“Avery and I are going back with him to Thailand. Cal and I both agree that we can’t be apart for more than a week. So, I’ll need a nanny who is also trained in homeschooling since Avery starts kindergarten in a couple of weeks.”
“Avery’s going to be homeschooled?” I ask in shock, not ever imaging that would be her life. Jenna and I always talked about how Avery would go to the same schools we did growing up.
“It’s the only way,” she sighs with resignation. “If we know our future schedules are keeping us here in Chicago for an entire school year, then she will go to private school. But since the unlikelihood of that is high, we’ll need a trained educator to help when we are on the road. It’s easier if the nanny is also the homeschool teacher.”
Everything that Jenna says makes sense, but I just nod my head in response, not trusting my voice as the thought of them not being in Chicago with me makes me want to cry. “And what about house hunting? What areas are you looking at? Winnetka?” Winnetka is one of the wealthiest suburbs in Chicago and would seem fitting for a person like Cal.
“I prefer to stay as close as I can get to the city, but yes, Winnetka, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, maybe Wilmette,” she rattles off some other affluent suburbs. “I’m still not ruling out finding something else in the city either.”
“What are you going to do with your apartment? Please don’t tell me you are going to sell it,” I beg, not bearing the thought of her giving up the precious gem that her grandmother left her. Jenna can be very sentimental, so the thought of her selling her apartment that has so many happy memories seems out of character of her.
“No, I’ll never sell that place. We’ve decided to rent it out and even have our first tenant in mind.”
“Really? Who?” I wonder, thinking that she’s going to ask Robert in order to help him out financially.
“You,” she says seriously and I stop in my tracks, my mouth hanging wide open in shock. “It’s time, Layla. There’s no reason for you to stay in your place with all those memories haunting you. You need a fresh start and since we’ve had so many good times in my place, I think it’s the perfect place for you to start your new, healthier journey.”
Tears cloud my vision and without being able to form any sentences at this moment, I fling myself at her and squeeze. I bury my face into her neck and cry out tears of gratitude as it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
“I’m sorry!” I mumble as I pull out of our hug and wipe at my tears. I smile at her when I notice she’s wiping her eyes as well. I look over at Chase to see he is standing farther back from us to try to give us some privacy.
“When will I move in?” The wheels start to turn in my brain, needing facts in order to start packing and to take time off of work.
“We’re going to start packing up now and move all of our stuff into storage the day before we leave for Thailand,” she confirms as we start walking again.
“Wait, that’s in less than two weeks! You won’t be able to find and move into a new house by then!”
“We can rent a place or live in a hotel until we find the perfect house,” she shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, as if none of this is a big deal.
“Wow, I truly can’t believe this,” I say in awe and feel the need to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. “Now if I can only get a new job, things really will be on a better path for me.”
“Yeah, Robert told me all about Torrin Richards and the House of Royalty. Both he and the club have a notorious reputation. Robert also indulged me on the story of how you and Mr. Richards originally met.” She looks at me with a smirk that causes me to laugh.
“You always tell me not to judge a book by its cover, Jenna. Maybe all those rumors you hear are from jealous people,” I chide, giving her a dose of her own medicine.
“Maybe so, but with Robert calling him a dangerously sexy, large dose of cocaine that you want to sexually shoot up, I would say the cover might be judged accurately.”
I shake my head at Robert’s gossiping. “It’s only a job interview. We’ll see if I get asked for a second one. Now…” I decide it is time to change subjects and get to an important task on hand that she hasn’t mentioned yet. “Why are you not wearing the gorgeous engagement ring Cal made for you?”
She starts to laugh and doesn’t seem surprised that I know. “I was wondering when you were going to ask me about it.”
“How did you know I knew?” Surprise laces my voice, as I didn’t think Cal was going to tell her he asked for my permission.
“Because when I said no, Cal grumbled ‘Bloody hell, she was right’ and it made me put two and two together.” I laugh at this as I can picture Cal saying those exact words.
“What did you tell him your reasoning for saying no was?” I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.
“I told him I needed to see how we’re going to handle the next month on location with him. He told me he didn’t understand why that had to change the dynamic of our relationship.”
“What did you say to that?” I ask, as I completely agree with Cal.
“I said that if I can’t handle being on location with him, then we might not be able to stay together.”
“And what did he say to that?” I probe, needing her to tell me everything that transpired during their conversation.
“He told me that he would give up acting if I was unhappy, because he refuses to have a life without me and Avery.” She gives me a shy smile, but the happiness of it all is radiating from her eyes.
“So, what did you say?” I softly ask, enjoying seeing my best friend so very happy.
“I told him to ask me again once he’s done shooting the movie.” She gives me a sly smile with a wink.
“EEK!” I screech in excitement as we grab each other’s hands and start bouncing up and down in a circle like two little kids. Once we stop circling, I turn to Chase to see if he heard the good news, but stop myself as I see his stoic face turn to ignore us once I look in his direction.
You miss him, the angel on my left shoulder says.
I smile at the mental image of punching the angel in the face.
23
Chase
I thought being Jenna’s bodyguard was going to be easy compared to being a paparazzi. I was dead wrong — it’s so much more mentally and physically exhausting. I accompany Jenna everywhere she goes, starting at seven in the morning, until at least six in the evening. My day doesn’t stop once I get her home safely as Cal then wants to meet with me to discuss the events of the day and then switches gears to discuss every single financial aspect of the winery. He doesn’t want to be in Vancouver for very long - just a couple of days - so he’s demanding to view the hard numbers now and all visual presentations and tours can happen in Vancouver. By the time I get home, my body falls into bed from exhaustion.
But, my mind keeps me up with thoughts on Layla.
It has been three long, agonizing days since our fight and I don’t know how to handle it. Her telling me she still doesn’t trust me was a knife to my heart and I don’t know how to show her my sincerity. Part of me wants to shake some sense into her, but the other part says she needs more time. I see her almost every single day and it physically hurts to not kiss or hold her. Yesterday, I had to sit at the bar while her and Jenna met for lunch to celebrate her getting the new job at the House of Royalty. It took every ounce of will power not to smash my glass of water at the thought of that scumbag being her new boss.
“She’s not ready yet, Chase.”
Jenna’s voice retrieves me out of the trance that thoughts of Layla always put me in. We’re in her office, interviewing nanny candidates. Robert and Layla are helping, but stepped out to pick up food for lunch. I look down at our schedule of interviews and then back at the time, noting we still have hour to kill. “Of course the next candidate isn’t ready yet. You were quick to cut the last interview short, clearly being obvious that you had no further desire to continue on with your ques
tioning.” Jenna has a list of required questions we ask the candidates. The last candidate was a rock star on paper, but not very impressive in person. I was happy Jenna didn’t waste our time by continuing on with them.
“I’m not talking about the next candidate. I’m talking about Layla.” Jenna looks me straight in the eye, knowing she has piqued my interest with this topic of conversation.
“What makes you think she’s not ready? What if she is, but just scared?” I challenge, as it is easy to hide behind excuses when you’re scared.
“Of course, she’s scared. She’s scared because you’ve stirred feelings up inside of her. I see the change in her. She hasn’t responded to anyone like the way she’s responded to you. But for some reason, she wants to bury her newfound feelings instead of embracing them.” She sighs and shakes her head. “I’m afraid if you keep pushing her, it’ll be in the wrong direction.”
“Why are you helping me with Layla?” I look at her with suspicion since she’s Layla’s best friend and would only want the best for her.
“Because I like you, Chase. I think you would be very good for her.”
“So what do you suggest, Jenna? I can’t fight for someone who refuses to trust me. We’ll just keep going around in circles.”
She gets out of her chair to look at the view out of her window. She contemplates her answer before turning around to answer me. “I think you need to temporarily let her go,” she says so softly that at first I don’t think I hear her correctly.
“What? How in the hell would that help me gain her trust?” I stare at her, thinking her exhaustion is setting in as this sounds like the craziest idea ever.
“You’re going to be her friend — no texting every morning, no kissing, no dates. You will apologize to her one more time and stop ignoring her, but also don’t be in her business. And you will especially stop following her.”
I sit back, cross my arms over my chest and scowl at her, not liking any of these suggestions. I’m a grown, fucking man and know how to woo over a woman. It’s just taking me longer with one as complicated as Layla.
“As of right now, she’s refusing to go to Vancouver. I’ll convince her otherwise as will you. You will ask her to come as a friend! And when we leave, you’ll let her go without a shred of guilt or a promise of keeping in touch.”
“Hell no, Jenna! I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get my business up and running comfortably again. It could take a year! I’m not going to go that long without talking to her.” I slam my hand against the table in anger, causing one of Jenna’s new assistants to jump in her seat and look back at me.
“She needs to live this new life she’s finally having the courage to start! She needs to be distraction-free in order to see your value and that you’re not trying to use her. She needs to date other people to see what she’s missing out on by not having you.”
The thought of another man’s hands on Layla makes my blood boil and I ball my hands into fists. “No, Jenna. Absolutely not!” I growl, refusing to acknowledge her words.
She looks up at the door to see the lock being twisted, indicating that they have arrived back. She leans over the table and gets close to my face, making sure she holds eye contact with me. “You need to go back to Canada and work your ass off. Concentrate only on you, Chase. Heal yourself, heal your family and get your business running. Once that’s done, then come back to win her heart. Think about it because your way isn’t working. She’s not ready!” We stare at each other in a silent challenge before she breaks eye contact and goes back to sit down in her seat.
“Everything okay in here? The air seems to be filled with lots of tension,” Robert questions while unloading the bag of Chinese food. Layla helps him, refusing to make eye contact with me when she hands me my food.
“Everything’s great!” Jenna says a little too enthusiastically, a clear indicator that she’s lying.
“Hmm… I don’t really believe you, but whatever,” Robert says in his know-it-all voice. “The next candidate is sitting in the hallway. She says her flight arrived early, so she decided to come straight here.”
“This is the one that flew in from France and is a family friend of Sean and his family,” Jenna says, referring to Cal’s best friend and famous actor, Sean Lindsey. Jenna picks up her resume from her pile of candidates to review. “Isla Jones. She speaks four languages and has spent the last three years with the family of a British diplomat in Paris. She received her education in child development and is certified to homeschool. She also plays the piano.” She looks up with an impressed expression on her face. “She almost sounds too good to be true.”
“I wonder why she’s not with the British diplomat anymore,” I ask out loud and all three of them look at me in agreement.
“Well, we can’t hire her despite how good she sounds,” Robert says and we all look at him in questioning. “She’s hot. Like hot for teacher hot. You don’t hire hot nannies.”
Jenna rolls her eyes while Layla can’t keep back her giggle. The sound makes my dick stand to attention and I immediately grind my teeth in annoyance.
“You know, now that I think about it, she does kind of resemble Cora, but a much nerdier Cora,” Layla says, tapping her finger against her lips in thought. I stare at those lips a little too long, not caring that she just caught me looking at her. Cora Gregory is a Hollywood actress who went to the same boarding school as Cal and Sean. She’s gorgeous with long, dark hair and cat like green eyes. She’s one of Hollywood’s most beautiful leading ladies, but tends to only get parts due to her physical appearance and not her acting abilities.
“Hopefully she doesn’t have the same temperament as Cora,” Jenna says. I distinctly remember hearing the story that Cora’s in love with Cal, despite his devotion to Jenna and Jenna is now her number one enemy. “We can reheat our food after the interview. Robert, please welcome her in.”
“But I’m hungry!” Robert whines while stomping his foot like a child.
“It’s rude and unprofessional to leave her out there while we eat. You can eat while we interview her if you really want,” Jenna looks at him with a raised eyebrow, daring him to do it.
“Of course you would want me to look like the asshole,” he grumbles as he heads to the door to bring Isla in for the interview.
After dropping Jenna off at her apartment for the evening, I decided to take the long way home and walk to clear my mind, thinking about Jenna’s advice on Layla. Fortunately, Cal was still interviewing potential new bodyguards so I was able to slip out before he had the chance to keep me there for another three hours of talking. I don’t like Jenna’s advice, but the more I contemplate it, the more I see she has a point. I decide a truce is in order and go straight to the flower shop to buy some flowers for Layla and wait for her outside her apartment building, hoping that will force her to see me.
One hour later, I see her heading toward me. She hasn’t noticed me yet as her head is down looking at the sidewalk while walking. She looks exhausted and I wonder if I’m the cause of it. I decide to stand a few feet in front of the glass doors in order for her to notice me. She glances up and then does a double take, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of me.
“Hello Ang… I mean, Layla,” I smile at her, mentally telling myself I need to refrain from calling her ‘angel’ if I’m only going to be her friend. “I have come to beg for forgiveness and ask that you reconsider my friendship.” I hand her the first bouquet of flowers to take. “These are for you as a peace offering. I’m so very sorry you felt the way you did by my omission of Cal’s interest in my winery. I told you before that I would never betray you and I meant that. Whether you want to believe me or not is your choice.”
“The next bouquet are congratulatory flowers on your new job. I wish you nothing but success in your new endeavor,” I lie threw my teeth as I hand her the second bouquet, because I would like nothing more than the House of Royalty nightclub to go under in order for Layla to not be working
with Torrin Richards.
A gorgeous hue of pink tints her cheeks as she blushes. “Thank you, Chase. The flowers are beautiful and I really do appreciate the apology.” She gives me a sad smile and struggles with what she wants to say next. I hold up my hand as she starts to talk again, not wanting her to say something that contradicts what she feels due to her being scared. I know I cloud her judgment just as much as she clouds mine. I still feel the electric spark between us and hope comes back alive for me knowing she still feels it too.
“You don’t need to say anything to me, Layla. Just know that I’m trying to be a friend. I look forward to seeing you soon.” Despite my better judgment, I give her a swift kiss on the cheek and force myself to walk away without turning back.
24
Layla
One Week Later
The view of the Pacific Northwest from thirty-thousand feet is breathtaking, with clear blue skies and what seems to be an endless range of mountain tops. Chicago is so flat compared to this part of the country that I’m mesmerized by the sights. The peacefulness of the view and the soothing noise of the jet engines help calm my nerves.
As I sit here on this private, luxury jet that Cal has chartered, I do wonder what in the hell am I doing here? I have no business being here, but when Jenna told me that they were accompanying Cal back to Thailand straight from Vancouver, I panicked at the thought of not having time with her before she left. Since I gave my two weeks notice at work already, I used up my remaining vacation time to spend this last week packing up my apartment, selling my furniture, and helping Jenna pack up their personal belongings in order for me to be officially moved in when I return from Vancouver. Packing up my apartment was cathartic. I purged everything and the only items that I have of Charlie are photographs and memories. I didn’t cry when I looked around the empty apartment for the last time. Instead, I smiled and held my head high as I locked the door and gave the key back to the landlord. The decision to finally leave felt right.
Perfectly Lonely: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Let Me In Book 2) Page 13