn’t deny this made me feel very special.
“It’s an outfit that you could wear tonight if you wanted.” He handed me a large box, which I took in shock. This was way beyond and investor-investee relationship now, wasn’t it? I wasn’t the only one blurring the boundaries. “You don’t have to open it now. Check it out at the hotel, see if it’s something you might actually like.”
“Thank you,” I nodded slowly. “I appreciate it.”
***
“Holy mother of God,” I cried out as I admired my reflection in the mirror. I actually looked incredible! I’d never understood the reasoning behind spending thousands of dollars on a dress before, when you could get one for a few bucks, but now it all made sense. The fabric clung to me in an amazing way, falling past my hips and swishing perfectly. It made me look like a million dollars, and I hadn't even styled my hair or put on any make up yet.
Justin was pulling out all the stops for me, and it was making me even more confused. I already liked him far too much; gestures like this were only going to make that harder.
I then grabbed the shoes from the box with much more excitement in my heart. I had been afraid when I opened this parcel that I wouldn’t like Justin’s style, but now I could see that he had a damn good taste. They were jet black, which matched the dress exactly, with bright red bottoms to make me feel like a movie star. The whole look together was breathtaking.
I just hoped that Justin felt the same way.
If he was going to blatantly ignore the business relationship we were supposed to be having, then why did I have to stick to it? Yes, it was the smart thing to do, but it was the most boring, too.
For the first time in my life, I really wanted to be wild and throw caution to the wind, and here in this environment where I wasn’t anywhere near home, I was in a new city without my daughter, my shop, or responsibilities, I could actually feel myself doing it. It would be like a little crazy fantasy, a holiday romance to get all of my feelings for this man out of my system.
One time just wasn’t enough. It had been all too quick, to fueled by lust. If things were ever to happen between us again, I would savor it more, and worry much less.
But before I could even consider seriously acting crazy, I needed to call my mom and Rae to check they were all right, then I needed to get on with actually getting ready. I might have looked good in the dress without doing myself up, but I couldn’t go out in public looking that way. I needed to enhance the awesomeness of the dress, not let it down!