Page 15 of Stranded with the Billionaire
“How long have you worked in insurance?” Sterling knew the answer but decided to ask it anyways.
“Since college,” Jake supplied. “It was something I was expected to do.”
“So not your dream job either?” she said dryly.
“No,” Jake frowned and looked at the snow at his feet. He crouched down and cleared away the white stuff to find gravel. “It is a road.”
“Oh good,” Sterling was relieved. This meant that they were making progress. Hopefully they would find some civilization soon, she was so hungry. “If you weren’t in insurance, what would you do?”
“What do you mean?” Jake frowned as he resumed following her.
“What is your dream job?” she enquired.
“I don’t know.”
“How can you not know?” Sterling stopped to look at him. “Everyone has a secret wish that they were doing something else. What would your wish be?”
“I don’t know,” Jake shrugged as he passed her and began plowing through the snow. “I suppose I never let myself think of it. There wasn’t really a point since I knew that I was expected to follow in my father’s footsteps. At some point, he’ll be ready to step down as head of the company and I’ll be expected to take his place.”
“How boring,” Sterling hurried after him. “You’ll never realize your true potential all because of family expectations.”
“What about you? What would you do if you weren’t a flight attendant?” he returned the question. “What’s your dream job?”
“I’d love to be a writer,” Sterling said easily. “I used to want to be a gritty news journalist, going to other countries to discover the truth and write about it to the American people.”
“What happened? Why didn’t you do it?” Jake asked.
“There is a surplus of journalists since the digital age has reduced newspaper readership. Also, most newspapers and online columns are syndicated, that means they only need a handful of people to write,” Sterling shrugged. “It was a difficult job market. I didn’t make the cut.”
“Now you fly to other countries while serving the American people on airplanes,” Jake didn’t think it would really compare.
“My next move is to try to write and publish a book,” Sterling didn’t know why she’d admitted her goal. She supposed Jake was too easy to talk to.
“What about?” Jake was curious.
“Maybe about my life experiences,” she admitted. “Or maybe just a work of fiction. People say I have a flare for the dramatic. It could be fun, and with the indie market exploding, I don’t even have to worry about going through a traditional publisher if I don’t want to.”
“Indie market?” Jake questioned.
“Independent market. Individual people publish, market and sell on their own terms with the help of different digital platforms,” Sterling had been researching the idea more and more lately. However, right now the tabloid paid the bills.
Which meant she should be questioning Jake, not the other way around.
“Sometimes they say that you should turn your vacation into your vocation,” Sterling remarked. “Since you don’t know what your dream job would be, what do you enjoy doing?”
Jake shrugged. “I golf. Mostly, that’s for business.”
“What else?” Sterling asked. How dull if all he did was business and golfing.
“I like to cook,” Jake confessed.
“Like barbeque? Or boil some soup?” she puffed as she tried to keep up to his long strides. Sterling wasn’t exactly in the worst shape, she did do a lot of cardio, running after people and sources. However, she also enjoyed a little junk food, she had to admit.
“Like full on I know my way around a kitchen cook,” he clarified. “I’ve taken classes when I have time. I make a mean brownie.”
“Brownies,” just the word made her mouth salivate.
“I always thought it would be neat to go on one of those cooking shows on the cooking channel,” Jake mused.
