by Holly Rayner
“Not a darn thing,” she grumbled.
Steve planted a gentle kiss on the crown of his daughter’s head. “Don’t lose faith, honey. Job hunting is a job in itself. You’re going to find the perfect thing sooner or later; I’m sure of it.”
“But how can I land a job in tourism when the industry is being eliminated by a massive oil company?”
“Now, now,” her father said. “I don’t want to hear this from you. Let’s keep our chins up. Something good is bound to come and bring people back to Bluewater, I’m sure of it.”
Annabelle’s cellphone buzzed on the table, and her father gave her a little wave as he left her to go mix some more dough for the next batch of bread. Glancing at her screen, she saw it was a number she didn’t recognize.
She tapped the answer button and held it up to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Annabelle?”
The voice on the other end of the line sounded terribly familiar, but it couldn’t possibly be who she thought, could it?
“Yes?” she said, tentatively.
“This is Chase Frost. Don’t hang up.”
“That’s an interesting way to start a conversation. It’s like you know people hate you or something.”
“Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I’d like to see you again.”
“How did you even get this number?”
“Your number was collected when your phone was searched. I simply asked our security guard to procure it for me so I could reach out to you.”
“What, so you could press charges?”
“I’m not pressing charges, though I should. You are guilty of trespassing on private property, assuming one of my employee’s identities, not to mention—”
“Fine, fine, so what I did wasn’t the smartest thing in the book, but it got your attention, didn’t it?”
“It did. It also got the attention of everyone in that meeting, which is why I’d like to speak with you in person.”
Annabelle paused, thinking. If she could get back into the Frost Energy building, she could take the photographs she’d missed out on, and all under the pretense of going in at his request. Saying that, she would still have to go back and have another conversation with Chase Frost.
That part alone was enough reason to run for the hills.
“I think I’m good, but thank you for taking the time to check in on my welfare.”
“I can make it worth your while,” he said coolly.
The words made Annabelle pause. Could he possibly be willing to make a deal? No tricks, no schemes, just honest conversation?
“How?” she asked.
“I can tell you when you get here. I don’t like to have these kinds of conversations over the phone; anything recorded can be toyed with by the media.”
“And you have to understand that I’m not for sale.”
“Let’s talk, and we’ll see about that.”
Annabelle almost told him to shove it where the sun don’t shine. She almost said a lot of things that would have sounded very unladylike, but the rational part of her—the one that knew better than to be rash, the one that knew this kind of discussion could be the key to putting people back to work again—stopped her tongue from wagging.
“When?” she asked.
“Can you drive down this afternoon?”
“What, like I’m just free all the time? Or you expect me to drop everything to come see you, like I don’t have anything better to do?”
“Didn’t you say you all lost your jobs because of me? What are you doing right now, scanning job sites?”
“Looks like you’ve figured me out, huh? Lucky for you, I’m willing to put aside some time to meet with you, assuming it really is worth my while. But let me tell you, if you’re wasting my time, if this is some kind of game…”
“You mean like the kind of game you tried to play with me yesterday?” he countered.
Annabelle had nothing to say to that.
“Fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Tell your security guard not to cuff me on the way in.”
“They are fully aware of your appointment, and will let you through without trouble. I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me.”
“Well, aren’t you a gentleman now.”
“I am. Don’t make me become otherwise.”
And with that, he hung up the phone.
“Yeah, a real gentleman,” Annabelle mumbled.
Still, her heart did a tiny flip at the chance to see him again, no matter how much she told herself that that was bad behavior. Annabelle had always gone after the wrong guy, and it would seem this situation would be no different. She reminded herself to stick to her guns. After all, there were other lives she could salvage here. It wasn’t just about her.
Running up to her room, she tossed on an old pair of jeans and her black plaid shirt. No need to pretend she was something she wasn’t anymore.
Grabbing the keys, she jumped back into her Honda, petting the steering wheel as she fought to wake it up from a cold night outside. When it finally started, she whooped and headed back toward the Seattle skyline.
Looking for a parking lot, Annabelle parked legally this time, not willing to face her parents again with another hundred-dollar ticket. When she walked through the front doors, the security guard looked as bored as ever.
“I’m Annabelle Williams,” she said, as confidently as she could muster.
The guard looked her up and down then waved her on without a word.
Annabelle tapped the button on the elevator and rode up to the twentieth floor, remembering Chase’s directions to the investors and heading down the hall towards his corner office.
The door was closed, and she took a deep breath before pushing it open and stepping inside. Something inside her told her that this was the moment when everything would change.
EIGHT
Chase was seated behind a large desk, staring at a series of computer monitors. He looked up when Annabelle walked in.
“I believe it’s customary to knock before entering the offices of someone you don’t know.”
“But I’m your longtime girlfriend. Obviously such rules don’t apply to me,” Annabelle quipped, crossing her arms.
Chase gestured to a comfortable-looking chair on the other side of his desk. “Please, have a seat.”
“I’d rather stand, thanks.”
“Suit yourself,” he shrugged.
Standing, he walked around the desk and leaned back against it, crossing his muscular arms. Annabelle did her best not to stare, mentally poking herself.
Just see what he wants, then get the hell out of here, she thought.
“It would seem,” he began, after a pause, “That your little deception was more effective than you probably intended. My investors are really quite taken with you.”
“Damn, and here I was insulting them. What does it take to bring down a company such as yours?”
“Much more than a few paltry insults, I assure you. If you don’t have thick skin, you’ll never survive in this business.”
“Shame,” Annabelle said, picking at a nail. “Are you going to tell me why you asked me here, or are we going to have a staring contest all afternoon?”
Chase cleared his throat. “If you insist; I invited you here because my investors are convinced that you are my girlfriend, and they have insisted that I bring you with me to our charity ball this evening.”
Annabelle looked up from her nails and blinked at him. “I’m sorry, two things, really. One—you give to charity?! And two, what possible incentive could I have to help the man who has destroyed the economy of my entire town?”
“How about two million dollars?”
Annabelle blinked.
“What?”
Chase pushed back against the desk, approaching her slowly, like a cat circling its prey.
“I said, I’m willing to offer you two million dollars to put on a nice dress, eat some delicious food, and talk
with my investors using your charming persona from yesterday. It will be the easiest and, I assume, the most money you’ve ever made.”
Annabelle’s mind was racing. Two million dollars! What she could do with that kind of money! Pay off all her debt and her family’s debt, maybe open up another bakery somewhere Chase Frost couldn’t build…
“No,” she said flatly.
“Excuse me?”
“Do you need your ears cleaned or something? I said, I’m not taking your offer.”
“There has to be something you want,” Chase said, and Annabelle noticed he was clenching and unclenching his fists.
She really did get to him, didn’t she?
She grinned her sweetest smile and tilted her head coquettishly.
“Oh there’s something I want, Frost, but it isn’t cold hard cash,” Annabelle said.
The CEO’s expression turned from disbelief to surprise. “You can call me Chase, you know.”
Annabelle dropped the act.
“Only in front of the investors. My price for an evening with you, displaying my sparkling personality, is the removal of your oil rig from Bluewater and the promise that no further drilling will happen there.”
It was a risky move, she knew. Still, she had to try—there would be no way she could keep him from drilling elsewhere, but if she could claim this one small victory, at least the people she loved would be spared. She would work to fight against him some other way later.
Chase stared deeply into her eyes, as though she were a puzzle he was trying to solve. Finally, he sighed.
“Fine, but only since the cost of deconstructing the rig pales in comparison to the money I can make from these investors. Otherwise, I wouldn’t consider it.”
“Why do you even care? You’re a billionaire!”
“It’s just business,” he replied robotically.
“That is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. You can’t just destroy people’s lives, patting them on the back and telling them ‘it’s just business’ while they lose their homes. Where did you lose the moral compass that should have told you that a long time ago?”
“We’ve made our deal, have we not? If you agree to it, be at the Wilkshire tonight at five thirty, dressed appropriately for a ball.”
He held out his hand for her to shake, almost as if he were daring her. Would she be willing to shake hands with such a man as this?
Meeting Chase’s gaze, Annabelle reached out and grasped his hand as hard as she could.
She was surprised when he met her grip just as strongly. She was more surprised by how perfectly her hand fit into his; how warm it was to the touch.
“Until tonight, then,” she said, turning and not looking back.
It took everything in her to keep walking down the hall. She wanted to stare at him, to figure him out. There was something in him that was more than the persona he put on for business, and there was a part of her that wanted to find out what that was.
NINE
As she rode the elevator down to the main lobby and left the building, Annabelle began to think on the night ahead.
He had told her to dress appropriately for a ball. What did that even mean?
Hopping in her car, Annabelle drove home, thinking about what she would wear, how she would act. It was vitally important that she succeeded in the evening’s endeavor. If she did, her little town would be spared the rot of greed that so often destroyed communities like hers.
When she got home, her sister was sitting on the kitchen counter, eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich.
“Where have you been?” Kate asked, her mouth still full.
“First off, chew your food, please. Second, you’re sat right where we prepare our food. That’s gross.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’ll clean it before anyone actually cooks anything. Why are you deflecting, anyway? Where did you take the car?”
Annabelle hesitated on her answer. She could tell her sister everything, but if it didn’t work out, she couldn’t fathom seeing the crushed hope in her eyes. It would be better to lie until something good could come of it.
“I met a guy,” she said, sticking to the truth as much as possible.
“What?!” Kate squealed, jumping off the counter and playfully punching her sister in the arm. “Who is this guy? Why haven’t you mentioned him before? How did this happen?”
“Woah, woah, question brigade. One at a time!” Annabelle laughed.
“I thought you were dating Will,” Kate said.
Annabelle lifted a dark eyebrow. “What? Who told you that?”
Kate blushed a little, glancing down. “It’s common knowledge that he’s crazy about you; not to mention that you two are like the only people your age still hanging around. Seems like it’s meant to be.”
“How romantic! He’s the only man in our town that’s my age, so why not just settle?”
“It wouldn’t be settling, Belle. Will’s a nice guy, and he’s super cute! You could do a lot worse.”
Annabelle’s mind turned toward Chase again, and she realized, in a pretend, fantasy way, that she already had.
She cleared her throat. “Let’s get this one straight, okay? Will is a wonderful guy, and he’s been a huge help in our fight against Frost Energy, but there’s just no spark, you know?”
“You’ll be looking for a spark until you’re ninety,” Kate grumbled.
“And when did you become an old woman trying to marry me off?”
Kate laughed at the comparison and shrugged. “I just want you to be happy, that’s all.”
“And a woman can’t be happy living her own life?”
“I think having a companion in life is what brings the most joy to most people, and I’ve seen the sad way you stare out at the bay, like something’s missing. Anyway, you just told me you have a date. Let’s get back to the topic at hand here. Who’s the guy?”
Annabelle paused again, weighing her words carefully, while trying not to look like she was doing so. Her sister was annoyingly perceptive, and she would have to tread carefully.
“Just a guy I met online. We have a lot in common, and I thought I’d give it a try, you know? He’s invited me to a party tonight in Seattle.”
“He lives in Seattle?”
“Yep. The thing is, the party is really fancy, like a big charity ball.”
“Woah, he’s rich then!” Kate said, her eyes wide.
“Something like that,” Annabelle answered. If only her little sister knew. “Anyway, I have absolutely nothing to wear.”
“Say no more,” Kate piped in, her tone jubilant. “We’re going shopping like right now. Charity balls require long gowns like the First Lady wears. We need to get you looking presidential!”
Annabelle laughed. She could always count on her little sister to step in when beautification was involved. Kate loved all things feminine; as kids, while Annabelle had been playing with toy trucks and soldiers, Kate had had all her Barbie dolls dressed to the nines with perfect hair and makeup to boot.
Kate pulled on Annabelle’s hand, nearly dragging her out the door and down the main street to a small dress shop on the corner.
The bell rang as the door opened, and the two sisters rushed in to get out of the cold.
“Hi, Margie!” Kate called out to the seemingly empty store.
A woman with curly gray hair came out from a back room, dabbing crumbs off her lip. Her smile was warm as she greeted them.
“Hi, girls! What brings you into the shop today? You certainly don’t fit the bill for high-schoolers looking for a winter social dress.”
“Belle has a date tonight, at a charity ball!”
Margie actually hooted at this news, and Annabelle realized that the whole town seemed to have an interest in her relationship status. Ah, to be young and eligible in Bluewater.
“That’s wonderful news! Well of course we have to find you just the right fit. Come right this way, girls. Let’s try on a few of these.�
�
Annabelle’s head began to spin as dress after dress was tossed into her arms. Kate pushed her into a dressing room and considered each dress with a critical eye.
Finally, Annabelle slid into a slinky red number, and when she stepped out Kate actually gasped.
