“Hello,” Logan said.
“Um, hi… I was just…um, this is really not…” Gabby began to sputter.
Logan laughed and stepped back motioning for her to follow him.
“Relax and come inside,” Logan said.
He entered his office walked over to the mini bar and poured them both a couple large glasses of merlot.
Gabby was still standing in the doorway with a shocked expression on her face, obviously scared to step forward.
“Come in. Close the door behind you.”
Gabby jumped into the room, closing the door. She stood there a moment and glanced around the room.
“Look, I’m really sorry…” Gabby began.
“Forget it,” Logan replied. “I’ve been expecting you.” He handed her the glass of wine which she took cautiously with both hands as if it might bite her at some point.
“You have?”
Logan laughed as he made his way to his desk and plopped down in his leather chair. He gestured for Gabby to sit across from him.
She promptly did so.
“Yes, I have. I knew you would come here sooner or later. I’m glad to see it was sooner.”
Gabby looked at him confused. “Why did you think that?”
“Well, I would have come here. I was hoping that you and I were alike,” Logan said.
“Um… ok… Am I allowed to drink this? I mean it’s only noon and you are my boss…”
“It’s perfectly alright,” Logan replied. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.”
Gabby took a sip. Her face lit up.
“Wow, that’s good,” she said.
“It’s a good year,” Logan replied. “I only drink expensive wine.”
“Expensive? How much did this cost?” Gabby asked.
“Wow, some might consider that rude,” Logan said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. That was stupid of me,” Gabby apologized quickly.
Logan smiled. “I like rude.”
Gabby smiled but she still looked confused.
“You see too many people just don’t say what they feel. They hide away who they are, what they are thinking, stifle their most basic impulses… and for what? Because they are too preoccupied with what other people think and what society deems acceptable.” Logan shook his head slowly back and forth. “No, no, no… that is a tragedy. You know what that makes most people?”
Gabby didn’t respond for a second. She seemed unaware he’d asked her a question. Finally, noticing the silence she chimed in realizing the question as directed at her.
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“Liars. Hypocrites. Dishonest basically. People are dishonest because they hide who they are to almost everybody. I couldn’t imagine going through life like that. I mean, people dislike me a lot because I say what I feel and I am not preoccupied with how it hurts others. Why should I be? I’m being honest. I have my own thoughts, opinions, and feelings. Who are you to tell me I’m wrong just because it conflicts with what you feel to the point that it insults you?”
Gabby sipped her wine. She was silent for a moment. He could see that all of this was really having a strange effect on her, which he anticipated. It wasn’t often your boss caught you doing something against the orders he’d just given you and then rewarded you for it with a glass of wine and a philosophy lesson.
“I agree,” Gabby said.
“Do you?”
Gabby was surprised by the follow up.
“Yeah, I do. I mean I hate having to be someone for someone else, pretending to be who others expect me to be or allow me to be. I’ve done that my whole life, growing up where I did that is expected. You know, the small-town mindset. But I’ve had enough; that’s why I came here.”
Logan was pleased to hear that his original assumption about this girl based on his research was correct. She was running from something; herself. She was running from who she hated being. That was something he could relate to.
“So, where did you grow up?” Logan asked.
“Rosewood Falls,” Gabby replied. “I doubt you’ve heard of it.”
Logan nodded. “You’re right, I am not familiar. But I gather by your tone the town is a bit stifling?”
“That’s an understatement. It’s just a very old fashioned town that is about seventy years behind the rest of the world despite being just a few hour’s drive from the city.”
“Ah, I know what that’s like. Believe it or not I’ve spent some time in small towns before.”
“Really? I wasn’t aware.”
“You are probably not aware of much about me, other than what is in the media but as we’ve both pointed out people want you to be something for them. When you have money and status you have an unnatural limelight focused on you where every single thing about you is scrutinized to make sure you measure up to the expectations. And if you fall even a little bit then the people will be all over it. People are so inherently jealous of others’ good fortune that they love to see the heroes they worship do something human and mundane, like making a small mistake. It helps them to feel that they are not so different and the only thing separating you from them is luck.”
Gabby smiled and sipped her wine. “Wow, I didn’t realize that all billionaire real estate moguls were such astute observers of human nature. You should write a book.”
Logan laughed. “Wow, maybe I will one day, but a wealthy businessman like myself has to be a keen student of human nature. You see people might think my primary business is real estate, but that is incorrect.”
“Really?”
“My primary business is sales. And the object of sales is not to sell products; it is to sell yourself. That must be done first before anyone will buy anything else that goes along with you. It’s just that simple.”
“Yeah, I think I’ve heard something like that before,” Gabby said. “I don’t’ think I am much of a sales person though.”
“Oh, but you are. You just don’t realize it.”
“How do you mean?”
Logan chose to ignore her question. He often got bored with topics too quickly and he felt they were getting off on a tangent he did not want to.
He paused and sipped his wine.
“What do you want to do?”
Gabby looked at him inquisitively. “What do you mean?”
“What do you want to do with your life? You moved to the big city from the small town, took that leap through time to arrive at the twenty first century, and you did it for a reason. What is it?”
“Um, well my father is sick. I came here to take care of him.”
“Why did you come here? Why did you come here, really?”
Gabby glanced down as if her answer was going to embarrass her. Her expression reflected a bit of hostility towards him, most likely because he caught her in a lie. She was embarrassed of the selfish reason she had really come to the city.
“I want to live my dreams,” Gabby said. “I want to experience the stories that I have been reading about for years. I want to try things and find myself, to really see what I want out of life. I couldn’t do that back home.”
“You are telling me the basics. I know all of this. But you didn’t come here just to see what happened; a woman like you had a specific goal in mind. What was it?”
“I want to be start my own business,” she said meekly.
“Why does that embarrass you?”
“It doesn’t,” Gabby defended herself.
“Then why did you say it so quietly, as if you are terrified to let anyone know about it?”
“Because it makes me feel like crap to know I used the excuse of taking care of my father to put me in a position to go after my dreams.”
“Why do you need an excuse to go for your dreams? Why couldn’t you just tell everyone back home that you were leaving and be done with it?”
“I don’t know,” Gabby said. “I just couldn’t.”
Logan leaned forward and looked her in the eye.
�
�There is nothing wrong with that. You should stop feeling guilty. I know you care about your father and you would be here to take care of him anyway, but you have nothing to apologize about for going after what you want in life either.”
“I’m not. I’m not apologizing. I’m fine with it.”
Logan did not fully believe her but perhaps she was starting to see it all clearly.
“Good.”
“Well, I should probably be heading back. My lunch is going to be over soon,” Gabby said.
“Have dinner with me tonight,” Logan said.
Gabby stared at him, a dazed expression on her sweet face.
She smiled. “What?”
“You and I are having dinner together tonight. Wear something semi-formal. I’ll pick you up at seven. It will be a great evening.”
“Um, ok…” Gabby said. She appeared to be trying to hide a giggle. He could tell her head was spinning around a bit at the moment. It had been a while since he’d bothered to have that effect on a woman. It felt good.
Gabby sat her glass on the desk and left the office, glancing back briefly with a smile when she got to the door.
Logan watched the monitors behind him as Gabby moved back down the hall. He couldn’t help but be drawn to her ass as it swayed back and forth gently with her strong, determined walk. He loved to see a woman move like that.
And he was looking forward to seeing Gabby moving her hips tonight.
Chapter 8
Gabby
“How is that lobster?”
Gabby looked up into the beautiful eyes of Logan Brower and almost forgot how to speak. She knew he’d asked her a question but her mind was having a bit of a glitch communicating with her mouth to produce responses.
She smiled and finally found the will to answer him. “It’s delicious. I’ve only had lobster a few times, not many places where I’m from to get this. I’m really enjoying it.”
Logan smiled. “Fantastic. I hope you save room for dessert. They make the most succulent Tiramisu here. It’s a bit different than you may have had before. Trust me, you will love it,” Logan said.
Gabby took another bite of her lobster and smiled as her taste buds started to sing. It really was miraculous. She usually didn’t like seafood that well, but this was something else entirely. The whole experience was something she’d only seen in movies.
After spending almost two hours getting ready for tonight and freaking out over every minor detail she finally finished moments before Logan arrived at her door. He picked her up in the biggest limousine she’d ever seen and they proceeded to go off on their little adventure. She wasn’t sure exactly what all Logan had in mind for the night but she had played through every possible scenario in her head.
When he’d caught her about to enter his office unaccompanied at lunch she almost had a heart attack. But then he made her feel comfortable and the two of them had a real conversation. It was a little dark and strange at first, but she soon began to see where he was coming from and she felt like she may have gotten a small glimpse into what made a man like Logan Brower tick. It was interesting.
And he knew so much about her. She wasn’t sure how, but she somehow felt like he could practically read her every thought as his questions probed her mind stacking one right after the other going deeper into her subconscious. It was almost like some twisted therapy session, but somehow, she enjoyed herself and felt that Logan was someone she had really connected to. That was the last thing in the world she expected to happen that day.
At least until Logan invited her out on a date.
She had to shake her head few times to make sure she’d heard him, but it was real. Mr. Billionaire had just asked her out on a date. The rest of the day she was in a mind fog as she mindlessly went about finishing the paperwork she was organizing. Her mind could think of nothing else but the date and what it might entail. Was this a serious date? Was Logan just wanting to find out more about her? Did he actually find her attractive? Or was it more casual than she had been led to believe?
A million questions zipped through her mind as she tried to come up with a reason why someone like him would even consider taking her out for the evening. It didn’t make sense, or at least not to her. But as the day wore on she became more excited by the second. Oh, what in the world was going to happen? She had a feeling that she was about to get in way over her head.
The restaurant he’d taken her to was called Del Posto. It was by far the most extravagant restaurant she’d ever been too. The second she stepped foot in the place it was obvious that she was in a world she’d previously only read about. Everything in the restaurant looked brand new and shiny. Even the main bar had a beautiful marble counter top. The waiting staff was all dressed in fine clothing and all of them were impeccably good at what they did.
“So, what kind of business did you want to start?” Logan asked her as the waiter took their plates away.
“Oh, I’m not sure exactly,” Gabby said. “I’ve just always known that I want to work on something that was my own.”
She realized she sounded a bit silly after the words escaped her.
“That’s great,” Logan said. “I actually know a few people that might be able to help. I’d be happy to set up some meetings for you.”
Gabby almost fell out of her chair. She quickly grabbed the sides of the table to keep from falling.
“You could really do that?” Gabby asked.
“Yeah,” Logan said with a smile. “Don’t be so surprised. We can get you started on some more classes and go from there.”
“I would love to do that, but I am not sure how cut out I am for school.”
“Ok, but I think you are selling yourself short.”
“What?”
“Well, I’ve learned that in this life you can’t wait to be ready for something, because you will never be ready. You can’t just pick the perfect time to do something that you want to do, not when you are following your heart. There will always be some reason not to do it, or some reason that the timing is not right. You just have to take the plunge.”
Gabby thought about what he was saying. He was right. There would always be an excuse. She needed to just get out of her own way sometimes. “
“Does anyone else know about your dream? Your family or friends?”
“No,” Gabby replied. “Having big dreams of being a professional business woman is not exactly something people talk about where I’m from. Everyone stays in the small town and never leaves. Having big dreams like that is considered stupid and people will actually laugh at you if you tell them such a thing.”
“Wow, that is pretty messed up,” Logan replied.
“So, how about you? Were you born rich or did you steal it?” Gabby joked.
Logan smiled at her. “I worked for every penny, I assure you. My family was never poor but we were far from rich. I had a stable childhood, but I always knew I wanted more.”
“I can understand that,” Gabby replied. “So, what do you do when you are not working? Or is there no such thing for you?”
“I do other things,” Logan said.
“Really? I always heard that all filthy rich guys did nothing but think about making more money all the time. Is it not like an obsession with you?” Gabby smiled at her teasing.
Logan was trying to be serious but she was breaking through his walls with her banter. He could not help smiling.
“I’ll have you know that I have a variety of other interests. But work is the most fun thing I do.”
Gabby shook her head. “I’ve always wondered what that was like, to have a job where you didn’t really work at. A job where you would do it without money because you love doing it but somehow you found someone to pay you for it. That’s like the American Dream, isn’t it?”
“I’ve always thought so,” Logan said. “Are you trying to tell me that filing reports is not your true passion in this life?”
Gabby laughed and leaned back in her seat. “Believe
it or not, I do have other things I aspire to more.”
The waiter returned with the dessert. The second that Gabby bit into it she knew that she would never taste anything in her life as delicious. She was certain she’d just found a drug she wanted to get addicted to.
“Oh, wow!” Gabby said after devouring the rest of the piece. She realized she probably looked like a pig but she was in too much bliss to care. Never had a dessert made her feel as complete as that one just did. It was perfect.
“I told you,” Logan said with a smug smile on his face as he ate his own piece. “This place is the best.”
“You weren’t kidding,” Gabby said.
“Great. So, the check is on you, right?” Logan asked.
Gabby looked at him and smiled shaking her head.
After dinner Logan took Gabby somewhere she always dreamed about. Broadway. She had never been so excited in her life. As the lights went down in the theater she felt herself become lost with the actors on the stage.
“So, what did you think of your first Broadway Show?” Logan asked as they climbed back into the limousine.
Gabby sat there reliving all of the amazing performances she’d just seen from the front row of the Richard Rogers Theatre, a place she’d only heard about growing up and would occasionally get to ride past when her family visited the city on rare occasions. She’d always loved the theatre and had even had a few leads in school plays in high school, but she knew her real passion was singing. Her acting skills probably needed some work.
They’d seen “Wicked”. Gabby had heard about it in recent months that the current production of it was becoming very popular, but she never in a million years would have thought that she’d get the chance to see it, especially front row.
“Wow… just wow… that is about all I can say,” Gabby said.
Logan smiled as he popped the top of the champagne bottle careful to keep his thumb over it so that the cork did not become a projected missile. Gabby hated to see people who haphazardly popped the top like it was a bottle of aspirin and they were breaking the childproof seal.
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