by Fiona Roarke
Trey pushed out what sounded like an irritated sigh. “Look. I know what’s going on here. Maybe Sam hasn’t been very forthcoming with you, but I’d be delighted to tell you what’s going on.”
JD decided to humor him because Trey, the prick, still hadn’t learned that she hated being called Sam. “Great. Do tell.”
“She told me about this secret vacation of hers a long time ago.”
“Really?” JD didn’t know Trey well enough to determine if he was lying, but figured even some of what he said might be partly true. Digging through all the bullshit to find any nuggets of truth was going to be the challenge.
“Of course. How else would I know where this place was?” Trey scanned the area as if checking it out, although there wasn’t much to see at this late hour. The moon wasn’t full and clouds had covered most of JD’s journey across Southern Florida today.
“Why did she tell you about it at all?” JD asked. He was a little off balance. Trey seemed so matter of fact about finding him here. JD hadn’t known he’d be here right now, so how did Trey have a clue?
Trey pondered his answer for only a moment. “It was back when she agreed to marry me.”
“She agreed to marry you?” JD laughed, realizing he’d spoken out loud, giving voice to the incredulous question.
“Oh, then she didn’t tell you about us. That’s very interesting.” Trey obviously enjoyed having knowledge JD didn’t. He frowned at the man, wondering how any of this really fragrant bullshit could be true.
Trey was a liar, wasn’t he? There were no tiny nuggets of truth that waited in the shit he was shoveling, right?
Sobering his attitude and shrugging, Trey added, “The truth of it is, we had a little spat regarding the prenuptial agreement and she took off to come over here early.” He rolled his eyes as if to commiserate on the foolish moods of women and their tendency for drama.
“Prenuptial agreement?” He didn’t doubt Trey would require one of any bride he acquired. But JD was still chewing on the idea that Samantha had sex with him rather enthusiastically less than an hour ago. That didn’t jive with her being engaged to Trey with or without a pending prenuptial agreement. Did she think the money disagreement negated any current relationship?
JD had guessed she was hiding something, but they hadn’t really spoken yet, except all that amazing body language earlier.
“That’s right. Sam wants more money in the settlement if things don’t work out. Hard to blame her, but I’ve got to look out for the store, know what I mean? It’s my legacy.”
JD remained silent, mulling over this new information. Something dawned on him, making sense in this deluded strange moment. He forced a laugh. “I don’t believe you.”
“Why not?”
“You seem to be perfectly tolerant at finding me here alone in Samantha’s villa.”
Trey’s eyes narrowed until he couldn’t possibly see anything out of the slits of his lids. “So?”
JD winked. “So, what do you think we’ve been doing here together, Trey?”
A dark look flashed over his smug, entitled face, but dissipated quickly. He shrugged amiably. “I suspect she wanted one last fling with you before she married me. It’s not like this is a love match between us. Just a business arrangement where Sam gets the ultimate promotion. But if she’s caught sleeping with you after we’re married, she loses everything. If you get some before we’re married, fine. Afterwards? Forget it.”
“Now I really don’t believe you.” JD wanted to slam the door in his arrogant face. “You’re a liar.”
“I’m not a liar. I’m talking about the deal we made. She marries me. My father gives us the Miami store to run as a wedding gift. She gets to be the unnamed CEO and run the place and I get to have a named position so I can do whatever the hell I want.
“It’s a win-win for both of us, since I don’t want to work in the retail business. I just like the cash flow.”
That took JD aback, because it sounded exactly like something someone of Trey’s ilk would think up. It was a perfect Trey Wakeman plan. But JD knew Samantha. She wouldn’t do anything underhanded. Had she changed so much during her stint at the Miami store in only three months? Doubtful.
“I still don’t believe you. Samantha wouldn’t make a deal like that to trick your father.”
Trey lifted his arms as if exasperated. “No. It’s not like that. My father wants to give her this job. He wants her to stay with the store.”
“Why didn’t he let her stay in Atlanta? That was where she wanted to be. She wanted to be the Director of Operations in Atlanta.” And she could have stayed with me.
Trey rolled his eyes. “That antiquated beast of a store won’t be around much longer. It’s barely holding together as it is.”
“What? Why not?”
Trey looked suddenly like he’d said too much. “Hey. That’s a big secret. You tell anyone that we’re closing the Wakeman’s in Atlanta to make a buck or for any reason, and I swear I’ll sue you for insider trading.”
JD furrowed his brows. “Go back to the part of your story where your father wants Samantha to have your job in Miami as unnamed CEO.”
Trey pushed out a long sigh. “My father knows Sam’s got a better head for running the store after he’s retired than I do. But I’m his son, his flesh and blood. My grandfather gave the business to my father. He wants to pass it down to me. So that means I’m part of any deal. She has to marry me to get her ultimate promotion. Get it?”
“Got it.”
There was a buzz from Trey’s pocket. He pulled out his phone, looked at the display and said, “Listen, I’ve got to go.” He glanced over JD’s shoulder with yearning, like he really wanted to get inside the villa, but had given up hope on that score. “Look, don’t tell Sam I was here or that I told you about our arrangement. Have your little beach blanket fling here in luxury, but at the end of the week, say goodbye to her. She’s got a much better future planned with me.”
Trey got another text. He glanced at his phone once more and hurried away with a negligent wave. Prick.
JD closed the door firmly and paced around the foyer, trying to decide what to do. Trey was lying. He had to be. Samantha wouldn’t make a deal like this. He looked at the clock. She’d been gone for almost half an hour. Where was she? Did she know Trey was going to show up? Is that why she’d left in the first place? Was she expecting some sort of throw down between them, like a fight to the death for her love and affection?
Head spinning with all the business machinations Trey had shared, JD felt a little out of his depth. He walked outside and headed for his rental car, remembering he’d told Samantha he was going to get his stuff. He’d come prepared to stay the week.
Instead of getting his things, he got into the front seat of the rental vehicle and started it up. The visions of Samantha with Trey reared up with a vengeance. This time they were in the plush villa he’d just left. He shook his head to dispel the foolish images. He knew it likely wasn’t true. Samantha couldn’t stand Trey. But would she make a deal with Trey if it meant being able to live her professional dream?
Was it time to let Samantha go for good? Did JD want to test her and discover she really did want the ultimate promotion instead of a life with him? Maybe not.
It would be easy to back up, head south again and leave her behind to the life she’d created for herself in Miami.
JD put the car’s gearshift into reverse. He glanced at the back-up screen display, the small camera showing the pavement behind his car, offering to help him back out of this parking space with multicolored lines to aid him.
What was he waiting for? He looked out the back window briefly. He turned to follow the screen’s prompts, pressing the pedal lightly to get on his way.
If he left right now, he could make it back to Key West before midnight.
* * * *
Samantha calmed after a few moments alone. Glancing at the clock in the entryway, she realized she’d been gone longer
than she intended. Maybe he’d showered first and then gone to get his stuff. Parking for this place was back by the main building. When she’d checked in, her luggage had been taken from her car by the valet service and a bellman had delivered it via golf cart. Although she was a little surprised she hadn’t seen JD along the way, perhaps there were more ways to get to the northernmost villa than the stone walkways she’d used in her speedy travels back and forth.
Unless he left you again.
She closed her eyes, remembering the hurt, pain and loss she’d felt when he’d walked out of her office in Atlanta three months ago. Samantha wasn’t certain she could endure another breakup like that. If they got back together—and it seemed that eventuality was a given after rolling around in bed like they’d just picked up where they’d left off—she needed to consider all possible outcomes regarding their future together.
Maybe she should quit her job and go back to Atlanta, giving up any professional future with Wakeman’s. If Trey was maneuvering her to a demotion and was successful, how long before she was out on her ear completely?
Perhaps she should call Mr. Wakeman and ask him what was going on, even though it felt like she was tattling on Trey. It also made her look petty more than it changed anything about Trey’s machinations or his position, which was always going to be heir apparent and eventual sole owner of Wakeman’s.
VP was truly as far as she could expect to go in this company. If she could keep her position as VP, she’d also have to consider this ongoing private battle with Trey. He’d take over one day and then how long could she fight off downward changes to her position in favor of Drew or any of Trey’s friends looking for a handout in the form of a job?
If it hadn’t been for Trey’s father giving her this opportunity especially, she’d have already cut and run back to Atlanta. Her mind conjured up the inauspicious day when JD had left her. A streak of pain accompanied the memory. However, right before that ultimate sting, she’d been getting the amazing news from Mr. Wakeman about the opportunity in Miami.
Mr. Wakeman typically wasn’t big on the hard sell, but looking back, that was the exact feeling she’d had at the time. It was a push for an amazing deal, even if it was rife with hidden stipulations. Perhaps it was also a little bit of giving her the carrot and the stick at the same time. Here’s your ultimate dream job without the current love of your life included in the package. Choose right now!
Examining the memory, she wondered if there hadn’t been something going on that Mr. Wakeman hadn’t revealed when he laid out his Miami promotion offer.
He’d started with the lure of the title of VP and followed it up by doubling her salary. The additional sales bonuses only gilded the lily, before he dropped the bombshell that his amazing proposal required sending her to the Miami store. Only Mr. Wakeman hadn’t framed the offer in the form of a question. Instead, it had been proffered with the attitude that naturally she’d accept his generous offer. And it was a very generous offer.
Generosity aside, she’d almost said no. His proposal had been everything she wanted, including, at the time, an escape from her nemesis, but the moment he’d said the word “Miami,” Samantha had known what that would mean for her love life.
It meant a difficult choice.
It also meant a different relationship than she and JD had enjoyed by living in the same city. But, she’d reasoned as she walked back to her office to meet JD, they could make it work. Atlanta was only a single short flight or one long day’s drive from Miami. As the dream job enticed her south, she justified and made plans as she walked into the second part of her day of extremes.
The part where JD had told her, in no uncertain terms, that there would be absolutely no long-distance relationship for them. And then he’d walked out on her.
She was a little ashamed of herself for wanting a promotion that hadn’t turned out the way she wanted, given what she’d lost to get it. With reconciliation in the works with JD now, perhaps she’d reevaluate her options and make a few suggestions for her own future.
If she could find a way back to Atlanta with Wakeman’s, that issue would be resolved, for now.
She’d certainly rather return to Atlanta even as the opposite of a conquering hero, instead of as an almost unemployed failure, with her tail tucked between her legs. The alternative was figuring out how to thwart her nemesis and his cohort, Drew, and then earn a way back to Atlanta in a VP slot.
Perhaps she should have fought harder for that possibility three months ago. But after JD walked out, she’d made the fateful decision in a bigger rush than she normally would have.
The hurt of the breakup had definitely guided her impulsive acceptance of a new career here in Florida. After JD left and didn’t call or come back by the next day, she’d made a rather rash decision to take the golden offer and hadn’t vetted it quite as well as she should have.
She should have known when Trey showed up in Miami what was up with her promotion. After overhearing Trey and Drew talk about secret new plans for her involving his father, Samantha figured if she didn’t find a way to make it work in Miami, she’d be demoted, demoralized and perhaps even fired.
There was a noise at the front door. She walked down the hall to see JD enter the foyer. She’d assumed he’d gone to get his stuff, but he didn’t have any bags with him.
When he glanced in her direction, he seemed surprised to see her. Hadn’t he expected to find her here?
“You’re back,” he said, sounding even more surprised.
Samantha moved in his direction. “Sorry to be gone so long.” She was going to add that the gift store hadn’t had what she wanted, but was loathe to tell him another lie.
She should warn him that Trey might be in the area, but didn’t want her idyllic time here to end abruptly.
He closed the door and approached her. JD pulled a small, square, black velvet ring box from the pocket of his windbreaker.
“I need to ask you something,” he said, managing to sound wary as he moved closer.
Samantha’s eyes widened as he moved closer. Was that what she thought it was? How long had he had that box? Was it really a ring or maybe earrings?
“It’s a question I should have asked you three months ago.”
She swallowed hard as JD went down on one knee and opened the box. You didn’t present earrings and a question down on one knee, right?
He held up the box. “Will you marry me, Samantha?”
She sucked in a sincere breath of shock. The ring was beautiful and perfect and she wished she’d known about it three months ago.
Was this a second chance at a fated moment? If he’d asked her three months ago, would she have made a different choice? She could marry JD and live happily ever after. Giving up all the hard work she’d done at Wakeman’s wasn’t the worst thing she could do, right?
Silent tears slipped down her face as the ramifications of what she’d done settled in her heart. She’d given up her happiness only to suffer Trey’s scheming and worry about her job all over again in a different city. Could she let the past three months go? Not to mention the last several years of hard work. Could she simply walk away from it all? A diamond ring and an important life-altering question certainly made all the difference.
She’d been such an idiot. Samantha put a hand to her mouth and shook her head, angry with herself for the choices she’d made.
“So is that a no then?” The hurt in JD’s tone was evident.
“No.” She cleared her throat. “No.”
His eyes widened. The shock and hurt in them were exactly like that day in Atlanta. She hurried to explain. “Wait. It’s not a ‘no’ to the question. My answer to your proposal is yes. Yes! I’d love to marry you.” She moved closer, looking down at the ring. “The ring is perfect, beautiful. It’s like you read my mind.” She took the box from his slack fingers, studying the beautiful setting more closely, nestled in its velvet pocket.
“You’ll marry me?” he seemed truly dumb
founded.
“Yes. I will.” As soon as I try to transfer back to Atlanta or quit my job.
“But?” he queried again as if he expected her to change her mind and slap him with a resounding negative answer at any second. He was definitely shocked by her acceptance.
She shrugged absently, still awed by the ring and his surprising proposal. “But I have to deal with my job in Miami.”
JD stood up. His abrupt anger was palpable. “Did you think I’d reconsider a long-distance relationship again? Because I still won’t do that.”
Chapter Thirteen
“I understand your feelings on that issue, but I have to deal with my job,” she said in a quiet voice.
JD wasn’t listening to what she said. Instead, horrific scenarios ran through his head at the speed of light. So she wanted to run Wakeman’s department store like she owned it. Not difficult to understand, since she’d always dreamed of big things for her future.
He understood. He’d come back to the villa to wait for her and get a firm answer to the question he’d failed to ask months ago. A test, of sorts, to ensure going back to Key West was the right thing to do. One last sanity check to ensure he wasn’t being rash, like last time.
The money that came along with her coming promotion-by-marriage was likely tempting and way more important than coming back to him. He understood that, too. Fine. The truth hurt, but at least JD knew where he stood and that they were over for good.
At least that was the theory in his head as he returned to the villa. Now he wasn’t so sure.
What he didn’t understand was why she’d accepted his proposal. That was a puzzler. Did she believe that he’d wait for her through some long engagement process while she made plans with Trey to take over the Miami store together? She’d marry Trey, then pretend to be JD’s long-distance fiancée forever?
