One Long Embrace

A chuckle came through the line. “Couldn’t be better. We’re in New York.” There was a muffled sound. Was he kissing Holly? “Together. How’s the gossip mill going in the Hamptons?”

“I wouldn’t know. I left your parents’ house right after the party. I haven’t seen or spoken to anybody since then.”

“Wise choice,” Paul said. “Hey, so you’re still looking for a job I take it?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Excellent. This friend of mine, he runs Hannon Boats, needs an interior designer for his new yacht line. You know, mega yachts for the ultra-rich. Is that something you’d be interested in? I mean, you said design, right? But I wasn’t sure which direction—”

“I’d love that!” Tara interrupted him. “I’ve got some great design ideas in my portfolio that I could totally adapt for a yacht. Even in their current state, they would fit nicely.”

“Perfect. Why don’t you send me your portfolio and I’ll put your name in the hat and see if I can get you an interview?”

“You’re the best, Paul!” How lucky was this? Finally, she had a chance! She’d show her parents that she could do it on her own.

“Sounds good.”

“Oh wait, one thing,” she stopped him, having almost forgotten the most important thing.

“Yeah?”

“Can you please do me one favor and not mention my name? I want to remain anonymous. Is that okay?”

“Is there a problem, Tara?” He suddenly sounded concerned.

She sighed. “I just don’t want to get a job because of my family. You understand that, don’t you?” It was a little white lie. She didn’t want to air her dirty laundry in public and admit to Paul that she suspected her parents of sabotaging her job search. Let him think that she didn’t want her name to be known because she didn’t want an unfair advantage, when in fact the opposite was true.

“No problem. What name do you want to use instead?”

“Uh.” She glanced at the iPad, looking at the headlines of the New York Times. “York, uh, Jane York.” Jane was her middle name.

“Okay then, I’ll call you back with details shortly.”

“Thanks!”

A click in the line and Paul was gone.

Tara set the phone down on the little table, her hands trembling with excitement. This was the chance she’d been waiting for. Now all she had to do was send her portfolio over to Paul and he’d take care of the rest. Luckily, she had all her files in the cloud and could access them from the iPad. She swiped over the file application, just as the phone rang again.

Did Paul already have news for her?

She snatched the phone, answering it without even looking. “Yeah?”

“Tara.”

Her heart sank into her knees. The voice belonged to her mother. Crap!

“Where are you?”

Tara wasn’t about to tell her. Nevertheless, her voice shook a little, when she answered, “It doesn’t matter where I am.” She’d never before rebelled against her parents. This was new to her and slightly intimidating.

“Don’t you take that tone with me!” her mother snapped.

Tara sucked in a breath, anger churning up in her. “I’m not.”

“You are coming home right now, Tara, or your father and I will—”

“I’m not coming home. I’m sick of you and dad dictating what I do. I’m an adult. I make my own decisions!”

“Do you? Let’s see if you still say that when you’re out of money!”

“I’m going to earn money!” Tara ground out. For the first time she actually believed it herself.

“And how are you going to do that? You don’t have a job, Tara! You’ve never had a job! Who’s going to hire you? Nobody is going to go against your father’s wishes and—”

Tara’s breath caught. “It’s true then. Dad made sure I never got any of the jobs I applied for.”

“That’s not—”

“Don’t deny it, Mom! You just admitted it. How could you?”

There was a sigh on the end of the line. “Come on, Tara,” her mother said more softly now. Apparently she was changing tactics. “Just come home. We only want what’s best for you. You don’t need a job. You’ll find a nice man soon, and then you’ll be busy with the wedding preparations.”

“I’ve already got a nice man,” Tara countered.