Ian went into full command mode, calling in favors and putting his Rolodex to work like never before. During Ian’s career he had rubbed shoulders with some of the most influential men and women in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and around the country. Today, he just needed to connect with his Houston contacts. Shouldn’t be too big of a deal, he thought at four in the afternoon.
At nine forty-five, Ian was finally finished with all the changes that needed to be made. His desk was still full of work that he hadn’t been able to get to, but he would have to tackle that tomorrow. He put his jacket on and headed for his car. As he was driving home, he thought about a hot shower and a good night’s sleep. Then two thoughts crossed his mind...Surry and dinner.
How could he have screwed this up—again? The woman of his dreams was giving him another chance, and he’d just blown her off. He came to a red light and then picked up his cell and dialed her number. As promised, Surry answered on the first ring. He tried to lighten the moment by saying, “I thought you women liked to play it coy by keeping a brother waiting ’til at least the third ring.”
Surry said, “When a man stands me up twice in the same month, I tend to want to know why, so I answered your call quickly. No games, I just want answers.”
He heard the twinge of anger in her voice and figured she had reason to be angry. He should have called earlier to tell her about how crazy things had gotten after she left. Now, instead of her trying to make things up to him, it was his turn. “Baby, I promise this wasn’t done on purpose. My client’s schedule blew up in our faces and we had to spend hours putting it back together.” He hesitated, but when she didn’t say anything, he added, “I’m still a little hungry, so if you want to go to dinner now, I can swing by and pick you up.”
“No, don’t worry about it. I fixed a salad and a sandwich about an hour ago, so I’m good.”
“What about tomorrow night?” he offered. “Anything you want to do. Just name it and I’m yours.”
“Ian, do you really think I’m that insensitive? I know you have tons of work to do to get Juan’s campaign up and running. Also, I’m really busy right now. I sign the contract with Roukes tomorrow and then I have to work out some details with my father on the new boutique we’ll be opening in Dallas.”
“I’m glad that worked out for you,” Ian said.
“Thanks to you,” Surry acknowledged. “I am so grateful to you for whatever you did to get John Michael to tell the truth. If you hadn’t helped me, I wouldn’t be signing this contract tomorrow.”
“It was nothing,” he said modestly.
“No, Ian. It meant everything to me, and if you hadn’t been so upset with your father when you came to my hotel room last week, I would have told you that.”
Hearing Surry say that his help meant everything to her warmed his heart. He would do anything for this woman, whether she thanked him or not. But those words felt so good coming out of her mouth. He didn’t want to harp on it and take the chance of scaring her away from him. He knew that Surry didn’t like needing anyone, so he said, “It sounds like you’re going to be busy this week, too.”
“I am.”
“Then what shall we do?” Ian hated to admit it, but Surry was right about the amount of work he had waiting on him. And he knew she had a business to run also. But he still wanted to see her.
“We’re going to work hard, so we’ll have some money when we play hard.”
“Surry, you are something else. Any other woman would be biting my head off right now, but you seem cool about the whole thing.”
“You called to let me know what’s going on, so I’m good.”
Ian pulled into the driveway of his home and turned off the ignition as he told her, “But I still want to take you out tomorrow night. You name it. Just tell me where you want to go.”
Surry laughed. “I know you, Ian. You’re a workaholic, just like me. You just got this client. So you’ll need a few days to put your plan in motion. So, why don’t you just get your work done this week and then you can go to Dallas with me this weekend.”
“Do you think you’ll have time for me this weekend? Sounds like you have a lot of business to handle.”
“I’m also going to be with family. My mother wants me to come for dinner.”
“Your parents, huh?”
“Yeah, are you okay with that?”
“This must be serious if you want me to meet your parents.”
“More than you know, Ian. So, don’t wuss out on me. I want to show you off.”
Smiling at the thought of Surry wanting to show him off to her family, Ian said, “All right. It’s a date. Can we leave early Saturday morning?”
“That works for me.”
Ian wanted to see Surry so bad, he was prepared to turn his car around and drive all the way to the other side of town at this moment. He said, “You know, I could just drive over there tonight.”
“You just left the office and you have an entire campaign to build, so I know you’re tired, Ian. Just go home and go to bed.”
She was right again. He needed the rest. “So, I’ll see you in a few days.”
Ian was about to hang up when Surry said, “You’re not off the hook from calling me this week, though. I still want to hear your voice.”
He’d talk to Surry all day long if he didn’t have a business to run. He didn’t know how she managed it, but this woman had his heart, and he didn’t want to get it back. “You’ll be the first person I talk to in the morning and the last person I speak to at night. Can you handle that?”
“Sounds good to me,” Surry declared.
As they hung up, Ian drove into his garage, got out of his car and walked into his three-thousand-square-foot home. As he walked through the house that used to put a smile on his face every time he came home, because he bought it with his own money and didn’t have to ask his family for anything, he now felt as if he had too much space for just one person. He put his hands on the sides of his mouth and yelled, “Hello.”
No one answered. All he could hear was a slight echo. “Welcome home,” he said to himself as he made a turkey sandwich, sat down at his kitchen table alone and ate it. Then he jumped in the shower and got into his king-size bed alone.
Chapter 15
Ian had been a man of his word. For the rest of the week, Surry had spoken to him first thing in the morning and late into the night. They were now on their way to Dallas to meet with her father and then have dinner with both her parents. Surry had the seat reclined a bit on the passenger side as Ian drove.
Now she knew what having a partner felt like. She didn’t have to be Wonder Woman and do everything on her own. She was relaxing on the passenger side of the car, allowing her man to drive her where she needed to be, and loving it. Surry ran her hand up his arm and said, “Thanks for hanging out with me today.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
“With all the craziness we’ve been going through, I also forgot to ask about something that’s been on my mind.”
“And that is?” Ian asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
“How did you get John Michael to leave me alone?”
Smiling, he asked, “Are you still worried that I might have roughed him up?”
Shaking her head, Surry told him, “No, I believe that you know people who know things, and I want to know what you found out.”
“You got that right.” Ian took his eyes off the road long enough to wink at Surry.
Okay, she had sufficiently stroked his ego. He was the king of the jungle. The most powerful man on earth...yadda, yadda, yadda. “Tell me, already. What did you do?”
“It wasn’t sexy or anything. Let’s just say John Michael has an interesting way of counting dependents.”
“Huh?”
Explaining himself, he said, “John Michael apparently thinks it’s okay to claim his nieces and nephews on his tax returns, even though they don’t live with him.”
“It figures that someone accusing others of stealing would be a crook himself.”
“Isn’t that always the way it works?” Ian agreed.
They kept talking the entire four hours of the ride. Conversation was easy for them as they laughed, poked fun at each other and generally just enjoyed the trip so much that they made a four-hour drive in what felt like two.
When they reached her father’s dress shop, she got out of the car, stretched her arms and legs and then pointed across the street. “If you’re hungry, there’s a sub shop right across the street.”
“I can wait until we get to your parents’ house. I don’t want to offend your mother by being too full to eat her food.”
Surry almost told Ian that his very presence would offend her mother, who lived to be unhappy. But she didn’t want to scare him off. “Okay, but don’t blame me if you pass out before we get there.”
“Pass out?” Ian said incredulously as he beat on his chest. “I’ve never passed out in my life. Are you kidding?”
“Okay, my superhero. I’ll never forget that. No passing out for Ian Duncan.” She looped her hand around his arm and walked with him toward her father’s dress shop. Just like last week, the dress shop had quite a few paying customers. Her father was doing just fine, and once they finalized their partnership, Surry was confident that he’d be doing even better.
Willy came toward them as they walked in the door. “You’re early,” he said as he hugged Surry.
Surry pointed at Ian and said, “He drives like a maniac.” Her father looked at Ian, and then Surry said, “Dad, this is Ian Duncan. He and I are...” She looked at Ian for clarification as to what they were doing.
Ian said, “Dating,” as he put one arm around Surry and stuck his free hand out to her father.
“Ian, this is my Dad, Willy McDaniel.”
Ian and Willy shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Mr. McDaniel.”
“Oh, call me Willy.”
Surry reached into her oversize handbag and pulled out a folder. “My attorney looked over the financial information you sent over and now I have the contract. You might want to have your attorney review it before signing. But once that’s finished, we will be partners.”
They hugged again and then Willy took the folder from her.
“We see that you’re busy, so we won’t hang around here. I’ll take Ian to the house so he can meet Mom.”
A look that Surry couldn’t decipher flashed across her father’s face and then he said, “I have extra help in the store today, so give me a moment to grab my keys and I’ll head home with you right now.”
Surry and Ian waited for her father to get his keys and then they followed him to the house. Sylvia was waiting for them. She kissed Surry and Ian on the cheek and then backed up and took a good look at Ian.
“Not bad, Surry. I can see why you’ve gone gaga over this man,” Sylvia said.
“And if you don’t mind my saying,” Ian began, “I can see why Willy went gaga for you, Mrs. McDaniel.”
Her man was a charmer, and Surry appreciated Ian saying that because her mother was an exotic beauty whom her father had fallen for the moment they met. She had always loved her mother and looked to her wisdom to help guide the way she led her life. But lately, Surry had been wondering about a few things. For one thing, it bothered Surry that her mother complained about her father and his business and acted as if they were two seconds away from a going-out-of-business sale. But after her accountant reviewed the financial records of her father’s business, Surry had gotten her answer. Willy McDaniel wasn’t going to be a millionaire with his current business, but he was making a comfortable living. Her mother was obviously one of those women who could never be satisfied, and she prayed that she would never become that.
They sat down in the family room while her mother put the food on the table. Once she had gotten everything set, she asked them to join her in the dining room. “Ian, you can take the chair next to me and Surry can sit next to her father,” Sylvia told the group.
Everyone sat down and began passing around plates of asparagus, wild rice, salmon, and lemon and dill sauce to go on top of the fish.
“The food looks wonderful, Mrs. McDaniel,” Ian said as he filled his plate.
“Thank you, Ian. I hope you like it,” Sylvia said as she scooped some rice onto her plate.
Surry noticed that her mother hadn’t invited Ian to call her by her first name as her dad had. She hoped that Ian hadn’t noticed the slight or if he had, she hoped he wouldn’t be bothered by it. Her father had always been friendlier than her mother. That’s just the way things were in the McDaniel household.
“So, Ian, Surry tells me that you are fabulously successful. Would you mind telling me what this career of yours is all about?” Sylvia took a bite of her fish, but kept her eyes glued on Ian.
“Mother! Don’t drill him on his first visit,” Surry said.
“Sorry,” Sylvia raised her hands. “This is the first man you’ve brought home, so I don’t really know the rules.”
“I don’t mind telling you what I do,” Ian said as he put his fork down. “I work in politics. But I’m not a politician.”
“How long have you been in politics? And what kind of work do you do, since you’re not a politician?” Sylvia asked.
“I’ve been in politics since I was nineteen. I am a campaign manager when needed and a political analyst when not.”
“And are you needed right now, or are you just trying to make yourself useful?” She was relentless in her questions.
“Sylvia, that’s none of our business. Just let the man enjoy his meal and leave him alone,” Willy said as he shook his head.
“Ian is very much in demand,” Surry told her mother.
Ian glanced over at Surry and then turned back to her mother. “I am working for one of our state senators right now. He is seeking the mayor’s office.”
“Mayor.” Sylvia said the word with a curled lip. “That’s pretty small potatoes for someone who’s been in business for over a decade.” She pointed at him. “You must be at least thirty.”
“I’m thirty-one.”
“Old enough to have made a success of yourself by now. So, what’s your holdup? When will you find success?” Sylvia pointed toward Willy. “Or are you like my husband over there? Do you plan to wait for a child of yours to grow up and show you how to make your way successfully?”
“That’s enough, Sylvia. You can hold me in contempt all you want, but I will not sit by and allow you to do this to a friend of Surry’s.” His fist slammed against the table. “Enough is enough already.”
But Surry couldn’t let it go. She expected this dinner to go well. Ian was the man of her dreams, but her mother was trying to make him look as if he had nothing going for himself, the same way she had convinced Surry that every other man she’d dated had nothing going for him. But Surry knew better this time. Since Ian wasn’t opening his mouth to defend himself, she decided to do it for him. “Ian has a great career, Mother. He’s had his choice to work with governors, senators and even a presidential campaign. He chose to work with Juan Manuel because he believes that Juan has a future in politics.”
Sylvia turned to Ian, astonishment in her eyes. “You chose a mayor over a president?” When he didn’t respond, she turned back to Surry and asked, “Is he crazy or just stupid?”
* * *
The ride home was not as peaceful as the morning ride had been. Ian was furious that Surry felt the need to defend his career choices to her god-awful mother. He knew in his gut that Surry was the one. She was the woman he wanted to wake up to every morning, but if she didn’t believe i
n him...there was no way he was going to allow her to make him miserable for the rest of his life.
“Okay, spill it. You’ve been surly this whole ride. So, just tell me what’s wrong before you run off and leave me the same way I did you.”
His hands tightly gripped the steering wheel. “And you think I’d do that?”
Surry put her hand on Ian’s arm. “What’s wrong, babe? Don’t shut me out. I really want this to work.”
What he really didn’t understand was how Surry didn’t already know what was wrong with him. “Weren’t you at the same table with me?”
She ran her hand up and down his arm. “I know my mother can be a little hard to take.”
“A little hard to take,” he mimicked. “The woman acted as if I was some layabout with no direction in life.” After saying that, Ian’s thoughts drifted to the day Surry came to his office and confessed that she’d run away from him and the new relationship they’d been building because she was afraid that he had no direction. Now he knew where those worries came from. The woman must drive her husband absolutely crazy with her inability to understand that the journey is what makes success so sweet.
“She wasn’t that bad, Ian.”
“Were you in the same room? And did you see the look on your father’s face? That man has been dealing with your mother’s crap for so long that she’s beat him down with it.”
“I will give you that. Recently, I have noticed that she doesn’t seem to be happy with anything my dad does, even when he seems to be making a go of his store. I don’t know why she’s like that. I just hope she opens her eyes so she can see just how great my dad is.” She looked out the window and watched a car go by as she added, “I’ve discovered how wonderful my father is, and I’m not going to let my mother say another word against him to me ever again.”
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