Chapter Forty-Six
Julian
“ reached Josephine Keller. Sorry I can’t come to the phone. Leave a message after the beep.”
I hung up and threw my phone on the couch. I’m going crazy. I’d never been crazy over a woman, and there I was, at the ripe age of thirty-one, finally having my ass handed to me by one Josephine Ann Keller.
I knew I was going crazy because that’s the only excuse I had for calling Josephine ten times in the last three hours. I’d already left two voicemails. The first one was calm and normal. The second one? I was pretty sure I’d sounded a little off my rocker.
I left lunch with Dean feeling like the floor had been ripped out from under me. I thought Jo and I were on the same page. I knew she was crazy about me, but now I suddenly needed to hear her say it and I wanted to say it back. I needed to tell her that I loved her, that I wanted a real relationship.
As luck would have it, Dean would knock sense into me during the one day Josephine was off in the middle of Texas and therefore incommunicado. Do they have cell service in Texas?
My phone vibrated on the couch and I lunged for it. Lorena’s name flashed across the screen and I resisted the urge to groan.
“Hey Lorena.”
“Top o’ the morning to you too, sunshine. How about a little excitement when your little sister calls you?”
I forced a smile even though she couldn’t see it.
“I am excited you’re calling me. What’s up?”
“I have something important to ask you.”
I sank down into the couch. “What?”
“What would you say if I asked you to stay on at my company and take over as the official COO?”
“But—”
“Just hear me out first. You already own nearly half of the company, and you’re much better at the business side of things than I am. I should have asked for your help years ago, but I was too proud.”
“Are you sure?”
She laughed. “Believe me, it won’t be easy to work with your baby sister every day, but I promise to give you lots of space.”
I tilted my head back and stared up at the ceiling. A few months back, when I’d received word that Lorena needed me to step in and help with her company, I’d been less than keen on entering the fashion world. It still wasn’t my thing, but I’d enjoyed my time in New York more than I’d thought I would. I liked helping her find a new office space and interviewing architecture firms. I liked helping her rebuild her company from the ground up. Obviously, most of all, I’d enjoyed working alongside Josephine.
Which made me consider the idea that if Lorena still needed me, would she still need Josephine too?
“What about Jo?”
She hummed, mulling over my question. “I love Jo and I think she’s really been an asset over the last few months.”
“So you’ll keep her on?” I prodded.
“Yeah, if she wants to keep working for me. She’s really blown up since that runway show last week. Even if I just pay her to wear my designs, it’d be really good for the brand.”
“What other positions are you having people apply for?” I asked.
“Ideally, I’d like to find two good interns and an assistant designer. Obviously I need to really vet every applicant, but if I expect to create a new line by next season I need way more manpower.”
“Yeah, I agree.”
“We can start to tackle that on Monday though. I just wanted to call you and get your opinion on staying on while I was brave enough to do it.”
I laughed.
“Do you think you’ll miss living in Boston?” she asked.
I narrowed my eyes as I thought over her question. “It was pretty nice to have some distance from Mom.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I bet. Did you get her invitation for dinner tomorrow night?”
My mother had sent us both formal invitations for a family dinner. The card was like an inch thick and embossed with our family crest. It was all too pretentious for me, but it made my mother happy to cut down trees for dinner parties, so whatever.
“Yeah, and I have to go or I’ll look like an asshole.”
“You’re the prodigal son finally back in New York City! She’s probably going to parade a line of fertile females for you to select from.”
I cringed. “You make it sound like she’s running a brothel.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. That’s pretty gross.”
“You know what though, I was surprised she came down to visit you in rehab.”
It’d taken guts for my mother to face the music. She’d always lived in eternal la la land where the only thing that could go wrong was that she’d arrive five minutes after a sale ended at Bergdorf’s.
“Yeah. I know. She’s called and checked in on me every day since then too. I really do think she’s coming around. We need to go to dinner tomorrow.”
I groaned. “Fine. I’ll start ironing my three-piece suit now.”
“That’s the spirit!”
…
By the following morning, Josephine still hadn’t called me back. Ten calls, two voicemails, and still no call back. She was either avoiding me or kidnapped in the middle of Texas. I clutched my phone and resisted the urge to call her for the eleventh time. Instead, I changed into workout gear and hit the long trail around Central Park. Exercise always cleared my head and I figured that by the time I was finished, Jo would have finally called. I left my phone on the couch in the hotel and hit the trail.
As I ran, I thought of what I’d do if I moved to New York full time. Helping Dean with his new restaurant wouldn’t take up all of my time, hardly any in fact considering he had a team set up around him to do most of the legwork. He just needed me as an investor, which meant I’d have plenty of time on my hands.
I definitely wanted to stay on with Lorena. I liked working with family and I had good ideas on how to make her business profitable. I could find a new place to live near her new shop and start to really lay down roots in the city.
When I finally made it back to my hotel room, my lungs were burning and my legs were threatening to quit. I ripped my shirt off and walked straight for my phone. There was no call from Jo, but I had a voicemail waiting for me from an unknown number.
I hit play on the voicemail, kicked off my shoes, and headed toward the shower.
“Hi Mr. Lefray. This is Elizabeth Hope from the social media team here at Vogue. I just have a few questions pertaining to your work experience with Josephine Keller as we’re considering her for a position in our Vogue offices. Would you mind giving me a call back at your earliest convenience? Thank you.”
What the fuck?
I replayed the message twice, trying to determine if I’d heard it right.
Jo had applied for a position at Vogue?
She wanted to leave Lorena Lefray Designs?
I stared down at my phone and scrolled to Josephine’s name on my contact list. I knew if I called her she wouldn’t answer; I’d already tried to get in contact with her every way that I knew how. Doubt settled in my stomach like a heavy rock. Fuck. Dean was right. I should have told Jo what I wanted from the beginning. I shouldn’t have assumed she could read my mind. If we were together, really together, I wouldn’t have to worry that she was getting cold feet and pulling away, applying for jobs elsewhere and heading down to Texas to put some distance between us.
I needed to call Elizabeth back, but I gave myself some time to process her message first. I jumped in the shower and ran the water until it was hot as sin, dipping my head beneath it and closing my eyes. I could count the number of times in my life when I’d felt out of control on one hand:
1. When Jimmy Sanders knocked my hotdog to the ground in elementary school and I was too chickenshit to stand up for myself.
2. Right before I jumped out of the plane the first time I went skydiving.
3. When I’d had a one-night stand with a woman who showed up at my place the next day with a suitcase in tow. She’d assumed she was moving in. After one night together.
4. Right fucking now.
I was supposed to get out of the shower, don my suit, go to my mom’s dinner, and sit across from her at the table while she rambled on about something I couldn’t care less about. Meanwhile, the first woman I’d truly come to love was in Texas, completely out of cell phone range and completely unaware of my feelings for her.
I turned off the water, wrapped a towel around my waist, wiped the fog off the mirror, and stared good and hard at my reflection. My eyes stared back at me, challenging me. This is it. She doesn’t know how serious you are about the relationship, and she doesn’t know how valued she is at the company. You either grow a pair and go get her or you regret it for the rest of your life.
By the time I stepped out of the bathroom, I was ready to call Elizabeth back. That is, right after I called my sister. I dialed her number and then pulled my suitcase out of the hotel closet.
“Hey, I can’t talk right now,” she answered with a frenzied voice. “I’m scrambling to get ready for dinner. I just got back to my apartment.”
“That’s fine. I’m just calling to let you know that I won’t be at dinner. Tell Mom I’ll make it up to her.”
I pulled open my dresser drawers and reached for a few pairs of boxer briefs and socks.
“What? No! Why the hell are you canceling last minute?”
I dropped my running shoes into my suitcase, straightened up, and took a breath.
“Because I’m going to Texas.”