ON THE LINE
"That won't be necessary. I can't stay anyway."
"I can't handle it."
"Gone. She dumped me."
"You didn't go after her? You know how fragile she is. You let her walk out there, in the dark, alone and upset."
"She's okay, she's with Jason."
What the fuck had Eric done?
For the second night in a row that Sunday night, sleep had eluded Eric. He never heard a word from Juliet since the moment she'd walked out on him, neither text or phone call. He knew not to expect anything and this time he didn't try to contact her, either. Instead, he'd chosen to wallow in his own self-pity, dodging all phone calls and text messages, no matter where they came from.
He'd finally managed to get a couple of hours in when his dreams began to haunt him and his eyes popped open as his mind relived the dreaded words that had stayed with him since they'd been uttered: "She's okay, she's with Jason."
Had Juliet ever actually ever wanted Eric to begin with? Or was he merely a stepping stone to get to this other guy?
Turning over, he sat up in the dark and slid himself out of bed, snatching his cell phone off of his nightstand and heading for the Victorian chaise that sat in front of the window. He'd left the curtain open night and day since Juliet had first set foot in his apartment. She loved the view from his bedroom. And if she loved it, Eric loved it. He couldn't help himself. He was hopeless.
He sat in front of the window, his elbows on his knees, and he looked out over the sparkling city lights under the night sky. She was out there--probably in her apartment, bundled up in sweatpants and a ponytail. Hopefully she was sleeping. But if she wasn't, she was probably in her kitchen window, smoking. He sure could have used a cigarette, himself.
He looked down at his phone and brightened the screen. There was a picture of her he had taken with her hair cascading down her shoulder, wearing nothing but one of his button-downs and a pair of glasses--he kept it as his lock screen. She sat on the corner of his bed, her feet tucked Indian-style underneath her with one of her gooney grins on her face and it was the most adorable expression she possessed. There were tons of pictures on his phone, of her and the both of them, as he had been unable to keep his phone out of her face in the short time they'd known each other. But this one--less than an hour fresh from sleep on a morning that they had woken up laughing and getting ready for the day, was his favorite. She was happy--genuinely happy--and she was free. And it was the brightest and most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
His heart sank and he clicked off the screen, unable to look at it as he sat there and wondered if it was all a lie. Was her smile a lie? All her kisses, her caresses, all her reassurances of how wonderful a man she thought he was? All her declarations of happiness, everything she had ever said--were they all lies? Had she played him? Was there something there he should have seen all along?
He lit up his phone again, vowing to think about removing the lock screen at a later time, and immediately pulled up her name on his phone. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to hit the button, and then he stopped. Changing his mind, he immediately pulled up Travis and tapped the screen. It was late, after two in the morning, but Eric didn't care. He couldn't bear to be alone with his thoughts anymore.
A mixture of surprise and relief washed over him when Travis answered the phone. Yawning into Eric's ear, his sleepy brother answered, "Hey."
Eric's heel tapped nervously against the hardwood floor in silence for a moment before he replied. "Travis? What's wrong with me?"
"What?" The groggy voice asked.
"What am I doing wrong?" Eric inquired quietly. "Sam cheated on me. Juliet can't decide if she wants to keep me. Why doesn't anyone want to keep me?"
"Eric," Travis sympathized, sounding a little more awake now. "Dude, you can't--you can't sit there and do that to yourself, man."
"But it has to be something, right? Right?"
"Maybe it's not you. Maybe it's your taste in women."
Eric pondered on this for a moment before he sat back against the chaise and let out a quiet breath. "Except that Juliet's a good person. I just...I just want her to want me. I know that's sappy but--I mean...you know?"
"Look, I wasn't there, I didn't see what went down. But you can't--I mean, if she said it's too much for her to handle right now, then maybe you...you know, need to ease up a little bit."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means--" Travis let out a long breath. "It means you love too hard. You're persistent, you're relentless--"
"Are you saying I smothered her?"
"I'm saying it's possib--what?" Travis suddenly said away from the phone. "What, it's Eric. Yeah, he--"
And then suddenly, Beth's sleepy voice came through the phone. "Eric. Listen, I spoke to Juliet this morning. Okay? She's--you did nothing wrong, first of all. All right? But she's scared. She's overwhelmed. And she did what she did because she thought she was protecting you--"
"From what?"
"Eric. Sweetie. She's--I don't think she's ready for this. Not the way...you know, not the way you are. Juliet is a special case. You have to tread very lightly, it's a very delicate situation--"
"You think I don't know that?" He spat. "Don't forget who she came to first. It haunts me, every night, Beth. Every fucking night, the stories she harbors and the pain that she went through. All I have to do is look at her the wrong way and I see the scared little girl in her eyes that she grew up as. It physically sickens me every hour of every day to imagine what that woman had to go through in her entire childhood, and sure, I didn't have to live it, but I feel it. Every God damned day, I feel it. And I welcome it. I want to feel it, I want to feel every ounce of it because if there's any possibility--any possibility at all--that my feeling it is taking any of the burden off of her at all, then I want it all. I don't want her to hurt anymore--"
"Then you have to let her do it her way--"
"Her way is wrong!"
"I agree," Beth said solemnly. "But at this point, I can't argue with her. Pushing her and forcing her and adding to her stress is not going to help her."
"Are you saying I'm pushy?"
"No. No, I'm not, I'm saying she's overwhelmed right now. I think...I think things got heavy too fast for her. As much as I hate to say this, I think it might be good for the both of you to just...take a step back for a minute."
Eric was angry. He was angry because this wasn't what he wanted to hear and he was angry because, deep down, he knew Beth was right. He just didn't want to admit it. "You're sitting there, treating this like it's some shitty little high school romance--"
"I am absolutely not--"
"Yes, you are--"
"Well, Eric, you know--it sort of is like that for her. You know? Think about it. You quite literally have an emotional virgin on your hands. Everything she's learning about life and love and relationships, she's learning from you--and it's a lot to take in all at one time. You're used to it. She's not."
"So that gives her right to come and go out of my life as she pleases?"
"It gives her a right to your patience."
"I need her, Beth," he whispered. "She might not need me, but I need her. She's a thirty-three-year-old adult. Sure, she has a lot of things she's dealing with, but she's also grown as an adult--it's not all foreign to her. And I need her. Why am I not allowed to need her?"
"You are," Beth said softly. "And maybe what you need is her full, undivided attention--which I don't think she's confident she can give you right now. I don't think she's meaning to be completely selfish here."
Eric rubbed his eyes and slouched down in his seat. Suddenly, he was overcome with exhaustion. He swallowed hard and decided that maybe calling Travis hadn't been the best idea. Maybe he wasn't ready for the harsh truth yet, maybe he needed to drown in his sorrows a little longer before he ventured out into the world of scolding and pointing fingers.
"I'm exhausted," he said. "I'm going to bed."
"Are you going to be okay?" She asked.
"We'll see. Right now I just want to sleep."
Hanging up with Travis and Beth, Eric sighed and stood up, shuffling to the window. He stood there for a moment with this phone in his hand and looked down at it and then did something he probably shouldn't have done: "I'm sorry for upsetting you. Sweet dreams tonight. I hope you're sleeping well. You deserve it. Goodnight."
Breathing a fragile sigh, fighting off shameless tears, he slid his phone into his sweats pocket and closed the curtain on the Manhattan skyline.
_______________________
When Eric terminated the call, Beth listlessly relented Travis's phone back to him. She let out a quiet breath as he gently set it back down on the nightstand. Staring up at the ceiling, her eyes now more open since they had grown used to the light from Travis's side of the bed, she thought about Juliet. She felt so bad for her and she felt bad for Eric and she just felt so helpless. She wanted Juliet to be happy--and for a short while, it was finally happening, it seemed. But then...all of a sudden it wasn't. And though Beth understood Juliet's position, her heart still broke for her.
Travis was still sitting up in the bed. Looking down at her, he used his index finger to sweep a strand of hair off of her shoulder as he looked down at her. "You don't think we're time-sensitive, do you?" He asked her. "I mean, I know we haven't been together very long, but you don't see yourself tiring of me anytime soon, do you?"
Her eyes darted up at him and she shook her head. "No. Of course I won't, I--I care deeply about you--"
"Then let's do it," he said softly, a glimmer in his blue eyes. He tucked his messy blonde locks behind his ear. "Let's just bite the bullet and do it. Let's move in together. I'm not renewing my lease."
Beth's breath caught in her throat momentarily. "Oh, wow. Um, wow, that's--that's sudden--"
"But not that sudden," he reasoned. "I mean, we have been discussing it. It was your idea--"
"I know. I know, and my feelings haven't changed, you just caught me off guard..." She swung her head around and looked at the clock. "At...two in the morning."
Travis grinned. "If I'm not anything, I'm unpredictable. At least I'm not boring."
"Well, that's for sure," she muttered. Then she spoke up. "Um, okay. Okay, yeah. You can...we can make room here--"
"Nah," he said, straightening up in the bed. "I own a penthouse uptown. We'll move there."
Beth blinked her eyes in a brief fit of shock. "You own a what?"
He let out a breath and looked over at her, matter-of-factly. "Okay, look. Since we're taking the plunge and shacking up, I think it's appropriate that we know each other's...you know, personal business. For instance, I'm kinda loaded."
"You couldn't tell me this before?!"
"Well--well why the hell would we go as deep as to discuss our personal finances before?"
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Um, because we're discussing moving in together. Finances are important. Believe it or not, shit costs money."
"And I'm rolling in it," he replied simply. "It's no sweat. It's nice, in a nice part of town, bigger than this place..." He mused, looking around her room in the low lamp light.
Beth straightened her spine up in the bed as she sat up and tucked the comforter up over her bare chest. Travis scowled at the gesture. "Wait, wait, wait," she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Slow down. Let me get this straight--"
"Well don't sit there and act like you're not rolling in it, too," he retorted.
"That's not the point. I get that you work for your dad's company--or Eric's or whatever. And it's very successful, don't get me wrong, so I'm sure you make pretty good money. But maybe your idea of 'rolling in it' and my idea of 'rolling in it' are two completely different things. I mean, you're leasing the tiniest one-bedroom apartment I've ever seen--in the lower east side!"
"Yeah, so what?" He shrugged a shoulder. "I like to live simply. But I bet my net worth's more than yours."
"If you make enough money to just simply 'own' an upper east side penthouse--"
"Upper west side penthouse, actually."
"--and just simply 'choose' not to live in it, then I'm in the wrong god damned industry."
"Or you were born into the wrong family," he smiled, nudging her with his shoulder.
"So...then you don't actually own a penthouse..."
"I do own a penthouse. Along with a beach house in the Hamptons, a condo in Key West, a cabin in Maine, and a beach house in Malibu, which I actually bought on my own with the money I made from the sale of the Italian villa, the yacht, and a couple of rare sports cars I don't need. I rent out the condo, the cabin, and the Hamptons house, and I had a couple interested in the penthouse until you and I started flirting with the idea of shacking up and then I pumped the brakes on it."
Beth blinked at him, her jaw slack with surprise. Swallowing, she slowly summarized, "So...you get your regular pay plus monthly rent..."
"Well, yeah, that, and I took the remainder of the villa money and made a couple of pretty sweet investments. The returns on them are fucking monster. I've found that I'm slightly addicted to the stock market. It's the ultimate gambling game, I'm always looking for the next monster investment--"
"Travis," she whispered. "How? You're only twenty-seven, you spent college surfing--"
"Oh," he nodded. "Yeah. My grandfather was, like, fucking Daddy Warbucks. Sickeningly rich, but with the tightest wallet you've ever seen. He gave my dad a measly thousand dollars to help start what Paps called a 'pipe dream.' Then Reynolds got up and running and my old man sure showed him. Reynolds is a cash cow. Dad liked to flaunt it, but Eric is more humble. Truth is, Reynolds has made more money since Eric's been running it that it did when Dad ran it and I think jealousy might be part of the reason he rides Eric so hard. Dad never held much stock in Eric, didn't think he could do it. Anyway...when my paps passed away, he distributed his estate--Andy got the stocks, Eric got the money, and I got all the tangible property. At first I was pissed, but then I realized that if I was smart, I could turn it all into cash, and...I did. I think Paps knew what he was doing with his will. He made me have to step back and think for a minute, which was exactly what I needed at that point in my life." Then he smirked and let his finger playfully line the seam of the comforter across her chest. "I might come across as a freeloading dirty bum, but I wasn't blessed with a genius IQ for nothing. I am smarter than the average bear. I got you, Hot Stuff. I can take care of you."
"But...I can take care of me, too..."
"Then we can take care of each other," he smiled. "I'm not asking you to live under crystal chandeliers and drink champagne out of gilded cups. I'm just asking you for...a mere upgrade on your apartment. Both of our apartments. It'll be new for us both--together."
Uncertainty filled her eyes and she hugged the comforter tighter against her. "Um. Maybe we should--"
"What?" Travis snapped. "You wanna back pedal now?"
"Well--well, no...I just--realized that we don't really know each other--"
"Oh, bullshit, Beth."
"I mean it. We've been dating for, what, three weeks? Not even a month? And now we're moving in and talking finances and all? Travis, I just--how can I sit there and tell Eric to slow down when I'm sitting here, about to jump in blind with both feet? That makes me a hypocrite."
Sighing, Travis ran his hand through his hair and collapsed his bare back against Beth's brown, leather headboard. She glanced over at him uneasily, her heart beginning to sink. Her face fell, her eyes darting around the comforter before she glanced back up at him. "Are you mad?"
"I'm--" Then he let out a breath again.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"I'm not mad," he assured her. "I'm not. I'm...I'm a little disappointed, admittedly. But I'm not mad. I, personally, am choosing to go ahead and move into the penthouse anyway. And whenever...you know, whenever you're ready, I'll be there."
"Are...are you sure?"
He turned and looked at her, his eyes filled with compassion. "Of course I'm sure," he said softly. "I'm not in the mood to lose you anytime soon. And you're right, we haven't known each other very long. I want you to know, you can take all the time you need. Okay?"
"It's just--it's a big step..."
"I know."
"And I don't want you to think I'm leading you on, the way we've had conversations about it and all--"
"I don't think that at all. I just want you to be happy with me, that's it."
"I am happy with you."
"Good," he smiled.
"You know what?"
"What?"
A grin spread across her face. "Since we're awake...I saw this article in Cosmo..."
Travis's face lit up and he beamed, weakening Beth's heart. "I love when your sentences start out like that."
"...and there was this position..."
"Wait, let me get out of my briefs."
Beth giggled as she turned into him in the bed. They'd be exhausted at work the next day, she knew, but it would be worth every second of some of the most kinky sex they would ever have.
___________________________
Eric couldn't help himself when he spent his lunch break holed up in his office with his hand on the receiver of his desk phone. He had thought about it all morning, calling Juliet and confronting her. He'd had time to calm down and cool off and now he just desperately craved a calm, adult, reasonable conversation with her. There had to be something he wasn't getting somewhere. He longed to understand, he longed to ease the uncertainty and repair the damage that had been done to his confidence and self-esteem. He had to know it wasn't personal.
Beth had told him to back off, but he had to talk to her. And he knew that he had less of a chance of being avoided if he called her office, especially since they were now business partners. She couldn't pull the same stunt as last time and avoid him and disappear...could she?
To his surprise, his phone rang before could pick it up. "Yeah?" He said gruffly into the receiver.
"Mr. Reynolds," Hilary said. "Juliet Carson is on line one for you."
He stared down at his phone in shock. "She is?"
"Um...yes, sir...if you're busy, I'll take a message--"
"No. I mean, um, no, thank you, that won't be necessary. Um, put her through."
Eric's heart pounded. He wished he knew what to expect once he heard her voice but, honestly, there was no telling with her anymore. So he did what he knew to do best when it came to her--he prepared himself for the worst.
"Juliet?" He said quietly into the phone once he knew the call had safely transferred.
"Hey," she said in a small voice.
"Hey, baby," he greeted her, his voice softening. "I'm so glad you called."
He detected her quiet sniffling on the other end and the lump in his throat seemed to grow out of nowhere. "I wish it was under different circumstances," she whispered.
His heart dropped right out of his chest. "Juliet," his voice remained soft. "Don't do this."
There was silence on the other end and Eric's heart raced. She had done this before--before they even met, and even right after. Ran away, threw her temper tantrum, and disappeared. But she came back. Both times. Third time was the charm, right?
"Juliet," he tried again.
"I'm sorry," she said softly.
"You're sorry...how...?"
"I'm sorry for embarrassing you. Causing a scene, overreacting the way I did..."
"It's okay--"
"No. No, it's really not okay--"
"She really is my sister-in-law. I swear to God, I--I--I can show you wedding pictures, Travis and I were in--"
"I know she's your sister-in-law. That's not necessary."
"Just--just tell me one thing, then. Okay? Just--did you mean it? Any of it, did you mean it? The way you said you felt about me--?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"Then why...? Why did you...? Just talk to me. That's all I ask."
He heard her take a deep breath on the other end of the phone and the knot in the pit of his stomach only seemed to grow.
"I just...I lost control," she said in a near whisper. "I lost control of myself. Of my emotions, of just...just everything."
"Jules, it's okay," he said softly. "Looking back, I could understand your...your point of view, but you don't have to run every single time--"
"I don't mean just that night," she interrupted. "I mean all of it. Us. These past three weeks. I lost control way too fast."
"But what we have is good," he argued. "It's good. We're good. For each other. I know you know that."
"I have problems, Eric. Real...real problems. I just...I'm not that kind of woman. I'm not the domestic type, I don't...I'm not...relationships and I just don't...I mean, my last one--"
"Is dead," Eric finished. "Your last relationship is literally dead. It doesn't exist anymore. There is nothing to be afraid of anymore, Jules. You know I'll never hurt you--"
"I know. I know. I just...it's too fast, Eric. It's all just too fast--"
"So we'll slow down. Step by step, day at a time--"
"I can't slow down with you. Eric, I--" Her voice began to crack and she stopped talking.
"You what?" He urged, his body trembling with nerves. He tried his hardest to be patient, but his patience was wearing thin.
"I just can't," she whispered. "I can't do it."
"Don't disappear."
"I'm sorry."
"Let me help you."
"I need time!" She said, her frustration sounding through obvious silent tears. "I just need time."
"How much time?"
"I don't know. I don't...I meant what I said about turning the project over to Beth. She and Travis...they'll work well together."
"But I'm contracted to run every single aspect of it."
"And I'm not. So Beth agreed to take it over."
"This isn't...I mean, I don't even get a say here?"
"Please respect my decision."
Eric stared at the phone, the red light lit up on the line he spoke to her on. What the fuck was her decision? To throw him to the wolves...again? He supposed the third time was the charm. The third and final time to get fucked over. The third and final time for her to shut down and run when they might have had a chance.
He knew she wouldn't budge on this. He knew there was no way to convince her. And he couldn't handle the back and forth anymore. So he slammed the receiver down on the handle and ended the call. He refused to say goodbye to her.
Taking a deep, staggered breath, Eric rested his face in his hands, his elbows atop the desk. The phone next to his arm rang again and he glanced at it through his fingers, the line ringing from the front desk. "Mr. Reynolds, you have a call on line three," Hilary's voice rang through the intercom.
"Male or female?" He asked, his voice muffled through his hands.
"Female."
"I'm not in."
"Uh...uh, are you sure? It's Miss Carso--"
"I'm not in," he repeated forcefully.
"Yes, sir," she said quickly before terminating her line.
Angrily, he shoved the phone across his desk and away from him, knocking his name plate and a cup of pens into the floor on the other side. He didn't care. He couldn't give two shits what happened to that godforsaken office. He should have never pursued that contract with her. He went about it for all the wrong reasons. Reasons he thought would be right in the end and now who was the fool? Eric Reynolds was the fool--just like always.
With little-to-no time to recover, there was a knock on his office door and, without the decency to wait for a response, his father barged in along with his uncle, jovial smiles on both of their faces. This was just like his father, sneaking around, not telling anyone he was in town and then taking it upon himself to just show up. Did it make him feel important to do this? Was he expecting to have the satisfaction of catching somebody in something? Eric never understood his motives, but now was certainly not the time for any more mind games.
He stopped short at the small mess that Eric was sure graced the carpet in front of his desk and raised and eyebrow. "Bad day?"
"Little bit," Eric confessed, sitting back in his chair.
"That's surprising, considering the news I just got."
Knowing what his father was referring to, it was the very last thing he wanted to discuss at that moment. "Yes, well. I guess I've had a little more time to digest it than you have."
"Fair enough. So, congratulations are in order."
"I suppose so," Eric replied, letting out a breath. "Just finalized the contract last week. Right now I'm working on compiling a crew and equipment and waiting on the green light. They haven't closed on the property just yet."
"Crew and equipment, huh?" His father said as he helped himself to a chair across the desk. "That's Travis's department, isn't it?"
"The contract is very specific."
"Mind if I, uh...take a look at it?"
"Sure," Eric relented, his body and his mind both completely spent. At this point, his father could do whatever he pleased. He didn't even care.
Pulling the file out of the bottom drawer of his desk, he slid it across the table to his father and he waited as he flipped through it, skimming most of it and stopping to read here and there. After a minute or two, he closed the file and slid it back across to Eric. "That's an awful specific contract. They do understand that you're the CEO here, correct? And that Travis is the site manager--"
"They do. But this particular account is...delicate. Carson Innovations trusts me and if putting me on the front lines is what it takes to keep the account, then that's what I'm going to do."
Eric's father nodded, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink, obvious that he was fighting against saying what he wanted to say. Instead, he smiled and shook his head. "They're paying us way more than the project is worth."
"That was their proposal, not mine. If a client wants to be that generous, why not let them? The work we do is worth it, is it not?" The truth was, Eric would have torn down and erected that building for free. With his own bare hands. By himself, no questions asked.
"I'm not saying it isn't, I was just pointing out a fact, that's all. That's a damn fine account you got you there, son. Damn fine. I'm proud of you. In fact, I think this deserves a drink, don't you?"
"Dad...I mean, the workday isn't over yet..."
"Well, that's the good thing about being the boss, isn't it? Only one you have to answer to is me--and I wanna buy you a celebratory beer! You deserve it. Walt, go round up Travis, we'll all go and celebrate."
Eric was trapped. But he also knew he needed to get out of that small office for awhile. He was also aware that he should hang on to his father's compliments while the getting was good. So he let out a breath and he nodded, rising from behind his desk. "Yeah, okay. Sure, let's go have a beer."
"That's my boy!" His father exclaimed proudly.
As the four men walked through the office, Eric's heart warmed only just a little. Most times he dreaded his father's presence in the office. But there were a few times, like this time, when his father was just what the doctor ordered.
_______________________________
Juliet's eyes were wide with shock as she white-knuckled the receiver that remained pressed to her ear. Slowly, she returned it to the base and she sat there for a moment, unable to decide what her next move would be. She had called him. She had attempted to reason with him, to get him to see things from her side, but--he got angry and hung up on her. And now he was dodging her callback.
So, this was it, then. This was how it ended. Juliet wasn't sure how she felt. Eric was supposed to be different--and he was. She thought he was patient--and compassionate and caring and...and respectful, but what he'd really done was...throw a temper tantrum? By hanging up on her like that? Maybe she needed to step back and look at the two of them for what they were. They were two completely different people, like she'd told Jason, from two completely different worlds, trying to force two puzzle pieces together that didn't fit and weren't meant to. She hadn't wanted to lose Eric--but living with herself was becoming more and more of a nightmare lately. Which, speaking of nightmares, she'd had one a night for the past two nights in a row. She'd hardly slept and she'd smoked like a chimney and the only thing that calmed her down were the memories of Eric that were meant to make her smile.
She didn't know why she was suddenly so upset. She'd done it to herself. After all, did she really expect to make a spur of the moment decision like she did and him be understanding of it? She supposed she couldn't blame him. But it didn't exactly dull the pain, either.
She took in a staggered breath as she stared down at the phone. This was for the best. Maybe someday, when she had a better grip on her life, they might cross paths and try again. But now...now wasn't the time. No matter how much she missed him, it just wasn't the time.
Juliet was nearly startled out of her skin when the shrill ringing of the phone shattered the deafening silence in her office. Snatching it up with a quickness in an effort to silence it, she shot, "Juliet Carson!" out with lightning speed.
"Hello, Miss Carson," a cheerful Middle Eastern accent greeted her through the phone. "This is Amir Almasi with Royal Hospitalities. I hope you're well."
"Mr. Almasi, it is so nice to hear from you," she said excitedly, adjusting in her chair with a smile plastered to her face. "I hope you're well, also. To what do I owe the pleasure today?"
"I was calling to see how the weather up there in New York is treating you."
"Oh, bitter," she smiled knowingly. "Bitterly cold, but I suffer through it."
"Well I hate to hear you are suffering, Miss Carson. It sounds like you could use a few days in the nice, warm sand, no?"
"Oh, absolutely," she agreed.
"Wonderful. I'd like to invite you to stay in one of our luxury hotels here in Miami so that we may discuss a little business. Maybe visit a site and see an example of your approach to a, uh...new resort for us."
"Mr. Almasi, I would be honored. Just say the word and I'll clear my schedule right away--"
"Next week. Perhaps Tuesday through Thursday? I have those days free."
Juliet swallowed, breaking a sweat all over her entire body. This was only the hottest lead she'd had waiting in the wings for months now and he wanted her to drop her life on such short notice...
"Well, it just so happens that as of about two seconds ago, I have those days free, as well," she replied cheerfully.
"Oh, that's excellent, Miss Carson! So pleased to finally be meeting you. My assistant will be in touch, okay? I look forward to your ideas."
"Thank you, Mr. Almasi. Thank you so much."
Hanging up the phone, Juliet resisted the urge to shamelessly dance around her office. Her smile was so broad that it hurt her cheeks. Only a businessman crazier than her would demand she hop a plane and do business a mere week before a major holiday, but she was happy to do it. After all, once she was through dazzling that man's socks off, she'd spend the next week giving thanks to her hot, new contract.
Suddenly, she looked down at her phone and resisted the immediate urge she felt to call Eric. Of course he would be the first person she wanted to share her joy with. Her heart sank. This Florida trip couldn't come soon enough.
"That won't be necessary. I can't stay anyway."
"I can't handle it."
"Gone. She dumped me."
"You didn't go after her? You know how fragile she is. You let her walk out there, in the dark, alone and upset."
"She's okay, she's with Jason."
What the fuck had Eric done?
For the second night in a row that Sunday night, sleep had eluded Eric. He never heard a word from Juliet since the moment she'd walked out on him, neither text or phone call. He knew not to expect anything and this time he didn't try to contact her, either. Instead, he'd chosen to wallow in his own self-pity, dodging all phone calls and text messages, no matter where they came from.
He'd finally managed to get a couple of hours in when his dreams began to haunt him and his eyes popped open as his mind relived the dreaded words that had stayed with him since they'd been uttered: "She's okay, she's with Jason."
Had Juliet ever actually ever wanted Eric to begin with? Or was he merely a stepping stone to get to this other guy?
Turning over, he sat up in the dark and slid himself out of bed, snatching his cell phone off of his nightstand and heading for the Victorian chaise that sat in front of the window. He'd left the curtain open night and day since Juliet had first set foot in his apartment. She loved the view from his bedroom. And if she loved it, Eric loved it. He couldn't help himself. He was hopeless.
He sat in front of the window, his elbows on his knees, and he looked out over the sparkling city lights under the night sky. She was out there--probably in her apartment, bundled up in sweatpants and a ponytail. Hopefully she was sleeping. But if she wasn't, she was probably in her kitchen window, smoking. He sure could have used a cigarette, himself.
He looked down at his phone and brightened the screen. There was a picture of her he had taken with her hair cascading down her shoulder, wearing nothing but one of his button-downs and a pair of glasses--he kept it as his lock screen. She sat on the corner of his bed, her feet tucked Indian-style underneath her with one of her gooney grins on her face and it was the most adorable expression she possessed. There were tons of pictures on his phone, of her and the both of them, as he had been unable to keep his phone out of her face in the short time they'd known each other. But this one--less than an hour fresh from sleep on a morning that they had woken up laughing and getting ready for the day, was his favorite. She was happy--genuinely happy--and she was free. And it was the brightest and most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
His heart sank and he clicked off the screen, unable to look at it as he sat there and wondered if it was all a lie. Was her smile a lie? All her kisses, her caresses, all her reassurances of how wonderful a man she thought he was? All her declarations of happiness, everything she had ever said--were they all lies? Had she played him? Was there something there he should have seen all along?
He lit up his phone again, vowing to think about removing the lock screen at a later time, and immediately pulled up her name on his phone. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to hit the button, and then he stopped. Changing his mind, he immediately pulled up Travis and tapped the screen. It was late, after two in the morning, but Eric didn't care. He couldn't bear to be alone with his thoughts anymore.
A mixture of surprise and relief washed over him when Travis answered the phone. Yawning into Eric's ear, his sleepy brother answered, "Hey."
Eric's heel tapped nervously against the hardwood floor in silence for a moment before he replied. "Travis? What's wrong with me?"
"What?" The groggy voice asked.
"What am I doing wrong?" Eric inquired quietly. "Sam cheated on me. Juliet can't decide if she wants to keep me. Why doesn't anyone want to keep me?"
"Eric," Travis sympathized, sounding a little more awake now. "Dude, you can't--you can't sit there and do that to yourself, man."
"But it has to be something, right? Right?"
"Maybe it's not you. Maybe it's your taste in women."
Eric pondered on this for a moment before he sat back against the chaise and let out a quiet breath. "Except that Juliet's a good person. I just...I just want her to want me. I know that's sappy but--I mean...you know?"
"Look, I wasn't there, I didn't see what went down. But you can't--I mean, if she said it's too much for her to handle right now, then maybe you...you know, need to ease up a little bit."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means--" Travis let out a long breath. "It means you love too hard. You're persistent, you're relentless--"
"Are you saying I smothered her?"
"I'm saying it's possib--what?" Travis suddenly said away from the phone. "What, it's Eric. Yeah, he--"
And then suddenly, Beth's sleepy voice came through the phone. "Eric. Listen, I spoke to Juliet this morning. Okay? She's--you did nothing wrong, first of all. All right? But she's scared. She's overwhelmed. And she did what she did because she thought she was protecting you--"
"From what?"
"Eric. Sweetie. She's--I don't think she's ready for this. Not the way...you know, not the way you are. Juliet is a special case. You have to tread very lightly, it's a very delicate situation--"
"You think I don't know that?" He spat. "Don't forget who she came to first. It haunts me, every night, Beth. Every fucking night, the stories she harbors and the pain that she went through. All I have to do is look at her the wrong way and I see the scared little girl in her eyes that she grew up as. It physically sickens me every hour of every day to imagine what that woman had to go through in her entire childhood, and sure, I didn't have to live it, but I feel it. Every God damned day, I feel it. And I welcome it. I want to feel it, I want to feel every ounce of it because if there's any possibility--any possibility at all--that my feeling it is taking any of the burden off of her at all, then I want it all. I don't want her to hurt anymore--"
"Then you have to let her do it her way--"
"Her way is wrong!"
"I agree," Beth said solemnly. "But at this point, I can't argue with her. Pushing her and forcing her and adding to her stress is not going to help her."
"Are you saying I'm pushy?"
"No. No, I'm not, I'm saying she's overwhelmed right now. I think...I think things got heavy too fast for her. As much as I hate to say this, I think it might be good for the both of you to just...take a step back for a minute."
Eric was angry. He was angry because this wasn't what he wanted to hear and he was angry because, deep down, he knew Beth was right. He just didn't want to admit it. "You're sitting there, treating this like it's some shitty little high school romance--"
"I am absolutely not--"
"Yes, you are--"
"Well, Eric, you know--it sort of is like that for her. You know? Think about it. You quite literally have an emotional virgin on your hands. Everything she's learning about life and love and relationships, she's learning from you--and it's a lot to take in all at one time. You're used to it. She's not."
"So that gives her right to come and go out of my life as she pleases?"
"It gives her a right to your patience."
"I need her, Beth," he whispered. "She might not need me, but I need her. She's a thirty-three-year-old adult. Sure, she has a lot of things she's dealing with, but she's also grown as an adult--it's not all foreign to her. And I need her. Why am I not allowed to need her?"
"You are," Beth said softly. "And maybe what you need is her full, undivided attention--which I don't think she's confident she can give you right now. I don't think she's meaning to be completely selfish here."
Eric rubbed his eyes and slouched down in his seat. Suddenly, he was overcome with exhaustion. He swallowed hard and decided that maybe calling Travis hadn't been the best idea. Maybe he wasn't ready for the harsh truth yet, maybe he needed to drown in his sorrows a little longer before he ventured out into the world of scolding and pointing fingers.
"I'm exhausted," he said. "I'm going to bed."
"Are you going to be okay?" She asked.
"We'll see. Right now I just want to sleep."
Hanging up with Travis and Beth, Eric sighed and stood up, shuffling to the window. He stood there for a moment with this phone in his hand and looked down at it and then did something he probably shouldn't have done: "I'm sorry for upsetting you. Sweet dreams tonight. I hope you're sleeping well. You deserve it. Goodnight."
Breathing a fragile sigh, fighting off shameless tears, he slid his phone into his sweats pocket and closed the curtain on the Manhattan skyline.
_______________________
When Eric terminated the call, Beth listlessly relented Travis's phone back to him. She let out a quiet breath as he gently set it back down on the nightstand. Staring up at the ceiling, her eyes now more open since they had grown used to the light from Travis's side of the bed, she thought about Juliet. She felt so bad for her and she felt bad for Eric and she just felt so helpless. She wanted Juliet to be happy--and for a short while, it was finally happening, it seemed. But then...all of a sudden it wasn't. And though Beth understood Juliet's position, her heart still broke for her.
Travis was still sitting up in the bed. Looking down at her, he used his index finger to sweep a strand of hair off of her shoulder as he looked down at her. "You don't think we're time-sensitive, do you?" He asked her. "I mean, I know we haven't been together very long, but you don't see yourself tiring of me anytime soon, do you?"
Her eyes darted up at him and she shook her head. "No. Of course I won't, I--I care deeply about you--"
"Then let's do it," he said softly, a glimmer in his blue eyes. He tucked his messy blonde locks behind his ear. "Let's just bite the bullet and do it. Let's move in together. I'm not renewing my lease."
Beth's breath caught in her throat momentarily. "Oh, wow. Um, wow, that's--that's sudden--"
"But not that sudden," he reasoned. "I mean, we have been discussing it. It was your idea--"
"I know. I know, and my feelings haven't changed, you just caught me off guard..." She swung her head around and looked at the clock. "At...two in the morning."
Travis grinned. "If I'm not anything, I'm unpredictable. At least I'm not boring."
"Well, that's for sure," she muttered. Then she spoke up. "Um, okay. Okay, yeah. You can...we can make room here--"
"Nah," he said, straightening up in the bed. "I own a penthouse uptown. We'll move there."
Beth blinked her eyes in a brief fit of shock. "You own a what?"
He let out a breath and looked over at her, matter-of-factly. "Okay, look. Since we're taking the plunge and shacking up, I think it's appropriate that we know each other's...you know, personal business. For instance, I'm kinda loaded."
"You couldn't tell me this before?!"
"Well--well why the hell would we go as deep as to discuss our personal finances before?"
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Um, because we're discussing moving in together. Finances are important. Believe it or not, shit costs money."
"And I'm rolling in it," he replied simply. "It's no sweat. It's nice, in a nice part of town, bigger than this place..." He mused, looking around her room in the low lamp light.
Beth straightened her spine up in the bed as she sat up and tucked the comforter up over her bare chest. Travis scowled at the gesture. "Wait, wait, wait," she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Slow down. Let me get this straight--"
"Well don't sit there and act like you're not rolling in it, too," he retorted.
"That's not the point. I get that you work for your dad's company--or Eric's or whatever. And it's very successful, don't get me wrong, so I'm sure you make pretty good money. But maybe your idea of 'rolling in it' and my idea of 'rolling in it' are two completely different things. I mean, you're leasing the tiniest one-bedroom apartment I've ever seen--in the lower east side!"
"Yeah, so what?" He shrugged a shoulder. "I like to live simply. But I bet my net worth's more than yours."
"If you make enough money to just simply 'own' an upper east side penthouse--"
"Upper west side penthouse, actually."
"--and just simply 'choose' not to live in it, then I'm in the wrong god damned industry."
"Or you were born into the wrong family," he smiled, nudging her with his shoulder.
"So...then you don't actually own a penthouse..."
"I do own a penthouse. Along with a beach house in the Hamptons, a condo in Key West, a cabin in Maine, and a beach house in Malibu, which I actually bought on my own with the money I made from the sale of the Italian villa, the yacht, and a couple of rare sports cars I don't need. I rent out the condo, the cabin, and the Hamptons house, and I had a couple interested in the penthouse until you and I started flirting with the idea of shacking up and then I pumped the brakes on it."
Beth blinked at him, her jaw slack with surprise. Swallowing, she slowly summarized, "So...you get your regular pay plus monthly rent..."
"Well, yeah, that, and I took the remainder of the villa money and made a couple of pretty sweet investments. The returns on them are fucking monster. I've found that I'm slightly addicted to the stock market. It's the ultimate gambling game, I'm always looking for the next monster investment--"
"Travis," she whispered. "How? You're only twenty-seven, you spent college surfing--"
"Oh," he nodded. "Yeah. My grandfather was, like, fucking Daddy Warbucks. Sickeningly rich, but with the tightest wallet you've ever seen. He gave my dad a measly thousand dollars to help start what Paps called a 'pipe dream.' Then Reynolds got up and running and my old man sure showed him. Reynolds is a cash cow. Dad liked to flaunt it, but Eric is more humble. Truth is, Reynolds has made more money since Eric's been running it that it did when Dad ran it and I think jealousy might be part of the reason he rides Eric so hard. Dad never held much stock in Eric, didn't think he could do it. Anyway...when my paps passed away, he distributed his estate--Andy got the stocks, Eric got the money, and I got all the tangible property. At first I was pissed, but then I realized that if I was smart, I could turn it all into cash, and...I did. I think Paps knew what he was doing with his will. He made me have to step back and think for a minute, which was exactly what I needed at that point in my life." Then he smirked and let his finger playfully line the seam of the comforter across her chest. "I might come across as a freeloading dirty bum, but I wasn't blessed with a genius IQ for nothing. I am smarter than the average bear. I got you, Hot Stuff. I can take care of you."
"But...I can take care of me, too..."
"Then we can take care of each other," he smiled. "I'm not asking you to live under crystal chandeliers and drink champagne out of gilded cups. I'm just asking you for...a mere upgrade on your apartment. Both of our apartments. It'll be new for us both--together."
Uncertainty filled her eyes and she hugged the comforter tighter against her. "Um. Maybe we should--"
"What?" Travis snapped. "You wanna back pedal now?"
"Well--well, no...I just--realized that we don't really know each other--"
"Oh, bullshit, Beth."
"I mean it. We've been dating for, what, three weeks? Not even a month? And now we're moving in and talking finances and all? Travis, I just--how can I sit there and tell Eric to slow down when I'm sitting here, about to jump in blind with both feet? That makes me a hypocrite."
Sighing, Travis ran his hand through his hair and collapsed his bare back against Beth's brown, leather headboard. She glanced over at him uneasily, her heart beginning to sink. Her face fell, her eyes darting around the comforter before she glanced back up at him. "Are you mad?"
"I'm--" Then he let out a breath again.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"I'm not mad," he assured her. "I'm not. I'm...I'm a little disappointed, admittedly. But I'm not mad. I, personally, am choosing to go ahead and move into the penthouse anyway. And whenever...you know, whenever you're ready, I'll be there."
"Are...are you sure?"
He turned and looked at her, his eyes filled with compassion. "Of course I'm sure," he said softly. "I'm not in the mood to lose you anytime soon. And you're right, we haven't known each other very long. I want you to know, you can take all the time you need. Okay?"
"It's just--it's a big step..."
"I know."
"And I don't want you to think I'm leading you on, the way we've had conversations about it and all--"
"I don't think that at all. I just want you to be happy with me, that's it."
"I am happy with you."
"Good," he smiled.
"You know what?"
"What?"
A grin spread across her face. "Since we're awake...I saw this article in Cosmo..."
Travis's face lit up and he beamed, weakening Beth's heart. "I love when your sentences start out like that."
"...and there was this position..."
"Wait, let me get out of my briefs."
Beth giggled as she turned into him in the bed. They'd be exhausted at work the next day, she knew, but it would be worth every second of some of the most kinky sex they would ever have.
___________________________
Eric couldn't help himself when he spent his lunch break holed up in his office with his hand on the receiver of his desk phone. He had thought about it all morning, calling Juliet and confronting her. He'd had time to calm down and cool off and now he just desperately craved a calm, adult, reasonable conversation with her. There had to be something he wasn't getting somewhere. He longed to understand, he longed to ease the uncertainty and repair the damage that had been done to his confidence and self-esteem. He had to know it wasn't personal.
Beth had told him to back off, but he had to talk to her. And he knew that he had less of a chance of being avoided if he called her office, especially since they were now business partners. She couldn't pull the same stunt as last time and avoid him and disappear...could she?
To his surprise, his phone rang before could pick it up. "Yeah?" He said gruffly into the receiver.
"Mr. Reynolds," Hilary said. "Juliet Carson is on line one for you."
He stared down at his phone in shock. "She is?"
"Um...yes, sir...if you're busy, I'll take a message--"
"No. I mean, um, no, thank you, that won't be necessary. Um, put her through."
Eric's heart pounded. He wished he knew what to expect once he heard her voice but, honestly, there was no telling with her anymore. So he did what he knew to do best when it came to her--he prepared himself for the worst.
"Juliet?" He said quietly into the phone once he knew the call had safely transferred.
"Hey," she said in a small voice.
"Hey, baby," he greeted her, his voice softening. "I'm so glad you called."
He detected her quiet sniffling on the other end and the lump in his throat seemed to grow out of nowhere. "I wish it was under different circumstances," she whispered.
His heart dropped right out of his chest. "Juliet," his voice remained soft. "Don't do this."
There was silence on the other end and Eric's heart raced. She had done this before--before they even met, and even right after. Ran away, threw her temper tantrum, and disappeared. But she came back. Both times. Third time was the charm, right?
"Juliet," he tried again.
"I'm sorry," she said softly.
"You're sorry...how...?"
"I'm sorry for embarrassing you. Causing a scene, overreacting the way I did..."
"It's okay--"
"No. No, it's really not okay--"
"She really is my sister-in-law. I swear to God, I--I--I can show you wedding pictures, Travis and I were in--"
"I know she's your sister-in-law. That's not necessary."
"Just--just tell me one thing, then. Okay? Just--did you mean it? Any of it, did you mean it? The way you said you felt about me--?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"Then why...? Why did you...? Just talk to me. That's all I ask."
He heard her take a deep breath on the other end of the phone and the knot in the pit of his stomach only seemed to grow.
"I just...I lost control," she said in a near whisper. "I lost control of myself. Of my emotions, of just...just everything."
"Jules, it's okay," he said softly. "Looking back, I could understand your...your point of view, but you don't have to run every single time--"
"I don't mean just that night," she interrupted. "I mean all of it. Us. These past three weeks. I lost control way too fast."
"But what we have is good," he argued. "It's good. We're good. For each other. I know you know that."
"I have problems, Eric. Real...real problems. I just...I'm not that kind of woman. I'm not the domestic type, I don't...I'm not...relationships and I just don't...I mean, my last one--"
"Is dead," Eric finished. "Your last relationship is literally dead. It doesn't exist anymore. There is nothing to be afraid of anymore, Jules. You know I'll never hurt you--"
"I know. I know. I just...it's too fast, Eric. It's all just too fast--"
"So we'll slow down. Step by step, day at a time--"
"I can't slow down with you. Eric, I--" Her voice began to crack and she stopped talking.
"You what?" He urged, his body trembling with nerves. He tried his hardest to be patient, but his patience was wearing thin.
"I just can't," she whispered. "I can't do it."
"Don't disappear."
"I'm sorry."
"Let me help you."
"I need time!" She said, her frustration sounding through obvious silent tears. "I just need time."
"How much time?"
"I don't know. I don't...I meant what I said about turning the project over to Beth. She and Travis...they'll work well together."
"But I'm contracted to run every single aspect of it."
"And I'm not. So Beth agreed to take it over."
"This isn't...I mean, I don't even get a say here?"
"Please respect my decision."
Eric stared at the phone, the red light lit up on the line he spoke to her on. What the fuck was her decision? To throw him to the wolves...again? He supposed the third time was the charm. The third and final time to get fucked over. The third and final time for her to shut down and run when they might have had a chance.
He knew she wouldn't budge on this. He knew there was no way to convince her. And he couldn't handle the back and forth anymore. So he slammed the receiver down on the handle and ended the call. He refused to say goodbye to her.
Taking a deep, staggered breath, Eric rested his face in his hands, his elbows atop the desk. The phone next to his arm rang again and he glanced at it through his fingers, the line ringing from the front desk. "Mr. Reynolds, you have a call on line three," Hilary's voice rang through the intercom.
"Male or female?" He asked, his voice muffled through his hands.
"Female."
"I'm not in."
"Uh...uh, are you sure? It's Miss Carso--"
"I'm not in," he repeated forcefully.
"Yes, sir," she said quickly before terminating her line.
Angrily, he shoved the phone across his desk and away from him, knocking his name plate and a cup of pens into the floor on the other side. He didn't care. He couldn't give two shits what happened to that godforsaken office. He should have never pursued that contract with her. He went about it for all the wrong reasons. Reasons he thought would be right in the end and now who was the fool? Eric Reynolds was the fool--just like always.
With little-to-no time to recover, there was a knock on his office door and, without the decency to wait for a response, his father barged in along with his uncle, jovial smiles on both of their faces. This was just like his father, sneaking around, not telling anyone he was in town and then taking it upon himself to just show up. Did it make him feel important to do this? Was he expecting to have the satisfaction of catching somebody in something? Eric never understood his motives, but now was certainly not the time for any more mind games.
He stopped short at the small mess that Eric was sure graced the carpet in front of his desk and raised and eyebrow. "Bad day?"
"Little bit," Eric confessed, sitting back in his chair.
"That's surprising, considering the news I just got."
Knowing what his father was referring to, it was the very last thing he wanted to discuss at that moment. "Yes, well. I guess I've had a little more time to digest it than you have."
"Fair enough. So, congratulations are in order."
"I suppose so," Eric replied, letting out a breath. "Just finalized the contract last week. Right now I'm working on compiling a crew and equipment and waiting on the green light. They haven't closed on the property just yet."
"Crew and equipment, huh?" His father said as he helped himself to a chair across the desk. "That's Travis's department, isn't it?"
"The contract is very specific."
"Mind if I, uh...take a look at it?"
"Sure," Eric relented, his body and his mind both completely spent. At this point, his father could do whatever he pleased. He didn't even care.
Pulling the file out of the bottom drawer of his desk, he slid it across the table to his father and he waited as he flipped through it, skimming most of it and stopping to read here and there. After a minute or two, he closed the file and slid it back across to Eric. "That's an awful specific contract. They do understand that you're the CEO here, correct? And that Travis is the site manager--"
"They do. But this particular account is...delicate. Carson Innovations trusts me and if putting me on the front lines is what it takes to keep the account, then that's what I'm going to do."
Eric's father nodded, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink, obvious that he was fighting against saying what he wanted to say. Instead, he smiled and shook his head. "They're paying us way more than the project is worth."
"That was their proposal, not mine. If a client wants to be that generous, why not let them? The work we do is worth it, is it not?" The truth was, Eric would have torn down and erected that building for free. With his own bare hands. By himself, no questions asked.
"I'm not saying it isn't, I was just pointing out a fact, that's all. That's a damn fine account you got you there, son. Damn fine. I'm proud of you. In fact, I think this deserves a drink, don't you?"
"Dad...I mean, the workday isn't over yet..."
"Well, that's the good thing about being the boss, isn't it? Only one you have to answer to is me--and I wanna buy you a celebratory beer! You deserve it. Walt, go round up Travis, we'll all go and celebrate."
Eric was trapped. But he also knew he needed to get out of that small office for awhile. He was also aware that he should hang on to his father's compliments while the getting was good. So he let out a breath and he nodded, rising from behind his desk. "Yeah, okay. Sure, let's go have a beer."
"That's my boy!" His father exclaimed proudly.
As the four men walked through the office, Eric's heart warmed only just a little. Most times he dreaded his father's presence in the office. But there were a few times, like this time, when his father was just what the doctor ordered.
_______________________________
Juliet's eyes were wide with shock as she white-knuckled the receiver that remained pressed to her ear. Slowly, she returned it to the base and she sat there for a moment, unable to decide what her next move would be. She had called him. She had attempted to reason with him, to get him to see things from her side, but--he got angry and hung up on her. And now he was dodging her callback.
So, this was it, then. This was how it ended. Juliet wasn't sure how she felt. Eric was supposed to be different--and he was. She thought he was patient--and compassionate and caring and...and respectful, but what he'd really done was...throw a temper tantrum? By hanging up on her like that? Maybe she needed to step back and look at the two of them for what they were. They were two completely different people, like she'd told Jason, from two completely different worlds, trying to force two puzzle pieces together that didn't fit and weren't meant to. She hadn't wanted to lose Eric--but living with herself was becoming more and more of a nightmare lately. Which, speaking of nightmares, she'd had one a night for the past two nights in a row. She'd hardly slept and she'd smoked like a chimney and the only thing that calmed her down were the memories of Eric that were meant to make her smile.
She didn't know why she was suddenly so upset. She'd done it to herself. After all, did she really expect to make a spur of the moment decision like she did and him be understanding of it? She supposed she couldn't blame him. But it didn't exactly dull the pain, either.
She took in a staggered breath as she stared down at the phone. This was for the best. Maybe someday, when she had a better grip on her life, they might cross paths and try again. But now...now wasn't the time. No matter how much she missed him, it just wasn't the time.
Juliet was nearly startled out of her skin when the shrill ringing of the phone shattered the deafening silence in her office. Snatching it up with a quickness in an effort to silence it, she shot, "Juliet Carson!" out with lightning speed.
"Hello, Miss Carson," a cheerful Middle Eastern accent greeted her through the phone. "This is Amir Almasi with Royal Hospitalities. I hope you're well."
"Mr. Almasi, it is so nice to hear from you," she said excitedly, adjusting in her chair with a smile plastered to her face. "I hope you're well, also. To what do I owe the pleasure today?"
"I was calling to see how the weather up there in New York is treating you."
"Oh, bitter," she smiled knowingly. "Bitterly cold, but I suffer through it."
"Well I hate to hear you are suffering, Miss Carson. It sounds like you could use a few days in the nice, warm sand, no?"
"Oh, absolutely," she agreed.
"Wonderful. I'd like to invite you to stay in one of our luxury hotels here in Miami so that we may discuss a little business. Maybe visit a site and see an example of your approach to a, uh...new resort for us."
"Mr. Almasi, I would be honored. Just say the word and I'll clear my schedule right away--"
"Next week. Perhaps Tuesday through Thursday? I have those days free."
Juliet swallowed, breaking a sweat all over her entire body. This was only the hottest lead she'd had waiting in the wings for months now and he wanted her to drop her life on such short notice...
"Well, it just so happens that as of about two seconds ago, I have those days free, as well," she replied cheerfully.
"Oh, that's excellent, Miss Carson! So pleased to finally be meeting you. My assistant will be in touch, okay? I look forward to your ideas."
"Thank you, Mr. Almasi. Thank you so much."
Hanging up the phone, Juliet resisted the urge to shamelessly dance around her office. Her smile was so broad that it hurt her cheeks. Only a businessman crazier than her would demand she hop a plane and do business a mere week before a major holiday, but she was happy to do it. After all, once she was through dazzling that man's socks off, she'd spend the next week giving thanks to her hot, new contract.
Suddenly, she looked down at her phone and resisted the immediate urge she felt to call Eric. Of course he would be the first person she wanted to share her joy with. Her heart sank. This Florida trip couldn't come soon enough.