Page 41 of The Friend

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and stabbed at the redial button, forcing his pace to slow when he realised he’dmade it halfway up the beach while waiting for the CEO to answer.

“Mark Pyman.”

“Mark, Judd Calloway returning your call.”

He heard a quick murmur of voices as Mark dismissed his PA. “Thanks for calling me back so quickly, Judd. I was going to wait until you got back to Sydney to have a chat about your future, but after seeing the shots you emailed me from the current job, I think we can do better than that.”

“What did you have in mind?” Judd kept his response ultra cool, deliberately dampening the surge of excitement that this could be the offer he’d been hoping for.

“When Paula recommended you and said you were the best, she wasn’t kidding. I’m offering you the job as head photographer atFinesse. Your work is brilliant and I want you leading all our big jobs. I’m open to negotiating salary and benefits when you get back, but I wanted to let you know the offer’s on the table and I’d appreciate an indication of interest from you?”

“I’m interested.” Judd fist-pumped the air in a victory salute. “We’ll work out the job description when I get back to Sydney, but in the meantime, rest assured I’m looking forward to a new challenge in working forFinesse.”

“Great. Call my PA when you get back and tee up a time for us to meet. Glad to have you on board.”

Scuffing the sand like a three-year-old in his excitement, Judd said, “Thanks for the offer, Mark. See you in a few days.”

Mark disconnected the call and Judd stared at the ocean, dazzled by the deepest indigos blending with cerulean greens, wanting to run screaming into the water and splash around like a boisterous kid without a care in the world.

All his plans were coming to fruition.

He’d already decided to stick around Sydney and Mark’s job offer sealed it. He’d known this was in the pipeline. The mega-successful CEO had hinted at it when he first accepted this job, and since his relationship with Abby had entered a new dimension he’d been secretly hoping for this outcome.

The longer he spent with her, the harder it became to ignore the obvious. They were great as friends, stupendous as lovers; what if they got together for real?

The only way they could have that chance was if he stuck around in one place long enough and it looked like that time had come.

Ironic, he’d looked forward to catching up on a regular basis with Abby once he relocated to Sydney, but never in his wildest dreams had he contemplated anything more between them.

He made that choice when he left her first time around, had lived with the consequences since. But now the rules had changed and he was in a position to offer her so much more than he had as a wanderlust teenager with a lousy attitude.

Would she go for it? Would she want to trial a relationship?

Only one way to find out.

Whistling an old victory tune from a Sylvester Stallone boxing movie, he headed up the beach towards his room.

He had plans to make.

Big plans.

Starting with organising a night for Abby she’d never forget.

Chapter Nineteen

“Where are we going?”

“Patience, Tara.” Abby pressed her lips together, before slicking a topcoat of gloss over them and standing back from the mirror. In a siren-red strapless dress, matching strappy sandals, and her hair mussed with enough mousse to ensure a ‘just out of bed’ look, she hoped Judd didn’t stand a chance.

After tonight’s thank you celebration for Tom and Tara, she had every intention of following up on the rain-check he mentioned earlier that afternoon.

“I already told you, we’re going for a drink to wind down after a hard day’s work,” Abby said. “We deserve it.”

Tara looked her up and down and Abby had the distinct impression she was being sized up. “You’re up to something.”

“Like what?”

Abby struggled to keep the grin off her face, knowing she had to get the supermodel to the intimate Lagoon Bar where Judd had organised the impromptu celebratory drinks before she blurted the truth; having a casual drink was a tad different to what they’d organised.

---