Bad Boss by Stella Rhys

29

We arrived at night, and the view of Biarritz visibly took her breath away.

It was fun for me to watch.

The buildings along the coast were illuminated, glittering gold against the pitch black of the sky. It was a good preview to the glamour of the city in the daytime. Without a full view of it though, Sara was already enamored.

“It’s so crazy. There’s old castles, but there’s Art Deco, and there’s this water,” she murmured as I let her walk ahead of me, taking everything in on both sides of her. She stopped for every building on her left and every jagged rock in the water to her right. It crashed gently against the shore, sweeping over our bare feet as we carried our shoes. “If The Great Gatsby took place anywhere but West Egg, it would be here,” she decided before finally turning and giving me the chance to look at her face.

Her excitement was unbridled and it had her eyes brighter than I’d ever seen them.

But she closed them and smiled when I held her cheek. With the moonlight shining down on her, she was as beautiful as I’d ever seen her. It made it hard for me to reconcile that at nine at night, we still had work to do. All I wanted was to take her into my hotel room and fall into bed with her. To hear more about her little road trips with her mom around Texas. I wanted to find out everything I possibly could about her, and the fact that I didn’t have all the time in the world to do that infuriated me.

I asked myself how I hadn’t planned this trip better, and given myself more time with her before the Roths arrived.

All I wanted was to touch Sara in every way that made her smile. I wanted to show her all my favorite parts of the town and let my memories with her serve as the last I left Biarritz with. I wanted to ask her a million simple questions I somehow didn’t have the answers to yet.

I didn’t know where her favorite restaurant was back home, and that for some reason bothered me.

I wanted to be the one who had all the information, all the elements to make her the happiest woman in the world. But with the Roths and their advisors arriving in twelve hours, and Sara far from brushed up on how to give a tour of the resort, I didn’t have the time. I had work to do, and for once, I fucking hated it. For once, I just wanted to relax.

I just wanted to be with Sara.

“What are you thinking?” she asked when she finally opened those glimmering eyes again. I smiled down at her as I replied.

“Nothing.”

* * *

It wasdifficult leaving Sara’s room in the morning while she was still asleep, but I had just gotten word from Colin that he’d arrived, and so had the Roths with their team.

I let Sara rest. We’d been up late after arriving at night yesterday, and spending the next three hours touring the property before going back to her room.

I asked some more of my questions last night as we relaxed in the bath, my front to her back, her head resting against the crook of my neck.

Shamelessly, her favorite restaurant in the city was a West Village spot that sold only French fries and, apparently, “a glorious selection of condiments.” Her dream vacation was to either Tuscany or Monaco.

“Why Tuscany?” I asked.

“Because wine.”

“Fair enough. Why Monaco?”

“Because Grace Kelly.”

“Your best friend once said my mother looked like Grace Kelly.”

“She so does! I totally thought that yesterday. And Lia totally went on her Grace Kelly kick because of me. She’d never watch old Hollywood movies without me bugging her to.”

So I’d collected some answers in French fries and Grace Kelly. Unsurprisingly, I wanted more.

“Biggest goal?”

She hummed against the ridge of her wine glass while thinking.

“The thing I dreamed for longest about was definitely going to prom and feeling like a princess in some big, puffy ball gown,” she snorted. “Since I was five, I fantasized about every detail down to the big reveal of my dress, and the walk down the stairs, and my date putting on my corsage as my parents took pictures.”

“Jesus.”

“Don’t blame me. The stupid movies ruined me,” she giggled. “But anyway, since that ship has clearly sailed, I’d say the big goal is making enough money in the future to buy my parents a home in London. So they can fly back and forth between there and Texas. A three-bedroom, preferably. For when I visit.”

“Why three bedrooms? Do your parents sleep separately?”

“My dad does snore like a beast, but no. I imagined for like, my kids.”

“Yeah? And how many kids do you want?”

“Three.” She twisted around to face me when she asked, “Yourself?”

“At least one. No more than three,” I’d replied.

This morning, I was still thinking about the wistful little hmm sound she made after I gave my answer. It made me grin even after I shut the door of her room behind me, the sound tugging at heartstrings I didn’t know I had.

A moment after, I spotted Colin in the hallway.

He was coming from knocking fruitlessly on my door down the hall. Turning from it, his eyes shifted from Sara’s door behind me to my wrinkled shirt. His smile was surprised but delighted, and much less restrained than I expected from him.

“Sorry,” he apologized hastily before going straight into work mode. “So, Turner and Carter are here, and they’re… clearly not accustomed to working straight off a flight. Carter is going to sleep in his room right now, but Turner insists he’ll come for your meeting with the advisors.” Colin smirked. “He made it a really big deal that he was bestowing us with his presence, considering his jet lag.”

I laughed. “Jesus. I don’t even need him here anymore. His work is done.”

“Yes, well, now he just needs to be babysat and ego-stroked while you talk to the guys with the brains. Speaking of them, they’re early for the meeting in the salon, but I had the kitchen set up coffee and a breakfast platter in the meantime. Is, um, Sara joining?” Colin asked, eyeing the door of her room not too far behind me. That kid-like grin reappeared on his face.

“I would say it’s not what it looks like, but it is,” I said as I nodded for us to start walking. Colin adjusted quickly to his surprise for my candor.

“Oh. Well, she’s extremely smart, kind and capable, so if a rule were to be broken for anyone, it should be her.”

“I appreciate it,” I said. We exchanged one amused look before returning to business. “To answer your question, Sara won’t be joining this meeting. She needs to meet with members of hotel staff to prep the Roths’ tour after breakfast,” I said as I got to my room. Colin stopped me as I opened the door.

“Uh, sir – I know the itinerary is clear, but Turner specifically requested that she join us at breakfast,” he said. I exhaled.

“She’s busy right now, so I’ll have her join late. See you down there in ten.”