Playboy Heir

by Brandy Munroe

  During my conversation with Leona I realized I did not need a personal assistant, I needed someone with more PR skills or marketing skills. I needed someone who could rebrand me into the market. I also wanted to know how to I could contribute to the community without coming off as fake.

  Leona's face brightened. "You really mean that?” she asked.

  "Of course, do you have something in mind?"

  Leona proceeded to explain how Haley's ex bailed on his son's soccer team and if they didn't have a coach by Saturday's game there would be no soccer for Peyton. Then she confessed that Haley would kill her if she found out she said anything about it. She also told me about how Haley used her education money, expecting Brad to pay it back.

  "If you really want to help the community,” Leona interjected, “you could sponsor the whole team. Most of the players come from low income families and it would be a nice gesture. You could get Van de Graaf to sponsor the team, new uniforms with the logos on them, invite a few media to take pictures of you coaching the team, everybody wins. That is, of course, if you actually like kids and can handle this," she said while tossing back her third chocolate martini.

  I knew Leona was right, this could really work toward my redemption. What was really going to shock them was that while I was licking my wounds over the book, I spent a lot of time with my sister in Vermont. While I was there I helped my brother-in-law coach soccer at the local community youth center.

  "Who do I need to contact to make it happen?" I asked Leona. She gladly gave me the information I needed.

  I decided to have a little fun with Leona. "Hot soccer moms would just be one of the side benefits," I whispered from across the table.

  "Sex is off the table, Aleksander, do you hear me?" She leaned in so she would not be heard by the other customers.

  "Is your niece on the team? Are you one of those soccer moms?" I couldn’t help myself from teasing her.

  For a second I thought Leona was going to jump across the table and cut me with her steak knife.

  "Not me, you idiot. Haley. Sex is off the table where Haley is concerned."

  "Shoe girl," I stammered, confused. I was sure I kept my emotions in check. Was she suspicious of my deep rooted desire?

  "Haley," Leona spit out. "Her name is Haley."

  "Okay, I have no intention of seducing Haley.” Liar, my inside voice mocked me. “I was trying to make a joke; you know, the hot coach, hot soccer mom cliche." I felt I needed to explain myself.

  Once again I heard Leona's need to express her overbearing protection for Haley. "Hand's off where Haley is concerned, Manly."

  I couldn't help but think this jab had something to do with today's tabloid article. I assured Leona that the last thing I was looking for was any entanglement with anyone. This venture was too important and I learned my lesson the hard way not to let personal feelings dictate business.

  I would talk to Richard about sponsoring the soccer team. If the company wouldn't, then I would pay for it myself. I was sure we passed a T-shirt shop on the way to the restaurant. The kind that boasted ready in one hour. By tomorrow I should know how many kids on the team and what age group. Then I could go into the T-shirt shop and order at least one shirt per child for Saturday.

  Van de Graaf did not produce sport shoes, but they would have some connection to a manufacturer who would help me with soccer cleats, I hoped. Yes, this was going to be a positive start to my new life, and with the right assistant, my new image.

  As promised, I drove Leona home and kept the mood light with mundane chatter about her parents, niece and boyfriend. Leona said she got lonely sometimes because Shawn was at sea a lot being in the Navy. She also admitted she like not having to answer to anyone on a regular basis. The relationship worked, for now.

  As she was getting out of the car she stuck her head inside the driver's side window, kissed me on the cheek and apologized for throwing my past at me. She explained that she sometimes got a little over-protective of Haley and thought of her more like a sister and friend than co-worker.

  "You don't have to worry about me and Shoe Girl," I assured her. " I am not into uptight soccer moms." We both laughed as I drove away.

  I wished Leona had not dangled the forbidden fruit in front of me. Manly would have taken that as a challenge. Aleksander, he was a changed man. Of course I could keep my hand off Shoe Girl.

  Who was I trying to convince? Leona or myself?

  Chapter 10

  Haley

  Waiting for Leona to showed up for work the next day, I began to work on spring displays. I loved working with bright colors and had a flare for pairing totally contrasting accessories with basic pumps. I needed to do busy work when I was impatient.

  Today I was definitely impatiently waiting to grill Leona on what was discussed with Aleksander at dinner. Could it have anything to do with the ideas for an expansion on the men's line, or was it personal like Aleksander had said?

  Leona's hand went up as soon as she entered The Boutique, code for do not even talk to me until I have had my coffee. Wednesday's were Leona's late days — she like to use this day to catch up on paperwork.

  She emerged from the office about an hour later. She approached me and let me know before I even asked that at no time did they discuss anything to do with The Boutique. The only work talk was about Aleksander needing an assistant. Most of the evening was about how he could integrate himself into the community and about what neighborhood would best suit him.

  I was a little bummed that there was no indication of what would be coming next for all of us. I knew changes like that did not happen overnight and there would have to be a lot of planning.

  I was itching to ask if he had asked about me. There was no way to start that conversation without explaining my sudden fascination with Mr. Tall, Dark and Brooding.

  There was a steady flow of customers so the conversation kept getting interrupted. Leona was right about new faces wanting to come in and see what made The Boutique different than just another shoe store.

  Leona came over and asked me to deal with Miss I am better than you. This was the second time this week Caroline had visited The Boutique. Was she trying to return to Van de Graaf now that there was fresh blood in the CEO pool? It made sense that Caroline might want to see what the new Van de Graaf would look like.

  It was a question that both Leona and I had been wondering about as well. Where would everyone fit in, and what was this rebranding they kept talking about? How far did Richard and Aleksander want to push it?

  I approached Caroline and was very professional with her, no matter how much I disliked the woman for the way she always tried to belittle Leona every chance she got.

  She admitted that she was hoping to run into Richard. She had come here Monday to see him when she was told by Sindy that he was at The Boutique. What she hadn't been expecting was a press conference and major announcement.

  Caroline did not give any clue as to why she was looking for Richard, just that she did not want to be seen going into the Van de Graaf main office. I could only assume that she was jumping ship but did not want her current employer to know about it until she got a confirmed offer from Richard. Not getting what she came for, Caroline left dissatisfied.

  I repeated the conversation to Leona and asked her take on it. "Don't take this the wrong way, Haley. If she is looking to come back then I hope it's to go into the men's line. I just don't want her hanging out here any more then she has to. Hopefully in the men's department at the other end of The Boutique, or across the hall, or maybe even down the street — that would be nice."

  Leona paused, then went on to say, "I don't get it. She makes such a big deal about living in New York. Her New York apartment is more chic than anything in Tranquility. The shopping is better than in Tranquility. The restaurants are more diverse. Why would she be looking to come back here? I am telling you right now, Haley, something smells fishy and I am not talking about Evonne's husband after he gets home from
the lobster boat." We both had a laugh but I could tell Leona did not like or trust Miss Caroline Quinn.

  "Speaking of Evonne," Leona continued, "she called me this morning. Dickie is going to be away for a week. She asked if we wanted her to take Saturday off our hands."

  Evonne's husband was also named Richard, so Mrs. Van de Graaf nicknamed him Dickie. Tricky Dickie, she called him. She said it suited him because he came in and stole Evonne's heart and moved her to that god forsaken island.

  For all their wealth, the Van de Graaf's were not snobbish. They were just surprised when Evonne fell in love with a lobster fisherman. Their pampered princess daughter was marrying a fisherman. She was going to learn to cook and keep house. Dickie made it clear from the start that they would not be living off her parents.

  It made me a little jealous when I saw them together. I wished I had seen what real love was before I married Brad for all the wrong reasons. The college recruiters insinuated that they gave preference placements to married students. Brad convinced me that if we went to the courthouse and got married, our family would stop interfering in our relationship. If it helped him get into the college he wanted, all the better. Another major life decision I gave away to Brad.

  "What are you going to do now that you don't have to work Saturday?" I asked Leona.

  "I was thinking Mimi and I would hang out with you and Peyton, if that's okay. It's been too long since we spent any time together and it would give my parents a much needed break," Leona confessed.

  "Saturday morning is soccer practice, if they found a coach," I reminded her. "You're both welcome to join us. I have no other plans for the day so that gives us two days to come up with something fun for the kids to do."

  By Friday, The Boutique was back to its normal customer flow and there was no signs of Richard or Aleksander. I had no idea why it bothered me so much. I had not laid eyes on him since he picked Leona up on Tuesday.

  After the blowout with Brad about the tabloid article and what I found on the internet, it was best not be seen with Aleksander, I rationalized.

  My dreams were another thing. Night after sleepless night, tossing and turning, fantasizing about him. What that tall slender frame looked like under his suit. The same dream cycling, first the shoes coming off, then the tie, his shirt, then something would wake me. Some mornings I awoke staring at the empty side of the bed, clinging to the pillow beside me. Why did I ache for an unattainable dream?

  I was finding it harder and harder to focus at work, checking the door every time a customer entered, looking, waiting, for him.

  I found I was constantly reminding myself big changes took time. Could they even expand in this building? There were two floors, the upper level housing a boardroom, lunchroom, a few offices and an empty loft. The building had been in the family for generations.

  It was where Richard's great grandfather had started out as a cobbler. He ran the business downstairs and they lived upstairs. The Van de Graaf's had come a long way since those cobbler days. There was a lot of history in this building and I was sure this was where Richard would want to keep The Boutique.

  Richard's grandfather found that people would come a long way for a carefully crafted pair of shoes. He built on that concept and created the Van de Graaf line. When the line got too big to run out of this small building, Richard's grandfather built the now-existing main office. The storefront remained a shoe repair shop until Richard Sr. turned it into the now famous boutique as a gift for his wife.

  Leona and I discussed options of fun things to do in the community that were free. With spring came the beginning of seasonal shops. Some of them brought their goods outside on the sidewalk to promote their store openings. It was nice to just walk along the boardwalk and sample some free baked goods, ice cream from the local dairy and let the kids run off some energy.

  The boutique never opened on Sunday's, not even during the busy tourist season. The same rule was followed at the main office.

  Leona often teased it was because every time Mrs. Van de Graaf planed one of her famous family picnics that included all her work family, no one would have an excuse not to attend.

  I listened to Mrs. Van de Graaf explain to one of the interns who questioned why she could not come in on Sunday to complete her required hours if that was her choice. Everyone should have one day to spend with family, she told her. She felt everyone got so caught up on their careers they forgot how to relax and enjoy life.

  I appreciated my Sundays off. That one day a week I knew I could plan something with Peyton.

  Saturday was going to be a good day. Having Mimi to distract Peyton, especially if there was not going to be any soccer, would work in my favour. If it turned out the league could not find another coach, Leona and Mimi could help me find another activity for Peyton to participate in.

  With the week finally behind us, Leona and I locked up and left a thank you note to Evonne. I took one last look around. When would he be back, I silently sighed. Was it possible to miss someone you barely knew?

  Chapter 11

  Aleksander

  I woke up Saturday morning and was amazed at how well I slept. It wasn't just a fluke the first couple of nights. It wasn't from total exhaustion; I genuinely slept better here. I had been dreaming better too, more like fantasizing.

  Night after night, her creamy white thighs straddling me, riding me. Each morning waking satisfied, needing both a hot and cold shower, but satisfied. I was smart to stay away from her. Fantasizing was one thing, acting on it was another.

  Perhaps it was the sea air or just the fact that I was finally living my life as I have wanted, living my dream. At this point I didn't care why, I just knew I liked it. I was happy that I was going to accomplish something today.

  The week at Van de Graaf getting to know the routines, the people, I found mundane. A necessary task but still mundane. Richard and I ironed out a few details but the main one was how soon I planned on getting a personal assistant.

  Richard did say I had free range as far as running the men's line went, but there were still codes of conduct that had to be followed. You would not be an internationally known company if you did not have rules and regulations to keep everyone in check.

  My conversation with Leona went well and Richard loved the idea of sponsoring the soccer team. He let me take the lead and make all the arrangements. I sent a brief text letting Leona know I had the green light and thanked her again for her insight.

  Today I was going to show everyone I was serious about staying, about being a part of this community. My instinct were also correct about the T-shirt shop being more than happy to get the shirts done on time.

  The owner's wife even volunteered to bring the shirts to the field that morning since they had a delivery van and it did not look like the order was going to fit in my back seat.

  I had Sindy arrange for the local community paper to cover the first day of soccer, kind of a community interest piece with the ulterior motive of getting the word out I was a team player. Being made aware of a need in the community and willing to help, even if that meant giving up my Saturday's to coach.

  Both Mr. and Mrs. T-shirt arrived with the shirts and set up at the registration table.

  I could not wait to get my own shirt and proudly wear it, letting everyone know who I was and why I was there.

  I notice Haley and Leona arriving as I finished putting on my T-shirt and headed towards them. Was I ready to face her? Would I be able to mask my fascination with the mysterious brunette without giving any indication of what she did to me night after night?

  I noticed someone was handing out white envelopes. "Stay here," I heard Haley instruct Leona but was ignored. Leona got out and let Mimi and Peyton out as well.

  Haley tried to stop them from running to the field with no avail. "Betty is handing out white envelopes — that means refunds. Schedules are always in brown ones. Now I have to tell Peyton there is no soccer and try to drag him off the field," she explained. I
frowned. Haley sounded defeated.

  "Then what’s going on over there," Leona pointed. "Isn't that Joe's boys getting t-shirts? They played on Peyton team last year, didn't they?"

  I tried to hide my amusement. I knew exactly what was going on, and it dawned on me that Leona did not see it important to inform Haley.

  "What are you not telling me?" Haley asked as Betty Thompson approached them, smiling.

  "Isn't it great news what Mr. Manos did for us this year?" She beamed, wrapping her hand around my bicep. I was used to women fondling me. I winced, however, when I noticed Haley’s eyes focus on that spot as she was handed a white envelope by the overly enthusiastic Mrs. Thompson. "Everyone is so excited that he volunteered to coach and that Van de Graaf has sponsored the entire team."

  "Yes, really great news," Leona responded as she put her arm through Haley's and led her toward the table where all the kids were hanging about, including Peyton.

  "Look, Mom, matching shirts this year. That's cool, isn't it?" I noticed the young boy could not have been smiling any bigger.

  I turned my attention back to Haley. "Make sure you register him for cleats at the table over there," I pointed. "We found someone who will be providing them for the team as well."

  My shirt had the name Coach in small letters on the front. I turn around to proudly display the name Manos and below that team sponsor Van de Graaf. "What do you think, fits great, right?"

  I turned, putting me face to face with Haley. I hoped I had not been staring too long at her curvaceous hips, shown off by her flowing cotton skirt. She was wearing a sweater but I could see she had a spaghetti strap tank top underneath and no bra. I also noticed her hard protruding nipples through the loose top that hung ever so gently over her perky breasts.