Addicted (The Addicted Series, #1)(113)

Kim took a bite of her lamb, nodded in appreciation, and made me wait for what seemed like eons before answering. "Gina said that her due date was somewhere in January, right?"

"Right."

"And your mom got married in June, right?"

"Right."

"And how far after June is January?"

The realization hit me like a truck. "Seven. So if Julian is the father, either...."

"Either Gina's some sort of mutant hybrid that creates babies faster than almost every other woman in the human race, or she screwed up in remembering the date, and it's a March or April baby instead of January, or . . ."

"Or Julian isn't the father," I finished for her. "But, why would Gina make that claim?"

"Who knows? You'd need to ask her, but given what you've told me about her, she probably doesn't know who the father is, and picked the one most likely to give the best life to the baby. Or maybe she fell for him like you did. She seems to be the type that places good sex high on the importance list of mates, and Julian checks all those boxes."

"How do you know that?" I asked curiously. I felt joy spread through me, and felt like flying. "I've never told you the details."

"Four times your first night?" Kim reminded me. "That's not just good, that's a virtuoso."

We both giggled as I nodded, flushing pink as I thought about it. It took us a few minutes to calm down, and we enjoyed our dinner until Julian came out of the bedroom, a smile on his face as I cleaned the last of the vegetables off my plate. "Sorry it took so long," he said. "And I'll need to talk more with some people tomorrow, but I may have a solution for everyone."

"Oh, what's that?" I asked, warmth in my heart blossoming as he sat down.

"I called my Dad, and I called Dwayne. Dad confirmed for me that Yuki is still on the grounds, and he gave me her phone number. I called her and we talked briefly, and I told her about what my idea is. I then called Dwayne. He's cautiously on board with it, but wants to talk more after he gets to Paris. He had a shareholders meeting today."

"What's the plan?" I asked, excitement joining the warmth in my heart as Julian's face opened up into a smile.

"How would you like to become the executive chef of the newest Forrester Hotels resort, right in Kennebunkport? And Yuki is going to be either the General Manager or Assistant General Manager?"

I felt tears of happiness spring to my eyes as Julian tucked into his food, smiling even though his lamb was now cold. "Hey, what about me?" Kimberly asked in mock indignation. "I've helped out around here too, you know."

"Yep, I know," Julian replied. "Which is why Dwayne wants to talk to you about a contract for you to do IT work for Forrester Hotels, and his sister's law firm. It's not going to be at the Kennebunkport resort, but you'd be definitely moving out of that apartment you have now. Maybe Miami, maybe Chicago, hell, if you work it right, you might be able to telecommute and do it wherever you want."

Kim turned to me and smiled. "Okay, you can keep him. By the way, it's time for dessert."





Chapter 26


Julian




The site of the Forrester Kennebunkport Resort was still very raw when Krystal and I got out of her car. The outer walls of the building were up, but I could still see many of the windows were bare, and the outside had three different scaffolds on it. "Wow, when Dwayne said be prepared for it to be a bit bare boned, he wasn't kidding," I said. "I hope that our quarters will at least have a roof."

Next to me, Krystal chuckled. "You know we're both going to be going around so much over the next few months that it's not exactly going to be moving in."

I pulled her close, kissing her on the temple. "I know, but still. It's our new home, at least temporarily."

"It is," she agreed. "Should we go inside? Yuki's been here for three days already."

"I'm looking forward to seeing her again," I said as we walked towards the front door. It had been a crazy three months, since our fight, breaking up, and coming back together. We'd spent most of it in Chicago, as I learned under the Forrester Hotels management team in Chicago as well as getting started with college, again. Who knew, maybe the third time was the charm, but I was doing a lot better than I had the first two times. I'd already passed the first round of tests. Between that and management training, as well as my own personal development as a trainer, I was working fourteen hours a day, but loving every bit of it.

Of course, I think my true secret was Krystal. With her next to me, I found motivation and drive in the academic arena that I'd never felt before. While she was in Chicago less than half the time, I never forgot what I was busting my ass for. I'd even taken a digital photo of her and I in front of the Ferris Wheel at the Navy Pier and printed it out, sticking it on the wall above the small desk I'd put in what had been my bedroom in our apartment. Every time I felt like slacking off, I looked up and saw her, and the smile on her face. I was working for that, and I found the energy to keep going.

"It's a little cold though, don't you think?" I said, as we stepped into the hotel lobby. The floor was still bare concrete, but the walls were being painted. "I wonder what it's going to be like when winter sets in."