by Evie Monroe
Strangely enough, it brought me no joy to know that Victoria’s line, which was doing impressively well, was causing her grief. “Well, thanks for calling, Wendall. Feel free to lose my number unless you have something that benefits me. I no longer take joy in the misery of others.” And with that, I hung up the phone.
“Well, don’t you sound like you’re turning over a new leaf.” I looked up to see Weed standing across the room in a low-cut top with spaghetti straps and a pair of jeans that showed off his slim, masculine figure, though he wore more makeup than Liss. His pink hair had faded into the shade of cotton candy, and he had a joint tucked behind his ear.
“Glad you could come.” I got to my feet and greeted my old friend with a manly handshake. His grip was still stronger than mine, though his hands were much daintier. “I guess you caught the tail-end of that conversation.”
“Yes, I did, and while you take no joy in the misery of others these days, I happen to think it’s funny. Go, Chester.” He raised a fist and shook it. “She underestimated him. I knew she would.”
“You didn’t plant any bugs in Chester’s ear, did you?”
“Are you kidding? That’s what most of my pillow talk is for.” He lifted a shoulder casually and gave me a devilish grin.
“I’m glad you’re on my side.”
“I’m glad too. So,” he looked around the room and let out a sigh. “Where’s my favorite partner in crime?”
“I thought that was me?”
He grinned. “Of course, my true-blue friend.” He turned and glanced over his shoulder giving me a smirk.
“She’s upstairs doing her hair.”
His eyes widened. “Then I must go to her.” He hurried from the office and nearly knocked Nate down on his way in.
“What’s gotten into him?” He gave a narrowed look as he gestured a thumb over his shoulder.
“There’s hair styling going on upstairs, and I think he wants to be a part of it.” I knew he mostly couldn’t wait until dinner to see Liss. Their friendship was something special.
“Well, how long are they going to be? I’m famished.” Nate placed his hand over his stomach.
“I’m glad you brought your appetite, and I hope you like sweets. I hired Blues Confections to cater, and you’re in for a real treat.” I walked out and led him to the dining room where the food was being placed on the table.
Jack stood nearby to supervise, and you could almost see his mouthwatering at the powered pastries and glazed petit fours.
“Please see that you keep some for yourselves, ladies and please set aside some of each for Jack as well.” I gestured to my old friend, and the ladies nodded, giving him a big smile.
“You’re insane. We’ll never be able to eat all of this. I thought we were having dinner. This looks more like a dessert buffet.” He walked up to the table and picked a grape off a fruit tray and popped it into his mouth.
“We’re having steak and lobster. I have business to discuss with you guys, and I’m bribing you with food.”
“You know the way to my heart.” He read his place card and took his seat at the table.
Liss and Weed entered a moment later and took their seats. I left the head of the table empty, opting to sit beside Liss who I put across from Weed. Nate sat across from me, and he was piling his plate.
Weed perused the table and looked as if he didn’t know where to start. “This looks incredible, Johnny. I think I’m going to put on a few curves eating at this table.”
“Seriously, guys. I wanted some Blues Confections but didn’t know exactly what I wanted. I agree it’s a bit overkill, but man am I going to love trying to eat all of this.” I filled a plate with small chocolate clusters and a turtle brownie they’d actually made in the shape of a turtle.
“I think you’re trying to put us into a sugar coma before business, so we’ll be too out of it to shoot down your ideas.” Liss popped a chocolate into her mouth, and her eyes lit up as she savored it and grabbed another.
I reached for my teacup and poured my special brew. “As you know, I want to start a new company, and we were all very adamant about working with Liss again. She’s agreed to not only put up with the likes of me as her partner in the business, but we’re officially seeing one another.”
“I knew you’d be the next power couple.” Weed gave me a wink.
Liss took my hand and gave it a squeeze. I nodded at her and gestured for her to go ahead with what we talked about. “Johnny and I wanted to ask the two of you if you’d like to be equal partners in the business this time around?”
“Count me in,” said Weed.
Nate’s mouth fell open in astonishment. “Wow, that’s a huge offer. Thank you.”
“You should’ve been brought in last time, but since I failed to do things the right way, I want to make it right now. I’d like you to stay on and do the duties you’ve always done because let’s face it, you two really make this work, but you’ll have a lot more power in the way things are decided.”
Weed laughed. “Oh, honey. We had power all along, but now it will be more official.” We shared a laugh as the chef came into the room and served our dinner.
Each of us had a ten-ounce steak, Texas style, and a lobster tail so big and juicy it made me smile. There were potatoes and all the fixings and my personal favorite, green beans. This had always been my favorite meal back home.
“Now I think you’re just trying to kill us,” said Nate as he cut into his steak. “What will we call this new business and what’s on the agenda?”
“I had my new partner sketch us some logos. Tell us what you think.” Liss was not only an amazing designer, but she was also a talented artist, and I couldn’t wait for her to use her skills for our company.
Liss stood and passed her sketches across the table to Weed, and he and Nate huddled in a bit closer to look at them.
Weed looked up. “I like the big W’s It’s almost an inverted reflection of our last logo. But, what does it stand for?” He flipped through the pages and came to the answer. “Wonderworld?”
“Yes.” Liss nodded. That had been her idea, and she hoped that they’d agree.
“I love it,” said Nate. Liss smiled and turned to her friend.
After a moment, Weed looked up and smiled. “I think we have our new name and logo.”
Liss squealed in delight and bounced in her seat. I loved seeing her that happy. She’d been so happy to come up with the name and design the logo and had worked all morning on it.
“We’re going to focus on jeans and shoes this time around. As you know, those were our biggest successes of the brand, and while we’ll offer more options in the future, I want to start off strong. We’ve already looked at some designs and Liss and I sketched those this morning as well.”
“This is not the kind of busy I thought you two would be,” said Weed shaking his head.
I would’ve kicked him beneath the table if it hadn’t been too damned big, and Liss gave him a dirty look. “We wanted to make a nice presentation and celebrate.” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles.
“Get a room,” said Nate giving a chuckle. “No, I’m really happy for you both, impressed by the spread, and proud to be a part of it.”
“First rule of our bylaws will be that any partner who shows up late for work will be terminated.” Weed winked at Liss and Nate belted a laugh.
“You have to admit, that was a good one.”
Nate took a sip of his wine and gave me a wink. “How about the second rule of our bylaws be for random drug screening.”
Weed felt behind his ear for his joint and gave Nate the side eye. “Fine, you can be late.”
“You know, Liss. It’s a good thing we’re employing these two. No one else would hire them.” We exchanged a laugh, and suddenly a puff pastry flew across the table from Weed’s direction and bounced off my shirt back onto the table.
I picked up a chocolate off of my small plate and sailed it across the spread
where it hit Weed’s white blouse, leaving a mark. “Oh, no you didn’t, bitch.” He laughed like a wild man as he hurled another pastry at me and then Liss joined in, and the pastries and candy confections were really flying.
Nate backed away from the table as a sprinkled petit four landed in his lap. “Hey, come on, we’re adults here.”
He’d always been so uptight, our own little goody-two-shoes. Weed got a gleam in his eye, and Liss nodded as she turned to me. And we all picked up our sugary weapons and prepared to attack.
“No!” Nate jumped up from the table but had nowhere to go as he ran into the wall behind him. We pummeled him good, and he held up his hands and surrendered.
The table was a mess, but most of the food was still fine, although we hadn’t thrown any of the main course. My steak had an éclair lying in it, and I picked it up and gave it a bite.
“I’m going to have a little after-dinner smoke.” Weed took his joint from behind his ear and rose from the table. As he left, Nate wiped off his shirt and got up to go check himself for more crumbs in the bathroom mirror.
Me and Liss were all alone. She sat wiping the table around her which was sprinkled with powdered sugar. There was a tiny smudge of it on her nose.
I leaned in and took her hand, and then wiped the sugar from her nose, giving her a kiss there to make sure it was all gone.
“Do you know why I like Wonderworld?” She’s never explained how she’d come up with the name.
“Why is that?”
“Sometimes I feel like I’m waking up from a dream. Like this table, for instance. You, this house, your friends. Everything is larger than life when I’m with you. I hadn’t seen anything, been anywhere before you. You’ve filled my life with wonder and possibility. And because of you, I’m ready to see the world and take it by storm.”
“I like that it means something to you. We’re going to see the world. We will, Alice. Together, we’ll do it all.”
Her smile lit up as she threw her arms around me and our lips met for a sugary kiss.
Epilogue
Liss
“Wake up, sleepy head.” Johnny planted a soft kiss on my cheek, and the bed moved as he rolled away to the edge of the bed and stood, pulling on his shorts, but not before giving me a peek at his fine, tight ass. “It’s our big day.”
As excited as I was to be launching the new line, my nerves were in a bunch, and I dreaded failure. Things were different with Mad Mode. By the time I’d come onto the scene, Johnny was well-established, and even though it wasn’t the first time my designs had been featured, this was the product of months of planning for this event, not a spur of the moment decision to save Johnny’s ass. If this failed, it was going to hurt so much more.
We’d worked for months making sure things were perfect, and our jeans were already garnering attention. The shoe line was my biggest concern, and since we’d not done footwear in the past, and it was totally new to us, it made sense to be nervous.
“Is your heart pounding too?” I looked up to see him casually pulling on clothes like it was no big deal. He’d cleaned up his style a lot, and his unruly hair was now trimmed and flattered him much more, making him look even younger which wasn’t fair to most men his age. And without the gold capped tooth, he looked sophisticated and sane, unlike his old madman persona.
“A little, but this isn’t my first rodeo. You’ll be fine, Liss. We’re already getting positive reviews from the sneak peek, and even Wendall Hamilton is kind.”
“That’s only because he has Victoria on a leash, but I guess that is a comfort. At least he’s not trying to bribe us.”
“He’ll have nothing to bribe us with. My days of controversy are over.” He walked back over and leaned down to kiss me again. His lips were warm against mine, and then he took my hand and pulled me up.
I went to get ready, and by the time I was done, Johnny sat waiting on me chatting on the phone. He stood up when he saw me. “We’re on our way down. Make sure that security knows and thanks again for the heads up.” He ended the call and shoved his phone in his pocket.
“Is there a problem?” He let loose a breath as if he were hoping I wouldn’t ask.
“Chester and Victoria are in the house. I’m not worried about Chester, but I don’t want her doing anything to ruin the big day, so I’ve asked Weed to make sure security is on alert.”
“Do you really think she’d do something dramatic?” I wasn’t sure Victoria was still holding a grudge, and it wasn’t like I broke up their marriage. That ship had long sailed.
“She stole our collection and chopped it up to make her own, remember? I’m not taking any chances. Besides, she’s been known to throw a few punches here and there. I don’t want her swinging at you.”
“Seriously? Punches? Wow, what a lady. Remind me again why you married her. Grace? Charm?”
“I’ll pass. You wouldn’t like my answer.” I didn’t want to hear it and knew I wouldn’t like it. Luckily, I hadn’t had to hear much about their past relationship, because of the long separation, and I was determined to keep it that way.
We locked hands, and I took a deep breath. Staying in the hotel above the event had been a convenience, and as we walked out into the hall to get to the elevator, the paparazzi flashbulbs assaulted my eyes.
“Shit. Keep your head down, Liss.” I held on tight to him as they started to push into us, but thankfully security caught up fast and soon the door was closing us inside the elevator with one of the security guards.
“I guess we know what we have waiting for us,” said Johnny.
“Keep your head down, sir. I’ll make sure they don’t crowd you or your wife.” I glanced over at Johnny waiting for him to correct the man.
Instead, he gave a polite, “Thank you.” When the doors did open, sure enough, we were met with more flashes that followed us to the event center. We stopped at the door and waited for security to catch up.
“I hate it being this way, but it’s a necessary evil.” Johnny didn’t like all of the security, and he was only doing it for me.
We were announced as we stepped inside the event, and a crowd of people clapped as we took to the floor and welcomed our guests.
Chester was across the room with Weed and Victoria was hovering nearby with a smug look on her face.
As Weed approached, dressed in a pink suit with one of my dyed scarves around his neck, Chester came with him, dressed in powder blue with his signature bowtie. Weed hugged me as Chester shook Johnny’s hand.
“How're things in the fashion business, Chester?” Johnny knew the man had only gotten involved because of Victoria, but his investment had really worked out to his favor.
“Smartest thing I ever did.” He turned and glanced across the room, gesturing to Victoria, who came like a whipped dog scampering to his side.
“Yes, Chester?”
“I thought you should say hello to my friends.” Chester gave her a smug look, and she quickly held out her hand to me.
“It’s good to see you, Alice. Johnny.” She gave her ex-husband a tight smile, and you could tell by their actions that the roles between them were completely opposite from before. She’d always had Chester by her side, using him as a servant, but he was the one now clearly in charge.
Weed stepped up. “I hate to interrupt, but we should get to the back. Nate’s having a hard time keeping things corralled.” He shook Chester’s hand. “It was good to see you, man. Give me a call sometime.” For a moment, I thought I caught something devious in Weed’s eye, and Chester blushed and turned away. I gave Johnny the side-eye, and he nodded. I had no idea the two of them had ever had a thing. But then, there were still some things which Weed didn’t confide in me about. His lovers were one of them.
We made our way through the crowd and seeing all of the people made me a bit nervous, especially knowing so many had expectations that I hoped to fulfill. When we finally got to the back, we found Nate who was helping Gretta into her jeans.
&nbs
p; Weed panicked. “What the hell are you doing undressed?”
“It’s not my fault. My zipper ripped, and I had to pin it from the inside.” Gretta put herself back into the jeans, and I stepped up to help her zip them without having another problem. Considering everything that had happened before, I’d hired her to model for Wonderworld, and we actually got along fine. Life was about second-chances sometimes, and I had to remember, if Johnny and I hadn’t had one, my life wouldn’t be anything compared to what it was.
“It’s fine. You look amazing, Gretta.” I assured her with a smile.
Nate patted Weed on the back. “Next time, I’ll go deal with security, and you stay back here in your habitat.”
“It’s a deal.” Weed glanced down at his watch. “Are you ready ladies and gents. Five-minute warning.” He got on the move and started on one side of the room, checking for every model to ensure that their clothes were on point. I walked along behind him, and together we made adjustments when necessary.
The line looked amazing, and we’d done a line of tees and button-downs to go along with it. Weed handed Gretta a pair of shoes from our girl’s collection, and she sat down to put them on. Nate stayed close by, and I had seen the two of them cozying up quite a bit lately.
The music started playing out front and Weed went into overdrive. “Okay, sexy people. Let’s make Wonderworld proud!”
The models cheered and Weed rallied them in place and sent the first group out on the stage. I held my breath for the first big cheer, and after it came, it never died down. The crowd was going wild for our new line, and I glanced over at Johnny who was smiling ear to ear and gave me a wink.
I straightened one of the model’s necklaces and not a second later she was prancing her way down the stage, working those hips in our jeans like nobody’s business. Half of the line was already down the runway, and it all moved so fast, that I barely had time to think.
One of our models lost one of her earrings, and another had an entire hair extension slip out, but all in all, it was a great show. And after the entire line took one last walk, it was time for Johnny and me to join them. He stepped up beside me and took my hand.