Recharged

by Lulu Pratt

“What!” she screams. “You met a guy and didn’t tell me? I thought I was your best friend and you’re over there keeping secrets!”

  “It’s not like you think,” I say. “I haven’t been seeing him very long, so there’s really not much to tell. We’re still getting to know each other, you know how that goes. Slow and steady wins the race, right?”

  “Bullshit,” Rachel huffs. “Don’t you dare think you’re going to blow smoke up my ass and downplay this situation. I’ve known you long enough to know when there’s more to a story than that. For whatever reason, you always start avoiding me when you really like someone. It’s not like I’m going to run a background check on him or something.”

  I roll my eyes and find a comfortable storytelling position. “Right, like you did the last time?”

  “In my defense,” Rachel begins, “Eric was awful and he deserved to have someone poking around in his background. You should be thanking me for helping you dodge that bullet.”

  “Thank you,” I say with sarcasm. “I don’t think that will be necessary with this one, though.”

  “Go on,” she says intrigued. “Tell me everything.”

  “Well, I met this guy outside my building and he asked me out. I figured I’d give it a shot and go on a date instead of staying home reading. So far, all the dates have been great and I’m just having a little fun.”

  There. Short, sweet and to the point. I didn’t even have to lie. I was just very selective about which details were necessary.

  “Nope,” says Rachel. “That’s not enough backstory. I know there’s more. What’s his name? Where does he work? Does he have kids? Send me a picture, I know you have one.”

  There’s the Rachel I know and love. This is exactly what I have been avoiding, and a small part of me feels justified in my decision to keep the details under wraps.

  “His name is Asher, he owns his own business, he doesn’t have kids and I absolutely will not send you a picture of him,” I say, carefully measuring everything I say so as not to reveal too much.

  “Damn it, Jade,” she snaps. “None of that is interesting. Where are the juicy bits? Why all the secrecy? Oh my goodness… is he married? That’s it, isn’t it? You’re keeping a low profile because he’s married, aren’t you? I totally understand, but c’mon, you can tell me, you know I won’t say anything, and I certainly won’t judge you.”

  I groan loudly into the phone. “He is not married, and you know me well enough to know I’d never share a man,” I remind her. “I’m not being secretive, I’m being private for the time being. If we get serious, I promise you’ll be the first person I call.”

  “Fine,” she finally says. “I’m going to hold you to that, but based on your behavior and the fact that you have completely blown me off for this guy for weeks, I’d say you’re heading to serious street.”

  “Right now we’re just circling the block and having a little fun,” I say.

  Jacob squirms around in his seat and I know that’s the beginning stage of his waking up process.

  “Listen, I’m at the zoo with Jacob and there are a few more exhibits I want to see before we head back home.”

  “All right, Jade. You take care of yourself and don’t scare me with another disappearing act. The very least you can do is respond to my text messages,” says Rachel. “Or next time I’ll show up with the SWAT team at that swanky place you live.”

  “I promise to do better about returning your calls, especially since I know you’re serious about the SWAT team,” I giggle. “Talk to you later, bye.”

  I end the call and shove the phone back into my pocket. Jacob is awake and squirming now, staring at me with those intense green eyes of his.

  “Why hello, sleepyhead,” I say, rising to my feet. “Now that you’re up, let’s go see some animals before it gets too dark.”

  I ruffle his hair and head to the elephant exhibit. As soon as I turn the corner, the beautiful animals come into view. I pull the stroller to the fenced-in compound and kneel next to Jacob.

  “Let’s get you out of this thing so you can see, buddy,” I say, unhooking his straps.

  Hoisting him into the air, I hold him against my hip. “Look Jacob,” I say, pointing to the elephants through the fence.

  He excitedly blows spit bubbles and bounces up and down as soon as he spots them.

  I’m lucky he’s such a good baby. It doesn’t take much to keep this kid happy, and that smile is the greatest reward.

  My phone rings again and I reach into my pocket to grab it.

  I need to assign Asher a special ringtone so I can stop getting my hopes up for nothing.

  “It’s your mommy calling, let’s see what she wants.”

  “Hello?”

  While I’m sure it’s Magdalene’s voice on the other end of the line, I can’t make out what she’s saying. I ease Jacob back into the stroller so I can free up my other hand, and give my undivided attention to the phone call.

  “Slow down, Magdalene, I can’t understand you,” I say.

  What I do understand is that she’s sobbing and completely incoherent.

  “Take a few deep breaths,” I coach her.

  There’s a break in the crying for a moment and I try yet again to figure out what’s going on.

  “Now, slowly, tell me what’s wrong. Why are you so upset?”

  “Heath and I just had a fight,” says Magdalene.

  Okay, what else is new? You could have waited for me to come home to tell me that.

  “Is everything okay?” I ask, feigning interest and concern.

  “He threatened to take the condo away. I’m going to lose everything and be out on the street!” she cries, starting to sob again.

  Shit. Things must have gotten heated for him to threaten to take the condo away. He usually doesn’t go that far.

  “Wow! What happened to make him say something like that?”

  “That’s just it,” she says. “Nothing happened. One minute everything was fine and the next he was trying to pick a fight with me for no reason. I think he wants to put me out just so he can move another woman in here. I’m not sure if I told you, but I found lipstick on his collar a few days ago.”

  Here we go again. Of course, you found lipstick on his collar. You would probably find lipstick on all his collars if he brought you around more often.

  “I’m sure it’s not that,” I say, trying to soften the blow. “He wouldn’t take away the only home Jacob has ever known. He was probably just upset and saying things out of anger.”

  Magdalene wails into the phone, becoming incoherent again.

  “You don’t understand,” she says. “I think this is it. I think he’s looking for a way to end things with me. I can’t lose Heath, he’s all I have left, and I can’t make it without him. Jade, what am I going to do?”

  I am the wrong person to ask about this kind of thing, but how can I tell my boss I’m useless?

  “Um,” I consider instead. “Well, first things first, I think you should calm down. Next, you should talk to Heath and try to get some clarification about what happened. If I don’t know anything else, I know Heath loves Jacob and wouldn’t have him in an unstable situation.”

  Magdalene sniffles for a few seconds before responding. “You’re right. I’m going to get dressed and go over there.”

  That is NOT what I said.

  “Okay, well, we’re still at the zoo, but we’ll be home shortly,” I say.

  “That sounds fine,” she says. “Give Jacob my love.”

  We end the call and I’m left staring at my phone in disbelief. Watching Magdalene go through hell is what makes me regularly second guess my relationship with Asher. I feel bad for her. Actually, I feel bad that her self-esteem is so low that she thinks she deserves to be treated this way. I’m confident she’s not all that concerned about losing the relationship, and is instead more upset at the possibility of losing her lifestyle.

  Heath’s money offers a level of comfort that most men won
’t be able to match, but maybe she’ll finally be able to find somebody who truly likes her. I know that Heath usually means what he says, and he probably will end up taking the condo away if she’s not careful.

  I’m going to end up on the streets and without a job all because those two are completely dysfunctional. I wouldn’t be surprised if Heath gives her an eviction notice and sends over a moving truck.

  If he does put Magdalene out and ends up firing me, I’ll just use this as the push I need to go to culinary school. I guess that’s the upside to all the madness.

  Jacob coos loudly, banging on the tray in front him. He’s the real victim in this whole situation. Stuck in the middle of two parents and the chaos that comes along with them. He’s an innocent baby held hostage by their immaturity.

  “Poor kid,” I whisper to myself.

  I sigh and begin walking to the exit trying to mentally prepare myself for whatever the ultimate outcome is. I stretch my arms wide, loosening my muscles before taking another deep breath. Magdalene popping up on Heath, especially when he didn’t send for her, never ends well. In fact, that may be what tips him over the edge enough to make good on his threat.

  Working for these people is stressing me out.

  What I need is a good release, and nothing does that better than an evening with Asher. Hopefully we can get together soon, because I need to vent, and then afterwards he can work his magic and take my mind off things.

  I pull out my phone so I can call the driver to return us home.

  Magdalene is going to get her heart smashed into tiny pieces and I’ll be there to soothe her with grilled sandwiches, chocolate and lots and lots of wine.

  Maybe I should dust off my resume… just in case.

  Chapter 20

  ASHER

  Standing in front of the large window in my high-rise office, I stare out at the city, focusing on nothing in particular. There are a million things I should be doing right now, taking calls, reading emails or reviewing the proposals sitting on my desk. In all honesty, I can’t bring myself to focus on anything. Jade is dominating my thoughts, rendering me useless as far as making sound business decisions is concerned.

  I’ve been brainstorming different ways to gently reveal a secret I’ve been keeping from her, but there’s no good way to tell her. Maybe I’ll finally be able to breathe again once I get this off my chest.

  Will she hate me? What if she never wants to speak to me again?

  I should have told her the truth the day she confronted me in the park. I’ve never cared so much about a woman’s feelings before, and now here I am agonizing over the best way to ensure I don’t hurt her too badly. Damn it, I should have told her that same day. Telling her now makes me look guilty and I don’t want her jumping to the wrong conclusions.

  I’m the idiot who said we should start fresh, but then proceeded to continue seeing Jade knowing I wasn’t being completely honest. Honesty is key, but I’m nervous that too much honesty will ruin this relationship.

  I should be the one to tell her everything before she hears it elsewhere, because if somebody else breaks it to her she’ll likely hate me forever.

  “Knock, knock,” says Amelia. “I have a few things that need your attention. Are you busy right now?”

  I turn around to face her and see she holds yet another stack of papers in her hands.

  “No,” I say heading back to my desk. “Have a seat.”

  As she walks over to sit down, I notice her previously tight skirt is hanging on to her hips with a hope and a prayer.

  “Are you still using the fitness tips I gave you?” I ask.

  She plops down in the chair and drops the stack of papers on my desk.

  “Absolutely, with my anniversary coming up, I want to be ready for all the time I plan to spend in my bikini on the beach,” she says.

  “I almost forgot about your vacation. Believe me when I say it is well-deserved, but I don’t know how we’re going to make it without you. You’re really the glue that holds this place together,” I say.

  “I know,” she says, “but if you’ll just listen to reason and let me take my work phone and laptop, I’m sure I’ll be able to help keep this place going.”

  “Absolutely not. I want this office completely forgotten. Focus on keeping sand out of your suitcase and which lobster to have for dinner,” I say.

  Amelia’s dedication to her job is one of the many reasons we work so well together, but I refuse to ruin her vacation.

  “Fine,” she says. “I’m going to keep working you down until I change your mind, though. In the meantime, let’s jump right into the schedule changes we need to go over for today. Oh, and I have these documents that need your signature immediately. I have to get them sent back before the end of business today.”

  I take out a notepad and get comfortable, knowing from experience this is going to take a while. Usually Amelia just sends the schedule changes to my phone, but she gives me a personal visit when the changes are overly important. Major money deals require my immediate attention and an in-person meeting to approve the financial transfers. I prefer doing things this way so the buck stops with me, and if anything detrimental happens, the fault is completely mine. The last thing I need is a loophole or slip-up that will cost me millions of dollars happening without my knowledge.

  “Mr. Tanaka is waiting for you to sign those documents he sent over yesterday. Please, let’s do this right now because his incessant phone calls are getting on my nerves,” she says before handing me several papers with neon labeled tags where I need to sign.

  “Gillian Hallows needs these back signed and notarized today, and I also need your authorization to release the two hundred and fifty million to her.”

  I nod, take notes, sign several documents and then nod some more. I’m so zoned out and focused on the task at hand that I don’t notice the long break of silence.

  Amelia loudly clears her throat. “Are you okay, boss?” she asks.

  I look up from my notepad and study her for a moment. A motherly look of concern with a furrowed brow is plastered all over her face. I struggle to keep my own face neutral as I answer her question.

  “Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”

  She folds her arms across her chest and leans forward. “For starters, you come in here some days practically skipping around the office. I get nervous you’ll eventually burst out into song and dance or something, but then other days you seem so distant and spaced out. Those days are when I worry about you, and today is no exception. It’s like you’re here, and then suddenly you’re not. I’ve never seen you like this before, not even during your wild Asher Jordan party days.”

  I smile, leaning back in my chair. Leave it to Amelia to notice everything and have zero reservations about bringing it to my attention.

  “It’s true, I’ve had a lot on my mind lately,” I say. “You know how that goes.”

  She lifts one pencil-thin eyebrow and twists her lips to the side. “You always have something on your mind. You’re the king of multitasking, so that can’t be it. What else is going on?”

  Maybe getting a woman’s opinion will help me figure out the best way to handle my Jade situation.

  “I’m dealing with some issues involving a woman in my personal life and I’m not exactly sure what to do about it. If Evan was keeping a secret from you—”

  Amelia closes her eyes and holds up her hands. “I don’t need to hear the rest,” she says with certainty. “If my husband is keeping anything from me he better be diligent about keeping it away from me forever, which I know he’s not capable of, or he better be smart enough to go ahead and tell me, because in the end there will be hell to pay if I find out on my own or through another person. Honestly, that’s one of the worst kinds of betrayals. Nobody wants to hear sensitive information from an outside source.”

  I drop my head and sigh. “I figured you would say that.”

  “Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m right, and you k
now it,” she says. “Take it from me, whatever it is, go ahead and tell her now rather than later. You don’t want to sit on whatever it is for too long, because sometimes these things have a habit of slipping away from us, and you do not want that to happen.”

  She gets to her feet and gathers the mountain of papers I’ve just signed. “Before I forget, a pair of tickets to that art exhibit downtown was left at my desk for you. I know you don’t usually want to go to things like that, but I figured I would still ask before I hand them off to someone else.”

  “Actually…” I say, “I do want them. They may help break the news I’ve been hiding.”

  Amelia shakes her head as she walks out the door. “Good luck with that, boss. I’ll leave the tickets on my desk for you.”

  As soon as she leaves I cross the room and close the door before calling Jade to tell her about the tickets. The phone barely rings once before her sweet voice comes through the line.

  “Hello beautiful, did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “No, Jacob is down for his nap and I’m taking out a few things for dinner. How are you today?”

  “I’m perfect now that I’ve heard your voice,” I say. “These little breaks help get me through the day.”

  “Aww,” she says. “I feel the same way. Every time the phone rings, I hope it’s you on the other end. Are you working late again tonight?”

  I walk back over to the window and lean against it. “Yes, I’m working late tonight to clear my schedule for tomorrow. I have two tickets for an art exhibit that’s in town and I’m hoping you can get free. I know it’s not your regular day off, but I’m wishing on a star right now.”

  “You just might be in luck. Ever since her huge fight with Heath, Magdalene’s been spending a lot more time at home so she may be willing to let me switch my off days if I ask nicely. I’ll double check with her to make sure it’s okay and let you know.”

  “That sounds perfect,” I say.

  “Do you know what kind of art exhibit it is?”

  “There are different kinds?” I ask. “I figured we’d go to the gallery, see some paintings, a few sculptures.”