“Of course. And here’s mine. Let me write my cell phone on the back for anything you might need. After all, once the contracts are signed, you’ll need this if any of you have questions that arise in the middle of the night.”
As she hands me her card, I feel my body already yearning for the connection to hers, which I know is about to be severed in just a few short moments. I continue to stare into her amazing eyes. I figure I have less than thirty seconds before my brother and his fiancé come in to wrap up this appointment, sign the contract, and the stunning pixie before me starts making a list of who to kill first—her brother or me.
“Cassidy? There’s something I need to tell you,” I say, as the door swings open, revealing Phillip, Ry, and Jared. Right on time.
“Yes, Caleb?”
“I’m not one of the grooms. I’m Ryan’s brother.”
5
Cassidy
After Caleb introduced me to his brother Ryan and Ryan’s fiancé Jared Dalton, the actual grooms, Caleb escaped with one of those man-hug things to both men and a wink at me with a reminder that he’ll be using my number to talk with me soon, and that I should, of course, feel free to use his sooner if I don’t hear from him. As if I would after he’d just spent the better part of an hour posing as a groom. I was mortified.
Thinking about everything that transpired, I wonder if my face might be turning as red as Holly’s hair. If my body temperature is anything to go by, it might be close. As I sit at the conference table watching the final contract negotiations occur, I look over at a rare picture of my sister on the wall.
For the following hour after Caleb strolled out of my office, I pull every emotion in after the lingering embarrassment I feel over the behavior in my office this morning. We’re a bunch of professionals trying to run a business. This is potentially our largest client ever. And between my brother’s antics, my abnormal reactions to the presumed groom, and Caleb himself, I was better off not feeling anything. So, nothing was getting through. If Phil showed up with a trio of his exes who were a naked troupe of pole dancers for a ceremony the next day requiring latex wedding attire, I think I would still have been as cool as a cucumber. There wasn’t a single emotion that crossed my face that I didn’t have one hundred percent control over. My smiles were friendly, my laughter light. I was warm without being too invasive.
I’ve perfected the professional mask.
Under it all sat a simmering irritation that Caleb knew his brother so well, that Ryan and Jared loved everything Caleb had picked out for their wedding the previous hour.
Maybe I was just being a bitch, but I wanted them to dislike or hate something— anything, so I could be a little uncontrolled, and maybe completely stupid.
Like use that card Caleb left me to call him.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I want an excuse to pick up that phone, because despite the fact that up to an hour earlier he played me into thinking he was about to marry two other men, I still think he’s the most intriguing man to cross my path in…forever.
Something about him called to me on some elemental level I didn’t understand. I’d never experienced the feeling before. I felt sensitized to his presence in my office. I felt his dark eyes burn through me as I moved around my office. His hand when it touched mine, rough and strong, caused an immediate reaction. His broad shoulders begging to allow me to rest my head on them, leaving my burden with him.
Shit, where the hell had that thought come from? Shaking my head, I try to refocus on the room and its occupants.
The conference room seemed to glow. The former ballroom in the mansion where we worked was something we spent long, hard hours to restore. Jewel tones played off the rich mahogany. Diamond panes of the leaded glass windows offered privacy without diluting too much of the sunlight streaming in. The seating areas scattered around the room were warm and inviting with tufted velvet. We had also designed the more formal table we were presently sitting at.
Because of the size of the Lockwood-Dalton wedding, all the siblings, as well as the grooms, were gathered around the conference table. Truthfully, if Ryan and Jared had smaller wedding expectations that required fewer negotiations, it would have been just Ali and me finishing up this part. But a five-hundred-person wedding in a little over two months for the Greenwich elite? I knew that everyone present wanted to make sure each detail was captured in this preliminary document.
Apparently, I was the biggest chip in the negotiations. Unfettered access to me for two months. Completely non-negotiable by the grooms. Damn Caleb for being right about that.
Ugh. I needed to get him out of my thoughts and fast.
My thoughts drift again to the older Lockwood brother, and I don’t hear my name being called. I feel the kick to my shin under the table from my sister, Emily.
“Cass,” Em hisses at me.
“I’m sorry,” I interject smoothly. “I was envisioning the wedding plan for the next week, mentally writing it out. As my family can tell you, I start daydreaming when lists are involved.” I deliberately keep my chin held high, allowing my blush to show.
Ryan and Jared laugh outright.
Em lets out a breath and mouths, “Good save.”
Crap, I never blank out at the negotiation table. I’m going to have to explain that one later.
“Do you have anything else to add before we lock everything in, Cassidy?”
I lean forward, clasping my hands in front of me on the table. This is my element, my stage, where I have the most control.
I look at Ryan first, hold his eyes for a count of two, and do the same with Jared. “Because of the compressed timeline, which let me reiterate again, we can completely handle, we will be unable to accommodate last minute changes on most of the major items. Since we handle so many services in-house, we’re not concerned about consultations with hiring a photographer, ordering flowers, or your garment selections. However, when a caterer says we must be there for a tasting, one of you has to be there unless you’re willing to compromise on potential quality. If you send a proxy and they love something and you hate it, Amaryllis Events will not tolerate less than favorable evaluation. We appreciate your work schedules and will try to do as much as possible to work around them. Sometimes, that will not be possible. We’re professionals. We’ll not trouble you with the small concerns. If we do call and we indicate we need a call back within a certain timeframe, please know it’s urgent and something that will impact the vision you have for your big day.” Sitting back, I smile, cross my legs and wait.
“Is there ever a time you’re unavailable?” Ryan asks calmly. Jared tips his head in agreement with Ryan’s question.
“Not for the two of you. From this minute, until the moment you leave on your honeymoon, you will always know my availability. As elite clients, you will know my exact schedule. You will have access to my out of the office times. I will provide you with a hard copy before you leave today and email you a copy for you to download to both your iPhones and Outlook calendars by close of business. Please note, all the data in those deliverables are covered by the language in our two-way non-disclosure agreement, which we will be signing in a few moments.”
“A two-way NDA?” Jared says with some surprise, the lawyer in him perking up.
“Yes,” I state firmly. “It protects both of us. However, for you to have the kind of access to me you are demanding with this schedule, our business and my personal privacy are both at stake. You will not just have access to my meetings with other clients, you will have access to every entry on my calendar, including my next physical and personal events, like my involvement in Collyer’s homecoming weekend. Short of putting an electronic leash on me, you will know where I plan to be every moment of the day for the next two months.”
Ali speaks up at this point. “This negotiation includes unfettered access to Cassidy.”
Jared reaches over and takes Ryan’s hand, giving it a quick squeeze. They speak quietly for the next few moments. Ryan no
ds, then smiles first at Jared, then around the table before saying, “Let’s do this.”
“First,” Ali interjects in her most professional voice. “Let’s discuss the pricing schedule. Please turn to Table A of the document in front of you. For a wedding of this size and on this timetable, you’re typically looking at cost plus thirty percent to cover the services of Amaryllis Events. That includes all procured items as well as outside vendors.”
“Alison, please reduce the amount by twenty percent.” Phil speaks softly from his seat at the table.
“Excuse me?” Ali questions, with a more than a touch of asperity in her tone. “Can I speak with you outside, Phillip?”
“After the contracts are signed. Twenty percent, please. Use the discount code Delphi.”
Fucking Phil. He’d invoked a family code word, referencing the oracle who told Amaryllis how to win the heart of her love. My hand immediately goes to my neck, and my sisters shift in their seats. Ali nods slowly and takes a breath.
I’d almost forgotten that Phil was still in the room, he’d been so quiet. No one was forgetting him after this bomb. The reasons for chopping off his precious hair are increasing by the minute today. I’m not alone now, I think with a private smile.
Ryan and Jared can only smile, displaying their delight. Of course, they’re delighted. They just saved at least two-hundred thousand dollars.
I hear Em, who is sitting the closest to Phil, murmur to him, “Payback for this is going to be hell.”
Phil pales and swallows hard.
About two hours later, after briefly stepping out to reschedule a conference call with a vendor for later in the day, the contracts, NDAs, and deposits are signed and paid. The only thing open is the NDA to be signed by Caleb Lockwood. Oh, that’s right. Because of Ryan and Jared’s schedules, and because Ryan’s brother is trusted implicitly, they want him to have the same status they have to reach me.
Fabulous.
I feel my embarrassment from earlier start to climb back up my neck. Phil’s list of transgressions keeps growing. I’ll figure out a way to blame Caleb having unlimited access to me and my schedule on Phil. At the rate he’s going, he’ll be lucky I don’t switch out his Gucci shampoo for Nair.
What I found interesting was that Ryan and Jared wanted it documented that Ryan’s mother was to have no say in the wedding, other than the location, no matter the circumstance or reason. She wouldn’t be privy to any of the decision-making. Any concerns were to be handled by me, with issues collected and passed along to the grooms as necessary.
Unshakeable trepidation has me thinking I would have earned that extra twenty percent personally on that request alone.
After printing out a hard copy of my schedule for the week, I sealed it in an envelope and promised the grooms I would have the electronic versions to them in a few short hours. I shook hands with both men and escorted them to the mansion doors.
After closing the door behind them, I whirl around. Before I can figure out what’s happening, I’m being dragged back into the conference room, where Imagine Dragons is blaring from our sound system speakers. Shoes have been kicked off and my sisters and brother are dancing on the tables, pretending to grind with imaginary partners or pole dance.
I can’t help but laugh at their craziness, and I love every one of them. Even Phil. Because while I might plot his death later, for now, we’re celebrating.
Suddenly, Phil jumps off the table and starts dancing with me around the room. I let my laughter ring out as my sisters whoop it up from varying parts of the old grand ballroom.
I’d figure out how to pull off the biggest wedding of my career later.
I’d figure out how I’m going to work with the hottest man I’ve ever met later.
I’d figure out how to survive the next two months.
I’d conquer these nightmares and regain my control.
At this moment, I’m on top of the world.
6
Cassidy
“So, what the hell did you do?” Ali demands later that night as we sit around our communal family room, drinking a bottle of wine. We might be on bottle number two. I don’t care. I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts, so I sought out my sisters.
I managed to give Em the highlights earlier today when we both had a break after the Lockwood-Dalton wedding contract was signed—between Ryan Lockwood and Jared Dalton. Not Caleb Lockwood.
Right now, it’s just me, Ali, and Em at the Farm. About ten years ago, we pooled our money to buy a 10-acre property with no inhabitable buildings. We got the land for a fraction of what it would have cost in Collyer. Five years ago, we started renovating the structures on the property, bringing in architects to preserve as much of the old charm of the property possible. What we ended up with was six homes made up from the smaller barns, carriage houses, and servant quarters. We each needed our own spaces, knowing we would likely kill one another if we continued to live under the same roof. We turned each of the out buildings into cottages, which are now our private residences.
The main barn, known to us as “The Farm,” was converted into a spectacular space. It’s a monstrosity of a building that overlooks a lake and includes a gourmet kitchen, gym, game room, and a living room that can easily hold thirty. The original stone fireplace dominates the space. In the old days, the main barn would have been the communal hall and our homes made up the village. It gave us space, and at the same time, it gave us security, something we all realized we needed.
I roll my wine glass in my hand and purse my lips in thought. Absentmindedly, I run a hand over the restored antique trunk. The symbolism of the way we continually surround ourselves with items we restored is not lost on me. Taking the beaten and the broken, and giving them life again.
Sighing, I reach back and unbraid my hair, shaking the thick, curly mass loose. My fingertips graze over my tattoo, which fills me with pride.
“After I politely escorted Caleb from my office, I finished my meeting with his brother Ryan—who, by the way, is Jason’s former fiancé—and Jared.” I raise my eyebrows in response to Ali’s incredulous look. “Then I proceeded to escort Ryan and Jared over to you to sign the contract on the largest wedding we’ll ever do in a two-month period. You were there for everything after that. With any luck, our sanity will remain intact through the crazy-ass schedule, because we’ll need to keep it so our vendors won’t want to kill us. I have a feeling the Lockwood name will help smooth some of that over though.”
Ali’s not mollified. “I don’t get it, Cass. How are you thinking about schedules, timelines, and vendors? Did you find out more about Ryan and Jason? And who the hell are you right now? Is all you care about is the damn money? None of us ever sold ourselves willingly.”
“Watch yourself.” My jaw clenches, my teeth grinding in the back of my mouth.
“Just listen to me, Cass.” Ali leans forward in her seat. “You need to put this Caleb Lockwood in his place. No one has the right to play you like that. I don’t care if you did give them unfettered access in that agreement. There are limits.”
“Ali,” Em snaps, trying to get her attention.
I snatch up my wine, finish it in a single swallow and hold my glass out blindly to Em while I tear into Ali. “What the fuck do you think I should do, Alison? Tell me. Should I throw another temper tantrum in front of Caleb Lockwood to add to the one that started this fiasco in my damn office this morning? Should I have lost his brother as a client for us or sucked it up? Or maybe I should have done exactly what I did and acted with some dignity and class by maintaining a measure of my control by not telling Caleb to fuck off. Maybe I was cautious after finding out his brother is connected to Jason? Maybe I thought that, I don’t know, we should hear the whole story first.”
Ali had the good grace to blush. “Sorry, Cass. I’m sorry. It’s just…I mean…”
“I was doing what I was supposed to do as the CEO and as your fucking sister. So, don’t ever accuse me of doing anything for mon
ey. You could burn my share of the proceeds from this wedding for all I fucking care.”
I stand with my wine and stalk over to the windows overlooking the lake, shaking in my anger at Phil for hiding information that wouldn’t have changed the outcome of today, but it certainly would have changed how I handled it. I’m furious at Ali for her stupid ass comments, at myself for not having any control over my emotions, and at Caleb for taking what was an innocent assumption and turning it into a game.
Caleb is the only frustration from today I don’t understand. Was it payback for something that happened before we’d ever met my brother-in-law Jason? Or for something Jason and Phil did? Now that the emotional high of winning the contract has faded, my embarrassment from earlier has returned full force. I rest my head against the cool glass and sigh.
Minutes pass in silence. Lifting my head, I take a sip of my wine, when I hear the front door open and close.
Not turning around, I stare into the reflection of the glass as I watch Phil and Jason walk into the room. Great. Just what I need to cap off the day. Brotherly love.
“Whirlpool,” I mock, raising my glass to Phil with my back still to him. “You certainly put my day on a spin cycle, didn’t you?” I tip the glass to my mouth as I watch Jason glare at Phil in the glass.
“Cass.” Phil walks over, his hand outreached.
“No.” The leash on my emotions is gone.
I whirl around. My stomach churns the wine I’ve drank, making me feel nauseated as my eyes meet the apologetic ones of my brother’s.
Something in my expression must stun him because he’s keeping his distance. “The time to explain to me was before this family insinuated I was only in it for the money. Rather like selling myself.” I send a scathing look at Alison, who has the intelligence to look ashamed. “Not now. So, if none of you mind, I’ve had enough drinks and family drama for today. I’m heading back to my place.”
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