One New Message (A Dark Romance Novel)

by Vivian Ward

  “Tell me again why you’re so hell bent on being there again?”

  Blinking, I don’t know how to answer him. I could be honest with him and tell him about the meeting and let him know that Pardo or Lester might get the job instead, but I don’t.

  “Because I’m a good fiancée who loves her man. Besides, babe, I can make it work.”

  He looks at me, skeptical that I can pull it off.

  “It’s true. I was talking to Meagan today at lunch, and we’ve got it all figured out.”

  “Do tell,” he says, pouring himself another glass of wine. “I want to see how you two are going to pull off two parties at once.”

  “No, not at once,” I say. “I’m still going to do my bridal shower, and then I’ll go to your party with you. Easy peasy.”

  “Uh-huh,” he shoves his fork in his mouth. “How?”

  “Basically, we’re going to cut the bridal shower short and I’ll get partially made up beforehand so that I don’t waste too much time getting ready for your party after my shower is over.”

  He thinks about it for a second and grins.

  “That’s not a bad idea, but I feel bad that you’re going to cut it short on behalf of me.”

  “I don’t mind one bit, babe. I’m happy to go with you, and I want to,” I lean over and kiss his cheek.

  “I do like your thinking,” he returns the kiss on my cheek. “So what are you going to wear? Another one of those tight little white dresses that I like so much?”

  Tossing my head back, I laugh. There is no way in hell that I’d wear something like that to his boss’s party, especially with the chemistry between Mr. Ford and me. I still can’t get over the fact that he wants me to call him Olly. Hopefully, he doesn’t always want me to do that because I don’t know if I can.

  “No, it won’t be anything like that, but I’m sure I’ll find something to wear. I’m going to talk to Diane to see what some of the other wives wear to this sort of thing because I don’t want to dress inappropriately.”

  He places his hand on top of mine and smiles at me.

  “I’m sure whatever you find will look great on you. You could wear a trash bag and look beautiful.”

  While he might think so, I disagree, but he hates when I argue with him so instead of doing that, I just kiss his cheek as I clear the table.

  “Whatever you say, my sweet fiancé.”

  Stepping out of the dressing room, I turn and look at myself in the mirror as I examine the dress that I’m trying on. I don’t think that it works with my body type.

  “Does this make my ass look fat?” I ask Meagan. “I feel like I’ve put on ten pounds. I’m so worried that my wedding dress isn’t going to fit.”

  “Look, skinny bitch, your ass looks fine. Actually, your ass looks amazing. Have you been doing the stair machine?”

  “A little. Why? Does it make it too bubbly? Should I stop?”

  Examining my ass in the mirror, it does look rounder. Shit, maybe too round. What if it got so big that my dress doesn’t fit?

  Ever heard the song, “Fatty, fatty, two-by-four, can’t fit through the kitchen door”? Well, my song shall be, “Ass so big, ass so round, can’t fit into a wedding gown.”

  “What? No,” Meagan says. “I wish my ass looked like that but I don’t like the dress. Try on that black one.”

  I knew this dress didn’t look right on me and I’m glad that she agrees. It’s one of those dresses that looks better on the hanger.

  “I don’t know. Maybe we should go to a different store. That black one might be a bit too much.”

  It’s kind of revealing around the chest, and it looks a little too short but I could be wrong. I’m just not sure that it would be appropriate for Mr. Ford’s party.

  “Go. Now.”

  She uses her finger to draw an imaginary U-turn and directs me to the dressing room.

  “I’ll be here waiting for you, and I want to see what it looks like on your hot little body. Scoot,” she brushes me away with her fingertips.

  Rolling my eyes at her, I turn and walk back into the changing room and begin taking off the dress that I’m wearing as I stare at the black dress hanging before me.

  It’s a beautiful dress and has sequins on the cups, but I’m worried it’ll be too low-cut and too revealing overall. I shouldn’t even try it on, but Meagan insists that I do. She’s the one who found the dress and picked it out. She won’t let me say no to at least trying it on.

  As beautiful as it is, I almost hope that it doesn’t fit so that I can tell her I was right and she was wrong. On the other hand, I do want it to fit because it’s so pretty.

  Slipping it on, I realize that my worst nightmare has come true as I zip it up. It fits like a glove and hugs every curve of my body perfectly. The only thing that could make it better is if I had a new pair of lace stockings to go with it, and maybe a good pair of fuck-me heels.

  Opening the door to the changing room, I walk down the short hallway to the circular area that’s filled with mirrors where Megs is waiting for me.

  “Oh. My. God,” she says, gasping and covering her mouth. “You look fucking HOT!”

  This dress….looks ahhh-maze-balls on me. Holy shit! Even I know that this dress makes me look smokin’ hot. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the dress.

  It’s sexy, yet classy.

  It demands attention.

  And I like it.

  Turning in the mirror, I check my ass one more time, and it looks perfect. My boobs look perfect. Everything looks perfect.

  “You like?” I ask, grinning ear to ear.

  “Um, yeah,” she says, admiring my curves. “You look hot girl. Damn. If I were your man, I’d bend your ass over before we even got to the car!”

  We both laugh as I smooth out the lines in the dress.

  “I think I’m going to buy this one,” I say to her. “I don’t know if I’ll have the guts to wear it to Mr. Ford’s party, but I can wear it some other time. It’s too perfect not to own it.”

  “What? You have to wear this to his party. You want your man to have that partnership, right? This is his ticket. Hell, you could probably make partner in that outfit,” she laughs.

  “Ha-ha, very funny. Okay, let me go throw on my regular clothes and then we can check out.”

  Slipping back into my jeans, I button them up and pull my oversized shirt over my head before I replace the dress back on its hanger.

  I’m still amazed at how awesome this dress is, and maybe she is right. I have to wear this to the party. It’s too good of a dress not to wear to impress his managing partner. Plus, if I’m giving up some of my bridal shower for Logan, I want to make sure that he makes partner with his law office.

  Grabbing my purse off the bench seat, I collect the dress and make my way to the register. I’ve decided that I won’t show Logan this dress until we’re ready to go. I can’t wait to see his eyes pop out of his head.

  “Let’s go do some shoe shopping,” I suggest to her after we pay for my dress and are leaving the store.

  I'm going to get those fuck-me heels, and I'm going to rock that party.

  Chapter 12

  Piper

  Airplanes are taking off and landing in a steady, constant stream and I can’t wait until Deb’s plane arrives.

  I’ve been so excited to see her, and I can’t wait to wrap my arms around her. It seems like ages since we’ve seen each other. My heart beats a little faster each time I see a plane coming down the runway until I realize that it’s not her.

  “Are you happy your friend will be here soon?” Logan asks.

  “Oh, you have no idea! Thank you for taking off half a day to come with me and join us for dinner. You’re the best!”

  Standing on my tiptoes, I kiss him on the lips which makes him smile. Even though I’ve got long legs, he still towers over me at 6’4”. I love that he’s so tall.

  “What does a guy like me got to do to get more than a kiss on the lips?” he t
eases.

  “Logan!” I playfully slap him on his chest. “Behave yourself,” I giggle.

  “Where are we going to dinner? Don’t tell me that sucky place that she likes. What’s the name of it again?”

  I know exactly what he’s talking about. Deb’s favorite place is a pizza joint where they have red checkered tablecloths and they hand-toss the dough right in front of you before they fire the pizza in a giant, brick oven but that’s not where we’re going.

  “Tony G’s,” I answer him. “But we’re going to Hooks.”

  Hooks is my favorite place to go to for seafood. Everyone likes Red Lobster, but they’ve got nothing on Hooks. You want to talk about the freshest, best seafood in the Midwest? That’s the place you go.

  It’s near impossible to get fresh seafood since we’re not anywhere near the ocean but you can get it there. They fly in fresh lobster, crab, oysters, fish, and everything once a week.

  You pay through the nose for it, but it’s totally worth it. Once you’ve had it fresh, you won’t want it any other way. And it’s not Deb’s favorite place, but it’s mine, and she told me that I could pick dinner tonight.

  “Oh, we haven’t eaten there in a long time,” he says, rubbing his stomach. “Sounds good.”

  “I thought so,” I beam up at him. “I told her about the party tomorrow night and how I was going to have to cut my bridal shower short so she said we could eat where ever I want to go to tonight, and she’ll eat at Tony G’s tomorrow with her old friend, Kathleen.”

  “Are you sure you want to come to my party at Ford’s place and ditch your best friend? I know the two of you haven’t seen each other in so long and you probably want to hang out.”

  “No, I’m going to that party,” I insist.

  With all the things I’ve done like meeting with his boss, dress shopping and rearranging most of my bridal shower, I’m not going to miss his party unless I’m on my deathbed and even that’s optional.

  “Okay, okay,” he says, holding his hands up in the air as if he’s being taken hostage. “I just want you to know that you can get out of it if you want.”

  “Well, I don’t want to,” I say. “We’re going to it together, we’re going to have fun, and you’re going to make partner at Ford and Associates.”

  Deb finally comes walking toward us, weighed down with luggage strapped over her shoulder as well as the giant suitcase that she’s rolling behind her.

  “Hey, hey, hey!” she cheers, donning a huge smile.

  “Deb!” I run to her and leap into her arms. “It’s so good to see you!”

  “You too!” she drops her bags and embraces me.

  While the two of us squeal and hug each other, Logan picks up all of her luggage and waits for us to finish acting like teenage girls at a sleepover.

  “Hi, Logan,” she turns to him. “Thank you so much for carrying everything. Do you want me to help you with some of it?”

  “No, I’ve got it. What’s in here? A few dead bodies?” He turns to me and asks, “Is she moving in with us? You didn’t tell me that.”

  We all have a good laugh.

  “Don’t be silly,” she says. “I’m going to be staying with you long enough for the bridal shower and the wedding. I had to come prepared.”

  We swing by our house to drop off her things before heading out to Hooks. I’m so glad that she’s finally here. I can already feel the stress leaving my body because I know she’s got my back in all of this.

  “We’re going to open gifts after they all finish stuffing their faces,” Meagan whispers to me.

  “Do you think we’re being rude? I feel like we’re kind of rushing things along.”

  Part of me feels bad that we’re hurrying through everything, but none of my friends seem to mind or notice. Maybe it’s a good thing that they let Meagan take charge of everything back when she started planning it all out.

  They have no idea how many things we’re skipping or how short we’re cutting the party, but I still can’t help that I feel like an asshole. What kind of friend cuts their bridal shower short because she has other things to do?

  This day is supposed to be about my friends and me, not my fiancé and his managing partner, but they don’t need to know that. To all of my friends, they have no clue how closely Meagan and I are watching the clock.

  “No, we’re not being rude,” she assures me. “But geez, do you think they could shovel it in a little faster?”

  We both laugh because it sounds so silly.

  “Megs, I just want to thank you again for being such a good friend through all of this, and for helping me come up with a master plan. You have no idea how much of a lifesaver you are.”

  “Don’t mention it,” she winks at me. “What are friends for? I’m just glad that we came up with something.”

  Meagan doesn’t give our poor friends hardly any time after they finish eating before she starts gathering them around me to open gifts.

  All of my thoughtful, and very generous, friends have a mound of gifts stacked up in a pile that looks like it’ll take me forever to get through and I just don’t have that kind of time.

  “Do you think I’ll look like an ass if I just rip through the paper and open everything as fast as I can to get through them all?” I ask Deb and Meagan.

  “I’ve got an idea,” Deb says.

  She clears her throat as she takes the center of the room and catches everyone’s attention.

  “Excuse me,” she announces to them.

  Once everyone looks up at her, and all eyes are focused on the front of the room, she smiles pleasantly at them.

  “I’d like to take a minute to say how lucky we all are to be part of Piper’s wedding. There’s nothing more special than watching a close friend get married and start their new life.”

  Light chatter erupts from our friends as they all nod in agreement with her, smiles plastered on their faces.

  “And Piper is very lucky to have such amazing friends. Just look at all the gifts she’s about to receive!”

  All of their eyes shift toward the mound of presents, and you can practically see their egos swelling with pride; each so proud of their contribution to the pile of presents that are stacked up on a long folding tables.

  “But dear Lord, we don’t want her to develop arthritis! She told me that it took her nearly a week to work on all of her wedding invitations and that was only because her mom helped her, so let’s do her a favor and open our own gifts!”

  They all look shocked, and whispers from the small crowd erupt once again.

  “After you open your gift, hold it up so that Piper can see what she got and then Meagan and I will help her sort through it all.”

  “That’s a great idea,” I chime in. “Yes, it would be very helpful.”

  I turn to Meagan and Deb and say, “And if you could help me sort it by room—like kitchen, general household or personal items— that would be even more awesome, so it’ll help me organize it all better. I just don’t have a lot of time considering the wedding is one week from today, and I still have to pack for our honeymoon while I make final preparations,” I say to the guests, hoping they’ll understand and agree.

  Luckily, they all nod their heads in agreement.

  “Yep, no problem,” Meagan says, taking charge. “So ladies, everyone get up and come over here to grab your gift.”

  Reluctant, my group of friends who are still a bit surprised comply with her request and slowly go over to retrieve their presents.

  It doesn’t take long before they’re all opening their gifts, laughing and talking as they do it.

  This has got to be the best idea in the history of bridal showers because it’s saving me a ton of time. Instead of me opening each gift in front of them and cooing over their crystal vases and napkin sets, I can just watch them proudly display their gift in front of me while Meagan and Deb organize everything for me.

  After 20 minutes, all of the gifts have been opened, the presents are all s
orted, and now we can move onto wrapping things up. Within the next half an hour, everything’s over, and I can start getting ready for the party tonight at Mr. Ford’s.

  “Are you sure you’ve got all this?” I ask Deb. “I feel kind of bad that you flew in and are helping Meagan do all of this work while I ditch you.”

  I feel awful leaving her and Meagan to clean up the hall that they rented, but I don’t really have much of a choice. It has to be cleaned, and I have to make enough time to get ready for the party.

  “Babe,” she says, taking my hands in hers. “Don’t worry about it. I’m your best friend, and I was your friend before you asked me to do anything for you. I’m happy to help. Now, go. Get yourself ready and enjoy the rest of your night. We’ve got this,” she squeezes my fingertips.

  “You’re the best,” I hug her. “Thank you so much.”

  Before I leave them to get ready for the party, I give Meagan a hug and thank her one last time. I couldn’t have pulled off any of this without the help of her and Deb. It reminds me just how lucky I am.

  Chapter 13

  Logan

  Checking my watch again, the minutes and seconds are ticking by, and it’s making me grow anxious. All I can do is hope that she finishes getting dressed in time before we’re late for the party.

  I’m not sure how Ford will like us waltzing in late, but it’s not something that I want to find out. Making this man happy is my number one priority so if that means bowing down and kissing his ass for one night, then I’ll gladly do it.

  Normally, I’m not a pushover, but this partnership with his firm has so much riding on it that it’s not even funny. Sure, I could become a partner at another firm, but this is the firm to work with, and there’s not another one in the St. Louis area that can compare to it.

  Ford and Associates are the difference between us living comfortably or living in the lap of luxury. And as cliché, as it might sound, I want to give my little princess a lap of luxury to live in.

  Piper deserves the world, and I fully intend on giving it to her. Nothing but the best is good enough for her. Diamonds, silk, lace, pearls, expensive vacations, you name it. I want her to have it, and the fastest, most efficient way to ensuring she has it all is by becoming a partner of Ford and Associates.