Chapter Two

Sierra

As I stared out my office window at the Starbucks across the street, I couldn’t help but smile. That place would always hold a special memory for me. I heard my office door open, so I turned my chair around, only to find Don standing in the doorway.

“Hello there, friend.” His smile grew wide.

“Hello, Don. What brings you by?”

“I’m here to personally deliver this to my favorite person in the whole world.” He stepped inside and handed me an envelope.

I opened it and removed the elegant wedding invitation.

“So Milania is really going through with it?” I arched my brow at him.

“Of course she is! She loves the king.” He grinned.

I sighed. “Please tell me you’ve stopped cheating on her.”

“For now.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I want you at my wedding, and bring that man of yours. Are the two of you still dating?”

“Yes. Cameron and I are very much in love.”

“Good for you, babe.” He pointed at me. “You deserve to be happy. You’re a great woman. I’m just sorry I let you get away.”

I got up from my chair and walked him out of my office.

“Have a good day, Don.”

“How about a kiss for old time’s sake?” He pointed to his cheek.

“How about a kick in the balls for old time’s sake?” I smirked.

“You’re such a jokester.” He pointed at me and walked away.

Rolling my eyes, I looked at Sasha, who was sitting behind her desk, laughing.

“And to think you slept with that.”

“Remind me of that again and you’re fired.” I pointed at her and walked back to my office.

Just as I sat down, my phone beeped with a text message from Cameron. A smile crossed my lips when I saw his name. We had only been apart a few hours and I already missed him like crazy.

“I miss you. I just wanted you to know that.”

“I miss you too, baby. I was just thinking about you.”

“What were you thinking about me?”

Suddenly, another text came through. From my mother.

“I forgot to tell you the time for Ava’s party. It starts at one o’clock.”

There was a knock on my office door and Kyle from printing walked in, so I set down my phone.

“Welcome back, Sierra. Here are the proofs for Phantom Shoes. You need to approve them before the morning.”

“Thank you, Kyle. I’ll look at them in a minute.”

He gave me a smile and walked out of my office. Picking up my phone, I replied to Cameron’s text message.

“I was thinking about how I’m going to get the whipped cream out of the refrigerator when I get home, pull down your pants, squirt some all over your yummy cock, and devour you like an ice cream cone.”

“SIERRA ADAMS! WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? DO YOU NEED COUNSELING? ARE YOU A SEX ADDICT?”

My eyes widened as I looked at the text message and realized I sent that to my mother. Fuck. Double fuck. Triple fuck! Oh God. I needed to remain calm, but she probably just had a heart attack.

“Sorry. That was meant for Cameron, and I may be a sex addict. Help me, Mommy.”

I busted out into laughter as I pressed the send button. I knew damn well that my throne in the depths of hell was waiting for me.

“Sierra, this is not funny. I will call someone and get you the help you need.”

Shit.

“I was joking, Mother. I am not a sex addict. Cameron and I were just having a little bit of fun. I bet if you sent that to Clive, he’d be home faster than lightning could strike.”

“I don’t have time to deal with you right now, Sierra.”

“Au revoir, Mother.”

I copied and pasted the text message that was meant for Cameron and sent it to him.

“Hot damn, babe. How soon can you be home?”

I dialed his number.

“Please tell me you’re on your way,” he answered.

I sighed. “I’m not and Delia thinks I’m a sex addict.”

“Why?”

“Because I accidentally sent that message about the whipped cream and your cock to her instead of you.”

A loud laughter came through the phone.

“Holy shit, Sierra.” He continued to laugh. “Now she’s really going to hate me. But seriously, what time are you coming home?”

“Around six.”

“I’ll make sure I’m home and I’ll be waiting upstairs with the can of whipped cream.”

“I can hardly wait. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”

“Love you too, babe.”

****

Cameron

Placing my phone in my pocket, I walked over to where Paolo was cutting a piece of tile for Mrs. Sanborn’s bathroom.

“Judging by the smile on your face, I assume you were talking to Sierra.” He smirked.

“Yeah.” I grinned.

“Listen, Cam. Have you figured out what we’re doing next? I mean, after we’re done here, we don’t have another job lined up.”

“I know.” I sighed. “Things have really seemed to slow down. But now that I’m permanently here in California, I can focus on getting us more work. The first thing I need to do is find an office somewhere.”

“Can’t you just set one up in that monstrous home you’re living in?” He smirked.

“Nah. I need the office to be out of the house. In fact, if you and Manzo have things covered here, I’m going to call a realtor.”

“Yeah. Sure. We’re good.”

“Thanks, Paolo.”

I left the Sanborn’s house, climbed into my truck, and looked up realtors in the area on my phone.

“Good afternoon, Sunset Reality. How may I help you?” a polite voice spoke.

“Hi. My name is Cameron Cole and I was hoping to set up an appointment with one of your realtors to inquire about finding an office space.”

“Of course. When would you like to come in?”

“Today, if possible.”

“Well, Ron is in the office now and he happens to be free. How soon can you get here? We’re located at 159 Sunset Blvd.”

I punched the address in my GPS.

“I can be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Perfect. I’ll let Ron know you’re coming.”

“Thank you,” I spoke and ended the call.

Pulling into the building parking lot, I parked my truck and went inside.

“You must be Mr. Cole,” the blonde older woman behind the desk spoke.

“Yes.”

“I’m Natalia. Nice to meet you. Ron is waiting for you in his office. Follow me, please.”

I followed her down the hallway and she led me into his office.

“Well, hello there.” He got up from behind his desk. “I’m Ron Sturgis. You must be Cameron.” He held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Ron.”

“Likewise. Please have a seat. So, you’re interested in renting an office space?”

“Yes. I run a construction company.”

“How many square feet are you thinking you’ll need?” he asked as he began typing on his computer.

“Nothing big. Maybe something around fifteen hundred.”

“You’re in luck, my friend. I happen to have something about five minutes from here. It’s fourteen hundred fifty square feet and it’s located on a corner. It’s a really nice building. Interested?”

“Sure, I can take a look at it.”

“Then let’s go.” He got up and grabbed the keys from his desk.

We entered the two-story brown building and Ron unlocked the first office on the left.

“And here we are.” He turned on the lights. “You have a nice little reception area right over here and a nice office with a door over here.”

The space was nice and I really liked the location. Now for the big question.

“How much for this?” I asked with worry.

“Fifty-five hundred a month.”

“You’re kidding, right?” I arched my brow.

“It’s actually a good price, and don’t forget you’re in California. It’s a year lease to start. After a year, you have the option to purchase the space or sign another lease.”

I walked around and checked things out. It was a great office, but I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to afford it, especially since we didn’t have any other jobs at the moment.

“Do you have anything cheaper?” I asked.

“Yeah. If you want an office in the sketchy parts of town.”

“How sketchy are you talking?”

“Let’s just say I wouldn’t be parking your truck there.”

“Thanks, Ron. Can I think about it and give you a call? I have some finances to work out.”

“Of course. Here’s my card.” He reached into his pocket. “It was nice to meet you, Cameron. I hope to hear from you soon.”