Kai’s brows winged up. “Perhaps. The details are a bit complicated, but we were working on a similar plan before Whidby’s ouster sidelined negotiations.” A small smile touched his lips. “And you say you don’t like talking business.”
“I don’t. It puts me to sleep ninety percent of the time. You’re lucky this conversation falls into the remaining ten percent.” His laugh brought an answering smile to my face, but it faded when I ventured into my next question. “I’m not saying this will happen, but hypothetically, what happens if you don’t win?”
“I keep my title and position, but I’ll be a laughingstock.” His face cemented into stone. “The other candidates can go back to their jobs and carry on because they were long shots anyway. I’m a Young.
I’ll forever be known as the person who lost his family’s company to an outsider.”
“You’ll still be a major shareholder,” I pointed out. I’d looked it up. Kai controlled over a quarter of the company’s shares, second only to his mother.
“It’s not the same.” A muscle ticked in his jaw before it smoothed. “People remember leaders, not voters.”
“I think people will remember you regardless,” I said. “You’ve broken records even as a non-CEO, and there are plenty of chief executives who are shitty at their job. Your accomplishments matter more than a title.”
Kai’s expression softened. He opened his mouth, but my phone rang and cut him off before he could respond.
Surprise and confusion sparked at the caller’s name. “It’s Alessandra.”
We were friendly, but I couldn’t think of a reason why she’d call me out of the blue.
“Take it,” Kai said. “It must be important if she’s calling on the weekend.”
In the end, curiosity won out. I walked to the other side of the terrace and answered the call. “Hey, Ale.”
“Hey. Are you free to talk right now?”
I glanced at Kai and my half-eaten lunch. “For a bit. What’s up?”
“I realize this may be presumptuous of me, so I apologize in advance.” A trace of embarrassment colored her voice. “But I heard you and Valhalla have, er, parted ways, and you’re looking for a new job.”
I perked up. “I am. Do you know someone who’s looking for a bartender?”
“No. However…” Her pause carried the hesitation of someone debating their next words. “I am looking for an assistant. I don’t want to go through an agency. I’d rather have someone I know and trust, which is why I thought of you.”
Disappointment threaded through my stomach. “I appreciate that, but I have to be honest. I would make a terrible PA. I can barely keep on top of my calendar, much less someone else’s.”
“Oh no, not a personal assistant,” Alessandra said quickly. “A business one. I should’ve been more clear.”
My brows pulled together. “I didn’t know you had a business.”
“I don’t. Not yet, hence the need for an assistant.” She let out an awkward laugh. “I have a lot of ideas, but I need help implementing them. Vivian mentioned you worked at a startup once? So you have an idea of what it’s like to build something from the ground up.”
“That’s overselling what I did,” I said dryly. “I worked as a marketing assistant, and I was only there for a few months. I couldn’t stand all the fintech bros.” I drew my bottom lip between my teeth. I needed a new job, but I didn’t want to promise something I couldn’t deliver. “Honestly, Dominic would be more helpful. He built a multibillion-dollar firm from scratch.” And he’s your husband.
I kept that last part to myself. Alessandra didn’t talk about her marriage much, but I could tell there was trouble in paradise.
“The same multibillion-dollar firm keeps him too busy to help with little projects like this.” A current of sadness ran beneath her light tone before it disappeared. “I’ll be honest. I like you, and I think we would work well together. I can offer a competitive salary and flexible hours so you have time to work on your manuscript.”
My heart skipped, then sank. It was a great offer, but what did I know about starting a business and being an assistant? Nothing. I didn’t want to start another job only to fail miserably again. I’d be better off sticking to what I knew.
“How about this?” Alessandra said quickly. “I’ll email you the details, and you can think it over. I am looking to onboard someone soon, so if you can give me an answer within the next week or two, that would be great.”
After another beat of hesitation, I agreed.
I hung up and returned to the table, where I finished my lunch and relayed her offer to Kai. His eyebrows flew up when I mentioned Alessandra was starting her own business, but he didn’t express the same reservations I had about the job.
“You should accept,” he said. “Ale’s a good person, and working for her will almost certainly be better than any bartending gig in the city.”
“But I’ve never been a business assistant.” My stomach twisted. “What if I fuck it up and destroy her company before it even takes off?”
“You won’t.” As always, his steady, confident voice loosened some of the knots. “Have as much faith in yourself as you do others, Isa.”
I wish I could, but faith was easier when I didn’t have a hundred what-ifs tearing it apart.
Kai must’ve detected the turmoil raging inside me because he pushed back his chair and stood.
“No more work today,” he said, holding out his hand. “Let’s enjoy the island. I have something to show you.”
For the next four hours, Kai and I indulged in all the perks of having a secluded tropical island to ourselves. We snorkeled, rode Jet Skis, and luxuriated in waters so clear I could see the scales on the fish swimming around us. When the sun dipped toward the horizon, we dried off and took the scenic route back to the main house.
“This is the most cliché thing I’ve ever done,” I said. “A long, sunset walk on the beach? You might as well slap us on the cover of a honeymoon brochure and call us that generic couple.” A dreamy sigh drifted past my lips. “I love it.”
If it were any other man and any other island and any other sunset, I would’ve hated it. What was interesting about a walk? Nothing.
But this was Kai. Brilliant, gorgeous, thoughtful Kai, with the lazy half smiles and knowing eyes that saw parts of me even I couldn’t find. A deep golden glow drenched the island, lending it a dreamlike haze, and I was quite sure, in that moment, that there was absolutely nothing I would rather do than walk side by side with him.
“I had a feeling you would,” he said with one of those smiles I loved so much. I couldn’t believe I once thought he was stuffy and boring. Well, okay, I could believe it, but I’d since amended my opinion. “But I haven’t shown you the best part yet.”
“This isn’t the part where you whip out your dick and try to seduce me on the beach, is it?” I teased.
“Darling, if I wanted to seduce you on the beach, you’d already be screaming around my cock,”