Page 6 of Finding Love in the Clouds

Gabriel sighed, draping his large arm over Fernando’s shoulder. “That’s my problem with this guy. He doesn’t know how talented he is. After all these years of grand success and dozens of awards, he still gets surprised when his books do well, and number two isn’t bad.”

“Easy now. Don’t make a grown man blush,” Enrique teased.

Fernando nudged his brother in the arm, “Yeah, well, I need to come up with a plan for the coming year for how to deal with Marie Lautner. She’s my biggest competition and keeps knocking me off number-one bestseller. I’ve got a whole media empire behind me, and I’m a little tired of being at number two thanks to a faceless woman.”

Enrique stiffened beside him, and a look of… something, maybe concern or worry, came over his face. Fernando wondered what it was about Marie Lautner that caused such a strange reaction in his otherwise aloof brother.

“I haven’t read the book yet,” Julio said in response to Fernando. “Did you send me a copy?”

“I did, but now that you’re home, I’ll send you a hardcover version. I know you prefer real paper to reading on a screen,” Fernando said. “I didn’t know when you would be back or where you were heading, so I didn’t ship it yet.”

“Well, he’s home now,” Anthony chimed in, wrapping his arm around the smaller man and pulling him tight into his side. “And he better stay home, at least for a while. The girls need time to get to know this mysterious uncle they have never met and might be confusingwith Santa Claus since they receive random gifts with his name on them.”

They were still laughing when Hannah tapped her wedding ring against her glass, causing atink, tink, tinkto echo through the room.

“It’s almost time,” she announced, glancing at the screen and pressing the unmute button on the remote. “Let the countdown begin.”

The family counted down with the TV host, and then the room erupted into “Happy New Year” as fireworks exploded in the night sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Glasses clinked together, hugs with shoulder pounding were passed between the brothers, and kisses were pressed to Hannah’s cheek. Fernando smiled; his heart was overflowing. This was the best time of the year.

Usually, he looked forward to meeting the challenge posed in the New Year’s pact, but this year, he was filled with trepidation. He didn’t have time for an adventure, and he didn’t want a wife and family. Love? Yes, of course, he wanted love. Family? He didn’t have time for that. He was spread so thin now he was exhausted all the time. Wife? The thought of opening himself up to a woman just to have her walk away from him was terrifying. Maybe flying wasn’t his biggest fear after all. Maybe Hannah was right and abandonment was?

Chapter Six

Sophie took a deep breath to calm her nerves as the elevatordinged,announcing she had made it to the thirty-fifth floor. She wasn’t nervous about returning to work after being on vacation for over a month. She was nervous about keeping her emotions in check upon seeing her boss for the first time after being away for so long. Being a personal assistant to a billionaire with a media empire was no walk in the park, but she loved this job and was glad to be back.

“So-phie!” Shelley squealed as she stepped off the elevator and approached her assistant’s reception desk. Shelley was the gatekeeper for the executive floor. No one made it past her without Sophie’s or one of the other personal assistants’ approval. She saw it all and was privy to every person coming and going. Having this woman as a best friend had come in very handy over the years.

“Shelley, thank you so much for holding down the fort while I was away. Are there any appointments this morning, or do we have time for a debrief before I jump back in?” Sophie asked, giving the other woman an affectionate hug.

“I made sure to give you an hour before the wheel started turning. Figured you would need to get your running shoes back on after so many weeks in sandals. Your tan is amazing, I might add. What I wouldn’t give for a little of your Spanish roots. If I had spent a day at the beach, let alone a month, I would have freckles like a ladybug, not the glorious golden tan that is making you glow like an air-brushed model. So jealous!” Shelley pouted, but it was clear she was happy for her friend.

Holding up a small gift bag, Sophie replied, “Well, I can’t help with the fair skin God gave you, but I did bring you a gift as requested.”

Excited, Shelly retrieved the bag and quickly removed the paper hiding her new treasure. Reaching in, she withdrew a Day of the Dead mariachi band guitar player bobblehead toy. A look of confusion covered her face.

“You said to bring you back a hot man. This one was so hot his skin melted off. He will never disagree with you,” Sophie gently flicked his head, making it bob. “See, he only says yes. And I know you have a thing for musicians, so this little guy ticked all the boxes.”

Laughter rang out in the empty room, “I love it! Thank you for thinking of me,” Shelley declared as she hugged Sophie tightly once more.

“Okay, give me ten minutes to look over the schedule, and then come update me on everything I missed and urgent matters for the week.” Halfway up the hall to her private office, Sophie turned, “Shelley, did you gather the information I requested on the book rankings for last year?”

“Sure did. I had the stats department run the numbers you asked for, too. Want me to bring them to your office when I come?”

“Yes, please. Mr. Santos wants to get a plan in place for this year, and January is already over. Not to mention, the new book will be ready to release very soon.”

An hour later, she was up to speed on everything she had missed while on vacation and had rescheduled several meetings that she knew Fernando would want more time to prepare for. When she felt she had a solid handle on everything once more, she collected the large folder of data Shelley had provided with the book stats and draped several dry-cleaning bags over her arm before knocking on her boss’s door. When there was no response, she quietly opened it and said softly, “Andy, I’m back.”

Yet again, she was met with silence, so she pushed the heavy wooden door open and entered the enormous office. Bright morning sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up two walls of the corner office. She scanned the room quickly; everything seemed to be in its proper place. The seating area in the back corner showed signs of ongoing work, with papers strewn across the surface of the plush light gray couch and dark wooden coffee table. Piles of papers were stacked in the two armchairs across from the couch. Whatever Fernando was working on, he had abandoned it in the middle and would not want the area disturbed until he finished.

Sophie crossed the room on silent feet, hanging the dry-cleaning in the closet of the private ensuite bathroom before returning to the main office. A gentle smile lifted her lips. From this position, she could see Fernando sound asleep behind his desk, head resting peacefully on his folded arms. As she made her way to him, she wondered how much sleep he had gotten but knew she needed to wake him regardless.

Circling the desk to stand by his side, she ran a tender hand over his face, sweeping his too-long hair away from his eyes. As his eyelids flickered and then slowly opened, she whispered, “You need a haircut,Andy. You’re starting to look less like a haggard author and more like a homeless person.”

Sitting up, he ran a hand through his hair and looked at her accusingly. “If my personal assistant would remember to schedule regular hair appointments, maybe I would look more like the billionaire media tycoon I’m supposed to be.”

“If my boss would stop canceling all of his hair appointments, he wouldn’t make me look like such a bad PA,” Sophie argued good-naturedly, leaning her right hip against his desk and crossing her arms over her chest.

“I missed you, Sophie. How was your vacation? You look amazing,” Fernando stated plainly, sitting back in his dark leather executive chair, eyeing her appraisingly.

---