Page 116 of Summertime Friends

Now

“We get it. You two are together, but this is a work meeting. Liam, can you stop eyeing Emerson for a minute so we can finish, and then you can go find his desk or one of the hotel rooms to finish yourselves?” Cal snaps at us.

“Blame him. He’s the one that keeps trying to play footsie with me.” Emerson glares over at me. Her hair sways over her shoulder, kissed with the sun. She’s wearing a soft pink sundress today, which reminds me of a bloomed flower.

I shrug my shoulders. It’s impossible to drag my attention from Emerson. Always has been.

Emerson wanted to take it slow after we got back together. We woke up the morning after her birthday, Emerson in my bed facing me. She still isn’t a cuddler, but the faintest smile was on her face as she had her hand interlocked into mine. My hand was resting on her arm—I think we were both hanging onto the other, too afraid the night before was only a fever dream. Over coffee, I asked her to be my girlfriend, together properly this time. That was the opposite of slow, but I needed her to understand the capacity of which I am all in on us. It wasn’t the L-bomb, so I figured girlfriend was slow enough.

Our relationship is a flower. It may have needed all those years of watering, but it’s alive and thriving now. That’s what matters, right?

“Get up.” Cal gestures his hand up. “I’m sitting next to her. You are over here.”

Blake, Ben, and a few others from our teams laugh as I play musical chairs.

“Happy now?” I ask Cal as I sit down, folding my arms across my chest and flicking my eyebrows up.

“We’ll see.”

“As I was saying,” Emerson continues. “Opening the restaurant before the hotel’s launch was a great idea. From that alone, you have reached 35 percent occupancy. Until the hotel opens, I recommend we raffle off one or two-night free stays a week; anyone who eats or drinks at Cleopatra that week is entered to win. The aim is to continue driving business there, which will also coincide with the hotel occupancy.”

“What if we add in an additional entry if they book at least one night?” Ben asks.

Emerson looks over at me for a decision. It takes me a moment to answer as I think through the best options—damn, she’s sexy.

“Make it a weekend and within ninety days of opening. They’ll receive an upgraded weekend experience if they are already booked.”

“Perfect. Johnson, can you note that for graphics and email? Moving on, did everyone review the list of influencers and the contract they will be signing? The minimum number of stories, feed posts, and videos is the same across the board. Blake, you will be managing these.”

Watching her, what do the Americans call it, girl boss? Watching Emerson’s girl boss is hot. Seeing her in the zone, commanding the room, and leading everyone with undivided attention is a hoot. She’s intelligent. I already knew that, but how she orchestrated this together and presented it is remarkable—reason #87324 why I am ridiculously in love with her.

“Yup! Sending out invites and contracts this afternoon. Additionally, Ben gave me the list of people to invite to the opening. Their invitations went out this morning.”

“On top of it, as always, thank you, Blake. Our digital campaigns to create buzz have been running for the past two weeks. I’ve included on page nineteen of the folder a review of the current analytics. Olivia will be reviewing those next. The last task item our team is working on is hiring a photographer. I’ve put together their creative brief and—”

“I want you to be the photographer,” I cut Emerson off.

“Oh my gosh! Emme, you have to! Why didn’t I think of that?” Blake squeals.

Ben shushes her.

“That’s not my job,” Emerson shakes her head.

“You do it on the side and enjoy it, yeah?”

“Yes.” Her eyebrows are raised, silently asking me where I am going with this.

“Emerson, you are the only one who doesn’t have a specific job for the weekend,” Blake helps my case.

“Take the pictures. You are talented, and I would be proud to have you capture this.” I stare into her eyes and ask, “Will you please be our photographer?”

Emerson bites the side of her bottom lip, contemplating my request. “Okay,” she says softly.

Cal claps his hands. Blake and Emerson’s team are beaming with a smile.

Olivia goes on about analytics. I hear what she’s saying, digesting the numbers, but my focus is on the woman sitting adjacent to me. All I can see are the rosy cheeks on Emerson, and the excitement in her eyes to be behind the camera.

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