California Bored and Tourism Read online

  CALIFORNIA BORED AND TOURISM

  Rhonda Laurel

  Mainstream Romance

  Sweet Cravings Publishing

  www.sweetcravingspublishing.com

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright 2013 © Rhonda Laurel

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  A Sweet Cravings Publishing Book

  Mainstream Romance

  California Bored and Tourism

  Copyright © 2013 Rhonda Laurel

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-61885-787-3

  First E-book Publication: July 2013

  Cover design by Dawné Dominique

  Edited by T. Hayes

  Proofread by Renee Waring

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Secret Cravings Publishing

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

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  DEDICATION

  To Faith and Nick, thanks for showing me the wonders of California.

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  CALIFORNIA BORED AND TOURISM

  Rhonda Laurel

  Copyright © 2013

  Faith Travers looked around, wondering if she would miss the lavish décor of the executive conference room. An emergency meeting had the entire department speculating that the axe, threatening to fall since last September, was finally going to make its appearance. To an extent, she felt prepared. These days, the corporate life span lasted as long as a spray tan. When she started her faceless position nineteen months ago, she was the victim of a sudden career change at that time too. Now, she was being ushered out of this job.

  As everyone sat nervously in their seats, Faith sat back and watched the reactions unfolding around the room. Gladys, who mentioned retirement a few weeks ago, wore a wide, pearly tooth smile. Alfred, whose wife just had a baby, was gripping his cinnamon bagel so hard the raisins were popping out. The rest of the attendees looked like it hadn’t sunk in yet. She always wondered about people who nestled into jobs for twenty or thirty years. Sure, there was security in it but where was the challenge? Life was constantly moving, and to assume in this day and age that no one would feel the effect of the fast paced world we lived in was unfathomable to her.

  Ah, the Red Folder Bandit arrived. Well, it was actually Patty from Human Resources, nicknamed the Red Folder Bandit because every time someone saw her with those folders, twenty people would mysteriously disappear by the end of the day. People feared Patty, but Faith felt sorry for her. She was a nice lady and many had even attended the big barbeques at her home, but the reality was that the law of the jungle prevailed in the corporate sphere--kill or be killed. Patty’s alternative was to end up fired too if she didn’t feel she had the stomach to do the company’s bidding.

  After a grimace from a weary Patty, the meeting began with the obvious…the company was downsizing in an attempt to stay afloat. Faith felt like someone just blew a bullhorn in her ear and a headache set in. She wasn’t that torn up about the job going away but it was lousy timing. She had a glorious vacation to sunny Hollywood, California scheduled with her friends next month.

  Patty could have been speaking Mandarin for all she cared. A ten-day vacation to Hollywood was the last thing Faith should be thinking about. Could she get her money back? She’d paid it in full almost two months ago. Would it be rude if she sent a quick text to her travel buddy, Kendra, while the boom was still coming down?

  When the theatrics in the conference room subsided, she’d place a few phone calls and see how she could salvage the California trip
then think about how to salvage the rest of her life.

  * * * *

  Faith held her hand over her cup as the latest bout of turbulence rocked the cabin of the plane. She normally enjoyed evening flights but found it hard to sleep. Her friend, Kendra, sat next to her, sleeping like a finely manicured baby. The trip was non-refundable and even though this sent Faith’s stress level through the roof, Kendra was elated that her master vacation plan didn’t derail. Kendra thought losing a job was the perfect time to take a vacation. As Faith continued to explain her scarce reality, Kendra pooh-poohed the conversation and said to have a little ‘faith’. Pun intended.

  Faith flipped through the tour book she bought at the airport bookstore, trying to focus on something else. In addition to Faith and Princess Kendra, there were ten other women traveling with them—Sandy, Debbie, Cara, Shannon, Jamie, Isabella, Maya, Casey, Daisy, and Lourdes.

  She knew a few of them socially, but the rest were fresh faces. Kendra had everyone excited about the customized tour set up with California Scenic Tours. Apparently, they didn’t normally do that sort of thing, but after a few days of flirting with the manager on the phone, Kendra got what she wanted. She even mentioned that if this guy were as cute as he sounded on the phone, she would find the time to have a vacation fling. Leave it to Kendra to have a man waiting for her when she arrived in a new state.

  Faith glanced around at the sea of pretty girls, all of them waxed, curled, and fluffed within an inch of their lives, and here she was with cactus legs. It had been months since her last trim and she’d need a blow dryer with a nuclear setting to straighten the curls of her ginger locks. She didn’t have manicured and polished nails like the others, she preferred to keep them short to do her gardening. The fresh soil always made her feel renewed and connected with the world around her. That’s what she was hoping for, some kind of connection in California.

  Ever since Kendra put the trip together, dreams of high tides rushing a strange beach and a feeling of serenity plagued her almost nightly. That’s what she needed right now, a big dose of clarity and serenity. She knew it would be a matter of days before her and the Kendra clones clashed, having mentally omitted half the things she saw on the itinerary. She didn’t want to go to the hottest clubs in Hollywood and schlep up and down Rodeo Drive, perusing stores she probably couldn’t afford to sneeze in. She wanted to see palm tree lined streets and get her picture taken in front of the Rose Bowl.

  * * * *

  “Excuse me, Faith? I’m in the middle of giving a tour.” He said through clenched teeth.

  “Well, perhaps if you stop leaving out pertinent information I wouldn’t have to talk.”

  Nick Constantine sighed. Just great, he thought. He always had one on his bus, one who thought they knew more about California than he did. Never mind he’d been giving tours for over ten years and had lived in the state all his life. When he picked the group of twelve women up that morning from their hotel, she was the only one who glared at him as if he’d just stolen her wallet. She’d joined the group late as he stood in the middle of the lobby, acquainting himself with the other ladies. She wandered up after ending a cell phone call and began reading a travel book. Five days was a bit long for a group tour, but Kendra, the leader, had flirted with the manager for over an hour and a custom-made tour materialized from thin air.

  “And the straggler?” He called her out. “Your name is?”

  “Faith.”

  “Good morning, Faith! What a beautiful day and what a beautiful name,” he boasted, determined to kill her with kindness.

  “If you say so. And your name is?”

  “Nick.” He moved through the crowd to shake her hand. “Nick Constantine. I’m your tour guide for the next five days.”

  “Had a little too much coffee this morning, Nick? It’s a little early for all that enthusiasm, isn’t it?”

  “Nope. Just clean California living.”

  “I see.” She went back to her travel book.

  “You know, you’re actually here now, you think you need to keep reading the travel guide?”

  “If I don’t then how will I know if you’ve told me something wrong?” Faith smiled and walked outside.

  * * * *

  Faith cleared her throat, knowing she’d pushed his buttons all day. So what if he had an infectious smile, sandy blond hair, and dimpled cheeks, his cheerful attitude was maddening. Her intention was not to intrude on Dimple’s magical tour of California, but she thought there was more to the state than Hollywood homes and infamous nightclubs. Maybe that’s why most people flocked to Hollywood, to see the glitz, glamour, and infamy flooding television screens daily. One couldn’t help but be curious about how people lived in Hollywood. After a glare from Kendra and Sandy, who were obviously in love with the guy, she decided to make peace.

  “I was just mentioning the J. Paul Getty Museum. Sorry about that.”

  Nick strolled to the back of the tour bus. “Oh, so you like museums?” He grinned.

  “Yes,” she said warily.

  “Then you will love the Getty Museum. Unfortunately, it’s not part of the tour but all of you should go. You may need to call and make reservations for group visits. It’s always busy in there.”

  “Thanks for the info,” she said.

  As he continued to smile, Faith fought the urge to slap his perfect, dimple-cheeked face. This was just another example why someone laid off from her job less than a month ago should have cancelled this vacation. She’d been agitated and sad ever since she stepped off the plane. She’d already paid for the room and airfare but had to put everything else towards paying bills. She protested and informed the group she wouldn’t be the best of company.

  “So does this mean I get the rest of the tour to myself?”

  “Absolutely.” Faith smiled as she dug in her bag for her MP3 player and put the tiny buds in her ears.

  * * * *

  Nick looked at her for a moment in disbelief then slowly turned to work his way back to the front of the bus. Why the hell would someone go on vacation and stay in a bad mood the whole time? He looked in the mirror and saw that she’d closed her eyes in defiance. With her eyes closed, he noticed how young she looked even though he was sure she was in her early thirties. Contrary to her friends wearing skirts, sandals, and pretty hair accessories, she looked like she was ready to scale a mountain. He’d never thrown anyone off his bus but today might set the precedent.

  Nick dropped the ladies off at the Hollywood and Highland Center, allotting two hours to eat lunch and shop. He never tired of telling someone all the things he knew about Hollywood and the great state of California. The tours gave him a sense of fulfillment and something to do when he didn’t feel like being cooped up in the office. He found a good spot, parked, and then noticed Faith sitting on a bench with her eyes closed.

  “Finished your sight seeing early?” he asked as he took a seat next to her.

  She jumped. “You scared the crap out of me!”

  “You should know better than to sit with your eyes closed on a bench in L.A.”

  He took the California guidebook out of her hands and looked it over. “He,” he pointed to one of the names on the cover, “is a good friend of mine.”

  “I won’t hold that against him.”

  “So where are your friends?”

  “Shopping, I think.”

  “And you don’t like shopping?”

  Faith turned and held a hand up. “Before we get into that old chauvinistic debate, why don’t we save ourselves the trouble? If you want to make small talk and engage in low-level flattery, don’t bother. I suggest you try one of my friends who find you oh so adorable with your dimples and your come hither eyes.”

  Come hither eyes? That was a new one.

  “Are you sure you’re immune to the dimples? Women always love my dimples,” Nick said with amusement.

  Faith opened her mouth, her mind seeming to reel with a stinging retort, when the rest of the gro
up showed up. Everyone, full from eating and shopping, were chatting and gazing up at the Hollywood sign. Faith continued to sit on the bench while the others followed Nick.

  “Hey, Happy. Are you coming? We’re on a strict schedule,” he said then smiled.

  Faith joined the group, dragging her feet the whole way.

  After dropping the ladies off, Faith still in resistance mode, he headed back to the office.

  Nick smiled to himself as he cleaned out the bus. Faith decided to remain mute for the rest of the day. To his surprise, he missed her butting in and trying to take over his tour.

  As he made his way to the back of the tour bus he saw her MP3 player on the seat. She probably listens to devil worshipping music. He turned it on and scrolled through her playlist, pleasantly surprised. She had a good reason for ignoring him. Her taste in music was the same as his. He’d call the hotel and leave a message that he’d found it, but tonight it gave him something to do.

  If intimacy could be achieved by listening to someone’s MP3 player, then Nick felt as if he’d known Faith all his life. He listened to her music into the wee hours of the night, looking forward to seeing her the next day so they could continue their sparring match. It was strange to want to know someone who, by first glance, he had nothing in common with, but that’s what he liked about the world, things weren’t always as they seemed and Faith was no exception.