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“Last night I realized that we can’t be good at everything. It means that I shouldn’t have assumed you knew how special you are.”
“Special?” Jessica looked away hoping that Brian didn’t see her blinking away her tears.
Brian sighed. “Yes, it's just what I thought. You don't have any idea.”
Jessica wanted to tell him. Of course, she knew the truth. She had been surrounded by the truth all of her life. She only knew how to do one thing, and that thing was to be smart. She was sure lots of other people could get as smart as she is, so it wasn't even so special at the end of the day.
“I can tell that you're not listening to me.”
Jessica jumped and then she realized that she wasn’t fully engaged. She turned back to Brian, pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose and gave him her best smile.
“I’m listening. You think there is something unique about me. I am Mr. Middleton’s EA.”
“No, Jessica, you’re more.”
Jessica stood up and wrapped her arms around her body.
“I’m not sure why you want to talk about this today. I mean, I hear you. I’m special. Little kids are special. We’re all special, okay?”
“It’s not okay,” Brian said as he stood up and held out his hand. “Can you trust me, Jessica? I know there are so many reasons why you shouldn’t, but can you trust me?”
Jessica looked at his outstretched hand with suspicion. “Trust you to do what?”
“Well, that's the whole point of trust, isn't it? I'm supposed to hold out my hand and you're supposed to take it, if you trust me.”
Jessica looked at his hand, and all she wanted to do was to grab it and pull it close to her heart. This was Brian. This was the same Brian that she was competing for a job with. According to Beth, this was Brian the rat. Even adding up all of those negative facts against him, Jessica still wanted to go with him.
“How long is this trust thing supposed to last for?”
“Give me forty-eight hours. If you want to stop earlier, I’ll do that. By the same token if you want to go longer, I’ll be there with you.”
It was for a limited time. Jessica could do a short interval. Without further delay she reached for his hand.
“Deal!”
Brian pulled her closer to him until he was looking into her eyes. Jessica looked up and all she could see were his lips coming down to hers. She closed her eyes and waited for the feel of his lips once again.
“Pack a day bag, we leave in an hour. Also, if you thought my face was so offensive that you had to close your eyes, you could at least tell a guy first.”
“What?” Jessica said stepping back. Bran had already turned to go on his way as he called over his shoulder.
“You’ve got an hour, be ready.”
* * *
Brian hadn’t really thought this plan out. It was done on the fly, but he knew he had to do something. He was going to show Jessica how special she was. Now, he hadn’t expected to do it with an audience, but Clay and Beth had invited themselves to the outing.
Brian had chosen to go to another Butler Hotel two towns over in Haling Cove. It turned out that the Butler Hotel in Haling Cove was an exclusive spa and golf resort. When he was quoted the price per night, he knew right away how exclusive they were. He had heard about this hotel, but he hadn't actually visited it. He was sure, though, that Jessica had never been to this hotel. Today he was going to spend his time showing Jessica just how special she was and proving that she could socialize with the best of them.
When they arrived at the hotel, they were instantly whisked away by personal attendants who took them to their rooms. The rooms were two suites connected and when Brian and Clay got upstairs the friends were running from room to room.
When they saw the men they stopped, and Brian saw the flush on Jessica’s face. He was delighted and they hadn’t even started the day yet.
“Clay is taking Beth to a nearby weaver who does her own spinning of yarn,” Brian said. Beth ran into the other room and then pulled Clay along.
“We’ll meet up for dinner, have fun!” Beth said dragging Clay. As the door closed he could hear Beth asking what the address was and could she drive.
Jessica stood in the room looking around. He could tell the moment she saw his briefcase. Her shoulders deflated and she pasted on what Brian now recognized as a fake smile.
