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“I thought about it,” I admitted, and his expression conveyed that he already knew that.
“I’d only recently learned that you were the head of household for most of your adolescence. I want you to recharge. Continue to excel in school. Secure an internship that will enable you to compete with hundreds of thousands of other applicants when you graduate.” He paused and pinned me with the same color eyes I shared with he and Cindy. “I am a reasonable man. I listen. Starting Wednesday, you’ll work in HR. Mrs. Clark will train you.”
He stood up and I did also. I couldn’t fight the smile
on my face. He walked over to me, stood in front of me, and hugged me again. The only way I could describe it would be a bear hug. “Adults, as you know all too well, aren’t perfect. I’ve messed up big time. You and your cousins lost out in the process. But that’s in the past. This is now.”
“Okay.”
He patted me on my back. There was a knock on the door and then it opened. A tall guy, almost as tall as Chase’s six-two frame, entered the office. The only way I knew for certain that he was Pierce was because of his dimples, the one characteristic about him other than his eye color that hadn’t changed. He had sapphire blue eyes, flawless alabaster skin, and light and dark blond hair, cut short. He had a leanly muscled and lanky body.
“Ah, good—you came in early. See you didn’t let her drag you down for the whole day,” Uncle Anton said sarcastically.
Pierce impassively looked at his dad. I guessed Uncle Anton hadn’t taken a liking to a girl Pierce was seeing. “Father.” Pierce swung his gaze to me. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said, and Uncle Anton made a disapproving noise. “Noodles has grown up!”
I lightly laughed at him. “And look at you, Porkchop.”
Pierce ruffled my hair and I swatted his hand away. It didn’t feel like I hadn’t seen him in years.
“I hear you’ll be working with us.” He quirked a brow at me.
I turned to look at Uncle Anton, who regarded his son. “Bethany will work in HR. Pierce is the second general manager for the summer. He’s done very well. Especially when she’s not around to crowd up his head and time. You’ll meet Claude, the primary general manager, soon. Pierce has been offered the general manager position contingent upon his successful graduation next year. And then Claude will oversee a hotel that’s being built in nearby Miami.”
“Enough talk about work,” Pierce said. “I am gonna take Bethany to the house and come back to start my shift.”
“All right. Call me if you need anything,” Uncle Anton told me.
I nodded. “Yes, Uncle Anton.”
Uncle Anton eyed Pierce. “And see me before you start your shift.”
***
“Who is she?” Resting my head against the passenger seat in Pierce’s 2012 Mustang, I slid my heels off of my feet and put my flip-flops back on. I gave him a curious look and he instantly flashed a smile.
“A girl I’ve been having sex with on and off since I was fourteen.”
I crossed my arms. “Then how can she be just a girl? That’s a pretty big deal.”
“To you,” he said with emphasis, “I am sure it is. And it should be ‘a pretty big deal.’ But Mona and I don’t roll like that. She’s not bad like everyone thinks. When we get along, it’s great, and when we don’t, it’s tough. It happens in relationships.” He gave a humorless laugh.
“Is it safe for me to assume that Uncle Anton is gonna talk to you about her when you go back to the Paloma?”
He made a face. “Just like my friends have.”
“And is Chase one of those friends?”
“Actually, he hasn’t grilled me about Mona. He’s never brought her up. Only I have.”
“He just listens.” I realized that I stated it rather than asked.
“Exactly.” A short silence settled between us before he continued. “He can be great in that way. You know? He doesn’t push. So, how was the ride?”
“He insisted on carrying my stuff and paying the gas.”
Pierce shook his head and started chuckling. “You mean he offered, you refused, and he wouldn’t have that.”
Was my behavior so predictable? Chase just seemed like a gentleman, and I knew from watching Cindy’s relationships that most men were only polite so that they could have something in return, not because they were truly good men.
