Twelve Miles (Serendipity series Book 1) Read online

  “I see. Do you regret it?”

  “Regret what? Honoring my father. Never, even if it meant sacrificing important parts of my life. He is the most important person to me. He was my best friend.”

  “That’s sweet.” I felt this overwhelming sense of sadness. He seemed fulfilled, but without someone to go home to and always being on the road, it must get lonely for him. That was no way to live.

  “I wasn’t on the boat with them this year, of course, but I still go sailing on occasion with my dog, Owen, several times a month. Whenever I have a chance to get away, at least. It helps me relax.” Sam explained.

  “Oh, you have a dog! Owen’s a great name for one. What breed is he?”

  “He’s a Golden Retriever. He goes wherever I go except here of course, but he goes with me everywhere else – the office, boat and basically anywhere. He’s my buddy.”

  “That’s cute. I love Golden Retrievers, I’ve always wanted to have one, but if I ever bought a house with a big backyard, I’d get a dog that I could go running with.”

  “You run? That’s great, I run on occasion, and I surf whenever I have the time. I always bike to the office since I live relatively close by to it and I encourage all of my staff to do so if they can. The past several years I’ve been training in martial arts, as you know.”

  “That’s very health conscious and very active of you. I think it’s great!” I encouraged.

  “If you ever want to go running or meet Owen, I’d love to have you over,” Sam suggested.

  “Really? But you hardly know me.” I asked.

  “Unless there’s something you are not telling me, I highly doubt you’re an ax murderer.” Sam chuckled.

  “In that case, I would love to,” I said excitedly. “How was your conversation with that Holden guy, by the way?”

  “Oh, Jack? It went fine. We are always on the lookout for partnerships to build for the Foundation. We want to leverage products, services and a variety of ways that only promote my father and the things that he believed in. He wanted to be a positive influence, so we always look to push living and breathing positivity within our brand. It’s how he lived, and it’s how we continue to live.”

  “That’s a great vision to live by. I’m glad that the Holden guy could be a potential partnership for you.”

  It could be. Jack has been in the food and beverage industry for a long time so he could be just what we needed to win over NSK.”

  “NSK?”

  “They’re a distribution company, primarily for food and beverage. My father was a big fan of pairing fine liquor with let’s say, a good steak. Jack thought it would be a good idea to do some bottling with the Ellis name. We’ve already got some food products that we’ve been pitching to them, but Jack suggested developing a liquor division would win them over. We had a preliminary conversation about working out the kinks, and if done correctly, it could be another demographic for us to push out to.” Sam explained.

  “Wow! Sounds exciting.” I marveled at the thought. Sam was a brilliant and admirable man, and it did nothing but attract her more to him.

  “Sam, it’s time to go.” A beautiful woman approached them and wrapped her arm around his.

  “It is. I’m sorry, Jamie, I have to go,” Sam said glancing at his watch. “I will see you around, okay?”

  “Bye.” I waved as Sam followed the beautiful woman.

  “Wait, Sam! I still have your jacket!” I called after him.

  “I’ll get it the next time I see you or just keep it!” Sam waved me off, and he was gone, just like that.

  Ugh, who was that woman? Was that his girlfriend? Was he taken? It explained why he’d always been so cordial and did not hit on me, not that he would. He did flirt a little, or was he just being friendly? God, was he the cheating type? I hoped he wasn’t, not that I was even his type. I hadn’t been anyone’s type, not in a long time.

  “God, he smells good.” I sniffed the lapel of his jacket. His cologne had an earthy, dew-like smell. It had a refreshing vibe about it.

  “Sexy? More like cute.” A guy I had dated years ago after saying it wasn’t working out. He told me that I was way into sports like Mixed Martial Arts, loved the outdoors and was in a rock band to ever be seen as ‘sexy’ and he needed to be with someone like that. The last thing he told me was it felt like he was dating his cousin and it was messing with his head not to mention mine.

  The last thing I wanted to do was to be seen as someone’s cousin, but I couldn’t change who I naturally was. It would be fair to others, and it definitely wouldn’t help me to hide who I was just to be liked. I couldn’t live the rest of my life being fake. I had to find a way to change that.

  Chapter Five

  JAMIE

  “BUZZZZZZ!” The alarm clock went off.

  “Buzzzzzz!” the alarm clock went off again as I picked up my spare pillow and tossed it in the clock’s general direction without looking. I hoped it got knocked off my end table and shut itself off.

  “Buzzzzzzz!” I missed, unfortunately.

  “Alright, I’m up!” I shouted as I reluctantly got up and shut off the alarm. “Ugh. Is it Monday, already?”

  It was Monday morning, the day after the Fourth of July Gala. After the fireworks display, I took a cab to the after-hours BBQ party that Lily’s cousin held every year. There were a lot of partygoers, food, drinks and loud music with a lot of basses. It was always a fantastic time when I let loose and fortunately, the next day was a day off, so I was able to stay out late as I wanted and not have to get up the next day feeling ill.

  Which is what I did until my alarm went off. I had forgotten to unset it, so it went off at 6:00 am, the usual time I got up to get ready for work during the week. The only problem was that once I woke up, I couldn’t go back to sleep. I had to resign to the fact that I was up early, feeling terrible and there was nothing that I could do about it other than to get started with my day. Nothing that aspirin and good strong coffee couldn’t fix.

  I also noticed that I was wearing the same clothes from last night including Sam’s suit jacket. Did I wear it the entire evening? I couldn’t remember. What I did remember was that I had an incredible time at the Gala, it was one of the best nights of my life. The show went incredibly well despite the lack of appreciative event attendees, the great food, the great conversation with Sam and most of all, he made an invitation to hang out again.

  Granted, it was only to meet his dog, Owen or to go running with him but time spent with him still counted. Any time with him was good. I couldn’t help but think about the woman that interrupted their conversation near the end. Who was she exactly? Was she his wife or girlfriend? She had her arm around his as she approached and he didn’t flinch at all like it was natural for her to do so. She must have been his significant other.

  It was still confusing to me, why would he invite me to go running or meet his dog if he was taken, wouldn’t his wife be offended by that or was she so secure in their marriage that she was okay with him having a female platonic friend?

  I was more confused than ever and disappointed that there was a strong possibility that he was taken. I had to talk someone about this and have them help me decipher the situation so I could put my mind at ease. Later that morning when I was a more awake, I called one of my best friends from the office, Lisa, to get her perspective on the events that happened the night before. I really needed her keen intuition.

  “He was so amazing, Lisa!” I gushed. “He’s older than the men that I am usually attracted to, but he’s so gorgeous in that All-American sort of way. Not to mention that he’s very kind and has a Golden Retriever. He also trains at my dojo. It’s a sign!”

  “Aww, he’s an animal lover, that’s an enormous bonus. Show’s that he is capable of having a kind heart.” Lisa was an animal lover as well so any man that loved animals as well earned her respect. The way Sam talked about Owen, definitely pegged him as an animal lover.

/>   “I know it is so silly but God, I am so smitten. Why shouldn’t I be? He is so amazingly sweet, has the same interests, and he asked if I wanted to meet his dog. I’m silly, aren’t I? Want to see his picture?

  “Yes!” Lisa insisted.

  I put Lisa on speakerphone, and I opened up an internet browser and used a random search engine to find any image results. I typed Sam Ellis, Sutton Hill and discovered that there were hundreds of pictures. Sam must be more well-known than I initially thought. I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t find information like this years ago when I tried looking him up. Back then, I found no information on him. I couldn’t help but consider the fact that he was well-known slightly disappointing because I wanted Sam to be my little secret but he couldn’t be. He was already some other woman’s possession.

  “Here he is,” I said while I emailed Lisa several of his best images that I found.

  “Got the email. Wow, Sam is hot. Especially in the picture, you sent with him wearing the blue button down shirt. Matches his eyes. They’re blue right?” Lisa asked.

  “When did he say you guys were going to hang out?”

  “I don’t know, he didn’t really say.” I purposely left out the part about the woman that approached us and how I suspected he was taken. She would ruin this feeling of glee I had by telling me to move on if he was taken. There was a small chance he wasn’t. Things have worked out for other people before, why couldn’t it work out for me?

  “When did he say he was going to call you?” Lisa asked.

  “He didn’t, we didn’t exchange numbers,” I explained.

  “Well, what did he say to you exactly?”

  “He asked if I wanted to meet Owen or go running sometime and I said sure. Then we started talking about the Foundation.”

  “That’s it?”

  I felt guilty withholding information from her, and I definitely didn’t want to pretend that this woman didn’t exist. “No, while we were talking his wife or girlfriend came over and stated that they had to go, so he left. That’s it.”

  “Jamie, he’s married? I’m sorry, but that doesn’t even seem like even a possibility for it working out for you. Sounds like he’s just been friendly this whole time, although, I do think it is weird for Sam to invite you to hang out if he’s taken. That’s probably why he never asked for your number, or he didn’t get the chance to because he got caught by her. You definitely don’t want to get involved with a man or a situation like that. Plus, I wouldn’t read too much into it even if he was single. It sounds like the statement of someone who says things like that because it fit the situation. I do it all the time.

  I don’t know. I can’t help but be attracted. There is something special about Sam. I felt my heart drop when I realized he might be in a relationship already, I can’t believe that didn’t even occur to me before.”

  “It is okay, Jamie, we all make mistakes. It’s not your fault, you didn’t have much to go on. You just met the man.”

  “You know, I don’t mind being a platonic friend. I think I really could be okay with that, he seems like a good guy to know. Besides, he could get my number from the country club, the committee has our contact information. He’s one of the members there. I am sure he can easily get it from them or the Board of Directors, or he can get it from Felix at the dojo. I’m not worried.” I lied. I wasn’t okay with just being a friend and I wasn’t okay with the fact that he didn’t have my number.

  I started to feel depressed about the fact that I was attracted to a man I actually believed could be single. An attractive man like Sam was rarely ever single, especially at his age. A misstep that I regretted.

  “I’m glad you met a good-looking guy, I really am. I think until we find out for sure what his situation is, I wouldn’t put all of your eggs in this particular basket. Lisa consoled.

  “I’m not. It was such a great holiday event and being in Sutton Hill, you don’t realize how much you lack until you finally experience the potential that is actually out there. This Sam thing was just icing on the cake.”

  “It’ll work out, you’ll see. Whether it is with Sam or the next guy, it’ll work out for you. I promise.” Lisa encouraged. She was always the positive and supportive person, and I was glad to have her in my life as my best friend. I also loved the fact that she was brutally honest and didn’t hold back, it was what I needed. I didn’t always listen to her, but when I did, things worked out for me better than when I did not.

  “It’ll work out, you’ll see. Whether it’s Sam or the next guy. It’ll work out for you, I promise.” Lisa encouraged.

  THREE MONTHS LATER

  As silly as it was, I thought of Sam often. I wondered what he was up to and if he was happy. I also couldn’t help but wonder if he was single, single yet or if he thought of me too. Of course, there were days where I felt foolish being smitten at my age with someone I hardly knew but there was always that one thing, whatever it was including his calm and quiet nature that felt like home to me. A home I belonged to. Then again, it could have been the hopeless romantic in me. It was a feeling that nagged me regularly and a state of mind that I hadn’t experienced before. It almost felt like serendipity but he was nowhere to be seen, and he wasn’t exactly available.

  It was only a few months ago when I saw him last. We last spoke of getting together, but I hadn’t heard from him since. Of course, I wouldn’t. Sam didn’t ask me for my number, but I figured if I were significant enough to him, he would have found a way to get it. Taken or not.

  Wouldn’t he? Everyone had insisted it was one of those noncommittal things someone said when they left their options open. They used to do the same things. Plus, I wasn’t the kind of person a man would leave a woman for. Was I? Men did not leave sexy women for their cousin.

  I prayed daily that I did not read too much into the flirting and often lectured myself on the consequences of being obsessed with a man already in a relationship, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to reach out to him, but I didn’t want to be the first one to do so, so I waited for fate to work its magic.

  Three long months I waited. To everyone, it looked like I had moved past the situation and had long forgotten about it but I was dying inside. More recently, their nagging comments about how I hoped for something that didn’t exist made its way to the forefront of my mind. I did not want to accept the thought and would visit Sutton Hill often to ease my mind. Rain or shine, I was there.

  I knew it was a long shot, but since Sutton Hill was a small community, I hoped I would run into Sam as well. He did say he was an avid surfer, but they didn’t surf when the weather was cold. Not usually. I still had to try. Everyone suggested to me that I should give up and chalk it up to small talk from a nice man, but I was convinced that serendipitous small talk doesn’t occur like that. It just didn’t.

  I would often ask myself why it happened to me and why did he take an interest in who I was. Also, why did it happen to me again during the fireworks display where he invited ME to meet the dog he loved dearly and go running or something? What was that ‘or something’? I wanted to ask him these exact questions. Sam could have spoken to anyone else at the celebration, but he approached me at the refreshment table as well as after the celebration. I was convinced he did it deliberately and didn’t know why but I spent the past few weeks trying to figure it out. I had to know.

  The following week, I performed my routine task of looking for job opportunities and resume editing. I wanted to leave the corporate world and get into what I was really passionate about non-profit work.

  “You will never guess what I found online!” Lisa said exactly over the receiver. She had called that Saturday afternoon frantically and called me repeatedly.

  “What?” I asked curiously. By this time, I resigned to the notion that everyone must have been right and it was one of those moments that happen in life that never meant anything and was never going to continue being anything more than what it actually was.<
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  “They are hiring!”

  “Who is hiring?” I asked confused.

  “The Ellis Foundation! They posted a job ad on Jobs4U for a Project Coordinator. This position will be involved in their branded men’s cologne as well as their liquor brand. It says that the individual would need business as well as non-profit experience. That’s you! It also says that the person would be reporting to the VP of the corporation as well as the Director of the Foundation. That’s him, isn’t it?”

  Looking at the ad, it stated that it was posted back in July, they surely had hired someone by now. “Lisa, I don’t have any non-profit experience, besides this job was posted months ago. It’s too late.” I said dejectedly.

  “So what if you haven’t worked for a non-profit before, the work you have done with assisting non-profits in growing their organization plus you have business experience with for-profits as well. It’s the perfect job for you. You should still apply anyway.”

  “What would be the point, the job was listed a couple of months ago.”

  “It can’t be too late, the job ad is still up. You never know what could happen, besides didn’t you say that the Sam guy was the Director? If you got the job, you’d be working directly for him and can somehow create the opportunity to tell him how you feel. Maybe he will leave you for her, stranger things have happened.”

  “Uh, I don’t think so. You should have seen how beautiful the woman was, Lisa. There is no way I could compete with her.” I declined. I started to feel uneasy at the thought.

  “Why not? It will give you a chance to confront him.” Lisa urged.

  “Lisa, it’s awkward. What if I tell him and he starts avoiding me.”