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I take a moment to look him up and down, lifting an incredulous eyebrow. “Really? You don't look like you're on vacation.”
He lifts a shoulder and takes another drink of his whiskey. “I'm always working, even when I'm not.” The tone of his voice sounds almost sad, and I can't help but feel for him.
“What do you do?” I ask, curious.
He leans in even closer, and speaks in a low, conspiratorial voice. “I'm a hitman, “he says casually, a sparkle in his eyes as he spreads his hands and glances down at his suit. “Why, what did you think I do?”
I laugh. “I figured you were a cowboy or something. But hitman makes so much more sense.”
“What about you? What do you do?” he asks, swirling his ice and whiskey with a deft flick of his wrist.
“I’m a vet tech.” I can't help the warmth flooding me with his genuine interest and curiosity.
“You’re an animal lover, then,” he says, matter-of-factly.
I nod. Who doesn't love animals? Nobody I’d trust, that’s for sure. “I do! Caring for animals is my passion.” I’m happy where I am in life, and it’s good to feel validated and seen. “So how is the hitman life?” Of course, that's not what he really does for a living, but I'm happy to keep this joke going. He doesn't owe me any answers, and I’m not about to demand any.
He lifts his shoulders, ducking his head back and forth. “It definitely has its ups and downs.”
That visual makes me laugh and I continue my drink. My friends have always told me I have a dark, morbid sense of humor. Jake didn’t get it, but this guy seems to effortlessly understand me and that’s... a good feeling.
“What do you do when you're not taking care of animals?” he asks, his eyes flicking to my face from his drink.
Here is where I would typically make a joke about taking care of another kind of animal - meaning my ex - but I don’t have to do that anymore. I’m free of Jake and all his strings, his bullshit, and his annoying double standards. “Bold of you to assume I have free time,” I joke, and he laughs.
He laughs a real, genuine, hardy laugh that draws my attention but makes me feel warm and happy. I glance at his lips, wondering what they’d feel like on mine.
Chapter Two
Damien
I haven't done anything this stupid in a long time.
I walk out onto the balcony of my cabin and stare out over the endless expanse of water. I can't stop thinking about her. The curly haired, hazel-eyed woman at the bar. Her panicked opening line had grabbed my attention, her ability to laugh at herself kept me intrigued, and the sparkle in her eyes hooked me in a way I can’t seem to escape.
Every time I close my eyes, I see her wide smile and freckles, her petite, curvy cute frame, and hear the sound of her laughter. Even the near-constant buzz and trill of my phone seems forgotten as she lingers in my mind.
The stupid thing I'd done was not get her name.
It's a big ship with a lot of people on board - there's a good chance we won't cross paths again. And the things that I know about her won’t help me find her, like the fact that she likes mimosas for breakfast, she's a vet tech, and her humor is infectious. She made a boring, work-filled morning feel fun and alive.
Even though she'd been alone, she hadn't been lonely. Even though she was the right age to be, she didn't spend the entire time we’d talked on her phone. Hell, she hadn’t even checked her phone while we’d talked. That's a completely unexpected scenario that has never happened to me before. For the first time ever, I felt like I had someone's complete and undivided attention. I didn't have to fight with her phone just to try and get a word in edgewise.
The wind whips at my hair and pins my clothing to my body, and I lower my elbows to the railing. I know that she loves animals and that she's on vacation. I know she seemed oddly sad, even as we had an animated conversation. And she's one of the few people who didn't pressure me into giving her more information about where I work and what I do.
I don't like telling people that I'm a CEO for a well-known company - a company I created from the ground up. A company that's currently under attack from someone I went to college with, who thinks that they can undermine me and take everything I’ve worked so hard for.
Someone I’m toying with.
As if on cue, my phone chimes and I lift it up to see that someone's trying to access my work computer in my office. With the push of a button, I let them into a mirror, a dummy account that won’t actually allow him to do anything, but he’ll feel like he’s making progress. And while he’s doing so, I have him on camera and have armed guards waiting for him. Of course, the guards are just there in case he tries something really stupid, like take a hostage or some other reckless move.
I pull up the surveillance and watch him typing away happily at my keyboard. My dark heart is amused at the fact that he is not accomplishing the task he set out to execute. He thinks he’s going to steal information, passwords, and install a keylogger on my computer, but he’s really just leaving a perfect digital fingerprint of the crimes he’s trying to commit. He’ll get nothing from this, but will walk away feeling like he’s winning. What an idiot.
But even as I watch someone else's evil plan unfold right in front of me, I find myself wishing I could be anyone else right now. I don't want to be Damien Black, CEO of Black Industries. I don't want to be the ruthless, ambitious man who's known to stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
Right now, I want to be a man on a vacation who has met a woman he might just want to see again. I want to have fun, enjoy my life, let loose a little bit. Change out of the endless array of suits and ties that all look strikingly similar and just relax. I want to be an everyman, someone who has caught the eye of a beautiful woman and can just enjoy her company.
I want to be someone who can be with her.
