“Is that Bowie I hear?”
She tipped her head to one side. “Huh?”
“I, um…” He pointed at his head. “I have really good hearing. Sounds like you’re listening to David Bowie?”
“Oh,” she said with a nod. “Yeah, I am.”
“Nice.” It was the closest thing to a smile she’d seen on the brooding man since she arrived, and Camila couldn’t help but smile in return. Her heart skipped three full beats. Her cheeks were probably flaming with heat, but she could blame that on the workout easily enough.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m really leaving this time.” And with that, he strode out of the room.
In the seconds following, Camila tapped down the speed on the workout machine, brought a hand to her heated cheeks, and reached for her water.
A vision of Adel Bordeaux came to mind.He’s taken, Camila.And even if he wasn’t, the famous model represented the type of woman James went for.
With that thought, Camila decided that tomorrow, she’d run on the beach instead.
* * *
Camila gritted her teeth as she held the phone to her ear. She couldn’t remember being so tempted to break a privacy contract in all of her life. She couldn’t disclose the name of her client; the agreement she’d signed was clear. But keeping it quiet was harder than it might be due to two things.
First: She was talking to Gypsy—her best friend who could read her every thought, even over the phone.
Second: Her predicament was something they’d actually joked about. Gypsy had suggested that James Benton might be her new boss, but only because he had billionaire brothers, not because it made any practical sense.
So as she spoke with Gypsy about her new job, Camila hated being deceptive. But that’s exactly what she’d had to do.
“So he’s just some boring old billionaire, huh? Nothing special?” Gypsy pried for the third time.
“He likes watermelon a lot,” Camila offered.
“Does he? I didn’t think that was a rich person’s food. It’s not fancy enough.”
“Well, he loves it. I’ll probably have to cut up a second one by the end of the day.”
“That’s weird.”
Camila laughed. The truth was, she kind of liked that particular trait about James. It was so…normal. But then she recalled the strange way James had dodged her since they’d run into one another at the gym. Taking both lunch and dinner in his office. Talk about spoiling any semblance of meal presentation. Plus, meals were meant to be the main event, not some side chore while slaving away at a desktop.
“You’re two days into this,” Gypsy said, “so you better tell me that you’ve already gone out to the beach at least once.”
She hated admitting the answer to that. “Not yet.” Camila knew Gypsy was readying to pull out the lecture card, so she was quick to add to it. “But I will. Soon. I’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, yeah. Would you just get your butt outside and turn the camera on? I want to see what you’re missing.”
“WhatI’mmissing?” Camila asked.
“Yes, you,”Gypsy said. “I might be the one stuck in LA, but you’re just a few feet away from it and you’re still missing out.”
Camila sighed as she wiped down the counter. “Fine. Just a second.” She made her way to the french doors she’d come through just the day before and squinted against the brightness of the sun. Sure, there was a lot of sunlight illuminating the kitchen now that the windows were bare, but it wasn’t the same as the full, unhindered strength of the evening sun.
Sounds of the beach greeted her as well, putting a smile on her face in an instant. “Wow,” she said, “I should put the camera on now so you can see the back of the house too. It’s gorgeous.”
She did, and Gypsy let out a gasp. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Camila let herself take it all in—the excitement she’d nearly forgotten at the unexpected reveal of her boss. She paused then, taking a moment to inwardly thank the dear Lord above.
“I just hope I can make a good impression,” Camila said as she rounded the corner.
