Veterinarian's Date with a Billionaire Read online

  “I can give you a ride back to your parents’ house if you like,” he said.

  “No thank you,” she responded. “Greg – their house is on your way home. You don’t mind, do you?”

  “No, of course not. Let’s go.”

  “My offer to drive you on Friday stands!” James yelled after her. “You still have my number, right?”

  “No, I deleted it,” she shouted without looking back.

  He frowned. This wasn’t going to be easy, but he knew that when he made the decision to come back to Michigan. “I’ll text you so you can let me know if you need my help.”

  She got into the passenger seat of Greg’s car without responding. James watched as they pulled away.

  Although it wasn’t exactly a warm welcome, it was still a better interaction than he expected. Juliet was a tough cookie – it was one of the things he loved most about her.

  Yet it wasn’t easy for him to face her. He couldn’t go a day without thinking of her, but he was afraid of her, too. So instead of doing the brave thing and telling her how he felt, he found ways to distract himself.

  His job was one of the few things that could keep his mind occupied. It worked – for a while, at least. He never allowed himself to take a break. He knew that taking a break would mean he’d have time to think, and if he had time to think, loneliness and regret would engulf him. One year, he spent so much time traveling and meeting investors that he spent a total of three weeks at home.

  He could feel himself growing thin, but he couldn’t stop. Instead, he started slipping at work. His presentations got sloppy. He forgot to send in orders. His father was perpetually disappointed with him, at one point dubbing him a “brainless wonder” who needed to be “studied for the good of humanity.”

  That was a bit harsh. It all started eating away at James, and everything came to a head the week before Thanksgiving. He was supposed to meet with one of their oldest investors to give them an update on the company’s metrics. It wasn’t a huge challenge, but the pressure was intense. Losing the investor could endanger the company – a fact that his dad made sure to tell him when he reminded him to “pack a brain” for the trip.

  So naturally, James stayed up too late the night before the meeting. He was anxious, burnt out and brittle. He couldn't fall asleep and ended up watching The Great British Baking Show for five straight episodes. The premise was delightful; there was no competitive nastiness between the contestants and the bakers were so passionate. It was the opposite of his job.

  The next day, he overslept and completely missed the meeting. When he showed up three hours late, he tried to sneak into the building, only to be escorted out by security.

  Word got back to his dad rather quickly about what happened. James got to hear that he was a disappointment, a failure, and that he endangered the company and the jobs of everyone there. To James, it very much sounded like he was fired, which was problematic, because he was supposed to take over the company when his dad retired.

  Yet somehow, when he thought me might be fired, he didn’t feel upset. His heart soared. Being fired meant freedom. He no longer had to work at a job that he didn’t care about and towards goals that meant nothing to him.

  He knew that he couldn’t work any harder, no matter how many rude nicknames his dad made up for him. The job made him unhappy – no, his own choices made him unhappy. The job was just one of them. James realized that he had to face the poor choices he’d made and try to undo them.

  So instead of arguing with his dad, he decided to run away without another word between them.

  Well – that wasn’t exactly true. It wasn’t exactly running away. He felt guilty for not seeing his best friend for over three years, so that was part of his decision to flee New York. Also, he could better wait out his father’s temper tantrum by removing himself from the city.

  But the real reason was more than that. Much more than that – it had to do with someone that popped into his mind whenever he went for a long run or woke up before his alarm. It was something that nagged him late at night and when he sat down to eat dinner alone.

  Maybe his dad was right, and he was a failure and a “brainless wonder.” James didn’t know, and he didn’t much care anymore. His own spectacular failure freed him from the need to be successful at work.

  What he did know was that after five years, he still wasn’t over Juliet. He knew that he would never be over her. It was the only thing he was sure of – Juliet McCarron was the love of his life. He took a wrong turn when he lost her and he would do anything to win her back.

  And so far, it was going much better than he could have ever planned. Juliet was at the Two Rivers Grille, just like Zach said she would be. Of course, she looked amazing. She wasn’t trying to, naturally – she was in a hooded sweatshirt, her long blonde hair pulled back into a loose ponytail – and it only added to her charm.

  Sure, she wasn’t thrilled to see him, but he expected that. James knew that she wouldn’t welcome him with open arms. He hoped that maybe she’d missed him too, but her feigned indifference was okay. It wasn’t Juliet’s way to forgive easily. He fully intended to apologize for how he’d hurt her in the past, knowing that the hardest part would be getting her to talk to him in the first place.

  It was unbelievably lucky that her car broke down. It was so brilliant that he worried that she may even accuse him of doing something to her car. He never would’ve done that – but he was thrilled that the universe offered him a helping hand in the matter anyway.

  He pulled out his phone and found her in his list of contacts. How many times did he pull her name up, press CALL and then hang up? How many times did he have a message typed out, only to delete it?

  Hopefully she hadn’t changed her phone number since they last spoke – if so, he still knew the number for her parents’ house.

  He typed out a text message: “Hi Juliet, this is James with your free taxi service. We’re running a special this week for the low cost of zero dollars. Please respond to this message if you are interested.”

  He hit send and smiled. That would crack her up, right?

  Three hours later and no answer. He decided to send one more message. “Please also respond if you are not interested, as we have many parties creating inspiring veterinary videos in need of the service.”

  He stayed up late that night, hoping that she might write back. She did not.

  James got up early the next morning and helped Zach’s mom prepare for Thanksgiving dinner. Despite not coming to visit in years, she still treated him like he was family. He didn’t have a single friend like that in New York, and he hated himself for not visiting for so long.

  There were 24 people coming for dinner that evening, and that meant there was plenty of help needed. James was initially on potato peeling duty, but he was so slow that he was switched to setting up the tables and chairs. It was nice to catch up with Zach and to spend some quality time with Zach’s wife Amy – even though Amy’s favorite activity was teasing him mercilessly.

  Dinner came and went without any response from Juliet. James decided to bring it up to Zach and Amy as they washed and dried dishes.

  “Would it be weird if I showed up at her parents’ house, just to say hello?”

  Zach handed him a bowl to dry. “It would be weird, because you haven’t been there in years, and you’re not just stopping by to say hello.”

  James frowned. “True.”

  The last time that he spoke to Juliet was the night that she broke up with him and refused to speak to him again. He was surprised by the finality of her decision; things were great until that point.

  Well, almost – their relationship was wonderful for the first two years when they were both in college. It did get a bit rocky when James graduated and moved to New York City; Juliet still had one year left at school, but he thought that they were strong enough to survive the distance.

  James’ excitement to start working at his dad’s company clouded his judg
ement; he finally had a chance to prove himself and he didn’t think that being apart would be that bad. Yet after he started working, their easy relationship became difficult; – there were arguments, tense silences, and a lack of understanding between them.

  “What’s inspiring you to show up at Juliet’s house all of a sudden?” asked Amy.

  “It’s not quite all of a sudden,” James replied. “I haven’t stopped thinking about her since we broke up. She’s the one that got away.”

  No matter who he met, no one measured up to her. Dating was tough, though he tried to give it a fair shot. Instead of focusing on whatever his date was telling him, he found himself wondering what Juliet was doing or what she would say about a new movie or TV show.

  Though he tried not to, he compared every woman that he met to her. It didn’t help that he kept attracting the wrong type of person – women who thought he was into the money, the job title, and the New York partying scene. He wasn’t.

  If there was a girl like Juliet in New York City, he couldn't find her. There was no one with her never-ending passion, no one with her sharp tongue and tender heart (that was covered with a thin, but hard, shell).

  “Aw, that’s kind of sweet. How long has it been?” asked Amy.

  “A long time,” said James. “Five years.”

  Zach let out a long whistle. “Wow, I did not realize that it was that long since you proposed to her.”

  “You proposed to her!” gasped Amy. “So you were engaged? I never knew that.”

  “No,” James said, tugging at his collar. Was it getting hot in there from all the dish washing? “She turned me down. I made some selfish choices that pushed her away – especially in that last year we were together. There was one in particular that I’m still embarrassed about.”

  “Do tell,” said Amy.

  James shook his head. “Not today. I’ve already revealed enough embarrassing stuff. But I got pretty desperate, I could feel her slipping away, and I was too dumb to put two and two together. I thought all I needed to do was propose to show her how much I loved her.”

  “Yeah,” interjected Zach. “Proposing was not the way to communicate your feelings. You should’ve actually communicated your feelings – using words. And not just the words, ‘Will you marry me?’ ”

  “So she said no?” Amy leaned back on the sink, taking a break from scrubbing the turkey pan. “And then for five years you didn’t even try to talk to her?”

  “Of course I tried to talk to her, but she never answered. Not once. So I wanted to respect her decision and try to move on. And then the time flew and…well, yeah, it was stupid. I thought I could get over her. I can’t.”

  Part of the reason why time went so quickly was because James threw himself into his work. If he worked evenings and weekends and holidays, it helped keep his head clear. Also, the more hours he put in, the more that his dad was somewhat happy with him.

  Clearly, after a year of Juliet not returning his messages, he should have changed his tactics. But he was afraid – if he actually went to her and asked for a second chance, she could reject him for the final time. If he never asked, the chance was always out there. At least that’s what he told himself.

  “And now you show up, hoping that Juliet won’t be able to resist your cool car,” Amy said with a smile.

  “No.” James laughed. Zach really married quite a firecracker. “In fact, she’d be more likely to agree to travel with me if I had a different car. Juliet is not into flashy stuff.”

  “Then why did you bring a flashy car here?” asked Zach.

  “Well, my dad’s kinda angry with me right now for a work related issue. He blocked my access to the garage, and he froze all of my work-related bank accounts and credit cards.”

  “Whoa,” said Amy. “Your dad takes a family feud to the next level.”

  “He always has. He tells me that it’s for my own good, and that if I expect to successfully run a multi-billion dollar company once he’s gone, then I need some tough love.”

  “That’s very tough love,” said Amy. “I thought my parents were hard on me. All they ever did was send me to my room to think about what I’d done.”

  “Well,” Zach said, “when your son has access to your billions of dollars, you can’t really send him to his room. He might, oh, I don’t know – fly off to Amsterdam or something. But definitely not to his room.”

  James rolled his eyes. “That was one time. And you loved that trip! You make me sound like a trust fund brat.”

  “I did love that trip, thanks again bud,” Zach conceded. “But don’t take this the wrong way. You kind of are a trust fund kid. Why don’t you have your own bank account?”

  “I do have my own bank account!” James protested. “He froze the other one.”

  Amy snorted. “The other one? You know the rest of us don’t share bank accounts with our fathers.”

  “It’s a company bank account. For expenses and stuff.”

  “Uh huh,” Zach nodded. “Then how much money do you have in your real bank account? The one where your direct deposits go?”

  “There’s enough money in there to get by,” he said with a frown.

  He honestly had no idea. He’d never kept track of money – he didn’t need to. James knew that meant he was spoiled, but what was he supposed to do? He wasn’t going to turn away company money for company purposes. He barely even slept in his condo in New York because he was always working.

  Zach laughed. “I know you don’t even know how much money you have in there. I love you man, but that’s not normal. And you did total your dad’s Bentley.”

  James cringed. “True. But it’s just a car. I don’t know what he was so mad about.”

  He was only able to keep a straight face for five seconds before he burst out laughing.

  “Okay, yeah, that was pretty bad. But he has like three other ones. And he’s always mad at me for something. It doesn’t matter what I do.”

  “Why don’t you just talk to him?” said Amy. “It sounds like you guys have a lot of anger and not a lot of communication.”

  James took a stack of dishes and loaded them back into the cupboard. “It’s hard. He’s been very closed off since my mom died. He wants me to do well, but I don’t know what that means, so he gets angry. And then I act out, and here we are.”

  “Stop being a big teenager,” said Zach. “You guys have been fighting this way since you were 13.”

  “I know, but I’m not going to be the first one to budge,” said James.

  Amy snapped him with a towel.

  “Ow! You’re really good at that!”

  “Listen to Zach!” she said. “One of you has to give in.”

  James felt his phone buzz in his pocket and reached to grab it. “Well it’s not going to be me. Especially because my taxi service may have just gotten its first customer.”

  Chapter 3

  Thanksgiving dinner was a small affair at the McCarron household. Juliet’s brother Derrick went to Thanksgiving with his wife’s family that year, so it was just Juliet and her parents. She enjoyed spending time with her parents, but it seemed as they got older, they annoyed one another more and more. The big problem this time was that the turkey was too dry.

  “I asked your father if the turkey was ready,” her mother complained. “Why didn’t he go and check?”

  “I don’t know Mom,” said Juliet.

  “And now it looks all dried out, look at this skin!”

  Juliet glanced over. “It looks fine. I’m sure it’ll be good.”

  Juliet went into the dining room to set the table. Her dad turned off the TV to join her.

  “How was I supposed to know that she was asking me to go check on the turkey? She said, ‘Do you think it’s done?’ And I didn’t know, so that’s what I said. How would I know that it was my responsibility to make sure the turkey didn’t get dry?”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” said Juliet. “Let’s all stop worrying about the turkey,
we haven’t even had it yet.”

  She was trying not to lose her temper, but it was hard. There was a lot of yelling in her house growing up, so yelling was a hard habit for her to break as an adult. It wasn’t that her parents didn’t love each other – they loved each other very much. But life was always stressful in the McCarron house. Her mom worked at the grocery store and her dad had a small business as a mechanic. Despite both of them working as much as they could, money was always tight. And with both parents constantly overworked, tired, and living paycheck to paycheck, tensions ran high.

  It wasn’t until Juliet was in high school that she realized that everyone didn’t live like that. She was assigned to work on a semester-long project once with a girl named Sarah. Sarah’s dad was an engineer. They lived in a big house and had nicer, newer cars that never broke down on hot days or made loud noises on the highway.

  One time, when Sarah was driving Juliet home from school, she rear-ended another car. Juliet flew into a panic; something like this would lead to weeks of yelling in her house.

  To her shock, Sarah’s parents showed up and were only worried that the girls were okay. Juliet remembered Sarah’s mom saying “It’s just a car. It’s nothing that money can’t fix.”

  Nothing that money can’t fix. From that point on, Juliet wondered if money could fix her family. If there was less stress on everybody, would they be able to stop blowing up at each other? Would there be any more slammed doors? Would her parents be able to sleep at night? Maybe they would all be different people – better people.

  It was too late now, though. With Juliet and Derrick moved out on their own, her parents didn’t have to worry quite as much about money. Yet their old habits persisted, and then they developed this new routine of complaining about each other to whomever was visiting.

  They cut into the turkey; it was dry, as expected. Juliet didn’t mind – she preferred to drown everything in gravy anyways. Her mom was never a gifted cook, so Juliet tried to keep ketchup or gravy handy.