A Couple of Forevers (This Time Forever Book 2)

by Adrienne Williams

  Matt and everyone else laughed at the story. “Yeah, that was pretty bad. It was a double whammy because you just kept crying, and Mom was not at all impressed with my hairstyling game. But hey, we all lived through it. Oh, trust, I will be texting you daily to check up on you, and there is this wonderful thing called Skype. So, we good, Kay.”

  She hugged everyone an extra-long time, especially Noah and Noelle. She was going to miss those two little sweeties so much. “I promise to come and see you soon, okay?” They hugged her neck with their fat little arms and gave her kisses.

  After the long good-bye, Kayla, Mariah, and EJ left Ben and Lena’s home and went to the beach house. Matt and Sonya were driving Kayla to the airport the following morning. Mariah, and EJ were returning to New York with Kayla.

  Renee sat on the couch in the living room, sandwiched between Noelle and Noah, who were patting her leg, their chubby little faces showing concern that their Mommy seemed to be sad. “Awwww, I love you little munchkins, too.” She blew raspberry kisses onto their cheeks, causing them to squeal with laughter.

  Lena said to Renee and Elliott, “I know it’s hard when they grow up and grow away, but she’s such a beautiful and smart young woman with a fantastic future ahead of her. It still pisses me off to no end that Mikhail hurt her so badly. He’ll be sorry sooner rather than later for his stupidity.”

  “It’s a relief to me to know that she won’t be all alone in New York. Liza and E will be there, and Mariah and EJ, Ben noted. That eases my mind a lot.”

  After enjoying some further conversation, Kim and Robert noted that it was getting late. “Thank you all for inviting us tonight. We had a wonderful time with you guys, as usual.”

  Renee and Elliott readied the twins, who were falling asleep, and Liza and E got ready to leave as well. Once they were in the driveway, Liza asked Renee what she had planned for the following day.

  “I have some paperwork to complete and I need to keep a fire lit under the distributor to make sure that all the products make it to the salon before it is scheduled to open. I have a conference call with Genie and our investors, so I’ll have plenty to keep me busy,” Renee replied.

  “If you need, I can come over and watch the kids. We don’t have any plans for tomorrow.”

  “No, you two should sleep in and enjoy yourselves. You know you are welcome to come over anytime. When I’m working, I make a play area for the munchkins and they are very content with their toys and each other.”

  Renee promised Liza that she would call her when she had finished all of her tasks. “I will. It’ll probably be late in the evening, though before I finish up with everything.”

  When Renee and Elliott got home, they bathed their sleepy children and put them in their nursery where they immediately fell back to sleep.

  “Tomorrow is going to be a long day at the office,” Elliott said as he slipped into bed beside Renee. We’re finally at the point of selecting the people that we want to take on criminal cases. After that, I’m meeting with a studio executive who wants to fire the firm he’s with now and switch to us. Plus, I’ve still got a ton of paperwork that I need to deal with.”

  Renee sighed and said, “Okay. Sounds like we both have more than enough to do tomorrow. At least some of the big ticket items will be taken care of though, right? Once the new guys get settled in, that will help you, Daniel, and everybody out a lot.”

  “Yeah, it will,” Elliott said. He pulled Renee close to him and the slid under the sheets together. He kissed her softly, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips. He noticed her quiet mood and knew that she was already missing Kayla, as well as worried about the situation with Jonathan. He said, “Everything is going to be okay, baby. Kay will be fine. She learned a lot from you, baby. And as far as this thing with Jonathan, I don’t want you worrying over that. I know you will, but I’ve got this. We’ve found out quite a bit about him. He’s not going to be a problem for long.”

  Renee looked at Elliott with her beautiful brown eyes. Eyes that were usually shining with happiness since he had come back into her life and made her so happy. Eyes that filled with pride when talking about their children and their family. Eyes that darkened with arousal and need when they were in the throes of passion. Tonight, Renee’s eyes were filled with apprehension over everything that was going on. “You do know that she gets a lot of her personality from you, right? You know how I mull over things even after I have decided what I’m going to do, I still tend to keep going over it in my mind. Well, Kayla is not like me in that regard at all. She’s exactly like you. She knows what she wants and she goes for it. Having you in her life, knowing that her dad will always have her back has given her so much confidence. I know you’re right about her, but you know, she’s still our baby.” She sighed and continued, “As far as Jonathan, that whole situation pisses me off the more I think about it. I have so much to do, and now because of his apparent issues, I have to change the way I do things. It’s just too much.” She added teasingly, “I also know that since those changes involve me being home more often than not is right up your alley.”

  Elliott chuckled and gave her a gentle squeeze about her waist. “I can’t lie about that part, baby. I do love knowing that you and the kids are safe here at home. I love being able to take care of you. I love knowing that you don’t have to stress out about money, because we have more than we’ll ever spend. I love knowing that the kids have the best when you are with them. So, yeah. All of that, and more.”

  She kissed him and turned around and snuggled her ass into his lap so that he was spooning her. She felt his erection on her behind. “Elliott, behave,” she laughed. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day. We’ll get around to taking care of our needs soon enough.”

  He kissed the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him. “Mmmmhm, we sure will.”

  ~~~~

  Renee was scheduled to be on The Good Morning Show at 10:00. The twins spent the night with Lena and Ben since she was asked to arrive at the studio early. When she got to the studio she was taken to hair and makeup. “I really don’t want to wear too much makeup,” she told the makeup artist. “I know that with TV, especially HDTV, makeup can be tricky, but I really do want just a very understated look.” The makeup artist agreed with Renee and gave her a very fresh, natural look. Her locs were already pulled back into a low, simple ponytail that needed no further styling. She wore a deep purple wrap dress that hugged her body perfectly and the earrings that Elliott had previously brought for her when they were in New York. Four-inch black sling-back pumps completed her look.

  Traci Banks, the interviewer for the show popped her head into greenroom where Renee sat waiting. “Just wanted to see how you’re doing, and if you have any last minute questions. You’re on next.”

  Renee finished the cup of herbal green tea she was drinking. “You know, I really wasn’t nervous at all, but it just now hit me. A lot of people are going to see me.”

  Traci chuckled and said, “Don’t be nervous. You’re going to be just fine. We’ll do this just exactly the way we discussed. You’ll see that everything really does just flow along, and before you know it, you will have forgotten all about ‘being on TV.’ By the way, the camera is going to love you. You look really beautiful.”

  After Renee and Traci talked for a bit longer, Traci went back on set to announce Renee as her next guest.

  The interview did go every bit as smoothly as Traci had promised. Traci asked Renee to talk about her hair and skin care line, salon services, specialty services, and the location. Traci asked her to talk a little bit about Elliott and the kids. “Elliott have been together since we were very young and we have two sets of twins, one older, the other babies.”

  At the end of the segment, Traci thanked Renee for coming onto the show and asked her if she would come back at some point, and Renee agreed.

  Afterward, Liza drove Renee back home. Renee’s dad and Sharon had one more day in town, and were happy to sit with Noah and
Noelle.

  “You didn’t seem nervous at all, Renee,” Sharon said. “I’m sure your salon will be every bit as successful here as it is in New York.”

  “Thanks, Sharon. I sure hope so. Our investors are really counting on it being a bit hit out here, and I really believe that it will be. Have you or Dad heard from Aunt Sophie and Uncle Leonard lately. I haven’t talked to either of them since they got back from an overseas vacation.

  Dennis walked in carrying Noah in one arm, while Noelle walked beside him holding his hand. “I just got off the phone with Leonard and Sophie. They said they had a great time. They send their love and said to call whenever you get a chance.”

  Later that evening, after they’d finished dinner, Renee and Elliott sat in the living area with Dennis and Sharon. “So, you already have a waiting list of clients? California has been anxiously awaiting your salon’s arrival, Renee. Appearing on that show this morning is going to get you more appointments. I hope everyone is ready for all the appointments.”

  Renee said, “Yes, we’re already making appointments for six months out. The stylists, skin care specialists, and massage therapists are ready for it. The investors are certainly happy about it. They’re scheduled to meet with Genie and accounting on Friday and I will conference in on the call. Everything is right on schedule.”

  Elliott had been working on some paperwork in his office for most of the evening after dinner. He came in where the others were chatting and joined the conversation. “Yeah, once everything gets settled down, I’m hoping to take your lovely daughter and the kids to Hawaii.”

  “Oh, that sounds like fun,” Sharon said. “I know you two had a really nice time there for your honeymoon, and this time with the kids will be so much fun.”

  After having one more glass of wine, Dennis said to Sharon, “We’d better get to bed, honey. Our flight leaves pretty early in the morning.” He added, “Elliott, thank you again for arranging a limo to drive us to the airport. We really do appreciate it.”

  “It’s my pleasure. I just wish I was here to take you myself, but I have to be in the office early tomorrow and Renee has a lot to do to get things wrapped up.”

  Renee had returned from checking on Noah and Noelle, who were sleeping. “I wish I could drive you there myself, but this whole thing with Jonathan makes it difficult. I will be up early though. We’ll have breakfast before the car gets here and you two can spoil the munchkins a little more before heading out.”

  After Elliott and Renee had said goodnight to Dennis and Sharon, Elliott went into his office to call Daniel and Renee went into the bath area of their bedroom to get ready for bed. Renee had just gotten into bed when Elliott walked into the room. She had her laptop with her and was going over some financial information that the accounting department had sent to her. She peered over her glasses at him and said, “You know you surprised me with Hawaii, right?”

  Elliott removed his t-shirt and jeans and slid into the bed with Renee. He removed her glasses, closed her laptop and placed it on the table by his side of the bed. “You remember we agreed to not bring work to bed, right?”

  “Don’t change the subject. You know there’s going to be a lot going on for the next few weeks. I’ll need to be here so that I can be on top of anything that comes up. We already talked about that,” she said.

  Elliott was irritated, but no so much with Renee as he was with himself. He had been chastising himself for not really seeing from the beginning how involved the whole process was for not only opening the salon, but also the business part of it. He absolutely knew what it took to start and keep a business running and profitable. He’d done it himself and he saw his clients do it all the time with their businesses. He even advised them on how to do it. However, it was different when the woman that he was in love with, the mother of his children, was the one who was running the show.

  He took a deep breath and said, “Look, I just want us to get away for a couple of days. Think about it this way: we could take a couple of days off. Things will be busy, but it’s not like there will be nobody here keeping an eye on things. I mean, your personnel department hired the best people to handle things out here. It’s not like you have to be on top of every little detail.”

  Now, she was really irritated with him. “We keep having this conversation. I’m really trying, here, Elliott. I really am. But you keep making me have to repeat it. I know you don’t think I have to be here for every little detail, but I really do. You do realize this is my company, right? Everything about it always comes back to me. My name and my image are all over it. So, to be clear, Elliott, I kinda do have to be on top of every little detail. I know it may not seem like very much to you, but it means a lot to me. I thought you understood that.”

  Elliott took in a deep breath before speaking. “Baby, no, that’s not how I mean to come across at all. I don’t mean to come off like I don’t understand. I know you built the business from the ground up and I know that it is very, very successful because of you. I would never diminish that fact. I’m just saying that you’re in a position that you don’t have to do so much. We have talked about this before. We will never be financially limited. Our family is growing and will always come first, Renee, and you know that. You also know that I didn’t want you getting involved with making television appearances, but that didn’t stop you from telling everyone that was watching that you’d be happy to make another appearance, did it?”

  Seething mad. That’s how Renee felt at this point. What on Earth had Elliott heard when she had explained to him how important her professional life was to her? It was plainly clear to her now that Elliott didn’t believe she was capable of handling a professional and family life. Renee did what she does best when she felt that she was in a situation where someone was trying to corner her. She shut it down.

  “I’m not having this conversation with you. It’s groundhog’s day and I’m tired of it. I’m going to sleep now. I will say this, Elliott. You’d better get over it. I haven’t done anything to make you think I can’t handle this. Noah and Noelle have me as much as they need and want and I love that. You have me as much as you need and want and I love that. I am running my company. I am going to keep doing exactly what I have been doing, the way I’ve been doing it. You can either get with it or not. The choice is yours.” She turned off her bedside lamp and slid under the covers.

  Elliott sighed and turned off his light. He knew that Renee was finished talking, but he tried once again to get his point across to her. “Renee, I just . . . ,” he started.

  “Elliott, please. We’re both tired. It’s been a long day. Let’s just go to sleep.”

  Elliott took another deep breath and attempted to go to sleep.

  ~~~~

  Maggie watched Renee’s TV appearance earlier that day. Now that she had an address where she could go and see her, she intended to take that opportunity and use it to her advantage. She had to talk to Renee. She didn’t want to leave things the way they were. The run-in at the restaurant had almost been a disaster. She knew that she didn’t have any right to expect forgiveness from Renee or Elliott, but she did want the chance to see her. She had made it up in her mind that she would keep up with Renee through social media, though she didn’t really understand how it really worked. She only used the various medias very sporadically, but now she was going to be using them frequently.

  ~~~~

  Jonathan had also seen Renee that day. He didn’t have to watch her on television, though. He knew someone who worked backstage on the set who allowed him entrance to the studio. He was standing where she couldn’t see him, but he had an excellent view of her. She had been keeping a low profile, not getting out as much. He’d driven by her salon several times, but noted that her friend Liza and E, who he figured out to be Liza’s husband by their obvious affection towards each other, had been present for the final construction phase and now the decorating phase. He didn’t go into the salon, but he was close enough to see that everything wa
s complete. Watching her during her interview had only driven his desire for her even more. Her physical beauty, her voice, everything about her fueled him. He knew that it would seem beyond weird to anyone else, because he had never spent any real time with her. He didn’t need to spend any more time with her than he already had to know that she was exactly what he wanted. That she was married and had family was something they would deal with once he had her to himself.

  Chapter 17

  The next few days went by very quickly. Things with Renee and Elliott were somewhat tense. Neither of them was willing to bend on their positions about how much she was working. Admittedly, Renee was exhausted. She and Elliott were fortunate to have Liza and E as such good friends. They had extended their stay in Los Angeles and were able to accompany Renee to the salon so that she could see how it looked now that it was completed.

  “It really is beautiful,” Liza said as she walked through the salon with Renee and the contractor.

  “Yeah, it really did turn out nice,” Henry agreed. “We’ll be done and out of here as soon as the crew finishes up a few minor things and we do the final walk-through. Is your husband going to be able to be here?”

  “No, he had something to take care of at the office today, so it’s just us,” Renee said.

  After the walk-through was completed, Liza drove Renee home. Renee told Liza about the disagreement that she and Elliott had. “I know he feels like I’m spending too much time away from him and the kids. I do understand his point, but I wish he could see my point of view, too. I mean, I have done everything. Nothing is lacking. I would never ignore or compromise my family.”

  Liza listened to Renee and took in everything that her friend had to say. “Okay, I’m just going to say this. Since we’ve been here, E and I have watched you run around just doing everything. I understand the first time you did it, you were making a name for yourself and building your brand. You’ve done that. You are now married to the most successful attorney in the state of California. He loves you, Renee. The look on his face when he sees you working so hard and so late when you don’t have to says it all. He simply wants to take care of you and the kids. He doesn’t want to take anything from you, but he just wants you to slow down and enjoy your life with him.” For good measure, she added with a chuckle, “You know I’m always right, right?”