Hiring Mr. Darcy - Valerie Bowman Page 0,45
me. Let alone what they’d think of me at Everton.”
Jeremy frowned. “Who cares about all that? I say do what you want. Do what you love. That’s the key to happiness in this life, if you ask me. It’s why I quit a cushy six-figure job to become a woodworker.”
“What?” My mouth fell open. This was the first I’d heard of his prior career. Luke had mentioned it, but I hadn’t paid close attention. “What did you use to do?”
“I was a structural engineer. Like Luke. I worked in Silicon Valley too. We both got jobs out of Stanford.”
How in the name of Hades had I missed the fact that Jeremy had been a classmate of Luke’s at Stanford?
“You went to Stanford with Luke?” I leaned against the high table and stared at him.
“Yeah, in high school we were ridiculously competitive. Bet each other we couldn’t get into Stanford’s engineering program.”
“And you both did?”
Jeremy leaned against the other side of the table. “Yep. Graduated with honors to boot.”
“Just like Luke,” I breathed. “So, you were with him when he decided to give up his cushy six-figure job to start a band.”
“Yep, sorry to say I can’t sing or play a guitar,” Jeremy laughed. “But we got real drunk on Luke’s thirtieth birthday and had a long talk into the wee hours of the morning about working for the Man and being happy in life. We both decided that night that we didn’t want to spend one more day doing something our hearts weren’t really in.”
“So you both quit and followed your dreams?” I remembered all of this now. At least I remembered Luke’s part of it. Mom and Dad and I had desperately tried to talk Luke into getting his job back because he hadn’t told any of us he was thinking of quitting before he just upped and did it. It freaked me out royally, but my brother had always had an adventurous streak that had never quite made it to my DNA.
Jeremy glanced around his woodshop with affection. “Yep, my dream just happened to be woodworking. Couldn’t afford the land and shop out in the Silicon Valley, so we both came back here. Luckily, I had purchased a condo out there and sold it for a mint. The real estate market was insane there at the time.”
“I’ve heard it’s pretty pricey.” I studied his profile, my brain trying to put the pieces of him together again.
“I was able to pay cash for this place, started my business and built the shop, all while keeping a hefty bit of savings in my account.”
I was just nosy enough to ask. “If you’re sitting on Silicon Valley real estate money, why do you need five thousand dollars for a new band saw?”
He grinned again. “Busted.”
I wrinkled my forehead into a frown. “You don’t need the money?”
“I do. Sort of. I made a deal with myself when I began the business to keep my expenses low and not dip into savings if I didn’t have to. I’ve been trying to pay for everything out of what I earn, so when Luke told me you had a gig paying five Gs, I figured it was a great way to get my band saw and keep my savings intact. I can get the saw sooner now, if that makes you feel better.”
“I didn’t know any of that about you,” I said quietly, feeling like a complete ass. I thought about everything he’d just told me for a few seconds. Just how much money was he sitting on? Plus, he made a good point about not working for the Man and being happy. I’d thought that was flaky before, but the way he explained it actually made sense. I mean, here I was, frightened to tell my boss that I was going to compete in a festival. If I worked for myself, I wouldn’t give a toss. It would definitely be freeing. But the thought of not having a regular paycheck scared the crap out of me. Maybe Luke and Jeremy weren’t flakes after all. Maybe they were just...braver than I was. It was a sobering thought.
“That’s because you like to judge books by their covers.” He nudged his shoulder against mine, gently teasing.” You’re more like Mr. Darcy than Lizzy Bennet, you know.”
Chapter 15
Saturday night
It felt like the time Luke and I had been wrestling in the front yard when I was nine, and I tripped and he landed on me. The wind had