Manage Me: A Vagabond Romance Read online

  CONTENTS

  Part 1: Getting Out

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Part 2: A Reunion

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Epilogue

  Copyright © 2018 by J.S. Fox

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book maybe reproduced in any form or by any electronic or machanical means, including information storage and retrievel systems without wirrten permission from the author, except fort he use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Part 1: Getting Out

  CHAPTER 1

  Dakota

  Today was the day that would change the rest of my life. I knew it from the moment I woke up. Have you ever had one of those feelings in your gut? That weird, uneasy feeling that told you it was going to be a crazy, unbelievable day? Yep, that's what I felt from the second I opened my eyes.

  The promotion for team lead was going to be announced today at work. I already knew I was getting it, but I was still a little nervous for the formal announcement. Double my pay, employees who I was in charge of, and my own office were just a few perks that I couldn't wait to take advantage of when I moved into my new position.

  "Hey can I get in there, or what?" My fiancé, Cody, said as he stood in the doorway to the bathroom, visibly annoyed at what he called my 'primping.'

  "Sure. Sorry."

  Knowing he was annoyed, I defaulted to my tried-and-true method of Cody decompression by wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a big kiss. He'd been stressed out for months over his own promotion, and I'd always been able to improve his mood by reminding him of his sex appeal, even though we hadn't had sex in months. Our lips pressed softly against one another for just a moment before Cody pushed me away, looking at me like I was crazy for wanting to kiss my fiancé.

  "Come on, Dakota, you know it's a big day for me. I can't be late."

  "Yes, it's a big day for me too..."

  He snorted. "Please don't compare your little promotion to me getting partner. You know it's not even close to the same thing. Do you have to put in a hundred grand of your own money to become a manager of some accountants?"

  I'd learned long ago to let things go when it came to Cody, despite the fact that he apparently didn't care enough about my career to learn the distinction between financial advising and accounting. Not that I'd expect everyone to know, but as the person who said that he wanted to spend his life with me, I would have loved for him to at least pretend interest. But he'd never had the sort of temperament that made it easy to argue with him, so I did what I always did when there was the potential for a fight, and made my way quietly down the hallway to the kitchen to get our breakfast going.

  Cody and I had been together for years, since my junior year of college and his last year of law school, and now our wedding was just a few months away. With all the wedding prep and job changes, things between us had gone downhill, and it was getting harder and harder to keep up a positive attitude about our relationship. In the kitchen, I busied myself with making coffee and egg sandwiches to keep my mind off us until I heard Cody yelling, and raced down the hall. When I got to the door, I immediately saw what had happened and that this was going to be all my fault; my curling iron, still plugged in, had fallen to the floor, causing a cascade of makeup.

  "How many times do I have to tell you to unplug your curling iron when you leave the bathroom?!" he yelled as he kicked some aside some of the makeup that had fallen onto the floor with the curling iron.

  "I'm sorry, I was in the middle of doing my hair when you..."

  "Stop. I don't have time. How about next time you try to be thoughtful enough to unplug your iron before I burn my hand?"

  "Sorry," I mumbled, not even bothering to go in for a hug. "I left your breakfast on the counter. Call me later. I want to hear everything."

  "Yeah, will do," he said and popped a kiss on my head before turning and leaving me to pick up the mess that he made. The iron had knocked over my foundation when it fell, leaving a powdery mess, along with a broken eyeshadow pallet that cost more than I wanted to admit.

  "Bye! Have a great day," I yelled after Cody as the door slammed. I heard nothing in response.

  The light powder was all over my hands as I stood up and when I wiped my hands on my legs without thinking, all over my pants. Frantic with the mess I'd made of my work outfit, I hurried to change my clothes before I rushed out of the house. In classic Gleason/Tyler household style, the biggest day of my career thus far had become entirely about Tyler. The morning hadn't gone as planned, which shouldn't have surprised me because nothing seemed to be going as expected lately. The tension that had grown between the "love of my life" and me was unbearable.

  Instead of getting to work early as I'd intended, I walked in ten minutes late. As I rushed into the main lobby, I saw that the only person there was the single front desk receptionist left out of staff meetings so the phone wouldn't be unattended and groaned inwardly; the meeting had already started, so I could only hope that they had spent the last few minutes eating bagels and talking about how wonderful everyone was.

  "How could you be late TODAY?" Anne whisper-yelled at me as I snuck into the room and took the spot next to her that she'd saved for me.

  The conference room was packed with everyone from the main receptionist to the CEO. I usually wasn't a fan of these types of meetings, and Anne and I often took seats in the back and played hangman until it was over. Our typically over-hyped meetings went over sales and marketing agendas, which just didn't have much to do with my job as a financial advisor. This meeting was different, though; after all, it wasn't often that my whole future wasn't typically determined in the course of a single hour.

  "A big scene with Cody this morning," I whispered to Anne.

  Anne rolled her eyes at me. She'd known Cody for as long as she'd known me, and had never felt shy about telling me that I shouldn't be marrying him. I mean, I did complain to her a lot about everything that went on at home, which did make her predisposed to see him as the bad guy. But given that I'd sat next to her for the entire time I'd spent working here, she was the first one to see my expression when I got texts from my dear fiancé.

  Life had gotten so much more complicated for the two of us in the last few months. I'd thought that we would get swept up in the romance of planning our wedding, but I could barely get him to have dinner with me once a week. My gut was telling me that we needed to slow down and deal with the stress in both of our lives before we got married, but Cody never wanted to talk about things. He continuously told me he loved me, but without a single bit of effort on his part, it felt hollow.

  Having a friend like Anne with me at work to vent to was a saving grace. We shared almost everything about our lives through the little gap between our cubicles, and it was a much-needed relief for me to be able to talk to someone about my relationship other than Lauren, my
best friend. Lauren, my roommate all through college, knew Cody very well and absolutely hated him too. At least Anne didn't shit all over Cody personally.

  I could only hope that once our promotions came through, things would settle down and we would fall back into our long-standing love, the way we'd always meant it to be.

  "Did I miss anything?" I whispered, looking around the crowded room to see who of the higher-ups had come by. Interestingly, the meeting hadn't garnered a stop-in from corporate, but it looked like everyone else was there.

  "Nope; still just jerking us off," Anne deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

  "Why is Scarlet sitting there?" I asked when I noticed my workplace nemesis sitting only two chairs away from our boss.

  "She arrived early, I guess?" Anne shrugged.

  Okay, maybe it was a little dramatic to be a twenty-seven year old with a finance degree and still call someone my nemesis, but I couldn't help it. Scarlet was four years younger than me, bragged about the vacations she took on her family's jet, and could barely make a decision around her own investments, much less our clients'. Of course, the fact that she had barely scraped through city college with a basic business degree meant nothing to most of the office, where seventy-five percent of the employees couldn't stop staring at the fake boobs her family had bought her. On top of all of that, I knew for a fact that she bad-mouthed the other female employees on her level to get in with 'the guys.' She may have pasted on a smile for our benefit, but I didn't believe for a second that she really liked any of us.

  And yet, absolutely none of this would've mattered if I thought for a second that she actually wanted to be a financial advisor. Whenever Anne or I caught one of her mistakes, she would laugh it off and leave it for us to fix, as if she hadn't almost cost someone a fortune. Once I started noticing all of her mistakes, I started triple-checking her work to make sure that nothing irreparable happened. It all seemed like a game to her, and I often sensed she wasn't going to feel like she won until she had gained a prominent position in the company, no matter how little she deserved it.

  I smoothed down the messy bun I'd pulled my half-done hair into in the car and took some deep breaths. I knew I had nothing to worry about: I'd had the best numbers by far in the last two quarters, and he smiled, I was always on time and mostly early (today being a notable exception), had a friendly disposition, and managed to train all of the interns we had last school year. Although my boss, Zack, and I weren't best friends or anything, I certainly felt like he appreciated the work I had been doing. When this new position had come up, Zack had even hinted that I was the perfect candidate, and I should get ready to move to the big office. I was jolted to attention by Zack's knocking on the conference room table.

  "As you all know, we have opened up a new position for an analyst team manager. We've thought long and hard about who we'd like to step into the fire, and we're very confident in our decision. The person we've chosen to take on this new role is someone we all have been watching over the last year. This employee goes above and beyond in everything they do. She often stays late and comes in early. She has an excellent outlook on our business future and a firm understanding of the vision for our company."

  I took a deep breath and a step forward.

  "Scarlet Robinson, come on up here."

  Chapter 2

  Ryan

  "I'm going down to the beach and grabbing some breakfast. Do you want anything?" I called over to Drake as I walked past the desk.

  "It's noon, Ryan."

  "Really? No! It can't be that late," I argued while looking at the clock and groaning at the fact that Drake was right.

  Since leaving the hullabaloo of the Miami, I'd been sleeping in later and later. It was a new thing for me; since leaving college and taking on a role as a manager with Baxter Family Holdings, I'd made it a point to wake up at six every day at the latest. When you worked in hospitality, sleeping late wasn't really a luxury you could afford. There was always a fire to be put out.

  Being at the hostel, though, was an entirely new rhythm; our family had purchased the property as an experiment (we'd wanted to see what it would be like on the lower end of hospitality), and I'd been the only one willing to volunteer to supervise the construction and remodeling over the last few months. After the stress of running a resort in constant demand, I'd figured I was due for a little bit of a break. It had been so relaxing I'd barely noticed I even still had a job. Our guests were students from the other side of the country here for a quick adventure or backpackers from Europe on a long break. They were completely unpretentious and never complained about their rooms. I loved them.

  "Can you sign off on these invoices before you leave?" Drake pushed a pile of paper at me over the counter.

  "Sure." I bent over the papers and gave them a quick once-over before signing them with a flourish. "Drake, dude, I'm so glad you and Amelia are here. We're lucky you found us. I really appreciate all the help."

  "Hey man, I really appreciate the job. This is the perfect gig for me while I'm finishing my novel and Amelia is working on her poetry."

  Drake and Amelia, a married couple, had happened across the hostel about a week after I'd taken it over. Everything had been a disaster, with half the building under construction and me not knowing anything about the politics of running a space like this. There was a massive difference in how you interact as a hostel manager compared to a hotel manager.

  On the night they'd arrived, I'd had ten people in line and most were fed up with how long I was taking to get them registered. Drake had walked up to the desk, ripped up the complicated forms and hand-wrote out a slip for the guests to sign with the few details needed for a hostel check-in. That simplified check-in was still being used today, with just a few small changes. When everyone had gotten through the line, Drake told me that he had worked at hostels after college in exchange for free room and board while working on his first book and that that had been where he and Amelia had met. I'd asked him then and there whether he wanted to take on some part-time responsibilities around the hostel, and he'd agreed.

  The hostel had become even more like a vacation for me now that I had Drake taking charge. I'd given him and Amelia wife a free private room in exchange for a few hours a week of work. Drake seemed to enjoy the work, and just the day before had asked if I'd consider paying him to work full-time as an assistant manager. I'd agreed right away; after all, it meant I'd have to conduct at least one less interview for staff I needed to hire anyway. We worked out a reasonable deal that included his room, and I'd been enjoying my first morning with an assistant manager as though I really was on vacation. For the first time in weeks, I was entirely able to take advantage of where I was, and I wasn't looking forward to moving onto a new hotel anytime soon.

  "I'll just be a few hours," I told Drake as I finished signing the paperwork. "Call me if you need anything."

  Something over my shoulder had drawn his attention, and he raised an eyebrow. "Some good-looking guy in a fancy car just pulled up. He must be related to you."

  I heard high-quality leather shoes tapping on the terra cotta tile floor behind me. I didn't need to turn around to know that it must be Hartley, my older brother and the head of Baxter Holdings. He was probably dressed to the nines and looking like he'd just stepped out of GQ, looking about as at home as a bull in a china shop.

  "Don't trust the looks; it's all surgery," I joked, knowing Hartley was right behind me.

  "Says the kid brother out of jealousy."

  He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. Hartley might've been vicious in a business deal, but he'd always liked showing his affection to his brothers, and the tendency had only grown since our dad passed away when I was eleven.

  As a teenager, I'd detested his fatherly demeanor, but now that I was in my thirties I appreciated having Hartley as the responsible adult brother. I couldn't find the words to say what it meant to me that he'd taken on the role of patriarch and pulled our family together after our fat
her's sudden and preventable death. Jason, who was the oldest, didn't have close to Hartley's temperament or work ethic; I don't know what we'd have done if H hadn't stepped up.

  "That's what all movie stars say," I laughed, slapping him on the back. "I know the truth, though, and I have the awkward teen photos to back it up."

  Hartley smiled good-naturedly before diving straight into business. "How's it going here?" Hartley asked, walking over to the desk and shaking Drake's hand brusquely before pulling out the ledger and flipping through it. Hartley had always been one to get to the point quickly, and never wasted three words when one would work just as well. Some people thought he was rude, but once they got to know him, they realized that he was just direct. It was a good thing, too. When your life revolved around your business twenty-one hours a day, you didn't have a spare minute for nonsense.

  "It's great. The remodeling is almost finished, and I've been training Drake here to take over since neither Hudson nor Rex is planning to come back anytime soon."

  Hudson, the brother immediately below Hartley in birth order, had been off 'finding himself' for the last year. I wouldn't even know where he was if I hadn't happened to have talked to a friend of mine who ran into him while in Thailand two months ago. He'd made a big announcement about the time spent working for the family as having been wasted, and that it was time for him to find out what he really wanted to do.

  My closest brother, Rex, who was just two years older than me, was also traveling, but far less aimlessly. Rex had joined the Peace Corps as soon as he'd finished college, and once he'd completed his assignment, he'd continued working with non-profit organizations throughout the world. He had the biggest heart of all six of us, and I knew for a fact that he wasn't planning on coming back to the states any time soon. Since neither of them would be taking over the hostel when I was done with it, I'd had to train someone else, and I'd known instinctively that Hartley would approve of Drake.