Hidden Paradise Read online

  Hidden Paradise

  A.M. Guilliams

  Copyright © 2017 Amanda Berberich. All rights reserved.

  © Hidden Paradise. All rights reserved. Except as permitted by U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior permission of the author.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  This book is intended for 18+ due to language.

  Edited by: Masque of the Red Pen Publishing

  Cover Design: A.M. Willard

  For Sarah, I miss you each and every day. I hope you’re in your very own hidden paradise now.

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  These are always so hard to write. I always feel like I’m going to forget someone. But, I’ll try not to.

  To all the readers, thank you for picking up my books and supporting me. Without you, I don’t know what I’d do.

  Ted, thank you for believing in me and putting up with my craziness while in writing mode.

  Annelle, thank you for being my best friend and right hand man. Thank you for pushing me when I went through a bout of writer’s block. But most of all, thank you for always making me laugh with our crazy conversations.

  My beta readers, thank you for helping me make my books the best they could be.

  Silla, thank you for being a part of my team. I’m so glad I was able to shock you with this book.

  To all the bloggers, thank you for helping me get the word out and reviewing my books.

  Linda, thank you for your support and helping me promote my next release. You rock!

  Chapter 1

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I screamed as I slammed my hands down on the table in the conference room.

  “I’m not going and that’s final. You can’t just make me leave on a vacation I don’t want,” I huffed, hoping to make my point this time. We’d been going at this for almost an hour with no end in sight.

  I was stubborn, and I wasn’t backing down on this at all.

  My parents, siblings, and my boss were all scattered in the chairs before me, waiting for me to finish ranting and raving about their ludicrous idea.

  There was no way I was going for what they were offering.

  They couldn’t force me to just pack my bags and get on a plane.

  Not with what they had in mind anyway.

  I didn’t need, nor want, seven days of fun in the sun.

  I didn’t need, nor want, to go on some crazy, half-cocked vacation.

  There was too much work to be done.

  I had seven destinations on my list of places to go before the summer season began.

  And that was only three months away.

  There was no way I could just take a whole week off.

  Not happening.

  You see, I don’t see my job as a job. I travel for a living, finding the most beautiful places imaginable.

  Hidden gems.

  Diamonds in the rough.

  And then I make them the most sought-out places to visit with just a few short paragraphs.

  My name is Lily St. James, and I’ve worked at Hidden Paradise since the summer after graduation, and I’ve worked my way into their travel blogger position. Last year alone, my passport was stamped so many times I almost needed a second one to continue my travels.

  Now my crazy ass boss was suggesting I just move my schedule around because I had to take a vacation. Apparently, building up ten weeks of time wasn’t allowed.

  Last year I had three weeks of time that I couldn’t carry over so I transferred it to people in need so they could take the time off around the holidays to spend with their families.

  He wasn’t having that this go around.

  “You need this time to yourself, sweetheart. You work too much. Take some time off and have some fun,” my mom pleaded from across the mahogany table.

  “Your mother is right, my dear. You need to stop before you burn out,” my dad reiterated, making me want to throw a tantrum like a two-year-old in hopes that I’d get my way.

  “I’m not taking no for an answer,” Trever McMillian said from the head of the table in the sternest voice I’d ever heard him use. In the ten years I’d worked for the company, I’d never even heard him raise his voice.

  I went to object, but he cut his eyes at me and I instantly shut my mouth, hanging my head in defeat.

  “Heidi has rearranged your calendar, and you can look at everything when you return. Here’s everything you’ll need for the trip. Please, relax and enjoy. Oh, and I’ve locked you out of the server so you can’t make this a working vacation from your laptop. Your plane leaves in six hours. See you in eight days,” he mocked as he slid from the table and walked out of the glass paned doors, with a sly grin across his lips.

  Letting out a huff, I looked at my family and tried to smile. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself for seven days alone. This should be interesting.

  I grabbed the envelope that Mr. McMillian had slid in front of me and stood to leave. I’d have to rush to make it to the plane in time as it was.

  I kissed the tops of my brother and sister’s heads as I walked around the other end of the table to say goodbye to my parents.

  “You won’t regret this. You’ll come back refreshed and ready to take on the world,” my mom whispered as I wrapped my arms around her neck for a hug.

  “We’ll see,” I replied, shaking my head in disbelief.

  Chapter 2

  I slid the key into the lock of my apartment harder than necessary and pushed the door open once it was unlocked. The whole ride home I cursed the plan of this vacation. People passing by probably thought I was insane, but I didn’t care. I hated this plan. Mostly because I didn’t get a say.

  I tossed my purse on the couch and headed down the hallway to pack my bags. I had approximately two and a half hours before I had to leave, and I had way too much to do to get everything done.

  Sitting my phone down on the nightstand after I sent a text to my boyfriend, Owen, I pulled both of my suitcases out from underneath my queen-size bed. They both bounced on the bed after I threw them down.

  With both cases now open, I went to my dresser and started tossing the necessary items inside. Swimsuits, cover-ups, undergarments, summer attire. None of them were folded. They both looked like they threw up their contents, but it didn’t matter to me. I didn’t want to go on this trip, but knew if I disobeyed my boss, he’d find some other way to make me miserable. And who knows, I could work behind the scenes. Without the damn server. That would serve his ass right. I didn’t even know where I was set to go. I hadn’t even looked inside the envelope.

  Smart move there, Lily.
r />   After adding a few more necessities to the cases, like shoes, I zipped them both up and pulled out their handles so they could be easily moved into the living room.

  Rushing into the bathroom, I grabbed my toiletry bag and threw in everything that I’d possibly need and more just to get this over and done with. I went back into my room and packed the bag into one of the suitcases and put my laptop and a change of clothes into my carry-on bag. With all three bags in hand, I slowly maneuvered my way down the hall, almost falling in the process as I tried to hold everything at once. I sat everything by the door and went to my room to grab my phone and chargers.

  Glancing down at the phone in my hand, I had a message response from Owen which brought a smile to my face. We’d been together for three years. I don’t know how we had lasted this long, but he made the lonely nights bearable just knowing I had him to come back to. His message said he’d be at my place in thirty minutes, and that was ten minutes ago. I only had an hour and a half before I had to leave for the airport, and I wanted to make sure we had time to spend together before I had to walk out of my apartment door, yet again, for another destination.

  I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a trash bag out from underneath the sink and opened the refrigerator to clear out its sparse contents for the items that would go bad while I was gone. Take out boxes and the expired milk filled the bag half full, leaving plenty of room to empty the contents from the bathroom trash can. Once I had emptied everything, I grabbed the other bag from the trash can in the kitchen and walked to the door.

  I walked out of my apartment and took the short walk to the trash shoot, mentally going over everything I’ve completed and what else I needed to do. Only thing that came to mind was to dress in my comfy airplane attire. Yoga capris and a t-shirt. Only way to fly in my opinion.

  With a pep in my step, I walked back into my apartment to be met by Owen. A smile instantly appeared on my face.

  “Hey there, baby,” I said as I walked over to him and threw my arms around his neck.

  He had shaggy brown hair that I loved to run my hands through, and he wasn’t overly taller than my five-foot-seven frame. His chocolate brown eyes reminded me of the color of milk chocolate, and I could get lost in them for hours if time allowed.

  Instead of the passion I was expecting in our greeting, he kissed me on the cheek and pulled out of our embrace.

  I cocked my head and pulled my eyebrows together as I looked at him with the confusion I felt.

  “We need to talk, Lil,” he said as he sat down on my love seat and pointed to the couch for me to follow. Those were five words I wasn’t expecting to hear.

  “What’s this about, Owen?” I asked with concern.

  “I can’t do this anymore. I see my girlfriend, if I’m lucky, ten days a month and not ten consecutive days at that. We’ve been together for three years and I thought we’d be further in this relationship, but we’re not. I want more. I deserve more. I think we need a break to make sure we’re who each other still wants. And if we decide that we do, things need to change,” he put out in the atmosphere before I even registered that we needed to have a serious conversation.

  I knew that he had a point, but he surprised me. Something which I hate. My reaction wasn’t the best of them. But this is what happens when I’m not expecting something of this magnitude.

  “Are you flipping shitting me right now, Owen? I’m about to leave.”

  “Not in the slightest. And that’s the damn point. You’re always leaving or working. When will I come first? This relationship come first?”

  I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped. I knew that he was being serious, however, I’d never seen this side of him before.

  “What’s so funny, Lil?” he asked, frustration bellowing off his voice.

  “I’m not laughing, per say. It’s just that usually this conversation would be reversed.”

  “And therein lies the problem. You don’t take me or us seriously. Never have. Take this week to think long and hard about what and who you want, Lil. I hope you make the right choice,” he said, taking a long look at me before he walked around me and out of my apartment door. The sound of the door shutting harder than normal echoed throughout the apartment and made me jump.

  I didn’t have time to deal with this right now.

  I had a plane to catch. Maybe once we reached full altitude, I’d be able to rationalize what just happened and how I’d fix it, if I wanted to fix it, when I got back.

  I shoved my purse into my carry on and grabbed both of my suitcases, leaving my apartment and my job behind for the next week.

  Here’s to not having fun in the sun.

  Let the non-enjoyment begin.

  Chapter 3

  Flight attendants shouldn’t be so willing to keep bringing the passengers drinks.

  Me in particularly.

  By the time we were halfway through the flight, I felt the effects burning through my veins.

  With each sip of the fruity concoction they kept bringing me, I realized what a bitch I’d been to Owen. He didn’t deserve the way I dismissed him. He didn’t deserve me at all.

  He deserved better.

  Someone who could give him all of herself.

  Not someone who was already married to the love of her life.

  Her job.

  I loved what I did.

  The traveling never burnt me out. If anything, I was addicted to the new places they sent me to. Who wouldn’t want to get paid to visit exotic places and get the lay of the land so that the company she worked for could decide if it was worth setting up one of their luxury hotels in that location? And if they didn’t, I made sure that anyone and everyone who read my blog would want to go there regardless. That’s what Hidden Paradise specialized in. Setting up travel arrangements as well as creating the best experience for their guests who wanted to go to the places of their dreams. They were the definition of dream vacations. They made everyone’s dreams a reality. Especially mine.

  I couldn’t give it up. Not now. Possibly not ever.

  But did I want to give up Owen? Did I even love him?

  Ugh.

  Thinking about this put a damper on the buzz I was enjoying so I decided, yet again, to put him on the back burner and, at least, attempt to enjoy the vacation.

  At least with alcohol running through my veins, I could loosen up enough to try.

  After five drinks, I switched to water. I needed to be able to make it to my hotel room and with another hour and a half to go on the flight, I could only hope that I’d sober up enough to do just that.

  After we landed, I collected my bags and found the gate to where I would take another short flight from Tahiti into Bora Bora. I should’ve paid better attention. This wasn’t like me.

  Damn you Owen for distracting me.

  Apparently, after that short flight, the only way to get to where I was staying was to take a boat. Lord help me. I would never make it to my destination this disoriented.

  Too little too late for that.

  There was no going back now.

  Time to get it together, Lily.

  Twenty minutes later, I boarded the small plane to head to beautiful Bora Bora.

  The flight over I looked out of the window and took in the beautiful mountains below and the crystal blue waters.

  This was the definition of paradise.

  I tried to ease my mind, with no avail.

  Nothing would do that knowing I had to get on a boat.

  They weren’t my thing.

  Flying I could do.

  Boats—not so much.

  I always turned a little green.

  Guess I should’ve told Trevor not to send me to a damn island if that was the case.

  Suck it up, buttercup, I scolded myself as I got off the plane.

  You can do this, Lily. It’s just a boat.

  I collected my bags and headed to the port to see which boat I would have to take to the hotel listed on my paperwork.
r />   Le Meridian.

  Sounded fancy enough.

  “Welcome to Bora Bora. Where are you headed today, beautiful?” a nice-looking gentleman asked.

  I told him my destination, and he let out a whistle.

  “Fancy place. Traveling alone?” he asked as he helped load my bags onto the boat.

  “I’m meeting friends there,” I said, reminding myself of my number one rule to never admit that I traveled alone.

  “Lucky you.”

  I didn’t even take the time to look this place up on the Internet.

  I took a seat on the boat and took deep breaths. Once the boat was loaded with other passengers it roared to life. I felt my stomach lurch, but I kept reminding myself to breathe. Hopefully, this boat ride didn’t take too long.

  When the driver stopped a short while later I realized my mistake.

  I should’ve done a search.

  My breath caught in my throat.

  The hotel wasn’t a hotel.

  It was a damn resort.

  The resort of all resorts.

  Overwater bungalows spanned out for what seemed like forever. This couldn’t be right. Why would Trevor spend this amount of money to send me on a silly vacation? He’d be hearing from me as soon as I found out where I was staying.

  I stepped off the boat, and my stomach instantly felt better. Sealegs weren’t for me. Nothing sea related was for me.

  The beach I could do. That was land. Rocking in the ocean—not so much.

  I checked in easily enough, and the attendant called someone over to help me with my bags and told me she hoped I enjoyed my stay. I didn’t know about that. Nothing about this trip made any sense to me.