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I remembered asking him a few questions, setting my drink down after he left, and asking the concierge to get me a cab. That was it. No matter how hard I strained to think of what could’ve possibly happened after that, no other memories from last night came.
Turning off the water, I sighed and hoped the rest of it would become clear later.
I managed to get back to my suite just fine ...
I stepped out of the shower and put on a T-shirt and jeans. I downed the breakfast the hotel staff left for me, savoring each one of the strawberries, and before I could head out for a walk downtown, the room phone rang.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Good afternoon, Miss Statham.” It was a female’s voice. “Your driver is here.”
“I think there’s been a mistake. I wasn’t expecting a driver.”
“It’s not a mistake, Hayley.” Jonathan's voice came over the line. “I came back early so I could personally show you to your permanent house.”
“Okay, well—” I looked around my suite. “I’ll need a few minutes to pack everything into my suitcase. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll send a bellman up for your things and meet you in the lobby.”
I ended the call and packed my things in record time.
Twenty minutes later, I was sitting across from Jonathan in the backseat of a town car.
Dressed in one of his custom black suits, he was glaring at me in a way that never ceased to make me feel like I was a little child.
"So," I said, trying to distract him from grilling me. "Did you propose to your girlfriend, Claire, yet? Any wedding venues picked out thus far?"
"Why the hell did you drop out of school, Hayley?" He immediately shot down all hopes of this going my way.
"I wanted to start my own business."
"Was this business the coffee shop that you had to close?"
"It wasn't a coffee shop. It was a coffee and wine bar."
"Answer the question."
"Yes, Jonathan." I tried to look away from his glare, but I couldn't. "The business I started was the coffee and wine bar."
He tapped his fingers on his knee, and the diamonds in his designer watch gleamed against the rays of sunlight.
"Let me get this straight one last time," he said. "I pay your tuition so you can go to business school, so you can learn how to run a successful business, and you drop out before learning how to run a successful business?"
"It sounds stupid when you put it that way."
"There aren't too many different ways to put it."
"I wasn't learning anything in school," I said. "I learned more from the baristas and managers around town than I did from my professors. It was all finance, tax, and bankruptcy laws. And, yes, I know I went bankrupt, but that's not the point."
He shook his head. "Why didn't you ever ask for money or help from my executive team?"
"I wanted to make it on my own—just like you did." I looked at him. "You also tend to dominate everything you get involved in, Jonathan.”
"That's not true." He said the words, but I could tell from the look on his face that he didn't believe them. He moved closer to me, and I instinctively rested my head on his shoulder like I used to when we were younger. I knew right then he was silently asking me to tell him more about my failed venture.
"It was a really pretty place," I said. "You would've been impressed. Me and Kelly are going to open another one after we save money and take a few specialty classes. We may not open the first one in Seattle again, but we'll establish one there after we launch a few successful ones. We'll just make sure it's nowhere near a Starbucks." I smiled at our plans. "Oh, and I took pictures of the bar before we closed. I'll have to show them to you once she brings the rest of my stuff up in a few weeks."
"I'm looking forward to meeting her."
