I Do

Chapter 6

Ethan had been thinking about Josie since they parted ways the previous evening. It was impossible not to after the moment they had shared. There was no denying that Josie was a beautiful woman and the fact that he had wildly misjudged her the first time they had met made him a little more sympathetic than he would have wanted to be. He was not one to wear his heart on his sleeve. That was his brother. He knew that something was simmering between them but he did not want to act on it just yet. He was not sure if the chemistry he was feeling was only coming from his side. It was not like he’d had a long time to process what he was feeling or what he thought he was feeling. And then there was the little fact that she was his assistant. A relationship was completely out of the question. That was simply opening himself up to a lawsuit which was the last thing he needed. He was on a quest to enlarge his business empire and a romantic relationship was only going to side-track him.

He took his time in the elevator as he rode to his office floor. He ran his fingers through his hair as he looked at his reflection on the doors. He had already thought about it long enough and he could not help but think that the best way for them to work was for him to simply not see Josie as the attractive woman she was. He did not know how he was supposed to do that but somehow, he had to figure out how to create what could only be termed as the opposite of reverse beer goggles.

It was not exactly easy but he would somehow make it work. The work they were doing together was too important to just let it stall.

Over the next few days, the awkwardness became almost unnoticeable. The more they continued working together, the more Ethan’s appreciation of her professionalism and creativity increased. Every night they worked late ended up with the two of them doing a deep dive of their lives and Ethan came to love the time they spent together. He actually found himself looking forward to the evenings which had become almost sacred to the two of them. It had been three months since they started working together and everything was working out perfectly. With Josie’s help, he had acquired Luigi’s Pizza and bought two properties in New York and San Diego. Those two were going to be the first locations of the newest pizza franchise in the Beckett business portfolio. That evening, they were working on getting a decorator for the two businesses and even though it might have been an easy task, the thousands of applicants were lacking that ‘it’ factor to pull off the perfect rustic look.

“I think I found someone,” Josie said in a soft voice as she looked at her computer screen. “Young artist. Millenial…”

“I don’t like working with millennials,” Ethan said as he took off his tie.

“I know that but this one is different. She is special.”

He forced out a laugh.

“They all think they are special.”

“No seriously. She is an all-round creative. She paints beautiful abstract and period pieces. I just sent you a link to her work and she also writes. It says here she got a Pulitzer for an essay she did on how arts impact the learning process in special needs kids.” Josie looked up and looked at her. “Tell me you are not impressed.”

Ethan shook his head and scrolled through the pictures on his iPad. He had to admit, he was impressed by the young woman’s art.

“I don’t know what to say,” he said in a soft voice.

“Check out this piece she did last year. It is her take on early 19th century Italy,” she said as she sent him the link.

He was silent as he viewed the painting. It was perfection. As a matter of fact, he did not realize until that very moment that what he was looking at was what he wanted to be displayed on the walls of the new pizza franchise. If he could not get that exact painting, a similar one would do. The painting was perfect. It was a picture of the Colosseum dimly lit by the setting sun. He almost felt like he was standing in front of the actual Colosseum, looking at the beautiful sunset. He was quiet as he scrolled to another painting. This one was so surreal, he could have sworn it was a photograph and not a painting. It was a painting of a man paddling a gondola as a couple of lovebirds held each other in the boat. Something about the painting called to him. The perfect blue-green shade of the water…or the textured parts of it that represented the Venice buildings.

“This is beautiful,” he finally said and Josie grinned. “I mean, this is perfection. It would look amazing on the walls of Luigi’s Pizza.”

“So, that’s it? We actually found the décor?” Josie asked excitedly. “If she agrees of course.”

“Oh, she will agree,” Ethan pointed out. “She wants to move forward in her career and I can make that happen. I can have her art in galleries across Europe and the Americas.”

“Great! Now, all we need is someone to oversee the painting and fixtures and…” she looked at him and frowned. “Interview the chefs.”

“Don’t worry about the chefs. Luigi already took care of that. Part of our negotiations involved employing the three chefs he had on his staff. Two of them already have more than a working knowledge of the recipe. They will be heading the two new restaurants and the third will remain in New York as we work on a new location.”

“That sounds like a plan and a great one at that,” Josie pointed out.

“All this would not have been possible without you,” Ethan said as he looked at her.

She smiled and shrugged.

“I was just doing my job, That’s what you pay me for after all.”

He shook his head.

“Oh please. You went above and beyond and for that, we need to celebrate,” he said as he pulled the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “I have been saving this for a special occasion. Granted it’s taken three years for me to get an event worthy of this bottle but I think it has all been worth it.”

“Three years?” Josie cracked a smile. “It’s a good thing alcohol doesn’t really get bad.”

“Right?” Ethan popped the champagne and Josie gasped silently. “Sorry. That was a little louder than I intended.”

“You can make it up to me if there are glasses in there,” she said and he nodded.

“Trust me, I thought this whole thing through.” He pulled the other bottom drawer open and got two glasses before he placed them on the desk.

“Well, I will just have a glass because I have to drive home,” she said and he shook his head.

“No, you don’t. I don’t plan on driving home myself.”

“So, Uber? Lyft maybe?” Josie asked as she reached for her glass.

“No, we have a car service we use in case of emergency and they are at our beck and call, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.” He raised his glass and smiled at her. “To us and the birth of Luigi’s Pizza. The next big thing in pizza franchises.”

She smiled.

“To Luigi’s Pizza,” she said before taking a sip of her champagne. “Oh, this is good. I might not be satisfied with just the one glass.”

He smiled.

“We have the whole bottle, you know.”

Ethan walked to the couch and sat down. He looked at Josie and gently patted the cushion.

“Come on down, Johnson. We are officially celebrating.”