by Marr, Maggie
Chapter 8
Matt
Sun streams through the window. I open my eyes. Wait…sun? I bolt upright. Where the fu— My gaze lands on…Ashley.
Oh shit. Ashley.
I grab my phone and flip it. Oh. Shit. So late. Late, late, late. I pop up out of bed and turn in a circle. Clothes…where are my clothes…uh.
“Looking for these?” Ashley stands in the doorway holding my folded jeans and shirt.
“Thank you,” I say. I walk to her and press my lips to hers. She is even sweeter in the morning than she was last night. And last night she was pretty fucking sweet. “So…uh, I have to get to work,” I say and slide my leg into my jeans. “I’m already kind of late. I have to get home, shower, get back. But listen,” I pull on my shirt and then stop and look at this woman. This woman who I am already fucking over the moon for. “Could we see each other tonight? Have dinner? Do something? I mean…”
“Of course,” she says. “I’m starting my new job today but, I’d love to see you after.”
“Great! You know what time you finish?”
“I mean…kind of. It’s my Uncle’s place and he wants me to start on the main floor in retail and I’m doing a couple weeks there and then I’m supposed to help run the place so that he can travel with his fiance. Her job kind of takes her all over the world.”
“Sounds like a pretty sweet gig,” I say. I press my lips to the tip of her nose. “Look at you running the place and you haven’t even started working there yet. You’re my smart, beautiful, power-executive.” The cutest blush ever pinks her cheeks. “Why don’t I pick you up after and we can go celebrate. What do you say?”
“I’d love that,” Ashley says.
I head down the stairs and she lets me out the door. After like ten kisses, I’m in the car and on my way home to start my day.
Chapter 9
Ashley
One of the best parts of staying at my Uncle’s, aside from the pretty swank digs on the beach, is his car. His car is the bomb.
Seriously. The bomb.
I love him and of course and I want him to come back….but I don’t need him to hurry. I climb into his convertible Mercedes. The tan leather is butter. Soft and fancy and push the button. The top rolls back and I ever-so-slowly (because the last thing I want to do is ding his car) back out of his garage. Julia and I have taken complete advantage of having this convertible since we got to LA. Now I just have to suffer through and drive it all alone, until she gets back, or my Uncle returns. I smile.
Life couldn’t get any better.
Seriously.
I have a job. I live (okay not my place but still) on the beach. I’m driving a convertible Mercedes to work. And…I just had the best sex of my life and quite possibly I may (fingers crossed) have a (gasp!) boyfriend! I press my glasses up my nose and look into the rear view mirror.
“Who are you?” I ask my reflection, because really I’m unsure exactly how this is my life. Because when Dad died and Uncle Jack was sick—my life was not like this. Wow. The move to LA may be the best thing that has actually ever happened to me. Even though my mother did not want me to move here.
My phone rings. I glance at the screen.
Of course. Think of Mom and there she is. Ringing me. I press the button on the steering wheel.
“Ashley this is your mother.”
“Hi Mom.” Deep breath. Her voice always sounds as though someone is pinching her nose, it’s just the longer I don’t live at home, the more aware I become of just how crazy-pants Mom is.
“Did Julia leave?”
“This morning,”
“So you’re alone. In LA.”
“I’m on my way to work, so I won’t be alone long.”
She sighs. I am, without a, doubt the biggest disappointment possible (for oh-so-many reasons) not the least of which is moving across the country to live in that ‘God awful city filled with smog and hippy-dippy people’ as my mom calls LA. She is, after all, as Connecticut as she can get—from her Bass loafers to her black velvet headband. Stiff upper lip and all.
“Listen, I want you to call me when you return home this evening. Your Uncle’s place is right on that beach, I know that there’re homeless people roaming around that area.”
“No problem,” I say. I pull onto Lincoln and take a right. Work isn’t far, in fact I could’ve walked, except even I know that no one walks in LA. “I’m having dinner tonight so”—fuck. I stop talking.
“Dinner? With whom? Did you make another friend? Is this someone from school? You didn’t mention—”
“Mom—”
“Did you make a friend?
“Mom, I—”
“Is this friend a man or a woman?”
“Mom…I uh…I can’t hear you,” I say.
“What?”
“I can’t hear you…I—”
“This happens to your Uncle too. What is wrong with the cellular towers in Los Angeles? Every time I call him to—”
“Sorry…losing you,” I shout.
“Discuss him coming back for a visit, his phone—”
“—if you can hear me, I’ll call you later.”
“Oh pity sake,” Mom says and she’s gone. She hung up.
Do I feel guilty for pretending to be unable to hear Mom? Hmm…does she feel guilty for torturing me with her WASP standards until I was eighteen years old and left for college? I can honestly say (and without guilt) that the answer to both these questions is an unequivocal no.
I turn right and pull into the parking lot behind the building. I haven’t been here in nearly two years. Deep breath. Really lucky. Incredibly lucky. I have this job which is quite possibly the best gig ever.
And soon I’m going to be the boss.
The. Boss.
The youngest boss ever. And according to Emma the company is going on a giant expansion and this all is perfect amazing ideal for my first gig. I couldn’t ask for more. I close up the convertible.
And the dress code? Flip flops and California casual. I close the convertible top, slide out of the car glance at the Pacific—which is right behind where I live and where I work. I lock the car door. Take a deep breath and walk into the store that in a couple weeks, I’m going to run.
How is this my life? I smile. Wow, my life couldn’t get any better.
Chapter 10
Matt
How could my life get better? I smile and walk across the main area of the shop toward the cash register. It absolutely couldn’t.
“Hey Presley,” I call.
“I brought donuts,” Presley cuts through the shop and toward the stairs that lead to the North American headquarters for Bliss Boards. She’s the only employee who doesn’t wear shorts and bright colors—in fact, Presley may be the only employee who doesn’t surf…or swim… “Presley?”
She stops on the staircase with the giant donut box balancing on her arms and her Hello Kitty lunch box in her hand, “Yeah, buddy,” she says. Her hair is a bright pink and in pony tails.
“I know you don’t surf, but do you swim?”
“Define swim?” She says and tilts her head to the left.
I windmill my arms like I’m doing a freestyle in the air.
“Then no, I do not swim. However, I do get into the water and I don’t die when I do so. I kind of swim-ish,” she says.
I smile. Aside from Jack, the big boss and one of the founders of Bliss Boards, Presley may be the most unique person in this place.
“Donuts,” She lifts the box up and turns to head back up the stairs. Then she stops and turns back. “You remember that the new girl starts today, right?”
I nod.
“And you also remember who she’s related to…and that we’re definitely not supposed to know that part…right? Who she’s related to. That’s part is supposed to be a secret, right, you know that.”
I nod. I press my finger to my lips in the Shhh sign. “The secret is safe with me,” I say.
“Thanks, othe
rwise everyone upstairs might lose their job. When she arrives send her upstairs like you would anyone so that we can get the paperwork processed.”
“You got it,” I say. I turn to the cash register and open the drawer. “Surf camp starts today,” I call after Presley.
“Again?” She whines, I glance over my shoulder. She stands on the staircase and shakes her head.
“Why do you breeders have so many damn kids? And why aren’t they in school yet? Jeez, isn’t it time to lock those little people back up into the ugly buildings that are meant to break them and educate them as to the entire load of crap that’s shoveled into their gullets until they’re 18?”
“Got some thoughts on education?” I ask. I pull a box of new T-shirts from the cabinet behind the front check-out and start pulling out shirts and folding them.
“Right, personal problem. Okay, okay. I’m guessing I’m the last one on staff to remember that the final session of surf school starts today?”
“You are indeed. Just letting you know so that you can update the website and prepare for the load of paperwork and admin that’s heading your way end of day.”
“Good thing we’ve got the new girl so that she can” —Presley slaps her hand to her forehead like she’s just figured something out—“Oh right, we don’t because the ‘new girl’ has to be treated differently because she’s Jack’s precious niece.” Presley glances toward the door.
Her jaw drops open.
The color drains from her already pale skin.
“Oh shit,” she whispers. “Damn I wish I was already in Reykjavik.”
“Hey.”
I know that voice. I turn. “Hey!” I glance from her to Presley. “What’re you doing here?” I round the corner and stand in front of Ashley. “How did you figure out where I work?”
“Uh…” Ashley glances from me to Presley who still stands on the stairs. “You?” Ashley asks. “You work here?”
I nod.
“I…uh…this is really weird, because…uh…I’m the new girl,” Ashley bites her bottom lip and her gaze darts from me to Presley and back to me.
My stomach rolls.
“Wait? What?”
Ashley hitches her computer bag higher on her shoulder. “Uh, yeah, I’m supposed to start today.” She clears her throat and glances to Presley. “I…uh….got a job here…I uh.”
“I’m Presley,” she walks down two stairs. “I brought donuts.”
“Right,” Ashley smiles, “we spoke on the phone.”
“We did, indeed,” Presley says. “So I see you found your way into the store and it would seem by the look of shock and surprise on Matt’s face that you already met him too?” Presley says.
“Uh…yeah,” Ashley says. “We met at a party. That we….uh….were both at last night.”
I nod. I’m gob-smaked. What do I do? What do I say?
“Well, Malibu and Venice can feel like small towns…but yeah.” Presley’s gaze zips between me and Ashley. “Okaaay, so Ashley, why don’t you come on up and I’ll get you started on paperwork, because first day and all there is always a ton.”
“Sure,” Ashley says. She glances a me.
“Yeah,” I say. No words. Ashley is…Jack’s niece? My boss’s niece and she works…here? “So…uh….once you’re finished with Presley head on out to the beach? Okay? We’re going to start getting the kids signed for this final session of surf camp and…uh…we’ll need help.”
“Because once they learn to surf—” Ashley says.
“They’re a surfer for life,” I parrot back.
“Jack’s favorite saying,” Ashley says. She sighs and gives me a little smile. A half smile. A smile that seems to say — I have no idea how we’re going to get around this.
She walks to the stairs and follows Presley up to the second floor. She glances back at me.
My stomach sours. Wow, is it possible that of all the women in LA, I just had a torrid night with Jack’s niece—and that I’ve fallen for her? Damn. This is not good, because if all goes to plan, according to Presley, I could soon be working for the woman I’m falling in love with.
Chapter11Ashley
I step onto the second floor behind Presley and glance around the open space. This floor operates both as North American headquarters for the company and for the admin portion of Bliss Boards Venice location. Windows across one giant wall look out at the beach and the pacific. Artwork of surf boards, beaches, and waves decorate the far wall. The office plan is open aside from a couple closed offices, a kitchen area, and conference room.
“So you know who I am,” I say. No use pretending, if everyone knows that Jack is my Uncle, I might as well embrace the situation instead of fighting it. Presley turns to me.
“We all know who you are,” Presley says. “Everyone up here, everyone down there. I’m surprised all of Venice, Santa Monica, and Malibu didn’t get a debriefing memo with a picture and biographical data.”
Heat flushes up my neck and blooms in my face.
“That’s sweet, you’re turning pink,” Presley says.
I press my hands to my cheeks. “This was supposed to kind of…to remain a secret,” I say.
Presley sweeps her hand toward the open office seating plan, “Behold the magic of the open-office system, there are no secrets. Not even when you fart.”
I smile. “I like you,” I say. “You’re a unique person.”
“Some say unique, others say weird. I simply believe, to quote a very famous cartoon, I am what I am.”
“Small office. No walls. Means no secrets,” I say.
“Bingo and we have a winner! Jack mentioned you were smart,” Presley says. She walks down the hallway and ducks into the kitchen where she puts the box of donuts on the table. “So you were meant to be a secret, but the problem was, everyone overheard me…talking to you…and then talking to Jack. So..secret is gone,” Presley says. “Plus,” she cups her hand around her mouth like she’s telling me a secret, “Not sure if you know this or not, your Uncle? Not so great with secrets.”
I bite my bottom lip. “I really didn’t want to start here with all the baggage that comes with being the boss’s kid or daughter or—”
“Niece?” Presley asks.
I nod.
“Too late.”
“You don’t mince words, do you?”
“What would be the point?”
“Okay, so we’ve established that I was meant to remain a secret from everyone here except for you, my Uncle and his girlfriend—”
“Wife,” Presley says.
I turn my head to Presley. “Uncle Jack isn’t married.”
“Oh yeah he is,” Presley flips her phone over and looks at the time.
My heart jolts in my chest. “Excuse me?”
“As of four minutes ago, Uncle Jack and Emma said their wedding vows. They’re probably popping bottles of bubbles right now.”
“They went to Mesqual for a vacation but—”
“Again,” Presley waves her hand around the room. “Open floor plan. It would seem that he’s learned from the past and has in fact put a ring on it.”
“Always surprises with my family,” I mumble. While Uncle Jack did not mention that he planned on marrying Emma in Mesquale, I’m not surprised. Their love-affair has taken forever to reach this moment. I love Emma and I love my Uncle Jack and the two of them together are amazing.
I follow Presley to her desk where we make sure that she has all the necessary information for my employment. Once I’m finished she looks at me, “So yeah, Jack has you downstairs with Matt for the next couple weeks. Why don’t you head on out to the beach and see if you can help the crew they’ll almost be finished with Surf Camp Registration but they’ll have plenty of work for you.”
“Got it,” I say. “Thanks for helping me with all this.” I stand.
“You brought a swimsuit, right?”
“Uhh….”
“No worries. We sell them and hey, you’re related to the boss. G
o grab one from downstairs. I have a rash guard for you with the Camp Instructor logo.”
“Sure,” I say. A sour feeling winds through my stomach. “Did you say that my supervisor fo the next two weeks is” —I glance around the open office and lower my voice— “Matt?”
Presley nods. “I did. You know him, right?”
“Uhm…well we met last night at that party and—”
“Oh my God, you two boned!”
Pink flushes into my cheeks for the second time in like twenty minutes. While Presley’s candor is adorable in some ways, right now, I’m feeling really embarrassed and completely exposed. I glance around the office. So far everyone else is still pretending not to hear what Presley and I are talking about, but of course they’re listening.
Deep breath. “I…just…that could be uncomfortable, you know, him being my boss and me working underneath him.”
Presley snorts laughs. I do my best not to react, but my cheeks burn with my embarrassment.
I press my lips together. “Working with him.”
“Right, right, right,” Presley nods. “Yeah, it could be uncomfortable for you.” She leans close to me, again like she’s telling me a secrets, “Imagine how uncomfortable it is for him, realizing that last night, he boned his boss’ niece.”
I close my eyes. Good point. Another deep breath. Open them and look at Presley. I’m not getting pulled into this conversation, not now, not here, and not with Presley.
“You mentioned swimsuits?”
“Downstairs,” Presley says.
“Thanks.”
Great, not only am I the big-bosses niece, but I’m also the big-bosses niece who is sleeping with her boss.
Chapter 11
Matt
“Bruh!” Jorge walks toward me and holds up his hand for a high five. He smells like the back of a liquor store. “Dude, I was faded last night! Stayed at Kiley’s, woke up, and came straight to work.”
