by Lewis, L. K.
“Anything for you, Morgie, you know that. Let me know when to pick you up and I’ll be there,” Amanda says. As soon as I hang up, I go online and book my one way ticket home. I spring for first class – I’ll need the extra room and amenities that come with the price of the ticket for this last leg home. One last little extravagance with a side of denial before I land back in the States and get bitch slapped by reality.
I arrive back at my apartment late Thursday night. Amanda offers to stay with me, but I thank her and tell her I need to be alone. By Saturday I’m ready to face my parents and the decisions that I’ve made that no doubt have disappointed them, so I bite the bullet and call my mom to invite her to our usual Sunday brunch at the club.
Adrian
I have just gotten home from playing racket ball with an old fraternity buddy when my phone starts ringing. To my surprise it’s Morgan’s mother Lana calling. Her husband Jim leant Thompson Manufacturing some money when my father’s health issues started and the company was in decline. Every once in a while since then, Lana has called with different tasks she’s needed me to do to repay the loan. I’ve told her each and every time that Thompson is back on track and I’d be happy to repay Jim, but she seems to have her own agenda. Truth be told I think she’s just a bored housewife that likes to use people for her own amusement now that Morgan is out of the house and no longer under her control.
“Lana, what a surprise…I wasn’t expecting your call,” I say.
“You never are, darling. Listen, there’s something I’d like you do for me.”
“Now there’s where I’m not surprised. What kind of project do you have lined up for me today?” I say with as much sarcasm in my voice as possible.
“Oh stop with the tone, young man. You’re going to like this one, trust me. Morgan has just gotten back into town from her “eat pray love find her boyfriend journey of life” or whatever the hell you want to call it. Anyway, she didn’t find what or whom she was looking for apparently and is now broken hearted and unemployed.”
“And you want me to…” I already knew what she was asking. In fact, this was already part of my plan to get Morgan back. Now I have Morgan’s mom to give me advice on how to get her back. Plus, working on this “project” for Lana will keep her off my back for a while too.
“I want you to give her a job, Adrian. You two belong together, not Morgan and Drake. I raised my daughter to be with a clean cut, well educated, social climbing corporate mogul. Not some ex-junkie sex addict. Drake is lucky to have a father who is as wealthy as he is or that boy would be dead by now. Can you imagine what people at the club will say once they find out Morgan was ever with him? You need to fix this, Adrian. Morgan needs to be on the arm of someone like you, and you need her just as badly. Thompson’s public image still needs help after its decline over the past couple of years. You have done a miraculous job getting it back on track and don’t forget the contributions my husband has made to you to make that happen. Now is the time to socialize. Get to know your investors. Having someone like Morgan on your arm will help you get noticed by the right people.”
“Ah, so you want me to use your daughter.”
“You will only be helping her. She loved you once, Adrian, I think she still does. Having the career she always wanted, and the love of a man who will support her dreams will help her to flourish, and you to succeed. Do this, and your debt to my husband will be forgiven – minus the shares you already promised when Thompson goes public. Consider it an early engagement gift.”
“I’m not quite sure what to say here, Lana…”
“There is nothing to say, Adrian, you don’t really have a choice in the matter. I’m meeting Morgan at the club tomorrow morning for brunch. I’ll plant the seed in her head that she needs to start looking for a job and move on with her life. She’ll most likely be leaving between 11:30 and 11:45 depending on how long it takes for me to make her mad enough to storm off. It’s her M.O. I want you to run into her on your way into the club and somehow during your conversation either offer her the job, or offer her a dinner date to talk about an offer you’d like to make her and give her the job then.”
“Lady, you’re a little insane but I’m in,” I say, shaking my head in disbelief that this woman could be so callous when speaking of her daughter and controlling her future this way. I’m just glad that unlike some other schmuck Lana may have thrown Morgan at for her own gain, I’m at least in love with her.
“I didn’t doubt you would be darling. When you are done speaking to Morgan tomorrow, come join me in the clubhouse and we will discuss the plan further,” Lana says before ending the call.
I sit on my couch for a moment feeling more than stunned. I’m not even sure why, actually. This is just the sort of thing Lana would do. I know she loves her daughter but to use her like a pawn like that is insane. I’m sure with a quick call to Jim Lane I could turn Lana’s offer down and get her back for good, but seeing as I was already planning on doing the same thing and Lana would just find someone else to get Morgan’s mind off Drake, I really am the perfect person for the project. I guess I should just hold on tight from here on out ‘cause I have an idea things are going to get pretty interesting.
Morgan
“Oh, Morgan, I’m so glad you’ve made it home in one piece. Your father and I have been so worried about you,” My mother says as she greets me, hands outstretched for a hug. She doesn’t even bother to hide the fact that she’s looking me up and down, assessing my appearance and noting the fact that I haven’t had my hair colored in far too long and my acrylics have not been maintained. As I sit I take a look at my nails as well and decide to hide my hands in my lap for the remainder of the meal. She seems excited to see me, which is a nice break from her lack of support and constant disapproval over the last month or so.
We are already two Bloody Marys into brunch when my mom finally speaks up. I thought she’d dive in right away and was shocked when she didn’t.
“Well, Morgan, I’m sorry you didn’t find what you wanted on that little holiday of yours, but I’m assuming now that you have returned, you’ll be moving on and finding a new career?” She didn’t even bother withholding the stank from her tone. I guess she was just waiting for the moment to seethe her disapproval of my recent life choices.
“Yes, Mother. I’ll take the rest of today to formulate a solid plan for my future and hit the ground running tomorrow. I was thinking of calling Adrian to see if he needed any help at Thompson. We worked really well together while I handled his account at Baylor and I think I have a pretty good grasp of where he wants to lead his father’s company in the near future,” I say with confidence as if I’d given that a lot of thought, but really, I just pulled that out of my ass. Pretty good thinking… maybe instead of spending the rest of the day pondering my life’s next move, I can now go and get my nails fixed!
“I’m glad you said that Morgan, I was actually going to suggest you look into working at Thompson Manufacturing. You know I’ve always liked Adrian. He suits you. He comes from great stock, and has a very prosperous future ahead of him. I think it would be great for you to start spending time with him again. It’s a shame you’ve lost these last few years, but I’m sure you can make up for that lost time and get back on track.”
“I said I’d like to work with him, Mother, not marry him. Adrian and I as a couple are a thing of the past. I may not have been able to find Drake, but I still love him. Drake is my future. I’m not done fighting for him. Adrian is a great guy and I’ll always love our friendship, but that’s where our relationship ends, Mother, as friends. Please stop meddling,” I say as I thank her for brunch and get up to leave. As usual, my mother is only interested in how I affect her socially. Right now I’m just her daughter with overgrown roots, bad nails, and no husband. All I have to do is mention Adrian Thompson, and she peaks up and practically has our marriage planned, just as she did a few years ago.
I’m fuming as I leave the club, not paying atte
ntion at all to my surroundings and I run into a brick wall. Well, maybe not an actual brick wall per se, but a tall, lean wall of hard muscle.
“Whoa there, gorgeous! What has your head spinning?” Adrian asks as he grips my shoulders, preventing me from falling back onto my ass.
“Jesus, where did you come from? I didn’t see you, sorry,” I say.
“I came from my car, actually,” he laughs. “I think it was you who ran into me. Let me guess, you’ve just had brunch with your mother? No one else seems to throw you into a fit like that woman does.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right,” I start. “Are your ears burning, by the way? We were actually just talking about you.”
“You were...” Adrian says with a confident smile, “I hope all good things.”
“Both, actually.”
“Both?”
“Good, and bad I guess…” I look up at Adrian, finally having the courage to look him in his eyes. I think I must be a little embarrassed about how things went down in Vegas, and how my life has sort of spiraled out of control the last month. I’m sure he’s caught wind of at least a little bit of what happened.
“Okay, so let’s hear it.”
“You want to know what my mother and I were saying about you.”
“Well, you said it was both good and bad. The good I’m sure I’ll agree with, but I think I should at least have the chance to defend the bad, don’t you agree?” Adrian says in a teasing way. He’s enjoying this.
“Well, what I’m hoping you agree with as a good thing is…I was going to call you this week to discuss whether or not you may have room for me at your company? I’m sure you know I’m no longer with Baylor, and I enjoy working with you and love the direction you are taking Thompson Manufacturing. I think I could offer you a lot of insight, and help you to achieve your vision. I know you are just getting the company back on its feet, and might not have room to add another salary onto your payroll, but perhaps we can negotiate some sort of commission or profit sharing deal?”
“It’s so funny that you say that, Morgan, because I was just talking to my father the other day and he mentioned you were no longer at Baylor. I was going to talk to accounting and figure out what kind of package I could offer you.”
“Wow. That’s crazy…wait, how does your dad know I’m no longer at Baylor?”
“Drake Sr. called him a few weeks ago to say that there had been some changes in personnel and you and Drake Jr. would no longer be handling our account.”
“Huh, he didn’t happen to mention where Drake Jr. is now, did he?” I ask, trying not to be too obvious but Adrian already knows about us so I guess the cards are already on the table.
“No, my father never said anything about it. Is everything okay, Morgan?”
“Ugh, no not really. But it’s a long story for another time,” I sigh.
“Well, I was going invite you to dinner to discuss you working with Thompson, maybe we can have dinner this Thursday and you can tell me then,” Adrian says.
“That sounds good, Adrian. You’re a life saver, thanks. That was a lot easier than I thought it would be, actually.”
“Morgan, I’d be an idiot to let your talent slip through my fingers, why did you think asking me for a job would be difficult?”
“I don’t know, maybe because of our history. That’s the other thing I was talking to my mother about, the bad thing I guess. I mentioned working for you, and she got excited and started to plan our wedding all over again. She said working together will help us move past our time apart and get our relationship back on track.”
Adrian takes a step toward me, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear and says, “And that would be a bad thing, why?”
“Adrian, I’m in love with Drake. I’m not quite sure what your dad told you, but Drake is no longer with Baylor Industries, his position was dissolved, and I left quite shortly thereafter. That is why we are no longer on your account. He’s off somewhere finding himself again, so I guess we aren’t quite together right now, not like we really were before, but anyway, he has my heart. I want to work for you, Adrian, but you need to know a future together in any romantic way isn’t a possibility.” I say, taking a step back to create some space between us.
“I know, Morgan,” Adrian says with an exasperated sigh. “I’m not quite sure what happened after we got back from Vegas, but I want you to know I got your voicemail, and had nothing to do with Drake’s departure. I couldn’t do anything to hurt you, ever. I’m going to be honest with you though, my feelings for you haven’t changed. I’d love to make up for lost time and get us back on track but I know that’s not what you want. I respect you, Morgan, and I’ll honor your wishes to move forward in a friendly yet professional manner. We can still discuss your future with Thompson Manufacturing over dinner later this week, but please just think of it as a business meeting and nothing more, okay?”
“Okay, thank you. I appreciate you being so understanding. I’ll be honest with you too, Adrian…I’m so sorry I ever hurt you. That was never my intention. I just knew that you wanted more than I was able to give you when you asked me to move in with you. We never really talked about marriage when we were dating, but I figured we would be heading down that path eventually if we stayed together, and I really needed these past few years to make something of myself. To live a life on my own before settling down. It had nothing to do with you, I really just needed time for me.
“It warms my heart in a way to know that you still care for me, but I would never want to lead you on. I hope us working together won’t create a false hope for you. I hope you will feel free to move on and find your own happiness with someone who deserves a man as wonderful as you,” I say as I reach up and squeeze his upper arm.
“Thanks, Morgan. We’ll be fine working together, I promise. Enjoy the rest of this beautiful day. I’ll have my secretary call you to arrange the dinner plans for Thursday,” Adrian says. He then plants a small kiss on my cheek, and walks past me and into the clubhouse.
Now that I have a job again, my future is suddenly feeling a little bit brighter. My heart is still heavy not knowing where Drake is, but I’m just going to have to get used to the fact that he may not come back to me. My head keeps telling me to be realistic, but my heart says not to lose hope. I’ll just have to use this time apart from Drake productively until he finds his way back to me.
Adrian
“How did it go? Did you run into her on your way in?” Morgan’s mother asks me as I greet her with a kiss on the cheek before joining her at her table. The dishes from the brunch she just shared with Morgan have been removed, but her cocktail has recently been refreshed.
“It’s all going according to plan, Lana. You might want to ease up on the suggestion of marriage, though. Morgan was pretty freaked when I ran into her fleeing the club.”
“I was merely planting a seed, young man. Don’t forget that I am her mother. I’ve molded her into perfection from the day she was born. These last few months spent with Drake Baylor Jr. were only a slight detour. Things between them have now gone south, and she went running back to you to save her. I didn’t even have to suggest her working for you, she came up with that idea all on her own.
“Morgan might think that her heart is still with Drake, but what she’ll find out soon enough is that you are the perfect man to share the rest of her life with. You’re able to provide her with everything she’ll ever need, and if I may point out the obvious…you’re actually here. You can take her to fine dinners and charity galas, spend time with her on the golf course, and lavish her with gifts and affection. I have raised my daughter the same way my mother raised me. To be the perfect woman on her husband’s arm, garnering envy of him from all other men. A beautiful woman gives a man power. Knowing he is able to land perfection in his personal life...especially his bed…shows those he does business with that he expects perfection in the corporate world as well, and will accept only that. This is how you get people to invest in your com
pany’s projects, making you more successful than your wildest dreams.
“Morgan is the key to turning Thompson Manufacturing around, Adrian, which is something that both you and my husband need. Don’t make me remind you about the money Jim lent you to keep Thompson afloat after your dad’s heart attack. Not only does Morgan have a brilliant mind for business, but she is a beautiful young woman who will look good on your arm, while conducting herself accordingly in the presence of your colleagues.” Lana pauses for a moment while I take in everything she has just said.
“Morgan made it perfectly clear today that her heart is still with Drake. She wanted my assurance that all aspects of our relationship moving forward would be strictly platonic, and professional,” I say.
“Adrian, my dear… Don’t forget who holds the power in your relationship now. You may want Morgan back and are willing to do just about anything to make that happen, but she needs you. Her career means everything to her, though I’m not sure why, and right now that girl is out of a job. She needs you to be the strong, handsome knight that comes in to save the day…giving her the career she needs, while healing her broken heart. Be there for her. Nurture her confidence in the work place. Console her while she cries. Show her how much fun life can be – out in the open, not hiding – and show her she can trust you to not leave her. Once enough time has passed without Drake’s return, she’ll open herself to you again. That’s when you declare your intentions, put a ring on her finger, and seal the deal.”