“We can move up the wedding,” he said, and she pulled away from him.
“No,” she said shaking her head. “No.”
“But we were supposed to move into our new place together and begin our new life together…” Kyle started, and she shook her head.
“We will do this right. When you come back,” she said in a soft voice. She held the side of his cheek and shrugged. “I want you to be at ease with everything. And I want us to do everything the way we had planned it. I don’t want to rush it.”
“I understand that though I already got a great place for us at Fort Meade. A great three bedroom, two and a half baths…perfect to start our little family in.”
She shook her head.
“No,” she said. “I will wait. I will wait right here in this apartment until you come back and then we can move into our new place. Together.”
He looked into her eyes for a long minute before he nodded. She was adamant. And he knew better than anyone not to try to argue with her. She had made up her mind and there was no changing it.
“Okay, we will move into our new place. Together,” he said before he kissed her softly. “Meanwhile, you are going to keep my tux safe for me?”
She smiled and nodded.
“Of course,” she said in a soft voice, trying hard not to cry.
Little did she know at the time that he had made a promise that would never come to fruition. And in two weeks, her world crumbled around her. In two weeks, the dream of the spring wedding she had been hoping for was shattered by one simple knock on the door. A knock that changed her life forever. The same knock she had been praying she never got in her life, but as soon as she opened the door and saw the two military personnel standing outside her door, she knew almost immediately what was going on. She could feel her strength failing her as she leaned against the door. The man was speaking, but she could not really hear him. After he said that Kyle’s Humvee had been attacked by rebels as they escorted aid workers who were taking food and medicine to a camp, she could not really hear anymore. Or rather, she was trying to listen to him as much as she could, but she just couldn’t hear anything he was saying. Her heart was racing as she stood there receiving the news that the man she loved so much was no more. That the man she loved with all her heart had been blown into a million pieces and she could never even see him again because there was nothing really to see since Kyle had literally been reduced to pieces. He’d had to be identified using DNA because there was so little left of him.
And just like that, Natasha’s life had changed. She dealt with her loss the only way she knew how: work. Big Ideas was the only thing that ensured she kept her sanity and the only way she could handle life day after day. But as she lived her life in complete isolation completely buried in her work, dedicating her time only to her clients, she slowly refrained from the life she knew. Refrained from the routine she was used to. She no longer did her morning run or even went to the gym. She no longer made her own meals even though she had never been very good in the kitchen. Her entire life had been reduced to spending all of her time in front of a screen surviving on a whole lot of takeout which led to her going from a perfect hour glass figured woman to the plus size woman she was now. And every single day she woke up, she wished she had the strength to get rid of everything that reminded her of Kyle. But every single time that thought crossed her mind, she felt guilty. Underneath it all, holding on to what was left of her life with Kyle and getting rid of it for her was like a sign that she was giving up even though she knew that she probably should have. After all, it had been so long. And Travis was right. She needed to move on…
As she lay in bed, looking at Kyle’s photo resting on her nightstand, she could not help but hear Travis’ voice in her head. Over and over…and as much as she hated to admit it, she knew one thing for sure. She needed to move on. She needed to know what life was all about. What life held in store for her after Kyle Barlow.
She was still lying in bed the following morning, her eyes fixated on the photo resting on her nightstand like she always did almost on a daily basis when the loud ringing of her phone pierced the tranquility of the room. She reached for the phone and sighed loudly when she saw the office line displayed on the screen.
“Travis,” she said in a groggy voice. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Yes. It is ten in the morning. You are late,” he said in a whisper.
“I am not late. We didn’t have any early morning clients. I checked,” she said. “And I am the CEO of my company, remember? It is almost impossible for me to be late.”
“I know that, Natasha, but the truth is that we need all the work we can get right now and we cannot afford to have any late mornings.”
She took a long deep breath.
“But I only have the one job. Bars and Clefs for America’s Heroes, and I still have plenty of time before that takes off,” she said.
“Well, you better hustle and get up here,” he said, and she pulled herself up to a sitting position.
“Why?” she asked. “Did something happen with the work we have been doing for B-CAH?”
“No…nothing like that, but we have a walk in,” Travis said.
Chapter 3
Matthew still had a headache every single time he thought of his conversation with Missy. And for a moment there, he felt the need to just hire a new publicist. Missy might have been good at her job, but she was a hell of a lot of work. And quite honestly, he didn’t think he was capable of dealing with any more of her drama.
“I should have never had that tequila with her in the first place,” he thought to himself as he sat at his desk, staring at what was now a blank computer screen.
He was trying to figure out what to do when his phone vibrated against the desk and his screen came alive, almost at the same moment. He looked at his phone and sighed when he saw an email from Missy.
Missy.
The name alone annoyed him. That was how much their relationship had changed over the last few months. He had gone from seeing her as the sex symbol he used to know to this woman who just got to him so much he wanted to break something every single time he thought of her. And every time he thought of getting rid of her, all he could think of was the fact that she was a good publicist and those were quite hard to come by, especially those who understood his business and how to sell his business in new exciting avenues. He clicked on the email and sighed again, leaning back in his chair as he ran his fingers through his hair. It was a reminder to settle on a new web designer for his website.
He had already looked through the list she had left on his desk the last time Missy was at his place and was yet to figure out who was the best person to go forward with his work. He took the folder he had set aside and opened it as he drummed his fingers on the desk.
“Big Ideas,” he read in a soft voice as he looked at the folder.
He did not know why, but the name alone was catchy enough to make him forget about the other proposed web designers. He had not really heard of the company but for someone to be brave enough to name their business “Big Ideas” was a pretty brave move, and just like that, he knew who he wanted to work with. And as if everything was all written in the stars, one of his clients recommended the company.
“They don’t just call themselves Big Ideas for nothing, you know,” his friend and client, Al Ferguson, had said to him.
*****
After Travis’ call that morning, Natasha put on a pair of blue jeans and a long loose fitting black top. She then pulled on a pair of black knee-length flat-soled boots before she pulled her curls up to a high ponytail. She brushed her cheeks with some translucent powder before she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The woman she saw staring back at her was a far cry from the woman she had known for so long. She was no longer the curvy size ten woman she used to be. Over the last few years as she buried herself in her work, she had slowly grown to be this plus size woman. A size fourteen or maybe sixteen, and she w
as never one to attend cocktail parties anymore. She had gone from a dress and high heels girl to a flip flops and flat-soled boots kind of girl. And she was happy with who she was. She grabbed a scarf and a coat before she walked out of her apartment. Her mind was working in overdrive as she made her way outside trying to figure out how she was going to handle the new client as well as the other most important account for her at the moment, B-CAH.
By the time she got to the office, it was some twenty minutes later, and Travis was waiting for her at the door.
“Where the hell were you?” Travis asked in a whisper.
“At home…but I am here now,” she said as she took off her coat. “Where is the walk in?”
“He is waiting for you in there,” Travis said, and Natasha nodded.
“Thanks.”
“I got your coffee too. Vanilla and cinnamon. And two more on your desk for our potential client,” he said, and she nodded.
“Thanks, Travis,” she said before she made her way to the room that served as her main office as well as the waiting room. She smiled when she walked in, showing off her dimpled cheek. “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting,” she said when she saw the man seated on the couch.
“Please…don’t apologize. This is completely my fault,” the man said as he stood up. “I should have called ahead, but I just got back home and I am kind of in between assistants.”
She smiled and then laughed.
“Well, that is perfectly fine with me,” she said. “Welcome to Big Ideas. I’m Natasha Bailey.”
“Matthew Leander,” he said as he shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure is all mine,” she said. “Coffee? I have…” She walked to the desk and looked at the extra coffee that Travis had got. “Black, no cream.”
“Sure.”
She picked up the cup and walked up to where he was before sitting down next to him. She could not help but notice his thick mane, his perfectly thick brown mane, and piercing hazel eyes.
“So, what big ideas can we help you come up with here at Big Ideas?” she asked, smiling, and Matthew smiled back.
“Well, I am a travel blogger and I am looking to get a new website. Something that actually says that I am from this generation,” he started. “The current web page is a little…boring to be honest and as my following grows…” He sighed.
“You need something that will resonate with your following?” she asked, and he nodded.
“Exactly,” he said. “Something that also shows the world that I actually know what a mobile app is.”
“I take it you are also working on an app?” she asked jokingly in a cynical tone, and he smiled.
“Jeez, what gave that away?”
She shrugged. “Let’s just say I am a kind of a genius,” she said.
Matthew smiled. “So, basically what I need is a whole new outlook even though I already have a web page. I would like a complete rebranding process.”
Natasha nodded as she took a sip of her own coffee.
“So, what damage am I looking at?” he asked, and she got up from the couch before walking to her desk. She got a document before she walked back to where he was and handed it to him.
“That details all our services and how much we charge,” she said as Matthew began looking at the document.
He was raising his eyebrow and shaking his head as he skimmed the document.
“You are way…way cheaper than most web designers out there,” he said, and Natasha nodded.
“I just take what I need and move on,” she said.
“But if you love your business…if you are passionate about it, you should at least charge a little more…” He shook his head. “It’s not like anyone would blame you for it or anything but…” His voice trailed off again.
“Trust me, you are not the first person to tell me that,” she said.
“Then maybe this is a sign,” he pointed out, and she laughed before she took a sip of her coffee.
“Maybe.”
“Do you mind if I see a sample of your work?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Sure,” she said as she put her coffee down on the handcrafted coffee table that Travis had made for her earlier that year and pulled her laptop from her bag. She turned it on and took a long deep breath as she switched it on. “So, Mr. Leander…” she started before he shook his head.
“Please, call me Matthew. Mr. Leander is my father,” he said as he took another sip of his coffee.
She smiled at him and nodded.
“Alright, Matthew,” she started. “I don’t want to beat my own drum, but as our business name suggests, we like to push the boundaries. Bring a new experience to each client,” she went on as she showed him samples of some of the websites she had worked on. “You tell us what you are looking for and we do our best to work out what you need to the best of our ability.”
Matthew nodded as he saw some of the samples she was showing her.
“This is good,” he said in a low voice, almost a whisper. “This is really good.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “Oh…I don’t know how that got in there,” she said when the page she had been working for B-CAH suddenly popped up. “That is an ongoing project…” her voice trailed off as she tried closing the window but instead, her screen froze. “Damn it,” she cursed under her breath. “It won’t shut down.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Actually, I love the fact that it won’t shut down…it’s beautiful,” he added, smiling.
She forced a smile and shrugged.
“Thanks…I was not so sure I was making much progress with this,” she said in a soft voice.
“Why?” he asked as he looked up at her. “This is amazing…and is that Bitter Sweet Symphony playing in the background?”
She smiled and nodded.
“Yes, actually. It’s something I am working on for this charity event to raise money for the military…or rather for stuff that will give them a feel of home while they are still deployed. You know, concerts and everything.”
“Whoa, that’s beautiful,” he said in a soft voice, and she nodded.
“Yeah. I’m working on this website…It’s going to be a concert…Bars and Clefs for America’s Heroes.”
“That sounds great,” he said. “Beautiful job so far.”
She smiled.
“I looped in the instrumental. Are you a fan of The Verve?” Natasha asked.
He nodded.
“Oh, yeah,” he said almost too excitedly. “I’m a big rock fan. Through and through.”
“Through and through?” she echoed, and he nodded.
“Through and through. From The Beatles, right down to the newest kids on the block…such as Snow Patrol,” he said, and she smiled.
“Snow Patrol is not exactly a new band. They are probably what?” She bit her lip. “Twenty five years or something?”
“Fine. Then, Thirty Seconds to Mars?” he asked, and she smiled.
“Thirty Seconds to Mars are actually older than Snow Patrol,” she said matter of factly.
Matthew looked at her for a long time and smiled.
“I respect a woman who knows and understand her rock.”
“Matthew Leander, did you just compliment me?” she asked, and Matthew nodded.
“Yes, Natasha Bailey. I just did,” he said and took another sip of his coffee.
“Well, thank you,” she said just as her screen suddenly went black seconds before her computer’s logo displayed on the screen. “I really need to get this checked out. I might be overworking my laptop or something.”
“Maybe it is just all the great rock music,” he said smiling, and she looked at him, a smile on her lips.
“Maybe.”
He took another sip of his coffee as she put her laptop aside.
“You know what, you convinced me. You have indeed lived up to your name.” He took another sip of his coffee. “You do have some pretty Big Ideas.”
She
looked at him and smiled.
“Well, we try to deliver what we advertise,” she pointed out.
“Well, I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with for Matt the Nomad,” he said, and she nodded.
“I’ll need your email address so that Travis can send you all the relevant documents,” she said, and he nodded.
“When do you think we can talk about this?” he asked.
“I can come up with a concept as soon as tonight,” she said matter of factly.
“So, would it be too soon to ask to meet tomorrow?” he asked. “For lunch maybe? The Waterfront Marble Arch Hotel?”
She took a long deep breath. It was unconventional of her to meet her clients, let alone go for lunch with them. Usually, Natasha ran her business much like an outsourcing firm. She hardly ever got to meet her clients. Actually, she never got to meet them at all. She always did all her correspondence via email, and if and when she needed to talk to them, Skype and conference calls always made sense to her. And for a moment there, she was tempted to decline, but suddenly, she did not seem to be able to speak.
“So, what do you say to lunch?” he asked. “I hear the chef there does wonders with salmon. It is, in fact, his signature dish.”
She bit her lower lip and tried hard to say no, but to her surprise, she found herself nodding. She did not know why, but it was happening. She was agreeing to his proposition.
“Sure,” she said in a soft voice. “We can actually just go over the web design together and maybe even handle the paperwork then rather than have it sent to you.”
“Great,” he said as he smiled at her. “So, say twelve thirty?”
She nodded. “I will see you there.”
“Alright,” he said in a soft voice as he looked into her eyes. “It’s a date.”
She felt her heart skip a beat as he began walking out of the office. She could feel her cheeks flushed as she looked at him. She didn’t know what it was about him…but there was something there, she had to admit. She gasped silently when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at her.
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