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“The Seattle hotel is going to be a strong combination of what you’ve done already, but also there’s going to be a strong music vibe going into it. You know Seattle is one of the biggest music scenes in the US, and both Jason and the manager out there want the vibe of the place to reflect that,” Leroy explained. “And I’m trusting you’ll be able to make this happen. It’s not going to be as easy as what you did back in Florida, but I’m hoping with Washington already having a strong artist base, you’re not going to have many issues with finding the pieces to bring the place to life.”
“I have full confidence I’ll make it happen,” I promised him. “Don’t worry about that.”
“But there’s another thing I feel I should bring up to you, too,” he said. “And that’s deadlines. We’re running on a strict deadline with the location in Washington, so you don’t have any time to be late,” he said. “Any time.”
My cheeks flushed red, and I was glad he couldn’t see me. I was glad no one could see me sitting in the back of the car right now. The driver was giving me privacy with my phone call and refrained from looking in the rearview mirror as he drove me back to the hotel.
I knew it was shame that caused me to blush, but I also wondered how he knew I was late that morning. It was clearly a reminder over that, and I wanted to ask him who called and told on me.
But, what difference did it make? Either the manager who was at the hotel waiting for me to come in to talk to her that morning called and told him, or he had an eye on my phone’s location. Either was possible, but one was just as annoying as the other.
The manager would be really high strung to have called him with me being only a couple hours late. I didn’t have any missed calls on my own phone, so she hadn’t tried to reach me first. On the other hand, there was the chance he was also keeping a direct eye on my location through my phone.
I had a feeling if that was the case, then if I were to go in and change the location settings on my phone and whether he could see them, that would be an issue. Or, perhaps he saw it as an issue that I had gone to that restaurant that was over an hour away from where I was supposed to be working. It wasn’t as though he had the power to dictate where I was or what I did with my time while I was at any job location, but at the same time, I knew he didn’t want to send me down here to be messing around when I was supposed to be working.
“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “I’m not going to be late, trust me.”
“I would love to be able to,” he replied. “I don’t like investing my time with someone who’s not taking it seriously. So let me be able to trust you in that I don’t have to worry about you not making the deadlines. There was a reason why I sent you down there when I couldn’t personally go, and you know that, don’t you?”
“I do,” I said. “I know you sent me because you knew I would be able to get it done. I’m not going to let you down.”
“Good,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about what’s going to happen if we get knocked down because of this. I have worked hard to make the company what it is today. We all have. We are a team, and when it comes down to it, we all need to work together to make sure things are going the way we planned.”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “We’re wrapping up things here, and we’ll be in Washington in a matter of hours.”
“Good,” he replied. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”
I hung up the phone and sighed. I wasn’t happy with myself for being late that morning, and I knew if Leroy was keeping that tight of tabs on me and my location, then there wasn’t going to be room for another screw up. I had to make sure I was on time no matter where I was.
I wrapped up the conversation right as we were pulling up in front of the hotel, so I thanked the driver and got out.
My mind was still on my boss and how I had been late that morning as I headed through the lobby and up toward my room. I knew I could order room service, and I was glad that Greyson had already told me he was going to make it an early night, but even those two things didn’t stop me from hesitating outside my door.
If I turned around, I could knock on his door and talk to him for just a few minutes. But, he already told me he wasn’t going to be available to hang out, and I knew doing that would be selfish. I didn’t want to send him the message that I wasn’t able to respect his privacy.
So, I forced myself to unlock my door and slip inside. I could text him later and tell him goodnight, but right now, I had to focus on what I had to get done. I still had paperwork to do, and I had to get to bed early if I was going to make sure I would then get up early the next day.
Greyson would still be around, I knew that.
But it was time for me to be an adult.
And I had to focus on work.
TWENTY-ONE
Greyson
It wasa lot harder to stay away from Laurel than I expected it would be.
I wanted to text her nonstop throughout the day, and I had to force myself to keep myself under control. I knew she was at work, and I didn’t want to bother her. I had texted her intentionally that I was going to bed early to make sure she didn’t have reason to be texting me throughout the day, and it must have worked.
I didn’t hear anything from her except for toward the end of the night when she texted me to tell me she was going to bed. I’d answered her, but I also kept it brief. Friendly, but brief. I didn’t want to encourage her to come over to my room.
The hotel was nice enough I wasn’t able to hear when she got back to her room, and I was glad for that. When I didn’t know when she got back, it made it a lot easier for me to ignore my own urges to hang out with her and let her get her work done.
So that’s what I did.
But, the next morning, I was about ready to go stir crazy again. I knew there were other things I could be doing with myself in Cali. There was no denying the fact LA had a lot more to offer me than I felt Florida had. Sure, there were things I could go do or see in Florida, but I was far more worried about being available to Laurel in case she needed it than I was worried about going to sightsee.
