“Miss Taylor, be reasonable,” he warned, giving me a fatherly warning glare. I rose to my feet and met his gaze coolly.
“I have one other stipulation,” I continued. “I have lots of ideas – really big ideas – and Lex is going to help me.” Mr. Fairmont chuckled then and placed his hands palms down on top of the desk, stretching out his arms as he coldly appraised his son.
“I’m afraid Lex isn’t capable…” Mr. Fairmont began, and to my surprise, Lex sprung out of his chair and looked down at his father.
“Enough!” he stated loudly. “I am completely sick of this. Why do you want me to work here if you think I’m not capable of doing anything important? I’m not interested in wasting away my life so you can witness me having a ‘workday.’ You know what, Dad? I quit.” Lex looked at me and nodded, seeming quite proud of himself.
“We’ll talk about this later,” Mr. Fairmont cautioned his son.
Father knows best, right? Ugh, you are the BM!
“Mr. Fairmont, if you let Lex walk, my offer is off the table,” I stated. He stared at me for a moment, completely emotionless, and then he reached down and pushed a button on his phone.
“Stacy, please show Miss Taylor and my son out of my office,” he ordered.
Yes, keep your image up. Wouldn’t want to assume that Lex and I could figure out how to get out of the office on our own.
“What’s your decision?” Lex asked his father as Stacy opened the door.
“Both of you – out,” was all he replied. I smiled politely at Stacy as Lex followed me into the hallway, and then we both marched straight to the elevator. It only took a moment for Lex to turn to me with a look of concern on his face.
“Do you think he meant ‘out’ out, or ‘out’ as in out of his office?” Lex asked me solemnly. I rolled my eyes and let my shoulders sag.
“What difference does it make?!” I exclaimed. “Honestly, Lex, get a backbone, or I’m going to toss you.”
We were met by warm sunshine when we stepped out onto the sidewalk, and instinctively I began walking towards Central Park. Lex kept beside me stride for stride, neither of us saying a word. When I finally sat down on a bench and slid my shoes off into the grass, he could no longer abide the silence.
“I can’t believe you did that,” he half-whispered. “I can’t believe I did that. Thank you.” I tried not to smile as I stared ahead at a woman leaning over her stroller, gently talking to her baby.
“Don’t read too much into it,” I instructed Lex. “I still think you’re a jerk. At the moment, I just happen to think your dad is a bigger jerk.”
“Point taken,” he said with a grin, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back against the bench. "So, not that it’s important now that we’re both probably fired, but what were your big ideas?”
“Oh, I was bluffing,” I admitted. “I’m sure between the two of us we could have come up with something.”
“Huh!” he choked out. “You have more faith in me than my old man, and I just met you yesterday.” He sobered a little as he stared off into the distance. “What do you think you’ll do now?”
What will I do now? Begin the search for a new publisher, I guess. The sky’s the limit, right? It’s a brand new day.
“Maybe I shouldn’t completely veto the sexy photo shoots, just in case,” I stated. When all he did was make a humph sound, I made sure to clarify that I was being sarcastic.
Lex spent the rest of the morning giving me a tour of Central Park. Afterwards, we had hot dogs from a street vendor, and then we sat in the grass. When I laid back and closed my eyes, letting the sun wash over me, Lex laughed quietly.
“How can you be so carefree after what happened back there?” he asked. I leaned up onto one elbow and squinted at him against the sun.
“You know, honestly, two months ago I would have been freaking out,” I confessed. “Today, it just feels like life is beautifully unscripted. So what if I don’t have a publisher? I’ll find another one, and even if I don’t, it’s not the end of the world. The most important things in my life are back in Tennessee, anyway.”
“I guess that means my life is unscripted, too,” he stated wistfully. I looked over at his face with his dark blonde hair sliding down across his brow, and I figured this was probably the most imperfect he had ever let himself be near his father’s office.
“Kara would be proud of you,” I told him, and that made him smile. “You’re not nearly as bad as I thought you were, when you’re not trying to impress me or threatening to air my dirty laundry. I think deep down you might actually be a nice guy.”
He was getting ready to reply, but my phone started ringing, and I answered it with a sigh. As I listened to the voice on the other end of the line, I stared intently at Lex, who was grinning as he stared across into the trees. No doubt he is enjoying his newfound freedom. I almost hate to spoil his moment. Setting the phone down in my lap, I bit my lip as Lex looked over at me.
“So, that was your dad,” I stated calmly. “He wanted us to know that he accepts our demands.”
“You’re kidding me,” he said skeptically, narrowing his eyes.
“No, I’m totally serious,” I replied. “That was far too easy – I should have asked for more.” While I wrinkled up my nose, he let out a loud yell, and then we both started laughing heartily.
-§-
Lex called Jesse to take me back to the hotel in the afternoon, and on a whim I invited him to join Laurel and me for dinner that night. I told him to bring Kara, but he said she would have to work. He promised to be back around six o’clock, and then he was gone. I hurried up to my room, eager to talk to Cole and tell him about my day, but when I tried to call him, he didn’t answer.
Feeling a little lost without being able to share my news with Cole, I settled for calling Laurel. She only had a moment, so I filled her in on the plans for that evening and told her Lex and I would come around to pick her up right after six. Afterwards, I ran a bath and settled for a long soak. Eyes closed, I relaxed quietly until my phone rang. Pulling my arm out of the bath, I shook the water off as best I could, and then I picked the phone up and held it against the soap bubbles popping along my ear. I fully expected to hear Cole’s voice, but it was Charlie.
“How’s New York?” he asked.
“Um, fine,” I told him. “How did you know I was in New York?”
“Cole told me.” Of course Charlie can get him on the phone but I can’t.
“Yeah, I forgot that you two were attached at the hip.”
“Very funny,” he said. “Listen, we got your wedding invitation, and it just got me thinking - I guess we need to find someplace to stay? What would you recommend?”
“Rosalie already saved you guys a room at the bed and breakfast,” I informed him. “She’s got a bed for Cooper and everything – she’ll have it ready when you get there.”
“Huh!” he stated. “I guess I didn’t expect you to be so on top of things.”
“Yes, well, I’m turning over a new leaf. I’m not the same Camdyn I was a month ago. Besides, Rosalie and Liz are practically taking care of everything without me.”
“In other words, you’ve just scammed someone else into handling all your planning,” he laughed. “And here I was about to be proud of you.”
“Now wait just a second!” I ordered. “You have plenty of reasons to be proud of me. I’ll have you know that I stood up for myself twice already on this trip. Today, I even got the publisher to agree to my demands. How’s that for gumption?”
“I am proud of you, Cammie, I’m just teasing,” he admitted. “You’re the one at some fancy New York hotel while I’m warming up baby bottles.”
“Kiss Cooper for me, will you?” I asked quietly. “He’s so adorable. I feel like our souls are intertwined, you know, after the poop incident.”
“Only you would think you could make a soul connection over a bowel movement,” Charlie chuckled. I laughed along with him as I stood up in the tub
.
“Well, on that lovely note, I think I need to hang up. The car is supposed to be around to pick me up for dinner in about fifteen minutes.”
“You’re having a car sent around for you?” he huffed. “I’m eating frozen pizza out of the microwave.”
“I know. It is such a marvelous life I lead, isn’t it?” I feigned arrogance as I stepped out onto the tile. “Perhaps we’ll dine on champagne and caviar tonight.”
“I’ll keep the pizza,” he chuckled.
“Me, too,” I admitted. “I love you Charlie.”
After I hung up, I dressed in my black shift dress and pumps and let my hair fall down around my shoulders, feeling like I didn’t have a care in the world.
Chapter Fifteen
Lex showed up at the hotel right before six o’clock, and as soon as I saw the laid-back look he was sporting, I knew I was overdressed. When he informed me that we were going to the casual chain restaurant where Kara was a waitress, I laughingly told him I was sure we were the only people going there tonight who had a driver. We stopped to pick up Laurel on the way. I waited in the lobby until she came down from her room, and when I led her out to the car, she just gave me a surprised look and then smiled. Introductions were made to Lex and Jesse before she slipped into the back of the car beside me.
“I really figured we would be going somewhere a little classier,” Laurel stated when I told her where we were going. With a shrug and a smile, I glanced over at Lex.
“I hope you two aren’t too disappointed,” he told us. “Kara is dying to meet you, Camdyn. I also got you ladies a gift so you won’t be too angry with me.” He held up two tickets, waving them through the air like a trophy. Laurel hastily snatched them from his hand.
“Are you kidding me?!” she squealed. “I am dying to see this show, but I couldn’t get tickets.”
“What can I say?” Lex smirked. “I know a guy.”
“Lex, I do believe you’re a handy guy to have around,” Laurel announced.
When we pulled up to the restaurant, I had a hard time not feeling slightly pretentious. As soon as we were out of the car, I asked Lex if we could let Jesse go home to be with his family, and he thought that was a great idea. While we were waiting for our table, I checked my phone again, wondering why Cole hadn’t called me back. Soon enough, though, we were seated near the noisy bar area.
“So not a total loss,” I remarked to Laurel. “Maybe we can catch a ballgame in here.” She laughed as we opened our menus.
“There’s Kara!” Lex interrupted, pointing over my shoulder. I turned to see a pretty young woman of about twenty-five, black hair pulled into a high ponytail and a little diamond stud in her nose. She certainly didn’t jive with the image Lex held at the office, so I understood his dilemma, even though I didn’t agree with his previous cowardice. She waved briefly at Lex, and then she continued taking another table’s drink order. In the meantime, our waiter stopped by to take our drink order, and he introduced himself as T. For a moment I thought about making some sort of Mr. T joke, but I decided against it.
We had already ordered our food and were chatting amiably when Kara made her way over to us. She called Lex “babe” and messed his hair a bit, which I thought was rather funny.
“Kara, I want you to meet Camdyn and Laurel,” he stated with a great deal of formality, as though we were proper ladies. I almost laughed.
“Laurel, Camdyn, it’s a pleasure,” she told us sincerely. “Honestly, I think I should feel threatened by the fact that my boyfriend is eating dinner with two beautiful women. I guess if he was doing something wrong, though, he wouldn’t have brought you here.”
“Very funny,” Lex said as she put her hand gently on his shoulder. “I just met Laurel a few minutes ago, and Camdyn is getting married in two weeks.”
“Congratulations!” Kara said. “Look at that, Lex! Someone in a committed relationship.”
“Don’t tempt me to do something crazy, Kara!” he ordered. “I’m feeling pretty liberated today.”
“Hmm…” she murmured with a smirk. “I better get back to work. Nice to meet you both!”
Lex must have felt liberated, because he was talking very animatedly. Laurel was keeping up with him, and for a while I felt like a silent observer. Admittedly, I was slightly distracted by watching my phone, wondering why Cole hadn’t called. It was seven o’clock, so he should have been finished working.
Why is the lack of phone contact driving me so insane, seriously? Just relax, Camdyn!
“Oh, I hate to interrupt our conversation to talk about business, but I actually have some pretty interesting things to go over with you, Camdyn,” Lex stated.
“You mean you actually thought of some real ideas?” I teased him. He smirked and shook his head.
“Yeah, I did. First of all, I had PR make some contacts this afternoon, and the people at The Tilly Show are very interested in having you on, if they get an exclusive first interview.”
“The Tilly Show?” I asked nervously.
“Camdyn, that’s one of the highest rated talk shows in the country right now!” Laurel remarked. “Talk about starting off on the right foot!”
“I think it would be an awesome fit,” Lex continued. “Tilly’s a little quirky, so she would ask you really interesting questions and bring out the best in you. Plus, she always does a fun interview, so you can’t go wrong.”
“And you think this is a good idea?” I questioned Laurel. She wiped the corner of her mouth with her napkin before she answered.
“Are you kidding? It’s an awesome idea.”
“I’m not sure I’m good in front of people,” I muttered.
“You’ll get the hang of it in no time,” Laurel assured me.
“Good, so that’s settled?” Lex wondered. When I shrugged my shoulders, he kept talking. “After that exclusive, three of the morning programs want you the next day.”
“Three?” I asked weakly.
“At least three! Who knows? After the first Tilly interview, there could be others.”
“How exciting!” Laurel exclaimed.
How utterly terrifying.
“Then she should do a conference, Lex,” Laurel added. “Please, Camdyn? I would love to get you as the headliner for one of our conferences.”
“No, I can’t talk in front of that many people,” I insisted.
“I actually think that’s a wonderful idea,” Lex told us. “That’s the kind of thing that would appeal to your fan base, Camdyn, just like you said we should.”
“You two are making me very uncomfortable,” I murmured.
“Well, we won’t talk about it anymore tonight, then,” Lex stated. “Just think about it, and we’ll go over everything tomorrow after your photo shoot. And don’t worry – it’s just going to be a headshot.”
“You were certainly busy this afternoon!” I replied, somewhat shocked.
“Apparently I can get things done, when given the opportunity!” he reported with a smile, and then we all went back to eating our dinner.
After we ate, Lex hailed a cab and Laurel and I were off into the night with our show tickets. (I hesitate to tell you which show it was, because it was the one with that Hollywood actress, and she was dreadful. Although it was supposed to be a drama, Laurel and I found ourselves laughing most of the time.)
It did prove to be a fun evening, however, and when it was over, I asked Laurel if she wanted to hang out the next day. Unfortunately, she was catching a flight to Atlanta in the morning, so she had to pass. I returned to my hotel and slipped into bed, staring at the glow of the street lights faintly passing through the window. Unable to sleep, I studied the pattern on the ceiling tiles. Had it not been for the fact that I had insomnia, I probably wouldn’t have heard the soft buzz of my phone, but I picked it up off the nightstand and glanced at the screen. The digital clock read 12:54, and I had a text message: Sorry I missed your call. Worked really late. Love you.
That’s it, really?
Completely disappointed, I continued to stare at the ceiling tiles until I finally fell asleep.
-§-
The next morning, Jesse arrived promptly at the hotel and took me to the office, where Lex was waiting. Together we went to the photography studio, where a team took care of my hair and makeup. Afterwards, a stylist chose a couple of outfits for me, and then I was in the lights. I felt slightly ill at ease, being the center of attention, but the photographer kept insisting that I was a natural.
“Easy peasy,” he kept muttering as he snapped photo after photo. Finally convinced that he had enough shots, he rattled off a couple of French words I didn’t understand, and we were finished. I put my own clothes back on and Lex and I went out into the sunshine to meet Jesse. With our day unscripted, I told them that I would like to do a little shopping. Jesse took us to a row of classy shops, and Lex and I walked past the windows, gazing inside at the displays before we actually walked into the stores. After we had gone in a couple, I started to lose my interest. Lex sensed my change in attitude, and he was quick to ask if something was wrong.
“This reminds me of my mother,” I stated uninterestedly. “This is what she wanted to do with me – go in the posh shops and show me how glamorous she was. I’m just not that impressed anymore.”
“All about appearances, just like my parents,” he told me sadly.
“But my mother lives halfway around the world, so at least there’s that,” I added with a smile. “How do you stand being with your father every day?”
“I guess I don’t know what it’s like not to be around him,” he said. “Anyway, I have a feeling things will be a little better now.”
“I hope that’s true,” I acknowledged.
After a quick lunch, Lex and I went back to the office, where I met with Edith again. She went over the book with me one more time, showing me exactly how everything would look in print, and then I was free to enjoy the rest of my day. As I was walking out of her office, I suddenly turned.
A Reason to Be Alone (The Camdyn Series Book 2) Page 20