The following morning, Laura woke up with the worst hangover. When James took her back to her room the previous night, she took a quick shower and fell asleep. She squinted as she looked out the window from her bed and groaned when the memories from last night came pouring in. She was planning on cutting back on alcohol for the next few weeks after going so hard the previous night. She fell into a daze as she looked at the bright scenery outside the window and remembered what happened when she was alone with James. After leaving the pool, they took the elevator and arrived at the ground floor. She complained that she was hungry, so he went to see if there was any food left and brought some back for her. She ate her food while James, who was sitting on the opposite side, watched her eat. He would even occasionally pick something up and place it in front of her lips. He did it so seriously that she felt a bit embarrassed by his actions. In reality, he was also just drunk, not as much

Breakfast was very lively, and the group of friends ended up spending a long time chatting. Jason and his friends left early because they had plans to attend to, and the others went back to their rooms. Jen and Lucas decided to go take a short walk before they left, and James took Laura with him as well. The two of them lagged further behind the pair of lovebirds as they took in the whole atmosphere of the impeccably maintained garden. “Have you really made up your mind about dating me?” James asked Laura, who had been asking herself whether or not it was okay to hold his hand the entire. “Hm?” Laura asked, not expecting him to ask this. “Our conversation from last night, do you still stand by your words?” James asked and slowed to a stop. Laura also stopped next to him and raised her head to look at his face. His hair was loosely tied at the nape of his neck, combined with the loose white sweater he was wearing. He looked relaxed and easygoing. It was as if he was planning on spen

Movements outside her room woke Laura up. After feeling alert for a while, she relaxed once she determined that it was a familiar noise from the kitchen. She squinted as she clumsily fumbled around her bed to search for her phone. She quickly checked the time and saw that it was 6:30 am. She groaned before pulling the covers over her head. She didn’t understand Rachel at all. Why was she waking up so early even though they were on vacation? She asked herself before continuing to sleep. She only woke up after another two hours and got out of her room. Rachel was drawing on her tablet while enjoying a cup of tea when she heard the door to Laura’s room open. She looked at her half-asleep friend walk towards the kitchen and take out a bottle of water from the fridge and downing it in one go before joining her at the table. Laura rested her chin on her hand as she sleepily watched her friend who had turned her attention back to drawing. “Why are you working during vacation?” Laura asked

Laura seriously went through the contract offer and would occasionally peek at James, who was holding another document in his hand. The contract offer was quite impressive, the terms were generous and she would be treated like an A-lister. “I’m going to sign under one more condition,” Laura said, drawing James’s attention to her. He put down the papers he was holding to give her his attention. “What is it?” James asked her. He wondered whether his team of lawyers rushed the job and forgot something. “My manager has to be you,” Laura said, and smiled at the subtle expression on James’s face. James was already managing his younger brother on top of managing the company. The only reason he took on the job by himself was because Jason would go overboard with his managers. It had taken him years to find staff that could understand and tolerate Jason’s antics, but the manager position was one that only he could fill, seeing as Jason was also on the board of directors. Now, on top of all

“You are going to drink now?” James asked Laura, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table. “Is that a problem?” Laura asked him with a raised eyebrow. James checked the time on his watch to make sure that he was not the strange one here. “You think it’s too early?” Laura asked when she saw him to check the time. “You don’t think it’s early?” James asked her back. It was a little past 1 pm. The only way he would be drinking at this time was as if he was taking a weekend off. “Then I'll drink later in the evening,” Laura said with a smile that made James nervous rather than reassure him. “You can do as you please,” James finally concluded, and Laura’s smile turned into a laugh. “But you’ll have to accompany me later,” Laura said and became silent once the waiter returned with the wine she ordered. “Okay,” James agreed. He didn’t have anything planned for the evening and since he just signed her, they might as well celebrate. “Really? Hey, I won’t be drinking anymore,” La