Yours, For Good (Cozy Latine Billionaires #4)

8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Javier

There was a pit in my stomach and my heart beat twice as fast as usual. I hadn't felt like this in years and I didn't want to pay close attention to the why.

Fine. It was because, just a couple of weeks after Nora's last email, I'd flown to San Francisco with a very loose plan in my hands.

I'd texted Julia to tell her I was in town, and that I thought we could visit. I didn't even give her a proper excuse; I knew she would jump at the idea. My family tried to keep me close, in a not-so-subtle attempt at tracking how I spent my money and how they might get a piece of the pie. Now I sat in the lobby of the building where she lived, waiting for instructions.

My hope was that I could convince my niece to show me around the incubator. With a little bit of luck, I'd get an introduction and a glimpse at Nora, and check in on her from afar.

A few trips to San Francisco was something I could do, if it meant spending some time around Nora. It was the only way I could offer a bit of what she needed. If I extended my hand and presented myself to her, letting her take pieces of me if she wanted, maybe she wouldn't feel so alone.

I might never become the friend she described in her email thanking me for the flowers, but I might be someone real in the periphery. A flesh and bone, friendly acquaintance in her contacts list.

All I had to do was make sure I didn't take anything from her, and to plan my visit better next time. Because dropping by without a warning had left me unmoored.

Julia : Apologies, Uncle Javier! I'm busy right now, but I'm sending someone to help. I hope that's okay!

I bit the inside of my lips and shook my head. What was I thinking, hopping on a plane as soon as I could to try my luck? I should have told her I could take a cab to the incubator, but now it was too late. Someone was on their way, and my chances of it being someone I knew…

Julia : Her name is Nora. She'll be there soon and she'll explain everything. See you in a bit!

Time stood still. The leather seat in which I waited turned soft and I disappeared in its creases. I didn't even blink, until the words disappeared into the darkened screen of my phone. My shocked reflection appeared as a phantom on black glass, because Nora was on her way.

What the hell was I supposed to do?

"Excuse me? Are you Uncle Javier…?"

I cast my eyes up— and hid a gasp. A beautiful femme person gazed down at me, curiosity in her eyes. Stricken, my eyes lowered down her body, to find soft, plush curves everywhere. Her clothes were cool, with a dark green, wide-leg pant that ruched at her waist, where a black belt accentuated its curve. An off-white halter-top type of shirt covered her torso, and it somehow called attention to her face, her shoulders, and her breasts in equal measure.

Her face was the only part I should be looking at, and I forced my eyes up. She had dark brown hair, light terracotta skin, and dark brown eyes that studied me with a glint.

Fuck, why had I decided not to look up Nora's picture? Right, because how she looked shouldn't matter.

I scrambled to my feet, my stare locked on her. I gulped. Despite the critical error in preparation, certainty flooded me that this was her.

"Hi," I said.

She was taller than I imagined. Two sweet little freckles sat under her left eye, right on the upper line of her cheek— the Earth and its moon, like she was the goddess of the planet and this her birthright. Her hair fell around her face in loose, wavy layers. It moved when she cocked her head at me.

My guts quaked. They awakened from slumber.

Oh, shit.

She raised an eyebrow. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to know if I'm talking to the right person."

"Pardon?"

"Are you Javier Pendleton?"

Okay. No. This was what surprise felt like. That's what it had to be.

"Yes." I offered my hand. I'd lucked out, and it was only natural if it took me a second to recover.

She suppressed a smile and took my hand for a mild, perfunctory grasp.

"I'm Nora. Julia asked me to come rescue you, as she couldn't get out of a meeting."

"She mentioned that. I did drop in by surprise, so she's kind to have asked you."

She nodded, a quick glance up and down my body. I couldn't read what that was about, but would have liked to know. Just to make sure she didn't think I was too old.

The corner of her mouth tilted upwards in a small smile. "We have about an hour, hour and a half to kill. Julia will probably want us to stay in the area, which I'm afraid I don't know very well…"

"It's all good. I've been in the area before. There's a coffee shop a couple of blocks away. Would you like to have something to drink while we wait?"

"Sure. Lead the way."

Out of the building's lobby, bright sunlight and warm air met us with no warning. I shrugged off my jacket and, after rolling my shirt sleeves to my elbows, folded the jacket over my arm.

"Won't it get wrinkled like that?" she asked.

"Probably, but it's fine. I have to catch a flight later to go home. I don't have to try too hard today."

"Where's home?"

"New York."

She nodded again and, for the next minute, we walked in silence.

"So what brings you here?" she asked.

I rubbed my lips together. "I wanted to meet with some people and coming to San Francisco was the best way to do that."

We reached the place I remembered and opened the door for her. She glanced at me as if she hadn't expected the gesture and walked in. I gulped again, for some reason.

After ordering, we sat at a table by the window and got comfortable. Colorful graffiti adorned one of the walls, while the others were all painted a soft gray. Big white-framed pieces contrasted the wall art. Bright sunlight cascaded into the space through the large windows, and the smell of roasted coffee beans filled the air.

She gazed around the coffee shop, sunlight bursting off the waves in her hair. "This seems like a nice place."

"I've only been here once, but I remember enjoying it." My eyes stayed mostly on her. I couldn't believe this was happening.

She sighed. "Well, this could be really awkward. We don't know each other and I was kinda thrown at you."

"Not at all. I was imposing on Julia— I guess I'm imposing on you, now. I hope I didn't interrupt something important?"

Fuck. Why did I sound so stuffy? My best friend Max had been coached just like I was on etiquette but, when he followed the coach's instructions, it came out charming. When I did it, I felt… starchy. I wished it didn't happen so automatically in new situations.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "I was working on something that can wait, and I liked the excuse to take a break."

I stared at her for a second longer. Bewilderment and a newfound sense of… wonder beat under my skin.

We received our drinks; we had both ordered black dark roast. She watched me with a hint of suspicion in her eyes, and a lot of humor in the line of her pretty mouth.

I bit the inside of my cheek and dropped my eyes to my coffee. I had to get my act together and remember why I had flown in. If I didn't, this opportunity would lead nowhere, and my plans would die before they even began.

I took a deep breath. I mentally shook away my hesitation. Time to be me .

I added a packet of sugar to my drink. "What were you doing? If I can ask."

"You can. I was researching part of my target market— for my business plan. I'm in the same program Julia is."

She looked at me from under her eyelashes, which were dense and long, by the way.

The corner of my lips pulled up. The sudden coyness on her face was endearing. It freed something in me.

"Are you shy about your business?" I asked.

She considered me. "That's quite a direct question for someone you just met."

"Do you mind that?"

She didn't answer right away and, when she did, there was a hint of surprise to it. "I don't mind."

"So, do you? Feel shy?"

She half shrugged. "Somewhat. That probably isn't going to help me sell my idea, is it?"

"If the other person thinks you're insecure about it, that might work against you, yes."

"Do you have a lot of experience in business? What do you do?"

I sipped some coffee and leaned back on the chair, crossing an ankle over my knee. If I faked being relaxed, I might get there faster. She watched me with keen attention, and I did my best not to respond to it.

"I don't have a lot of direct business experience," I said. "But I think I have gained basic understanding by osmosis."

"You look like you work in a corporate environment."

"I don't really work in the corporate world, though I sit on a few boards and have investments in a handful of places. My expertise is in… asset management and social reform. I mostly focus on my own projects with a team that helps me run it all."

"And you're Julia's… uncle?"

"Yes, my oldest brother is her dad."

She sipped from her drink and gave me a slow nod. "I see. I suppose business runs in your genes, then. Julia says the family owns a big conglomerate. Top seven? Ten? In the world, I think."

"Yeah, we do. I've inherited a lot of things — genes, businesses, bank accounts… plenty of things I didn't work for."

She nodded. "Transgenerational wealth. Pretty big deal. At least you seem to acknowledge it."

I stopped my reply when she winced. I frowned instead.

She pressed her lips together. "I guess that bringing up stuff like that could also get me in trouble with business-like folks, right?"

So I wasn't the only one feeling off balance, and trying to find their footing in the dark. It echoed what she'd mentioned in her earlier letters, sharing that she kept making little social mistakes setting her apart.

If I focused on making her comfortable, then maybe I'd get more comfortable, as well.

I smiled. "With most of them, yeah. But I'll tell you a secret. You'll be fine with me."

"Will I?" She studied me.

I nodded. "I'm the black sheep of the family."

"Black sheep?" She grinned. "What did you do? Are you the skeleton in Julia's closet?"

"Not hers in particular, but the whole family likes to pretend I'm missing some key genetic Pendleton markers."

She chuckled. "Okay. Tell me. What's wrong with you, according to the Pendletons?"

I leaned forward and beckoned her closer with the wave of a hand. Her eyebrows quirked in suspicion and humor, but she mirrored me.

We stared at each other over the small table for two.

"I'm politically progressive," I confessed. "A snowflake, in the eyes of my family."

She leaned back and laughed. "That's not what I expected. A social justice warrior among the mega rich? They must love you."

Her words were full of sarcasm, and I chuckled. I knew myself; I tended toward stoicism most of the time. When I irritated my friends, they would call me cynical. There was something in this conversation, in making her laugh, that brought lightness to my mood.

It was the same with my chosen family. Perhaps I was loosening up, and doing well in offering some of it to Nora.

I lifted a shoulder. "I'd say my family and I found ways to remain civil."

"You didn't inherit your politics, then. How did you acquire them?"

"It was a mix of things. My grandmother and I used to go on walks when I was a child, and she passed on some of her wisdom to me. She didn't get to be the rebel I get to be, and I take pride in not only following her steps, but going further than she ever imagined."

I didn't reach for the medal and ring I had also inherited from her, hidden under my shirt. Their weight on my skin was enough to comfort me.

"Interesting," she said.

I sipped from my coffee. "It wasn't only my grandmother. As visionary as she was, she wasn't necessarily socially oriented. I was lucky enough to have a close friend show me the way many years back. Max was the first to have things click for him, and I learned a lot from him. We fed it to each other. Talked deep into the night about it. Though to be honest, that wasn't all about developing critical social awareness."

"You educated yourself but something else drove it, too?"

I nodded. "Neither Max or I have great relationships with our blood family, and us having an interest in social justice had everyone squirming in their seats."

She took a long sip of her drink as she inspected me. Whatever her thoughts, they remained hidden from me. People passed by us in search of their own table, and someone at the service station called out a name who had ordered to-go.

I gazed back at her, taking measured breaths so I would not do any squirming myself. This was as close as I could ever talk about my views of the world, without breadcrumbing for her that I was Mr. B. But if my presence here with her were to lead us somewhere; if it were to help her in any way, the least I could do was bargain for it with as much honesty as possible.

She put her mug on the table. "Are you still friends with Max?"

"Yeah. He and I are still close. We have a good, tight-knit group of friends."

Longing warmed up her eyes. I let a small smile curl my lips, and settled into the miracle that Nora was in front of me.

"You're not who I expected, Mister Pendleton."

Nora

What was I supposed to do with the knowledge that there were Pendletons that seemed measured but nice? As opposed to stiff and downright unlikeable, in any case. He even seemed open and approachable. Like he didn't want to wear any masks, and was willing to put his cards on the table.

He tsked. "Please. Call me Javier."

Across the small table, Javier gazed at me with clear, dark blue eyes. If I looked closely, openness aside, discomfort hid in the shadows. Somehow, the contrast made him look hotter.

I blinked away the astonishing thought. I may be past due for a quarterly one-night-stand— it might be bi-annual at this point— but this would not happen with Julia's uncle. It didn't matter that his dark brown hair was styled wonderfully, in an effortless sort of way; or that his wide shoulders were covered by a shirt that looked so soft I would pay to touch it. I shouldn't care that he moved with the casual aplomb of someone who didn't have a single worry in the world, or that even the way he brought his mug to his lips held a certain grace.

I hadn't known the man for longer than ten minutes, and he wasn't a random person I met at the university's coffee shop, or the bar right next to campus. He wasn't someone I could visit the dorms with before leaving in time to get to the JGH before curfew. Javier was a random Pendleton, and one I wasn't supposed to look at this way.

I cleared my throat. "I appreciate your understanding. Thanks for not making a big deal out of how bad I am at small talk."

"It's all good." He lifted a shoulder. "You rescued me, and it's not like I'm any better at casual conversation."

"You're not?"

"Not at all. I'm too serious, too nerdy, too… I don't know." He shrugged. "The only people I really talk to are my friends, and with them it's rarely about the weather, you know?"

I bit my lip. My task was to entertain Julia's uncle until she could come do it herself, not connect with this attractive white-presenting man with blue depths in his eyes.

It wasn't even about a misguided sense of loyalty to Julia. A Pendleton of any kind wasn't likely to be the right material for a one night stand.

But if he was easy to talk to, then maybe other options were available, for an unlikely day in the distance.

"I can't believe I can be this lucky," I finally said. "When Julia asked me for help with her uncle, I expected a completely different vibe. Now you're calling yourself a nerd and admitting to being awful at small talk, too."

"It needed to be said. If we're going to have ninety minutes of awkward conversation, we should at least expect it."

"Awkward? Do you think this is awkward?" I laughed. "Please. I'd show you awkward, but I'd rather not go there. Why not just… make the best of it?"

"How do you propose we do that?"

"Tell me what kind of nerd you are."

He laughed. His eyes crinkled, not in a sexy aging kind of way, but a ' my eyes get really small when I laugh and I don't laugh hard enough, often enough ' way. I had to wonder exactly how many years older than Julia and I he was. Thinking about that was better than noticing again how attractive he was, in any case, because there really was no point. Especially when the laugh was immediately followed by a strange quirk to his lips I couldn't immediately read.

"What's funny?" I asked.

"I just love that you asked me that. There are so many kinds of nerds these days, right?"

"Yeah. Are you an astronomy nerd? Dinosaur nerd? Trains? Noir films?"

"God. You just put it in my head. I am a film noir hero, minus the trenchcoat."

"Cynical and full of existential angst?"

"Exactly." He chuckled. "But no. I'm your standard sci-fi book nerd. Maybe a good thriller once in a while."

"Oooh, a book nerd. A great kind of nerd. There's a hierarchy, you know?"

"Is there?"

"Yeah. Book and astronomy nerds are top tier." I lifted one finger and added more as I went down the list. "Then you have movie nerds, eco nerds, and plant nerds."

"Plant nerds?"

"There's a nerd for everything."

He chuckled. "I like that book nerds are top tier. It's because it's a classic, isn't it?"

"Of course."

"Are you any kind of nerd?"

"Please. Of course. Do you want to know what kind?" I didn't wait for more than his nod to continue. "Books! Of all sorts. Give me all the books. Also, documentaries. I'll even take video format streaming from any small social media creator's profile. There are these watchtower videos I'm really into these days. You know what else I've been a fan of for a while?"

He raised an eyebrow, and his fingers landed on his lips— two pads rubbing the flesh in a hypnoti— thoughtful manner.

I gave him a wide smile to erase the thought. "I take a world map app, and use the street view to check out places I've never been to. I check all the pictures people have shared and pretend I've been there, too."

The words left my lips and stripped me of confidence in the same instant. Shit. That was probably too telling about my past and exactly how I didn't fit in with people like the ones at the incubator… or any other Pendleton.

Why did I visit places on an online app, rather than just get the family jet and go there myself?

But Javier didn't seem to notice, or care. He continued to gaze at me with focused, clear eyes.

"I should try that," he said. "There are places I haven't gotten to yet."

I gulped and pretended none of it was a big deal. "There's so much to explore. Earth is infinite! We know barely anything about the world. Think about the depths of the Pacific alone. No one has seen a thought or an emotion. And we're here supposed to talk about the weather?"

"We decided we're not talking about the weather. I would much rather talk about what hides in the depths of the Pacific."

I leaned forward on the table, elbows on wood and my head resting in my hands. "Not too cynical, after all? There's too much wonder in that statement to be as full of existential angst as you say you are."

He smirked. "Oh, it's there, believe me. But I could use some wonder to balance it out, I think."

"I can offer wonder. I can offer a good conversation about your favorite sci-fi books for…" I checked the clock on my phone. "The next hour."

"Have you read The Alders?"

I had and, with a huge smile, we talked about books until we got ourselves into trouble.