I can’t wait to go to Switzerland.
“Good.” Ethan leans back in his chair. “I trust you’ll make the necessary changes.”
“Yes, sir.”
He nods. “That will be all for now.”
I turn and walk out of the room even though I feel like skipping. As soon as I’m back at my desk, I sit down and clasp a hand over my mouth to hold back a scream. Then I do my dance in my chair, unable to contain myself any longer.
I’m going to Switzerland!
~
“I’m so happy for you!” Jess, my friend from marketing, sounds almost as excited as I am as she gives me a hug during lunch. Beside her, my other friend, Randy the IT guy, is still gaping, speechless for the first time since I met him.
“Thank you,” I say. “I really am thrilled.”
I actually want to go home and start packing – I already have a list of all the stuff I’m bringing in mind – but I know I can’t.
“I know you’ll be there for work,” Jess says. “But promise me you’ll go around when you have the chance. I want to see nice pictures.”
“I will,” I tell her.
Hopefully, I can get some time for sightseeing.
“I don’t care where you go,” Randy says, finally getting his voice back. “Just make sure you don’t come back here without a box of chocolates with my name on it.”
Jess raises her hand. “Me, too, please.”
“And remember, I don’t like chocolates with nuts,” Randy adds. “Or nougat. Raisins is fine, but nothing citrus. I don’t like a coconut filling, either. But I love caramel. Also, I love white chocolate.”
Jess snorts. “Talk about picky.”
Randy’s eyebrows furrow. “Which is wrong because?”
“White chocolate with raisins or dark chocolate with caramel filling,” I speak up before they start arguing. “Got it.”
Randy rests his head on my shoulder. “You are such a good friend.”
“I’m just glad you didn’t ask me to pack a Swiss male model inside my suitcase,” I tell him.
His eyebrows go up. “You can do that?”
Jess shakes her head. “Don’t.”
I was just kidding anyway.
“Speaking of gorgeous males, you know why I’m so envious of you right now?” Randy asks me then answers, “Because you’re traveling with Ethan Hawthorne.”
“Of course she is,” Jess says. “She’s his sidekick.”
“I bet you’ll be riding in his private jet,” Randy says.
I pause a moment to think. “I think so.”
That’s why I didn’t have to book tickets.
“And you’ll be staying at the same hotel, right? Are you sharing a suite?”
“No,” I tell him. “We’re staying at the same hotel but separate rooms.”
Though they are right next to each other.
“I’m still envious,” Randy says. “I mean, you’re in the same hotel in a city far, far away where no one knows you. Anything could happen.”
He gives me a broad wink.
“Oh, stop it,” Jess tells him. “Stella isn’t like you.”
“Yup,” I agree. “Not gonna happen. You know Ethan is my boss. Our boss, actually.”
“So if he wasn’t your boss, you’d let him fuck you?” Randy asks me.
The question takes me by surprise and I struggle to answer. No. I know the answer. I just don’t want to admit it.
“You’re blushing,” Randy points out. “Which means you would. Don’t be bashful, I would too. For that matter, so would Jess.”
“Hey, I’m not like you, either!” Jess complains.
“But he is our boss, which means I wouldn’t,” I say firmly.
End of topic.
“And I have to go,” I add as I glance at my watch. “You know me. I have a ton of things to do.”
“We know,” they answer at the same time.
I send them a smile before picking up my tray. I deposit it in the appropriate cart before heading to the elevator. After a quick stop at the restroom to freshen up, I go back to my desk.
I really do have a lot to do. I have to make adjustments to Ethan’s schedule. I have to print out documents to bring with me. I have to brush up on my French and German, too, and do some research on the best sights around Zurich. And the best chocolate shops.
But first, I have to go through all these papers on my desk. I don’t want to go away knowing I’ve left a lot undone, or come back to find my desk buried under paperwork.
When I reach the bottom of the pile, I stop. My eyes fall on a familiar-looking notebook.
Very familiar.
Right. I left my journal on my desk. I was going to grab it and shove it inside my purse before anything else, but I got sidetracked with other stuff. Then Ethan called me into his office, and after he told me he was bringing me to Switzerland, the journal completely slipped my mind.
I grab it now. Once it’s safely inside my purse, I let out a breath of relief.
There. No harm done. Once I get home, I’m going to put it on my nightstand, never to leave my apartment again. Nope, I’m not bringing it to Switzerland. Definitely not. After all, I’ll have better things to do than scribble my thoughts in my journal. I’ll just take mental snapshots of my trip and write them down when I come back.