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I nodded. “There’s always tomorrow. Tonight, let’s just relax and let someone else do the work.”
“Okay. But I think I should warn you. My brother Joey said he’d like to meet you.”
I’ve never gone and met a woman’s family before. Then again, she’d met most of mine. Not that I wanted her to. “Should I bring enough for three?”
PJ smiled and said, “Four. He’s seeing my best friend Crystal. No way is she going to let him come without her.”
Oh, great. Sounds like as much fun as talking to Lizzy.
“Sounds wonderful,” I replied.
Giggling, PJ replied, “I’m not sure that’s the right word to describe it. But they’re good people. You’ll like them.”
But will they like me?
I probably could pass muster with Crystal, but brothers were tough. And from what PJ had told me, Joey worked for the government. He probably already knew more about me than I liked.
Too late to change my mind now. PJ’s finally smiling again.
After I dropped her off at home, I decided to go back to my hotel to do some work. It wasn’t like me to be away from the office so long. The last thing I needed was my employees getting used to so much freedom. Sure enough, my first call confirmed my fears. Directly to voicemail after one ring. What the hell is he doing with his cell phone off?
I dialed another number, and the same thing happened. My blood was boiling. I’d try one more number before I flew my ass up there and fired them all.
Randy, my sales accounting manager answered after two rings. “This is Randy, how can I help you?”
“Where the fuck is everyone, Randy?”
“Hello, Mr. Heart. I can assure you, my department is here and just finishing up on the month-end processing. As always, the numbers are perfect.”
As I expect them to be.“And what about the other departments?” I asked.
“I would assume they are off today.”
“Off?” I snapped.
“Yes, sir. It’s Sunday. The office is closed. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the month-end,” Randy stated.
Sunday? Where the fuck has the week gone?I needed to get back to Boston. Between camping with the family and being here with PJ, I was losing valuable time. Time was something that was nearly impossible to make up.
“I’ll be back in the office tomorrow. Staff meeting at eight.”
“I thought you were on vacation,” Randy said, somewhat riled.
“I am, but my business comes first.” It always has. I never thought I’d be away this long. PJ, you’ve become a distraction. A sweet, lovely one, but still a distraction.
“I hope you enjoyed your time with your family,” Randy said. “It’s precious time.”
I had forgotten that Randy’s wife was undergoing chemo. “Make sure you get the month-end down and get home to Cora.” I wish I could tell him to just leave it and finish tomorrow, but the project was time sensitive.
“I will. And we will see you in the morning.”
I ended the call, then opened my laptop and sent a meeting request to my team. This was the easy part. Telling PJ I was heading back to Boston after dinner tonight was going to be another story.
Definitely waiting until after her guests leave, because I want to hold her in my arms one more time.I laid back on the bed and closed my eyes. We were so different that being together didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t like I was going to relocate to Florida, and with her family and best friend close by, I doubted Boston appealed to her, either.
Was this why she had left so suddenly before? Had she realized even then that it could never work between us? If that was the case, all I’d done by chasing after her was prolong the inevitable. I didn’t want to break her heart, but if I wasn’t careful, that’s exactly what I was going to do.
I never thought I’d be doing this, but I needed advice. It sure as hell wasn’t going to be from Lizzy, either. I’d learned from that mistake. Jerry, your number is up again.
