She raised her left hand and slowly, angled it down, showing off the sparkling princess cut diamond on her left ring finger. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she said softly as she started at it.
I kissed her hand. “Yes, but not as beautiful as you. You look so happy, Jessie!”
The waiter dropped off a basket of rolls. Jessie immediately reached for one and ripped off a small piece. I passed her the butter.
“I totally am. I still can’t believe Grant and I are getting married,” she squealed.
“Neither can I. How can you be old enough to be getting married, anyway?”
“Time flies Uncle K.” She took a sip of wine. Her smile faded. “Does it bother you?”
“Does what bother me?”
She twisted her hair as she always did when she was troubled. She breathed deeply. “Does it bother you I’m getting married?”
The waiter dropped off our Caesar salads. “Jess, why would it bother me? Look at you. You’re so happy! And when you’re happy, I’m happy.”
She chewed a piece of lettuce slowly. “Yeah, I know. But I guess that wasn’t really what I was asking.”
“Why are women so confusing? I’m too old to play guessing games.”
“Oh please. You’re far from old, dear uncle.”
“Whatever.” I took a bite of salad. “Talk to me. What are you really asking me?”
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know. I worry about you. You’re always alone, with your little broken heart. And now here I come, getting ready to prance down the aisle. Does it make you sad?”
I pushed my salad bowl to the side. “First off, darling, I’m not always alone. I do date you know.”
“Yeah right.” She smirked. “You call what you do dating? Really? Um, who do you think you’re fooling, Keith? I’m not a child anymore. I know what you do. Sure, you’ve been with plenty of women over the years, but don’t you think calling it dating is going a bit too far. Hell, you haven’t had a real relationship since you dated Cecelia. And I was four years old when you two broke up!”
“Is this little conversation coming from you or my sister?” I glared at her. Jamie had been busting my chops for years about Cee. She carried on like a crazy woman when I told her I didn’t try to stop Cecelia from walking out of my apartment. My sister begged me to call her in the days and weeks that followed, but of course, I didn’t listen. When I finally tried, it was too late. All these years, she had alternated between being supportive or making me feel like a fool.
“All me,” Jessie smirked. “But my mom is concerned, too. We all are. Even Stacey.”
I smiled. “You guys can all stop worrying, I’m fine.”
Sounding wiser than her years, she added, “Fine and happy are two different things. You of all people should know that by now.”
I was thankful the waiter appeared with our dinner. He moved Jessie’s bread plate away before he placed her shrimp parmesan and spaghetti down in front of her. Then placed my branzino and sautéed broccoli in front of me. Finally, he topped off our wine glasses. I took a deep breath. Both of the dishes smelled amazing. I immediately dove into mine.
Jessie twirled her pasta with her fork while her eyes remained fixed on me. “Don’t even think because the food is here you are getting off the hook.”
“Seriously, you are totally your mother’s daughter.”
“Which is precisely why I’m your true favorite.” She grinned at me.
I put my fork down. “What do you want me to say, Jessie? This is the life I chose. It is what it is.”
“That’s the problem! Seriously, you’re supposed to be the adult here. Stop acting like a fucking child. You messed up. You messed up big time. You’re stuck in the past. As far as I can see you have two choices here.”
I took a bite of my fish, “Okay, what are they my wise one?”
She took a sip of wine. “Well the obvious choice would have been for you to move on and give one of your lovely ladies a fighting chance. After all this time, it is pretty clear to all of us you can’t let anyone in. So rather than wallow in your sadness and regrets do what you should have done in the first place. Go after her. Get answers. Get her out of your system. Find out if she is really worth the pedestal you have put her on all these years. But brace yourself for the worst. Prepare to have your heart broken. After all, it isn’t like she is a spinster pining away for you. She moved on. She got hitched. She’s a mom now.”
I moved the broccoli around on my plate. “I told you I was going to perform the wedding. I did. I killed it with my vows. I wish you could have heard me, you’d have been proud. I tried to speak directly to her. In fact, I kept looking at her rather than the bride and groom. She tried so hard to avoid eye contact, though. Do you have any idea how that hurt me?”
Jessie reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “Again, not to beat a dead horse, but unlike you she moved on. Did you talk to her at all?”
I nodded. “Right before the affair ended. It was horrible. She couldn’t get away from me fast enough. I gave her my card. I asked her to call. She didn’t. It’s been two weeks and nothing.”
“Well, that sucks.” Jessie nibbled on a shrimp.
“Yep.” I took a sip of wine.
“It’s not surprising, though. Come on, Keith!” Jessie pointed at me. “Really, what was she supposed to do? Run into your arms? Tell you she missed you like crazy? Did you expect her to say she is still in love with you?”
“It would have been nice.”
“Yeah, it would have been, but not too realistic. She’s married. She has kids and she probably never thought she’d see you again. There is also the possibility she may hate your guts.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Got to throw it out there… Keith, come on. Look at me” she said sternly. “She may also feel the same about you the way you feel about her. Neither one of us has any idea what’s going on in her head. However, I do know one thing. She’s not going to chase after you. She certainly isn’t going to call you, especially now. So if you really want to find out if she still has feelings for you, you have to man up my friend. Take a stand. Grow some balls and show her what is in your heart.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CECELIA
“I don’t believe it,” I buried my head in my hands as I sunk down in the guest chair in Anna’s office.
She stopped typing and turned to face me. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not. I give up! I can’t do this anymore.”
“Calm down. Talk to me. What’s going on?”
“Jennifer Warner’s website just went live, and now, after three months of working on it, she decided she hates the color scheme, layout, and the feel of it. We have to redo the entire thing, in… wait for it…Two weeks.”
“Okay, so you’ve been there and done that before.”
“Yeah, I know. I also have to finalize McGrevor’s site since he finally made up his mind as to what fonts he wants and you miraculously created tag lines he can live with.” By far, John McGrevor was the most difficult client our firm had ever seen. We had a meeting in his office a couple of months ago where he attempted to play head games with us. He didn’t so much as even offer anyone from my firm a glass of water on a ninety-degree day. I swear it was intimidation by dehydration! Fortunately, Anna set him straight, and he had been on his best behavior since, which wasn’t really saying much considering his arrogance.
“I know it’s a lot. You never get frazzled like this. You’ll get through it. And besides, you have Samantha to help you.”
“Oh yes. Samantha,” I rolled my eyes. “I was saving the best part for last. She just came to talk to me. She gave notice.”
“What?”
“You heard me. She quit.”
Samantha had been working for me for about three years. She was my right hand. She was so smart and creative. We worked so well together, and we got along terrifically. I had been making sure she kept getting ve
ry nice increases because I didn’t want her to consider leaving the firm. Anna knew once the McGrevor project was completed Samantha was going to get a promotion. I think even Samantha figured it out. I had been dropping hints for weeks!
Anna rubbed her face. “I don’t get it. Why would she quit, especially now?”
“She’s moving to Seattle.”
“Seattle?”
I picked up a paperclip that was lying on Anna’s desk and I started to unravel it, nervously. “Yes, in three weeks. Apparently, her boyfriend just got a huge promotion, and his company is transferring him to Seattle. He’s leaving next week and she wants to move out there to be with him.”
Anna opened her mouth to speak, but I didn’t’ give her a chance. “I knew something was up when she unfriended us on Facebook.” I pointed at Anna. “You made me feel like I was crazy. You believed her cock and bull story about having an issue with her account.”
A little over a month ago, Samantha turned thirty. I wanted to decorate her cubicle as well as plan a surprise lunch for our team to celebrate the milestone. I didn’t remember the exact date of her birthday. Since I wanted to avoid questioning Morgan, the lady who does payroll, I logged onto Facebook to check the date. When I did, there was no trace of Samantha. I then went to Anna’s page to see if she was still friends with her, but of course, she wasn’t.
“I’m not sure about you, but she also blocked me,” I said pointedly at Anna. “I’m slipping. I must be spending too much time with you. I didn’t give her juvenile behavior enough thought at the time. But right before I came in here I logged into Bryce’s account. She must not have been bright enough to realize I have access to other people’s accounts or thought to block my husband too. Clearly she’s been planning this move for months! If I only thought to look sooner, I would have realized. I would have handled things so differently.”
“Take a deep breath Cee. Try to calm down.”
I scowled at her.
“You can’t change anything now. Maybe it’s better you didn’t know her plans, before.”
“Are you crazy?” I glared at her. “If I knew I wouldn’t have been relying on her so much, nor would I have been pushing so hard for her promotion. I feel like a fool.”
Anna glared at me. “You are totally overreacting. Stop and think, will you? This wasn’t personal against you. I’m sure she was thinking only of herself, which is what you’re doing right now. Besides, what choice did she really have? You can’t really blame her for wanting to be with Jake? Can you?”
“Well, yes, I sort of can,” I started tapping my nails against Anna’s desk. “She has her own career to think of. He isn’t making any commitment to her. Why is she willing to walk away from everything she has worked so hard for here to chase him across the country? I think she’s nuts.”
“You’re not thinking of her, Cecelia. You are only thinking of yourself. You don’t want her to leave you, and you don’t want to have to start interviewing or training someone else. Don’t you see how selfish you are being? She’s in love. Yes, I agree with you. She should have handled the situation differently. She wants to be with the man she loves. And if I were in her shoes, and my boyfriend, who I was head over heels over, was being transferred across the country, I’d be packing my bags too.”
“Yeah, you probably would.”
“Don’t give me a face, Cee. She’s following her heart. You’ve got to respect her. You have to look beyond yourself. I know it’ll be difficult for you without her, but she shouldn’t have to give up love for a job.”
“She had more than a job here. She had a career. She’s got nothing out there except him. I tried to convince her to stay. I told her that long distance romances were the best kind.”
“What? Have you completely lost your mind?”
“I don’t know.” I got up and started to pace around Anna’s office. “I told her absence makes the heart grow fonder. I said living in the same state as your partner was overrated.”
Anna shook her head and glared at me. “No. You didn’t.” She didn’t even blink. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, I did.”
Anna sighed deeply. She looked completely at a loss for words. I sat back down in her guest chair. “Anna, I know I don’t want her to leave, but I don’t know if my comments were totally selfish. Do you ever get tired of never being alone?”
Anna took the rubber band off her wrist and put her hair up in a ponytail. “Sometimes I guess. It really gets tiring always having to be on. I’m either at work or tied up with Cole and the kids. I usually feel like I can’t breathe. I’m being pulled in so many directions. For the life of me, I don’t know how I managed to help my mom with the wedding too.” She shrugged her shoulders. “We do what we have to because we love the people in our life. Now don’t get me wrong. I’d love a day alone with my Kindle, but a day would be all I’d want. I can’t imagine living in a different state from my husband. Why? Can you?”
I twirled my hair as I looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. I’m happy. I love Bryce. And the boys are my life, but some days…” I paused trying to get my thoughts together, “some days I think I wouldn’t mind just running away from everyone and everything.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I felt all color drain out of my face. I buried my face in my hands. “Oh my God, Anna,” I started to cry.
Anna jumped out of her chair and embraced me.
“What did I say? I don’t want to be like him.”
Anna lifted my chin up with her fingers. “Look at me. Don’t even go there. You are nothing like your father, Cecelia. You know it, and I know it too. You’re tired and stressed. You’ve got a lot of things on your mind. You need a break. That’s all. You’d never do what he did. You’d never turn your back and walk out on your family. You’re an amazing mother.”
I shrugged my shoulders and sniffed.
“You are. Don’t doubt yourself. Oh, Cee, I do think you really need a break. If you don’t take one, you very well may snap. You push yourself too hard and take everything here too seriously. I know you’re dedicated, but this isn’t your company you know.” She gave me a small smile. “Seriously, except when you gave birth to the boys, I don’t think you’ve ever taken one sick day the entire time you’ve worked here.”
I snorted. “I took one about seven years ago, right after you fed me the spoiled sushi.”
Anna turned a little green at the memory. “Oh yeah, I tried to forget about that night. It took me at least five years to eat eel again.” She took a sip from her water bottle. “When did you say Samantha is leaving?”
I muttered, “In three weeks.”
She sat down on the edge of her desk, and she smiled wide. “Okay, I’ve got it! This is what you need to do. Go and speak to Janice. Ask her if she’d let Samantha work remotely while she settles in Washington. I’m sure she will be fine with it. After all, she has been letting me work from home twice a week since Violet was born. When you tell Samantha the plan, she’ll be so appreciative because now she won’t have to worry about rushing to find a job as soon as she moves. She’ll work her tail off while she is still here, especially after Jake dashes off. Then, you’ll load her up with work. She’ll take some of the pressure off you, and you won’t have to be in such a rush to a replacement for her. You can take your time and find a good fit. And the best part!” Anna clapped her hands. “You’ll be able to take some time off for you. Just you!” She waved her finger in the air. “You don’t take the boys anywhere. You don’t spend the day with Bryce. You just have a few Cee days. You can go shopping, to a spa, or even a movie and lunch. It really doesn’t matter where you go or what you do, just do something that makes you happy. Oh yeah, whatever you do, don’t even think about checking your work emails. I guarantee if you make just a little time for yourself you’ll start feeling better about everything.”
As my mind raced I already began to feel my body relax. “You are brilliant, Anna.” I
got up and hugged her.
“Yeah. I know. Now get out of my office.” She shooed me away with her hand. “I have to finish this power point, and you have to talk to Janice.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CECELIA
“Excuse me, Cecelia,” Mary, our receptionist, called out as she stood by my office’s open door.
I was so focused on my work I jumped at the sound of her high-pitched voice. Anna, as usual, was right. Our boss, Janice, was totally cool with Samantha working remotely for a few months while she got settled in Seattle. So for the past week and a half, I had been busy transitioning a lot of tasks to her so I could focus on finding her replacement. I had a long heart-to-heart talk with Samantha and confronted her about her immaturity. She apologized profusely, and I forgave her. We all made mistakes, especially when we are young and in love.
Mary frowned. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I rubbed my face. “What’s up?”
She entered my office and put a mid-size cardboard box on my desk. “A delivery came for you.” She smiled but didn’t leave my office. Her eyes remained glued on the box.
“Um, thanks, Mary. Do you need anything else?”
“Oh. No. Do you want me to close your door?”
“Yes, that would be lovely.”
Mary was so nosey. She couldn’t stand to miss out on any information. When one of us got a delivery, it drove her completely crazy if we didn’t open the box in front of her. If Anna was in the office today, instead of working from home, I’d bet my house Mary would be barging into her office right now. She’d try to get Anna to come in here and find out what I got from whom. Then she’d pester Anna all afternoon for information.
I examined the cardboard box. There was no return address on it. I pushed my folder and notebook off to the side, opened my desk drawer and removed my letter opener. I ran it over the packing tape. I hoped it was a couple of copies of Jennifer Warner’s new book, which I was dying to read. In the past, every time I had updated her website for a new release, she’d send several autographed copies of her book for my team and me. Instead of finding paperbacks, I found five beautifully wrapped packages and a note. I’m a big baby at heart, so I decided to unwrap the presents first.
Plan Cee (Secrets, Lies, and Second Chances Book 2) Page 8