Julian

Chapter Three-1

CHAPTER THREE

I COULDN’T HELP myself. I finished my time in Chicago and even waited until I’d settled in at my hotel in Minneapolis to check up on what was happening back at headquarters. My inbox contained a couple of emails from Gabriel, first about interviews so I could give feedback and then about the final hire.

Luna Stone. What kind of a name was that? It sounded more like a hippie porn star than a professional executive assistant. Her credentials were impeccable, though, and she’d interviewed better than the other prospects. Gabriel had assured me she didn’t have a fan website where we had to worry about risqué video footage or photos popping up on the internet.

I told myself I wasn’t going to let my curiosity get the best of me, but I guess the cat wasn’t surviving this one. I turned from the view of downtown Minneapolis from my suite at The Foshay and walked over to the small dining area where I left my laptop after working through dinner. While most hotels had cautious neutral palettes for décor, The Foshay took a chance with bolder accents, and I appreciated it. The color reminded me of my childhood in Puerto Rico, all the bold primary hues people incorporated into their lives.

I carried my laptop over to the plush couch, settling down and kicking my stocking feet up on the circular coffee table. I had yet to change out of my navy suit pants and blue silk shirt, but before dinner, I’d removed my tie, unbuttoned the top few buttons, and took my belt off.

I opened the computer and contemplated my actions while waiting impatiently for it to boot up. It was normal to want to know more about the woman who would be attached to my hip for the next three months. I typed her name into a Google search and scrolled through the results.

The first few listings were social media profiles, but none seemed to be the woman we’d hired. I clicked on a promising LinkedIn, and there she was. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a smile that made me want to reach out and brush my thumb across her bottom lip. I felt my c**k twitch in response. What was wrong with me? I did not make a habit out of desiring employees. I’d certainly never pursued any type of relationship with one.

Looking into who Luna Stone was had been a bad idea. I quickly scrolled down and checked out her interests and work history. Since her move to Portland, she hadn’t updated the profile, and her former employer CalWitton Pharmaceuticals was still listed as her current employer. She had previously worked for a large non-profit and had several other internships after college. She received her MBA from Northwestern, graduating at the top of her class. Her resume was impeccable, really, but I’d already seen that during the interview process.

I went back to the search results and pulled up her f*******: page. I was surprised to find some of the posts viewable to the public- fundraising for charity, a meal train for a friend who had a new baby, and a few older photos with her family. Everything else was private.

I tried i********: next and hit the wet dream jackpot. Luna enjoyed food and friends. It looked like she’d had a thriving social life in California, going out after work several nights a week and visiting friends on the weekends. While there were some photos of her in office attire, many showed a much more relaxed version of Luna. My eyes gravitated toward a photo of her with a group of friends. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, and she had on a white t-shirt, well-worn light blue skinny jeans, and Chucks. It was a candid photo, and she had a secretive smile on her face while sneaking a small dog a piece of food under the table.

I found myself smiling at her clear love for animals; it said something about a person when they cared for living creatures. There were photos of corporate events she had planned at her previous job, charity events, and several birthday parties. Her knack for organization was apparent, even in her leisure time.

My member went rogue again when I came across a photo of Luna in a bikini on the beach. Her lightly tanned skin looked so smooth, and her hair cascaded around her shoulders in soft waves. The baby pink bikini gave her a soft look. She was leaning against a rock, a water bottle in one hand and an open book in the other. A baseball cap shaded her face, and she wore that same warm smile.

I let out a frustrated sigh and closed the laptop with force. This wasn’t helping. I knew based on Gabriel’s updates that he found Luna alluring, and the man attracted women like bees to honey. Having seen Luna, now I was nervous that he’d ruin a perfectly capable assistant with his charm and the heartbreak that inevitably followed any romantic foray he embarked on.

I adjusted my half-erect c**k in my pants and stood to put more distance between myself and the computer to minimize the temptation I felt to open it up and look at more pictures. I was a man, after all, and a beautiful woman was a beautiful woman, assistant or not. I was going to have to work with her in less than a week. Hopefully, it was enough time to get my bodily urges under control.

I tried to think of the least sexy things in the world and came up with a solution. I grabbed my phone and scrolled through the contacts. I hadn’t spoken to my baby sister in a while. I swiped right on Isabella’s name and felt my c**k deflate. Perfect.

“Hermano!” My little sister greeted me gleefully when she answered the phone. “To what do I owe the pleasure? I haven’t talked to you in weeks. I thought you’d forgotten about me with your big important job.”

“Who could ever forget you, mariposa?” It was good to hear her voice. I had missed seeing her in person. “I always have time for you. Phones work both ways, you know?”

Her lilting laughter floated into my ear. I could imagine her bright smile and hazel eyes crinkling at the corners while she talked. “Ever practical, ever obfuscating. Did Tori put me on your schedule like she does Mamá?”

“Tori took an early maternity leave for health reasons,” I explained. “Gabriel is training her replacement right now. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Always excellent!” She replied out of habit. It was her social media tagline, and she often carried that persona into her personal life, like she couldn’t just turn it off.

“What are you up to?” I continued. “Any big projects or interesting travel destinations in the near future?”

“You know me, Jules. I’m always up to something. I’m thinking about launching a fashion line but haven’t decided what I want to create. Everybody always loves the bags I customize for myself, but I don’t know if the market is there for it to be feasible as a full-time gig.”

“I could sit down with you and help you create a business plan next time you’re in town,” I offered. It was exactly what I helped people do, and she’d probably heard me talk about it enough in the past decade to do it on her own, but I felt a brotherly duty to help her in any way possible.

“We’ll see,” she hedged a bit. I got the impression her dream was just that, and she wasn’t ready to make it a reality. “What are you boys planning to do for the holidays this year?”

“Whatever Mamá tells us.” I smiled and chuckled. Our mother, Maria Rivera, was a powerhouse even at her 5’2” height. Slight in stature, she could bring a room to its knees with her scolding. One did not argue with her. At best, we could offer differing opinions and then hope she didn’t lecture us on why it was wrong.

The holidays are for family; she’d always said as far back as I could remember. No matter where we were living, we would find a way to get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year I wanted to fly my sister and parents to Oregon for a Northwest Christmas. We usually went home to Puerto Rico, where my parents still lived in San Juan, but I was certain I could convince them to accept the change in plans with little objection. My mother just wanted to be with her children.

“I heard she wants to make a month out of Christmas this year,” Isabella relayed. “She’s already asked me if I can clear my calendar for January and stay home.”

“She still won’t acknowledge that you live in Miami, now?” My sister had moved to her own condo in Miami two years prior, but our mother seemed to be holding out hope that she would move back home and settle down with a nice Puerto Rican man. She didn’t approve of her full-time job as a model and internet influencer. Her views on women were very traditional, and by Mamá’s standards, Isabella should have been married and started a family years ago.

“I’m working on her,” Isabella sighed. “I love it here, though, and I won’t be moving home. I can probably swing a couple of weeks or even a month for the holidays. I’ll just plan some shoots in San Juan and see if I can get some ads done there. At least we’ll be past hurricane season by then.”

“There is no hurricane season in the Northwest,” I reminded her. It was a running joke that we brothers teased her about living on her own away from family. If she wasn’t living at home in San Juan, she could at least choose to be close to her brothers in the states.

“There’s cold and rain, though. And hipsters,” she fired back. I swear I could feel her rolling her eyes across the country. “If I can’t be on the beach in a bikini in winter, I don’t want to be there.”

“Well, I suppose you technically could, here. It’s not advisable, though.” I couldn’t help but laugh at her preferences. It had been so long since I’d had downtime, let alone enough spare hours for even a day trip to the beach. My sister was living a charmed life, and she didn’t even seem to know it. I had worked years to be as comfortable financially as she already was.

“I’m never moving there. You can abandon your valiant efforts,” she insisted. “I am very happy where I am right now, and it would be great if you and the others could make sure to mention that to Mamá next time you talk to her.”

“That bad, huh?” She wasn’t one to ask for any kind of help, being a strong-willed, independent, and capable woman.

“You could say that. The last time I talked to her, she was asking around to see if any of her friends have sons in Miami.” Isabella sounded frustrated, her voice rising in pitch. “She thinks I need to settle down and give her grandbabies, even if I’m in the States. I think she forgets she has three sons older than me who haven’t settled down themselves. Take some of the heat for me, will you?”

“You’re not old enough to worry about needing to settle down,” I reassured her. “I don’t need her on my case, though. The last time I went home, she had dates lined up for me, and every single woman was more than happy to be Mrs. Julian Rivera if I signed a generous prenuptial agreement ensuring they would have a good chunk of my money should it not work out. Just wait until they’re circling you like sharks. That’s worse than Mamá pestering you. She’s relatively harmless, and you should be used to her lectures.”

“No way is a man getting his hands on my hard-earned income.” Her tone turned defensive. “I have no desire to marry, and I have plenty of time to have children. Right now, I love my life and wouldn’t change a damn thing. You must understand that, at least.”

I did understand that and told her as much.

“You keep doing what you’re doing, Bella. Your skin will get thicker, and her words won’t be as difficult to hear.”

“Thanks, Jules. I needed to hear that.” I could hear her let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed a little. “How are things with you?”

“Can’t complain, except for Tori leaving.” I wasn’t about to tell my baby sister that I was lusting after the new executive assistant based on a few photos and a hungry dog. I had my pride.