novelxo Faking Ms. Right: Chapter 34
My heart beat like a hummingbird’s—a rapid flutter, sending too much blood to my face. I stood in the restaurant lobby, wishing my cheeks weren’t so hot. Wondering if I’d worn the right outfit. Trying not to fidget or fan myself.
Nora had helped me choose the perfect interview attire—a breezy cream blouse and charcoal knee-length skirt, paired with yellow and white polka dot heels. I’d balked at the shoes, but Nora had insisted. She’d said they showed my personality, and if Cameron Whitbury didn’t want to hire a girl who could rock yellow polka dot heels, it wasn’t the right job for me anyway.
In a weird way, I saw her point.
But now that I was here, in a gorgeous restaurant in Miami waiting for this interview, I wanted to vomit from nervousness. And maybe change my shoes.
The phone interview had gone well. It hadn’t been over Skype, which had turned out to be a very good thing. Even after a shower, clean clothes, a good meal, and Nora’s makeup and hair treatment, I’d still looked like a girl who’d just been dumped and was ready to chop all her hair off and dye it pink.
Which, to be fair, I had been.
But I’d pulled myself together for the interview. It had been with Cameron herself, and I almost hated to admit it, but we’d really connected. It hadn’t felt much like an interview at all. More like catching up with a friend. She’d told me about her plans for the foundation, and what she was looking for in an executive director. And although she’d asked me questions about my work experience and future goals, the feel of our conversation had been easygoing and casual.
Right then and there, she’d invited me to come meet with her in Miami. And I’d said yes.
Afterward, I’d descended into the depths of despair again, and this time I had something new to lament about. I’d liked Cameron Whitbury, and I could see myself taking this job.
Nora and Hazel had been extremely confused by my angst. I was interested in the position, and the interview had been great. Why had they found me in a puddle of my own tears?
I’d been forced to admit that I’d secretly hoped to discover the job wasn’t for me, or that I disliked Cameron, or some other compelling reason for me to turn it down.
Logical? Not even a little. It wasn’t like passing on this job would mean Shepherd would suddenly come to his senses, apologize—with an appropriate amount of groveling—and declare his love for me. It would just mean I’d either have to suffer the horrific awkwardness of working for Shepherd until I found another job or deal with being unemployed for a while.
The only potential problem was the location. Nora and Hazel had gone very quiet when I’d told them I was being flown—by private jet, no less—to Miami for the next interview. They hadn’t said I shouldn’t go, nor had they reminded me how difficult it would be for the three of us to live on opposite sides of the country. I appreciated that they’d held back. I’d seen the concern in their faces, and I’d heard them frantically whispering when they thought I couldn’t hear. But they hadn’t tried to sway my opinion.
Not yet, at least. They would, if it came down to it. But I appreciated that they were letting me explore this option on my own.
The hostess seated a party of three and I smoothed my skirt. I’d gotten here too early. Not being late was one thing, but twenty minutes of standing in the lobby was making me a little bit crazy.
The truth was, I didn’t know if I was willing to move all the way to Miami. Did I really want to uproot my life? Move away from Nora and Hazel? From Annie and Miranda? If they had a baby—and I was sure they would, somehow—it would be a lot harder to be the cool aunt who came to every birthday party, Little League game, and school play. I’d fly home to visit as often as I could, but how often would that really be?
And it would mean closing the door forever on whatever I’d had with Shepherd.
I took a deep breath. I couldn’t think about Shepherd right now. The only thing I needed to focus on was nailing this interview.
Cameron came into the plush lobby. She was stunning. I’d seen plenty of photos of her online, but they didn’t do her justice. She had thick auburn hair and a light dusting of freckles across her nose. Flawless skin, and I’d have killed for those cheekbones. She wore a blue sleeveless blouse that made her eyes pop, high-waisted slacks, and a pair of silver stilettos I’d covet until the day I died.
She gave me a warm smile. “Everly?”
“Yes.” I held out my hand and she shook it. “Everly Dalton. It’s so nice to meet you in person, Ms. Whitbury.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too. And please, call me Cameron.” She glanced at my feet. “I love your shoes.”
Kudos to Nora. “Thanks.”
“Are you ready to be seated, Ms. Whitbury?” the hostess asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
I nearly gasped as one of the largest men I’d ever seen seemed to appear out of nowhere behind Cameron. He must have been six and a half feet tall. But it wasn’t just his height that almost made me jump out of my cute yellow heels. He was practically two people wide. Huge shoulders, thick tattooed arms bulging out of his tight black t-shirt. Thighs the size of tree trunks. How had I not noticed him there?
“I’ll go first,” he said, his deep voice monotone.
A flash of irritation crossed Cameron’s features. She gestured for him to go ahead of her, then she and I followed.
The hostess led us to a private terrace. The man held up a hand and raised his eyebrows at Cameron before going outside. He searched the entire area. For what, I had no idea, but he looked beneath the table, under the chairs, and over the railing.
“Clear,” he said, then stood off to the side, arms crossed over his thick chest.
Cameron cleared her throat as we walked outside onto the terrace. “Sorry. Jude is… security.”
“I suppose someone like you needs a bodyguard,” I said.
She pulled out a chair. “My friends seem to think so.”
We both sat and I crossed my legs at the ankles.
“I’m glad you could come out on such short notice,” Cameron said. “I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me in person.”
“Absolutely.”
The waitress came and asked for our drink orders. I was about to order a very sensible glass of water, when Cameron spoke first.
“Mimosas?” she asked, a hint of a smile on her face. “Or a bloody mary, perhaps?”
A drink? Yes, please. “A mimosa sounds great.”
She ordered two mimosas and we made small talk until the waitress came back with our drinks and took our breakfast orders.
“I already gave you the details on my plans for the foundation,” Cameron said. “I need someone who can hit the ground running. And I know your background is in a different area, but you have the set of skills, and the personality, that I’m looking for.”
“Wow, thank you.”
“Plus, if you’ve worked for Shepherd Calloway this long, I know you’re tough.”
I covered the sudden surge of emotion by taking a sip of my mimosa. “Do you know Shep—I mean, Mr. Calloway?”
“No, we’ve never met, but his reputation precedes him.”
“Of course it does. Although he’s not really what people think.”
We chatted for a while longer. The waitress brought our breakfasts, and the food was delicious. Thankfully, she didn’t stay on the topic of Shepherd. We talked more about the foundation, and how it would be structured. What she needed from an executive director. I already had ideas, and she listened to me intently as we ate.
I loved this opportunity. It filled me with a sense of excitement and purpose. I liked Cameron even more in person than I had on the phone, and it wasn’t just the mimosa breakfast. She was direct, but personable. We had a good rapport, and I could easily see myself working for her.
But there was one big problem.
“There’s just one issue I wanted to talk to you about,” I said. “I’m not sure how I feel about relocating. Miami is beautiful, and this sounds like such an amazing opportunity. But my entire life is in Seattle.”
“I thought that might be an issue after we talked the other day. If you don’t want to relocate, I have no problem opening the foundation’s headquarters in Seattle.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. I won’t need to be there in person on a daily basis, and technology makes communication simple. If you want the job, we’ll open the office in Seattle.”
Saying yes was right. I knew it, deep in my soul. This wasn’t about Shepherd. It was about me, and reaching out and grabbing a fantastic opportunity.
“Then I want the job,” I said.
Cameron smiled. “I was hoping you would.”
I put a hand to my chest and let out a breath. “I can’t believe that just happened. Did you really just hire me?”
“I sure did.” She raised her glass and I followed suit. “Here’s to doing some good in the world.”
I clicked my glass against hers. This was a milestone moment in my life. I could feel it. The future suddenly stretched out before me, full of promise.
It made me want to call Shepherd to tell him the news. I had a momentary fantasy of coming home to his condo. Bursting in the door to find him waiting for me. I’d run into his arms and he’d scoop me up and hug me tight. Whisper in my ear that he was proud of me.
I finished my drink and set my glass down, trying my very best to keep the sadness off my face.
“Excuse me, sir, you can’t go out there.”
A commotion inside the restaurant drew my attention. A man was hurrying toward our terrace, followed by the hostess.
I blinked in disbelief. It was—
Jude moved with shocking speed, especially considering his size, and before I could fathom who I was seeing, he blocked the door.
“Sir, that’s a private dining area,” the hostess said from inside. “You don’t have a reservation.”
“Everly.”
That voice. Oh my god, it really was him. I stood. “Shepherd?”
“Jude,” Cameron said, her tone annoyed. “Let him by.”
Jude shot Cameron an irritated glance but stood aside.
I gaped at the man who walked out onto the terrace. It was Shepherd. Sort of. The only time I’d seen him like this was at the bar when he was playing bass.
Plain t-shirt, although white this time. Jeans. No suit. No tie. Messy hair. Even his facial hair had grown in thicker than usual.
He looked a little bit forlorn, and utterly and completely delicious.
“Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Whitbury.” He came to the table and held out a hand to Cameron. “Shepherd Calloway.”
“Cameron,” she said, shaking his hand. She seemed both awed and slightly amused.
“I need to ask you not to offer Everly the job,” Shepherd said. “Not yet, at least. Don’t get me wrong, you should absolutely hire her. You’ll never meet someone who’s as smart, kind, hard-working, diligent, and passionate about everything she does. As her boss—or former boss, I suppose—I give her my wholehearted, unequivocal recommendation. But as a man, I’m asking you to do me an enormous favor and give me a few minutes to talk to her first.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Calloway, I’ve already offered Everly the position. And she accepted.”
The stricken look on his face as he slowly closed his eyes took the breath right out of my lungs.
He nodded once, then looked at me. “Of course. As she should have.”
Cameron picked up her purse. “I just remembered, I have another meeting to get to. Everly, thank you so much for coming. We’ll connect later and work out the details. Mr. Calloway, it was nice meeting you. I hope you both enjoy your visit to Miami.”
She glanced at Jude, who gestured for her to walk ahead of him. She smiled at me, then left, her giant hulking bodyguard moving with surprising grace behind her.
“Oh my god, Shepherd, what are you doing here?” I hissed at him when they were gone.
“Everly, I’m so sorry.” He covered his mouth, then ran his hand down his chin. “I never did figure out what I was going to say when I got here.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“Nora and Hazel.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
“They came to my office yesterday and said you’d gone to Miami for a job interview.”
“Those meddling little vixens. But how did you know I was at this restaurant? They didn’t know where I was meeting Cameron.”
He winced. “That was them, too. Nora, to be specific. She guessed your email password.”
“Damn, I knew I should have changed it.”
“I’m sorry. This is the craziest, most unprofessional thing I’ve ever done. Also, you might want to let Cameron know she can ignore all the messages I left at her office.”
“You called her office too?”
“I was desperate,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve lost my mind, and I’ve never felt this way before.”
“How did you get here so fast?”
“I called Tom Nguyen at Blue Streak Charters. He says hello, by the way.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Tom was the nicest man. “Aw, I love Tom.”
“Luckily for me, he feels the same about you.”
I glanced into the restaurant, but no one seemed to care that we were out here. “You might as well sit down.”
He took Cameron’s seat and I sat in my chair.
“So, you took the position,” he said.
“I did.”
His eyes were on the table. “That’s… great. I’m glad for you. You’ll be amazing.”
“Shepherd, why are you here?”
He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling against that crisp white shirt, and his disheveled hair fell across his forehead. “I hoped I’d get the chance to talk to you before you made your decision.”
“Why didn’t you just call me?”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I didn’t call because I needed to do this in person.”
“Do what?”
He looked up, meeting my eyes. “Tell you that it wasn’t fake. Not for me.”
“What?”
“I love you. I think I’ve loved you since the moment you stepped out of that car in that goddamn red dress. And I’ve fallen a little bit more in love with you every day. I should have told you a hundred times, but I’m an emotionally stunted robot.”
I laughed softly. “No, you’re not.”
“I really am,” he said. “From the very beginning, I was fighting my attraction to you. Do you remember the first night we slept in bed together?”
“Yes.”
“I barely slept because all I could think about was how beautiful you were. How good you smelled. I kept wondering how I’d worked with you for years, but I’d never really seen you. But I know exactly why. I didn’t let myself see you. Not because you worked for me, although that was part of it. But mostly because deep down, I knew if I did, I’d fall for you. And that fucking terrified me.”
He glanced away again and rubbed his jaw. It seemed like he had more to say, so I waited, my heart in my throat.
“I’m sorry I overreacted when I found the contract. I should have listened to you.”
I nodded. “I’m sorry too. I’m sorry you found out the way you did. I never wanted to hurt you.”
He reached across the table and traced the back of my hand with his fingers. “I know you didn’t. Everly, thank you for everything. I asked you to turn your life upside down for me, and you did it. Regardless of whether you thought it might get me to agree to something else, you did it because you care so much about the people in your life. Even me, and I’d never done anything to deserve it. Thank you for your kindness to my dad. For coming into my world and injecting color. Maybe this sounds stupid, but your sunshine warmed my cold soul, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”
“Shepherd, I’m not moving to Miami.”
“What?”
“You sound like you’re trying to say goodbye, but I’m not staying here. I told Cameron I wasn’t sure about relocating. She said the foundation can be headquartered anywhere. We’re opening the office in Seattle.”
He stared at me for a long moment, his mouth slightly open, brow furrowed. Without saying a word, he rose and took my hand, gently pulling me to my feet. He tilted my chin up and looked down at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.
“Everly,” he said, his voice soft and low. “I love you. Please come home.”
My eyes stung with tears and I squeezed them shut. Relief poured through me. He’d said it. It was real. Shepherd Calloway loved me.
“I love you, too.”
And there it was. That smile. The one that showed his perfect teeth and puckered his adorable dimples. The smile he never gave anyone else. The one he saved for me.
“I wasn’t trying to say goodbye,” he said, caressing my cheek. “Not exactly. I was formulating a plan B. Wondering how long it would take to buy a private jet. I wasn’t going to let you get away so easily.”
I smiled and he leaned down to seal his lips over mine. I melted against him, tossing my arms around his neck. He wrapped me in his strong arms and lifted me off my feet.
“Congratulations,” he whispered into my ear. “I’m so proud of you.”