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Chapter Thirteen
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Hailing a cab, Payton checked her messages to see if any clients called or if Shannon had any problems. She was still on cloud nine from being with Dixon that afternoon. She couldn’t believe she might be growing up and wanting to settle down. Unbelievable, she thought, as she continued to listen to her messages. She was in such a great mood that she let a young couple take her cab as she hailed another one. Wow. No wonder Lilly liked being part of a couple so much.
Getting into the cab, two long-winded client messages later, Payton heard Lilly’s frantic messages. Sitting back in the cab, she listened to the two messages again to make sure she caught everything that was being said. One thing she knew was to take Lilly seriously. Her sister was extremely rational and always thought everything through.
Her sister sounded a little frantic; this worried her. When her sister joked about leaving town, it probably meant to actually leave town. Obviously, that was her first reaction. Maybe she should go to the Hamptons. Think of it like a mini vacation. She had never taken a vacation before. Shannon had been doing great, she could cover while she was gone. That was why people had assistants, wasn’t it?
Making her mind up quickly, Payton gave her home address to the cab driver instead of the office. She would get her car out of the parking garage and drive to the Hamptons. Heeding Lilly’s advice and avoiding talking to anyone, she emailed Shannon, saying a family emergency had come up and she would be out of the office for the next few days, only reachable by email. She decided to call Lilly once she was at her destination, in case she tried to convince Payton otherwise. Something was going on and it was probably best she wasn’t around. Hopefully, whatever it was, Lilly could fix it from New York while Payton was out of town.
Two hours later, Payton was driving along the beach toward her hotel. Her heart, that was racing just hours ago, was now relaxed again enjoying the flashback to her childhood summer days. Summer tourists were leisurely walking along the sidewalks, going in and out of cafés, clothing boutiques and art galleries with coffee and shopping bags in hand. The restaurants were open to the streets and filled with people laughing, enjoying themselves as they sipped their cocktails.
As she neared her hotel her heart began to race again. She was so confused and worried about what was going on. How she wished Lilly had left more information in her message. No matter how hard she tried to think of nothing, the thoughts would creep back into her head. She was almost tempted to turn the car around and go straight over to Lilly’s office and demand to know what was happening. Watching the tourists again, she would have loved to stop for a coffee or drink but her nerves had got the best of her. Her stomach was too twisted to be able to drink or eat anything. Payton was surprised how fast the day took a turn for the unexpected.
Walking into the hotel, Payton felt like a fugitive; she could not help that her hands shook a little. She took a deep breath in, trying to compose herself. To an onlooker she would have looked a little lost, but nothing out of the norm. Would she see anyone she knew? You never knew. Keeping her head down as much as possible, she headed toward the check-in counter. She just hoped she picked a big enough hotel that she would blend in. Lilly had her on edge, and no matter how much she tried to ignore it she couldn’t help but be overly cautious. While checking in, she decided to give a false name right on the spot and pay the tab in cash. The front desk clerk at first was going to make her put down a credit card, but after debating back and forth the girl gave up once Payton slipped her a one hundred dollar bill. Just as the room key was being scanned, she saw Jack stroll in. She turned slightly so she would have her back to him, hoping he wouldn’t see her.
“Here you go, ma’am,” said the clerk, as she handed Payton the keys to her room. “Enjoy your stay. If there is anything we can do for you just let us know.”
Payton mumbled, “Thank you,” and headed toward the elevator. She considered taking the stairs to ensure she would not see anyone but one look at her luggage and she decided otherwise. She could hardly roll it onto the elevator, never mind carry it up ten flights of stairs. But not knowing how long she’d be gone for and what she’d be doing, left her not knowing what to pack. Stepping onto the elevator there was a young family with three little girls, aged somewhere from the ages of four to eight years old.
“Is your name Louis?” asked the older girl.
Payton smiled, replying, “No.”
“Then why does your bag say Louis? Did you borrow it from a friend? I had to use my sister’s bag when I packed.”
“It’s the name brand of my luggage.”
“You named your bag? I name my stuffed animals.”
The elevator dinged and then opened to the family’s room level. The mother hurried the girls off the elevator, mumbling something like, “So curious.”
*
Shannon sat behindher large desk with a People magazine in front of her doodling on a perfume advertisement that had a sexy half-naked man that reminded her of Jack. She was exhausted with all the paper work and amount of time she had to spend on the phone today. As she doodled yet another heart, her mind went back to her conversation with Jack that morning.
She sat in the busy office with the phone line continually lighting up with phone calls. Her emails sat open in front of her.
“Good morning!” Shannon answered the phone line.
“Gorgeous! Jack here. How are you doing?” A ding sound from her computer brought her attention to the newest email, one from Payton.
“Give me a break!” Shannon said, unintentionally out loud.
“What’s wrong, hon?” Jack asked, sounding very concerned.
“Payton just emailed me saying to rebook all of her appointments!” Looking at the computer, Payton had back-to-back clients she would need to reschedule, never mind all the paperwork she would have to do on her own. Deciding she needed to vent she continued talking to Jack, knowing that his flirtatious behavior would brighten up her day.
“You really are the perfect employee, aren’t you? Pretty, competent, organized, pleasant and sweet. You are way too good to Payton. I hope she realizes how wonderful you are.”
She hated to complain but Jack did have a point. “I hope so, too.” Looking around her desk, she was going to have a lot of work to do. She would probably be stuck here all afternoon trying to get it all done.
“I’m just on my way out and my secretary called in sick today. If only I had someone like you. Would you mind booking me a hotel in the Hamptons? Just put it under your name and I’ll reimburse you, plus some.”
Listening to Jack put a smile on her face. If only she could find a boyfriend like him.
The sound of traffic interrupted her thoughts and she was brought into the present.
