by Young, M. L.
“Oh come on, do it for me. I want at least another half hour, and then we can leave together. I promise,” she said.
She looked at me with puppy dog eyes before I let out a sigh and agreed to another half hour. I told her this was all she’d get, and she agreed, but I had a feeling I’d have to drag her off the dance floor later.
I stood around the entire thirty minutes, as there wasn’t a single stool open, before she came up, sweaty as can be, without a guy. I guess she’d paid attention to the time, which I couldn’t have been more thrilled about. With her disappointed, we left the dance club and hailed a cab before getting in and telling the cabbie, a man this time, where we needed to go.
“I can’t believe I didn’t meet one stupid guy,” Nicolette said, her arms crossed.
“You will next time. Use the app!” I said.
“I never find anyone on there. Maybe I’m just losing my edge,” she said.
“No, don’t say that. You’re being ridiculous. You’ll find a guy soon, I know it,” I said.
Truthfully, I had no idea when she would or wouldn’t find a guy, and not only because I wasn’t psychic. Nicolette never seemed to do that great with long-term things. It wasn’t that she was a bad girl, she wasn’t, but she seemed to have commitment issues that I thought she never really wanted to admit to. I think she set herself up with too many expectations in terms of dating.
Instead of just finding a decent-looking guy who was nice to her and treated her right, she went for good-looking guys who treated her like shit. It was something that happened all too often with people I knew in general, and it was probably why Carter was referring to how nice guys never finish first, or whatever it was he said. I knew that wasn’t true either, though. Just look at Blake and me. He truly was a good guy, even if he didn’t necessarily show it at first. He was kind, caring, supportive, and just an overall good guy. He treated me well, and even though I hadn’t been the best since we got back together, I liked to think I treated him great as well.
“Yeah, well, I hope it happens soon. You’re lucky to have Blake. You seem happy,” she said.
“I am happy, and you’ll be happy too. Just work on yourself and stay single and happy, and that guy will come along when you least expect it. It happened to me, so I know it will happen to you. You’re an amazing catch,” I said.
“Thank you, Penny. You’re a great friend,” she said, as she looked at me with loving eyes. I didn’t know if it was from the booze or not.
I scooted in closer and cozied up to her as girlfriends do when another is in distress, and we rode the rest of the way home before getting out of the cab and trudging up the five flights of stairs, which never really seemed to get any easier.
“Home sweet home,” she said, as we walked through the front door.
I locked it behind us and tossed my purse in my room before kicking off my shoes, walking over to the couch, and rubbing my feet. It felt so damned good to get out of those confining shoes and finally let my toes breathe.
After sitting on the couch with Nicolette for an hour as we ate popcorn and peppermint patties, I finally decided it was time to get to sleep, as I could barely keep my eyes open between yawning. I quickly washed my face and half-assed brushing my teeth before shuffling into my room and checking my phone. Blake hadn’t texted me since earlier, and I didn’t bother to tell him goodnight, as I knew I wouldn’t be awake to see the reply.
I got in my bed, pulled the covers up, and settled it as my mind wandered. I had that problem a lot at night, more so with insomnia, even when I was physically tired. I could feel like falling asleep, then get in bed and feel like staying awake, but mostly because my mind just wouldn’t stop.
I thought about our upcoming trip, and the ramifications it was going to have on our relationship. It wasn’t just going to be an average, everyday trip, not that I knew about those, considering how damned poor I was. This trip could signify a new step in our relationship that was bigger than anything I’d experienced with any man before. Hell, it could be the biggest step I’d ever have again, and I didn’t want to mess it up.
What if Blake asked me to be his girlfriend, formally, when we were on the trip? What if he asked me right after? What if this spring-boarded us into marriage one day? Okay, Penny, take a deep, long breath. It was just a business trip, after all. It wasn’t like he asked me to the Virgin Islands or to Hawaii or Paris or something. It was a two-day business trip where he’d actually be doing business. It wasn’t a code word for some kind of crazy thing. Still, though, I couldn’t help but think he was going to try something on the trip.
After about twenty minutes, I checked my phone out of curiosity and saw he’d sent me a text saying goodnight and that he missed me. I replied, saying I was falling asleep, but I missed him as well and goodnight, before setting down my phone and rolling back under the covers. He always knew the right thing to say to calm me down, even if he wasn’t here. I still couldn’t believe I was so lucky to have him.
I calmed down, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath before I finally let myself beat my insomnia and start to fall asleep. This trip was going to be a life-changer.
CHAPTER TEN
Penelope
A few days later, school had provided nothing but misery for me. Homework, quizzes, tests, and more studying than I’d ever done in my life. My communications professor told us about a project that was going to be forty percent of our grade, and it would be due at the end of the semester in lieu of an actual final. I’d much rather have a final instead.
One good part of my school week was on Tuesdays, when we got to go into the computer lab and code new ideas. Our project, which was for my advanced coding class, was to build an app for a phone. We were given a random app topic, mine was a game, and we were to build something that would be launchable. It didn’t need to be groundbreaking, since we weren’t going to actually sell or publish them, but it had to be good enough to get a good grade. I’d made a jumping game where you jumped over these barrels that would come your way. It was still a work in progress, but it was a lot more fun than listening to a professor drone on.
I sat in the lab and typed away as I found a bug in my code that I couldn’t seem to get past. Even though my professor was cool and was always around to help, I wanted to wait before asking him to come over. There was something about figuring it out on my own that was satisfying and worth the frustration. I knew I’d have to rely on a skill like this if I were to ever get a real job coding, and I couldn’t ask somebody else to figure it out.
I scanned the code about five times before I finally caught the error. It was a wrong character. I was supposed to be a “1,” but I accidentally typed “2” instead. I changed the problem and voila, it was working again. It was amazing to me how one little mistake like that could derail an entire operation. It was a good thing this was just a project and not something that would actually change lives.
The lab was kept a little dim, as much of the only light came from glowing computer screens. My class was rather small, maybe fifteen people, though I still thought it was rather large for this degree and course, especially at this school. My school wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t tiny either. There were probably better schools I could’ve gone to, but I wanted nothing more than to be in the city—this city, in particular. I was sure glad I made this decision.
After an hour and fifteen minutes, I came out of the computer lab with slightly closed eyes as I tried to adjust to the light again. It was like being a bear coming out of hibernation. The computer lab was luckily my last class of the day, so I put on my jacket before walking outside and feeling the air, not as chilly as usual, as it tickled across my face.
I stood and waited for the bus before it finally came, late, and picked me and two other students up. The bus was relatively empty, at least for this time of day, so I found a seat up front and sat down before the driver took off like a madwoman, probably because of being late. She made her stops quickly and rolled through the ones with no
body there. She tried to do the same with mine, but I pulled the cord and she stopped to let me off, though it wasn’t exactly at the bus stop.
As I walked down the street I saw Nicolette’s car, which was odd because she still should’ve had another two hours before getting off work. I went into the apartment, checked the mail, of which there was a lot, and walked back up the stairs before opening the door and seeing her on the couch eating a salad.
“What are you doing home?” I asked.
“I had a dentist appointment after lunch and just decided to use some personal time and take the rest of the day off,” she said.
“You can do that?” I asked.
“Of course. That’s why it’s personal time,” she said.
I locked the door and tossed the mail on the counter before sorting through it. It mostly consisted of inserts and ads, though there was a power bill addressed to Nicolette, as well as a magazine renewal form for one of her girly magazines. I left them on the counter before going into my room and dropping off my backpack and purse and slipping into my pajama bottoms, which were much more comfortable than the tight-fitting jeans I’d been wearing.
“So, what are you doing tonight?” I asked, as I sat next to her on the couch.
“Oh, probably just this, why?” she asked.
“Just wondering. I have to do some more homework, but I might see what Blake is up to,” I said.
“I saw him around the office today. Didn’t say hi, but I saw him,” she said.
“You should talk to him sometime,” I said.
“Oh yeah, right, like I’m going to go talk to the CEO of the company I work for randomly and see how he’s doing. I’d like to keep my job, thanks,” she said.
“He isn’t like that, Nic. And besides, he knows your name and that you work there. If he ever fired you, especially for talking to him, he knows I’d have his balls in a clamp,” I said.
“True. I guess you fucking him gets me some job security,” she said.
“We’re more than just that,” I said.
“So you guys are official?” she asked.
“Well, no, but—” I said.
“Get it official, girl. Then we’ll talk,” she said.
My trip with Blake was only three days away, and I had to say it had me a little nervous and a lot excited about whether he was finally going to ask me. It seemed odd that he would take me there for something as simple as making me his official girlfriend, but then again I never thought I’d be dating a billionaire at any point in my lifetime. Weird just wasn’t totally in my vocabulary anymore.
He’d texted me earlier and said the private jet was scheduled and we would be leaving at ten in the morning. He said I should spend the night at his place so it would be easier, and I agreed, for more reasons than that. I couldn’t believe he was taking me on a private plane, as I’d barely even been on a regular one before. What was the etiquette for it? Did we still have to go through security? Did we go to the regular airport and then to a special section there? I had no clue.
I texted Blake, telling him I missed him, and he replied thirty minutes later with the same, and told me he wasn’t going to be able to see me until Thursday night when I came over. I guess they were finalizing a bunch of stuff that dealt with our trip and he wasn’t going to be home much. Though admittedly I was a little disappointed, I knew he could have time away from me when I signed up for all this.
“So, when are you planning on telling him?” Nicolette asked.
“What?” I asked.
“You know, the whole using him thing or whatever,” she said.
“I wasn’t using him. I was just punishing him,” I said.
“Still, when are you?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I feel like I haven’t even done anything towards him in a while. Things have just gone back to normal,” I said.
“Well, you have to tell him,” she said, looking at me.
“Why? I barely did anything,” I said.
“Penny. You know you can’t just go into a relationship with a guy and have that guilt hanging over your head. Especially not you. You’re too good for that,” she said.
“I’ll tell him, I just don’t know when. I don’t want to rush it, you know? I want to wait to see if he actually asks me to be his girlfriend,” I said.
“So you’re going to wait until after that happens? You’ve got some big balls, girl,” she said.
Maybe she was right, and I didn’t admit to that often. What if waiting until after he asked me out was a bad idea? What if that really turned him off and he tossed me aside like I did to him? Shit, I don’t know, but I really didn’t want to come out with it, especially before or during this trip. I’d just wait until after. Yeah, that would be best and we could have a nice trip without any awkwardness or problems.
I got up off the couch before getting a cold bottle of water, going into my room, and shutting the door behind me. I sat on the edge of the bed, kicked off my socks, and looked out my little window at the people below. I sat and thought, mostly about what Nicolette had brought up, as my once fun-sounding trip started to sound a little scary and not so fun. What if I couldn’t even have a good time when I was with him this weekend? What if I panicked the entire time about this and it ruined what could’ve been an awesomely amazing trip?
I had to forget about these problems, and forget about them I would. They’d be here when I got back, and I could deal with them, and him, then. For now, though, I was going to sit back, look over a textbook, and relax. I deserved it.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Blake
I had been so busy with work lately that I almost forgot what day it was. Not only were we opening new offices in Seattle, but now the board wanted to buy yet another company to add to our cabinet of services. They said they wanted to get a bunch of proprietary technologies so we could venture out and do more things outside of the app. They said in order to keep ourselves relevant, we could even implement some of these things into the app.
The newest venture they wanted was a payment processing service, which actually wasn’t a horrible idea. We’d implement it into our app for services like buying coins, and a premium-style membership, as well as rolling it out to the public as a payment service for anybody. You could send money to family, friends, businesses, and anything else you could think of. It was a great idea, but I was afraid it was running our resources rather thin.
We already had so many people working on so many different things that to do this we were going to have to hire more people and get more office space in addition to the ones we were already getting. That cost more money, time, and resources, and while we had all those things, they could be better spent somewhere else. When I started this business I never thought things would get so big and out of control. Some nights I’ve even lain in bed and wondered if it was worth it anymore. I could cash out my stock, get a shit-ton more money, and never have to work again a day in my life. I could move somewhere remote, maybe even somewhere tropical, and ask Penny to go with me and start a life somewhere new. We would travel the world, maybe have a few kids down the line, and it would all end with a happy story.
Even though that all sounded nice, magical really, I knew I really couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave this company behind. Not only would the stock go down, but how would it look, especially after all this building, if the CEO and founder just up and left? It would be a news parade and I knew the business would ultimately suffer. There was nobody who had the level of decisiveness and need for control like I did. I treated this business as if it was my real child, and everybody knows a parent will do anything for his or her child. I was the same way with RandomMeetX.
I sat in my office as the night sky rolled in. I wanted nothing more than to be sitting in my media room with Penny, cuddled up on the plush leather sofa, as we sipped red wine and nibbled on dark chocolate. She’d fit perfectly in my arms and we’d laugh at all the stupidest stuff in the world. I would feel a warmth in my
stomach as I heard her giggle.
I still couldn’t believe the impact she was having on me. I never thought I could feel this strongly about a woman, especially at this stage in my life. Sure, I thought one day things would go great for me, and I’d meet an awesome girl who would change everything, but I expected a few more years before anything like that happened. Instead, I was blindsided as the awkward-looking girl who sat in my waiting room was destined to become so much more to me.
I’d decided I did want to make her my official girlfriend, if she was interested, though I was going to wait until after the trip with her this weekend. Even though it would be a little romantic, being in Seattle in the winter, I didn’t feel like a business trip where I couldn’t devote a ton of time to her was the best setting. What was I going to do, ask her and then run away to a meeting? I was better off forging a great time with her when we were together and then when we got back, having a special date where things could naturally fall into place.
I was fairly confident she’d say yes, but I wasn’t sure how I’d react if for some reason she rejected the idea. I thought things were going great, and we hadn’t had any problems to speak of, so I couldn’t imagine she would say no, but you never know these days. Some people are just into casual things, while others want to meet the partner they’re going to spend the rest of their days with. The two of us had never really talked about a real relationship either, so I might be stepping into a whole new world of shock and rejection, though I was praying it went well. I needed it to go well.
A stack of proposed files for the buyout sat in front of me. The board wanted me to go over them to see what I thought. I sat and piddled around on the computer playing a ninja game, which was sort of my guilty pleasure during my off-time. I wasn’t technically on off-time, but I was the boss, so I could do whatever the hell I wanted half the time without any recourse. I wasn’t exactly scared of a room full of old white men anyway.
After playing for about thirty minutes and needing to blink a few dozen times from keeping my eyes open too much, I picked up the first paper and put it in front of me. The amount of legal jargon and mumbo jumbo was almost overwhelming as I tried to keep my mind open and free of any distraction.