Tell Me Something (The "Something" Series Book 1) (7 page)

“Haylee, I don’t want to get married again, ever, or have children. I walked away in Mexico because I don’t want to hurt you. I should have been resilient enough to have let you go to your room and not used the key, but instead I called Mark and—”

Putting my finger to his lips, I confessed, “I’m really glad that you called Mark. And I’m glad we’re clear on what it is you want and don’t want. In the interest of full disclosure, I want to get married someday and have kids, and I mean plural because being an only child when you lose your parents sucks. But before doing any of that, I want to go to law school, get a job, and settle somewhere—which means I don’t want a long-term relationship to derail that plan in the meantime.” At this point in my life just the thought of anything long-term petrified me. This was not a complication I was ready to deal with at this point in my life.

“So we figure this out until you leave for school next fall?”

“Considering we both want different things and are heading in separate directions, I think it would be good to have an expiration date up front.” In my mind, I reasoned it would be nice to know when something was going to end as opposed to having the rug dragged out from under me. Losing both parents had taught me that nothing was for certain and time went by in the snap of a finger.

Drawing back, he stroked his thumbs under my eyes and wiped away the residual tears. “I need to catch a plane to Hong Kong.”

Frowning, I got up from the couch only to be pulled back down.

“I needed some time by myself to process,” he maintained, searching my eyes.

I knew I wasn’t hiding the fact that I was upset very well. “How’s that working out for you?” Considering he had essentially followed me here, I think it went without saying that he was a walking contradiction.

“Look, it wasn’t personal.”

Rolling my eyes, I felt all of the anger from this morning return. “It sure as hell felt personal that after a night of your face in my hooha, the next thing I have is a note saying you’re leaving me in Mexico.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “Hooha?”

My gaze narrowed. “That would be what you take from that sentence. Bottom line is you hired me to be your travel secretary while Nigel is unable to do so. Then you leave me to do the walk of shame back into the office. What was I supposed to tell Nigel? What was I supposed to think? It sure as hell felt personal.”

“What is a walk of shame?”

Looking closely I realized he wasn’t kidding. I got up, and took a deep breath. “Google it. I’m not going to take the time to explain it as you have a flight to catch. I’ll see you back in New York.”

“All right, maybe I will google
hooha,
too, while I’m at it,” he smirked, pulling out his phone.

I busied myself gathering two of the hard sided suitcases I’d seen in the back and packing them with several coats and a couple more of my mother’s gowns to include her wedding dress. I don’t know why I wanted it with me, but it just made me feel better to have it in my possession. I finished up and found him still engrossed in his phone.

“All right, according to the urban dictionary, a
hooha
is also known as female genitalia, aka vagina, aka punani. Well, that’s a new one. Also considered a happy place. I guess I won’t be clicking on images.”

Shaking my head, I tried not to smile.

He gave me a devilish grin. “Now, then, the walk of shame. Let’s see. It is known as the walk across campus in the same clothes as yesterday after you slept with someone and spent the night in his or her room.”

He glanced up at me after reading a bit more. “First of all, you are showered and changed. And secondly, I would never put it that way.” He looked mildly offended.

“It was a figure of speech. Even if I am flying back across the country to New York, it feels like I might as well be skulking across campus in last night’s clothes. You never did tell me, by the way, why you’re here. How did you know where to find me?”

He appeared uncomfortable but answered the question. “I had a layover and called Maria to see what your travel plans were. She told me about you renting the car, and so I waited in the Hertz lot and followed you. I was curious.”

“You could have called me.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t want to send mixed messages.” The twinkle in his eye showed he got the irony.

I blew out a breath. “Yeah, cuz showing up here didn’t. Look, you wanted time alone. It’s fine. I get it. Next time, please tell me to my face so that I don’t feel like—I don’t know—how I felt this morning when I got the note.”

“How did you feel?” He genuinely seemed to want to know.

Considering I was still raw from the sting of it, I decided to be frank. “The tray showed up, and I thought what a romantic gesture. Then I got the note, and I thought maybe it was something cute, but it wasn’t. It made me think that somehow I had done something wrong or—I don’t know.”

He moved closer and cupped my chin. “Tell me.”

“I thought maybe my reaction was weird or my thighs were too big, or I said something wrong last night during.”

His eyes widened.

“Look, I know that sounds ridiculous to you, but for a woman, these are the stupid things that go through our head when a man just up and leaves after something intimate like that. Obviously, I got over it by the time I took a shower. But you said not to take it personally, and, well, after what happened, I thought it particularly unthoughtful to tell me to think of you leaving me as business. That’s all.”

“I don’t know what to say.” He seemed contrite, but I noted that the first words out of his mouth were not that of an apology.

“Well, you asked and I’m simply being honest even if it is more than you want to hear. Anyhow, I’m ready.”

He looked down at the two suitcases and took them out to my car to load while I locked up.

***

We took our separate cars to the airport and met up at the rental counter after turning over the keys.

“I’m going to get checked in. I think you need to make your way to the international terminal that way.” I pointed and turned towards the domestic terminal.

He frowned. “Let’s call Maria and get you on my flight to Hong Kong.”

Hesitating, I glanced down at my suitcases. “Josh, you want time alone. I get it. I feel better now that you’ve told me that to my face, and I filled two large suitcases that are meant to get back to New York and not by way of Hong Kong. It’s fine, really.”

But suddenly he didn’t seem to think so. “We can have them shipped. Come on, I’ll take care of that while you call Maria.”

After Maria worked her magic and we got checked in, I looked over at Josh in the lounge. “Why did you change your mind?”

Glancing back at me, his stunning green eyes were serious. “I figured if we were going to do this, it might be better to work out the awkwardness overseas where no one knows what is the norm, rather than back in New York.” His answer was pretty black and white. I guessed that I was not going to get a
because I thought I’d miss you
from him anytime soon.

“So the hotel situation: am I going to have to drink enough each night to get up the nerve to give you my key? Or will you—I don’t know—let me know ahead of time if you plan on coming by?”

If he noticed my sarcasm, he chose to ignore it. “This is new territory for me, Haylee, and I’m a little paranoid about how to maintain professional boundaries what with the new personal ones.”

I was a little offended. “I would like to think I’ll be professional, Josh. You don’t have to worry about me embarrassing you; I’m not going to hop on you in a conference room, I promise.”

He glanced at me, evidently amused. “You’re not the only one I’m worried about.”

Holy crap, was Josh as turned on by my presence as I was by his? It was hard for me to believe when he always seemed in such control.

“Do you have one of these?” He showed me his iPad.

I shook my head. “No, but they seem pretty cool. Plus, you can play Angry Birds on a larger screen than just your phone.”

He quirked a brow.

After I motioned for him to hand it over, I swiped over it with my fingers. I went to the app section, downloaded one of the program’s versions, and demonstrated.

“What kind of game is that?” He looked a cross between appalled and intrigued.

“Stress release. You shoot birds at pigs or monkeys. It gets addictive. Try it, at least.”

He seemed apprehensive, but a few minutes later he was shooting birds with expert precision.

“See, and now you are properly educated in mindless stress relief. You could even put it on your phone if you’d like.”

He gave me a look that conveyed his irritation at having been sucked in, and I had to laugh.

“I have enough work without that distraction,” he told me. “But if you need to kill some monkeys or pigs on a larger screen, feel free to borrow it anytime.”

Smiling, we checked the clock and made our way to the boarding gate.

***

First class on a 747 was spectacular. We went upstairs and I marveled at the individual pods with flat screens and leather chairs that looked like they reclined into full beds. I was immediately greeted by a flight attendant and asked what I’d like to drink.

Josh negotiated with the man beside me and he had seemed inclined to trade so that I would be seated next to him. Wasn’t as though we could snuggle and watch television, as the pods were designed for individual privacy, but we would be able to talk, which would be nice.

“So, what is the business in Hong Kong?” I inquired, watching him study some charts and grids on his laptop.

“You really want to know?”

“I don’t ever ask a question for the sake of asking it. If I ask, it means I want to know.”

Having his words used back on him garnered a smile. “All right, I’m looking at the prospect of purchasing a small advertising business there. Right now I don’t have anything in the Asia Pacific region, and I’m thinking of expansion by acquisition. I’ll go over their financials and strategy most of the day. The cocktail party in the evening is an attempt to wine and dine me.”

He probably got a lot of that with people trying to court his money. “So they want to be bought, I take it?”

“Very much so. They’ve lost their competitive edge when their chief rival went global two years ago while they stayed only in the local market. They need new leadership which the owner seems to be agreeable to.”

The fact that he shared these details with me, meant a lot. “How do they feel about American ownership specifically, though? Any ill will?”

“Culturally, there may be. I guess we’ll see, but unless you can understand Chinese, I doubt very much we’ll know either way.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to reveal I had taken eight years of Cantonese, but figured it might be better to surprise him with that information later.

After finishing a movie, I then enjoyed a nice dinner. Josh was still working, barely touching his meal. Anyone who ever thought that he lived off of his father’s inherited business obviously had never seen the man work.

Once the flight attendant took my tray, I got up and went to the lavatory. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and brushed my hair back in a ponytail. Happy that I had brought a change of comfy clothes, I quickly dressed into yoga pants and a sweatshirt. Ready for sleep, I walked back to my seat.

Josh glanced over and then did a double take, groaning.

I smiled. “What?”

“You look about fifteen years old with your pony tail and outfit.”

Quirking an indignant brow, I leaned over and whispered, “I can assure you I’m all grown up.” His eyes darkened and I was satisfied that I had gotten my point across. Gathering my blankets, I was unprepared for the honey voice.

“Haylee…”

God, what that voice did to me. I knew he suspected as much when he met my gaze and then motioned me closer.

“You do know that when you whisper things like that to me that I imagine doing some very naughty things to you,” he murmured.

It was my turn to suck in my breath. Then I smiled, returning the sexy sentiment. “I can assure you that I’m imagining all of those things right now.”

I got the desired effect when his breath came out strained. “Sweet dreams, Haylee.”

Snuggling down, I wished that we could break the wall between us so that I could cuddle up with him. I was exhausted from a long day but thankful for first class as I drifted to sleep.

***

As I woke up, I stretched and then glanced at my watch. Three more hours to go, but that meant I had gotten a good seven hours of sleep. Josh looked immaculate without a hair out of place and was reading his paper. Perhaps he hadn’t slept at all. I headed to the lavatory and made myself presentable, then returned to my seat. Smiling at the flight attendant, I requested a Diet Coke and some hot tea with my breakfast.

Josh gave me a dubious look.

“Yes, double caffeine, and once I finish, why don’t we go over anything you need me to do as far as logistics are concerned for this trip and London in a couple of weeks.”