Chapter 36

Julie and I woke up together, both a little hungover as we sat up when our respective alarms went off. We were in my living room, having passed out while watching a movie after Dash had left.

She groaned as she stretched her arms above her head. Then she gently cradled her palm over her forehead and let out a whimper. "Ouch. That hurts."

"We need a greasy breakfast. ASAP." I forced myself to stand up, pushing the throw blanket I'd slept under off my legs and then nearly tripping over it as I made my feet move. "That's it, Jules. No more drinking on school nights."

She laughed, but the sound stopped abruptly and turned into another groan as she stumbled to her feet as well. "It's not that bad. We'll be fine. Like you said, we'll have a greasy breakfast, pop some aspirin and by noon, you'll be ready for cocktails."

"Doubt it," I said, carefully walking to the kitchen to get some coffee started. "Dash really came back last night, right? That wasn't a dream?"

"Nope," she replied, pulling a face as she followed me to the kitchen. "I thought you were done with him, though? Didn't you say he was only out for himself? I have vague memories of you saying that. Repeatedly."

"I did say it. Repeatedly." I chuckled. "He apologized, though. He figured out that he did something wrong and what it was. Then he came right back here to tell me. Plastered, but he came back."

"Well, it's not like we were entirely sober either." She chewed on her cheek for a moment before she sighed. "I'm glad he came around, but you need to talk to him, babe. He can't keep putting you through the wringer like he has been. It's not right."

"I know," I said, not about to start making excuses for him. "He's trying, but I'll talk to him. We'll get it cleared up."

She nodded. Then we both went to take showers and I loaned her some clothes for the day. We grabbed our coffee on our way out, then stopped for that greasy breakfast before we went to the office.

"What's on your agenda for the day?" she asked. "Nothing too strenuous, I hope. You haven't got the St. Clairs coming in, right?"

"Nope, not today, but I am meeting with a new potential client that I'm pretty excited about," I admitted, a little thrill running through me as I glanced at her. "I haven't told anyone about it yet, but this client is considering booking our catering services for a huge event that's going to be televised. If I get this contract…"

"It'll be great for business," she finished for me, giving my shoulder a playful punch as we walked into the building. "Go get ‘em, tiger. I know you can do this. Reel in another whale for mama."

I laughed, flinching a little when my headache made a sudden return. "Crap. I need to grab some painkillers before I go into this meeting. No one is charming when there's a tiny dragon in their skulls breathing fire on their brains."

She hummed her agreement and we separated when she took off to her office while I went on to my own. After taking some tablets, I gulped down an entire bottle of water and checked my emails before it was time to go.

The client was meeting me upstairs at our rooftop venue, and she arrived only minutes after I did. She was an older woman, but she and I hit it off immediately, and she loved the venue as well as the idea we had for catering options.

"Let's do this," she said once we were done. "I had my doubts about you, Ms. Halverson, but I want the venue. Consider us a confirmed booking."

Relief and triumph raced through me, putting a massive grin on my face as I walked her out and said goodbye. Little by little, I was winning over those who doubted me. This was just one small victory, but it was another feather in my cap and I was damn proud of it.

Dash had told me to give myself time and to show myself a little grace and so far, doing just that seemed to be helping. It hadn't been much time, sure, but Rome also hadn't been built in a day. This was a big client and it was going to be a major win for us when we pulled it off.

In a much better mood and my hangover gone thanks to the rush of adrenaline, I was all smiles as I headed up to my office. As I walked in, my phone chimed and the message I received gave me yet another reason to smile.

Dash: Good morning, gorgeous. Can I take you to lunch today?

Me: Yes, please. At 1?

Dash: You got it. Can't wait.

Julie walked into my office as I set my phone down on my desk, her eyebrows rising when she saw my smile. "Please tell me that means we got the contract."

"We got the contract," I said dutifully and she squealed, racing over to hug me. I hugged her back, chuckling. "The client loves everything and she told me to confirm their booking. Amelia will send her the paperwork later today, but I'm pretty sure she's going to sign and pay the deposit."

"Go team!" Julie whooped but headed back to the door instead of taking a seat. "I need to get back to work, but I'm really proud of you. We're movin' on up, baby."

"That we are." I laughed. "Now I just need to get my personal life on the same positive trajectory and you need to stop going on dates with narcissists."

She fired a finger gun at me. "I'm working on it, but in the meantime, have you heard from him again after last night?"

"I have actually. I'm going to meet him for lunch in a few."

"Have fun," she said, smiling before she widened her eyes in warning. "Talk to him, though. Got it?"

"I got it."

"Good." She waved at me as she left, and I got my things together before I followed her out.

Amelia told me she'd already sent the papers to the client from this morning, and as a result, I was on cloud freaking nine when I walked into the restaurant where I was meeting Dash. I knew we were risking being photographed together, but I'd decided to take it as it came.

Ultimately, we couldn't hide forever and I didn't want to. He wasn't my dirty little secret and I wasn't his, so I didn't even bother hiding my smile when I walked in to see him already waiting for me.

"Is it bad that I'd rather have been somewhere with you today where we could be alone?" I asked softly as I joined him at the table.

Those gorgeous eyes of his crinkled at the corners as he smirked at me. "Nope. I was just thinking the same thing."

I sat down, wishing we could hug or something, but we couldn't. Being seen together was one thing, but touching each other in public was something else entirely. "I might've been tipsy last night, but I'm still thinking about it. I haven't been able to stop."

"Same." He pushed his fingers through his thick brown hair and mine itched to do the same. He caught me following the movement and groaned. "Let's plan something soon where we can be alone. Like, really soon? How's your afternoon?"

"Slammed." I wrinkled my nose. "I'm sorry, but there's just no way I can play hooky all afternoon again."

"Yeah, I know. I can't either, but it was worth a shot." He exhaled deeply, then he focused on me and blinked the lust out of his eyes. "Besides, I'm trying to prove that I'm not just here for the alone time, so hit me. Tell me about your day so far."

I chuckled. "Really? You want to hear about my day?"

"More than anything else," he said, and he sounded so sincere that my heart skipped a few beats. "What did you get up to this morning?"

"I had breakfast with Julie, but then I had a really big meeting and I knocked it out the park." He stared back at me for a short moment, then suddenly broke into a wide grin.

"You got the Horowitz event, didn't you?"

I dipped my chin in a nod. "I probably shouldn't be surprised that you know about it."

He laughed. "I don't miss much that goes on in this town. Congratulations, Serenity. That's amazing. I'm really fucking proud of you."

"Thank you," I said. "So am I. If you know about it though, why didn't you get it?"

He shrugged. "She must've preferred what you had to offer and I don't blame her. I mean, I was a skeptic at first, I know, but you've won me over. I have no doubt that you're going to win over every potential client you meet with as well."

"You were already fully booked, weren't you?"

"Yes, but that's not the point," he said, shaking his head at me when I opened my mouth to object. "She wouldn't have come to me over you anyway. She was looking for something fresh and modern. That's you. You're going to be great."

"Thank you," I murmured, inhaling deeply through my nostrils as I let it sink in that I'd really brought in two big-time clients in as many months. "I feel like I'm on top of the world."

"Which is exactly where you deserve to be," he said. "Are you up for a glass of champagne? We are celebrating again, after all."

"As long as it's just one."

He laughed. "I couldn't handle more than that today, anyway. Just one it shall be then."

The waiter came and we placed our order. Then he asked me more about the meeting and the event itself, and I could tell he was paying careful attention to every word I said in response. For the first time ever, the man I was seeing was truly interested in my career. He understood what I was saying and what this meant to me, and he was nothing but positive and supportive in return.

It was a good feeling. A great one, really, and though I knew we also still had to talk about him not defending me to Ethan, I didn't feel like I'd forgiven him too soon. Dash was human and he made mistakes, but he also took responsibility for them when he did and we were still getting to know each other.

We were growing together, and for now, that was the best feeling ever.