by Chelsea Hale
“Why do you need to pick a restaurant then if she won’t go out with you? You’re going to try asking her again?”
“She agreed to a working dinner. She has some ideas about a purse line she wants to do, and I’d like to hear them. I told her I’d help her with her pitch.”
“Who is she going to pitch to?”
“Believe it or not she wants her purses in high-end resorts.”
“Let me guess, she has her eye on the Summers line.”
“How did you know?”
“Because I happen to be a woman, and I like purses. If I was going to buy a purse from a resort, that’s where I would go. So, I take it she knows who you are then.”
“No, I don’t think so. It took a lot of convincing just to get a business dinner with her.”
“You’re walking a dangerous line, Summers.”
Liam blew out a breath. “Yeah, I know. But what can I do? I want to hear her pitch. She’d find out soon enough who I am.”
“Maybe the clean-shaven face and lighter hair really does make a difference.”
“No one would suspect the bellhop of being a billionaire.”
“True, but you aren’t the bellhop.”
“You know what I’m saying,” Liam said.
“I do, and I hear what you’re not saying. But let me just put it out there that maybe if she knew you were a billionaire, she wouldn’t have turned you down to begin with.”
“And that’s the exact reason that I’m not dating anyone right now. I’m not going to always wonder if it’s the money or me that people are attracted to.”
“Well, if she is attracted to you at all, it’s definitely not because she thinks you have money.”
“I’m not used to having to work so hard to get people’s attention.”
“Take that as a good sign. She’s not a gold digger.”
“Or she could be, she just doesn’t know I have gold.”
“Yes, well, I’m tired, Liam, so unless you give me an actionable item, I’m going to say goodnight.”
“Where do I take her?”
“I don’t know, the Olive Garden?”
“Are you joking me right now? I was thinking the Atlantic Rose.”
“That’s why you called me, Liam. Because you asked for my opinions. And my opinion is that you work for the same resort she does right now. If she sees you going all lavish on your first date … business meeting … she’s going to freak out. She won’t be impressed by it, she’ll think that you’re blowing all of your cash on her.”
“But I wouldn’t be. Atlantic Rose isn’t even that fancy.”
Sayler snorted through the line. “You’re kidding, right? It’s not fancy to you, but think about if your life career was working where you work now. How much would you be willing to spend on one meal? Because Atlantic Rose would probably equate to four days’ salary.”
“Five.”
“My point exactly. Don’t make her feel like she owes you something, especially when you aren’t even taking her out on a date.”
“All right, that makes sense.”
“I always do, you need to listen to me more.”
“Okay, I’ll give her some choices then,” he said. “What’s in the area?”
“Gourmet pizza, Olive Garden, The Cheesecake Factory.” Sayler rattled off a list. “You know I can’t make you reservations at The Cheesecake Factory unless I give them your real name, so you might be better off getting there early.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks for the reminder.”
“No problem. What are you going to be driving?”
“You think hiring a limo is a bad idea, don’t you?” It wasn’t like he would rent a Ferrari or anything.
“Liam, I hope you are teasing.”
“Fine, I’m teasing,” he said. “What should I do then?”
“Don’t blow your cover on purpose. Take the rental car. A BMW convertible is still way too flashy, but at least it isn’t as noticeable as what you’re normally driving. Also, if you like her, I think you should consider telling her your secret.”
“You know I can’t do that, as part of the will’s stipulation.”
Sayler sighed. “I know. Good luck.”
“Thanks, Sayler.”
“No problem. Good night, Liam.”
Liam stayed awake long into the night, trying to figure out what he should do about Callie. On one hand, he wanted to tell her the truth about himself, especially since she wanted to pitch her purse ideas to the Summers Line. But on the other, the will made it clear that this was supposed to be two weeks of him not name dropping. No one was to know anything except for the people specifically listed. His word was his bond, and he couldn’t change that.
And then there was this small part of him that wanted to know if she cared about him at all. If she didn’t like him without money, he didn’t want to tell her about how much money he had. Then he’s always wonder if Callie’s priority was his money or him. There was a connection between them, and he wanted to see where it could go. He felt more than just a passing attraction for her. He wanted to get to know her better, and yes, to help her with her dreams, but also to have her be part of his dreams. She was beautiful, and funny, and driven, and she didn’t hold back around him. She gave her opinions openly and honestly.
He tossed and turned, wondering how she’d react to him if she knew that her business dinner would be pitching to the head of the resort that she wanted to work in. Would she be a bundle of nerves or not let him help her? Too bad he couldn’t just keep the dinner to a simple and stress-free first date.
* * *
After Liam’s shift the next day, he changed out of his resort uniform and put on jeans and a polo. He couldn’t do much about his expensive shoes. A nervous energy ran through him. Why was that? He’d gone to plenty of dinners before, and had lots of first dates. But this one felt different. He hadn’t realized what a shield a billion dollars could provide. Without it, he didn’t have any power or defense. It was just him. When things didn’t work out before, his excuses always surrounded around money—like he was being used for it. It made breakups easy to handle because it was about the money. But he suddenly realized that if things didn’t go well, it would have nothing to do with money and everything to do with him.
He knocked on her door, trying not to fidget. He’d been a billionaire for most of his twenties, and before that he’d been in millionaire status since his first fluke business as a high school junior had taken off and franchised. He couldn’t even remember what it felt like to be regular, to not have money in the picture. He originally thought that coming here might be a bad thing, and sure, the adjustment to life and a simpler way of doing things was hard, but it was also freeing. He didn’t have to be Liam Summers for a full two weeks—okay, he only had nine days left—and he intended to enjoy that.
Without an entourage and by avoiding the high-end places, he wouldn’t be recognized. Tonight was about helping Callie. She had a dream, and he knew if he helped her on the confidence side of her presentation, she’d do well. From the little he knew about her, he knew that she was tenacious. She’d shown that with the other employees. And she was an inside look to how people viewed him without the ability of knowing it was him. It was a two birds, one stone thing, really.
Callie opened the door. She wore a light orange sun dress and a panama hat with a matching orange brim. The golden highlights in her dark hair caught the light and seemed to glimmer and shine in the light. Had he not noticed that all day? His previous thoughts left him. Who was he kidding? This really wasn’t a business dinner, that wasn’t his focus. He wanted to get to know Callie outside of work, outside of the uniformed jobs they performed. This was definitely a date in his mind.
“Do I have something in my teeth?” she asked him, her brown eyes looking concerned.
He blinked, his focus returning to her, and he realized he’d been caught staring. “No. You just look nice. You’re beautiful.”
“You clean up nicely too,” she said. “I mean, once you’ve taken off your uniform. And obviously when you’re wearing other clothes. I mean … okay let’s move on from this subject.”
He held the door for her. “Are you ready?”
She looked around the small room that was the same size as his, grabbed her purse from the hook next to the door and shouldered it. “Ready.” They walked to the employees’ parking lot. He stopped in front of the blue BMW convertible rental and unlocked the doors with the key fob. She whistled, and he opened her door for her. “Nice wheels.”
He climbed into the car, and adjusted the seat back. “Thanks, but it’s not mine. I have a … friend who is around this area, and she’s letting me borrow her rental. My car, well…” His cars, actually. Yeah, he didn’t need to go into that.
She put a hand on his arm as it rested on the console. “It’s okay. It’s awesome that your friend let you borrow it. But I hope you didn’t do it to impress me. I would have been fine with whatever you drove. It’s only a business dinner.”
He nodded and pulled out of the parking lot heading toward the freeway. “My car is in the shop.” At least one of them was, so that was true enough. He was getting his new car serviced.
“My car was always in the shop before … well, before now, and I didn’t replace it. Besides, I’d imagine that where you’ve worked you don’t have much need for a car. I really haven’t since I started working here.”
He eyed her. “You don’t go anywhere?”
She looked out the window, and he turned back to the road. “I don’t have much of a need to go anywhere. I’m working a lot. There’s a few shops across the street from the resort. It’s one less thing to pay for.”
He wanted to know more, and figure out a way to help her. He was attracted to her, but it was refreshing to hear about her without feeling like the only reason she was bringing it up was to get a handout from him. It made him naturally want to hear more. “How did you come to work here?”
Callie looked at him. “I’ll tell you over dinner.”
He nodded like he understood, but he didn’t. It must be some story if she didn’t want to talk about it in the car. Until then, he could help her with her purse line. “I’m striking out on conversations here. Throw me something to talk about. I want to discuss your business ideas at the restaurant.”
“What kind of music do you like?”
He thought about that. His normal answer would be jazz, but he thought through the articles and interviews he’d given. That was always a question. She wouldn’t make the connection, would she? “I like elevator-type music, with a good beat.”
“So, classical instrumental?”
“Among other things, yes.”
“I’m more of a jazz person.”
He immediately switched the music to jazz, it was one of Sayler’s preset preferences. “That’s included in my elevator music.”
“Oh, is it? What a coincidence.” With the music as background, they made small talk about the surrounding area as they drove.
“Have you been anywhere exciting?” Callie asked him.
The question caught him off guard. Every week he was somewhere exciting. He visited his resorts all over the world. With over one hundred of them, he couldn’t even visit them all each year, and still keep up on his expansion. He’d been all over Europe, Australia, some of Asia, and a good chunk of South America. He’d spent time in the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, and had been to every state in the U.S. In fact, he’d spent most of his life living out of a suitcase. “Like where? I’ve done my fair share of traveling.”
“Have you ever been to Europe? I’d love to go there sometime.”
“Where would you go?”
“Definitely to Paris. I want to see the Eiffel Tower.”
He wondered if it was because she wanted to own her own purse line. She’d probably love all of the shops and the designers there. “I’ve been there. The Eiffel Tower is beautiful, especially at night. What about you? Have you gone anywhere exciting?” he asked her in return.
She shrugged. “When I was a kid, I traveled some with my parents. We did a few road trips, but, they both passed away a couple years ago.”
“I’m sorry. Do you have any family around?”
She shook her head. “Only child. I’ve been on my own for a while. What about you?”
“I have a couple of brothers. My parents live in Europe right now. My dad works for the government.”
“Oh, did you go to Paris with them then?”
He’d been there with them, but most of the time he traveled by himself. But the words, “Yes,” came out of his mouth, and he didn’t feel the need to add that he’d been to Paris three times already this year.
She sighed. “Someday I’ll travel. I want to, but right now the priority is my business.”
Someday he’d travel for pleasure too. Right now, all of his travel had some element of work to them. Either checking on a new resort, or doing a ribbon cutting at a ground breaking, or research in scoping out a place for another resort. All of it had fallen to him once his uncle got sick. Yes, he had a team of people that helped him, but he liked to be at each one as much as he could. It often left him feeling jet-lagged and exhausted, but he loved what he did.
They talked generally about places to travel. He kept to himself that he’d been to every place she mentioned. There was a pull to Callie, and he realized that going to all of these places, even again, would be on a completely different level of excitement if she was with him. Her spark for the culture and history in a place seemed unparalleled. If he was honest with himself, it was one of the reasons he’d gotten into the resort business with his uncle to begin with. He wanted to provide an atmosphere where guests could enjoy the resort and have an inclusive experience, but also that they could travel and have excursions and experience all of the things that Callie had been talking about.
The hour to the restaurant flew by as they talked easily and laughed and Liam couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed a conversation so much.
Chapter 12
Callie enjoyed driving with Liam. He had a way of putting her at ease. He asked so many questions but answered just as many. They had quite a bit in common, but mostly, she enjoyed his company. He made her feel safe, which was something she hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Okay, this is our exit. I have a couple places in mind, so just tell me what sounds good to you. There’s the gourmet pizza place, Olive Garden, or The Cheesecake Factory. Are any of those good options?” he asked as they drove up the ramp and waited at a red light.
She looked in the direction he pointed. Gourmet pizza was expensive. In fact, all of these restaurants were out of her price range. She had said that this wasn’t a date, and she meant that, though in his friend’s car and with him looking so good, she almost felt like it was a date. Their conversation had been more like a date conversation than a business meeting. Still, as a business meeting, she would buy her own meal, and all of them felt too pricey.
She cringed at her life. Going out to eat had never been something she’d stressed about before. She had been wise with her money, but she had never pinched pennies or lived quite as frugally as she’d been the last few months. “You know what, maybe we should grab a sandwich from a little shop.” She tried to keep her voice light, like it was really what she wanted.
“They have sandwiches at The Cheesecake Factory too.” He sounded confused. Of course, he would be. They had the option of sandwiches at the resort for lunch and dinner, and there was a small sandwich shop across the street from the restaurant. Maybe it was because he’d gone through the trouble of borrowing the car.
She ran her fingers absently over the smooth leather seat. “Maybe I’m just not very hungry today.”
He eyed her. “All right, I was trying to give you the choice, but I will make the executive decision. The Cheesecake Factory it is.”
“I don’t have that kind of money,”
she blurted out, her eyes pleading with him to understand how far she’d fallen in life without making her spell it out. She could mostly handle it, as long as she didn’t have to talk about it.
“I wasn’t going to let you pay, regardless of where we go,” he said.
“That feels more like a date,” she said slowly, though her heart sped up like it was sprinting in a race.
He parked the car. “Can’t we just have dinner? Think of it however you want. Business dinner, since that’s what we’re going to be talking about, or date. Either way I want to pay for the dinner.”
“I know money must be tight for you too,” she said quietly, unsure why she admitted that aloud. “I just don’t want to be a financial strain. We could have had our dinner for free and still talked business without you spending so much just to eat.”
His eyes narrowed. “How is it you figure money is tight for me?”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t meant to make it sound so judgmental. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant, I know your car is in the shop, and …” She hesitated, letting the sentence trail off.
Liam’s features softened. “And what?” He picked up on the sentence, and she knew he wouldn’t let go of it until she backed it up.
“I mean, I know what led me here, and it’s a lot of financial baggage. So, I guess I just have compassion for people who have been in my position longer than I have. I mean, you’ve worked at other resorts, and now you’re here. It can’t be easy. I know how much I have to make up. I guess I wanted to pay for the meal since you were willing to help me with my business presentation.”
Liam nodded, his expression unreadable. “That’s very thoughtful of you. But, I’m not worried about it. Like you said, we get our meals for free here. That hasn’t always been the case in my working career. I wouldn’t have suggested it if it wasn’t in my price range. And I’m paying for both of us. So, will you come with me to The Cheesecake Factory? The resort doesn’t make avocado eggrolls, and it just so happens that The Cheesecake Factory serves them.”
Her heart squeezed. It wasn’t even a date, and yet Liam acted like a gentleman. The idea warmed her. She nodded. “Okay, it sounds like fun.”
