Chapter Twenty-Four
“Vacation - a period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation, especially one with pay granted to an employee.”
Frankie
I was pretty sure Mondays were invented to remind the poor schmucks who had to work for a living at jobs they hated that the weekend had been nothing but a tease and now they had five long days of torture to look forward to.
Although really, my weekend hadn’t been all puppies and rainbows anyway. Today the torture was just being moved to another place: the DMV. Although at least here at work, I could get a break from my personal life. I snorted inwardly. The day I started looking at my job as a vacation from life, I had a problem.
Between lunch with Rosalyn and Charming, him showing up at my apartment wanting to talk and falling asleep on the couch only to disappear the next morning, to being interrogated by Piper on Sunday, I guess I could understand why I wanted to escape.
It was just too bad my escape had to be screening old people’s eyes for driver’s license renewal and listening to Hagatha tell me I was the worst employee ever, but she wasn’t going to bother to fire me because that would mean she would actually have to work and train someone new.
Ahhh, to be on a tropical beach somewhere.
I threw myself into my work all day and ignored my thoughts and the scathing remarks from the witch. I even stayed late to enter some data into the computer that one of the other girls forgot to do. By the time I left, it was almost six and everyone but me and my boss was gone. She was shut into her office and I wasn’t about to go pretend I liked her and say good-bye. Who knows what I would catch her doing in there anyway. Likely sharpening her claws on a dagger.
I walked out to the parking lot, digging through my bag for my keys. I didn’t notice a white Porsche was parked next to me until I was standing beside it. I was sandwiched between his car and my Jeep when the passenger window rolled down.
“You stayed late,” he said, leaning over so he could look through the window.
“What can I say? I love my job.”
He smirked. “You hate this place and you know it.”
I gasped in mock disdain. “Is it that obvious?”
“I just read you well.”
I snorted. “If you read me at all, you wouldn’t come around me. Go away,” I said and turned to let myself into my car.
“I am going away.”
My head snapped up and I turned around. “You’re leaving town?”
He nodded. “On my way to the airport.”
I was finally getting my wish. He was leaving. I would never have to look at his face again. Why did I not feel happy about this? “Well, I’d say I was sorry to see you go…” I shrugged, leaving the rest of my sentence dangling in the air.
He ignored my sarcasm. “Go home. Pack a bag.”
“What?”
“You’re coming with me.”
I laughed. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“It’s not a request.” His eyes narrowed.
“I don’t take kindly to orders.”
He opened his door and got out, coming around the back of his SUV. “I knew you were going to be difficult. That’s why I took the liberty of packing a bag for you.” He reached inside the back and pulled out a purple duffle bag. My purple duffle bag.
My mouth fell open. “You went to my house. You went through my things?”
“You need to clean out your closet.”
“How the hell do you get in and out of my apartment?”
He smirked. “I have friends.”
“You have friends? How much do you have to pay them to keep them around?”
“Very funny,” he replied. “I don’t have time to argue with you. I’ll follow you home. Park your Jeep. Then we’re going to the airport.”
The depth of his idiocy was incredible. “I’m. Not. Going.”
His green eyes flashed with impatience and he stalked toward me, burying both his hands into his jean pockets. He was wearing jeans. Not dress pants or trousers. Honest to God jeans. They were low slung, worn, and faded with a rip in one of the knees. I looked at his shirt. It was a plain, long-sleeved cotton tee with half the hem tucked into the front of said jeans.
Holy hell, could he wear a pair of jeans. If I looked like that in jeans, I would sleep in them. I certainly wouldn’t wear dress pants.
He snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Frankie.” When I looked at him, he continued. “I don’t have time to argue with you. The plane is ready. I’m not leaving you here to wreak havoc on my life while I’m gone.” He brought his jean-wearing self even closer, the toe of his Nike bumping into the toe of my heel. “Don’t think I didn’t know what you were up to at lunch the other day, what you were going to do.”
I batted my eyes at him all innocent-like.
“Please,” he muttered. “There isn’t an innocent bone in your entire body.”
I scowled. “You are so rude.”
“If I was as rude as you think, I would have killed you for all the stuff you’ve pulled. Instead, I’m hauling you off on vacation and you’re stupid enough to argue about it.”
Wait a minute. Vacation?
A sly smile slipped over his features when he saw the interest in my eyes. Gah! I was so stupid. I should have acted like I was still annoyed.
“Have you ever been to California?” he asked, dangling a carrot in front of a very hungry rabbit (me). “The palm trees, the beaches…”
Act like you don’t care. Act like you don’t care, I repeated over and over in my head.
“Rodeo Drive…” he added.
A rabbit couldn’t resist a carrot. How was I supposed to resist all that? “You’re going to California?”
“No, we are.”
“I can’t go to California. I have to work. I have a life.”
He rolled his eyes. “Please. You hate your life.”
“I do not!” I burst out.
He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over that sexy body of his.
“Just my job and everything currently going on in my personal life… which is all your fault.”
“Well then, take advantage of a free vacation to Los Angeles. I’ll even give you my American Express card to go shopping.”
I pursed my lips. “You really think I’m going to screw everything up, don’t you?”
“Oh, I know you will, and I have enough to deal with already. Get in your car.” He glanced at his watch. “We’re already late.”