"This is Jon." He was out of breath, which gave me pause.
"Bad time, boss?" I asked.
"No. Just got done with my mid-day run. You in Florida?"
"Yeah. Kevin is here as well." I moved over to let more people in the elevator and wondered why the hell I didn't wait a few minutes to call. Idiot.
"Oh yeah? That will be nice to have someone to hang out with in your down time."
"Try again. The guy's a jerk, Jon. We need to look for someone else. He has no ethics and he thinks that everyone owes him something." I moved out of the elevator as we reached the top floor and typed in the code on my key before slipping it into the reader.
"He's a little unconventional, but honestly he's a great writer and it's hard as hell to find a food critic that has the ability to express flavor and write well. Most of their time is spent giving less-than-stellar reviews. You know how it is."
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"I do, but we can do better than him. He's an embarrassment to the company."
"Find someone, and I'll interview them. Good luck with it, too. They're hard as hell to find with experience."
"Are we looking for experience or can we perhaps think about talking with someone green, just out of college?" I walked into the room and felt a fluttering of regret. I should have had a beautiful woman by my side to enjoy the room with. It was extravagant and bled lust and wealth.
"I'm willing to talk to someone if we think we can mold them.”
"Let me call you back. I just got into my room. I need to take a few notes on the experience. Later." I dropped the call and pressed the audio recorder on my phone. "Extravagant, breath-taking, luxurious. The room is spacious and built for housing an all-night party with the rich and famous. The view from the living room balcony is befitting a king, and the crimson and gold decor reminds me of old money. I need a glass of brandy and a robe...but don't we all?"
I turned the recording off and pulled out my stylus, starting to take notes as I moved room to room analyzing, judging, critiquing. There was very little I could find wrong with the penthouse, which would be a golden jewel in the resort’s proverbial crown.
The fact that I couldn't shake Viv from my mind during the entire tour was a bit unnerving. I stood in stony silence at the entrance to the master bedroom and let my imagination go wild. The bed was large enough for a family of five to spread out comfortably, but how exquisite it would be to have the pretty girl in her panties and bra, laid out before me? Her hair spayed wildly along the silk sheets and that sultry look in her eyes that said she was more than ready for a long night of staining each other with our lust.
My body hardened, and I groaned, sliding my hand over my erection as it pressed against my slacks. Why was I having a hard time not thinking about a woman I just fucking met? It made no sense, and yet there she was...already in the middle of my fantasies. It had to be because of my family's belief in fate. They felt that there were no coincidences. I'd run into Vivian in the airport because we were meant to meet. She was my seatmate because she was meant to be in my life.
She was checking into the same hotel as me because she would most certainly be in my bed.
I chuckled at my faulty reasoning and pulled out my phone, glancing down at her number once more and letting out a long sigh. If we were meant to be anything other than a casual oddity, then we would be.
I started to press the delete button, but didn't. Instead, I dropped onto the bed face first, wanting a nap before I had to begin the arduous task of analyzing everything around me.
Chapter 7
Vivian
"I feel ridiculous in this." I held my towel in front of me as we walked down the beach.
Casey reached over and tugged it away, grimacing at me. "You look fucking hot. Stop hiding yourself, silly. You have the best body of anyone I know."
"You don't get out much, do ya?" I smirked and pulled the towel away. "It's all those years of playing volleyball and swimming, though I think guys actually prefer a little more meat on a girl’s bones. I want to be curvy like you."
"Yeah, we call this fat in my house." She winked at me and pointed ahead of us. "Enough about us. Let's talk about them."
A group of guys stood around a margarita hut that was situated in the middle of the sand, just a hundred feet from the crashing waves. They were laughing loudly and trying to talk over each other.
"No thanks. Grab me a drink while you're over there. I'll go get us a seat on this crowded beach." I smiled, pulling my sunglasses down and doing an about-face. I wasn't shy around guys, but grabbing the attention of a gaggle of them was out completely.
Casey was a ham and wanted everyone’s attention, which I was good with. She'd always been out in front in our relationship, and I was rather comfortable with my supporting role to the princess.
A laugh left me as I laid out my towel and dropped down onto the cold sand. The sun pulsed above me in the cloudless sky, but its warmth was thwarted by the cool breeze coming off of the ocean.
Closing my eyes, I let my head drop back and let out a slow breath. Nothing could disturb the peace that wrapped around me. My life back in New York could stay there for the week. Casey was right. I needed the vacation more than I could have imagined.