by Keeland, Vi
“I...work in real estate.”
I wasn’t quite sure why I continued to feel the need to be vague. I guess since we were getting along so well, I didn’t want her developing any preconceived notions about me. The way we’d met was bad enough.
She waited a bit for me to elaborate, but then when I didn’t, she just said, “I see.”
My father suddenly jumped in his chair, waking himself up.
“Well, look who’s still alive!” I joked.
He blinked several times “How long was I out this time?”
“About a half-hour.”
“Piper still here?”
“I’m right here, Mr. H.” She smiled.
He finally turned and saw her.
“My son hasn’t scared you away yet, eh?”
“No. We’ve actually been having a pretty nice conversation.” She looked at the clock. “But actually, I should get going. My family is going to wonder where I am.”
I put my hands in my pockets, wishing I could have told her to stay. But it was Christmas Eve, and she needed to be with her family.
“Give them my love,” he said to her.
She bent down and gave him a hug before he took off to the bathroom.
I walked Piper to the door, and an awkward silence ensued as she lingered just outside the doorway.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said
“Thank you for—oh I don’t know—let’s see. Thank you for not ratting me out as a condescending asshole to my father. Thank you for looking out for said old man over the past several days...also for a nice conversation and a damn good pie to boot.”
She leaned in. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Yeah.”
Her breath brushed against my cheek as she said, “I still sort of think you’re an asshole.”
Shaking my head, I laughed. “You’re nothing if not honest, Piper.” I lifted my brow. “And you might be right.”
She said nothing else before taking off. Her ass wiggled as she walked down the hall. Damn if watching that wasn’t the best Christmas gift I could’ve asked for.
Piper
I hoped it wasn’t too early.
I knocked lightly just in case Mr. Hanks was still sleeping. I’d been just about to walk away when I heard the low buzzing noise his electric chair made when it moved.
The door opened.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. H….oh…boy…what happened?” Mr. Hanks’s face had a half-dozen pieces of tissue stuck to it.
“Shaving is a bitch still. But Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”
His neck still had stubble, and he’d missed a few parts of his face.
“Thank you. Can I come in?”
He pulled the joystick on his wheelchair arm and his chair backed up. “Of course. I was going to come down to see you before I headed out for the day.”
Closing the door behind me, I said, “What time is your son coming to pick you up today?”
“Around noon. I figured I’d get an early start because things take a little longer these days.”
I smiled. “Could I help you get ready?”
“Are you hitting on me again? First you try to help me into bed. Now you want to help me get dressed? I told you, I’m too old for you.” He winked.
I laughed. “I meant help you shave.”
“There’s an art to shaving a man’s face. I have shaky hands, but that might be better than you thinking my neck is like your legs.”
“I actually used to shave my grandfather all the time. He had Alzheimer’s, and toward the end, he didn’t get out of bed. He also didn’t talk much. So that’s what I would do when I visited him every week. I’d give him a nice shave and tell him all about my day. It made me feel useful, and it was better than just staring at him like most people who came to visit did.”
Mr. Hanks shrugged. “Alrighty then. I’ll take you up on that offer. If Mason sees a slice in my throat from shaving, he’ll have an aide here around the clock, instead of just the eight hours a day the one he hired annoys me.”
I laughed and pushed Mr. Hanks down the hall to the bathroom. “Your son is protective of you. I have to admit, he’s pretty different than the person I originally thought he was.”
“Yeah. Mason…well…he can be a bit of an ass. But he’s come a long way. When my wife and I first brought him home, he got suspended three times in the first year…and he was only in fourth grade.”
“Brought him home?”
“Yeah, Mason’s adopted. I thought I’d mentioned that.”
That was something I’d definitely remember. “No, I don’t think so.”
“My wife and I couldn’t have kids. Mason was nine when we brought him home. He was constantly getting in trouble for being disruptive in class. Halfway through the year, we figured out why. He was in fourth grade but could do the math work of a high school senior. Kid was a genius and social services had no clue.”
“Oh wow.” I took the shaving cream out of the medicine cabinet and sprayed a glob onto my hands before lathering up and rubbing it on Mr. Hanks’s neck and the places he’d missed on his face. “That’s crazy.”
“He was living on the streets, so it wasn’t like he went to school on a regular basis for anyone to get to know him.”
I froze with my hands on Mr. Hanks’s neck. “He was…homeless.”
“Yeah. It gave him a tough edge. But underneath all that armor is a heart of gold. Trust me, he was the apple of my wife’s eye, and he couldn’t do enough for her.”
God, I felt like a complete idiot now. No wonder he’d gotten so upset when I mistook him for a homeless person.
I finished shaving Mr. Hanks and then wheeled him back to the living room. I knew it was getting late, and I had to go, so I took out the envelope I’d come to give him.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Hanks. I’ll explain it once you open it.”
“I have a little something for you, too.” He lifted his chin. “There’s an envelope on the kitchen counter over there. Could you grab it for me?”
“Of course.”
I laughed looking down at the plain white envelope with my name written on it. We’d unknowingly given each other matching gifts.
“You go first,” I said.
Mr. Hanks opened the sealed envelope and took out the business card I’d slipped inside. He read it and then looked up at me with his brows knitted. “An old-age home? I hope your gift isn’t that you’re putting me there.”
I laughed. “No, it’s definitely not. But that’s where I’ll be today. The East Side Assisted Living Center has a floor for people living there temporarily while recovering from strokes. I’m serving lunch there today and then playing cards and games with the residents after. I can’t really afford gifts, and honestly most of the gifts I’d bought over the years were just unnecessary, so this year I’m donating my time and doing good deeds in honor of people. Today I’ll do my best to spread Christmas cheer with you in mind.”
It looked like Mr. Hanks started to get a little choked up. He swallowed. “Thank you. That’s really kind of you.”
I smiled. “My turn now! I tore open the envelope with the excitement of a little kid on Christmas morning. Funny enough, there was a business card inside my gift, too. Mine was for The Lotus—a swanky, five-star hotel that overlooked Central Park.”
“Turn it over,” he said. “There’s a name written on the back.”
“Marie Desidario,” I said aloud.
Mr. Hanks nodded. “You go see her first thing tomorrow morning. I got a connection with the hotel and happen to know they’re planning on redoing all their suites. If you can come up with designs by New Year’s Eve, they’ll look at your proposal. They already got stuff from some other firm and committed to make their decision by the beginning of the year. But I bet you can knock their socks off.”
My eyes bulged from my head. “Oh my, God! That’s...I don’t even know what to say. That’s so incredible. Landing a job like The Lotus Hotel could be career changing. I…
I….I’m going to hug you. But I promise I’m not hitting on you.”
Mr. Hanks chuckled as I engulfed him in a giant hug. I seriously couldn’t believe I was going to get a chance to submit my designs to a place like that.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”
“Merry Christmas to you, too, Mr. H. And tell your son I hope he has a nice holiday, too.”
“You bet.”
Over the next five days, I had to have drunk five gallons of coffee. I’d called Marie at The Lotus bright and early the day after Christmas, and she told me to stop by so she could give me the specs she’d supplied to the other vendors. While I was there, she also gave me a tour of the hotel and the suites I’d be providing designs for. I’d been to the hotel once with Warren for dinner, but I’d never seen it at Christmas time. The place was truly magical.
I stood in the lobby with my large portfolio bag slung over my shoulder and looked around in awe. For inspiration, I’d stopped by every day since I met with Marie the first time, yet each time I stepped into the magnificent lobby I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by its beauty. In my heart, I felt unworthy of the opportunity to design anything for this place, even though I truly did love the concepts I came up with.
I rode the elevator up to the 6th floor where the business offices were located and knocked on the manager’s open door before entering. Marie smiled warmly.
“Come in, Piper. It’s good to see you.” She extended her hand from behind her desk.
“You, too.” I wiped my hand on my pants before stepping forward to shake. “Sorry. I’m a nervous wreck. I don’t want to sweaty palm you.”
Marie smiled. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. Why don’t you have a seat?” There was a small round table with a few chairs in the corner of her office, and she motioned in that direction. “We can spread out over there better.”
Over the next hour and a half, I showed Marie my concepts. I’d made two very different boards to present, but honestly I liked one much better than the other. Marie clearly agreed. She oohed and aahed at the rich fabric I’d chosen for the window dressings and told me the loved the uniqueness and quality of the hand-painted cherry blossoms wallpaper I’d suggested. Overall, I thought the presentation couldn’t have gone any better.
“Well, I’ll be meeting with the owner this afternoon. He’s seen the other concepts already. I’ll make my recommendation to him, but ultimately the final choice is his. So I don’t want to get your hopes up, but yours is my new favorite.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “Really.”
I was so excited that the professional demeanor I’d been trying to portray flew right out the window. I jumped up out of my seat and threw my arms around her for a hug. “Thank you so much!”
She laughed. “You’re welcome. But I guess my telling you not to get your hopes up didn’t really help, did it?”
“No, I guess not. But I do understand that my designs might not get picked. Honestly, it’s just been a dream to even come here and get a chance to present to you. Whatever happens, I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity.”
“Mr. Hanks said you were something special. I can understand why now.”
“Thank you. I didn’t realize you’d met him. He said he knew the owner, so I wasn’t sure.”
Marie smiled. “Yes, he definitely knows the owner. He comes by quite a bit, actually. Though not as much lately.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely harder for him to get around these days. But I’m taking him out to lunch this afternoon…to say thank you for getting me the chance to present to you. I’ve been neglecting him while I worked the last week, and I want to celebrate with him.”
“Have a great time. And I’ll be in touch within the next few days, one way or the other.”
On the way out of the hotel, I saw a homeless man on the curb outside. I dug into my pocketbook and, unfortunately, I only had ten bucks. Without thinking, I went to hand it to him, but then I remembered the last time I’d rushed to help a person whom I thought was homeless…I’d wound up with a bag full of dicks.
Which…as twisted as it was, I’d been seriously considering digging into to thoughts of the not-homeless man who gave it to me.
God, Mason was handsome.
I sighed.
This time, before I got myself into trouble again, I walked over to the man. “Hi. Are you…waiting for a cab?”
The guy’s face was dirty, and his hair clearly hadn’t been washed in a long time. He looked at me like I was nuts. “No, I’m waiting for Cinderella to swing by and pick me up for the ball. Jesus, lady, go away…unless you want to buy me something to eat.”
I smiled and extended the ten dollars to him. “Actually. I’d love to buy you lunch. Have a Happy New Year.”
He shook his head, but quickly grabbed the bill from my hand. “Yeah. You, too.”
That evening, I was about to get changed when there was a knock at my door. My heart started to race as I looked through the peephole.
“Mason. Is…everything alright with your dad?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Everything is fine.”
My hand covered my heart. “You scared me.”
“Sorry about that. I was just wondering…” he looked down. “If you’d like to have dinner.”
“You mean me, you, and your dad, right?”
He flashed a boyish smile. “No. I mean just me and you.”
“Like a date?”
He chuckled. “Yes, exactly like a date. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because it would be a date, Piper.”
“Oh! Wow. Ummm. I…”
“Did you have plans?”
“Well, it is New Year’s Eve. So, yes, I did have plans.”
Mason squinted. “And those plans are?”
“I have a date with two men.”
His brows shot up.
I smirked. “Ben and Jerry. I was just going to sit at home and watch the ball drop while eating Chunky Monkey.”
Mason shook his head. “Be ready at eight.”
My hands went to my hips. “No. Not when you say it like that.”
He rolled his eyes. “Do you or don’t you want to go out with me?”
“I guess I do. But I want better than be ready at eight. God, you can really be an asshole.”
We glared at each other. Eventually, he broke the stare off. “Piper. Would you please be ready at eight o’clock tonight?”
I smirked. “How about eight fifteen?
He grumbled ‘What the hell am I doing’ under his breath and turned to walk away. “I’ll see you later.”
I walked out into the hall. “Wait! Where are we going? What should I wear?”
“Wear whatever you want.”
“But what will you be wearing?”
He still didn’t turn around. “Whatever I want.”
“Are we taking public transportation? I’ll need to know for shoe selection.”
Mason arrived at the elevator bank and pushed the button. “We won’t be taking public transportation.”
“What about outer wear? Will I need a hat and gloves?”
The elevator doors slid open. He looked down the hall at me before stepping in. “Sure, bring them. Bring anything you want. Even your bag of dicks is welcome. See you at eight, Piper.”
And then…just like that, he was gone.
Right at eight, there was a knock at my door. Expecting it to be Mason, I opened it looking down at my dress. “I don’t know if what I’m wearing is too dressy…oh.” I looked up. “I’m sorry, I thought you were Mason.”
The older man took off his hat and nodded. “I’m Mr. Mason’s driver, ma’am. He asked me to collect you at eight.”
Driver?
Collect me?
I was thoroughly confused. “You mean Mason isn’t here?”
“No, ma’am. He had some work to attend to, so he asked me to pick you up.”
“Oh…well. That’s…okay. I guess
if he’s stuck at work. Let me just grab my bag. Come in.”
The driver smiled. “I’ll just wait out here.”
“Suit yourself.” I grabbed my purse and checked out my reflection in the mirror one last time. I’d picked out a beaded black dress since it was New Year’s Eve. But I thought I might have been overdressed. So when I went into the hall, I asked the driver. “Would you know if what I’m wearing is okay? I mean…do you know how nice the restaurant is he’s taking me to?”
“It’s a very nice restaurant.”
“Is it beaded dress nice?”
The man smiled. “Yes, I think so.”
I sat in the back of a Lincoln Town Car for almost forty-five minutes as the driver navigated through heavy city traffic. This was already a strange date…from the way we’d argued when he asked me out to dinner, to him sending his driver instead of showing up himself. But I was definitely excited. Mason Hanks was absolutely gorgeous, and despite his edge of arrogance, he was funny, and I liked that we had good banter. So I had butterflies in my stomach the entire drive.
The car slowed to a stop in front of where I’d been earlier, The Lotus Hotel. I was confused until I saw the man standing out front waiting, while fiddling with an oversized watch.
Wow. Mason looked great in a suit. The way it fit his broad shoulders and hugged his arms, it had to have been custom fitted. His hair was slicked back, and he stood with his feet planted wide, looking very impatient. I don’t know why, but the fact that he looked like he was annoyed tickled me. Mason looked up and our eyes caught. He smiled and I nearly lost it. Oh my. He looked…well, drop dead gorgeous…like an old-time movie star.
Leaning down to the car, he opened the door and extended a hand. “It’s about time.”
“I don’t control traffic, you know.”
The corner of his lip twitched. He looked me up and down. “You look beautiful.”
I softened. “Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He folded his arm and offered me his elbow.
“I was just here this afternoon. Did you know that your dad is friends with the owner, and he got me a chance to present some designs for a redecorating project?”