Page 20 of Some Kinda Romance

“Start following up,” I said. “This is a major event and our family has been hosting it for almost two decades. I’m not fucking it up now.”

“Yes, sir,” he said before taking off after the others.

Alone now, I chose to ascend the spiral staircase rather than using the elevator, and I looked out over the ocean and the rolling green lawns with the stables in the distance. While we were highly regarded as a wedding venue, we also specialized in many other types of functions and we hosted our fair share of charity events.

My dad had started the tradition, and while I wasn’t exactly altruistic, I had continued the tradition and I would never stop. It was too big a part of my father’s legacy, and if anything, I only planned on growing the number of charity events we hosted in his honor.

Getting lost in work, I sat down behind the bank of screens on my desk and dove in, only surfacing hours later when my mother called. It was almost the end of the day and I smiled, thinking she was checking in on the progress we’d made for the Hunger Foundation event.

“I’ve got it handled, Mom,” I said instead of greeting her. “Trust me, we’re going to raise more money than ever before and it’s going to be the biggest one yet.”

“I have no doubt, but I was calling because we’re leaving for San Diego and I only just realized I forgot to take the paperwork I signed for the food back to Serenity. She called a little while ago to ask, and when I checked in the car, I saw that we never took it out.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, my head so far away from her wedding right then that it took me a second to process what she was saying. “Give her the go-ahead telephonically and tell her we’ll bring the papers in next time.”

“Could you go get it and take it back to her instead?” she asked, practically pleading. “She needs it today and we just don’t have time to stop there before we go.”

“I understand, but I’ll just call her and let her know it’s all taken care of. There’s no reason she needs the paperwork to place the orders.”

“No, but apparently she does. Her suppliers won’t do anything without signed contracts in hand. She said they’ve been burned too many times and left holding the bag on expensive ingredients that they then need to foot the bill for.”

I groaned. “They know who we are. We won’t⁠—”

“Please, Dash?” she asked softly. “I don’t expect any special treatment from anyone and I don’t want to ask them to bend the rules over something as simple as this.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I gripped the phone tighter and exhaled slowly before I nodded. Honestly, I didn’t even know why I was trying to get out of it. I was busy, but if I could drop it off after hours, it wasn’t like I’d be sleeping in my office tonight and Serenity’s wasn’t that far out of the way.

“How about I send Rick over to collect it from you and I’ll take it to her as soon as I can?”

“Thank you,” she said, her relief palpable. “We’re about to get on the plane, but I’ve left the papers with Constance. Tell Rick she’ll have them ready when he arrives.”

Before I could even say goodbye, she hung up the phone and I chuckled, wondering how my mother always seemed to get a yes from me. Whatever voodoo magic she possessed, I’d been left with no choice, so I picked up my phone and called Rick.

After quickly giving him the instructions to collect the papers, I contemplated calling Serenity and telling her that we’d simply send them to her electronically, but I dismissed the thought when I realized I’d just promised my mother I would take them.

In this day and age, I could hardly remember the last time I’d insisted on physical copies of anything, but on the other hand, my suppliers trusted me implicitly. I’d been working with every last one of them for years but Serenity had only just taken over her ex-husband’s company.

It made sense people would still be treating her as a newcomer. After all, it was exactly what she was to the rest of us.

With Rick on the case, I got back to work, finishing off the last of the arrangements for the fundraiser that I’d had on my schedule for the day. I couldn’t get quite as lost in the work as I had been before, though.

Knowing I was about to see Serenity again proved to be an unwelcome distraction. I’d only just managed to get my mind half off her when Rick strode into my office, a bunch of papers in his hands. “Here it is, boss. Want me to scan them in for you?”

“No, apparently we’ve gone back to the eighties and the originals need to be delivered in person. Today.”

He frowned, his dainty features scrunching up as he cocked his head at me. “Are you sure?”

“Unfortunately.” I sighed, saving the documents I’d been working on after I checked the time. “On that note, I should get going. If I miss her and these papers don’t get to her today, the world might just explode.”

Rick chuckled. “If you say so. Do you want me to drop them off?”

I paused. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me before, but even as I started considering it, my head was already shaking. “It’s better if I do it myself. My mom’s peace of mind and all. Thanks for offering, though.”

He seemed taken aback for a moment, and it took me all the way down to my car to realize why. That had possibly been the first time I’d either explained my decisions to him or even thanked him. Once again, the realization gave me pause.

I didn’t quite know what it meant that I’d done it or why I had, but it felt strangely good to be walking away after a pleasant exchange. I must be losing my mind.

By the time I got to Serenity’s offices, it was well after five. The doors were open, but I didn’t see anyone still at work. For a moment, aggravation shot through me. If I’d wasted a trip, I was not going to be happy about it.

“Hello?” I called out, but nobody answered.

Heading up to her office, I decided I’d leave the papers on her assistant’s desk if I had to, but I wasn’t coming back here just for this. I wasn’t a courier or a messenger, and frankly, my strangely good mood was dissipating fast.

I never had any time to waste and it was ridiculous that she’d insisted on physical copies being delivered today to begin with. Walking down the hall once I reached her floor, I called out again but still got no response.

Muscles tensing, I’d almost reached her office when I heard a muffled cry. My heartbeat faltered. Something inside me suddenly panicked and I broke into a sprint.

Rushing the rest of the way down the hall, my blood pounded in my ears and I didn’t even knock before I yanked open the door. Racing in blindly, I braced myself for trouble. A possible attacker or a client who had gotten too worked up about the arrangements.

Breathing hard, I barreled all the way to the middle of her office before I saw her, standing slightly off to one side with her shirt off, her back to me, only wearing a dark purple bra. Instantly, my eyebrows jammed together, but my heart started racing for a whole different reason.

Evidently, she wasn’t in trouble, but she was half naked and there didn’t seem to be anyone else around. What the hell did I just walk in on?

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