Page 60 of My Silver Lining

And even as the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back.

Because a weekend wouldn’t be long enough for me to get this woman out of my system.

But I was starting to wonder if I even wanted her out of my system.

sixteen

. . .

Lulu

We arrivedin the city by helicopter, and Rafe had a car waiting for us when we landed, which took us straight to the swanky hotel near the wedding venue.

We were in the room unpacking, and he was quieter than usual.

“Are you nervous about today?” I asked, suddenly curious about his relationship with his boss.

“I’m ready for this night to be done. I know we’re going to have a lot of eyes on us, and Joseph is an intense and unpredictable guy, so you just never know what you’re going to get.”

I dropped to sit on the bed after I hung up my black satin evening dress in the closet. This was a black-tie affair, and luckily, these types of events were in my wheelhouse. I loved getting all dressed up, as most days I worked from home and lived in athleisure wear.

“Do you like working for him?”

“Not really. He’s arrogant and pretentious, but he also hired me when I was first starting out, and his firm is one of the best in the country, so I’m grateful that he took a chance on me.”

“And you’ve been there for years?”

“Yes. I started working for him right out of college. I’ve been able to achieve all the certifications I wanted during that time, and the goal is to break off on my own and have my own team eventually.” He moved to the closet and hung his sleek black suit beside my dress. “Just trying to decide when to do it.”

“What’s your hesitation?” I asked as I reached for my sketch pad and opened it to the new design I’d been working on.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to manage a team. If it’s financially wise to do it now, which logically, I know it is. I’ve been saving for years. But I do really well where I am right now, so there’s always a risk. In the big picture, this is the move I need to make. But it’ll be slow in the beginning, probably a little scary if I’m being honest. I’ll be the one responsible for employees, so it’s just a lot to weigh, you know?”

Rafe Chadwick was a multifaceted man.

He was charming and flirty and funny in one breath, but listening to him talk about his professional life—there was a more serious tone.

Professional Rafe was all business. And it was attractive to see how driven he was and how seriously he took his work.

“I get that.” I sighed as I found my favorite pencil and started drawing. It always relaxed me. “Change is scary. I went to Juilliard and always thought I’d be a professional dancer. But that didn’t work out, so I had to find another plan.”

“What happened?” He sat on the edge of the bed and glanced at my sketch pad curiously.

“I tore all the ligaments in my ankle during training, and I was just never the same. Plus, it’s hard to make a living as a dancer, and it’s physically taxing. So I had to figure out what I wanted to do. The easy answer was just to go work for my parents. Laredo is hugely successful. I could have stepped into aposh position with a ridiculous salary, but I just didn’t see myself doing that for the rest of my life.”

He studied me. “What made you choose jewelry?”

“Well, I love jewelry,” I chuckled. “I think it can make such a statement. I’ve always worn lots of rings and bracelets and layered necklaces. I love pieces that have meaning and stones that complement and add to the design. At the end of the day, I need to be creative. I would have just been an executive at Laredo. I want to build something, create something of my own.”

He nodded. “I get that. And I think it’s pretty cool that you didn’t take the easy path.”

“I almost did. I had just graduated, and I was dating Beckett, and he’d just signed with a record label. He wanted me to go with him on tour and work remotely for my parents. I actually considered it for a brief moment, but I didn’t want to be in someone’s shadow, you know? I wanted to create my own magic.”

“And how did he handle that?”

“Like a spoiled rock star,” I chuckled. “It was the beginning of the end. We were different people in college, and in his defense, which I don’t often give him any defense, but his fame came on quickly. It’s a lot to handle. I’d grown up with money, and Beckett hadn’t. And suddenly, he had a lot in a short period of time. Not everyone can handle that.”

“So you started building your company, and he went off on tour?”

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