I Choose You: A Secret Billionaire Romance

by Krista Lakes

  “It’s got its own kind of charm,” he said quickly and with a smile. “Plus, I love sandwiches and the sign outside says they are the best.”

  “Well, fair warning, I don’t know if they’re the best sandwiches in California,” I replied. My nerves were making me contrary. I took a deep breath and smiled. “They are good, though.”

  “Wow. No faith. No hometown spirit.” He shook his head in mock disapproval.

  I started to giggle and had to stop myself. If I got too drawn in I knew I’d wimp out of breaking the news. This would be when he would decide if he was interested in putting in the effort, or if a clean break was best. I was so hoping for him to want to try.

  Our waitress came carrying water a few minutes after Jacob had sat down. I already knew what I’d get—a BLT with avocado, the same thing I always got—so I studied Jacob’s face instead of the menu, hoping he’d also made up his mind, anything to expedite the lunch.

  “And for you, sir?” the waitress asked, turning to Jacob after she’d scribbled my order on her notepad. His eyes were still jumping around his menu but it hadn’t stopped me from telling the waitress we were ready to order.

  “I’ll also have a BLT with avocado as well,” he said after a short beat, deferring to my selection.

  “Very good,” the waitress replied. She had stringy blond hair and a face that had molded from years of working as a server. “I’ll be right back with your orders. Any coffee or tea to go along with your water?”

  “I’m fine, thank you,” I said quickly.

  “No thanks,” Jacob said.

  Both of us sat quietly for a few moments after she left. Jacob looked to be enjoying the pleasantry of the warm day while I continued to mull over the right words to use.

  “So, how have you been since I saw you last?” he asked with a chuckle. “I know forty-eight hours can be a long time. ”

  “You're right about that,” I said without doing the math. “I’ve been good, though.”

  Say it, I thought. Tell him what’s happened in the last forty-eight hours.

  Yet, somehow the words didn't leave my mouth. I wasn't ready to ask him where we stood as a couple yet.

  It was only a short while before our waitress returned carrying our food, but not much had been said on either side. We’d traded greetings, commented on the nice weather and debated the best sandwich toppings. It wasn’t that he was awkward, but even after the food had been delivered I found myself struggling to keep up with the conversation, as if each reply had to navigate through a sea of fog before finding its way to my lips.

  I ate my food, but barely tasted it. I was so nervous. If we were going to break up, this was the moment. This was when it would happen.

  With each sentence I was only delaying the inevitable. Everything I said felt out of place, like I was concealing a wound with bandage after bandage. There weren’t many things capable of spoiling a good sandwich for me, but sitting across from Jacob with the feeling of impending disaster was one of them.

  There were several times, a few hesitations, where I’d tried to pull the words out from my throat but couldn’t. Each time I’d stopped myself, not wanting to take the step that would shatter our relationship, or our bond, or whatever it could be called. I didn’t want to say the words that could shatter us.

  But the last thing I wanted was for him to propose another date. Or to ask how my job search was going. No, the news had to come out on my own accord.

  Nothing had changed in my mindset but at the next lull in the conversation there was something that finally pushed the words off my tongue.

  “Hey, so, remember that internship I told you about?” I said, the words coming out so fast that I couldn’t have stopped myself if I tried.

  “Yeah, the one at ZephTech? The really crazy hard one?” Of course he remembered. This was a guy that actually cared about me, my goals and my interests, the exact reason that the moment at hand was so difficult.

  “Yeah, that one. Well, I kind of have some news,” I said, watching his eyes for a reaction. “I got accepted into their internship program.”

  This was the moment I’d been waiting for. The moment I’d been dreading.

  “You did?” he said, his eyes finally reacting with an animated flutter.

  I nodded with a forced grin, a signal that I was still awaiting a reaction.

  “Alicia! Congratulations,” his response sounded exactly like Caroline’s. “That’s incredible.”

  “Thank you.” I still wasn't sure what was happening yet.

  “You got it. You did it.” He looked so excited for me, I thought he might jump up and dance around the table.

  “Yeah, this is the one I was hoping for,” I replied.

  “Congratulations,” he said enthusiastically. “Lunch is on me.”

  An enormous smile occupied the entirety of his face. It rose into his cheeks and lifted his bright blue eyes, but still I was lost in my interpretation. There was no bitterness, not even a hesitation in any of his responses. He seemed truly delighted.

  “You can’t use this as an excuse to pay for something else,” I said, allowing myself to slightly relax for the first time all day. Being immersed in Jacob’s charisma was like medicine.

  After a few short seconds I became tense again. I still hadn’t even really gotten to the hard part.

  “What's wrong?” he asked, his brows coming together. “You should be dancing on the table, but you look about ready to pass out.”

  “I don’t know,” I said, trying to stall and move forward at the same time. “It means that I’ll have to move away.”

  “The job’s in Silicon Valley, isn’t it?” he asked.

  “Yeah, it is.” I nodded.

  “That’ll be good for you,” he replied. “I bet you’ll thrive up there. It's a great place for people interested in computers.”

  “I hope so,” I said, biting my lip. “It’s kind of intimidating and I'm just not sure I should take it.”

  “But it’s what you’ve always wanted,” he said. He reached out and touched my hand with his. The touch grounded and terrified me at the same time.

  “Yeah, it is,” I agreed. I picked up an empty straw wrapper on the table and began fidgeting with it.

  “Getting a chance to follow your dreams is no small feat,” he said. “I’m really happy for you.”

  “Thanks Jacob,” I said, still feeling like we hadn’t yet tackled the beast hiding in the shadows. The straw wrapper tangled and twisted in my fingers. “But...”

  “But what?” he asked, setting down his food and studying me.

  “Well,” I began. The straw wrapper ripped between my fingers. “What does this mean for… for us?”

  “You’re asking if you moving away and taking a demanding job changes things between us?” he asked. I was so nervous I couldn't read the tone of his voice.

  “Yeah,” I said softly, as if speaking too forcefully might jeopardize his response. I stared at my broken straw wrapper, afraid of what he might say next.

  “Do you want it to?” he asked. The quiet pain of the question made me raise my eyes to his in an instant.

  “No,” I said without even having to think. I looked up to meet his eyes. “It's the last thing I want.”

  “I don’t want it to, either,” he assured me. “I don’t want to lose you, that’s for sure.”

  For a moment I marveled at that. At the way he’d said, ‘don’t want to lose you.’ The words were like the first crack of sun through heavy clouds. Jacob had done it again.

  “I don’t want to lose you either,” I said, hope that didn't feel foolish building in my chest for the first time.

  “Really?” I held my breath, needing him to actually say that we weren't breaking up. “You still want to date me even though I'll be insanely busy for the next two months?”

  “Really,” he assured me. “Now that I've found you, I'm not letting you go.”

  My heart was still fluttering, but now it was for
an entirely different reason than it was five minutes ago. We were a couple. He didn't want to break up, even though I was going to be leaving. He wanted to try and make it work. Suddenly, all my worrying seemed to be for nothing and I felt a little bit silly.

  “I’m sure it’s the start to a wonderful career,” he said, grinning like he was the one who had just got his dream job. “It's going to be amazing. It's going to open up so many wonderful opportunities for you.”

  “Yeah, I can’t even think that far right now,” I replied with a shrug. “I still have to make it through the intern program before I’m even offered a full-time position. And it's a killer of a program.”

  “Would you ever consider working for a different company down there in the Valley?” he asked. “A different game developer, maybe?”

  “I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, probably. But it’s hard to think like that right now. I’ve literally wanted this job ever since I realized I wanted to work in computer programming.”

  “I guess it’s good to have that kind of conviction,” he said, slowly. He pushed his glasses up higher on his nose and smiled at me. “I bet you none of the other interns could say that. They’re all probably hot shot grads just looking for the best opportunity they can find.”

  “There’s going to be some heated competition,” I agreed. “But, I want this job so bad.”

  “You're going to do great,” he said knowingly.

  “Thank you,” I said, feeling a weight lift off of my shoulders. For the first time since getting the news, I felt like I could be excited. I wasn't going to be forced to choose between my dream job and my dream guy. I could have both.

  “I think we should celebrate,” Jacob said as we walked out from the diner, hand in hand.

  “Ha, that’s funny. That’s what everyone’s been saying,” I said. “I guess I just feel like I don’t really have anything to celebrate quite yet. The hardest part is still ahead of me.”

  “You’ve gotta appreciate the little things though,” he said. “They’re what turns into the big things. You wouldn’t be in position to compete for your dream job if you hadn’t first been accepted.”

  “That’s true,” I agreed. “It is an honor just to be accepted.”

  “So, come on.” We’d paused momentarily after leaving the diner but Jacob tugged my hand away from my car and in the direction of where he’d parked. “I’ll drive,” he said. “We can come back to get your car later.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “Back to my place,” he said. “To celebrate.”

  Chapter 13

  Six weeks later…

  The sun had set a long time ago when I finally parked my car in front of my apartment. Wearily, I stepped out of the driver’s side door and made my way up the concrete steps that led to the building. My eyes were half closed, as if my body was already anticipating the sleep that it so badly needed.

  As soon as I unlocked the door to my place, I noticed that the TV was on in the corner. It was the only light in the room, and it coated the walls with a flickering blue glow. On the couch nearby, was Lauren, my only roommate. She appeared to be sound asleep, with her hands folded underneath her head, using them as a pillow.

  Quietly, I closed the front door and locked it before tiptoeing to my bedroom. My bed was tucked in the corner, beckoning me toward it and I didn’t hesitate to oblige. I slipped off my skirt suit and changed into some sweat pants and a loose-fitting t-shirt. Then I crawled under my covers, wrapping myself in a cocoon made out of my blankets.

  I’ve been counting down the minutes today, waiting until I could crawl into this bed, I thought. I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired before.

  What was supposed to have been a ten-hour workday at ZephTech had turned into fourteen. I would have said that I was exhausted, but that word just didn’t do any justice to the way I felt. I was drained, depleted and so tired that the bags under my eyes had their own bags.

  The competition between the interns at ZephTech had made for the toughest six weeks of my life. It was much more intense than I could have imagined. The ten of us that were chosen for the internship had been given just six weeks to create an app that would impress the company. Whoever created the best one would win a full-time position at Zephtech. The owner and CEO of the company, Steve Lynchell, would be the final judge to decide which of the submitted programs was the best.

  When I left home, I had thought for sure that it would be a piece of cake. I had a programming degree, loved being creative and considered myself to be an extremely hard worker. But I didn’t realize just how smart, aggressive and competitive the other qualifying interns would be. Before I came to Silicon Valley, I had thought of myself as an above average programmer. But after a competition like this, I learned that I was nobody special. I was going to have to work harder than ever just to have a fleeting chance of being noticed. Amazing software engineers were a dime a dozen in The Valley.

  But none of that mattered now. I had given it my absolute best and the competition was officially out of my hands. The six weeks were up and I had finally submitted my final program. Mr. Lynchell would be reviewing all of the submissions first thing the next morning. Soon would be my moment of truth. I’d find out if the dating app I had created would be good enough to make me stand out among the other interns.

  Not only had it been six weeks of non-stop grinding work, though. It had also been six weeks without seeing my family or Jacob. They were on my mind constantly. I missed them more than I ever thought I could.

  I knew I should get up and at least brush my teeth and take my birth control pills, but I was so tired, I couldn't get the energy to do it. I felt bad that I'd gotten off my schedule with my birth control, but since Jacob wasn't here, it wasn't too big of an issue. I needed to get to the pharmacy since the last time I went was right before graduation.

  My cell phone rang on my nightstand and I looked over, squinting my eyes against the bright light from the screen. As if he had read my mind, Jacob was calling for our nightly conversation. His call was the highlight of my day every day and was the thing I looked forward to most. I quickly reached over and answered it.

  “Hey,” I said, barely stopping a yawn.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” he said. I could hear the smile in his voice. “How are you doing?”

  I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I wasn’t too sure how to answer the question. The truth was that I was a hot mess. I felt more like a zombie than I did a human and what I really wanted right then was to cuddle up with Jacob and fall asleep.

  “I’m okay, I guess,” I said, omitting much of how I really felt.

  “You don’t sound like it,” he said. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Just tired,” I said. “It’s been a long week. Actually, it’s been a long six weeks, but this last one has been especially draining.”

  “Did you get your program finished up for the competition?” he asked.

  “I did,” I said. “I hope it does well.”

  “I think it’ll do fine. I took another look at the beta version last night for you and I thought it looked great. I highly doubt that the other interns are submitting apps that are both as beautiful-looking and as user friendly as yours is.”

  “I don’t know, Jacob. I thought so too, but these Silicon Valley programmers are a different breed of people. I’ve never met software engineers with this much talent before.”

  “It’s true, there’s some serious talent out there,” he said. “But I’m confident that you’re just as talented, if not more so.”

  “You’re just saying that,” I said, not bothering to stop the small smile the compliment elicited.

  “No, I really believe it,” he said. “I mean the fact that you’re my girlfriend maybe makes me a little biased, but I still believe it. You’re as smart and as capable as anybody else in the internship. They wouldn’t have chosen you for it if that wasn’t the case.”

  He was
right, but it didn’t keep my mind from churning with doubt.

  “I guess we’ll see what happens,” I said.

  “When do you find out who the winner is?” he asked.

  “Supposedly tomorrow before noon,” I said. “The owner and his colleagues will be looking at the programs starting super early tomorrow morning and they’ll make a decision right away. I’m so nervous.”

  “Speaking of tomorrow, we’re still on for getting together, right?” He paused for a moment. “We can cancel if you aren't feeling up to it.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I nearly sat straight up, but I was too tired. “Of course we are. I’ve been waiting all week to see you.”

  Jacob and I had made plans for him to come out to Silicon Valley to visit me. I knew that he hated coming to Silicon Valley, so the gesture meant the world to me. He’d wanted to come every weekend since I had moved there, but I had been too busy to make it work. Now that the competition was over, though, I finally had time to see him.

  “I’ve really missed you,” he said. “I want to kiss you so badly.”

  “I want to do far more than just kiss you,” I informed him. “Those sexts I sent you weren't just me killing time at the office.”

  He chuckled. “I did enjoy those texts. Particularly the one where you wanted me 'to shudder with ecstasy as I come into you.' I could go for that right now.”

  “I could go for it, too. What time will you be coming in tomorrow?” I asked. I shifted in bed so the pillow was more comfortable. I could already feel my eyelids starting to droop, but I wanted to talk to Jacob more. Talking to him was the highlight of my day, so I wasn't about to fall asleep on him.

  “Probably around three in the afternoon,” he said.

  “I’m so excited,” I said, stifling a yawn. “What would you like to do when you’re here?”

  “Other than you?” Jacob asked, making me laugh. “Maybe we could go to a nice dinner and just relax. Or you can take me out and show me around your new town. Whatever you want.”

  “A dinner sounds nice,” I said. “But if anybody is going to be giving a tour around Silicon Valley, it’s going to be you. I hardly know of a single interesting destination here, besides the coffee shops that are located between my apartment and the ZephTech building. I haven’t had much time to explore. The past six weeks of my life I’ve only existed in my apartment and my office.”