By ten o’clock the next morning Jet was feeling more like a fish out of water than ever.
At first when she’d stepped in the door of her office at eight-thirty she’d felt a wave of relief. It was so good to be back to the familiar territory of her business. Here she was in charge, and given how her life had felt beyond her control the past couple of months, it was a welcome feeling.
But over the last hour and a half the sense of certainty waned. It was like she was seeing her old life through different eyes. She wasn’t Juliet anymore, she was Jet—but who was Jet really? She wasn’t sure, but all Jet knew was the trendy, boutique events company she’d worked so hard to create suddenly felt separate to her.
Several months ago, Jet had lived and breathed the business. Every morning, she’d get to work at least half an hour before the rest of the staff and leave after everyone had left for the night. She’d effortlessly dressed in the latest designer suits and fashion, aware she was the face of the business.
Now dressing up felt like an effort. This morning, Jet had opted for a pair of smart black jeans that passed as workwear and an elegant blue satin top to complement her new blonde hair. She hadn’t felt motivated to wear heels, and instead chose a cute pair of boots. She’d been dying to wear them for ages, but always put it off because they’d felt too casual.
She was wearing less make-up, too. Normally the old Juliet would arrive at work with her face fully made-up. Today she’d felt more comfortable with just a light covering of foundation, a swipe of mascara and some blush to brighten her cheeks. She hadn’t even bothered with lipstick.
Jet hadn’t realised what a difference it made until her second-in-charge Jayde arrived and did a double-take. She’d covered her surprise well and raced over to Jet for a welcoming embrace, but Jet was attuned to people’s body language more than ever.
Jet spent the next hour in Jayde’s office being updated on the status of all of their current projects and recent successes. Now Jet sat in her office, rubbing her temples while she stared at a spreadsheet detailing the financial situation of her business.
The edge of the headache had been there all morning. It was wishful thinking that it was from the alcohol the night before. She’d barely finished the second glass. It would be easy to put it down to dehydration, but Jet knew better.
It was the nagging suspicion that Jet was a stranger in her own life. She glanced back to the spreadsheet. Case in point. The business had been running smoothly during her absence. In fact, it was doing better than ever. Under Jayde’s careful and dedicated watch, Juliet Temple Events was thriving.
It should have made Jet happy. Wasn’t that every business owner’s dream? To have a business that successfully ran itself?
Instead, it made Jet feel unsure of her place in the world.
Jet sighed. It wasn’t only that. Returning after her time away, Jet was noticing things she hadn’t before. Like her team of staff. They were all women. Why hadn’t she ever thought to hire any guys? Not only that, they were all young, impeccably dressed and well-educated. Not that Jet would ever hire anyone unqualified, but somehow she’d never realised the women she hired were all the products of expensive private schools. It wasn’t exactly surprising because in the early days Andrew had directed a few promising candidates her way.
Her clients were the same. Not just from the right side of town, but the expensive part of town with plenty of money to burn. Jet couldn’t deny it was their brand and their speciality—high class events for Sydney’s elite. But all of a sudden the brand that she’d spent years building and perfecting felt unsatisfying.
Fake, she realised.
It wasn’t that the people she took on as clients were necessarily fake, but Jet’s events were a very deliberate part of maintaining their carefully crafted reputations.
It left Jet with an empty feeling.
She recalled the glowing happy young couple celebrating the start of their life together. A wedding Jet herself had planned. Had that only been last week? And come to think of it, when was the last time Jet had actually planned an event herself?
At Temple Events, she oversaw her team. Other than her involvement in daily morning progress meetings, Jet rarely got involved in the day-to-day planning. Her role in recent years had been to attract new business by networking and taking on speaking opportunities.
Jet rubbed a hand over her forehead, which was now aching along with her temples.
A week before she’d skipped town, she recalled asking her personal assistant to look into reputable Botox clinics. The email was still sitting in her in-box, waiting for Jet to review it, but she didn’t have the heart.
Jet jolted as her phone vibrated on her desk with a message.
She frowned when she saw the name of the sender:
Daniel Rhodes.
Her heart pounded and inexplicably the headache eased. She opened the message, not allowing herself to hesitate.
Hey. So I know I said I’d give you your space but it’s too quiet here this morning and there’s no one to listen to my latest great idea. How’s work?
Jet released a breath and did her best to ignore the sting of tears in the corner of her eyes. She stood up abruptly, making the blood rush to her head, then walked over to her office door and closed it.
She leaned against the back of the door, sagging against it in relief and stared hard at the message again.
***
Shit. What had he done?
Dan had promised himself he’d leave Jet alone now that she was back to her old life. If she wanted to get in touch, then that was her decision.
How long had that lasted? A little over twenty-four hours by his calculations, which was bordering on pathetic or desperate, he wasn’t sure which. The message was true though. It was quiet in the barn this morning without Jet and he did miss talking to her.
Hell, he missed everything about her. Her uncertain smiles, like she wasn’t sure she should allow herself to be happy, as well as her melodic laugh when she didn’t have time to censor herself. He missed the way she listened in that thoughtful way she had. Like she was really listening to everything he had to say. Then when he was done, she’d say something to confirm she’d heard everything he’d said, but she’d also build on it with that clever mind of hers.
God, he was an idiot. None of that mattered because she was Juliet-freaking-Temple. She may no longer be married to one of Australia’s richest men, but that’s where she belonged—with the rich and famous. Not here at this winery discussing some quaint idea he had for their latest range of Rhodes Wines. He needed to get a grip and now he was really regretting sending that message.
It was her first day at work and she was probably in meetings, getting back up to speed about her business, which was her passion.
Dan jumped in surprise as the phone vibrated on his desk. Then he blinked. It was ringing.
‘Answer it, you fool,’ he muttered, and managed to pick up the phone with unsteady hands.
‘Hey Jet,’ he said calmly, more calmly than he felt. He’d hoped for a message later today, maybe at the end of the work day when she wasn’t too busy, but here she was calling him. It was highly likely she was pissed at him for his inability to keep to his word, so he opted for ignorance in the vain hope he was mistaken. ‘How’s work?’
There was silence on the end of the line. He was just about to remove the phone from his ear to double check the call had gone through when she spoke.
‘Strange.’
After his own beat of silence, he replied. ‘Strange how?’
He heard Jet sigh.
‘Strange. I don’t know how to describe it.’
More silence followed and it sounded like she’d sat down. In her office, perhaps?
‘Try,’ he suggested.
‘I don’t know, Dan.’
Hearing his name from her lips made him close his eyes. He was glad she couldn’t see her effect on him.
He tried again. ‘Strange as in zombies have overtaken my business, or strange as in I’ve been away too long and I’ve forgotten how to run my own business?’ he offered.
He was rewarded with a soft laugh. ‘Neither of those, fortunately. But would it sound weird to you if I said it doesn’t feel like my business any more? Like it’s someone else’s?’
‘I’d say that would be understandable, given the events of the last couple of months.’ It was a carefully worded reply and they both knew it. ‘It’s going to take a few days, maybe a week or two for you to feel at home in your old life. Don’t be so hard on yourself.’
‘That’s just the thing. I know all that and I keep telling myself to just be patient, but there’s something else.’
When she didn’t elaborate, Dan couldn’t resist. ‘Let me guess. You’ve had an epiphany after being around an incredibly talented young winemaker. You’ve decided event planning is no longer your thing and you’re going to study winemaking?’
She laughed again. ‘No. Hardly. I’ll leave that to the experts like you. But you’re not completely wrong, actually.’
More silence.
‘So,’ he began, ‘this is where I make some comment about the fact that I’m often right and you’re wise to see the light. Except I have no idea what it is I’m right about.’
‘My old life,’ she replied. ‘I don’t want to go back to it. It’s not me anymore. Or at least the me I want to be.’ He heard her inhale an unsteady breath. ‘I’ve decided I don’t want to be Juliet Temple anymore, Dan.’