CHAPTER 2

The memories came rushing back in while I stood rooted to the ground, the good memories mostly tainted with the bad ones, the traumas that had sent me running and desperately wanting to start afresh. I closed my eyes shut, my eyelids fluttered with the previous night’s dream – his hands sinking into my flesh and pulling me closer to him in that forbidden embrace.

Why am I thinking about that? Jessica focus!

This is your chance for a big promotion!

When I opened my eyes to their confused and expectant stare, my head went blank because Parrish had still not taken his eyes off me. I could see it in his eyes – the shock was slowly morphing to confusion and annoyance.

“My first point is – social media and – ” the words were unwilling to flow out of my mouth and I couldn’t take it anymore not with my head flowing with the memories that I’d rather stay forgotten so I dashed out of the room to catch my breath. My vision  blurred as I leaned with my hands on the white painted walls, my chest heaving up and down from my breathlessness and the next thing the people began trooping out of the conference room and Janine rushed to me immediately, her hands going around my shoulders.

“Jessica? What’s going on?” she asked me, I could only hear the concern in her voice as I could barely see her but I could feel them watching me. My face heated from embarrassment – what the hell was I doing? Haven’t I moved on from Parrish, or had his absence in my life made me push everything to the back of my head but seeing him now brought everything back to the surface.

No.

It was the unexpectedness of it all – the shock – the memories and most importantly the sultry dream that still clouded my senses – because what are the bloody odds?

“Jessica breathe –” Cara's voice echoed in my head

God! Was I being dramatic? I wasn’t the type to have a flair for the dramatics – oh damn you Parrish Holmes!

“Jessica Peters!” I heard his voice, stronger and firmer than the soothing voice I remembered, the voice that whispered both dirty and sweet nothings to my ear in the dark, either entangled in the rumpled sheets of my small college dorm or pressed up against a corner in the club in our wild attempt to be carefree and daring.

I looked up, ignoring the eyes of others that stared but decided to focus on me as he walked up to where I stood still trying to catch my breath, my heart pounding loudly behind my chest.

“What was that?” he asked, his eyes drilled into mine but without the compassion I remembered, it was a distant stare that held an authority to it. I stayed silent, trying to find my words before he spoke up again.

“You messed it up.” he moved closer to me that I could almost smell his cologne and it was different, well what was I expecting? He was wearing thousand dollar suit of course he smelled different. I wondered what was going through his mind, did he think I was different? Was he having the same thoughts that I was having? Was he dreaming about me the way I was? Oh who was I kidding, looking at his eyes, those were not the eyes of someone having sex dreams about their college past.

“You just messed up a big deal from the biggest investors in the whole of California, so I’m going to ask again, what was that?”

I stared dumbfounded at him. I mean I did mess it up, but I expected him to understand. My face kept burning with embarrassment that I suddenly wished for the ground to swallow me.

“I – I – ” I still struggled to find my words.

“You – you – you what? You can’t speak, are you dumb?” he fired at me and my mouth fell open as I felt sudden tears burn my eyes but I willed them not to fall. I wasn’t going to cry especially not in front of my ex boyfriend who was now in fact my boss. What kind of sick game is the universe playing with me because I am in fact not a willing participant.

Parrish had ran his hands through his hair in frustration before turning back to me “I give you two weeks to get those investors seated back here and you bag the deal or you’re fired” there was a finality to his tone that showed he meant before he turned around to face the rest of his employees.

“The same goes to all of you, you mess a deal up and you’re fired, no second chances. Maybe it’s time I move to California and change things around here.” he said and I paused.

Move where?

To California?

Why would he do that?

I moved away from the New York to get away from the my life that revolved around me and now he was moving here.

Oh you gotta be kidding me!

Parrish's POV

I had no intentions to move to California, it was supposed to be a quick business trip to meet with the investors because the deal had been bagged already and the Powerpoint presentation from lady called Jessica Peters was just a formality.

Jessica Peters.

I didn’t think it’d be her, the same girl I had spent all my college years being in love with and having the wildest times of my life. I thought it’d be someone else, a random girl with the same name but it was her – the same Jessica Peters. Oh what were the freaking odds? Flowing chestnut hair and those emerald green eyes staring back at me and I felt the familiar stab in my chest – the same one I felt anytime she crossed my mind, anytime I remembered how bad things ended and the overwhelming guilt that consumed me and I knew that the moment I saw her, this was going to be more than a business trip – I was in fact here to stay.

First thing I needed to do was to assert my dominance in this place, I couldn’t show any type of weakness even with Jessica standing before with wide eyes and a shocked expression while I threatened to fire her.

I was curious now, what had she been up to? What was she thinking? Was she seeing someone else? I needed to know all these facts and in that moment I was indeed sure I wasn’t moving back to NYC so I pulled out my phone and called my manager.

“I need a two bedroom house in California.” I said.

I was here to stay – because of Jessica Peters.

Because I was curious.