“Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you are alright. We were so worried.” Sarah said as she gave Liz a big hug.
Liz didn’t know why she disliked this woman so much. She really had been very nice to her, but there was just something wrong with having a hot young blonde secretary and she didn’t like Harrison’s choice to keep her around at all.
“Yes, I lost my phone and had gotten sick. Thank you for your concern.” Liz tried her best not to sound like a jealous girlfriend.
Sarah handed Harrison a packed of his travel things and then quickly made her exit to the nearest Starbucks.
Liz and Harrison sat down and enjoyed some breakfast at a small shop near the security entrance to the boarding areas. They were both exhausted and much of the time they just sat their enjoying each other’s company without much talking.
“When do you think you will be home?” Harrison asked as he flipped through his phone and sent a few text messages.
“We will be done on Friday the tenth. So just a couple more weeks and I’ll be back home.”
“Perfect. I can’t wait to get our lives back to normal.”
“Me too,” Liz really wanted things to get back to the way they had been before she took this job in Australia.
Liz sat and drank her coffee as she looked at Harrison working. He was so handsome with his dark brown hair and blue eyes. At forty years old, Liz couldn’t believe how young he always looked. She really hoped that when she got to be forty she would look young. But at twenty-three years old, she had plenty of time to age gracefully.
“Mr. Wellington please come to the ticket counter.” A voice said over the intercom system.
Harrison jumped up from the table and made his way over to the ticket counter for the airline.
Liz sat there looking at Harrison’s unlocked phone. He had just left it sitting there in the middle of a text conversation he had been having.
She couldn’t resist. Liz reached over and pulled the phone closer to her. She kept it on the table and turned it around so she could read the conversation he was having. It was with Sarah and the last message read: “Liz HNC” and it was from Sarah to Harrison.
Liz stopped to think for a minute, and then realized what the message was saying. Sarah was saying that Liz had no clue. She quickly scrolled up to see what else the two of them had been talking about.
The previous message was from Harrison: “Do you think Liz knows something is up?”
Liz scrolled up more and more. There were just a bunch of messages from Harrison to Sarah telling her to pick something up at a certain location or send an invoice. Nothing else interesting at all except the last two messages.
Liz turned the phone around and pushed it back to where it was so she wouldn’t get caught by Harrison. Her mind reeled with what they were talking about. What did Liz have no clue about? What would she suspect was going on?
The only thing Liz could think of was they were trying to hide an affair. But the thing that was weird was that none of their text messages before that had anything to do with an affair. They weren’t even flirty at all. In fact, every single message in the long string were business related. So what did they mean by the last two messages?
Liz decided not to bring it up. She thought it would probably be best to leave things alone for right now. Especially considering she hadn’t talked to Ricardo about the night she found herself waking up in his bed.
When Harrison returned, Liz ignored the information she had just acquired. For now, she would just have to ignore the texts she had read until she had more information.
They finished eating their breakfast and Liz walked Harrison to the security area.
“I’m so proud of you for all the work you are doing here. You will surely be the best marketing woman at your company soon.” Harrison smiled and wrapped his arm around Liz.
Although he really hated that she had taken a job so far away from home, Harrison loved Liz because of her hard work and determination. He had fallen in love with her because of this and he certainly wasn’t going to make her feel bad for continuing to be determined.
“Thanks,” Liz said as she pulled him down toward her.
“Oh, I can kiss you today?” Harrison joked.
“Yep, freshly brushed teeth today,” Liz smiled and let her lips touch his.
Right in front of the security line Liz and Harrison continued to kiss. Liz let her lips linger on his until she heard the nearby security guard continuously clearing his throat.
“Well I guess I should let you go home,” she said.
“If you must. But let’s actually Skype this time. No matter how busy you are. I don’t care if you just set the phone up and I watch you work. I just want to see you.” Harrison said as he reached down and grabbed his bags.
“That’s a deal.”
Liz got on her tip toes and gave Harrison one last kiss as he made his way through the security area and down the hallway to his plane.
Liz turned to leave the airport and suddenly was able to focus on the one thing she needed to do right away. She needed to find Ricardo and talk to him about what happened between them the other night. Liz needed to know if they had slept together since she had woken up in his bed next to him.
The answer to that question would determine if Liz could stay committed to Harrison or if she would have to tell him the truth about what happened that night he was looking for her. If the truth was that Liz had sex with Ricardo she knew Harrison would not want to stay with her.
Chapter 3
“Nice of you to show up for work,” Ricardo said with his usual chipper smile.
Liz felt the weird tension between the two of them and she knew things would have to be talked about before they could continue on with their work.
“Can we talk?”
“We didn’t have sex. I know that’s got to be what you’re going to ask.”
Instantly Liz felt the weight of the world come off of her shoulders. A huge sense of relief went through her. The worry that she might have slept with Ricardo had kept Liz from sleeping with Harrison in his hotel room. Liz couldn’t think of anything else until she knew the truth about that night.
“Oh my god. Yes, that’s exactly what I was worried about.”
“Let me just say this. If we had slept together…You’d remember it.” Ricardo said with a wink and a smile.
Liz couldn’t help but laugh. Ricardo was a really nice guy and in any other circumstance she would have totally dated him. But right now she was really happy with Harrison and was excited to have him in her life. She also hoped he wasn’t having an affair with his secretary. Because that thought still loomed since she saw that weird text message.
“Well, should we get back to work on this project. Maybe even kick a little butt?” Liz said as she got situated in her desk.
“Work? I’ve been working. Who’s the one here who has been out sick for the last two days? Hmmm.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I can’t hold my liquor.”
“So how did things go with your man? Was he pissed at you?” Ricardo said as he sipped on his coffee.
Ricardo didn’t know Harrison well at all, but he didn’t imagine any man would be very pleased with finding out his girlfriend had passed out in another man’s bed.
“When I got to his hotel and his secretary answered his hotel room door in her pajamas.”
Liz said as she started to organize her work for the day.
“Was he banging her?”
“I don’t think so. I had told him I would be there the night before. He says they were getting numbers to call the police and she was helping him.”
“Seems kind of shady to me.”
Liz thought so too, but she decided not to continue on with the conversation. Liz really wanted to just forget about everything and get back to work. They still had so much to do and so little time to do it in.
“Let’s go over that new mock up. I’d like to see about changing some of the colors.”
Liz said as she tried to change the subject.
With that comment, the two went right back into work mode. They spent the rest of the day working solid until it was dark out. Liz was fascinated by how hard Ricardo worked; she had never worked with someone who liked long hours like she did. It was actually really nice to have someone just as dedicated to getting a job done well.
Liz got a call from Bella and finally paused from her work.
“How’s it going girl? Do you miss me yet?” Bella said with her high pitch chipper voice.
“It’s been busy. But I’m good. How are you? How is your summer?” Liz did miss Bella and she felt that empty spot in her heart instantly.
The two of them had been inseparable only a year earlier. But now with Liz working full-time and Bella still in school, they just didn’t get much time to hang out with each other anymore.
“Boring! I was thinking of flying out to hang with you if my Dad is cool with paying.”
“He just left, you should have just come with him.”
“Really? That totally sucks. He never keeps me in the loop on things. I guess I should call him more.”
Bella was still in college and lived on campus. Her father, Harrison, did his best to keep track of her, but Bella had a social schedule longer than even the most famous of celebrities. Liz and Harrison often joked that Bella could have her own reality show. It wasn’t just that she hung out with a lot of people; Bella was often in strange and unique situations that they both thought would make for interesting television.
“He doesn’t keep me in the loop all the time either,” Liz said quietly.
“What do you mean? What’s going on between you two?” Bella sounded concerned.
Although she had initially been against Liz and her father having a relationship, the pair were actually really good for each other. Bella had gotten over the awkwardness of their age difference and accepted that Liz and Bella’s Dad were a good couple. But the way Liz was second guessing the relationship worried Bella.
“We are fine. I just read a weird text message between him and his super hot assistance.”
“Yeah, she’s crazy pretty. Yikes. But I don’t think anything is going on. He’s crazy about you.”
“I don’t think anything is either. But there is just that weird feeling that he’s hiding something. It’s just got me worried.” Liz said as she packed up her things for the night and headed back to the hotel.
By the end of the conversation, Liz felt better about her and Harrison and she had agreed that Bella should come out for a visit. Liz knew Bella was great at keeping herself occupied and Liz would be able to work as much as she needed to. Plus it would just be nice to have Bella around to chat with and spend time with again. They hadn’t really hung out for months.
As Liz got back to her hotel room, she laid down and fell asleep almost instantly. She knew the second Bella arrived it would be very difficult to get any good sleep. Bella had a very difficult time going to bed anytime before sunrise. Liz thought about how much fun her and Bella would have when she arrived.
Liz just hoped she would still be able to get her work done. She also decided she should stay away from drinking for a bit since the incident with Ricardo.
Chapter 4
“Come with me to get my friend Bella from the airport today,” Liz said to Ricardo as they worked on one of their projects.
“Bella?”
“Yeah, she’s Harrison’s daughter.”
“Wait? What!”
“You are friends with your boyfriend’s daughter? How old is she?”
“She is twenty. We actually knew each other before I knew her father. We were friends. I met Harrison through Bella.”
“Oh wow, Liz, you have a crazy life.” Ricardo couldn’t stop shaking his head.
He agreed to come with Liz to pick up Bella from the airport. Ricardo really didn’t think Liz should stay with Harrison. In his opinion, if it looked like a cheater and text like a cheater, he was probably a cheater.
“Yeah, I guess I never thought of it as too crazy.”
“Well, it is. But yeah I’ll come with you to get your friend.”
Waiting for Bella, Liz couldn’t help think back to when the two had first met and all the fun they had had in college together. Bella had always been the person to get Liz to go out and relax. If it had been left up to Liz, she would have spent all her time working or studying.
“Liz!” Bella yelled from the other side of the terminal.
Bella started running full force toward Liz and Ricardo. She continued screaming and did not seem to notice every other person in the terminal who was watching the scene unfold.
“Prepare yourself. I think she’s going to tackle you.” Ricardo said as he took a step away from Liz.
Before Liz could even process that comment, Bella had jumped up in the air and did indeed tackle Liz to the ground. Bella had all the force of a linebacker.
“Liz, I missed you!” Bella continued as she jumped up and reached her hand out to help Liz up.
“I missed you too, Bella.”
“Hi, I’m Bella, the best friend,” Bella said as she reached her hand out to shake hands with Ricardo.
Bella never had been shy. She didn’t wait to be introduced; she didn’t need to confine herself to the traditional customs of the world. Bella had always been the type of girl that just did what she wanted.
“I’m Ricardo. I work with Liz.” He said as he chuckled.
Ricardo had never met anyone with more energy than he had. For most of his life, Ricardo had been the life of the party, the guy everyone asked where the good times were at. But standing next to Bella, Ricardo felt tame. He kind of liked not being the most outgoing person in the room.
“Liz, do you have to work today? Are we going out tonight? What time is it here anyways?”
Liz looked at Ricardo for an answer to the question on if she had to work. They were caught up on most of their project so technically they could take the rest of the day off. But Liz wasn’t about to do that unless Ricardo wanted to also.
“We are done with work for today. You girls should go out and enjoy yourselves.”
“Yes. Perfect. Let me change and get dolled up and then you can show me all the party spots Liz.” Bella said as she moved toward the baggage claim area.
Liz and Ricardo waited while Bella grabbed bag after bag.
“I don’t know party spots except that one bar we went to. You should come with us.” Liz said as she looked at Ricardo for help with the plans for the night.
“I did hear about a sweet club. I guess I could go with. I mean two hot chics as my date for the night…twist my arm why don’t you?”
Ricardo headed over to the baggage area when he saw Bella struggling with her four bags. There was no physical way Bella could carry all of them and Liz wondered how Bella had even made it to the airport with all those bags.
“Did you bring enough shoes?” Ricardo joked.
“I think so. I have ten pairs.”
“Ten pairs of shoes? How long are you staying? Until next year?”
Bella liked this guy, he was funny. Plus Ricardo was very handsome. She liked his tall, dark and handsome look. It fit very well with the kind of guy she was looking for.
As the three got back to the hotel, Liz gave Bella her key to the room and let her head up and get started on getting ready. Liz knew it would take Bella a couple hours at least.
“I’m going to get her a key to the room and then probably take a nap until six o’clock. Does that sound good to you?” Liz said as she looked at Ricardo, who was fumbling with all of Bella’s bags.
“This girl has got to learn to pack lighter.”
Liz laughed. She knew Bella so well and there was no way anyone would ever convince her that packing less than her entire closet would be a good idea.
“She’s packing for an emergency.”
“A shoe emergency?” Ricardo couldn’t help but laugh.
“Le
t me help you,” Liz said as she grabbed the two small bags.
Liz and Ricardo entered the elevator and headed up to her room. Liz couldn’t help but think about the elevator at Harrison’s hotel, with the man who operated it for her. She thought about how she had found Harrison and his secretary in his room in their pajamas. Liz thought about the text message she read on Harrison’s phone. She couldn’t help but still be worried that Harrison was hiding something.
All of a sudden, Ricardo leaned against Liz in the elevator and kissed her passionately. Liz pushed him away gently.
“You just looked like you needed a good kissing,” Ricardo said.
“In any other life I would be all for kissing you, Ricardo. But for now I think I need to figure things out with Harrison before I consider anyone else. Is that cool?”
“Yeah, I guess I can find someone else to start kissing.”
Ricardo didn’t seem hurt at all by Liz’s rejection. He smiled and held the elevator door for Liz as they brought Bella’s bags to Liz’s room.
“See you at six o’clock,” Liz said as the room door closed.
Liz felt exhausted. She couldn’t even imagine going out tonight. Instead, she wanted to just sleep.
Liz’s phone rang with a call from Skype. There was only one person this could be and Liz didn’t want to miss the call this time. She hurried into her purse and grabbed the phone and swiped to answer the call.
Chapter 5
“Yes, Bella made it here alright,” Liz said first thing as she answered the call.
“Great! How are you doing? I miss you already.” Harrison said with a huge smile.
He was at his desk wearing a brilliant blue button up dress shirt. Liz loved that color on him. It made his eyes seem even more vibrant than they already were. The muscles in his arms skimmed the shirt and looked like they could break through with just a quick flex of his biceps.
“I’m good. Bella and Ricardo want to go out dancing though. Ugh,” Liz said as she made a funny face.
“Oh, Ricardo is going?”
Four Reasons to Come Page 97
