> “You called me to lecture me, your older brother, to get into a committed relationship? That doesn’t scream sibling love, you know.”
“Well, we thought Mikaela Johnson was perfect.”
“No one is perfect,” he reminded her.
“’Cause you’re the only one that is?”
“I didn’t say that. Lou, I have to work.”
“No you don’t. Mum wants to have some tea with you later before you leave.”
“I’m extending my stay so we can have tea for the next four days to her heart’s content.”
“Mum also told me you could invite Mikaela back, and she could stay at the house.”
“Are you Mum’s postmaster now?”
“She just told me to tell you that. Come on, Jus, I’m bored here. They haven’t even begun designing my gown yet, or Mum’s.”
“Then bugger off, bother someone else, will you?”
Louisa gave a laugh from the other end. “Jus, really, lighten up. You weren’t this serious before. It’s like you’ve got a stick up your arse.”
“I’ll have this checked at the hospital later,” he replied. They both laughed.
It was clear his mother had taken a such a strong liking to Mikaela that Louisa had to mention her name a couple of times. Louisa was beginning to show signs of it, too. That wasn’t such a good thing for his position and hers.
Mikaela was a likeable person, but she just wasn’t fit for him. They were only compatible with sex. It was all he thought of when he thought of her. Perhaps he was a sex addict and he didn’t know it yet. But if he was, he didn’t need to stick with her, right? He could have found countless others, ready to strip naked and jump into bed with him. Mikaela was no different.
He saw how she approved of his physical features at the bank event. She was so eager for him, she even changed the way she dressed, she had become more chic, in an effort to please him, and the satin lingerie she wore earlier was the stuff made out of adolescent dreams.
He recalled her herculean efforts when she saved Aunt Vicky. No one was quick enough, except her. She was on the right track, wanting to be a nurse, then maybe a doctor if she wanted to. He thought about extending the corporation’s social responsibility to education. She deserved to finish her studies. He thought about helping her with her tuition. Justin had never had a problem with his and his siblings’ educational expenses. Mikaela was one of those rare people who worked hard and saved a lot for studies.
No matter how stressful her day was, she tried to smile. He saw this as he passed by the café one day, without her knowledge. From inside his car, he saw her close the café, dancing and singing to some hip-hop song by the way she moved. It made him smile, seeing how upbeat she still was, along with two other co-workers who enjoyed her closing performance. There was something about her smile. Lots of people have nice smiles, he told himself, but her smile was a stunner, however.
She had that beguiling, wide smile that many would want to see. He had sort of expected to see that kind of smile grace the covers of magazines, billboards, and maybe on those pesky online ads that popped up so often. It was surprising to find a face like that in a coffee shop, how could the model scouts have missed that? She didn’t need to be tall, she could have been a face model…
No, she shouldn’t be a model. There was a reason why he picked her, she was different from all the other women he had met. There was some kindness in her that radiated, and frankly, it annoyed him, because he couldn’t be as kind as she was. That was probably why he liked to tease her, so he couldn’t see her smile. It made him think otherwise. It made him vulnerable if he responded to her…
Now, in front of the California sunrise, he found himself stripping out of his clothes and quickly putting on his wetsuit, one he hadn’t used in months, since his father’s death anniversary. Then he took out his surfboard and paddled out to sea.
***
She wanted to see him, but it never happened. He didn’t answer her calls or texts. It had been five days and she was getting antsy once more. Perhaps he flew off to London again? He was a busy man, after all. She read somewhere that one could never be successful in juggling work and relationships. One always had to give way to the other. She He saw how he loved his family, though. He seemed more relaxed with them.
Maybe he was teaching her a delayed lesson for refusing to have a good romp with him back in London. She had gotten that lingerie set just to tease him. Thoughts about Justin were affecting her so much that she began to lose sleep. She began to forget things, she smiled less. This was noticed by the owner, who promptly called her to his office to have a nice little employer to employee chat.
“All right, what’s going on?” he began. “You’ve been acting all weird since your vacation. Where’d you go, anyway?”
“Washington,” she lied, unable to believe she lied. She felt bad, but she didn’t want to say she went on an international trip and that she stayed in a five-star boutique hotel. She would resign on her own terms.
“Washington? That isn’t even worthy of a vacation. I was expecting Hawaii or something. Maybe abroad.”
“I can’t afford that. I was there to-to see my parents and my brother. I haven’t visited in a while…” her voice trailed off.
The owner stopped. So she was there to visit her family’s graves. He felt a pang of sympathy for her and he nodded. “I hope it hasn’t affected you too much. You deserved a good vacation, not a weepy one.”
“I had fun. It was a mix of feelings, actually,” she told him, remembering parts of her London trip. Sure, there were enjoyable times, but there had been moments she felt like crying. Keep it all in, sucker, she told herself. She wouldn’t allow herself to cry in front of her boss, either.