Not The Billionaire
Page 9
“This is so much bull. I know I messed up. I do. But everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I was sad, okay. I just wanted to relax and have a drink and not think about the mess that has been my life so far.”
“And how did that work out for you?”
Sebastian knew his father’s words weren’t meant to be sarcastic, but they came out that way, and he could see the change in Gus’s expression.
“That’s it. I’m so out of here.” Gus whirled around and headed for the door.
“Gus! Stop!” Skylar, who had been quiet up until then, raced after him.
The rest of them didn’t follow. They looked at each other with sadness in their eyes. But what could they do for Gus if he didn’t understand they were trying to help him?
A few minutes later, Skylar returned to the room with her hands on her hips. “Well, that went well. He left.”
“He’s a grown man, Skylar,” Sebastian replied. “We can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do.”
“This is all my fault,” she whimpered.
“It’s not your fault Milton was there and picked a fight with him,” Sebastian assured her.
“What if he leaves? For good?” she asked.
Dad squeezed Mom closer as she wiped away a few stray tears. “He won’t run forever.”
FOURTEEN
It seemed there were a million things to check off the list for the regatta, and Genevieve had accomplished about three of them in two day’s time. She’d booked the location and reserved the dates. She had an appointment with a catering company to discuss food for the gala. She’d made a list of possible local businesses who might want to sponsor the event. But this was only the beginning.
“Knock, knock.”
Genevieve looked up from her place at the desk, and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Kurtis’s smiling face. “Hey! Come in. How are you?” She’d been concerned after his family issues the other day.
“Not great, but better now.” He gave her a smile, which caused her cheeks to warm. “How are you?”
Genevieve tapped the ink pen she was holding against her notepad, where she’d jotted down her seemingly endless list for this event. “Two days ago, I was feeling pretty confident about things, but I don’t know how all this will get done in six weeks.” She scanned the calendar on her desk. “Make that five weeks.”
He pointed at her notepad. “You know, there’s a program on the computer to organize lists like that, right?”
She doodled a little star next to one of the items. “I like the satisfaction of crossing things off as I go. You just can’t get that from clicking a box on a computer screen.”
He chuckled. “Interesting.”
She flipped back a couple pages and showed him past lists she’d made. “I mean, look at that. All crossed off. All done. There’s nothing like that feeling of accomplishment.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I’ll just use an app. I don’t have time to write out a list.”
“Suit yourself. I don’t have a smart phone anyway, so I can’t do apps.”
His eyes widened. “You don’t have a smart phone? How do you get anything done?”
She started laughing and held up her notepad and ancient flip phone.
“Oh my gosh, you’re serious.”
“It works for me.”
“So, what’s next on that notepad of yours?” he asked.
“Contacting potential sponsors, coming up with a budget, designing a logo for advertising, a marketing plan—”
“Take a breath,” he told her.
She did just that and looked into his eyes. “Can I be honest with you?”
He glanced away toward her notepad then out the window. “I wouldn’t want anything else.”
“This is the biggest event I’ve ever coordinated. I mean, I’ve done this before, but on a much smaller scale. And honestly, I’m kind of nervous that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with this one.” Her attention turned to her notepad again. “A regatta sounded like an amazing event, but now that I’m looking at this list—”
His hand moved atop hers, and her eyes shot up to his.
“It will be amazing, and you can do this. We’ll do it together.”
He left his hand there for several long moments as they looked into each other’s eyes. She wondered if he could feel her pulse beating rapidly or see her throat move as she swallowed hard. “Thank you, Kurtis,” she managed.
He looked away and removed his hand. “So, how about I make some calls while you work on the budget.”
She groaned. “My least favorite part.” She handed him the list of potential sponsors. “Have at it.”
“Want to get out of the office to work on this today?”
She couldn’t contain her smile. “What did you have in mind? The beach again? I’m not wearing white today.” She glanced down at her deep green sleeveless blouse.
He laughed and tilted his head toward the door. “We’d get no work done at the beach. I have a better idea. Come on.”
She quickly gathered up her things and stood.
“Don’t forget your notepad,” he teased as he typed something on his phone.
They walked to the private executive elevator, and she watched him press a button for the top floor. As they started to ascend, she felt a little like they were breaking a rule. “Are we even allowed to be in here? I was told this was only for the big wigs.”
He softly touched her arm. “It’s fine.”
She eyed him again. “An employee perk I’m not aware of?”
“Let’s just say I’m Employee of the Year and leave it at that.”
“Are you now?”
“Is that so hard to believe?” He feigned shock.
“I don’t know you that well, so I don’t know if you’re a good employee or not.”
“Well, we’ll have to do something about that, won’t we?” The right side of his mouth angled up in the cutest smile.
She liked flirtatious Kurtis. And darn right she wanted to do something about it. She wanted to know all there was to know about this man.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened onto the roof of the building, which was a hidden oasis in the middle of the city. There was greenery and beautiful floral landscaping everywhere, a seating area to one side with long couches and chairs surrounding a low rectangular table, and in the center of the space was a gigantic white pergola wrapped in vines over a table and chairs.
He led her into the space. “It’s too beautiful out to work in a stuffy office. Am I right?”
Genevieve wasn’t sure she'd get any work done up here at all. She set her bag down and moved around the rooftop, admiring the flowers and the view of the city from above. “This is amazing.”
Kurtis moved to sit on the long sofa in the seating area, put his feet up on the table, and pulled out the list she’d given him. He looked over at her. “You can sit anywhere you want. The whole space is ours.”
She took in a deep, cleansing breath, enjoying being outside on a nice day. She picked up her bag and moved to the pergola table, opened her notepad, and started on the event budget.
Kurtis made call after call, chatting people up about the regatta, and secured several local companies as sponsors. Listening to him kept her from getting much done on the budget. He was clearly very good at his job, and probably did deserve the title of Employee of the Year, if there actually was one.
When the sun was high in the sky, Genevieve’s stomach began to growl. Before she even had a chance to mention it, the elevator opened and a man came across the roof pushing a cart. She looked over at Kurtis, who didn’t seem to notice, then back at the man, who came right to the table where she was sitting.
He lifted the lids from a few containers, revealing an assortment of meats and toppings and a variety of breads as well as gourmet cheeses.
“Can I make you anything, miss?” the man asked.
Kurtis joined her then and checked out the offerings. “I�
�ll have the usual.” He glanced over at her then. “Want a sandwich? My treat.”
She took a look. “Turkey on whole wheat with provolone, lettuce, and a little light mayonnaise.”
The man went about making their sandwiches as Kurtis took a seat next to her.
She moved her things aside and narrowed her eyes at him. “I didn’t know you were ordering us lunch. I would’ve helped pay.”
“Employee of the Year, remember?”
She laughed. “Oh, right. Employee perk.”
The man gave them their food along with bottles of San Pellegrino mineral water, and they enjoyed their meal in silence. Genevieve felt renewed to tackle more work after lunch. But just as she started to grab her papers again, a woman came from the elevator holding a cup in each hand.
As she neared the table, Genevieve’s mouth fell open a little. “This isn’t …” She looked into the cup the woman handed her then over at Kurtis. “Are you serious? Captain Sundae?”
He wore the biggest smile she’d ever seen. “Peanut Pirate.” He nodded toward her cup.
She started laughing as she watched him take a bite of his. “Tommy Turtle?”
He nodded. “You know it.”
“I can’t believe you had Captain Sundae delivered. How is that even possible?”
“They brought the ingredients and made it here.”
“Wouldn’t the ice cream melt on the way?”
“Confession … there’s a soft-serve ice cream machine in the executive dining room. But all the toppings are Captain Sundae, all the way.”
She felt spoiled by this man, and it was really nice. “How are you this sweet? I’ve never met a man who would do even half of this for a girl he just met.”
“Then you clearly haven’t met the right men.”
“Clearly,” she replied as she enjoyed a scoop of ice cream, chocolate syrup, and Spanish peanuts.
“Until now.” The way he said it, with that deep tenor to his voice, warmed her all over.
Her eyes met his, and she watched as he took her in, his gaze moving over every part of her face until it settled on her lips. She tried to hide the fact that her breathing had picked up and that her chest was rising and falling a little quicker than it had been before, but she was sure he noticed, because his seemed to be doing the same.
He dipped his head a little, moving closer, still eyeing her lips. She returned the favor and stared right at his mouth, which was parted just enough that his perfectly straight row of bottom teeth was peeking out. He reached up ever so slowly and brushed the edge of her mouth with his thumb, wiping away a little chocolate syrup that had settled there.
She smiled up at him shyly, her skin tingling from his touch, expecting him to move away, but he didn’t. Never in her life had she wanted so badly for a man to kiss her. And the way he was leaning in had her eyelids drooping until they were nearly closed.
His breath fell on her mouth then, and she licked her lips in preparation, which caused him to let out a whisper of a groan. Her stomach clenched at that sound, and she longed to find a way to get him to make it again. He was moving so slowly, she was tempted to lean in and put them both out of their misery, but the elevator doors opened again.
“Oh! I didn’t know anyone was up here.”
Disappointment overcame Genevieve as Kurtis pulled away. She spotted Skylar walking toward them and tried to steady her rapid breathing.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” she told them as she eyed Kurtis.
“Not at all.” He gave Genevieve a look that made her insides turn to mush.
She wondered if they would get into any trouble for being up here. He had acted like it was okay, but now that one of the owners was standing before them, she braced herself to get a talking to.
But all Skylar said was, “Ice cream? I’m jealous.” Then she turned her attention to Kurtis. “Now that I find you here, can we have a word for a minute?”
He nodded and stood. “Of course.”
“I’ll have him back to you in a few minutes. Enjoy your ice cream.”
The two of them walked to the other end of the roof, and Genevieve couldn’t help but look their way, worried he might be getting reprimanded for bringing her there. But instead, they seemed to be in a deep conversation, and even though he said there was nothing going on between them, she noticed him squeeze Skylar’s hand at one point.
A few minutes later, Kurtis rejoined her while Skylar took a seat on the far end in a little private garden area. She looked deep in thought as she stared out across the tops of the downtown buildings.
“Is she okay?” Genevieve asked, genuinely concerned.
“She likes to come up here during the work day when she needs to clear her head.”
Genevieve took another bite of her delicious ice cream. “It’s a perfect place for that.”
“Yeah.”
“Are we in trouble for being up here?” she asked quietly.
“What? No. We’re fine. It wasn’t about that. It was about an employee who’s in a little trouble with the law.”
“Is it her brother, Gus?”
His brow furrowed. “Why would you ask that?”
“I heard some ladies at lunch yesterday saying that Gus got into some trouble at a bar the other day.”
Kurtis let out a deep breath, seeming annoyed. “Gossips.”
“Did he? Get into trouble?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s too bad.” She felt awful for whatever was happening with Gus. “I’m sure that’s so hard for Skylar and Sebastian.”
“I’m sure.”
He grew quiet after that, just eating the rest of his ice cream. When he finished, he stood and took their trash to dispose of it. “I have to get downstairs and work on a couple things, so I’m going to call it a day on the regatta. But you feel free to stay up here as long as you like and keep working.”
She was disappointed that he was departing so soon. “Okay. Will I see you tomorrow?”
The sun sparkled in his eyes as he looked back at her. “Count on it.”
As he walked away, she thought about their almost kiss as well as the moment she’d seen between him and Skylar. She was probably making a big deal out of nothing. He’d already told her there was nothing going on with Skylar. More than anything, she wanted that to be true.
The connection she had with Kurtis was strong, and she hoped he felt it too. She wanted what she was feeling for him to be real, and for his feelings for her to be the same. But she had no patience for men who showed interest while not being completely truthful with her. After all her sister had gone through with Nolan’s lying and cheating ways, she needed total honesty in a relationship. Something told her Kurtis could be trusted, but she also had a feeling he was holding something back. She just wished she knew what it was.
FIFTEEN
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”
Sebastian stared at the pastor with his mouth agape. Of course this was today’s sermon topic. An elbow jabbed his ribs, and he glanced over at Skylar, who simply nodded her head toward the pastor.
He gave her a not-so-gentle elbow to her ribs in return, which made her squeak and instantly cover her face in embarrassment.
Sebastian’s eyes met his father’s stern look, suddenly feeling very much like the child who used to sit in this very pew growing up.
In those days, all three of the Schultz children would have been sitting together. On this day, they were lacking Gus’s presence. He’d been gone since Wednesday. No word of where he’d run off to. Sebastian was worried, but he knew Gus could take care of himself. Skylar, however, was overly anxious every day. She just wanted him to come home.
The pastor continued to speak about the slippery slope dishonesty can take a person down. “One lie leads to another to cover up the first and then another and another and so on. It’s easy to lose track of the lies you’ve told.”
There was a very good chance that Genevieve would never forgive him for lying to her about this, and the odds of him losing out on perhaps the best relationship of his life were staggeringly high.
Yet when he thought back to his last relationship, he felt like he was somehow justified in this. Just like Genevieve, Serena had been sweet, funny, and beautiful, and he seriously thought she was different from the others. They’d grown close rather quickly and started dating exclusively within a month. He wasn’t sure if he was simply blind from what he thought was love or completely gullible, because he believed everything she told him. She’d had him completely wrapped around her little finger.
The subtle changes should have cued him in to her true intentions. It wasn’t the first time he’d been used for his money. She just turned out to be the most manipulative and deceitful of the bunch.
So, to get to know Genevieve without her knowing he had money was the only way he knew to see if what they had or could have was real. To really get to know a woman and not worry about whether she was only thinking about how much money was currently in his bank account.
But there was still the underlying worry that maybe she was like Serena and knew exactly who he was and how much he was worth financially. He didn’t really believe that, but it was still there in the back of his mind. Serena had done that to him. She’d made him paranoid and closed off and doubting of every woman that came into his life.
And while he wasn’t ready to tell Genevieve the truth yet, he still had a nagging feeling in his gut, and the pastor wasn’t making it easy on him with this sermon.
Sebastian sank onto the sofa at their parents’ house next to Skylar, who was flipping through TV channels.
“You aren’t going to make me watch some girly Hallmark movie, are you?” he asked as he stole a pillow from behind her.