by Claire Adams
"Good because your crew here are not the most subtle players. Either we pull off this plan soon or someone is going to crack. Stan is grinning like an idiot," Berger said.
"It's his retirement party, shouldn't he be that happy?" I asked.
"Not this happy. People are starting to suspect something." Berger held the phone away from him and had a muffled conversation with someone. "All right, Rainer. We're all set. Are you?"
"This is a terrible idea," I said. "We should call it off."
"Oh, no you don't. No chickening out now," Berger said.
"What if I just don't get out of the car?" I asked.
The limousine slid in front of the curved front steps. Before it could stop, the door next to me was wrenched open. Berger leaned down, phone still to his ear, and laughed at me.
"You're getting out of the car," he said.
I only got out to stand toe-to-toe with Berger. "You can't tell me you think this is going to work. This is the dumbest thing I've ever done. Why did I let you talk me into this?"
Berger shook his head. "You're the one that talked me into it. And a half dozen other people. So, there's really no way out now."
I glanced back at the open limousine door longingly. "She's going to turn me down. I'm just setting myself up to look like a fool."
"Tasha will love that," Berger said. He shoved me towards the front steps and shut the limousine door.
I watched my escape drive away and had no choice but to climb the red-carpeted front steps and enter Stan's lavish retirement party. The plan was simple: friends would funnel Tasha towards the back portico, and once there I would somehow convince her to take me seriously. If I managed that major feat, then all I had to do was put my heart and reputation on the line by kneeling down and asking her to marry me in front of a full lawn of our friends and colleagues.
No wonder I felt light-headed.
Then I reached the top step and ran full-on into Tasha. She teetered back on her high heels, and I caught her arm to steady her. The flash of heat between us was almost enough to burn off my doubts, but then I saw the cool look in Tasha's eyes.
"Hello, Rainer," she said.
"You look gorgeous," I mumbled. Her cocktail gown was an iridescent blue that shifted like the light across a pearl. Thin straps slipped across her creamy skin, leaving the smooth expanse of her shoulders bare.
It took everything I had to let her go.
Tasha stood stiffly in front of me, waiting for me to make polite conversation, but I couldn't trust myself. The whole plan felt like it was coming apart at the seams, but Otto swooped in to save me.
"Ms. Nichols, there you are. I know you're trying to enjoy yourself, but Stan asked if you would be his number two. There's a bit of a flow issue through the main hall and I was hoping you could help," Otto said.
Tasha looked relieved and let Otto guide her away. I stood watching them go, my heart flopping around like a gasping fish. Would she even want me to propose?
"You're not backing out now," Berger said. He appeared at my elbow and caught my arm in an iron grip. "I don't want to say it, but you're my inspiration. If this doesn't work, then I'm going to assume there's no hope for me."
"I thought Ellison actually invited you to sit at her table at the country club," I said.
Berger smiled but shook his head. "We're not talking about me now. What we're going to do is follow the plan."
We moved through the glamorous crowd sipping cocktails and caught sight of Tasha in the main hall. She finished solving Otto's imagined problems with her usual efficiency and was about to veer off course when Alan Reynolds intercepted her.
The recreation director greeted her with a fatherly hug. His huge grin was not out of character, but Tasha seemed suspicious anyway. When he started guiding her through the main hall to the ballroom, I thought she might stop and confront him.
"I think I went about this all wrong," I told Berger. "She's going to think I manipulated her."
"Relax," Berger said as he bopped from foot to foot.
"Yeah, because you look so calm," I said.
Berger laughed. "Well, my part is coming up next. You ready? Can I leave you or are you going to try to run back out the front door?"
I watched Tasha smile and promenade with Reynolds. It didn't matter if I made a mess of things; Tasha was worth it. And I promised myself that if she said no, I would spend the rest of my life trying to figure out how to change her mind.
"I'm up," Berger said. He whacked me on the back and disappeared into the crowd.
I caught a waiter and ordered a very stiff drink. Then I slipped farther through the crowd so I could watch which way Tasha went.
Alan Reynolds gave her a tight hug that left her bemused, but before she could think through his obvious excitement, Berger swept in front of her. The first thing out of his mouth made her laugh despite herself. From there, it was a series of exasperated smiles and eye rolls. He started pulling her towards the high French doors at the back of the ballroom, and I knew it was time for me to take my place.
"All ready, sir?"
"Topher, Jesus," I cried, startling the party-goers around me. "You scared the hell out of me."
Topher grinned. "I'm not sure I'm the reason you're so jumpy, but I apologize. I'm just so excited."
"I'm not jumpy," I said with no real conviction.
Topher dug in his pockets and produced a small, black velvet box. "The jeweler assures me the size will work. It's an absolutely stunning ring, Rainer."
I snatched the box out of his hands and stuffed it in my pocket. The few party-goers crushed closest to us had started to eavesdrop with great interest. "Can we just get on with the plan? If it's going to fail, I'd rather it was before all the alcohol is gone."
Topher waited for me to slam my drink and then lead the way through a series of side-rooms. We stopped at the door to the portico, and Topher delighted in peeking out like we were in a spy movie.
"Does she look suspicious?" I asked.
"Um, no, everything's fine," Topher lied.
I flung open the door and walked onto the portico to see for myself. Tasha was fending off Berger and looking worried. She kept glancing around her as if someone was going to prank her from behind. I watched, frozen, as she skirted past Berger and almost made it back inside the mansion.
Stan caught her at the French doors and turned her around. He kept an arm tight around her shoulders as they strolled back into place.
"See? Everything's fine." Topher gave a sigh of relief.
I tried to catch my breath. It was now or never.
#
I thought I could handle the party without any problems, but a few minutes in the door and I was already panicking. Running into Rainer on the front steps had felt like the keys turning in the ignition of a car I wasn't driving. My heart raced along, my eyes sweeping the crowd to see him, and I couldn't believe I was so quickly out of control.
It wasn't as if I hadn't seen Rainer in the last few weeks. He seemed to pop up everywhere, and I had gotten used to the sudden moments we shared together.
Once I caught sight of his fancy sports car at the little hotel in my home town. I could have passed without seeing him, but I peeked in the windows and saw him sitting alone at a table. He claimed his work friend had just left. Two days later, he happened to be grabbing lunch at the same restaurant as me. When my lunch meeting fell through, we had a long meal together.
In fact, I hadn't gone more than four days without seeing him, so I couldn't understand why tonight felt so different. I tried to tell myself it was because we were all dressed up. Rainer looked like a heartthrob straight off the movie screen in his black tuxedo. His hair was mussed, but all it did was give him a human appeal. It made me want to tangle my hands in it as we kissed. . .
I jolted myself out of the daydream and tried to concentrate on what Berger was saying.
It didn't really seem to matter if I was listening as Berger was talking at high speed. His oddly
excited behavior made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. What was I missing?
I couldn't help but think this was some sort of hazing opportunity. I was completely exposed on the back portico. The luxurious green lawn swept up and away from the portico like a wide amphitheater, and I felt like I was on view. As Berger continued to chatter, I definitely got the idea he was going to prank me. It would be just like Stan to have to pull one more thing over on his protege before he retired for good.
"Berger, I'm sorry, but I'm going to head back inside and make sure Stan doesn't need my help," I said.
He tried to block my way, but the look I gave him made him stand down. I almost made it through the French doors before Stan himself caught me and steered me back outside.
"Isn't it a beautiful night?" Stan asked.
"Are you drunk?"
Stan chuckled and threw an arm around my shoulders. "Not yet, my dear, but it feels like a good night to celebrate, doesn't it?"
I tried to shrug his arm off. "Why are you so cheerful? Shouldn't you be complaining about the buzzards circling the dead body of your career?"
"No, I'm glad to be giving it up. It's all a game for the young, you allospecific. Now that your career is on a high trajectory, I can sit back and enjoy the simple things," Stan said.
I gestured to the lavish silk banners and delicate crystal lanterns that decorated the immense facade of his mansion. "The simple things? Like what?"
"How about young love?" Stan asked.
I stopped short and rooted my high heels to the ground. "Now I know something is wrong, Stan. Tell me what's going on. Are you dying?"
Stan hooted with laughter. "No! I might be old, but at least I'm young at heart. You, on the other hand, need to let a little more love in your life."
"Oh, God, not more dating advice. Please, Stan, can we just enjoy your retirement party?" I shivered, still convinced my colleagues were about to haze me.
Then I saw Rainer, and it was the rest of the party that turned hazy. It wasn't the elegant and sexy cut of his tuxedo, or the way his dark hair shone under the lanterns. It was his electric blue eyes as they locked onto me. In that one glance, I saw worry, hope, and something that lit a fire deep in my belly.
Or at least I thought I did. It had been weeks since Rainer even mentioned our private interlude on Berger's yacht. I wondered if his passion for me had finally waned, and I couldn't blame him. I had done everything I could to bury it, hide it away, and now I was afraid it would light me up like a bonfire.
I wanted Rainer. More than that, the few weeks of seeing him here and there had cemented in my mind how much I loved having him around. I loved him, and I couldn't imagine he would return my feelings.
I wondered only briefly how Rainer had gotten to the back portico from the front steps without me seeing him pass by. Then I saw Otto gently shooing party-goers off the portico and onto the lawn. The crowd thinned between Rainer and I. Finally, Stan gave me a squeeze and then stepped back.
"Is this a prank?" I asked Rainer.
He blew out a tense breath and tried to smile. "No," he said. "This is a proposal."
Rainer dropped to one knee, and with the whole lavish party, full of our friends and colleagues, as a backdrop, he asked me to marry him.
"And all I ask is that you come home to me," Rainer said. "After you work, after you accomplish everything you want, I'll be there for you, if you let me."
Epilogue
Tasha
Sometimes in the middle of work, the entire scene washed over me. Like a tsunami, it knocked everything else out of the way. The wide window of my downtown Oakland office disappeared and I found myself standing on Stan's portico again.
Rainer was on one knee, his words so soft and stressed that I had to lean forward and down to hear him. Then I reeled back, not believing I had heard him right. Rainer had to shuffle forward across the bricks to catch my hand and try to convince me he was serious.
What really caught me was his sincere offer to always be there when I came home.
No other expectations, no other old-fashioned notions of marriage, just me pursuing my career and coming home each night to find him there for me.
After I said yes, Rainer had launched from the bricks and caught me up in his arms. Instead of the molten kiss I expected, he lifted me high in the air and spun me around until the twinkling lanterns and lights of Stan's mansion flowed into bright circles.
And then we kissed.
I leaned back in my office chair, ready to draw the warmth of that memory around me like a blanket.
"Ms. Nichols?"
Topher stood in the doorway, and when I spotted him, I jumped out of my chair. "What? I mean, I'm here. What do you need?"
My assistant gave me funny little smile. "I tried buzzing twice, but you didn't answer, so I knocked."
I smoothed down my suit. "I was just deep in thought. Business, of course."
"Of course," Topher said. "Though it would be very helpful if you set aside some time to think about a wedding date."
"Yes, yes, of course." I shuffled papers needlessly on my desk. "Rainer and I have been meaning to discuss it. We just keeping getting, ah, distracted."
Topher held up his hand. "No need to explain. I have a few suggestions if it would be helpful."
"Helpful for you?" I asked my eager assistant.
He nodded emphatically. "How am I supposed to plan the perfect wedding if I don't even know what season it will be?"
"Fine, yes. As soon as these projects are a little further along, I will sit down with Rainer and we will choose a wedding date," I said. "It's just a little bit more complicated than I expected."
"How so?" Topher asked. He pursed his lips, unable to hide the irritation he felt at not being able to plan ahead.
I couldn't very well tell my assistant that every time Rainer and I sat down to talk about our wedding we ended up in a passionate tangle. It was hard to think about giving that up in exchange for a mound of details such as what kind of fish we should serve at some overblown reception.
"Well, you of all people should know that I can't compromise work at this point in my career. Things are still just getting off the ground here, and I can't lose focus." I sat down again, faced my computer, and couldn't remember what I had been working on before falling into a daydream.
"I can put in the extra hours, Tasha. Or you can hire a wedding planner. It doesn't have to be a bother," Topher reminded me.
"I know, it's just that I'm not sure Rainer is ready for such structure. Can you imagine him going to taste cakes and pick out chair covers?" I asked. The thought made me shudder.
It was enough that Rainer had agreed to come live with me in the white house overlooking the three bridges. I didn't want to push for more when we were still trying to figure out how to be happy together.
"Now, I've wasted enough time as it is. I need to get these reports finished before I present everything to the board. Please hold my calls," I told Topher.
He opened the door to return to his desk and was bowled back by Rainer.
"Surprise!" Rainer said with a smile. "My volunteer shift at the community center ended sooner than I thought. So, I thought I'd swing by and take my lovely fiancée out to lunch."
I felt like a big, wet, wool blanket dropped over me. I hadn't been joking about the reports and the presentation to the board. If my own daydreaming hadn't distracted me, I could have been done. But, now, I had to tell Rainer that I didn't have time for him. Would he regret choosing someone who always picked their career over him?
I kissed him and felt like crying. "I'd love to, I'd really love to have lunch with you, but I can't," I said. "Please don't be mad. I'm just figuring out how to manage my time, and things will get better. I promise."
Rainer nodded for Topher to step out of my office and then he took both my hands. "Tasha, I don't know why you keep hesitating about getting married. I told you that I have no problem supporting your career, but I guess I have to p
rove it to you."
"No." I caught Rainer's face in both hands. "I need to prove to you how much I love you, and how much I appreciate you. I'll have Topher reschedule my presentation."
Rainer shook his head. "I'm not going to let you do that, but I am going to help you with those reports. Remember, I wasn't totally useless when we worked together."
"But what about lunch?" I asked.
"Taken care of." Rainer called for Topher and my assistant reappeared with a loaded picnic basket. "It may not be our little hill above the community garden, but it's good enough for me."
I watched through blurred eyes as Rainer spread out a blanket on the floor of my office. Topher raced out the door and returned with a large blooming tree in an enormous planter.
"What's this?" I asked Rainer.
"I brought the garden to you," Rainer said. "Happy?"
I threw my arms around him. "More than you know."
"Well, you can tell me," Rainer said, "after we finish those reports."
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BILLIONAIRE’S VACATION
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Christian
I tapped my fingers against the edge of the couch as I waited for them to finish the final sound check and whatever other miscellaneous things that they were doing. I thought that they would get all that done while I was still in hair and wardrobe, but apparently, they weren't aware of how valuable my time was. I should have charged them extra.
“All right, I think we're ready,” Kelly, the interviewer, said, dropping into a seat to my left and giving me a winning smile. As though she needed a smile like that with legs like those. I watched as she carefully crossed her long, tanned, muscular limbs in front of her and carefully arranged her navy skirt. When she leaned toward me, clearly trying to appear friendly for the cameras, I caught a glimpse of a lacy, black bra beneath her gray shirt. Maybe she wasn't quite as straight-laced and prim as she appeared to be.
