Renee’s phone rang, breaking her concentration, and she grabbed it. “Hello,” she said quickly.
“How are you?”
“What’s up, Treecie? How is Jacques?” Renee answered.
“He’s great. Always wanting to try something new, as usual,” Patrice responded.
Renee was surprised when her sister got married to the very talented Jacques Germain last year. Patrice McClendon Germain was Renee’s older sister and the most vocal of all the McClendon girls. She and her husband Jacques ran the family’s aromatherapy and day spa business.
“Are you coming to Mama’s house so we can plan the Thanksgiving menu?” Patrice asked.
“Yes, I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon,” Renee said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.” She loved being in the kitchen with her family around the holidays.
“It’s going to be a lot of work, cooking for all those folks. We’re going to be tired as hell when all this is over,” Patrice said.
Renee laughed at her sister. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Hell, I know I’m right. We’re going to be working our asses off while everyone else will be sitting on theirs.”
“Treecie, do you have to put it that way?” Renee asked.
“What way is that? The truth?”
Renee giggled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Treecie.”
“Peace out, sissy,” Patrice said before ending the call.
As soon as Renee set the phone down, she heard her cell phone buzzing from inside her purse. She checked the time on the digital clock in her room and it was nine-thirty. Glancing at the caller ID, she didn’t recognize the number, but answered anyway.
“This is Renee,” she said in her most professional voice.
“You still have your professional voice on at almost midnight,” Patrick said.
Renee giggled. “It’s nowhere near midnight, Patrick, and yes, I put on my professional voice because I didn’t recognize your phone number.”
“Well, you can cut it out because it’s only me. I just wanted to confirm our date. You know, make sure you hadn’t changed your mind from earlier.”
“No, Patrick, I haven’t changed my mind.”
“Great. So how did the rest of your day go?”
That was a new one. She couldn’t believe he was interested in her day. “Good. I had a lot of work to do, so it went by fast. Sometimes I don’t think there are enough hours in a day.”
“I know what you mean. I’m on my way in now. I won’t keep you. Have a good night and I’ll see you on Saturday. Pick you up at six.”
“Good night, Patrick.”
* * * * *
The next day, Renee arrived at her mother’s house before anyone else did. Myra McClendon was fifty-six years old and when she went out with her daughters, people were surprised when they found out she was their mother. The vibrant aromatherapist had retired at the same time as her firefighter husband Russell to allow Renee’s sister Patrice to take the reins at the company.
Renee felt she should take this opportunity to talk to her mother about the gala. Her parents hadn’t said very much of anything about it this year, so this would be a great time to get some feedback from her mother concerning how well she thought the planning was going.
Walking through the house, she found her mother sitting in the kitchen sorting through some cookbooks and recipe cards.
“Mama, what are you doing?”
“I pulled out all these books so that you girls can find your dish for the Thanksgiving cook-off.”
“We’re doing that again this year?”
“Of course we are; why wouldn’t we?”
Renee took off her coat and hung it on one of the chairs at the table. “I don’t have a clue what I want to make. But whatever it is, I want it to be dessert,” Renee said as she took her seat.
Myra pushed some of the books and recipe boxes toward her. “Well, I think you should get started before your sisters get here.”
Renee picked up the weathered book that was on the top of the stack. She looked at her mother, who was busy making notes on a notepad. “Mom, how do you think the planning is going for the gala?”
Myra looked over her glasses, then pulled them off her face. “Renee, I know that you’re nervous about this, but don’t be. We’ve done this for so many years that you should be able to do it in your sleep.”
“I just don’t want you and Daddy to be disappointed.”
“Sweetheart, how could we be disappointed with you?”
“Well, you could have easily had Faith chair it. She’s the oldest anyway. I would have understood.”
“To be honest with you, your father and I didn’t even consider handing the event over to Faith.”
Renee squinted her eyes. “Really?”
Myra nodded. “Yes, dear. You’ve got what it takes to see this thing through. Now, I know your sisters will help you, but you’ve got this.”
Renee got up from her chair, wrapped her arms around her mother and squeezed her tight. “Thank you for saying that, Mom,” Renee said.
“Of course,” Myra said. “Now don’t get me wrong, I know that any of my girls could execute it perfectly, but we wanted you.” Myra exhaled. “Now let’s get busy trying to find your recipe.” She picked up a spiral bound book and started thumbing through it.
Renee hadn’t noticed Faith and Jennifer walk in the kitchen.
“What’s wrong with you guys?” Jennifer said, unbuttoning her coat.
“They’re having a moment,” Faith replied, placing her jacket on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.
Renee stood. “Yeah, we were,” she responded before looking down at her mother and giving her a wink.
“I want to know what’s going on,” Jennifer said, pulling one of the recipe books toward herself.
Renee smacked her hand after taking her seat. “We,” Renee said, moving her finger back and forth between herself and her mother, “were having a moment.”
Jennifer curled her lip. “Okay, I see how you guys are. And just to think, I was coming to spill some tea of my own.”
“You know I can’t have you wasting perfectly good tea,” Myra said.
Renee and her sisters burst out laughing.
Faith leaned over and captured her mother’s hand. “Mom, it’s not literal tea.”
Myra’s eyes widened. “What does it mean, then?”
“She’s getting ready to tell us some of her business,” Renee answered.
Myra pushed her chair away from the table and looked at Jennifer. “I knew there was a reason you were over here this early.”
“I wanted to wait until Treecie got here to tell everybody,” Jennifer answered.
Renee glanced at her watch. “If she and Jacques are working on something, there’s is no telling what time she’ll get here.”
Jennifer shook her head. “No, I just spoke to her before I came in; she was just leaving the doctor’s office.”
Everyone else went completely still. Finally, Renee looked at Jennifer whose eyes had widened. “Why was she at the doctor?” Renee asked, her gaze on her mother to gauge her reaction.
“She didn’t say,” Jennifer responded.
Myra adjusted herself in the chair. “Were you getting ready to tell us something about Treecie, Jenn?”
Jennifer frowned and shook her head quickly. “No, Momma, I was just going to tell you guys that I’m having a baby.”
Renee was so happy for her sister, but was concerned about Treecie. When she spoke to Patrice earlier, she’d said nothing about going to the doctor. As she glanced at her mother and Faith, she knew they were just as worried.
After pushing away the negative thoughts that seemed to barrage her, she glanced at Jennifer. The somber expression on her face made Renee realize that nobody had r
esponded to her announcement.
Getting up from her chair, she walked around to her sister and hugged her. “I’m so excited for you, sissy.”
“I guess I should have made my announcement before telling you guys about Treecie.”
Faith leaned over in the chair. “Jenn, we are so happy for you and Simeon.”
Finally, Renee saw her baby sister’s expression change. When their mother opened her arms to Jennifer, she gave them a wide smile.
Renee couldn’t help but glance at her watch again, wondering what was taking Patrice so long to arrive. She hoped that there wasn’t anything seriously wrong with her sister, and couldn’t wait to find out.
Chapter Eight
As the weekend approached, Renee felt herself getting even more excited about her date with Patrick. They spoke briefly each day leading up to their date, mostly Patrick calling her to see how her day was going. That small act impressed Renee and she felt that he was truly being thoughtful.
Friday afternoon, after Renee’s second impromptu meeting, third client call, and last glance at her email, she was ready to leave the office. She’d been working hard and thoughts of being her own boss were becoming more and more appealing with every step—not that she wasn’t happy with her accomplishments at Vine; she’d done very well for herself. Working her way up to Senior Account Supervisor wasn’t a small feat. She didn’t mind the hard work, grueling hours, and occasional missed vacations, but she could be building her own empire instead of working herself to death building one for someone else.
Earlier in the day she’d submitted the creative brief to the beverage company. She felt good about the work her team had put together and hoped it would propel her to the long-awaited promotion to Vice President, which would make going out on her own even more appealing to the clients she’d try to secure. For now, she’d continue gathering her resources, and networking with others in the field.
As she clicked the email icon once more before she shut down the computer, she noticed she had several new messages. Glancing over them quickly, she answered all of them that didn’t require research or input from anyone else. She turned off the computer and cleared off her desk so that she could start her weekend.
With her back to the door, she heard a knock, and turned to see Priscilla Green standing in her doorway.
“Renee, do you have a minute?”
“Priscilla, what can I do for you?”
The look on the woman’s face gave every indication that something had happened, was about to happen, or both. Renee couldn’t tell which it was, but she knew that Priscilla wasn’t her usual cheerful self. Priscilla was one of the strategy team members that oversaw the internship program at Vine. Now the Executive Vice President of Planning and Strategy, Priscilla was easygoing and didn’t micro-manage her team.
Renee always respected her professionalism, knowledge of social media marketing, and personal style. A woman in her mid-fifties, Priscilla was sharp, innovative, and creative. She always knew what to do with tough clients, which helped Renee’s team on more than one occasion.
The first thought Renee had was that the company had already made a decision on the soda project. She prayed that wasn’t the case because she’d just sent in their submission earlier in the day. She smiled as Priscilla took a seat in front of Renee’s desk.
“Priscilla, how are you?”
The woman sighed and crossed her right leg over her left. Smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt, she looked at Renee. “I just got off the phone with the senior vice president over at Porter and Baker.”
Renee knew right away that the news wasn’t going to be good. Priscilla’s tone was somber. Vine had recently pitched to Porter and Baker, a giant in the book world, concerning Phoenix, their new hand-held reading device.
“What’s wrong?”
“They aren’t going to give us the Phoenix account if they have to work with Julia. The VP wants her off the account.”
Renee pressed her lips together, lacing her fingers on top of the desk. Trying not to let her disappointment show, she leaned forward, gathering the right words to express how she felt. She and Julia had worked on that account with a wonderful group of people. They’d come up with a sure-fire campaign for the electronic reading device and app. The product had been struggling with their chief competitor. Vine created a campaign that would not only help them find their target audience, but their niche in the digital e-reading business. Julia had been instrumental in this process.
“You know Julia was the point person and head collaborator with the rest of the group on this. What happened?”
Priscilla got up and closed the door before returning to her seat. Renee was happy that she beat her to it, because the last thing she needed was prying eyes and gossip.
“Listen,” Priscilla began, her voice low. “Renee, it’s not that Julia isn’t brilliant at what she does, it’s her attitude.”
Renee figured that was what she was going to say. There had to be something else going on with Julia, because she was spiraling out of control. “Did the woman give you any examples of her behavior?” Renee could see the questioning look on Priscilla’s face. “Did she say something in particular?”
“She didn’t go into all that, she just wants her gone.”
“So what would you like me to do?”
“I just wanted you to know because you were the presenter on this project. On a personal level, I know that you two are friends. She’s not going to like this, but I’ve got to do it because it’s a big piece of our business.”
Renee looked up at Priscilla. “I understand, and I won’t say anything to anyone if they ask me why she’s no longer on the project.”
Priscilla stood up. “Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me. We’ll need to put someone else in her place. Do you have anyone you’d like to recommend that can get up to speed on the project so we don’t have to waste a lot of time? I don’t want to miss any deadlines. The ship has to continue to run smoothly, even without Julia.”
“I have a couple people in mind, but I won’t talk to them until you let me know that Julia has been notified.”
“Yes, please keep this confidential until then. But be ready to put those folks in right away,” Priscilla said, her hand on the doorknob. “I’ll be in touch with you sometime next week.”
Renee nodded.
“Have a good weekend, Renee,” Priscilla said as she walked out the door.
Sadness washed over Renee as she thought about how hard Julia worked at Vine. For her to be thrown off one of their biggest accounts to-date was a shame. But the more she thought about Julia’s behavior, and knowing her for as long as she had, Renee knew that Priscilla was telling the truth about their client’s wishes.
Looking up at the wall clock, it was time for her to leave. She picked up her purse and set it on the desk before dropping her cell phone inside. She grabbed her belongings and headed out. As she passed the glass wall of Priscilla’s office, Renee could see her and Julia sitting on the sofa talking. Renee was confident that she would hear from Julia before the evening was over.
* * * * *
Patrick had just dropped off his last client at O’Hare Airport. He couldn’t stop thinking about Renee, so he decided to call her. He had been calling her every day since she’d given him her cell phone number. He enjoyed their conversations, which weren’t about any one thing in particular, but they always seemed too short. He knew she still had reservations, but he could also tell she liked talking to him. He reached for his cell phone and dialed her number before he hit the speaker button.
The phone rang three times before she answered.
“Hi, Patrick,” Renee said.
“You sound like you’re out of breath. Is this a bad time?”
“Not at all. I just left the office and was walking to my car. I had to find my phone down in the b
ottom of my purse,” she explained.
“I hadn’t gotten the chance to call you today, so I wanted to take this opportunity to do so,” Patrick said.
“Aw, Patrick, that is so sweet. You’ve called me every day since we had lunch together, so I wouldn’t be angry with you if I hadn’t heard from you today. “
“I’m glad you’re so understanding. I also wanted to tell you how much I’m looking forward to our dinner date tomorrow night.”
At first she didn’t respond, and Patrick wondered if she wanted to cancel. He waited a few seconds for her to say something.
“I’m looking forward to it too.”
Patrick sensed that something else was going on, but he wouldn’t push it. Maybe she would open up to him when they met. “Well, you have a great evening and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Take care, Patrick,” Renee said.
Twenty minutes later, Patrick drove over to the It’s A Stretch offices and pulled into the empty parking space next to his brother’s sleek, gray Mercedes Benz 550. He still needed to meet with Robert concerning the feedback from his survey. Because of the incident with Renee and the bracelet, he hadn’t had a chance to discuss it the other day. Today would be his opportunity if Robert actually came in to work. Robert had a habit of disappearing and leaving his car in the lot.
Patrick got out of the car and went inside.
“Hey, Kathy, is he in his office?” Patrick asked the receptionist.
“Yes, he is, Patrick. Go right on in,” she said cheerfully.
Patrick loved the office staff, and Kathy Winslow had been with the company for many years. She was a dedicated employee who assisted his father in making all the right moves. She was like a mom to him and Robert, especially after their mother Emma passed away. He had even thought she would be a good companion for his father, but as far as Patrick knew, his dad hadn’t been on a date since his mother died.
Patrick strolled into his brother’s office, and the first thing he did was take in the surroundings. He still couldn’t believe how richly decorated the office was, but knowing his brother as he did he wasn’t really surprised. Robert loved the finer things in life and always had the desire to impress people with what he had. Scribbling on a piece of paper, with his head bowed, Patrick knew Robert didn’t hear him come in, so he cleared his throat.
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