Chapter Twenty-Three
Christian
Even though I could have answered Paul's call as I left Gretchen's house, I declined the call and waited until I was back at the hotel to give him a call. I poured myself a glass of wine because there was something about this conversation that had my nerves on edge. Maybe it was just Mina's needling that had gotten to me, and where had my words been coming from, anyway? What did I mean, I might just go back to get my affairs in order? I was going to go back and settle down and be the face of the company again. That had been the plan all along.
“Hey man,” I said when Paul answered the phone.
“Relax,” he said immediately, a smile in his voice. “You sound nervous, and there's no reason to be. Mainly, I'm calling to wish you season's greetings, but I also wanted to call and let you know that the whole company, even Alex and George, are waiting for you to come back. The sooner, the better; ideally, we'd like to have you back by the start of the new year.”
I blinked and stared at a distance halfway between myself and the wall. Then, I shook my head. “Look, I know you've been campaigning on my behalf, Paul, but I'm not sure that's the best idea,” I said.
I could hear the frown in Paul's voice when he spoke again. “Are you planning on tendering your resignation? I would have expected to hear about it before now, if so.”
“It's not that,” I said impatiently, shoving aside all my uncertain thoughts from before. “But Paul, I'm not stupid. I've been watching our stocks and all the company news. From everything that I've seen, the company is doing ten times better now than it ever did when I was involved in it. Whatever you guys are doing, or I guess, maybe, whatever you guys are not doing, it seems to be working. There's no way Alex and George want me to come back.”
“You haven't been in the news in the whole time that you've been in Hawaii,” Paul said. “I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised about it, myself. Alex and George must be beside themselves.”
“Honestly, there aren't even that many people who recognize me here,” I said. “I've been mostly staying away from the touristy things, and…” I broke off, cheeks flaming. For some reason, I wasn't ready to tell him about Gretchen just yet.
“That's good,” Paul said, his voice soothing away my concerns. “But we do need you back at the company. None of us can do the public speaking the way that you can. You have such a knack for twisting language and for dodging the really difficult questions. And beyond that, you have a knack for drawing in the audience and interacting with the camera. Your reality TV shows have helped us grow into the company that we are today, and you know that as well as I do. There's talk of a sequel series to that International Dream Homes show that you starred in last year. They've sent over a list of destinations and wanted you to go through and pick some places.”
“Oh,” I said, taking a sip of the wine, wondering how to respond to that. I couldn't help laughing a little. “I honestly thought you were calling to tell me that the company didn't see any reason for me to come back after the new year,” I admitted. “I know you keep telling me that that's not what you guys want and everything, but I call bullshit,” I said, shaking my head.
“Give me some credit,” Paul said, and I could hear the way he was rolling his eyes. “If I was going to give you that news, do you think I would wait until Christmas Eve to do it? Not that there's ever a good time for you to receive that news, but still. I'm not heartless.”
“I know,” I said, swallowing a sudden lump in my throat. “Paul, you've been such a great friend to me over the years. And thank you for whatever part you have in preserving my place there at Sunrise. I'll start looking at flights, I guess.” I ran a hand back through my hair, wondering how I was going to break the news to Gretchen. To be fair, she had to know that I was going back; that had never been a secret.
For a moment, I wildly toyed with the thought of inviting her to come live with me in New York, but I knew that that wasn't even an option. She had her whole life here in Hawaii, and anyway, there was something about her that just fit here in Hawaii. She could never be part of my life back in New York. And I knew, deep down, that she would never want to be. Asking her to do that for me would ruin everything that we had had.
“You seem pensive,” Paul said. He chuckled a little. “That's not a word I ever would have thought to use for you, of all people.”
I sighed. “This has been a really good trip,” I admitted. “It's a shame to see it end.”
Leave it at that.
We exchanged a few more pleasantries, and Paul finally let me go with a final 'Merry Christmas.' I sat there for a long time, staring off into space, and then I pulled up my computer, beginning to search for flights. I knew that the sooner I booked it, the better deal I would get, especially since there were going to be a lot of people heading home once the holidays were done. I stopped short of purchasing one, though.
Finally, I hopped into a long shower and took my time getting ready to go over to Gretchen's. I pocketed the little box that held her Christmas gift and went down to the parking lot, slipping into the rental car that I'd borrowed for the holiday, not wanting to pull Mark away from his family.
When I knocked on Gretchen's door, there was no answer, but when I tried the front door, it was unlocked. I stepped hesitantly inside, reflecting that this was something I would never have done back in New York, and especially not with a girl who I was sleeping with, whether we had agreed to meet up that night or not. But being with Gretchen in Hawaii just felt different.
I could hear the shower running upstairs, and I smiled a little to myself. I sat on the couch and pulled out my phone, waiting patiently for her to make her way downstairs. And trying not to think about what was going on just upstairs, the water droplets sliding over her body, her lathering up her long hair with shampoo, giving herself a good scrub, her hands sliding over each plane of her skin…
I swallowed hard and pulled up the news. Nothing less sexy than politics.
“Oh!” Gretchen said as she came down the stairs and found me sitting there waiting for her.
I grimaced. “Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you,” I said. “I was a little early, and the front door was unlocked, and-”
“No, no, it's fine,” Gretchen said, shaking her hair back. “Sorry, I just didn't hear you come in.”
“I think you were in the shower,” I told her, trying not to blush a little.
“Sorry about that,” Gretchen said. “Mina and I went for a spa day today, and I had this great oil massage. I just wanted to smell like myself again.”
I laughed. “So, even masseuses get massages?” I teased.
“Very rarely, actually,” Gretchen admitted, grimacing a little. “I could use them more often, but…”
“You don't set enough time aside for yourself,” I guessed.
“I guess not.” Gretchen laughed. “Speaking of work, how was your call this morning? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, leading her out toward the car with a hand at her lower back. I chewed my lower lip, trying to figure out what exactly to say to her. I mean, I was going to have to tell her that I would be leaving soon; there was no option about that. But I didn't want to spoil our date that night with the news that I'd already started looking at flights.
Finally, I decided just to say, “Paul wanted to wish me a merry Christmas. We didn't talk business that much.”
“That's sweet of him to call you just for that,” Gretchen said, smiling over at me.
I shrugged. “Yeah, Paul's one of my best friends. We’ve known one another for well over a decade now. The other two guys, Alex and George, we don't get along so well, mainly because they think they know everything.” I paused. “You know what? I don't want to talk about all that if that's okay. Not right now at least.”
“Okay,” Gretchen said soothingly, smiling over at me from the passenger's seat.
We made it to the restaurant and were seated in a cozy corner by ourselves, with a good view of the ocean; it was amazing all the perks that you could get if you gave people a little extra money.
“This is incredible,” Gretchen said, looking out over the sunset view.
“It is,” I agreed, watching the colors of the dying sun reflected in the dark color of her eyes. God, she was pretty like this, with her hair flowing in casual waves and her face shining. It reminded me, for some reason, of the night at the luau.
I could never take her to New York with me. This was her world. This was where she was happy.
“What are you thinking about?” Gretchen asked, looking curiously over at me, maybe feeling the way my grip had tightened on her hand.
I forced a smile, shaking off my dark thoughts. I wanted just to enjoy this, being here with her. For as long as I could have it. “I have something for you,” I told her, reaching into my pocket for the box. “After all, I couldn't spend Christmas with you without getting you anything. And I know I probably should wait until tomorrow, but I know you were going to Skype your family and everything, and anyway, I'm excited to give it to you.”
Gretchen laughed, looking pleased. “I have your gift here with me tonight, too,” she admitted. “I guess, same thing. I'm just excited to give it to you.”
I grinned at her. This was the first time I had ever been so much on a wavelength with anyone, let alone a female, and yet we seemed to perfectly mirror one another's thoughts. I pulled out the small box and held it out to her. Gretchen pushed a similarly shaped package toward me, except that hers had a large green bow stuck to the top of it, and I couldn't help grinning.
“Oh, Christian, it's gorgeous,” Gretchen said, her fingers lightly touching the necklace that I'd bought her. It was a little seashell, nothing special, but as soon as I'd seen it, it had just seemed right for her.
“Let me help you put it on,” I told her, moving around behind her chair. She held her hair off to the side, and I couldn't help letting my fingers linger against her neck as I did up the clasp. She shivered a little, and when I slipped into my seat across from her, I noted the lusty look in her gaze, the way that she slowly licked her lips.
My cock twitched in response to my earlier thoughts of her in the shower as much as this current look on her face. “I'm coming over tonight,” I growled under my breath.
“Of course. I want you to,” Gretchen said breathlessly, her eyes dark with want.