Ship of Fools Read online

  The summer after junior year, and his ill-conceived “secret” proposal.

  Then senior year… and the train wreck of their break-up.

  Rachel, we’re going to be on opposite coasts, and I’m going to have to study and work all the time…

  He closed his eyes, thinking of the stupidity. Yeah, they’d been young, and maybe they wouldn’t have worked out. But the pain in her eyes, her soft plea that maybe, somehow, they could make it work…

  And he’d just walked away from her. Like an idiot.

  She had never contacted him since. He’d been foolishly sentimental in keeping his phone number the same over all these years, and until tonight, he hadn’t realized why.

  It was in case Rachel ever decided to reach out. If she’d ever needed anything.

  And tonight, she had.

  He called his assistant, Stephen.

  “Hey Ren,” Stephen said. “Thought you were at the fundraiser. Everything okay?”

  “I’m still here,” Ren said quickly. “I know you’re off the clock, but I need you to work some miracles for me.”

  “It’s what you pay me the big bucks for,” Stephen said, and Ren could hear his knuckles cracking. “What d’ya need?”

  Ren quickly laid out what he told Rachel: the drivers, the plane, picking up Cressida. He could hear Stephen’s pen scratching across paper.

  “Got it,” Stephen said. “Anything else?”

  “Just get it done as quickly as possible. The sooner we can get this girl back home, the better.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m on it.”

  He hung up. It was the best he could do, even though he felt a nervous twist. The Frost sisters were as taken care of as he was humanly able to provide, but until they were back home safe, he knew he’d be feeling the nerves.

  He headed back through the doors, reentering the humid ballroom. But his mind wasn’t there.

  She called me.

  When he’d dumped her ten years ago, he’d felt pressured. His parents had made it clear: he had to focus on his studies. He was too young to get married. He’d be too busy to carry on a relationship with a girl three thousand miles away. He’d believed them – and then harshly broken up with the one girl he’d felt an incredible connection with.

  When he watched her freeze, fighting tears, he’d told her that she could call him if she ever needed anything. He’d wanted to take it all back.

  Instead, she’d said in a numb voice that she didn’t want to hear from him ever again. When he told her that the door was always open, she made it clear that it’d be a cold day in hell before she contacted him.

  Now, hell had frozen over. She’d called him. She needed him.

  He was going to help her. He wasn’t going to pressure her or use his favor as leverage. But at the same time, he damned well wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass him by.

  #

  One month later, Rachel felt an entirely different emotion coursing through her.

  “Congratulations!” Rachel said, along with everyone else in the bookstore’s “living room”, the main selling floor, a room filled with books, memorabilia, games, and of course a few chairs and a couch around a coffee table.

  There was a pop as Jake opened champagne in the kitchen. Rachel gave Cressida a hug, and Hailey put an arm around Cressida’s slim shoulders. Their sister was radiant, her smile like a thousand-kilowatt flashlight.

  “I can’t believe I own a house. Our house,” she said, and she did sound dazed. “I’ve never signed so many papers in my life.”

  “I still can’t believe you found a treasure,” Hailey said, shaking her head as Jake distributed champagne flutes. “I mean honestly. Who does that?”

  “Seriously, though. Up to this point, the biggest investment I’ve ever made was my laptop,” Cressida said, her eyes wide. “I can’t believe it. No more landlord or rising rents.” She swallowed. “No more worries about having to move.”

  Rachel looked down at the glass of champagne in her hand. It had been Cressida’s agoraphobia that had prompted her on her wild trip to find hidden treasure – one that had not only netted her a fortune but had hooked her up with the man by her side. Noah hovered by her, a small smile playing around his lips. From what they could tell, he was madly in love with her, to the point where he was selling and packing all his stuff in California, just so he could live close to her.

  “To Cressida,” Rachel said, raising her glass. “For successfully buying a house.”

  “To Cressida!” They all took a drink, even Cressida, who normally avoided alcohol. She leaned back against Noah, who pressed a kiss against her temple, looking at her tenderly.

  “Now we won’t have to move the bookstore, either,” Hailey said, with an exaggerated sigh of relief. “I was dreading that. We’ve got so much more inventory now that we’ve added the collectibles side.”

  “We’re moving a lot more inventory, too, though,” Rachel pointed out.

  “No, it’s a good business move. But half my room is full of Kyla’s cosplay costumes that we haven’t got space to display,” Hailey said. “And we’ve got those themed board games from various fandoms, too. I’m not going to have room to sleep!”

  “It’s not like you’re sleeping here that much anyway,” Rachel pointed out. “You’re usually at Jake’s.”

  “That’s true.” Jake wrapped his arms around Hailey from the back, resting his cheek against hers. “Maybe you can just convert your room to a storage room.”

  “Ha ha, funny,” Hailey said, but she was smiling, and she nuzzled against him.

  Rachel felt suddenly and acutely awkward. Cressida was snuggled up with Noah on the couch, sipping champagne. Hailey was enveloped in Jake’s embrace. They were both happy couples, both in the full blush of love – Jake and Hailey almost a year now, and Cressida and Noah just a month, but still. It was like being at a New Year’s party and being the only one without someone to kiss.

  She drained the rest of her champagne. To her great relief, her phone rang. “I’ve got to take this,” she said, even though for all she knew, it was a scam credit card call. Anything to get away from the cloud of romance.

  “Hello?” she said, leaving the room and heading for the stairs.

  “Hey. It’s Ren.”

  She stiffened, pausing on a step. “Oh. Um, hi.”

  Why are you calling?

  She didn’t want to be rude. He hadn’t called, and she hadn’t called him, for over a month… not since he’d loaned her the plane. He’d texted her, asking her if Cressida was all right, and she’d given him a brief report of what had happened. But so much had happened in the interim. Cressida getting the treasure officially, and all the shenanigans around buying the house.

  And let’s face it, she hadn’t known what to say to him. Although “thank you” ought to top the list.

  “I’m so sorry I haven’t called,” Rachel said immediately. “I got caught up in stuff over here.”

  “Is Cressida all right?”

  She smiled, touched at his thoughtfulness. She kept ascending, going up all three flights to get to her bedroom. “Yes. She’s doing very well. I don’t think she’ll be leaving the house again any time soon, but… well, you know that treasure I was telling you about? The one she was hunting for?”

  “The one that famous author hid?” He said. “I looked into that. I couldn’t believe that was a thing.”

  “Not only was it a thing, she found it.” She laughed. “She used the money to buy our house.”

  “No shit?” Ren chuckled. “That’s fantastic. That’s possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

  “I know, right?” Rachel entered her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She wasn’t quite sure why. “Listen, I want to thank you. I owe you big time for the use of your plane.”

  “Really. It was nothing.”

  “It was something,” she countered, emphasizing each word. “We could’ve gotten Cressida out in a lot of other ways, but… I pan
icked. I wanted to get her home as soon as possible. I was scared, and I was desperate, and you made everything easy.”

  “It was the least I could do.”

  “I don’t think you’ll ever know just how much that night meant to me,” she said. “I want to pay you back.”

  She heard him let out a long sigh. “Rachel, I was an asshole when we broke up in high school. Trust me when I say that helping out you and your sister was literally the least thing I could do.”

  She blinked. Of all the things he could’ve said, that was one she wasn’t expecting. Still, the sting of the memory hit her unexpectedly.

  Long distance relationships don’t work, Rachel. Besides, I’m going to be too busy for you.

  She winced. Even after all this time.

  “The one thing doesn’t have to do with the other,” she said. “You were kind, and thoughtful, and generous. And I’m happy to repay you.” She’d swallow her pride and ask Cressida for the money if she had to.

  “You don’t need to ask Cressida for the money,” he said, reading her mind.

  “I just hate feeling indebted.”

  “There is one thing you could do for me,” he said, and she noticed a note of hesitation in his voice.

  She felt immediately wary. “What is it?”

  “You could go out to dinner with me,” he said. “Tomorrow night sound good?”

  For a second, her mind went completely blank.

  “Dinner?” she repeated. “With you?”

  He chuckled again. “Yes. You know. That thing where you eat at night?”

  “But… why?”

  “I thought we could catch up,” he said. “It’s been ten years since we spoke. I want to know what’s been going on in your life. What you’re doing. What’s going on.”

  She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around why. “Uh…”

  “I don’t want you to feel pressured, though,” he added quickly. “I mean it. The plane ride was no big deal. We have the plane gassed up and ready to go all the time. It was easy. My Dad uses it all the time to go down to Vegas, spur of the moment. He says that the Pai Gow is better down there.”

  She grinned. “Tell him the Pai Gow at our casino is actually pretty decent.”

  She thought she could hear the responding smile in his voice. “The bottom line is, if you go out with me – for dinner, I mean – I want you to go because you want to.”

  She froze, her hand tightening on the phone.

  Did she want to go to dinner with Ren?

  He’d broken her heart.

  Then again, she’d been eighteen.

  He’d asked her to marry him, then dumped her unceremoniously when he went off to college.

  But she’d had a decade to process.

  You’re still hurting.

  No, she corrected herself. She was still pissed. But she’d gotten over it to ask him for the use of his plane – and he’d given it to her, no questions asked. He’d helped her and her family when she’d needed it.

  Maybe, just maybe, she was curious about how he’d turned out. What he was doing.

  It wouldn’t go any further than that.

  She swallowed hard, then cleared her throat. “I guess I could do dinner,” she said, and hated the breathy note in her voice. She cleared her throat again. “To catch up.”

  “Great.” There was warmth in his voice, rich and sweet, like a mocha.

  God, she loved mochas.

  “How about tomorrow, seven o’clock, at the Seastar in Bellevue? Want me to pick you up?”

  “No, I’ll meet you there,” she said quickly. It was easier to keep it “just friends catching up” if she had her own car.

  “All right. Rachel?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m really looking forward to this.”

  She laughed hesitantly. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She hung up the phone, then stared at it for a second.

  What the hell had she just done?

  She made her way downstairs, back to the impromptu party. Noah and Jake were discussing Mystics, the show that Jake starred in. Cressida and Hailey were eating cookies and talking about planned renovations, now that the house was theirs.

  “I’m thinking of remodeling the kitchen a little,” Cressida said, then looked over at Rachel. “Everything all right?”

  “Hmm? Oh, sure. Everything’s fine,” she said quickly. She briefly considered telling them: I’m going out to dinner with Ren.

  But they remembered what had happened when he’d dumped her, all those years ago. They’d probably tell her how stupid she was being.

  Better not to tell them, she thought, and grabbed a cookie. It was just curiosity.

  She realized that she hadn’t seen him in ten years – and he hadn’t seen her.

  She smiled slowly.

  Curiosity… and maybe just a little bit of payback.

  Chapter 2

  The next night, Ren waited nervously at the bar at the Seastar restaurant. He hadn’t been there in years, but he knew that seafood was one of Rachel’s favorite things. He bet that she didn’t indulge that often – she usually said that seafood was reserved for special occasions.

  Okay. He was trying to impress her. He tugged nervously at his tie, then took a fortifying pull from the pale ale he’d ordered, keeping an eye on the door.

  Had she changed much?

  He had a full docket at work that he ought to be focusing on. They were having problems in their Zhuhai facility, and they were having troubles with some sales and inventory software. He was trying to put out fires daily. He told himself that he hadn’t social media stalked Rachel out of a respect for her privacy, but honestly, it had also been a sheer lack of time.

  Now, he was wondering if he was setting himself up for disaster. He remembered her as a sweet, nerdy, lovely young woman who “got” him. Hell, he’d loved her enough to ask her to marry him, although he’d been seventeen and probably hormonal at the time. What if she’d changed?

  He lifted his beer to take another long chug from the bottle, but his hand froze halfway to his mouth.

  She stepped in, unbuttoning her royal purple coat. She was wearing a little black sheathe dress, simple yet stunning, emphasizing her curves while still being minimalistic. Her long black hair cascaded around her shoulders in graceful waves. Her lips were still full and pillowy, painted a deep maroon. Her violet eyes, no longer hiding behind glasses, were wide and doe-like.

  She had been beautiful as a teenager. Now, she was a knock-out.

  “Ren?” she asked hesitantly.

  It was that shy smile that he remembered. All that was missing was…

  She bit her lower lip.

  He suppressed a groan. Yes, this was Rachel, all right.

  He was on his feet, noting with irritation that other men at the bar were staring at her in open and somewhat leering admiration. “Rachel,” he said. “How are you?”

  It felt like the most natural thing in the world to hug her, gently, gingerly. She pressed her cheek against his, quickly. He took a deep breath of her perfume. It was something flowery, exotic, with a hint of spice. She smelled delicious.

  “It’s good to see you,” she responded, pulling away. Then she bit her lip again. “And a little weird.”

  He guided her gently, his hand on her lower back – but not too low. They followed the hostess to their table. “Why is it weird?” he asked, as they settled in.

  “I haven’t seen you in ten years,” she said, with a delicate shrug. “A lot can happen in ten years.”

  “Well, maybe we can start with the highlights, then drill down,” he suggested, and was rewarded with a lopsided smirk.

  “Smartass,” she said. “That hasn’t changed.”

  They looked at their menus, and he surreptitiously snuck peeks at her over the top. “You look amazing,” he said finally.

  A blush rode high on her cheeks. “Thanks. So do you.”

  They placed their orders, then surveyed
each other. “So. Ten years,” Ren said. “What have you been up to?”

  She sighed. “Not a whole lot. Went to U Dub for undergrad. Got my degree in Mass Communications. Got a job in event planning and marketing at the casino. Right now, I’m finishing up my MBA, also at U Dub.”

  “Really? Congrats! You always wanted to get your business degree,” he said, remembering her earnestness – her drive. “When do you graduate?”

  “June.” She smiled at him from under her long lashes.

  “That’s fantastic.” His phone rang, and he cursed softly under his breath. “I’m sorry,” he said immediately, then looked at his phone. “It’s Jian.”

  “If it’s your brother, of course you should take it,” she said, and his chest warmed.

  He answered the phone. “What’s wrong?”

  “Breach of security for the sales software,” Jian said without preamble. “Something in the parts ordering, opening a loophole to customer information.”

  Ren cursed in Mandarin. “Get the software guys in. Now.”

  “Already on it. Just thought you should know so you can come in.”

  “I won’t be able to do anything until the software guys get a look,” Ren said. “But it’s probably an update issue. Have them look into when the last software updates went through: if anybody loaded a patch, if there were any bug fixes or roll outs.”

  “On it. When are you coming in?”

  He looked at Rachel. She was taking a sip of her drink, taking in the ambiance of the sand-and-gold colored décor. She looked like a vision.

  Maybe I could spend the night with her.

  He shook his head, mad at himself. Yes, she was gorgeous, but it was still too early for that kind of thinking. “Give me a few hours,” he said, then hung up.

  “Everything all right?” Rachel asked, her blue eyes looking at him with concern.

  “Business stuff,” he said, shrugging.

  “Business stuff,” she echoed, rolling her eyes. “That’s non-specific. What have you been up to the past ten years, Ren Chu?”

  “Nothing much,” he downplayed. “You know I went to Harvard. Got my undergrad and MBA degrees there. Interned at a few places, like Google. Now, I work for the Chu Corporation, mostly with their electronic parts division.”