I Won’t Be In On Monday (The Annoying Hot Bosses Club #3)

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

R emington

The sun is bright and the sky is blue, with no clouds. I'm walking down the sandy beach, the turquoise sea looking just as gorgeous as it did in the photos. And there she stands, wading in the water. She's smiling and laughing at something. "Hey, Juniper," I call out as I head into the water. She turns to me, her eyes bright and happy. "Where have you been?”

“I've been waiting for you," she says, as she comes running towards me. She jumps up into my arms and wraps her arms and legs around me. I give her a deep kiss.

"I didn't know you were going to be nude today," I ask her, feeling the crush of her breasts against my chest.

"It is a nude beach. I figure we should always be nude." She grins. "I mean, how often do we get to be naked in the ocean?"

"I guess not very often," I say. "I want you right here, right now."

"And I want you, too." She reaches down and pulls my cock out of my boxers. "Take me, Remington, right here in the ocean. Let us be one."

I stare into her eyes and kiss her. She spreads her legs wide, and I guide my cock inside of her. She feels like a million bucks, tight and sweet, and she moans against my lips as we thrash back and forth in the water. I take her hard and fast. "You're the best lover I've ever had." She moans and screams.

"That's because I'm the only lover you've ever had." She giggles, leaning back and up into my eyes. "I'm so glad I waited for you, Remington. You're the best. The best boss I've ever had. The best lover, the best friend, the best everything."

"Do you think I'm the best father? I say.

"Of course." She strokes the side of my face. "Canyon thinks you're the best father, and so does little Elijah."

"He does, doesn't he? Should we go back to the room and see what they're doing?"

"Only if we make love on the sand first," she says, laughing without a care in the world. I carry her to the sand and lay her down on the beach towel. "Take me, Remington. Take me."

"But don't you want it to be special?" I'm frowning now. And her face is contorting.

"This is special."

"No, it's not," I say. “It's not special. It's not what you want. It's not good enough for you."

"Take me, Remington. Don't you want me? Don't you want this juicy, luscious pussy? Take me."

"I do, but..." There's sweat rolling down my face as my eyes fly open. I rub my forehead and sit straight up in the bed. Fuck , I think to myself. I just had the sexiest dream about Juniper Hardman that I'd ever had in my life. It felt so real. Being inside of her felt so real. "And who the fuck is Elijah?" I mumble to myself as I turn on a light.

I jump out of bed and head to the bathroom so I can splash water on my face. I've never had a dream like that before in my life. I don't know what's come over me. I take a deep breath and head down the hall. I peek into Canyon’s room and see that she's sleeping peacefully in her bed. I'm so glad that the furniture has arrived and that her room is looking like a little girl's room for once.

I head into the kitchen, open the fridge, and grab a bottle of iced tea and take a sip. I head over to the couch and turn on the TV. It's 3:00 in the morning, and all I want to do is call Juniper and see if she's still mad at me. But I won't because today is Sunday, and I know she has a date with Marco. I know she'll think I'm trying to sabotage her if I call her this early in the morning, even though all I really want to do is just speak to her.

I take a deep breath and grab my laptop and turn it on. If I'm up, I might as well do some work. I log into my emails and see an email from Max.

Hey, just had dinner with the girls. What happened to Juniper?

Huh? I think to myself. What is he talking about? She didn't tell him, did she? No. There's no way she told him. I mean, why would she tell my partner that we made love? I pause as I think to myself, We never actually made love. We were naked and pleasured each other, but I didn’t take that step. I should have. I wanted to, and she wanted me to. I knew she did, but I knew there was a possibility she'd regret it. Of course, I wanted to be her first. When you had feelings for someone like I had for Juniper.

I sit up and I frown. "What the fuck are you thinking?" I mumble to myself. "You do not have feelings for her, Remington. Get your act together." I power off the TV and head back to my bedroom. I pick up my phone. I don't know what I'm doing, but I find myself texting Juniper.

Hey, I just wanted to apologize if I did or said anything that made you upset at me.

I lie there looking at the ceiling. I don't expect a response, but when the phone beeps, I freeze. I look down at the screen. It's Juniper.

No apology is necessary.

Ooh, what are you doing up? I text back quickly.

The same thing as you, I guess, she texts back.

Before I know what I'm doing, I press the button and call her. The phone rings four times, and I feel like she's not going to answer.

"Hello?" she says, sounding sleepy.

"Hi. I figured instead of playing the text game, I should just call you.”

“I'm in bed, Remington."

"I know you're in bed. Well, I mean, I didn't know you were in bed, but I assumed you were in bed."

"Then why did you text me?"

"Because I just wanted to apologize."

"Okay, apology accepted, even though you didn't really need to."

“What are you doing up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep," she says.

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I'm excited for my date today or something."

"So, you're still going on that?"

"Yeah, I'm still going on that. Sorry to disappoint you."

"I'm not disappointed, I just..." I frown. "You can do whatever you want. I'm happy for you that you're going on a date."

"Great." She sighs. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go off on you. It's just been a weird day for me."

"Because of me?" I ask.

"No, everything doesn't revolve around you."

"Because you're excited about your date?"

"No, not even that."

"Then, what?"

"I found out my dad has a girlfriend today, okay."

"Oh," I say, not really knowing what to say.

"I'm not jealous or anything. I don't care that my dad has a girlfriend. It's just weird to me. He's never been in a relationship since he my mom, and now, suddenly he is with someone. I guess I just never expected it.”

"I see. Are you sad that he's found someone and that..."

"I don't know how to feel, I guess. All my life, I was my dad’s number one focus, and I guess I took it for granted. I may have even resented it, but now, he’s dating, and it just feels weird. I know I'm being a selfish daughter. I should be happy for him. I am happy for him. It's just, everything in my life is changing, and I don't know how to think or how to feel anymore."

"What do you mean, everything in your life is changing? Is this about us? About what we did and didn't do?"

"No. I mean today, I made some changes, and while I love them, I don't know how to feel about them. I just feel different, and it's weird feeling different, you know? I guess it's kind of like if you're really overweight and you lose a lot of weight, you just don't recognize your own reflection. Maybe that's how I feel. I just don't know who I am anymore."

"Why don't you know who you are?"

"I don't know," she says. "Maybe the evolution of life and changes."

"I get that. I had a weird dream tonight and woke up. It made me feel oddly discombobulated, and it made me question if I know who I am right now, as well," I admit.

"What was your dream about?" she asks me innocently.

"Just me being on a beach."

"Oh, okay. And you don't like beaches?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that the circumstances were quite foreign and different, and the dream felt real. I felt really happy, and I woke up and… Anyway, it's just something that happens, I suppose."

"Was it a nightmare that you had?"

"You know, it wasn't," I say softly. "It really wasn't."

"I don't really know what your dream was, but if it's something that you want in life that you don't have and didn't think you wanted, but now you think you might, just go for it."

"You think?" I ask her. "Or are you just saying that because..."

"I mean, if you really want to go on a vacation and go to a beach, just do it, Remington. The office can do without you for a week or ten days or however long you want to go. Enjoy your life. You've got more than enough money. I don't know the last time you went anywhere."

"Go on vacation," I repeat dumbfoundedly. "What?"

"You said you dreamt you were on a beach, right? And you were really enjoying it and..."

"Yeah, I did. I mean, you're right. I should go on vacation." I feel stupid for thinking that she knew what I was talking about. I feel stupid for thinking that she could read between the lines. "I'm sorry that I called you so late."

"It's okay," she says. "I guess maybe this is our thing."

"What?"

"Speaking on the phone late at night?"

"Yeah."

"Don't get into the habit, though, because if Marco and I hit it off, he's not going to appreciate you calling me at all hours of the night.”

“You’re not seriously thinking this could go somewhere, are you?” I ask her, feeling annoyed.

"I don't know," she says. "Maybe. I am looking for a relationship and love. So, yeah, I think I've spent so much of my life living in the shadows and not really doing what I want to do that now, I regret it. I don't want to wake up and be sixty years old and have never had a love story, you know?"

"I don't think that would happen to you," I say softly. "What's so great about a love story anyway?”

"I mean, they're amazing. That's literally why I'm writing one."

"You're writing a fantasy," I say.

"I'm writing a romantasy, actually," she clarifies. "A mix of romance and fantasy. But maybe partly the reason I'm writing it is because I want that in my own life, as well.”

“So, is that your way of telling me that your hero's name is Remington?" I ask her cheekily.

"What would you say if it was?"

"I'd say that you've got very good taste in names."

"Yeah, I'm sure you would say that," she says, laughing. "Anyway, I should go. I don't want to oversleep and miss my date tomorrow. I don't know that Marco would give me another shot."

"Yeah, that might be true. By the way, I was wondering if you could babysit for me next weekend.” I don't know why I bring this up, but I do.

"Sure. What's the occasion?"

"Well, a model friend of mine is coming into town, and I figure if you’re going on dates, I might as well start dating again, too, right? No point just one of us having fun." I don't know if I'm saying the words to upset her or to get a reaction, but there's silence on the other side of the phone. "And possibly, if you're free on Monday, that would be even better because I think she's flying in tomorrow night. I don't know how long your date with Marco is going to go, but if you’re free on Monday, I would appreciate...”

“I won’t be in on Monday. I meant to tell you that,” she says.

“What?”

“I won’t be in on Monday, Remington, so you’re going to have to figure something else out. Okay?”

“Why are you just now...”

“Bye,” she says and hangs up. I try calling her back, but the phone goes directly to voicemail. “Fuck it.” I close my eyes and lean back on the bed. “I screwed that up, royally.” I don’t know why I’d lied. I guess I wanted a reaction from her. I guess I wanted her to tell me that she was going to cancel her date with Marco, and she wanted me to cancel my date. But why I thought that would happen, I have no clue.

I think about what an old friend of mine said years ago, that I was clueless when it came to women, and now, I'm starting to believe it might be true. I may have met the one woman I want to make mine, and I may have lost her before I even have a chance to understand the depth of my feelings.