Unwanted Heat

Kenzie

After a long, hot shower together, we’re in the golf cart and on our way to the activities area of the resort to see if we can go kayaking.

“I think I’m going to run into the store while you see about the kayak. I want to pick up something,” I say when he pulls into a parking spot.

“Okay, I’ll meet you in at the bench?” he gestures between the store and the activities area.

“Sure.”

I spend a few minutes walking around the store, looking for something to get Julie to thank her for talking with me yesterday. I’m not sure what I would have done if she hadn’t brought up the topic of what had happened. I don’t know that we I would have worked things out so quickly if she wasn’t as open as she was. I’m still not sure I believe her that Nicholas is in love with me, but hearing her say that at least confirmed what he told me laterthat he thinks of me as more than a friend.

It takes me a few minutes of walking around the store, which has everything from gifts to toiletries to snacks, before I finally find something that I think she will like. I decide on a pin in the shape of a turtle that is made from different shapes of stones. I think she will appreciate that the stones on the turtle are local to the island. Walking up the last aisle, I grab one last item on a whim and head to the check-out counter. The cashier scans my bracelet, charging the purchases to the villa and places the items I bought in a decorate bag. I place the small bag in my purse and head out to the bench.

“If we want to grab a quick lunch, we can take the glass bottom kayak out in forty-five minutes,” Nicholas says as he approaches me moments after I sit down.Property © NôvelDrama.Org.

“Perfect!”

The trip was just amazing; you could literally see everything under the boat as we paddled through the open water. We were able to see the different color coral and even had schools of fish swimming below our boat. I had never experienced anything like that and judging by Nicholas’s face he hadn’t either. There was only one other couple on the water with us, but it really felt like we were alone the entire time. We spent about two hours on the water before deciding our arms were getting too sore to continue paddling around.

“So tomorrow is our last day here, right?” I ask back at the villa later that evening.

“Yes, we have to check out the next day by noon. The resort staff will pick up our luggage by eleven, I believe, to load it onto the plane. We’ll leave from the airport to head back to the states by two, if everything goes as planned. The trip back will probably feel much longer because we’ll be awake for most of the trip. When we land in New York, it will be around two in the morning Fiji time, but around midnight New York time. The time change back shouldn’t be as difficult to adjust to as when we flew out.”

“Are you going back to work on Monday then?”

“Yes, though I haven’t decided if I’m going to be working from home or if I will head into the office. I should head to PFS, but it might depend on how exhausted I am.”

“I was thinking I should meet with Ginny next week. If the press doesn’t know that I’m working there, I should be able to meet with her a few times without them knowing to at least get a feel for things. I have so much to learn about running the bakery…”

“When it comes to the book keeping and finances, I have plenty of staff at PFS who could offer you some advice once you get in there, if you want. Although, PFS doesn’t typically work with bakeries, I think the systems we have in place for The Summit could be scaled back to meet your needs at the bakery. Or you might want to keep Ginny’s system that she has been using-”

“No, definitely not,” I giggle. “Her books are all done by hand-I swear she’s so afraid of technology and won’t try anything new. I definitely want something that is computerized, so maybe once I can get a copy of what she has-”

“I have a copy of her books for the last two years,” Nicholas interrupts.

“You do?”

“Part of the due diligence process. I needed to make sure the bakery was doing well financially before I purchased it. If it was struggling or wasn’t turning a decent profit, I wouldn’t have purchased it for you. It didn’t make sense to purchase something that you would work day in and day out for without collecting a decent paycheck.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Ginny never really talked about how the bakery itself was doing. I just assumed since we were always so busy that it was doing okay.”

“And it most definitely is. I think there’s room for improvement, especially with some of the vendors she is working with, but those are things you can decide.”

“I think I would like to take you up on the offer to have someone at PFS help me set up a decent book keeping system, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, once we get back and you’re ready, I can set you up with my head of finance. He’s amazing with spreadsheets and formulas; he can show you what we use for The Summit, if that’s something you might want to use, or he can develop a program specific for the bakery.”

“Thank you. I think that would be a big help. It’s kind of hard to believe that in two days we’ll be back in New York. In a way it feels like we’ve been gone for so long…”

“I think it’s because we don’t have to deal with reality out here. There are no business meetings, no reporters, no deadlines and no security issues to worry about. We’ve been able to pretend none of that exists for the last week.”

“It’s been nice.”

“It has. Although, I expect the reporters are going to be worse when we first get back to New York.” “Really? Why?”

“Because everyone’s going to want the first picture of Mr. and Mrs. Parker, I’m sure. We released the one from our wedding, of course, but they’re going to want their own.”

“Oh, I suppose I should arrange for my name to be changed when we get back.”

“The applications are waiting for you in my office-all you will need to do is sign them. My legal department has taken care of completing everything and should have attached our marriage license, but if it hasn’t come in yet, that might be the one thing we have to wait for.”

“Oh, wow… thanks.”

“You should also have insurance and bank cards waiting for you when we get back.”

“Insurance cards?”

“Medical, dental and vision. PFS offers complete medical care to all of its employees and their families. You won’t have any deductibles or out of pocket expenses. I can assure you the coverage is far better than any that you might currently have, but if you want to compare plans I can have someone in my benefits department call you-”

“That won’t be necessary. I don’t have medical coverage now, so there’s nothing to compare. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“You don’t have health insurance? How do you… what if…?”

“I looked into getting health insurance, trust me, it isn’t because I don’t want it. I made too much money to qualify for state funded insurance, yet to purchase a policy out of pocket would cost me more than four hundred dollars a month. And even then, the coverage itself wasn’t the greatest, and came with high costs.”

“What if you got sick?”

“There are plenty of clinics that will work a payment plan out with you, or a few even offer a sliding fee, based on how much you earn. Thankfully, I don’t get sick too often, so it wasn’t an issue. I made sure to get an annual physical, just in case, but otherwise, I rarely have to go to the doctor.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that any longer. Like I said, PFS’s medical coverage is one of the best on the market. I didn’t want my employees having to worry about medical bills for themselves or their families, especially if they had a major medical issue.”

“Thank you. I can cover the cost of my premium-”

“No. These benefits are provided to all employees at no cost to them. Adding you to the insurance policy doesn’t cost me anything, but even if it did, I wouldn’t let you pay for it. Besides it’s in our paperwork that I cover your medical expenses.”

“I just assumed that meant a doctor bill or something; I wasn’t expecting that to mean adding me to your health insurance plan.”

“Well this way you don’t have to worry about dealing with bills if you need to go somewhere.”

“And a bank card? I’m almost afraid to ask.”

“Of course, you’ve been added as a joint owner to my bank account

-”

“Nicholas! I don’t need or want access to your money!”

“I know you don’t need or want access to it, but you’re going to have expenses that you wouldn’t otherwise have being married to me. It’s only fair that I cover those expenses. You’re a joint owner on one of my personal bank accounts. I want you to use it for any expenses you have. I don’t care if it’s getting your nails done, your hair cut or going out to lunch with Cara.”

“I don’t feel comfortable using your money. It was hard enough to use your card to pay for the dress when Cara and I went shopping, but hair and nail appointments?”

“I know it’s going to take you some time to get used to it. I’m sure you’re used to having to worry about every penny you spend and how you’re going to afford the next thing that comes up. But you don’t have to any longer.”

“But-”

“Chances are you wouldn’t be buying the things you’re going to buy, or getting your hair and nails done as often as you will be, if you weren’t married to me. It’s only right that I pay for those things.”

“I just don’t feel right. I have my own money, I think I should be using that.”

“This isn’t about you having or not having money. It just makes sense since these expenses would be related to me. I have more money that I can spend in a lifetime, probably two lifetimes. Please, don’t worry about spending my money. I love that you are concerned about it, but you don’t need to be.”

“I don’t know.”

“Just don’t think about it, okay? Let me do this for you…”

I shrug my shoulders without answering; I really don’t feel comfortable using the money Nicholas earns working so hard, for something like getting my hair done. I see his point about it though, with the media hounding us, appearances are going to be more important than they’ve ever been. I guess I just never thought that would mean that he would make me a joint owner on his bank account. It seems…

“I trust you, Kenzie,” he leans over and kisses me, which immediately ends my worried thoughts.