The Replacement
The Boss Is Bold
JESSICA
From the second we landed in Florence, I was captivated. An elegant black town car picked us up from the tarmac, and the whole drive to the hotel, my eyes were focused out the window. Everything was so lush and green. And the people we passed…my god, the people.
The women in their flowing dresses and the men in their stylish linen and sunglasses, everyone looked stunning. Their fashion carried an air of superiority to the rest of the world. Somehow, here I was, breathing the same air—I felt alive just by being here.
“You falling in love yet, doll?” Calvin asked from the front seat, peering over his shoulder at me. I felt heat rise to my cheeks, but then realized he was referring to the city I couldn’t take my eyes off. “It’s beautiful.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” he promised from the front seat.
Then, I felt a hand on my thigh and turned to see Spencer’s face not two inches away from mine.
“He’s right,” Spencer whispered in my ear. “Get ready.”
***
We pulled up to the hotel, and holy shit—I had to pinch myself to make sure I was seeing correctly. The property was massive, sprawling onto what looked like an endless garden. It was a few kilometers outside of Florence, so the land was quiet and nature untarnished.
“Come on, more beauty awaits you,” Calvin instructed, opening my door.
I climbed out and felt my jaw hit the floor. Looking at the hotel straight on was even more spectacular. The sun glistened off the stone architecture, and the perfectly manicured shrubs lining the front courtyard seemed to be welcoming us.
“I told you,” I heard Spencer say from behind my shoulder, and I all but jumped.
“It’s like nothing I’ve seen before,” I said, getting out of the car.
“Wait till you see the gardens,” Calvin called out from a few paces ahead.
I looked back to the car, prepared to take my own luggage inside, but a bellboy had already appeared—presumably from thin air since I hadn’t seen him arrive.
The bellboy took all our belongings and then, rolling them ahead, handed them off to a different bellboy. Then, he turned around to greet us just in front of the hotel’s main entrance.
“Ciao,” he said with a thick Italian accent. “We are honored to have you here.”
Spencer shook his hand. “Great to be back.”
“Would you like to see your rooms first?”
“No, we’ll take a tour of the property first,” Calvin jumped in. “This one’s a virgin to Tuscany, so it’s time to show her what she’s been missing,” he said, nodding to me.
The bellboy smiled. “Very well. We’ll deliver your bags to your rooms.” Then, he walked back to the front desk, and I had the chance to take in the elegant lobby. Marble covered every surface, and the sitting area was decked out in large sofas and rich throw pillows. The whole place was so goddamn regal.
I turned to Spencer. “Remind me why we’re renovating this property again?”
“I like it too, truth be told, but the numbers just aren’t holding where they need to be. I’m sure you know them better than I do by now. Tuscany’s not just a province of tradition and history anymore. It’s hipper now. Younger people are coming in, and this property has to appeal to a larger clientele. It has to be more innovative.”
“You want to compete with the new Hyatt that just opened in downtown Florence?”
“Exactly.”
I saw Calvin walk back to us from the front desk with a bottle of wine in hand. “Alright, newbie. Let’s let Spencer relax and get your virginity taken care of,” Calvin declared.
I kept my face neutral. “I’m actually kind of tired from the trip. I wouldn’t mind freshening up first.”
“Nonsense,” Spencer interrupted, taking the bottle from Calvin. “I’ll give the tour, Calvin. Why don’t you go see about Tanya, the masseuse?”
I gave Spencer a curious glance. Not that he could see it.
After a second, Calvin nodded. “Right, I’ll go see if Tanya’s here.”
“Shall we?” Spencer asked, holding his elbow out for me to take. I did have to see the property in order to do my job, I rationalized. And drinking Italian wine was just absorbing the culture.
I took his elbow. “Let’s do this.”
As we walked out the back doors and through the lush greenery, it was like I couldn’t take in everything fast enough. The fields of vibrant flowers, a million shades of green lost in the hills, and the vivid blue skies—it was surreal. A hell of a difference from London’s gray skies and rainy days—that much was clear.
“This doesn’t feel real. It’s like we walked into a postcard,” I said, and Spencer just laughed. Before we’d even managed to step out of the lobby, a different bellboy had run over to us and uncorked a fresh bottle of wine, providing us with two glasses.
I brought my own glass to my lips and took a moment to study the man beside me. This man, who was somehow both my boss and the man whose role I’d unknowingly stepped into. The same man who made my palms sweat whenever we were in the same room together.
Even though he was blind, he still had his face to the sun, like he could feel its warmth. I wondered if he could still see any of the colors. “It really is impressive, you know, the way you get around? If I couldn’t see, I’d be a lot more afraid of the world than you seem to be. You seem so at ease with it all.”
“I have a hard time believing you’d be scared of anything,” he said with a smirk, shifting his gaze so it fell on me.
“Why’s that?”
“You don’t strike me as someone who scares easy, Jess.”
“Jessica.”
“But I know this property well. It’s been in my family for decades. I grew up spending summers here. If you dropped me in the middle of a crowded market in Turkey, it’d probably be a different story.”
I laughed, watching his head turn back to the horizon. “Can you see anything? At all, I mean.”
“Yes,” he replied. “In certain light, I see shapes and shadow. For instance, here, I can make out the tops of the trees or the outline of the statue over there,” he said, pointing to the huge marble statue to the left of us.
“Good.” I nodded. “Everyone should be able to get at least see part of this view.”
Spencer smiled at me and then grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. We walked through the garden, massive arrays of stunning flowers on either side of us, but all I could focus on was the electricity passing from his hand to mine.
His touch shot fire straight into me, and my insides burned for him. I thought about his hand caressing me in different places, about the electricity I felt between our hands, racing through other parts of me. I needed to distract myself.
He’s your boss, Jessica.
“I’m sorry about everything you’re going through,” I shot out into the silence. Then, I cringed at myself. Really? That’s what you went with?
He stopped walking. “What do you mean?”
I pulled my hand back from his grasp. “With your wife and—”
“My ex-wife,” he interrupted.
“Right, your ex-wife and your daughter. The whole custody battle seems incredibly unfair, and I know I don’t know you well, but from what Scott’s told me, you’re a great dad. So, I’m just…I’m sorry you’re going through that,” I said, looking at my feet. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.
You’re an idiot. What an idiotic thing to say.
He gave me a terse nod. “Thanks,” he said, an unreadable expression on his face.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to cross any lines—I just wanted to…”
“Don’t apologize.” He shook his head. “I appreciate it. Really. It’s been a stressful few weeks. A stressful year, actually.”
“I can imagine.”
Jesus, Jessica. You can imagine what, going blind and losing your kid?
But instead of calling me out, Spencer just nodded again. “It’s been crazy. You’d think taking time off from running a company would make me less stressed, but somehow, it’s been even more taxing. All I want is for Leila to be safe and happy with me, you know? That’s the only thing in the world I want.”
“I believe you,” I said to him, looking right into his eyes. For the first time, I saw a vulnerability there, somewhere between his bright green eyes and his sturdy jaw. “You’re a good dad, and you care. A judge will see that.”
“Or he’ll see a blind man who can’t care for her.”
I swallowed. “Hey, you can’t think like that. And besides, you haven’t let being blind stop you from anything else. Why would you start giving a fuck about it now?” I challenged him.
His mouth twitched with a smile. “You’re something else. You know that?”
He grabbed my hand again, guiding me forward. “You can’t let the fear of the unknown stop you from living,” I told him softly. “You still deserve to enjoy life, have fun, and do things for yourself.”
“Okay, Oprah,” he chuckled from beside me. My cheeks turned crimson. Why are you preaching to Spencer fucking Michaels?
“Sorry,” I said quickly.
“Don’t apologize,” he said, stopping and pulling me close to him. Really close. Close enough for me to feel his breath on my nose. “You know what my favorite color is?” he asked, and I racked my brain for a punchline. Instead, he just smiled. “Red,” he said, twisting a lock of my red hair between his fingers.
“How do you know—?”
“It’s the only color I can see. Not vividly. Not anything beyond what you’d see underwater if you were swimming in a dark lake, but it’s there.”
Spencer Michaels wound his fingers through my hair and tugged harder, bringing my face even closer to his. And then, surrounded by flowers in a Tuscan field, my sort-of, kind-of, technically boss…kissed me.
Continue to the next chapter of The Replacement