Dreams Collide: Collide Series Book 2

by Kristina Beck

“You’re the last one to be asked. A series of interviews have taken place with the other candidates. A couple of people from upper management would like to talk to you tomorrow morning. Human resources will tell you more about what it will entail. The negative of this entire situation is upper management wants the new office up and running relatively fast.”

  Gerry.

  “Again, this is strictly confidential. No talking about it by the water cooler,” he adds. “Congratulations on being one of the nominees.” He extends his hand to shake mine.

  “Thanks, Thomas. I’m honored you have so much confidence in me. I won’t let you down.”

  “My pleasure. Again, don’t tell anyone.” He looks at his phone again. “I have to get to my meeting.”

  He walks away, but I remain seated, not ready to go. I’m overjoyed about this, but so much has happened in such a short amount of time. My appetite is gone. I push my sandwich away from me. I just said I’m willing to relocate. What about me and Gerry? We just got together. Do I need to tell him? I probably should, but only if upper management picks me.

  I slouch in my chair while thoughts whirl in my head. What if I’m offered the job and he the show? How would that work? Why stir things up if it most likely won’t happen? But what if it does? What about my family? I’m sure they won’t be happy. The whirl quickly becomes a tornado.

  How will I keep a secret of this magnitude when I’m so excited? Just when I thought my life was where I want it to be, this makes me question everything.

  Chapter 41

  Gerry

  We’ve been back for over a week, and I haven’t seen Tina since I dropped her off at her apartment when we came back. I’ve been working nonstop, and Tina’s swamped at work, to the point there are days when we don’t even talk. When we do, she sounds distant sometimes. Vacation was very different from our real lives. We were stuck to each other’s hips the entire time, and now we hardly see each other.

  Barbara hasn’t heard anything from VOX. We were told we’d hear something last week. As the days go by, I care less and less. I question if I really want the show anymore. After the week with Tina in Germany, my wants and needs have shifted to her. Her happiness is more important to me.

  My phone rings. I see Joel’s name on the screen. I groan. All I wanted was to have a couple of hours to myself this Saturday morning before the restaurant opens.

  “What’s up, Joel? The restaurant better be on fire. I told you I was coming in late this morning.”

  “Sorry to bother you, but Mike fell last night and broke his arm. He can’t work for the next six weeks. Who’s going to manage the kitchen during that time?”

  I bow my head and close my eyes. “What about Carl or Jackson?”

  “Seriously Gerry? They don’t know how to run the kitchen,” he says with annoyance.

  I press the bridge of my nose. “I’ll do it.”

  “You’ll find somebody? On such short notice?”

  “No. I mean I’ll manage the kitchen.”

  “Wait. What? Really? His voice perks up. “You’re willing to cook here? That’d be awesome for the restaurant. You know it’s busier now since the word’s out you’re a famous chef.”

  “Yes, I’m serious. It’s my restaurant and my kitchen. Let’s discuss it when I get there. I’ll try to be there within the hour. Bye.”

  I lean on the kitchen counter and think about what I just agreed to do. I’m now the head chef of Hofbräuhaus. Something clicked during the week in Germany. No one brought up what happened to me last year. Everyone was truly happy to see me and treated me just like they had before the incident. I enjoyed cooking for my family and felt more relaxed than I have in a long time. A lot of it had to do with Tina being by my side.

  I push off the counter when the doorbell rings.

  I open the door and Tina stands there beaming. I don’t give her time to say anything because I pull her immediately into my arms. We kiss with a force and speed I’ve never experienced with her before. Our hands are all over each other. She sucks on my lower lip to the point it’s deliciously painful. I gently pull her hair to expose her neck. I lick and bite the skin then nibble on her ear.

  I kick the door shut without letting her go.

  As our lips meet again, she fumbles with my belt buckle. I bend over and pick her up. In seconds I stand her on the side of the bed. Our jeans drop to the floor, then our shirts fly in the air. We lay on the bed, grinding and moaning in sync. I’m in a fog, forgetting everything. We don’t speak, but I know her body’s ready for me.

  She nips my neck, and with every thrust, I moan “I love you” until we both cry out as she shatters around me and I quickly follow.

  We’re slick with sweat and out of breath. When we’re able to breathe again, we turn to each other and say hi at the same time with grins on our faces.

  “How are you?” I say.

  “Even better now. That’s the best greeting I’ve ever gotten.” She giggles.

  “It was such a surprise to see you on the doorstep, I couldn’t help myself. This week without you felt like a year.”

  She skims my face and sighs. “I know.”

  I kiss her forehead. “Give me a second to clean up. Don’t go anywhere, Süße.” I head for the bathroom and come back a few minutes later to find her getting dressed.

  “Going so soon?” I joke.

  “I don’t want to, but someone needs to go to work in a little while.” She tosses my black jeans to me.

  As I pull them on, I ask, “So what made you come here this morning? You should’ve called. I might not have been here.”

  “Then I would’ve hunted you down at the restaurant.”

  “Hunted me down for what? You didn’t just come here to use my body?”

  “You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” she laughs as she throws a pillow at me.

  “You told me when you were going to work today. I’ve missed you so much. I can’t stand that we haven’t seen each other. And I have something important to talk to you about.”

  “It must be great whatever it is, because you’re glowing from head to toe. Or is it from our little work-out session a few minutes ago?” I toss the pillow back on the bed.

  “Definitely both.”

  When we’re fully dressed, she pulls me into the living room. She sits on one of the armrests of the couch. “Come sit next to me.”

  The air shifts as if blowing out a candle.

  “Other than Alexa, you’re the first one I’m telling this, for obvious reasons. Actually you should’ve been the first,” she says with a pained face.

  I get goose bumps.

  “Why are you fiddling with your necklace and biting your lip? What’s going on?”

  “I’ll start from the beginning. Weeks before the wedding, there were rumors going around Modern Web might open a new office. I didn’t pay much attention to it. However, the day we got back from vacation, Thomas took me to lunch. He clarified it wasn’t a rumor.” Her mouth turns into a smile. “In a few weeks, Modern Web is opening a new site in Long Beach, California.”

  She moves onto the couch closer to me with an even bigger smile. “And guess what? I was asked to go.” She squeals and then hugs me. “Can you believe it? My head has been spinning. I can’t believe this is happening.”

  I pull away from her. “You’ve known this since we’ve been back and haven’t told me?” I say with a mixture of shock and anger.

  She puts her hand on my knee. “Yes. I was out of my mind excited, but I needed to speak to human resources and some upper management first. I didn’t want to say anything to you because there was a chance it’d fall through.”

  I see red because I’m so pissed off.

  She stops talking. “Gerry, are you okay? Your face is like marble.”

  I stand up. “I’ve been up front about the cooking show from the beginning. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t tell me.”

  “Please don’t be mad. You know I’ve always dreamed of living in
California. This is my big chance.” She stands up with her arms open to the sides. “So much has happened during the last couple months. I can’t keep up.” She wiggles her hands. “I’m just so overwhelmed with every kind of emotion. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

  Was our trip a dream? “You already told them yes, didn’t you?” I want to be happy for her, but I’d rather punch the fucking brick wall behind me.

  She sighs. “I haven’t said anything yet. I wanted to talk to you and my family first.”

  “Talk to us about what? It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind,” I snap.

  She folds her arms. “Why can’t you be happy for me? I’ve been supportive about the cooking show. Why is this any different?”

  “You want to know why it’s different?” My voice is harsh. “After I met you, my world shifted. The second I had the meeting in Freiburg, I was questioning if I really wanted it anymore. As days have gone by without a word from my agent, it’s been a relief. You have become my priority, not the show. Did our trip mean nothing to you?”

  My phone rings on the kitchen counter. I walk over to put distance between us. It’s Joel again. It can wait. I swipe decline.

  I turn back to her. “If you accept the offer, when will you leave? In a couple of months?”

  She hesitates. “In two weeks.”

  It feels like she just slapped me in the face. I shake my head. “Two weeks?” I burst out. “Are you kidding me? Why so quickly?”

  I deserve this. I walked away from her years ago to follow my dream. Now it’s her turn to walk away from me.

  She comes closer and goes to touch my arm but pulls back. “They have a huge load of work and need help right away. If I accept, they’ll give me an exact date. I’d live in temporary housing until I find my own apartment.”

  I turn away and place both hands on the counter.

  She wraps her arms around my waist from behind and rests her cheek on my back. “What do you want me to do? Tell me what you want,” she whispers. Vibrations from her voice, sting my back.

  I have no desire to be touched right now, so I remove her arms from my waist.

  “You know what I want, but it doesn’t matter. This isn’t about me. You’ve got an opportunity of a lifetime. It’s what you’ve always wanted. I’m not going to take that away from you. You and only you can make the decision. Don’t worry about what others think you should do.”

  Chapter 42

  Tina

  I look him straight in the eyes. “You want me to go?” I ask with disappointment.

  His eyes turn cold. “Don’t twist my words. That isn’t what I said.”

  “Then explain to me what you said. Because that sure as hell sounded like it.” I seethe.

  “Fine. I want to be selfish and tell you to stay here with me. Here in New York City. Where I can taste your skin and smell your lavender hair every day. Where I can add more of your quirky words to my Tina dictionary. Where I can see your stack of travel and tech magazines on the table. Where we can take a million ridiculous selfies of our adventures. Where I can massage your feet when you’ve had a long day. Where I can cook for you every day until you get sick of my food. Where I can watch you play with your necklace endlessly. Where I can give you everything in purple. Most of all, where I can love you without restraint.”

  Tears pool in my eyes. “What would you say if I told you to stay if you got the show? The one thing you’ve always dreamed about. Would you say no and stay?”

  His eyes pierce mine, and his answer comes immediately. “I’d give up everything for you. Especially after I told you I love you.”

  A tear breaks through and slowly flows down my cheek.

  “But you know what the difference is?” he says. “I didn’t hesitate with my answer. You’ve already had a chance to say no to your boss for days, but you haven’t. That means you want to go.”

  I want to say something, but nothing comes out, because he’s right.

  “But it’s not about me. This is all about you. I can’t and won’t tell you what to do. Especially after we’ve been dating for only a month. Even though you told me you love me. But forget about that little detail.”

  His phone rings again.

  “Please don’t answer it,” I plead.

  He answers it anyway.

  “What the hell, Joel?” He looks at his watch. “I’ll be there in ten minutes!” He tosses his phone on the counter.

  I take my bag off the floor and twist the door knob. “You need to go to work.”

  He presses his big hand against the door to prevent me from opening it. “You knew from the beginning I have a hectic schedule, and now even more since I just agreed, right before you got here, to run the kitchen.”

  My eyes shoot open. “You did? I can’t believe it. That’s great.”

  I go to hug him, but he flicks his hand. “I don’t want to talk about, and I really don’t care,” he retorts.

  I deflate with sadness. “It’s amazing. Last week was a fantasy, and now we’re back to reality.” I press my lips together tightly. “I don’t like how this feels between us right now.” I shake my head. “I’m so confused. I don’t know what I want.”

  He opens the door for me. “Yes, you do,” he says flatly.

  I bow my head and walk out the door. I turn to him to say something, but he stays in the doorway with his arms crossed and his legs planted wide. There’s a scowl on his face I’ve never seen before.

  “I’ll give you time to figure things out. I’ll be working even more hours since I’ll be in the kitchen.”

  “Then why does it even matter if I’m gone? You’ll be married to your job anyway. I’d only be in your way,” I respond with a nasty tone I never knew I had.

  He turns around and slams the door.

  My heart splits into two. I turn at the corner of the building and burst into tears. What did I just do?

  After a few minutes, an elderly woman comes up to me. “Honey, are you okay? Do you need help?”

  I wipe tears from under my eyes. “No, thanks. Just a bad morning. I’ll be fine.”

  “Everyone needs a good cry sometimes. You’ll get through it.” She rubs my arm and continues on.

  I stand tall. She’s right. With or without Gerry, I need to do what’s best for me. It’s all about me now. Screw everyone else. California. The place I’ve always wanted to go to. Is it still what I want?

  I dial Lisa’s number, and she answers on the second ring. “Lisa, it’s me. I need to talk to you. Will you be home today? Can James pick me up at the train station?”

  She asks me what’s wrong and everything else under the sun. “I’m okay. There’s some things going on I need to talk to you all about. Can you call Dad and see if he and Beth can be there too?”

  She asks me the most ridiculous question.

  “No, I’m not pregnant. I’ll call you when I know which train I’m taking.”

  I repeat it’s all about me a million times as I head to the train station.

  Lisa’s head distends off her neck as she leans over the kitchen counter and places the baby monitor in the middle of us. “You’re not really considering moving there? You’ll be on the other side of the US. Alone.”

  James pulls her to his side.

  “Sorry. This is the last thing I thought you’d tell us. We thought you were running off with Gerry to Las Vegas to get married.” Lisa plops down on one of the kitchen stools. “What about Gerry? Did you tell him?”

  I look to the ceiling, blinking to hold back the tears. They come anyway. “I really hurt him today. He was pretty angry when I told him about the offer.”

  Beth hands me a tissue.

  “What did he say?” James asks.

  “He’s says I know I want to move to California. Hesitating to say no to my boss means I want to take the offer.”

  “Did you ask if he would go with you if you said yes?” Lisa says.

  I crinkle my eyebrows. “No way. But he didn’
t offer either.”

  “Well, you’ve only been together for a short while. I guess it’s understandable,” she points out.

  I raise one eyebrow. “And you thought we were getting married or I was pregnant? Which is more bizarre?”

  Lisa presses her lips together, and Beth chuckles.

  “Do you love Gerry?” Dad asks.

  “More than anything.”

  “Do you think you can live without him?”

  “I don’t want to think about it, period. Why do I have to give up one for the other? Everything is so fucked up.” I look at Dad and Beth and cover my mouth. “Sorry.” I still feel like I shouldn’t swear in front of them.

  “Germany was a dream, but now reality has kicked in. We said we loved each other. But did he say it because we were in dreamland? I said it because I truly love him.”

  Beth puts her arm around my shoulder and squeezes me. It feels nice.

  “He runs a restaurant, so you can’t expect him to drop everything and move across the country with you in two weeks,” James adds, and Dad nods in agreement.

  Men!

  “Did he ever hear from his agent about the show? What would he do if he got it? He was open with you from the beginning. Didn’t you ever discuss what would happen if he got it?” Lisa asks.

  I wipe the tears and makeup from under my eyes. “He told me today he hasn’t heard anything. I’ve wondered what would happen, but he sounded so convinced he wouldn’t get it most of the time. Every once in a while, it would creep into my head, but I just ignored it.”

  Everyone leans in a little closer.

  “He supposedly has questioned everything lately because of us. He surprised me by saying he’d give up everything for me.”

  “But are you willing to do the same?” Dad asks.

  I don’t respond.

  Lisa smacks her cheeks like Kevin in the movie Home Alone. “If you say yes, you’d move in two weeks.” Her eyes droop with sadness.

  “I’ve always wanted to live in California. It’s crazy to think about it because I’ve never even been there. And it might be a horrible experience—but at least I have to try. If I say no, I’ll always wonder.”