Page 42 of One Night in Paris

22

HARPER

Making the reservations for Logan and me to fly first class to San Francisco had been exciting. Since he was a VIP, it hadn’t taken me any time at all to get the exact seats he’d wanted. I’d done some quick research into the best place to stay near the site where the meeting would be located, and within a few minutes, I’d also booked us a five-star hotel.

When Logan had come out of his office a few minutes later, I’d let him know the good news. The temptation to throw my arms around him and thank him for this opportunity had been overwhelming, but I was glad I’d kept control of myself a few minutes later when Andy, the human resources guy, came out of his office. After that, Logan and I had said goodbye and left. He went to the garage where his car was parked, and I headed down to catch the train to my mom’s house.

One of the best things about this job was no longer having to share a shitty apartment with a shitty roommate in a shitty building in a shitty part of town. Our lease wasn’t up for a couple of months, but I’d been able to afford to give Tammy my part of the rent and get off the renewal. She had already found another roommate, so I was moving out now. Whether the advancementI’d gotten when I signed my contract was standard procedure at Winters Architectural Firm or not, I hadn’t asked, but it had come in handy.

Walking into the house, I paused in the doorway and took a deep breath. The scent of Mom’s famous chicken casserole hit me, causing me to lean back against the door. A rush of memories flooded over me from all of the times in the past when she’d made that for us for dinner. My mouth began to water as I picked my way across the shag carpet in the living room, past the worn-out green couch, and into the kitchen.

Mom stood in front of the stove, an oven mitt on her hand, her eyes focused on the heavenly smelling dish within the appliance. With the door open, it smelled even better. Thoughts of cheesy goodness filled my mind. The crunch of the tater tots, the squishy carrots and green beans? Some people might think casseroles were simple or not classy, but for me, they were like tasting home.

“Hey, Mom.” Announcing my presence, I headed over to hug her, seeing I startled her a bit. Thank goodness she didn’t hurt herself on the hot oven.

“Oh, you’re home!” She leaned up to kiss my cheek. Not only was I at least two inches taller than her anyway, but with my heels on, I was even taller. “How was your day?”

“Great.” Since I’d switched jobs, that was always my answer.

“I can’t wait to hear all about it. Would you mind grabbing some plates?”

“Of course.” While Mom finished dinner, I set the table, and within a few minutes, the two of us were sitting in our favorite chairs at the table, chowing down on our dinner. In the back of my mind, I considered how to tell her about my trip, but I wasn’t sure what to say. Besides, I knew that Mom would ask enough questions for it to come up immediately. We just needed a chance to eat first.

Mom was eating more than I’d seen her eat in months, which made me smile. Since we’d switched her chemo appointment times, she’d been seeing a new doctor, and he’d switched some things up a little bit. From my perspective, it seemed like it was helping.

“Do you feel better today?” I asked, trying to sound casual. Mom never liked to talk about her illness, so any time I mentioned it, I had to use a general tone.

Taking a drink of her tea, Mom nodded then set her glass aside. “I do. I think it’s that new supplement Dr. Garcia prescribed for me. It really seems to make me feel more alert.”

“That’s amazing, Mom. I’m so glad to hear it.” I took another bite, thinking I needed to slow down. It wasn’t like I hadn’t had lunch at work. On Fridays, Logan catered something new and special every week. This week had been a pasta bar from an upscale Italian restaurant down the street from the office. So this was the second time I’d stuffed myself today. Without all of that walking around at the diner, I’d need to start exercising. Thank goodness I had time for it now.

“Did anything exciting happen for you today?” Mom asked before taking another bite.

“Yeah, actually. Something cool happened. Well, it will be happening tomorrow.” I needed to calm down. When I got all excited, being flustered made me sound scatterbrained.

“What’s that?” Mom’s eyes brightened, and she smiled at me.

“Well, Logan has a business meeting in San Francisco tomorrow, and he’s asked me to go with him. It’s just for one night. I’ll totally be back in time for your appointment on Sunday.”

After the first part of my statement, I didn’t think Mom heard another word. She was too busy squealing and clapping her hands. “Oh, Harper! That’s incredible! You know the Golden Gate Bridge is on my bucket list.”

“I know, Mom.” I thought about her bucket list for a second. If we had time to swing by so I could see it, this would be the second location on her list I’d get to experience for her. That was great, but I so wished my mother could go to those places, too.

“You don’t have to rush back here to take me to chemo, Harper. I can get Mrs. Johnson down the street to drive me.” Mom’s smile was encouraging, but not persuasive.

“No way,” I told her, wiping my mouth on a napkin. “I will be back in time. I already told Logan about it, and he said it’s not a problem. We’re flying out on the first flight tomorrow morning and will be back on the first flight Sunday. It’s a quick trip this time, but it’s really more about this account that wants to work with us than a sightseeing excursion.”

“Well, I’m just happy that you get to travel for work. You’ve always wanted to do that, honey.” She reached over and patted my arm.

Mom was right. Traveling was a huge deal to me, something I’d always wanted to do but had never gotten the chance. Logan was making all of my dreams come true—professionally, anyway. I hadn’t let myself think too much about our personal relationship. Everything was so complicated now that I worked for him.

“So…” Mom began. Whenever she started a question off with that tone, I knew where it was headed. I could already feel the heat rising in my face. “You like this boss of yours, huh?”

“What’s not to like?” I replied. “Logan’s an amazing boss. I’ve already learned so much from him. He’s considerate, kind, and understanding. When I told him I needed to be back Sunday morning, he immediately said it wasn’t a problem. Yeah, Mom. I like him. I’m super happy at this new job. In a lot of ways, I can’t believe this is my life now.”

Mom’s face beamed. “I’m so proud of you, sweetie. You’ve always been good at everything you’ve ever put your heart into,whether it was waitressing, school, or now this. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Hearing my mom say those words brought a tear to my eye. She was never one to withhold compliments, so I knew she was proud of me, but it still touched my heart. Waitressing had not been a dream job, but I did always try my best because I couldn’t afford to get fired and have no way of paying for her treatments. School had been fun for me. I loved learning and wanted to soak up as much as I could. Even now, I was thinking about how I could go back and finish my business degree while working. Logan and I had talked about it a little. He said they had a program, which was amazing.

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