by Vivian Ward
“Yeah, let me throw on some clothes and go see if she’s awake.”
On Monday morning, I walk into the office to find my desk completely empty. My computer, all my files, my mug, everything is gone.
“What the hell happened? Where did all of my stuff go?” I ask Lester and Pardo.
They both ignore me with scours on their faces before turning their backs to me.
It might be a hot day in August, but a chill runs down my spine as I stand in the center of the air conditioned room. Nobody will answer me and tell me where any of my things have gone.
I turn to our team of paralegals and ask them if they know, but everyone just shrugs and gets back to work. They’re all acting like I don’t exist.
Panic and anger set in.
I wonder if Ford got what he wanted and is getting rid of me? Is that what this is? Maybe they’ve all been instructed not to speak to me if they’re going to let go of me.
I want to turn around and punch the wall, but I decide it’s best if I keep my composure. If that is the case and they’re letting me go, the last thing I want is for them to tell other law offices that I’m a hot head because I’m not.
Just as I’m about to walk down the hallway to Ford’s office, his secretary appears and stops dead in her footsteps as soon as she sees me.
Her eyes grow wide, and then a smile slowly creeps on her face.
“Mr. Kraft, you’re here,” she says, clearing her throat. “We weren’t sure what time you were coming in today. Could you come with me, please?”
My blood is beginning to boil.
I begin to follow her as I make my way past the icy common area that I once shared with the other senior associates, and still, none of them will give me the time of day.
Lester and Pardo refuse to even look at me as I continue following Kelly.
When we near Ford’s office, she stops and spins on her heel as she turns to face me.
“Mr. Kraft,” she begins. “I just wanted to say congratulations!”
She grabs the door handle on her right and opens the door where I find my brand new office. My computer, files, mug and everything, are neatly displayed on the desk which sits in front of a large, open window that has the blinds drawn.
“Yeah, congratulations,” Ford walks in and pats my back. “I’m proud to announce that you’ve officially made partner and had Kelly put your office across from mine old boy. If you need anything, let Kelly know. We’re hiring you your own legal secretary just like the other associates, but Kelly is still working on filling that position. In the meantime, feel free to use her if you need to.”
I’m completely stunned.
But it does explain why Lester and Pardo refused to speak to me when I came in. They’re pissed that I made partner and they didn’t.
Well, fuck them.
“Thank you, Mr. Ford,” I say, shaking his hand. “I appreciate it.”
“Call me Oliver,” he winks at me and pats my arm. “Welcome aboard.”
Chapter 21
Piper
As we stand in front of the altar, I can’t believe that I’m marrying my best friend.
He looks so handsome in his tuxedo, and everything has turned out so perfectly today. Deb and Meagan made sure everything was under control and handled any and all problems. In fact, they didn’t even tell me if there was a problem.
All of my bridesmaids look fantastic in their gorgeous lavender dresses, and Deb looks absolutely stunning in her royal purple gown. Her dress is a bit different from the rest of the girls so that she’d stand out more.
And all of the groom's men look very handsome. Even my niece and nephew look adorable as the flower girl and ring bearer. This day couldn’t be any more perfect.
“Do you, Piper, take Logan to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, through sickness and in health?”
I’ve never heard a better question in my entire life, and next to being proposed to, I’ve always wanted to hear those words.
“I do,” I answer.
The minister turns to Logan and repeats the same question.
Beaming down at me, he also responds with, “I do.”
Once we complete the ring exchange, the minister continues on until the ceremony is complete and announces to Logan that he may kiss the bride.
Both of our friends and families cheered us on and eagerly greeted us outside of the church by blowing bubbles where we made our escape in a limo.
“How does it feel to be Mrs. Kraft?” Logan asks, sliding his arms around me in the backseat as the driver takes us to the reception.
“It feels good,” I kiss him. “How does it feel to have a wife?”
“I’m getting used to it,” he hugs me. “But I’ll let you know what I think in about a year or so.”
“Hey!” I punch him in the arm. “You take that back.”
He laughs and hugs me again. “I take it back.”
Everyone is having so much fun at our reception. After we do our toast and our first dance together, we mingle in the crowd to thank everyone for coming.
Oliver came to both the ceremony and the reception and even brought a date. She’s a cute little thing and about 20 years his junior!
Logan had mentioned to me that Olly was dating a woman, but I had no idea that she was even younger than I was. It’s kind of crazy when you think about it, but I don’t blame her. She’s smart.
He’s a good looking man with quite a bit of money and has the kind of reputation around town that nobody in their right mind would mess with you. I guarantee that if either of them got pulled over and the cop figured out who they stopped, it would be a warning and an apology.
Hopefully, Logan and I can be in that position someday. He’s a hard worker and an excellent attorney, so I have no doubt that he’ll get there. Everything takes time.
“May I have this dance?” Logan’s dad asks me.
“Why sure!” I take his hand and stroll out onto the dance floor.
“I’m proud of you kids,” he says to me. “You’ve put together the perfect wedding. Everything is so beautiful, and now that you two are finally married, you’re officially my new daughter.”
I love Logan’s dad. He’s a very good man to have as a father-in-law. He’s so warm and inviting, and you can tell that all he wants is for us to both be happy.
“Thanks, dad,” I say to him. “I’m glad you like everything.”
“Oh sweetheart, I love it. Oh, by the way,” he pulls away as the song comes to an end. “We want you kids to have this.”
He pulls an envelope out of his breast pocket and hands it to me.
“What is this?” I ask, opening the envelope.
“It’s a gift from mom and me. Logan would never take something like this so just stick it in the bank and put it toward your house or something.”
I pull a check out of the cream colored envelope and am shocked that it’s $20,000! I feel like I’m going to faint.
“Dad, we can’t take this! It’s too much money,” I say.
I try to give it back to him, but he closes his hand around mine forcing me to keep it.
“No, that’s for you kids. Mom and I are retired now, and we have more than enough. This is our way of giving you guys a head start in life. You can do whatever you want with it. Put it toward your house, save it for college funds for the grandkids that you’ll start working on soon, or for a rainy day. We know you’ll use it wisely.”
I’m speechless. I literally have no words to say. It’s the most selfless gift we could ever get, and we could do so much with this money.
I throw my arms around him and give him a big hug as my eyes begin to tear up. There’s no way that we could ever say thank you enough.
“I love you! WE love you! Thank you so much, dad. This means the world to us,” I say, wiping my eyes, hoping my makeup doesn’t smear too much.
“It’s our pleasure. It would’ve been nice if we would’ve had that kind of money starting out, so w
e wanted to do it for you kids.”
Words cannot express my gratitude.
“How about another dance?” I offer, laughing as I dry my eyes again.
“I’d love to.”
Epilogue
Piper
Logan and I just found out that we’re expecting! I had to schedule my first OB appointment on our wedding anniversary which is where we officially heard the good news.
I started feeling tired and bloated, and then when the morning sickness kicked in, I realized that I might be pregnant. Dr. Graham is one of the best OB’s in St. Louis, and I know my baby, and I will be in excellent care with him.
I’m pretty sure our little Peanut was conceived on Logan’s office desk at Ford and Associates. There have been so many times that he’s taken me there that I’m certain he’s going to have to get a new desk soon or he’ll run the risk of having ass prints where his mouse and keyboard normally go.
Who would’ve thought that I’d get pregnant for our fourth wedding anniversary? We decided about a year ago that we wanted to start trying because I wanted to have a baby before I hit 40; although, that’s still a few years away.
Nobody wants to chase kids around in their 50’s, so I thought 35 was a nice age to start trying, that away the baby will be in school shortly after I turn 4o and graduate while I’m in my 50’s.
We’re dying to find out if we’re going to have a boy or a girl, but we’ll be happy with either. I’ve already started coming up with nursery themes and different ideas that I want to do. My baby’s going to have the cutest damn nursery any baby has ever seen.
Since Logan’s parents gave us that twenty grand, we decided to sell the two-bedroom house that we were living in and put a bigger down payment on a five bedroom house. We wanted to have enough bedrooms that our kids would have plenty of room once we created them, and we each wanted to have a home office.
I’ve already talked to my boss at ZenForce, and since I’ve moved up in the company and rarely see clients anymore, they’ve agreed to let me begin working from home so that I don’t have to worry about the commute or finding a sitter.
I never realized how hard it would be to manage a career while becoming a mom but I’m quickly realizing that my mothering priorities are higher on the list than I would’ve imagined, and I’m only a couple of months in. My little peanut won’t be here until Valentine’s Day of next year.
Logan and Oliver are like two peas in a pod and hang out pretty regularly. The two of them go golfing and attend major events together. Oliver actually made Logan senior partner with the firm, which means he gets a bigger slice of the pie.
Pardo finally made partner at the firm while Lester left the practice. He was pissed that he was passed over twice to become a partner, so he moved to L.A. He said that he was going to where the “real” big shots are. Little does he know; everyone was glad to see him go. He was a creep.
Logan swears that the only reason Pardo made partner is from all the years of ass kissing. He said that Oliver probably felt bad for him and eventually gave it to him.
When we met in college about a decade ago, I would’ve never believed that Logan and I would have such a happy, wonderful life together or that either of us would be as wildly successful as we are.
“What are you doing?” he leans over my shoulder as I sit at the kitchen table.
“Looking at some of the catalogs,” I hold up a baby catalog. “Do you know that they have portable changing stations that you can take everywhere you go?”
He laughs and leans down to kiss my hair.
“I think you and Peanut are going to be very close,” he studies the picture of the portable changing station. “Tell me again why you would need one of those? I thought they had changing stations in public restrooms. They hang on the wall, right?”
“Yeah, but other people use those!”
Laughing at me, he shakes his head.
“You realize that our mom’s probably changed us on the floor of the supermarket when we were born over 30 years ago, right? I think our baby will be fine, but if you want to buy it, go right ahead.”
Maybe he’s right, and I am being too paranoid. It’s just a kid. They’ve been surviving for thousands of years.
But this is my baby. My precious baby.
“I don’t know, I’ll think about it,” I say closing the book. “Are you almost done grilling? I’m hungry.”
“The steaks are getting close,” he says. “Do you want me to make a Greek salad to go with them? Or do you want baked potatoes? I can wrap a couple in foil and throw them on the grill.”
Everything, yet nothing, sounds good. I don’t know what I want to eat. I just know that I want to eat something.
“Sure. Just make whatever you want. I’m not picky,” I say reaching for an apple.
“Hey! I just said dinner’s almost done. What are you doing with that?” he points to the apple in my hand.
“Hello? Peanut wants a snack and anything Peanut wants, Peanut shall get.”
“Oh boy,” he shakes his head at me. “Tell Peanut that even though daddy makes good money, he or she can’t eat us out of house and home before they’re even born.”
The two of us laugh as he goes out and finishes grilling our food.
“Push on the count of three,” Dr. Graham says. “The head is almost there.”
I feel like I’m dying and like I’m going to shit on myself. Whoever said childbirth is a glorious miracle forgot to say how gross and disgusting it is.
Logan is hovering over me, worried for me and eager to see our son. Holding my hand, he kisses the back of it and says, “You’ve got this, baby.”
When the doctor gets to three, I give a hard push, and that’s when Dr. Graham announces our baby has been born. Within seconds, we can hear him crying just before he’s placed in my arms.
Snuggling him against my chest, tears of joy overwhelm me. He’s so perfect and precious.
“Ohh,” I coo. “Isn’t he adorable?” I look up at Logan who is beaming with pride, gloating over our new son.
“Jackson is going to be just like his old man,” he says, rubbing the baby’s back.
“I know you said that I would be close to the baby, but I think he’s going to be a daddy’s boy.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Logan says.
Ever since this baby has come out, the smile has not disappeared from his face. He’s the proudest daddy that I’ve ever seen.
“Ready to start trying for our next one?” he asks.
My mouth pops open in shock.
“What? You are not serious!” I shoo him away with my hand. “I’m not even out of the hospital yet.”
“Well I didn’t say today,” he says. “We can wait till tomorrow.”
“Logan!”
We both laugh.
“Seriously. Maybe it’s time for you to think about leaving your career so Jackson can have a little brother or sister. I make more than enough as senior partner. We’ll be fine, and you won’t have to worry about the stress of work while trying to take care of the house and kids.”
He might be on to something. It will be a lot to manage the house with kids and work.
“I’ll think about it,” I answer him.
“Piper? Logan?” the nurse says. “Your parents would like to meet their grandson. Is it all right if they come in?”
“Yes, please let them in,” I say.
Both of our parents are fussing over the baby and talking about all of their plans with him as soon as we get back home, and they’re already scheduling their weekends with each other so that they both get to share him equally.
We literally have the perfect life with the perfect family. It doesn’t get any better than this.
One Wild Night
This book is for all the naughty girlfriends, boyfriends, wives and husbands.
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Chapter 1
Beth
“Beth, there won’t be anything for you to do. This is a guys-only trip,” my husband says.
Shaking his head, he rubs his eyeballs with the palms of his hands, hoping I’ll drop the subject.
If only he would be so lucky. I’m not dropping it, and I am going on this alleged guys-only trip.
“Tom,” I say. “It’s not going to kill you to take me with you. What’s the worst that could happen? So what, your wife tags along with you and your friends. Big deal!”
A heavy sigh escapes his lungs, and his shoulders hang in defeat.
“Look, Beth, I’m not the one who will have a problem with you joining us. It’s the guys who won’t like my wife tagging along. Believe me, babe, I’d love to bring you on the trip, but I’m not sure the guys will like it.”
I walk over to him and drape my arm around his shoulders, taking a seat on his lap.
“Honey,” I pick up his chin to make him look at me. “Everything will be fine. Nick and Dave won’t mind. We’ve all been friends for so long that they’re not going to care if I soak up some rays and catch up on some reading while you guys make fools of yourself.”
I must admit, a large part of me is curious what the men do on their little weekend trips in the wilderness. Last time they all had a boys-only weekend, they went hunting back in November.
I’m not sure what took place but what I do remember is that when Nick came home with my husband, he had a giant schlong drawn on the side of his face, pointing to his mouth—in black permanent marker.