by Ali Parker
I laughed. “Okay, Lance, whatever you say. Now, if there’s nothing else, I have a company to run. You should really try getting a job one of these days, Lance. You obviously have too much time on your hands.”
Lance’s face was turning red. I knew I was getting to him. It was more of his empty threats. It was the same tactic he used to buffalo my dad into giving him money. It had taken my father a long time to be able to tell him no. I wasn’t my father. I could see a conman a mile away, thanks to Lance’s own tutelage at a young age.
“Guess what, when you’re jobless because your company has been sold off and all your daddy’s money is given to charity, we’ll see who’s the smug one then. Keep laughing, your time is coming, and I’m going to be right there to watch you fall.”
I looked back at Jim, silently asking him to end the meeting. He nodded his head.
“Gentlemen, thanks for stopping by. You can see yourselves out,” he announced.
“What about—” Lance started but stopped when his attorney placed a hand on his arm, shaking his head.
“Have a nice day,” I said with a smile, not bothering to get up as they stood to leave.
“You haven’t seen the last of me, Terran,” Lance shot back.
I didn’t bother looking at him. Once the two men had left the office, I turned to look at Jim. “What the hell was that about?” I growled.
Jim shook his head. “I don’t know. They came in here demanding to speak with me. That Lance character is obviously getting ready to make a move.”
“Can he do that?” I asked.
“He can try. I need to know this thing is solid. If there is even a hint that you have made this up to try and fool the other attorney and essentially the probate court, you are screwed. You will lose it all. The money will be donated, and your company will be sold off to the highest bidder to dismantle as they see fit. You’ll have nothing. Nothing at all. That fancy yacht you like to brag about is going to be auctioned off. Everything you have--gone”
I nodded my head. “It’s solid, and really, get a life.”
He didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know what kind of timeline you had in mind for this wedding, but you may need to move it up. This Lance character seems desperate. Desperate men do desperate things. All he needs to do is put a bit of doubt into Bob’s head. If Bob buys into it, it could end badly for you.”
“I understand. It’s solid. Hailey loves me of that I’m sure.”
Jim eyed me with suspicion. “I don’t want to know about any plots, ploys or schemes. Suffice it to say, this needs to be proven beyond a doubt to be the real thing.”
“I got it,” I said, growing frustrated.
“Okay.”
I stood up. “If that’s all, I need to get back to work. I had to rush over here. Next time tell Lance to make a damn appointment. I won’t drop everything for him again. You’re my lawyer. I expect you to handle this kind of crap and that’s exactly what this is—crap.”
“I’ll be in touch,” he replied.
I stomped out of his office, pissed and frustrated and a little nervous. There was no way Lance could prove the engagement wasn’t real. It was real. Hailey believed it was real, her friend believed it was real, and I knew Zach would never sell me out. I assured myself there was nothing Lance could do to get in the way of me keeping my company.
For now, it was business as usual. Hailey was supposed to be setting up a time for us to get engagement photos to send out announcements. Hopefully, that was the proof I needed to prove the whole thing was legit. I couldn’t let myself imagine the alternative. I would fight tooth and nail before I ever let Lance get his hands on a single penny of my father’s money. The man could rot in hell first.
Chapter 39
Hailey
I was far more confident than I had been the last time I arrived at Gabriel’s office. I was practically bouncing through the door as I walked up to the receptionist.
“Hi Hailey,” she greeted me with a friendly smile.
She remembered who I was. That was a huge ego boost.
“Hi, I’m here to see Gabriel.”
She nodded her head. “He’s waiting for you. You can go ahead and go on in.”
I walked back to the office, knocked once and proceeded inside. As usual, Gabriel was pacing around his office, his phone pressed to his ear as he waved one hand while talking. I waited near the door until he was finished with his call.
“Hailey!” he greeted me with that familiar enthusiasm.
“Hi,” I replied, feeling far more comfortable with him than before.
I realized it was simply his personality. He wasn’t being weird or trying to flirt. He was an energetic guy who called it like he saw it. I wouldn’t hold it against him.
“Great news!” he exclaimed, walking towards me and wrapping me up in a big bear hug.
I raised an eyebrow. “The commercial?”
He laughed and stepped away, taking his seat behind his desk, waving for me to sit down. “Yes! The commercial. You landed it. How awesome is that! I don’t think I’ve ever sent anyone out on a first audition and they landed the damn thing.”
I giggled, a little embarrassed by the way he was carrying on. “I was pretty excited.”
“And you should be. This is great news. Fantastic news! You have arrived my dear Hailey. I spoke with the director doing the commercial, and he was really impressed with you. He gave me some direct contacts—contacts I’ve never had before. You are going to be opening some big doors for yourself.”
“I’m excited. He said he had ins with some of the biggest producers and directors in the industry.”
Gabriel clapped his hands together. “Yes, he does and gave me the information. I’ve got some feelers out and am waiting to hear back about what’s out there and what’s in the pipeline. We’ll get this commercial done and get your face out there.”
“I’m excited to get started. I can’t believe it’s all really happening.”
“Oh, it’s happening. This is your first step in. It was the break you needed. I don’t have to tell you some people spend years trying to land their first commercial just to get their foot in the door. You came in like a steamroller, breaking down the damn door. I’m excited to take this journey with you,” he said, looking at his computer screen and jotting something down.
It amazed me how he could be such an effective multi-tasker. He was carrying on a conversation with me, while reading and writing. I would have ended up writing down what I was saying. My brain did not operate that way.
He handed me the paper. “This is the studio you’ll need to report to. I’m getting the contracts drawn up now. Once they’re ready, I’ll have you sign them, and you’ll be ready to roll. Don’t do anything until we have that contract in place.”
“Got it. I won’t smile or even look at a camera unless you say I can. Thank you so much, Gabriel,” I said, tucking the paper into my purse.
We said our goodbyes, and I headed directly to Terran’s condo to wait for him. I couldn’t wait to tell him the good news. It was because of him that it was all finally happening for me. He wasn’t home yet, so I took a seat on the bench in the hallway outside his door. I hadn’t asked him for a key to his place, but it kind of felt like that should be our next step. If he offered, I’d take it, but I would never ask. Maybe I’d give him a key to my place and see if that prompted him to return the gesture. Although, we tended to spend more time at his place.
I heard the elevator doors slide open and stood to greet my fiancé. “Hi,” I said, walking toward him and kissing him on the lips.
“Hey. Are we going out? Did I forget something?” he asked, and I could see he was not himself. His shoulders were rigid, and he seemed stiff in general.
“No, I just wanted to see you. Is everything okay?” I asked, taking in the hard set of his jaw and the lines around his mouth.
“Everything’s fine,” he mumbled walking to his door and unlocking it.
I followed him in and immediately got the feeling I was smothering him again. The guy ran hot and cold so often I could never keep up.
“How was your day?” I asked, hoping to be able to transition into my own good news.
“Fine. Yours?” he asked walking into his kitchen and pulling out a bottle of beer.
I nodded my head. “Good. Um, Terran, I can see something is wrong, are you sure you don’t want to talk to me? Maybe I can help you figure something out.”
He took a drink from the beer. “No. I said it’s fine. Please, just drop it.”
I nodded my head. Clearly, he wasn’t in the mood for company. I walked toward him and gave him a quick kiss. “I’m going to go. You need your space. I’m sorry I intruded. Call me later,” I said and turned to leave.
“Hailey, wait. I’m sorry. I’m being a jerk. Stay, please. Can I get you a beer or maybe a glass of wine? I really just need a minute to unwind,” he explained.
I smiled, seeing the tension in his face and nodded my head. I had to get used to these moments. It wasn’t always going to be rainbows and butterflies. I was going to be his wife. It was my job to help him relax after a long, hard day. I was supposed to be his sounding board. I took a deep breath and walked back into the kitchen.
“I’d love a glass of wine,” I said with a smile, putting my purse on the kitchen table.
He nodded and quickly poured me a glass of white wine before taking my hand and leading me to the patio. We sat down and spent several minutes listening to the sounds of the city below while enjoying the sun moving lower in the sky.
“Tell me about your day,” he said.
I stood up and kissed him on the forehead. “Let me get you another beer, and then we can talk.”
I returned with the beer and sat down in the lounge chair next to his. “I landed my first commercial,” I said, trying not to completely bubble over with excitement.
“You did!” he exclaimed.
I nodded my head up and down. “I did. And, the best part, the director of the commercial thinks I would be a good fit for some of the projects his big movie director friends have in the works. He had Gabriel reach out to them.”
“Hailey, I’m so proud of you. I knew you would do great. There was never any doubt in my mind,” he said with a genuine smile, reaching over to hold my hand.
“Thank you. I’m so excited. Everything is coming together. I feel like I’ve won the life lottery.”
He chuckled before taking another drink from his beer. “I was thinking about that double date you wanted to go on. Does tomorrow work for everyone?”
I was so happy he had brought it up instead of bugging him about it. “I’ll check with Mandy, but I’m sure it will be fine. Are you sure about this? If you don’t want to do it, we don’t have to.”
He shook his head. “I want to. I want to meet Mandy. I assume you’ll be asking her to be in the wedding?”
I smiled. It was the first time he had mentioned the wedding. I was wondering if he planned on being engaged forever but hearing him acknowledge engagements tended to end in weddings made me very happy.
“Yes, I imagine I will. I haven’t talked to her about any of that stuff yet, though,” I said, not wanting to scare him by jumping into talk of flowers and cake and all the other wedding business.
“I’m sorry about earlier. It was a rough day, and you didn’t deserve me taking it out on you. I’m not used to being around anyone after a long day. I’m glad you were here. Thank you for not walking out on me,” he said in a low voice.
“It’s okay. We all have them. I’m here for you, though. If you ever want to talk, even if it’s to bitch and moan about someone, I’m here.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you,” he said, looking at me strangely.
I smiled. “I’m going to order us some dinner. Any preference?”
He shook his head. “Surprise me.”
I went back inside to grab my phone and search through the online menus before finally settling on Chinese. It was an old habit. I watched him through the glass patio doors and could tell there was something really bothering him. He wasn’t ready to tell me. That was okay. I’d feed him and take him to bed and get him to relax one way or another.
I left him alone while I surfed the internet, waiting for the food to arrive. Once it did, I grabbed him another cold beer and took my bounty out onto the patio.
“Dinner’s ready,” I said with a smile.
“Thank you,” he said and moved to sit at the patio table. We ate in relative silence, his mind clearly elsewhere. Once I had everything put away, I grabbed his hand and led him to his bedroom where I proceeded to massage his naked body, leaving no inch of skin untouched. We made love, slow and gentle, the normal wild passion absent as we came together in a far more gentler joining. Afterward, I laid against the pillows propped up high against the headboard, thinking about how I could get him to relax.
He’d gone to the bathroom and was now crawling back into bed. Usually, I laid my head against his chest as he soothed me to sleep.
“Lay down,” I whispered, patting my chest to indicate what I wanted.
“You sure?”
I nodded my head. “I want to hold you.”
His eyes looked into mine. I saw the hesitation but didn’t give up my request. He threw his arm around my waist and rested his head against my chest. My hand immediately went to his thick black hair and began to stroke my fingers through it.
I didn’t ask him any more questions about his day. I let him lay in peace while I did my best to soothe and comfort him like he had done for me so many times. I felt his breathing slowing and knew he was falling asleep. I smiled, looking down at the silky black strands around my fingers and felt my heart skip a beat.
He was devilishly handsome and all mine. I was the woman who got to share these intimate moments with him. I could feel a certain vulnerability in him and wanted to kiss him and make it all better. I couldn’t, but I could be there for him. I would always be there for him, cheering him on from my corner, just like I knew he would always be there for me.
“Sleep, my love, sleep away the worries,” I whispered before closing my eyes and letting myself drift off to sleep.
Chapter 40
Terran
I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She was standing on the other side of the vanity applying mascara as we got ready for our double date with Mandy and her new boyfriend. Hailey had been chatting nonstop while I shaved, and she put on her makeup. It was odd to be in the same bathroom getting ready together as if we had done it a hundred times before. I loved being around her. It was too easy.
“What are you looking at?” she asked, holding the mascara wand in her hand.
I grinned. “You.”
“Why? What’s up? Do I have something in my teeth?” she asked, immediately turning back to the mirror and making a terrible face as she twisted her lips to expose her teeth.
I burst into laughter. “No. Please, don’t do that. You’re ruining my image of you.”
She started laughing. “Sorry. Beauty does not come easy.”
I shook my head. “I always thought you were makeup free. You’re blowing my mind right now.”
She turned and winked at me. “That’s the idea. This natural look has taken years to perfect.”
“I like it.”
“Good.”
She grabbed a tube of pale lipstick and smoothed it on her lips, pursing them together before smacking loudly several times. I didn’t think I would ever get tired of watching her. I finished shaving and buttoned up my shirt. My eyes drifted to her image in the mirror. She was behind me, bending over and pulling on one of those sexy black heeled shoes that always made me think of her ankles propped on my shoulders.
“I know you’re looking at my ass,” she said with a laugh.
“I am. You keep bending over like that, and we are going to be really late to that dinner,” I growled.
Instea
d of standing up, she did some hair flip, arched her back and turned to look at me. It was the hottest come hither look I had ever seen.
“You’re pushing your luck,” I said in a low voice, stalking toward her.
She started giggling and stood up, holding up her hand to keep me at bay. “Okay, okay, I was just playing.”
“I’m not. You know I can’t resist you.”
“Sure, you can. Now, let’s get your tie on and go. We’re already running late.”
He snorted. “Isn’t that on time for you?”
“Hey,” she protested.
I kissed her on the nose, knowing better than to smear that perfectly applied lipstick.
“Let’s go.”
We made it to the restaurant, only fifteen minutes late, which had to be a new record for Hailey. I had a better understanding of why she was always late. She took a great deal of pride in her appearance when she was going out in public. That was her public image. The woman I knew would throw on a baseball cap, a pair of ratty jeans and old sandals and be completely comfortable and just as beautiful.
I gave my name to the hostess. Mandy and the boyfriend, Reggie, were already at the table enjoying a drink.
“Hi,” Hailey greeted her friend and quickly introduced me.
Mandy hugged Hailey and introduced Reggie. Something about the guy immediately put me off. I’d give him a chance, but I had a feeling he wasn’t what he portrayed.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” I said to Mandy.
She grinned. “And you. I’m sure you know Hailey talks about you all the time. It gets a little old,” she said sarcastically.
“Sorry about that,” I said with a wink.
“So, Reggie, what do you do?” Hailey asked the boyfriend.
I watched the guy check out Hailey and bristled. His brown eyes roamed over her face and then to her chest.