“This place is the best. Trust me.”
She sighed. “Alright. After eating all that food, I feel like I’m going to fall asleep immediately.”
“Let’s get going then.”
The hotel was about twenty minutes away, and when they got there, their rooms were ready. James walked her to her door.
“Alright, so, what time do we leave tomorrow?” he asked.
“Well…” She looked up, and counted on her fingers. “We have four owners to meet, and the middle two are flexible on time. It’s going to be an all day thing, though, to get to all of them. I was hoping we could leave at eight?”
“You got it,” he said. He had to resist the urge to give her a hug. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate that. “Okay, well, if you need anything, let me know. I’m just across the hall.”
She opened her door. “Thanks. And thank you for dinner.”
“It was my pleasure. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to carefully open my door and make sure there are no parrots in there waiting to fly out.”
She chuckled. “Okay James. Have a good night.”
He scolded himself for making a stupid joke. James stayed up for another hour in case she needed something, but she didn’t text him or knock on the door, so he finally got in bed and went to sleep.
He set an alarm for seven the next morning so he had enough time to shower. While showering, room service dropped off breakfast. Since he stayed at this hotel chain all the time for work, he was a Gold Star member, so breakfast was included with every room.
He forgot about this until he got an angry text from Juliet that morning. “Seriously? You don’t have to pay for all of my food, I’m not a pauper!”
“I’m sorry! I forgot to tell you that breakfast is complementary. I swear, I didn’t do this!”
She sent back a smiley face with the word “Whoops!”
He needed to be careful. As much as he wanted to shower her with good food and comfortable hotel rooms, Juliet didn’t like money being spent on her.
It was always a tense topic when they were dating. James grew up with a lot of money. His father was never around since he worked so much, but James never wanted for anything. Nothing material, at least.
He had a nice car and nice clothes. His dad paid for all of the fees and gear for football, but rarely came to any of the games.
Money never mattered to James. True, he never had to live without it, but because of that, it was never important to him. If he offered to take Juliet to a nice dinner when they were dating, or suggested a trip for a long weekend, she acted strange. She didn’t want him to pay for her, but she also didn’t have the money herself and would never say that.
He never thought of it as “his” money; he always thought they were going to get married, so it was as good as her money anyway. Juliet didn’t think like that. She never wanted to be seen as a freeloader.
He made a mental note to be more mindful of that for the rest of the trip.
They got on the road promptly at 8:05. It was a three hour drive to their first stop. James came prepared; he picked out five different podcasts that they could listen to, and downloaded ten new albums of artists he thought she’d like. He let Juliet take her pick of what to listen to, and the drive flew by.
Their first stop was with a man named Stephen. His cat Mr. Wigglesworth took Delicaid for treatment of lymphoma. He was thrilled to be in the video, and even more thrilled that his beloved cat was now three years cancer free.
“It’s really incredible,” said James.
Stephen beamed. “It really is. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her.”
James turned to look at Juliet and realized that she had tears in her eyes. He changed the topic, stooping down to pet Mr. Wigglesworth.
“Do you know what breed he is?” asked James.
Stephen shook his head. “No idea. I got him from the shelter when he was a kitten.”
Mr. Wigglesworth leaned into James, purring loudly. “I think he likes me!”
“He’s an extremely friendly cat,” said Stephen, grin unbroken. “The girls at the vet clinic said they’d carry Wiggles around like a baby, and he’d just throw his paws back and purr.”
“I believe it,” James replied. Mr. Wigglesworth was absolutely adorable. They chatted for a few more minutes, but sadly had to get on to their next stop.
“Shall we head out?” he asked Juliet.
She nodded. “Let’s go.”
It took them five hours to get through the next three stops. The second stop was for a cat who had kidney cancer, and the third and fourth stops were for dogs that had lymphoma. All the filming went well, and the owners were delighted to share their stories. All of them were endlessly grateful to the company for making a drug that saved their beloved pets.
James realized that this video was going to be very good advertising for the company; even if they hired actors to make a commercial, it would not be nearly as good or as touching as these true stories.
They got a quick dinner that evening at Chipotle. Juliet insisted on paying, and James let her. He didn’t want to make her feel “like a pauper.”
They made their way back to the car after dinner, and Juliet gave him Greg’s address – he lived just outside of Dayton in Springboro and offered to let them spend the night.
He put the address into the GPS before turning to her. “Can I request one thing?”
She raised an eyebrow. “It depends what that is.”
“I need you to tell me that I did a better job today. I didn’t almost kill any of the cancer surviving pets.”
Juliet burst into laughter, hiding her face in her hands. She had such a great laugh. James felt like his soul expanded every time he heard it.
Finally, she said, “James, you did a very good job not killing any of the pets today.”
He smiled broadly. “Thanks, that means a lot.”
“You’re welcome.”
He put the car into drive. With a few more days, he might win her over after all.
Chapter 9
It didn’t take long to get to Greg’s place, and Juliet was glad, because the day’s activities really wore her out. James insisted on carrying her bag inside for her, so Juliet pushed the door open for him.
Greg was waiting for them and greeted them in the doorway. “Welcome to my humble abode!”
Juliet hugged him. “Hey! Thank you so much for hosting us.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Greg shook James’ hand. “Kerry was sorry she couldn’t be here, she had to cover a flight for a friend, so she’s in Paris until tomorrow. “
“Kerry? Kerry Walsh?” James asked.
Greg nodded. “The one and only. Except she made the mistake of marrying me, so now she’s Kerry Boulder.”
“Wow,” said James. “And she’s a…flight attendant?”
“She’s a pilot,” said Greg.
“Oh, sorry. Shouldn’t have assumed.”
Juliet resisted the urge to call him out on being sexist.
“You guys were high school sweethearts, right?” asked James.
Juliet couldn’t stop herself this time. “Yes James, some people are capable of long-term loving relationships.”
“Ah, yes,” James said without missing a beat. “It’s good that there’s still that kind of beauty in the world. It’s kinda like two old friends taking a road trip together for a good cause.”
Juliet made a point to ignore him and instead take her bag from his hand.
Greg cracked a smile. “Let me show you to your rooms. I know you’ve had a busy day.”
“That would be great, thank you,” said Juliet.
Greg led them upstairs. Juliet got her favorite room in the house – it had a big window that overlooked the vast wooded space behind Greg’s yard. It was so peaceful that it made her feel like she was on vacation.
“Alright,” said Greg, “how about you give me the camera so I can upload the new footage and tinker with it? Do you wa
nt to take a shower or anything?”
Juliet was covered in dog and cat fur. “That sounds perfect. Unless – did you want to shower first, James?”
He shook his head. “No, go right ahead. I’ll give Greg some context about the pets we saw.”
Juliet took a hot shower and enjoyed every minute of it. It was draining to spend all day talking to new people. She’d always been more of an animal person.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like people, but she found animals easier to be around. She could be herself; she didn’t have to try to be nicer, or more feminine, or more polite. All she had to do was treat them with respect, and they often responded in kind. With animals, she always knew what she was going to get. Even parrots were less unpredictable than people.
Right now, the most unpredictable person in her life wasn’t her crazy landlord or even the panel that would pick the winner for the competition. It was James.
He was definitely up to something, but she couldn’t figure out what. He hadn’t dropped any hints yet. Juliet wanted him to ask questions or something – anything – yet he gave no hint of what he was after.
How could he possibly have an entire week off of work? Whenever he talked about his job, all he said was how much time he spent traveling and working. It seemed like work was his life, and it’d be unlikely that his dad would just give him a week off to have fun. Something was definitely up.
After her shower, Juliet ventured downstairs to find Greg and James at the computer.
“Hey,” said Greg as she approached. “James showed me some of the highlights from today’s videos. I’m going to edit what we have so far – I have some good ideas for music and graphics, too.”
“That sounds great,” said Juliet. “Do you have any questions for me? Like about the animals, or the drug?”
“Not yet,” said Greg. “But I will soon. I’m working on a little graphic showing how the drug works. People love that stuff.”
“People do love that,” agreed James.
Juliet let out a sigh. “Don’t let James bully you into making the video based off of what he thinks people like or don’t like.”
“I’m not bullying,” said James with a smile. “I’m supporting. And suggesting.”
“Right,” she said. “Do you want to take a shower now? I know you got mud all over your jeans at our last stop.”
“That was just mud?” He said, wide-eyed. “I was too afraid to smell it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Bye James.”
“Goodbye Juliet,” he called as he headed towards the stairs. “Sweet dreams, don’t let the bed parrots bite.”
“Bed parrots,” Juliet muttered to herself, shaking her head.
“That parrot did seem pretty scary,” said Greg. “You can actually see him on the video – he flies directly at the camera.”
Juliet groaned. “You can’t use that! The escape was awful. I thought he was going to die.”
“I know, I know,” said Greg. “But the video is great. The best part is the little squeal that James let out.”
Juliet felt a smile creeping across her face. “Like out of fear?”
“Yeah,” Greg replied. “It’s so funny. At first, I thought it was you, because it was so high-pitched. It sounds like a little girl. But it’s definitely James.”
Now she was interested. “Please tell me that you made him watch that.”
“Oh absolutely. It was the first thing I showed him.”
“And?”
“He insisted that there was a mouse offscreen that made the noise.”
“Nope, no mouse,” said Juliet. “Just a grown man afraid of a bird.”
Greg turned back to the computer screen. “You two seem to be getting along a little better than you were before Thanksgiving.”
“Don’t,” warned Juliet.
“What?” he said innocently. “You’re speaking to him, which is an improvement. You’re not being nice to him, but you are speaking to him.”
“How am I not being nice to him?”
Greg put a hand up. “Whoa, no need to be defensive!”
“I’m not being defensive!” Juliet shot back, her voice inexplicably rising.
Greg made a face before turning back to the computer. “Sounds like a very defensive thing to say.”
Juliet scolded herself for walking into Greg’s teasing. “Listen, I’m trying to be civil with him, because he is driving me around. But I feel like he wants something – he’s not doing it out of the kindness of his heart. I just don’t know what that something is.”
“It’s probably that he’s still in love with you,” said Greg.
Juliet scoffed. “Yeah right.”
“There are worse things, you know, than a billionaire being in love with you.”
“He’s not in love with me!” Juliet said with a hushed voice.
What a thing to say! And what did it matter that he was rich? Was that supposed to make her swoon? Make her want to put on makeup or flirt with him and laugh at his dumb jokes? Yeah right.
She continued. “If he were in love with me, he could have just told me that when we ran into him at the restaurant. It would’ve been a lot easier than having to drive me around.”
Greg crossed his arms. “I don’t think that would be easy at all. You’re kind of intimidating.”
“Alright, you clearly have your own little theory that you’re not going to give up. But I’m telling you, I’m going to figure out what he wants.”
“Good luck,” Greg said with a smirk. “Did you know he was on the list of 30 most eligible bachelors under 30 last year?”
“I think you’re a little in love with him,” Juliet said flatly.
Greg laughed. “I’m not, I just thought you should know. It said his dad’s company is worth fifteen billion dollars, and he’s next in line to take over.”
“So that’s what makes him so eligible? That his daddy’s rich? Wow, what a catch.”
“No, that’s not all,” Greg said with a frown. “I don’t know, you dated him. You tell me.”
She looked over her shoulder to make sure that James hadn’t come back. “Considering that I broke up with him, I have a different view of how great he is to date.”
“He’s older and wiser now,” said Greg.
“Says the president of his fan club.”
She wasn’t going to win this argument. Greg and Aaron always liked James. When she’d broken up with James all those years ago, it was too painful to tell them what happened at first.
When she finally did tell them the full story, they reacted like she was making a big deal out of nothing. They didn’t say that, of course, but it was clear that they didn’t understand.
Juliet wanted to change the subject, so she asked Greg to show her some of the clips they picked out of the interviews. So far it seemed like he was doing a great job. And as much as she enjoyed hearing James squeal like a little girl as Deno flew towards him, it was not appropriate to use that clip in the video.
“How long is this supposed to be again?” asked Greg.
“Well, we need two versions,” said Juliet. “One has to be less than three minutes so it can be shared more easily, like on Facebook I guess. And one needs to be less than ten minutes, but has to give more information.”
Greg nodded. “Okay, no problem.”
Juliet bit her lip. “I really, really appreciate you doing this.”
“And I really appreciate you trying to save your clinic, so we’re even. You’d better get to bed, actually.”
“Why?”
“James said that you have to leave at seven tomorrow.”
“What? All we’re doing is driving to Louisville tomorrow. We’re not even filming until Monday.”
Greg sighed. “That’s the thing with these lovestruck billionaires. They’re always coming up with schemes.”
Juliet rolled her eyes. “Alright, thank you. Good night.”
“Good night!”
Juliet went upstairs a
nd softly knocked on James’ door. He didn’t answer, which was awkward; it was possible that he was already sleeping.
She quietly spun around to go back to her room at the exact moment that he came around the corner. Her head collided with something firm.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” she said.
She pulled away, realizing that the firm thing was his bare chest. He’d walked out of the bathroom wearing only a pair of jeans, and the more she told herself not to stare, the harder it was to look away.
“Are you okay?” he asked, gently placing his hands on her shoulders.
“Yes, I’m fine, are you okay?”
Stop looking at his arms. Stop looking at his arms. Were they always this muscular? Stop looking at his arms!
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said as he pulled a black T-shirt over his head. “It just seemed like you were moving quickly and hit your head pretty hard.”
She made a fist and knocked twice on her head. “Nope! Hard as a rock! Or full of rocks, whatever it is!”
Juliet rushed toward her room, chiding herself for acting like such a dweeb.
“Okay!” He called from behind her. “Oh – one more thing. I’ve sort of planned something fun for tomorrow, so we need to leave at seven.”
She nodded. “Yep, okay, that’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He stared at her for a moment, as though waiting for her to argue. Finally he said, “Okay, well, have a good night.”
“You too!”
She closed the door and let out a sigh. What was that all about? Why was he walking around like that? Didn’t he know that there were other people in the house? How did he have so much time to work out when he was allegedly constantly traveling and working? Didn’t he have friends or a life outside of work and muscle building?
Whatever. None of it mattered. Juliet got ready for bed, firmly telling herself that there was only one thing that she should be thinking about during this trip.
It didn’t matter how good her ex-boyfriend looked with his shirt off. It didn’t even really matter what he was after. All that mattered was putting together the best video and saving the clinic. She repeated that to herself as she turned off the light.
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