Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 12

Shelby

Michael stared at me for a long time after I said that I would be leaving when we got to port the next day. Or at least I hoped I would be. I didn’t even know where we would be, let alone if there was an airport or a ticket home I could afford.

“I would really hate to see you go, Shelby,” he said with a serious look on his face.

“I think it’s for the best,” I answered softly.

“The best for you?” he asked. I stayed quiet for a long time. Was I deciding what was best for me and/or running from my problems?

“I don’t know….” I answered truthfully.

I took another small sip of the wine Michael had poured me and watched the liquid as I swirled it around in my glass.

“You know wine always tastes better in the sauna,” Michael said, watching me.

I turned to him, “That does sound nice, but I am sure the staff who work the spa have already gone to bed.”

“Well, good thing the sauna is in my bathroom,” he said as the corners of his mouth eased into a smile.

“You have a sauna in your bathroom?” I asked, impressed.

“Of course, so what do you say?”

“I’m not really dressed for a sauna,” I gestured down to my shorts and T-shirt.

“I have a robe that you can borrow unless you’d rather go without.” Michael winked and started walking towards his stateroom.

“So what else do you have up here all to yourself?” I asked, liking the distraction from the mess of a night I’d been through.

“Well, you have seen my private deck, then there are the massage chairs in the living room, the two-hundred-inch wall TV, electric fireplace, soaking tub, double showers, and I have a hot tub on the balcony off of the private kitchen.”

We walked through a large sitting room, a bedroom with the biggest bed I had ever seen, and then finally to the bathroom. Michael calling the tub in his bathroom a soaking tub was an understatement; it was more like a small swimming pool sunken in the middle of the floor.

“You can get changed in here.” Michael led me into an extravagant walk-in closet, complete with a large vanity table and chaise lounge. He hung a white cotton robe on a hook next to the door, making it the only garment in the empty closet.

I realized Michaels’s staterooms must include his and her’s closets, but Michael had no use for this one.

I undressed down to nothing and slipped the buttery soft robe over my skin. I would have lived in that robe if I could have; it was so unbelievably soft. There were definitely some amazing perks to being rich.

I walked out of the closet, and Michael was waiting for me in a matching cotton robe.

“See, it’s a perfect fit,” he said.

“I don’t even want to know how much one of these robes costs,” I said. Michael laughed a little at my comment.

“The sauna is through this door here,” Michael said and pushed the door next to him open, holding it for me to enter first.

I didn’t know what I had been expecting when Michael had said he had a sauna in his bathroom, but the sauna I walked into was more than I could have ever imagined.

Every inch of the room was covered in light wood. The benches looked as though they conformed perfectly to your body and were accented with white pillows.

The steam was warm and enveloped you as soon as you walked into the room. However, the most breathtaking part of the sauna was the floor-to-ceiling window.

It made it feel like the sauna was open to the ocean itself, and the dark water reflecting the dim light of the room was extremely r0mantic.

“How do you ever leave?” I asked after a few speechless seconds.

Michael laughed again and took a seat in the center of the bench, staring out into the dark water. I sat next to him and realized I might be too close, so I tried to scoot away subtly.

“I don’t bite, Shelby.”

I laughed awkwardly but remained close enough to feel the heat of his body next to mine. I closed my eyes and tried to let go of the evening. I thought about watching the dolphins swimming in the cove while Michael sat next to me on the jet ski.

“You look like you’re feeling a little better,” Michael whispered.

“I am. This is exactly what I needed.” I paused for a few seconds and added, “You keep saving me today.”

“You’ve saved me on this trip too. Can I tell you a secret?” he asked, leaning in closer to me.

“Of course,” I answered, and my heart started beating faster.

“The rest of Lauren’s friends drive me insane.”

“That’s your secret?” I bumped his shoulder with mine. “That is a really weak secret. They drive me insane too.”

“If that is not a secret, then tell me a better one,” he said.

“What kind of secret?”

“Tell me why you are leaving tomorrow?” he asked and looked into my eyes.

I paused, considering if I should tell him the truth, but he was getting Todd as a son-in-law. So I chose a different path.

“I can’t afford to stay,” I said finally.

Taking Michael’s silence as confusion, I elaborated, “I’m completely broke. I’ve put all of my money into school. I work as a bartender and live off of my tips and ramen noodles.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand why that means you need to leave tomorrow,” Michael said somberly.

That was a fair point; Lauren and her father had paid for absolutely everything. It wasn’t costing me anything to stay on this once-in-a-lifetime vacation. I had to come up with a reason as to why I had to leave before he saw through the holes in my story.

“I have to get back to New York, get ready to move to Cambridge, and replace a job there before the semester starts. I only have a few weeks of living costs saved up.” This was partly true; I did need to do all of those things, but it would actually complicate things for me to go back early.

I couldn’t move into my new apartment in Cambridge until two weeks before the semester started. So going back early would just mean I’d sit in my old apartment with nothing to do. Plus, If I went back early, I would have a few more weeks of expenses to take care of, and I had already quit my job.

“What if I could help you replace a new position in Cambridge?” Michael asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked, surprised.

“I have some connections in Cambridge; if I helped you get a few interviews, would you be able to stay longer?”

I couldn’t replace any words to respond. I’d been really worried about what I would do for work when I got to Cambridge. I didn’t know anyone there and planned on spending the two weeks before the semester handing in resumes at different restaurants.

“You would do that for me?” I asked.

“Absolutely. I will make some calls in the morning. You don’t have to stay, but I would enjoy your company if you did. The Bahamas are beautiful this time of year. I don’t want you to miss it.”

“Okay, I’ll stay,” I said quietly. “Thank you, Michael.”

I could not believe this man’s kindness to me. If it was important to Michael that I stay on the trip, then I would figure out how to deal with Todd and Lauren for a little while longer.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said with a smile.

The sky started to lighten in the early morning hours, so I stood and told him, “I should head back down to my own room and get some rest.”

“Probably a good idea,” he said and followed me out of the sauna.

I went back into the massive closet and changed back into my clothes, hanging the robe back on the hook. I walked back out into the main room, and Michael was waiting for me, still in his robe.

“Let me walk you down.”

“That’s really okay. You have done so much for me already,” I said.

“How long will you stay?”

“I’m not sure. At least another week.” I smiled at Michael and walked out the door.

Michael

I shut the door behind Shelby as she walked down the hall. I was relieved that I had convinced her to stay for at least another week, but I knew there was something else that was the real cause for her being so upset tonight.

I knew that Shelby was not part of Lauren’s usual friend group, but after talking to Shelby tonight, I was confused about how they were even friends at all. Shelby clearly had big goals and would work hard to see them happen.

Lauren didn’t have any goals other than becoming an ‘influencer.’

The thought of Shelby working at every spare moment to put herself through school made my stomach twist at how badly I had spoiled Lauren. Shelby deserved so much better than to be just scraping by.

I would do anything I could to help her replace something better. Hell, I would have offered to pay for her tuition, too, if I thought she would accept it.

I pulled out my phone to send an email to the connection I had at a law firm in Cambridge. I had done some business with them in the past and figured it would be a much better fit for Shelby than making people drinks. With how much business I had given the firm, I knew I could at least get her an interview.

On my home screen, there was a notification of a phone call from my financial advisor, Alester, that I’d missed while we were in the sauna. Alester never called at this hour, so I knew immediately something was wrong

I called him back immediately, waiting impatiently to hear his voice on the other end.

“Michael, I am so sorry for the early hour,” Alester said.

“No need to apologize; what’s going on?” I asked urgently.

“I am afraid it is not good news,” he said.

“Just tell me, Alester,” I said, doing my best not to get impatient with the man. He’d worked for me for years, and I would trust him with my life.

There was an infuriatingly long pause on Alester’s end. He sighed before he finally responded.

“Blaine is back, sir.”