“Just trust me,” she said. “You’ll love it. It’s the perfect place, very remote but picturesque. And you can be sure there’ll be no paparazzi there and the locals will have no idea who you are.”
“That sounds like heaven right about now. Ok, Allison, I’ll leave it up to you. I hope you’re right about it.”
“I’m always right,” she said.
Allison went to her desk and started typing furiously on her computer. The more I thought about it, the more obvious it became that a vacation was exactly what I needed. I closed my eyes, picturing in my mind laying on white sand beaches, a book in one hand and a fruity cocktail drink in the other. The thought brought a smile to my lips and a longing sigh escaped my mouth.
“It’s all set,” Allison said a few minutes later.
I opened my eyes to look at her questioningly.
“Well, can you tell me where I’ll be going now, or do I have to wait until I get on the plane?” I asked.
“Ha-ha real funny,” she said unamused. “If you want to know, I have booked a relaxing two week vacation in the exotic and beautiful Thailand. Koh Samui to be exact.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I had never been to Thailand before. The only experience I’d had with Thailand was going to the local Thai restaurant and ordering Pad Thai.
“You’re going to love it,” Allison said, noticing the doubt on my face. “It’s everything on your wish list. Remote enough to be relaxing, but not enough to be scary. There’s electricity and running water, and beautiful beaches and waterfalls.”
“That does sound nice,” I said. “When do I leave?”
Chapter Five
Allison had booked my flight for the Friday following our conversation. It wasn’t much time to prepare but that was for the best. I probably would have second guessed it and ended up cancelling the trip.
I landed in Bangkok after a long flight that was delayed, and just barely made my connecting flight to Koh Samui. The hotel I was staying at was supposed to send someone pick me up, but when I landed, there was no one there. After waiting for what felt like hours in sweltering heat and humidity, they finally came.
That first night I was so exhausted and worn down, I was regretting my decision to come and thought Allison had made a mistake picking this place. After that less than promising start, things really picked up. The next morning, feeling rested and recharged, I explored the resort on Chaweng Beach where I was staying. The hotel was located right on the beach. I went out each morning exploring the area and surrounding islands.
Allison even booked an island tour for me that include an elephant ride through the jungle. It was probably the highlight of my trip. Since it was off season, there weren’t as many tourists there, which was perfectly fine with me. The few tourists that I did see didn’t know me or recognize me at all.
The locals were so friendly, I felt at home. The time away allowed me to heal my bruised and battered spirit. All my troubles seemed a million miles away, as I sat on the beautiful beach, and watched the sun set over the water.
Jake had crossed my mind several times during my trip. I was still hurt by what he did, but I think the distance helped me see things more clearly. I realized things never would have worked out between us anyways. We were too different, and he never promised me anything more than sex. It was just my imagination running away with me thinking there could be anything else.
Jake had always been cold and selfish, I just thought he was different because I wanted to believe it. His actions at the auction weren’t an aberration of his character. The real aberrations were the rare moments of thoughtfulness he showed towards me. With this new perspective, I was able to take the first steps towards healing.
I sat at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, the next day, frowning as I stared out the windows. It was raining outside; the sky was overcast and gray, reflecting my mood. I had spent two blissful weeks in this paradise.
The thought of what awaited me back home caused an involuntary shudder. I was momentarily tempted to rip up my return flight ticket and stay in Thailand forever, but I knew that was impossible. I hated to leave, but knew I had to go back. I knew I had to go home and face whatever it was that awaited me.
Before I came to Thailand, I told Allison I wouldn’t be turning on my cell phone or laptop for the whole duration of my trip. I really wanted to unplug from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Besides, I didn’t want to be tempted to read stories of myself or of Jake. If there were any emergencies, she could always call the hotel and ask for me. I took it as a good sign that no one had tried to reach me since I first arrived.
Now that I was headed back home, I decided to turn on my computer and check my emails. I swallowed the feeling of dread as I stared at an inbox full of unread messages. Scanning over the emails, I spotted two messages from Jake.
I was so shocked, I sat there frozen, my hand poised over the touch pad, not sure what to do. One part of me was screaming to open it and find out what he said, but the other part of me told me to delete it. It didn’t matter what he said, it wouldn’t change anything, so there was no use torturing myself over it.
I sat there, mentally debating with myself the merits of both choices for what felt like hours. Finally, I gave in to my curiosity. It wouldn’t hurt, just this once, I rationalized. I promised myself I wouldn’t respond to anything he had to say. Taking a steadying breath, I opened his message.
Chloe,
You haven’t been returning my calls. I know you’re upset with me. Please call me back or reply to me. I need to talk to you.
-JP
I frowned down at the screen, not sure what to make of his message. Why would he be calling me? What could he possibly need to talk to me about? I opened the next message from him hoping it would shed some more light on the situation.
Chloe,
Please talk to me.
-JP
That message was even more cryptic than the one before. My mind was racing with possibilities. I was just about to hit reply when I remembered my pledge. I would not contact him, I reminded myself. Nothing good could come of it. I quickly signed out of my account and shut off the laptop so I wouldn’t be tempted to relent. Jake wanted me to contact him? Well too bad. That ship has sailed, I thought spitefully. I tucked my laptop back into my bag and promptly tried to ignore it.
Allison was waiting for me when I landed at the airport. It was nice to see a friendly familiar face after two weeks away. I smiled at her as I saw her standing there with her “boss” sign held up.
“So how was it?” she asked once I had reached her.
“Paradise,” I sighed.
Allison grabbed one of my suitcases and started rolling it towards the escalators.
“You can tell me all about it in the car,” she said over her shoulder.
I followed Allison out of the airport towards the parking garage. A part of me dreaded having to come home to a gaggle of paparazzi waiting for me to snap pictures. I was pleasantly surprised that no one was there or seemed to care who I was. My eyes scanned everyone around me, suspicious of anyone holding a camera, but none of them were pointed at me.
“What’s been going on since I left?” I asked once we were in the car.
“I don’t even know where to start,” she said. She put the car in reverse, looking over her shoulder as she backed out of the parking spot.
“Anything interesting? How’s business?” I asked.
“Business is booming,” she said.
“Really? Why didn’t you tell me? I would have come back sooner.”
“Because I didn’t want you to come back early. You needed that vacation,” she said. “I can already tell it’s done wonders for you. Besides, it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.”
“Well I thank you for that. It probably was for the best,” I agreed. “So when you say ‘booming’ what do you mean, exactly?”
“We’ve gotten eight inquiries already and I’ve signed up 3 new c
lients.”
My eyebrows shot up at her information. Normally we got an average of one new client every two weeks, so the fact that we tripled that while I was gone surprised me.
“How come we’re getting so many leads now?” I asked. “Two weeks ago, our clients couldn’t wait to be rid of us. You sure they’re not hoaxes?”
“I’m not sure why they’re calling us, but never look a gift horse in the mouth, I always say. And yes, I did check them out and they are legit,” she answered.
“That’s weird. Good, but weird.”
“It might have to do with Alyssa Stewart and Rob Peterson,” Allison said thoughtfully.
I turned my head to look at her. “What do you mean?” I asked. I wasn’t sure how two Hollywood movie stars would have anything to do with my business.
“Oh you haven’t heard. The whole Jake Powers saga is old news now. You’ve been wiped off the front pages by Alyssa Stewart and Rob Peterson. You’re no longer a hot topic of gossip,” she disclosed.
“What happened?” I asked eagerly.
“What else would make the news? Sex sex sex...and adultery,” she said. “They were caught cheating on their spouses with each other. Someone at a hotel they were staying at secretly filmed them together.”
“Oooh that’s too bad,” I said, feeling a little guilty for being happy about their misfortune.
“Sure it is,” Allison said disbelievingly, quirking an eyebrow at me. “I’m sure you’re utterly heartbroken.”
“I’m going to ignore that,” I said, pursing my lips to keep the smile threatening to break free in check.
Allison pulled up to my building moments later and helped lug my bags up to my apartment. She didn’t stay long, which I was grateful for. I shut the door behind her and exhaled a long breath. It felt nice to be home and in familiar surroundings. What made it even better was the news that I just found out from Allison. I was so pleased to no longer be a topic of gossip or pity. Even better was the fact that my business was finally picking up again.
Things were finally going back to normal. I smiled at the thought. I would go back to how things were before Jake Powers came into my life. I would focus on my work and helping other people.
My time for romance was a failed experiment. Every relationship I'd ever had had proven that to me over and over again. And yet, I kept falling for it every time. I guess I wasn't cut out for love. My purpose in life was to be a matchmaker, a facilitator, not a player.
I’d taken a chance at a relationship and something more, but got burned badly. This time was the worst, but I learned my lesson. From now on, I would focus on my business and my clients and put everything I had into it. Love wasn’t for me.
I settled back into my apartment and began unpacking my bags. Passing by my phone, I could see the red blinking light of the machine alerting me to new messages. I was instantly reminded of the emails Jake sent me. He did say he tried to call and left messages.
My hand was paused over the play button. Did I want to listen to what he had to say? It only took me a brief moment this time to press the button. I knew I’d give in to my curiosity, so I didn’t debate too long. I pressed play and held my breath as the familiar deep voice sounded through my living room.
“Chloe, It’s Jake Powers. I...I need to talk to you. Can we meet somewhere and talk? Please call me.”
Beep.
“Chloe, its Jake. I haven’t heard back from you. I know you have every right to be angry, but I’d really like to see you again. Please let me explain. Call me back when you get a chance.”
Beep.
Jake sounded vulnerable and unsure. I’d never heard him like that before. He’d always come across as smooth and confident or harsh and mocking. I wondered what would cause him to sound like that. Maybe he was calling to apologize, I wondered.
As soon as I thought that, I mentally berated myself. I had to stop that kind of thinking. No good could come of letting Jake Powers back into my life. I had promised to wash my hands of him and here I was minutes later tempted to let him weasel his way back in, just like I always did with Jude.
The thought of Jude hardened my heart and resolve and I deleted the two messages. Jake was just like Jude, I realized. They were both users and manipulators, trying to play me for their benefit. I wouldn’t let that happen anymore. I’d stick to my resolution.
Chapter Six
I was excited to be back at work after my vacation. Aside from Allison, work was the only thing I really missed while I was gone. It made me happy that things were finally settling back down after the auction disaster. I was sitting at my desk, reading one of the background check reports I had run on a new client when my phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Chloe? You’re back!” I froze. It was one thing to hear it over my voice mail, but to hear it live was a shock I wasn’t ready for.
“What do you want?” I asked. My voice sounded shaky to my own ears. I grabbed a pen from off my desk and squeezed it in my hand to release the tension.
“I want to see you,” he said.
“It’s too late for that.” I hung up the phone, not waiting for a reply. I took short ragged breaths, trying to calm my racing heart. So many emotions were running through me, threatening to overwhelm me.
I was annoyed at him casually demanding to see me as if the auction never happened. I was surprised by his call, and a small part of me regretted hanging up on him so soon. My traitorous heart was actually a tiny bit pleased that he wanted to see me so badly, which made me angry at myself for feeling that way. What was it about Jake Powers that always got me so...agitated?
“Who was that?” Allison asked.
“No one.”
She looked at me quizzically, but didn’t pursue the topic. She must have seen something in my face that made her think twice. The phone rang again and Allison reached for the handset to answer it but I held up my hand to stop her.
“I’ll get it,” I said. I had a feeling it was Jake calling again, and this time I’d finally give him a piece of my mind. Allison wrinkled her brow in worry as she looked at me, not sure if it was a good idea, but I gave her a thumbs up and a smile to let her know I had everything under control.
“Why are you calling?” I whispered angrily.
“Chloe Harper, you bitch!” The voice on the other end definitely wasn’t Jake.
“Who is this?” I asked, shocked.
“You’ve forgotten me already, Chloe? What? You’ve got your billionaire boyfriend now and you’re too good for me?”
“Jude? Is that you?”
“Ding ding ding! I guess you’re not as dumb as I thought,” he slurred.
“Are you drunk? Why are you calling me?” I demanded.
“What? I’m not allowed to call you anymore? You think you’re better than me?”
“You’re being ridiculous. You have some nerve talking to me like that after what you did! I should call the cops on you.”
“Hah! Go ahead and try it, I don’t care anymore. You’ve already ruined my life.”
“What the hell are you talking about Jude? You’re not making any sense. I’m going to hang up and don’t ever call me again.”
“Fucking bitch I’ll get you back for what you did! You’ll get what’s coming to you.” Click.
The line went dead. I pulled the receiver away from my ear and frowned down at it, not sure what just happened.
“What was that about?”Allison asked as I settled the phone back on the cradle.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “That was weird. I’ve never heard Jude like that before.”
“Well I always said that guy was off his rocker. I never did trust him.”
“Mmm, he sounded like he was drunk. Anyway I told him not to call me again.”
I shook my head trying to clear out the unpleasant phone conversation I just had. I was confused by Jude’s anger and accusation that I had ruined his life. Nothing made any sense.
He was the one who ransac
ked my apartment. I thought I had let him off lightly by not calling the cops on him, and yet here he was threatening me. I released an involuntary shudder at the menace that I heard in Jude’s voice.
“Hopefully once he’s sober, he’ll forget the whole conversation and leave me alone,” I said.
My thoughts were still on Jude when I heard a loud banging on the door of our entrance.
“What in the world?” I said. “This morning sure is action packed. Can you see who it is, Allison?”
“I was just headed that way,” she said getting up from her chair.
I craned my head to see who it was, but all I could hear was a low pitched mumble and then I heard Allison say “No, you can’t”. I was halfway out of my seat when my office door burst open and Jake walked in. I looked at him in total shock, my eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
He looked more disheveled than I could ever remember him being. His hair was messy as if he’d been running his hands through it and tugging at the ends, he had a scruffy five o’clock shadow and his clothes, normally so pristine and worn with such precision, looked grungy and careless. His eyes lit up as he saw me and he smiled so brightly, I had to catch my breath. Even though I had vowed never to speak to him again, that didn’t mean I still didn’t find him devastatingly handsome.
“Chloe.” He whispered my name as if it were a revelation.
“I told you to get out,” Allison said as she finally caught up with him. She was out of breath and her face was flushed with anger. “You shouldn’t have barged in here! I’m calling security.”
“It’s not so pleasant when the shoe is on the other foot, is it?” Jake asked. He quirked an eyebrow at Allison. She looked sheepish before narrowing her eyes at him. I was confused by her reaction, but decided now was not the time to question her about it.
“It’s all right, Allison,” I said turning to her. “I’ll speak to him. Can you give us a few minutes?”
She looked like that was the last thing she wanted to do as she eyed me with doubt and concern. She pursed her lips, debating whether or not she should refuse, but finally gave in with a shrug. “I’ll be back in 10 minutes,” she warned. Allison shut the office door behind her as she left.
Billionaire Matchmaker: Complete Series (Contemporary Romance) Page 10