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“I suppose. Now if I could get Daulton Holdings off my ass, I could get my social life back on track.”
Skylar asks, “What are they doing now?”
“They were livid when they found out that I now own the building. Obviously, Aunt Cass did me a huge favor in buying it for me, otherwise they would have, but it seems to have pissed them off. My supplier prices keep rising. I know they’re behind it. I constantly have to change suppliers and ask for confidentiality agreements so Daulton Holdings doesn’t find out who they are. They always do eventually, though.”
Mom shakes her head. “I thought the son was supposed to take over. Jackson seems to think he’s a more reasonable person.”
“I don’t know what the delay is, but the old man is still in charge, and he’s got it bad for me for some unknown reason.”
Mom smiles. “Reagan, you were just voted one of the top up-and-coming businesswomen under thirty years old in the country. You’re getting a lot of attention for your innovativeness. You’ve sold a dozen franchises in other states. Of course, a big company wants in on your genius.”
I scrunch my nose. “I guess. But Daulton Holdings is on a different level. It’s a publicly traded Fortune 500 company. They don’t need me enough to spend the type of time pursuing me the way that they are. I’m a smart enough businesswoman to know that much.”
Mom shrugs.
Skylar looks at me. “Did you see the Daulton son on the news the other day? He’s smoking hot.”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him. I’ve heard he’s a player though, so I guess I’m not surprised he’s good-looking.”
“You should Google him. He’scrazygood-looking.”
I pull out my phone and GoogleCarter Daulton. Wow. Skylar was right. He’s insanely hot. It’s mostly pictures of him in a business suit, a few of him in a tuxedo with model types on his arm, and several of him at clubs with more model types. He’s tall, extremely broad, has light brown hair that’s very short on the sides and pretty long and styled on top, and has a neatly-trimmed beard. His eyes appear to be a hazel color. He seems miserable in every picture. “Hmm. He actually looks a little familiar. I can’t place where I’ve seen him, but I’m pretty sure I have. I must have seen him around somewhere.”
CHAPTERTWO
11 YEARS AGO
REAGAN
“Reagan, are you ready? You don’t want to be late for the first day of your internship.”
I roll my eyes and start walking down the stairs of our house. “I’m ready, Dad. Cool your jets. We have plenty of time.”
He shakes his head. “Let this be your first lesson in business. Time is money, and no one likes to waste either. If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. Always be early. It shows both respect and self-discipline.”
Mom playfully swats his butt. “Scott, leave her alone. It’s her first day. Most of her friends are at camps or just hanging out down the shore having fun. Let’s just be happy that she wants to work.”
He turns around, pulls her into his arms, and kisses the top of her head. “She needs to learn the right way of doing things, baby. That’s what this summer is about. I won’t coddle her. That won’t help her.”
She buries her head in his chest and returns his hug. “Just don’t be too hard on her.”
“I won’t.” He pulls away and looks her up and down. “You look beautiful. Are you going into your office today?”
She smiles. “Thank you. I am. I have a bunch of client meetings.” She looks him up and down. “You look pretty handsome yourself.”
I roll my eyes again. The two of them are nauseating. I walk between them. “Break it up, you two. Save it for later.”
They both smile. He winks at her, and she blows him a kiss. Having parents who are actually in love is the worst. All my friends make fun of me. Though I suppose the alternative is much worse. I have friends dealing with that too.
Dad and I drive to his office. He asks me about my boyfriend, Logan. I do my best to give him the least amount of information as possible. It’s bad enough that he and Mom insist on meeting every boy I go out with, and that my boyfriends always love my parents. I don’t need to volunteer any more information than is absolutely necessary.
Logan has now been around for a few months, though. They know him pretty well. Well enough.
Mom just took me to get birth control pills. She promised not to tell my dad. We’re a pretty open family, but I don’t want him to know that stuff about me. Harley said Mom’s good about keeping confidences in that regard. I see no reason for Dad to know that I’m about to lose my virginity this summer.
I hear my cell phone make a noise. I just got my first iPhone for my birthday. I’m really excited about it. It’s so much better than the flip phone I used to have. I see I have a text from Jasmine about going to a pool party this afternoon. I reply that I’ll come by in the evening after work.
Dad looks over to me. “When you’re with clients, or really with anyone, make sure to turn your phone off. It’s extremely rude to be focused on something else when your attention should be on the person you’re with.”
