She made the mistake of seeking advice from Aaron and Greg, and the first thing that Greg did was gloat.
“I knew it! I knew that he still liked you!”
“And you don’t seem to despise him either,” added Aaron.
They were doing a video chat but Juliet wasn’t sure if they could make out the dirty look she was giving them. “I don’t still like him.”
“Then why did you agree to drive around with him for a week?” asked Aaron.
“I had no choice! My car was broken down!”
“Uh huh,” said Aaron. “Like there was no other option. And you hated every minute of it.”
She sighed. “I mean, he did almost kill the first pet we went to see. And he almost killed me, too. But other than that, it wasn’t all bad.”
“See how much fun you can have,” said Greg. “when you forgive and forget?”
“So you’re saying to forget about him,” quipped Juliet. “I think you’re right.”
Greg shook his head. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that if you like him, and if you think it’s worth giving him another chance, you should.”
“It’s not that easy!” said Juliet.
Aaron shrugged. “It kind of is. Plus, it’s not like you’ve dated a bunch of other guys after you broke up with him.”
“Yeah,” agreed Greg, “we decided that he’s kinda like your one true love.”
“Very funny guys,” said Juliet. They were more interested in teasing her than helping her. “I have to go, talk to you later, I guess.”
“Bye!” they said at the same time.
She ended the call. What did she expect to get from them? Of course they were going to crack jokes.
James as her one true love – how ridiculous. It was true that she hadn’t had any success in dating after she broke up with him, but it was partially because she didn’t try very hard.
And that may have been because breaking up with him shattered her heart into a million pieces, and it takes a long time to recover from something like that. She didn’t want to just jump into a relationship with a new guy when her heart was still in tatters.
It just turned out that she never got around to finding that new guy. Or fully repairing her heart. And now, she followed that confused heart of hers all the way onto a private jet.
“Do you want to go into the cockpit for landing?” asked James. “It’s pretty cool to see.”
Now that was something that could distract her from eating every last pretzel on the plane. “Sure.”
She followed him up to the cockpit and he introduced her to Gary, the pilot. Gary invited her to sit in the copilot chair and put on a headset.
She was dazzled by the view – it was breathtaking to see the city from so high above.
“This is incredible!” she said.
“Go ahead,” said Gary, “take the wheel!”
She raised her hands up and far away from the controls. “Absolutely not!”
James and Gary laughed.
The plane landed with a delicate touch onto the runway.
“This doesn’t look like an international airport,” commented Juliet. It was a tad busier than the airport in Lansing, but not by much.
“It’s not,” said James. “It’s a regional airport. But don’t worry, we have a car taking us to the hotel.”
“Bring the car around,” she said, nose in the air.
He smiled. “I told you, I don’t think I have very long to enjoy this. And I’d just like to share it with you.”
Her stomach leapt; she felt caught off guard by his sincerity. “I don’t know why you keep saying that.”
“It’s a long story. But I don’t want it to spoil the night.”
She didn’t press for any more details and instead made her way down to the car waiting on the tarmac. James rushed to open the door for her, which she thought was silly, but she decided not to say anything.
“Are we going to the Tiffany Suites again?” she asked.
“Of course,” he said.
She bit her lip. Even though she didn’t have the money in her bank account to cover hotel rooms, she didn’t want James to think that she was some sort of a mooch, or that she owed him anything.
“Well then, I insist on paying this time.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” he said.
She crossed her arms. “I mean it!”
“I do too,” he said, cracking a smile. “It was a last-minute thing and they only had rooms for Gold Star members. And I have to pay for that in points.”
“Fine then,” Juliet said. “I’ll pay you for the points.”
“They don’t really have a dollar value,” said James. “And if you can believe it, this is the last of my points, so who cares!”
“They don’t really have a dollar value,” scoffed Juliet. “I’m sure that I can look up the rate of a room.”
She pulled out her phone to find the hotel’s website.
“I’d prefer you didn’t do that,” said James.
“Why?” she said, typing in a date for the room. “Do you think I can’t afford it?”
He frowned. “No, it’s not that.”
The price finally loaded on her screen: nearly $700 a night. For single room! Her jaw dropped. That was even more ridiculous than she imagined.
“What? How much is it?” asked James.
She shoved her phone back in her purse. “You have no idea how much this hotel costs, do you?”
“Of course I do…in points.”
She let out an exaggerated sigh. “If you’re going to get fired from your dad’s company soon, you need to get better with your money. Let me book us rooms at a more reasonable hotel.”
“No can do, Juliet. Your surprise is already set up for you in your room.”
Why was he so persistent? “I told you, no more surprises.”
“You know about this one already, so it isn’t a new surprise, it’s an old surprise that you haven’t gotten yet.”
She laughed. Though she didn’t want to admit it, she was curious to see what this was. “Okay buddy. Just don’t push your luck.”
He flashed her a cheesy smile. “I would never.”
They got to the hotel and the staff immediately ran to get their bags. They were acting like they were royalty or something. Normally Juliet would be embarrassed by this sort of a show, but for some reason, today she just decided to go with it.
She never liked acting fancy, but James clearly didn’t get the memo. She didn’t want to fight him at every turn. What was the point? She’d already agreed to this absurd date.
Plus, it seemed that the one day that it would be appropriate to feel fancy would be the day she went to a gala. It was probably the only gala she would ever go to in her life.
They were immediately escorted to their rooms. Juliet opened the door to hers slowly, poking her head inside. She was afraid that a bunch of parrots would fly out or something.
Nothing seemed out of place at first, except that the room was very large. It truly was a suite, complete with two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. She took a few steps into the living room and gasped.
Inside were three tall racks filled with floor-length gowns. She stepped forward, lightly touching the fabric of one of the brilliantly colorful dresses.
“Now before you get angry at me and say that you already have a dress picked out and that you know how to dress yourself,” stammered James, “these are simply an option and if you don’t want them I’ll send them back to – ”
“They’re beautiful. They’re so beautiful.”
Relief washed over James’ face. “Really? Okay, good! Well, feel free to try all of them on. I have a team of seamstresses waiting in the next room over to help adjust whichever dress you choose.”
Juliet couldn’t pull her eyes away from the cascading fabrics. “Thank you.”
With that, he tiptoed backwards out of the room and closed the door softly. Juliet blus
hed – he must be afraid that she was going to snap on him. Was she really that bad?
She’d felt very self-conscious about the dress that she wrestled out of the back of her closet for this event. While she wanted something nice to wear, she just didn’t have the time or the energy to find something.
This surprise was actually perfect. Well, maybe it was a bit too much – especially with that team of seamstresses – but it was the thought that counted.
The old James might’ve had a similar idea, but he would’ve done it in an entirely different way. He would’ve brought her to a fancy designer store where she felt uncomfortable and the pressure from the salespeople made her self-conscious. He would’ve insisted that she pick one, not give her the option.
Perhaps James matured and really was new and improved, and this wasn’t a huge mistake after all?
Chapter 20
Amazing – she actually seemed happy! Not that James planned for her not to like the surprise, but in the past, he always seemed to do things in the wrong way. It seemed that he finally understood what was and was not acceptable to her.
James intended to leave her in peace as she got ready for the gala. As for himself, all he needed to do was to shower and put on his tuxedo.
He didn’t want to get ready too early and risk wrinkling the tux, so instead, he sat on the couch and tried to watch TV. He was too nervous to actually get engaged with anything, but it was something to pass the time.
His mind wandered and he pulled out his phone to glance at his email – there were over 200 emails from work that he was ignoring. He put his phone away without reading any of them.
A few days ago, a feeling of dread washed over him when he realized that he’d have to answer them eventually. His dad was likely still angry at him, and James didn’t know what the point of it all was.
Was he really going to go back to New York and keep fighting with his dad? Someone else should take his position – from what his dad said, anyone could do a better job than he did.
That was when an idea hit him: James could just never go back.
It wasn’t that he felt bitter about the job – not anymore at least. Nothing about it mattered to him anymore. Being away from the city and from the other employees of the company really opened his eyes. The rest of the world didn’t revolve around quarterly earnings and sales projections. People didn’t work from six in the morning until ten o’clock at night, trying to out-stay each other at the office to make themselves look the hardest working.
What made him laugh now was the realization that his job wasn’t anything important. He wasn’t an actual scientist, testing the drugs. He wasn’t helping people, like Juliet did. He was a salesperson, often times trying to convince others that one of their expensive drugs was better than it was. It was a waste of time for everyone involved.
No matter what happened with Juliet, even if she decided that she had no interest in seeing him again, he couldn’t go back to living that life. He had to do something better.
With about 30 minutes before they had to leave for the gala, James hopped in the shower and put on his tux. He didn’t want to rush Juliet, but he wanted to give her a warning about the time.
James approached her door quietly, trying to hear if there was any commotion inside. He could hear nothing. He knocked softly, and one of the seamstresses opened the door by just a crack.
“Hello,” he said. “Just wanted to let Juliet know that we have about ten minutes before we should leave.”
“I’m ready to go,” called out Juliet’s voice from behind the door. “You can come in.”
James smiled and walked into the suite. “Did you find anything you liked?”
Juliet stepped out of one of the bedrooms, a royal blue dress gracefully framing her figure. “Yeah, I think so!”
It was like the wind was knocked out of him. He always thought Juliet was a beautiful woman, usually running from one place to the next in her jeans and hiking boots. She didn’t like getting dressed up, though, so it was rare to see her like this.
She was breathtaking. She was more beautiful than any woman he’d seen in New York City – and he was pretty sure that he once saw Angelina Jolie getting into a car in Manhattan.
“You look – ”
She interrupted him. “Like a winner, right? That’s why I picked the blue one. So they can pin the blue ribbon on me.”
James laughed and shook his head. “Ah, of course. Yes, you look like an absolute winner.”
“Thank you,” she said, walking past him. “You look pretty dapper yourself. Are you ready to do this thing?”
“Yes, definitely. Let’s go.”
They walked down to the lobby and got into their (non-limo) ride. James had a hard time not staring at Juliet and instead tried pointing out of the window to show her different areas of Chicago that he knew. She didn’t say much; James wondered if perhaps she was nervous.
They arrived at the gala and rushed inside. It was too cold to be loitering outside, and besides, there was a sort of indoor red carpet for taking pictures. James checked both of their coats and joined Juliet on the red carpet.
“This seems a bit silly,” said Juliet in a low voice.
“Of course it is,” said James. “But it’s fun. Look how much people are enjoying it. My dad would never go for something like this for our company – he’d say it was a waste of money.”
Juliet shrugged. “It probably is.”
A woman holding a camera with a long lens approached them. “Would you two like a picture?”
Juliet started to shift away, but James placed his hand gently on the side of her waist to pull her in.
“I would love a picture,” he said.
Juliet gave him the side eye, but obliged in posing.
“Thanks!” said the photographer. “They’ll be on the website later this week.”
James thanked her, and Juliet insisted on pressing forward so that no one else would try to take their picture. They made it to the front entrance where two women were checking names off of the guest list.
Juliet stepped forward to the woman on the left.
“Hi there. Name?” asked the woman.
“Juliet McCarron.”
The woman peered over her glasses at James. “And this must be your Romeo?” she said with a laugh.
Juliet laughed politely, but James knew that was one of her least favorite jokes from back when they were dating.
The second woman turned away from the couple that she’d been helping and set her eyes on them.
“No, that’s not Romeo,” she said cooly. “That’s James Balin.”
James froze and turned to look at the owner of that familiar voice.
“Oh, hi Kylie,” he said. “I didn’t see you there.”
She flashed a smile. “Good to see you again.”
The first woman checked off a name on her list. “I see you right here, Juliet. And I have this rose for you to thank you for your entry and for being a finalist in our Delicaid competition.”
Juliet accepted the rose with a smile. “Thank you.”
The woman continued. “Dinner is just about to begin. Your award ceremony will be held in ballroom A, and that is where you’ll find your seats. Don’t forget to explore the other ballrooms for dancing, games and exhibits!”
Juliet nodded. “Thank you so much.”
James cleared his throat. “Thank you ladies.”
Kylie smiled broadly at him. “Have a lovely night James.”
When they reached the ballroom, Juliet turned to him and asked, “How did you know that woman?”
“Oh,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “She used to work at our company. If you couldn’t tell, she didn’t love it there.”
“I could tell,” said Juliet. “Shall we find our seats?”
“Sure.”
They were seated at a long table with all of the other finalists. James recognized some of them and immediately set his mind to avoid any pleas
antries. Unfortunately, Juliet had the opposite idea. She introduced herself to everyone, then brought up thoughtful compliments for each video.
It was such a Juliet thing to do. James would’ve preferred to treat them all like strangers – or better yet, the competitors that they were. He didn’t need to make friends with these people.
Juliet noticed his sour attitude; she waited until the salads were served to elbow him in the ribs. “Could you be a little less hostile?”
He shrugged. “No. But I could be more hostile.”
“You know, all of these people want the same thing that I do. They want to help animals. And they also need the money for their clinics. I can’t say that mine is any more deserving than theirs are.”
James looked around the table. Everyone was chatting pleasantly. He felt his heart fall. “I guess I didn’t think of it that way.”
She smiled and took a big bite of her bread roll. “You need to stop being so…”
“So what?” he asked, leaning in.
She took a sip of water. “I don’t know exactly. So like your dad, I guess? So…vicious.”
“Now that is truly shocking!” he said, covering his mouth with his hand. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
Laughing, she grabbed his hand to pull away from his mouth. “Oh stop. You know what I mean. You’re being very – competitive.”
He continued his mock outrage, pretending to pull his hand away so she had to hold onto it longer. “Well yeah! I want you to win!”
She winked. “Okay James.”
Their entrées were served, and James made an effort to talk to the people around him. Juliet was right, as always. They were all very nice and sincere, trying to win funding for worthy causes. Once Juliet finished her dessert, though, he leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“I’ll give it to you that these people are nice, but please get me away from them before I do something crazy like praise their work.”
“What do you suggest?” she asked. “We could go and look at one of the ballrooms with exhibits and – ”
James waved a hand. “No, nothing like that. What about the ballroom with dancing?”
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