My Unexpected Vow: California Billionaires Book 2 by Harlow James (children's ebooks free online TXT) 📗

“You already know the answer to that question, sir.”

“Oh, yeah. Call me sir again, Beaverly.”

“God,” I groan while shaking my head. “You just can’t let those little things go, can you?”

“Nope. You talked yourself right into that one, Wave.”

“Fine. Yes, I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon. Why are you so concerned about when I’ll be back? Are you…” I pause, both elated to tease him and also anxious to hear his answer to my question. “Are you missing me, Hayes?”

His silence makes me wonder if I’ve pushed past a boundary I should have just stayed firmly on the other side of. “Maybe a little.”

I barely gasp, but it’s enough of a sharp inhale that it has me incredibly aware of what he just said.

“But I have to say, it’s nice to see all the pens with their caps on rightfully in place.”

And then I’m smiling, chuckling to myself, but loud enough that he can hear me. “Did you put the caps back on all of my pens?”

“I did. And you’re not here to do anything about it.”

“Well, I’m sure all the cupboards you touched this morning before you left for work are still open, so don’t come at me with my annoying habits when yours are just as bad.”

“You act like leaving a cupboard open is the worst thing on the planet.”

“It is when you come around a corner and run straight into the corner of a drawer with your hip and it leaves a bruise, or when then you smack your head into the corner of the cupboard when you stand up after reaching down to get something else. Living with you has now posed a threat to my safety.”

He laughs. “Don’t worry, Wave. I’ll make sure to catch you if you knock yourself out.”

“Ah, how thoughtful.”

“Hey, Waverly. The guys want your opinion on the moldings!” Ian calls out to me, grabbing my attention.

“Be right there!” I turn my back to Ian and the workers. “Hey, I’ve got to go.”

“Yeah, alright. Take some pictures for me though, okay?”

“Of course.”

“And Waverly?” he says, holding me captive as I await what will come out of his mouth next.

“Yeah?”

“Be safe, alright?”

The corner of my mouth lifts and a warmth radiates from my chest. “I’ll be fine, Hayes. But it’s cute to know you’re worried about me.”

“Not worried, just …”

“Sure …” I drag out. “Talk to you later.”

“Bye, Wave.”

He ends the call, but all I can do is stare down at the lit-up screen on my phone, willing my smile to go back down, even though I know there’s no way that’s going to happen anytime soon. And that night as I fall asleep in my hotel room all alone, I get the sense of what Hayes was talking about—missing him when I realize he wasn’t there at the end of my day.

* * *

“Fuck Los Angeles!”

I throw my purse onto the counter and then stomp over to the bar, reaching for Hayes’s whiskey, even though that’s not even close to being my drink of choice. But desperation overrides my taste in alcohol as I raise the bottle, unscrew the cap, and bring it straight to my lips, not even bothering with a glass because fuck the day I just had.

I returned home from Vegas last week, only to receive a phone call the next day that a firm in downtown L.A. wanted to bring me in for an interview. GBC Interiors was one of my top choices to get hired with when I was going to school. Their clientele is very high-end, and the owner is inspiring. Gabrielle Brown built her own firm at the young age of twenty-three and has now become one of the most sought-after designers in southern California.

Getting that phone call felt like I had scaled a hike up the tallest mountain. I was ready for the interview, eager and dressed to the nines in a white and black suit ensemble that made me look strikingly professional and classy. A buzz hummed through my body at the thought of this opportunity. And perhaps Janet was right—things were starting to fall into place.

I barely slept last night with the interview lurking on the other side of the sunrise, but when I stepped into the office and settled into my chair, I had never felt more unsure of my goals. The woman sitting across the desk looked at me as if I were a child, someone so far beneath her to even consider putting in an application to work there. And then when she made the connection between who I am and who my brother is—oh, that’s when the real fun started.

“Why are you even here?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your brother literally owns a chain of five-star hotels. Why aren’t you just working for him?”

“I’m sorry …”

“Why do you even need a job? You have a family business you can easily slip your feet into. Better yet, I bet you don’t even need to work.”

“Um, why does that matter? What about what I want?”

Gabrielle laughed at me. “Honey, this is Los Angeles. It’s all about who you know. And with your fresh-out-of-school outlook, the clientele at this firm would chew you up and spit you out. Better go call big brother and ask him to open a few doors for you. Although, you have a pretty rich husband now too, don’t you? Maybe you can bank on that marriage and use that to your advantage. Or why don’t you just sit there and look pretty and live off the trust fund that I know you’re sitting on.” She sat back in her chair and steepled her hands together, eyeing me with an air of superiority. “Let the people that actually need to work for a living get the opportunity for jobs like this.”

My jaw dropped as she crumbled up my application and threw it in the trash. “I think we can both agree you can leave now.”

I stood from my chair, held my head high, and