Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 54

*Shelby*

I heard the lock click to the main door of the cabana, and I knew that Michael really did leave for New York.

I didn’t know why I was surprised that he did exactly what he said he needed to. There was a small part of me that thought he might have at least stayed until we had smoothed things over.

“Two fights in one day. Great job Shelby,” I said to myself as I let myself out of the bathroom.

Our room felt extremely empty even though Michael had only been gone a few minutes. I immediately got in bed, pulling the covers all the way up to my chin. After the tears finally stopped, I waited for sleep to come, but it never did.

I just laid there alone in bed, watching the fan spin in the middle of the ceiling.

I couldn’t take it any longer, so I slipped out of bed and marched straight out the front door. I didn’t know where I was going, anywhere, to take my mind off of the fights I had with Michael.

I ended up at the resort’s swim-up tiki bar, and the loud music pulled me in. It seemed like the perfect place to not think about how my boyfriend abandoned me on our vacation.

“What can I get you?” the girl behind the bar asked me. She had her hair pushed back behind her ear with a flower.

“Whatever you recommend,” I answered, sliding onto the barstool. I wasn’t in the mood to make any kind of decision, and that included what I was drinking.

A few minutes later, the bartender passed me a fruity-looking drink, complete with the colorful mini umbrella. I thanked her with a tiny smile, all that I could muster.

“Shelby?”

I was surprised to hear my name and nearly fell off my barstool. I looked up, surprised to see Stewart, Michael’s investor I met at dinner the first night we came.

“Stewart, sorry, I guess I was lost in thought. It is nice to see you,” I said, embarrassed about being so jumpy.

“It is nice to see you again too. Is Michael here with you?” Stewart asked, scanning the bar, obviously looking for Michael.

“Oh no, he is back in the room. He had a headache and decided to call it a night. I couldn’t sleep, so here I am,” I said with a small shrug. I didn’t want him to think Michael had gone home without me.

“That’s too bad. I am glad to run into you, though,” Stewart said.

I cautiously asked, “Oh, and why is that?”

“I wanted a chance to talk to you again, and let you know I was serious about my offer. I need good people on my law team, and I would love to offer you a position there. Even if you do decide to go for the internship at Brunnings and Hawthorn, my offer will always be open,” Stewart said, as he lifted a hand, gesturing for the bartender to come to take his order.

“I really appreciate the offer, sir, but can I ask you a serious question?”

“Please just call me Stewart; I am not big on formalities. Ask away,” he said and then ordered himself a drink.

“You only met me a few nights ago, and the only time we talked was over one dinner. Why are you so sure you want to hire me?” I asked.

I did like Stewart, and I believed he would likely be a great employer, but I wanted to know if he really wanted me working there or if he was doing this because Michael asked him to.

“Ah, I see. You are afraid I am using you to get in Michael’s good graces,” Stewart said, taking a slow sip.

“Not exactly; honestly, I am worried Michael asked you to help me…” I admitted.

“And you want to get to where you’re going based on your own merit?” he asked, looking at me quizzically.

I nodded and stared back at him.

“That right there is exactly why I want you to come work for me. So many aspiring lawyers want to be handed a position, based on connections or how much money their family has in the bank. I don’t play that game. I can tell you have real drive.

“That is what makes a good lawyer, and that is why I would want you on my team,” Stewart said seriously.

“That means a lot, Stewart. Thank you. I will consider your offer carefully, but I do have another year and a half of school to get through before I would be able to accept,” I said.

“As I said, the offer stands open. I wish my son was more like you. He is at Harvard studying law as well; I didn’t get a chance to tell you over dinner the other night. Although I doubt you know him, he is more interested in partying his way through school than actually becoming a lawyer,” Stewart said, swirling the contents of his glass.

“What is his name?” I asked, thinking that even if I didn’t know him, maybe Lin would.

“Jerick,” Stewart said.

My heart stopped as he said his son’s name. My mind raced back to the conversation I had with Lin, earlier this morning.

Jerick Hastings was going for the internship too, and he believed he was going to get it just because of his family’s connections. Jerick wasn’t a common name; he had to be Stewart’s son.

“I can see you are putting the pieces together. I hope my son hasn’t offended you in any way. He has always been somewhat of a troublemaker. He still has a lot of learning left to do…” Stewart trailed off.

“Oh no, he hasn’t offended me. Honestly, I don’t think we have ever had a single conversation. I just know that he is going for the same internship I am,” I said truthfully.

I was hoping to avoid telling him that his son planned on getting the internship through his family. I was pretty sure Lin said he was bragging about his dad being golf buddies with Brunnings.

Was Jerick lying about that, or was his dad trying to get me to accept a position with his company to help clear more of Jerick’s competition?

“That is good to hear. If you are my son’s age, there must be a pretty big age gap between you and Michael,” Stewart said.

Alarm bells started ringing in my head.

Maybe Stewart really was willing to use connections to help his son get ahead. Was he going to threaten to leak my relationship with Michael to ruin my reputation and stop me from getting the internship? Was I being paranoid for no reason?

It was hard not to be after everything Blaine put us through.

“Shelby, are you okay?” Stewart asked and put a hand on my shoulder.

I tried my best not to flinch or shrug his hand off my shoulder. I nodded, not meeting his eyes.

“Look, I know relationships can be tough, especially when there is an age gap,” he said, dropping his hand from my shoulder.

I looked up at him, curious as to where he was going with this. Was a threat about to follow?

“There is a sixteen-year gap between my wife and me. When we first started dating, it was a huge scandal, especially in my social circle. It really took a toll on our relationship, especially in the beginning,” Steward said; there was kindness and understanding in his eyes.

My heartbeat slowed when I realized that there was no threat and he was not trying to blackmail me. As I looked at him I noticed the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and I concluded he was older than I’d originally guessed.

“It has been hard; we have to be so careful all the time, so the media doesn’t have a field day. It puts a lot of extra stress on our relationship. Long distance is hard enough as it is, but with everything else added on top, sometimes it feels impossible,” I admitted.

I don’t know why I was bearing my soul to Stewart, but after my paranoia subsided, I felt as though I could really trust him. I couldn’t help but think that he really would be an excellent employer.

“From what I saw at dinner, you two have what it takes to make it work. I am not going to lie to you, though, Shelby. It is going to be a lot of hard work, but I can promise you from experience that, in the end, what everyone else thinks doesn’t matter. It is all worth it in the end,” Stewart said, staring into my eyes.

The tears started to well up in my eyes again, so Stewart reached over and squeezed my hand.

“Go makeup with Michael,” he said with a smile.

I nodded and wiped a stray tear.

“Thank you so much, Stewart,” I said, rising from my chair.

“Anytime. Just remember, my offer is always there.

“I will think about it, I promise,” I said, then I turned to head back to the cabana.

I pulled out my phone on the way back and dialed Michael’s number. It went straight to voicemail. He must already be on the jet.

“Hey, it’s me. I was just calling to tell you that I don’t want to fight and that I am so sorry for not saying goodbye. I am going to head to bed, but will you send the jet for me in the morning? I want to come to New York to be with you. We can spend the rest of our vacation in the city. I don’t care where we are; I just want to be with you. I love you.”

I hung up, just as I reached the front door. I suddenly felt exhausted and fell into bed, still wearing the dark turquoise dress, and fell asleep.

Everything would be better tomorrow. It had to be.