The announcement came as a shock. “He did what?” My heart started to sink again, feeling like everything Parker had said to me about not manipulating me was a lie.
“Don’t be surprised, kid. You’re the best thing to ever happen to this paper. Your stories are honest and raw. People love reading your words. Danvers would be an idiot not to try everything to keep you here. Unfortunately, he can’t pay you what Global would. So bear that in mind. He is practicing wise business.”
“Mr. Wright, can I ask you a question?” I sat on pins and needles, feeling like his answer to my question would seal my fate. He nodded, so I continued. “Do you think Parker is the sort of guy to just manipulate me into staying when he knows a career advancement is out there for me that he can’t provide?”
He shook his head instantly. “He is a shrewd businessman. He understands that you have goals and that you’d want to move on if he couldn’t provide what you’d get elsewhere.”
“But would he throw his money around in say, a new car, to keep me?” David had known Parker far longer than I had. His honest answer was all I wanted.
“To be purposefully manipulative, no. It’s not his nature. He’d just tell you outright that he was providing certain benefits if you stayed. He has not gotten you this car because he thought you were leaving. What he’s doing is building a comfortable nest—a cocoon, if you will—where you can evolve and grow into everything you are meant to be. I think he hopes that you’ll find it so wonderful that you’ll never want to leave. And so do I. But if you chose to leave, he wouldn’t try to stop you or manipulate you into staying.”
I felt relief flood my being. “Thank you, David. I appreciate your candor.”
“No problem. Now lay off the bickering with Williams, and try not to incite any more bullshit with him. He’s a big enough problem as it is.”
I rose with a nod and let myself out, heading back to my desk. I needed to call Dr. James and tell her about things. If Global already called David for a reference, chances are I’d be setting up an interview soon. That made me nervous as hell, but I was excited. Now I needed someone to ground me so I didn’t fly away like a cheap rubber balloon filled with helium.
18
PARKER
“You know, for late April, the weather is really nice. I can’t believe the veranda is open.” Haley took another bite of food, once again deflecting and changing the subject from my direct question. She’d avoided the topic of work all night.
“Yes, well, we are having a warm spell this year. Maybe the pier will be open soon and I can take you down to get some cotton candy.” I pretended to not notice her clever misdirection, but I began to wonder why she made it a point of redirecting my focus. “But you didn’t answer my question. I asked if you were finding anything at work difficult at the moment.”
She sighed, her shoulders dropping. The breeze off the lake was chillier than I had planned, so I had given her my jacket, but now I was beginning to feel a bit cold. I tried to keep my muscles relaxed so I didn’t start shivering. It was a good thing we were almost done eating, anyway.
“Look, I don’t really want to talk about work. It’s difficult for me to keep the professional side of this relationship separated.” She looked up at me. “If we’re on a date, I want to talk about our personal life. I know we’ll have some things to sort out if thisgets serious, because every person wants their partner to listen to how their day went. Right now, though…”
“Say no more.” I held my hand up for the check and to halt her explanation. “I completely understand. Just answer one more question. How do you like the new car?”
Her grin returned in full force and she gushed. “I love it. It drives like a dream, and when I had to pick up my dry cleaning, I had space for everything and nothing got wrinkled. Thank you so much for the generous gift.”
“Bonus,” I said, winking at her. “So, you drive a lot around town?”
“Not really. Just errands in the evening and whatnot. The weekends get busy sometimes, though.” She wiped her mouth and draped her napkin over her plate. “I bet you have people to do all that stuff for you. Don’t you?”
I chuckled. “Yes, well I do have lots of people to do stuff for me, but the one thing they can’t do for me is relax.”
Haley drew the jacket around her shoulders more tightly. The dress she wore wasn’t exactly conducive to outdoor dining. As the sun set, the temperature dropped quickly. I felt bad for reserving the outdoor dining table.
“You have plenty of people to work for you at every level. You should just take some time off if you need to relax.” Her hand rested on top of mine, fingers brushing lightly over my wrist. “You seem stressed often. I bet a mini staycation would help you a lot.”
It was the perfect lead-in, and I couldn’t pass it up. “Actually, I was thinking we should take a trip. You know, get away for a few days. Maybe we could have a long weekend and visit somewhere warm while we wait for spring to actually show up.” I turned my hand over, wrapping my hand around hers, and she grinned.
“Really?”
“Yeah, what place would you like to visit but haven’t seen yet?” I loved the curiosity sparking in her eyes.
“Well, I’ve never been anywhere on the West Coast, and I love beaches.”
“Los Angeles it is. We can visit Malibu, Santa Monica, the works. What do you think? We can go anytime, this weekend or next?” Just thinking of taking her away from this place fueled me. Here in Chicago, we had to venture to places outside of our normal neighborhoods to avoid being seen by Vine staff members. In LA or any other city, we’d have privacy to do what we wanted. And I wouldn’t mind locking myself in a hotel room with her for five days straight, either.
“Yeah, alright, let’s do it.”
For the first time in this awkward relationship, I felt we were on the same page. Things had been a bit touch and go, and with Jack Williams getting pushy, I was afraid Haley would shy away from me again. I was relieved to leave that restaurant with her tucked against my side, arm around her waist. I led her to the car and we were greeted by Gordon, who said nothing as he let us into the car. He knew I had an early meeting and thus, Haley would be going home because we discussed it before leaving to pick her up.
We started out into traffic, which was horrible this time of night on a Friday evening, and found ourselves stuck in a jam. I closed the window between the driver’s seat and the back of the limo and rested my hand on Haley’s thigh.
