Seduced (The Billionaire's Command #1)
Victoria Villeneuve
I stood in front of my bed, frowning at the suitcase I’d hoisted onto it, trying to decide which bathing suit I was going to take with me. I mean, I know, it’s the ultimate first world problem. The red one piece with black polka dots that covered up more of my body, but would ultimately make me look like a bit of a prude who didn’t dare wear a bikini, or the black and gold striped bikini that was undoubtedly sexier, but definitely not me?
I sighed, then tossed the one piece into the suitcase. I wouldn’t be comfortable in the bikini. I didn’t even know why I bought it. Sure, I’d look like a prude, but let’s face it, I was the prude of the group. Everyone else who worked in the branch of my office was either already married, many with kids to prove that they had more sex than I did, or still single and living it up in bars on Friday nights.
God, cheer up Caroline. You’re going to Hawaii, it’s not like this is a chore I scolded myself as I moved onto figuring out how many pairs of socks this trip was going to require.
In all honesty, I was really looking forward to this trip. It had all started three months earlier, when the company I worked for, Alistair Investments, put forth a contest. The branch which brought in the most new business in June would win an all expenses paid vacation to Hawaii for a week in August at a luxury resort.
I didn’t really have all that much to do with winning the contest. I worked as a financial analyst, which is a pretty fancy way of saying I’m a glorified accountant. I look at numbers, and I decide if those numbers are likely to go up or down. I have an office in the back of the building, where I confer with my fellow analysts, but we’re not the ones who go out and find new clients for the branch. We don’t bring in the new money, we keep the money that the sales staff bring us loyal.
Luckily for me, however, our sales staff was second to none, and we blew away the rest of the competition for the duration of the contest. That’s how I managed to get a free vacation to Hawaii without really needing to do anything for it. Whatever. I worked really hard to get where I was, and I was going to enjoy this little treat, even if I didn’t really earn it per se.
My best friend, one of the salespeople in question, Lisa, always told me I should be appreciative.
“You never take any breaks, Caroline. You work like a madwoman. You don’t have boyfriends, you don’t really go out and party with people, you need an outlet to let off some steam every once in a while.”
“Yeah, well, I still feel like a cheater going on this vacation I didn’t earn. I mean, you did like, half the sales for our branch for the quarter.”
“I did, but whatever. We knew from the start that everyone in the branch would get to go. It’s not like you’re cheating your way in or something. Come on, Caroline. Have some fun, let loose. It’s Hawaii, all expenses paid! I went there with Rob for our honeymoon and we spent a ridiculous amount of cash, this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip.”
“I guess so,” I replied, succumbing to Lisa’s positive energy. I wished I could be like her. Lisa was so strong, so confident. She had grown up in the suburbs here, her father was a former athlete who had almost gone pro until a knee injury ended his career before it had even started. He bought a coffee shop in town and ran that, while Lisa’s mom taught kindergarten at the local elementary school. Lisa basically had the perfect upbringing I had dreamed of having.
She visited her parents every Sunday. On the other hand, I had basically escaped from mine and spent most of my time trying to make sure I couldn’t be found.
I never knew my father, he left my mother before I was born. But I had the kind of overbearing mother that never lived the kind of life they wanted to, and so took it out on their kids. Unfortunately, since I was the only one she had, one hundred percent of that energy turned into making sure I was the perfect child, that I lived the figure skating dream my mother had hoped for herself.