As for me, I’d applied alongside more than fifty people, and I was the lucky girl to walk away with the job. Me and maybe three other guys.
But I was leaving them in a tough spot because I wanted to run away.
I was taking the coward’s way out, and I did hate myself a little for it. It hadn't been easy to get through the hiring process to begin with, then I’d had to work hard to prove myself as a chef, to my colleagues in the kitchen and the management. In my time working at the hotel, I’d built up a rather nice nest egg in my bank account. In fact, the biggest hit it took since I got hired, was my parents’ last anniversary gift and the two bottles of wine I’d recently replaced.
For the first time, I even had my own car. It was a second-hand car, unlike the ones lined up at the garage in the Thompson mansion, but I’d bought it with my own money and I’d been so proud. I had my own place, though it was at the hotel, and I paid my own bills.
I was a grown up. Somehow, Trent—in that talented way he had—easily turned me right back into that insecure teenage girl I used to be, even though I would be thirty in a few more years.
Damn you, Trent, I growled in my mind. Just… damn you!
Not that I could lay all the blame on him. I should have been avoiding him in the first place. And even though I was tipsy at the time, I never should have thrown myself at him like some desperate groupie.
That was a mistake.
I worked through the morning tirelessly, getting more done than I thought I would. There was still plenty to do, but I wanted to clock out early so I could go back to my room and finish packing.
Fuck, I thought to myself, as I dragged myself over to the staff room. I need to give a proper goodbye to my parents.
I’d stopped by the mansion and slept over a few times. Lucky for me, Trent wasn’t there anymore, so there was no risk of me running into him. I hadn't explained to my parents how not only was I transferring, but I would be going far away. Mom just thought it was a trip, but she had no idea yet that the move could be more permanent. I’d run into Emily a couple of times as well, but we hadn't talked, so she also didn’t know.
I didn’t know how to tell any of them.
“Jessi!”
I looked up at the loud call with a wince. I wasn’t the only person in the room, so I glared at Laura for her overly dramatic entrance. She didn’t even seem to notice, rushing across the room and throwing herself into me with a loud squeal.
“The rumor’s all over the place,” she said, almost in a whine, as she nearly strangled me with her arms around my neck, rocking me from side to side a little too roughly. “Why are you going so far away?”
I tapped on her shoulder to get her to loosen her hold, then pulled away from her completely, shifting so I could put the length of the couch in between us.
“You knew I was leaving already,” I told her wryly. Of course, she’d been the first person I’d told because I went back to her apartment for the second night. “What are people saying, anyway?”
“That you’re going to some far away coast,” she said quickly. “They make it sound like you’re moving to a different country or something!”
I shrugged. “Laura, you already know I’m not.”
“Well, yeah,” she mumbled with a small pout. “But you’re still going to be at a beach somewhere and we’re not exactly close to one.”
I shook my head. “Nope. We’re a lot closer than you’d think. It’s only about a six-hour drive away. It would be shorter by plane, but I’m moving with some of my things so I’ll be driving.”
“Why do you have to move at all?” she said with a sigh, finally settling down. The look she sent my way was curious and knowing at the same time. “I know it’s about Trent, but what changed? Did something happen between the two of you? Because the last time we talked, I thought you’d just ignore him and be fine.”
“That was the original plan,” I said slowly.
I didn’t want to tell her about him and me sleeping together, so I didn’t say more than that.
She let out another sigh. I leaned back as she leaned closer to me, but she held her arms open instead of jumping me this time, and I reached for the hug.
“I’m going to miss you,” she said wistfully. “Things are going to be so boring around here without you, and I know Emily will agree with me. I’ll visit you sometime, okay?”
I nodded, unable to reply verbally because I was choked up, and I knew it was only the first round of goodbyes.
Why do I have to go anywhere?
As I got up to return to work, I went through all my memories of Trent. All the sweet ones, as few as they were, and the bad.
I thought back to before. When we were kids and still the closest friends, before and just after his mother died. We’d been best friends, as hard as it was to believe now. We’d played together a lot back then. Mainly because my parents were always working, I spent more hours out of the day with Trent since he was the only other child there at that time. His dad would have preferred if Trent went to his friends’ houses and played with their kids, but his mom preferred to stay at home more often than not, and that was how we’d become close.
He was the sweetest little boy in those times. But then his mom died, and he changed completely. The Trent I knew was gone, replaced with this sullen, reclusive kid who no longer wanted to play with me, even though he didn’t always push me away. I figured if I stuck around long enough, he would go back to his former self.
Not that he did. Later, he became hurtful towards others and to me, even though I was the person who still hung around him the most.
Even through all of that, I’d never given up on him, never given up hope that one day I could get my best friend back, not even as I grew older and saw how cynical he was becoming.
But now, there was no helping it. I didn’t like it, but I knew I had to face reality.
Trent was a jerk of the first order, and that probably wouldn’t change. Those sunlit days of our forgotten youth were dead and gone, and now all that was left was me being unhappy and a man with a broken heart that would never heal because he would never let anyone try.
The way he touched me, though… I thought wistfully. Our one night together. The wonder of it all when it was all so new to me. How fascinated he’d looked as he’d ran his hands all over me. How almost vulnerable he’d been with absolutely no barriers between us for the first time in forever.
I sighed as the thoughts floated away because it had only been a moment. I’d been avoiding him, yeah, but he hadn't made much effort to see me besides asking here and there about my whereabouts. He probably hadn't meant for rumors to start, and I’d had my shifts all through the week, where I stayed put in one place. It wasn’t like he hadn't found me, just hadn't put in too much effort past the first couple of days.
It was to be expected. I’d found news of him online without looking for it before. I’d seen pictures of the kind of women he usually had on his arm; expensive beauties that were so far out of my league I knew I would never stack up against them.
Yeah, I’d grown up, and I was shapely. Plenty of guys found me attractive enough to give a second look. But I didn’t think I had it in me to be some rich man’s ornament. Maybe, for Trent… if he had shown some more interest… but that night had obviously been some sort of lapse for him.
Just as it had been for me, I told myself forcefully.
It was time to leave. Time to cut him out of my heart.
15
Trent
“Sir?” I heard the question as she knocked on my door. She didn’t wait for me to reply as I sighed and looked up.
“Yes?”
The secretary walked in, a folder held in her arm, and I knew it was just one more thing for me to do. I’d migrated recently from working with hard copy documents, thanks in large part to my brothers, who were now off somewhere supposedly attending to their ‘duties.’ I was still waiting for news that Mason had thrown a party somewhere. Kevin wou
ld be more circumspect, but I’d probably hear something about him too.
Occasionally there’d be something for me to look into, which meant I had to stop whatever else I was doing to get to it because all the late arrivals were super fucking important, and I couldn’t put them off.
“I have some new documents for you to look over… but if you don’t have time, sir…?” she started slowly, and I could have pushed her away but I knew that it had to be done.
“It’s fine,” I said, cutting her off. “Please set it down. How soon do you need it back?”
“An hour. It needs at least three signatures.”
I sighed. So, it was probably a contract or something. Were Dad’s business partners changing the rules of the game now that the old man was out of commission for the time being? I needed to find the original if there was one, then read through the whole document and decide whether to sign or not, or send it back and wait for it to be returned…
I’d be happier if it were just something to do from within the hotel, but I’d taken care of all of those already. My secretary made sure.
“You’ll have it. Come back for it in exactly one hour.” I waved my hand from side-to-side trying to gauge how long it would take me to sort it out.
“Yes, sir,” she said with a nod, then turned and walked out the office.
As soon as she was gone, I dropped my head into my arms. What I wanted to do was knock my head on the desk, but the last thing I needed was to give myself a headache anyway.
“Where did my free time go, exactly?” I muttered to myself, starting to feel resentment at my lack of spare time.
Sure, I was used to working for days on end with no breaks, it wasn’t exactly a new thing to me. The problem was it had been a fucking week already, and because I was so bogged down with work, I hadn't had the time to properly track Jessi down for that talk. I was taking too damn long to find her, and I was worried how her thoughts would have changed over the course of that time.
On the other hand, I’d had a lot of time to think about her. Even when I was working, thoughts of Jessi tended to intrude on my mind to the point that I was growing used to it. Besides thinking about her, I also had a lot of time to examine my own life.
I’d managed to come to the conclusion I lacked something in my life. And what could it possibly be, besides that one thing that had settled in my head and refused to leave for the past week?
My life had been lacking Jessi. It wasn’t an easy conclusion to make, but it was one that made sense to me after the week I’d had of dreaming and daydreaming about her.
Focus, I thought to myself. The day isn’t over yet.
I got started reading the new document. As if to mock me, my phone rang. I winced when I saw it was a call from my PA back in Asheville. It had been easy before, to help out with Dad’s empire when I was still working on my own company, but now that I was fully focused on both, I was starting to feel the strain.
I managed to do a quick read of the document as I listened to my PA, and by the end of the hour when the secretary came for it, I handed the signed document over. I was getting back to what I’d been doing before, only for my phone to ring again. I had to pick it up, and it was nearly a whole hour of chatting over the phone so I could help fix a situation on the other end.
After a few more minutes of working, my phone rang again. Only, it wasn’t my PA this time. I vaguely remembered it as some woman’s number. I’d probably given her my number at some party, and she was calling because I hadn't made the first move.
Dammit. Can't you people just leave me alone? I’m busy!
I was almost to the point of tearing my hair out. I rejected the call, but she called back a minute later. I let out a low growl, then sighed.
“I’m taking a break,” I declared to my empty office, glaring at my phone as I picked it up and turned it off. Then I turned to the computer and logged out of the hotel’s database before turning it off. I got up, pulled on my jacket, and left.
The secretary looked up as I walked out of the office, surprised. I didn’t blame her. I might have only been at my dad’s office for a week, but this was the earliest I’d ever come out of it.
“Sir?” she said, a slight frown of confusion on her brow.
“I’m taking a break,” I told her. “If anything comes up, please take care of it for me. I’ll be completely out of communication for the rest of today, but I’ll be back tomorrow. I have something important to take care of.”
“Yes, sir.”
Good.
I all but strutted down the hall to the elevator, feeling total relief to be free of obligation for a few hours. Jessi’s shift should have ended already, so it should be easy to track her down. Hopefully.
Once the elevator doors closed between me and the hallway, I pulled out a piece of paper I’d been keeping with me since I’d had the secretary look into Jessi for me. It was her complete schedule and the number of the room where she was staying.
I went to her quarters first, deciding I’d go looking for her down in the staff room or the kitchens if I didn’t find her there today. I wondered idly where she’d been staying when she wasn’t at home, and if I should be worried she was finally looking for some new guy.
The thought didn’t sit well with me.
At her door, I paused before knocking. I’d come here over the past week, only to go back when there was no reply to my knocking. I didn’t want the same to happen today, even though I had more determination, and more time, to properly track her down this time.
I’d never been on the inside of her room, but being the owner had a few perks. I knew her place was little more than a living room, bathroom, and bedroom. There was a tiny area to cook in, but it wasn’t really impressive. Her place was about half the size of mine at the hotel. My kitchen area was bigger, not that I used it to cook much.
After some minutes to muster up some courage, I knocked on the door, then held my breath as I waited. To my complete surprise, the door opened, and Jessi stood on the other side of it. She was just as surprised to see me, and we stood there for a minute, staring at each other.
“Um, hi,” I said after a minute, my eyes drifting away from hers. I noticed she had a lot of boxes in the apartment, and my eyebrows shot up. “Are you moving or something?” I asked, joking. “Or is the room so small it’s the only way you can store your things?”
Either she wasn’t into humor, or my brand of humor was terrible because her expression didn’t change at all. It was probably the latter, but I clued in that she was acting particularly serious. There was a slight frown on her face as she looked up at me, and I couldn’t help but mirror it.
“What?” I said defensively. Was she mad at me after all?
“It’s true,” she said.
It took me a minute to understand what she meant. And then I was shocked again.
“You’re leaving?” I blurted out. “Why?”
She arched an eyebrow, giving me a strange look.
That was a stupid question, I thought to myself. Fuck. Could there be any other reason? Jessi wants to leave because of me.
“Stay.” I winced, wondering where I was getting this urge to start blurting shit out. I didn’t take it back. “You don’t have to go anywhere,” I continued. “Just stay at the hotel. If the place is too small, I can find someplace bigger for you to stay, something with a better kitchen. You’ve been working here long enough that you deserve it, anyway.”
Words were falling out of my mouth, words I didn’t have the time to think on before blurting them out. Jessi’s expression had fallen blank in shock, but I couldn’t stop. I needed to stop her from leaving, whatever the means, even if it meant making a fool of myself. I didn’t understand the sudden panic, or where it came from. I couldn’t let Jessi leave.
“About what you said before, you being a good chef? I agree. The hotel needs you here, so there’s no need for you to go anywhere. Would you like a raise? I can approve it if you go through the pr
oper channels, trust me when I say you’d deserve it. I’ve had some of your creations over the past several days. They’re some of the best I’ve tasted, Jessi, and I get around.”
I knew I was going to regret this at some point. After the way I’d been treating her over the years, I was suddenly singing her praises. Shit, I hadn't even apologized for how I talked to her the last time yet! I had a lot to be sorry for where she was concerned. At the very least, I should have snuck in a sorry in there.
“Trent.”
All she did was say my name, but it was enough to get me to stop, just short of blurting out that apology. I sucked in a sharp breath, surprised that I hadn't been taking breaths in between all that talking. The expression on Jessi’s face had changed, though I couldn’t understand what she was thinking.
Then, Jessi took a step closer to me. And then another, followed by another, closing the space between us. I watched her, suddenly fascinated with what she planned on doing.
When she stopped right in front of me and rose up on her tiptoe, it was like instinct for me to duck my head lower, so she could press her lips to mine. The kiss started out soft, chaste, just a press of lips. It was reminiscent of our first kiss from back in our teen years.
I let out a low groan, my arms slipping around her waist to hold her body to mine. I nipped, then licked her lips until she parted them for me, and I deepened the kiss. She gave a breathy moan that had shivers running up and down my spine, and my cock growing hard in my slacks.
“Jessi,” I gasped her name when I pulled back after a minute.
She was looking up at me; eyes still closed, lips flushed a dark pink from the kiss, a light blush on her cheeks. She opened her eyes slowly to meet mine, and the heat in them made my body light up.
Fuck.
I realized, belatedly, that we were still in the hallway. I didn’t care if someone saw us kiss, but I wouldn’t let them see more. I walked Jessi backward into her apartment, and she went with it, her arms sliding up over my arms, my shoulders, then circling my neck as she clung to me. Once inside, I closed the door behind us, turned us around, and pushed her against the door.
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