“Okay, I have to tell you something,” Sadie says.
“I know, I’m waiting.”
“You don’t have to be a dick.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, and I am. I’m just getting a little impatient. And I still don’t know why all of this couldn’t be done on the phone.
Sadie takes a deep breath. She leans forward and looks straight at me. Her long, straight hair falls over her shoulders, cradling her gorgeous breasts. She’s wearing a strapless dress, which perfectly accentuates her small waist and curvy body. She’s not curvy by normal standards, but she is by Victoria’s Secret standards. Sadie’s has beautiful olive skin and the coral necklace around her long, delicate neck perfectly complements her skin tone.
“I’m pregnant,” she says.
“What?”
“I’m pregnant.”
I shake my head. “What? How?”
“You know how,” she shrugs.
“Is it…” I’m about to ask if it’s mine, but I wisely stop myself before finishing that sentence. Of course, it’s mine if she’s telling me about this. Why else would she be informing me, and not the real father?
“Yes, it’s yours!” she hisses, just as our plates arrive. We don’t speak again until the bus boys carefully place our food in front of us, grind the pepper and sprinkle the plates with the right amount of parmesan cheese.
“How did this happen?” I ask. “We were careful.”
I’m always careful. I know lots of rich guys who don’t care, but I’m too smart for that. If I have kids, and that’s a big if, I want to be there for them. I’m not going out there and getting a bunch of women pregnant and paying for thousands of dollars in child support for nothing.
“I guess not careful enough,” she shrugs.
“But I thought you were on the pill. And I wore a condom.”
“I am on the pill. But you didn’t wear a condom every time. Don’t bullshit me,” she says.
Shit. She’s right. There were a couple of times at the end of our relationship when we were just caught up in the moment.
“So what happens now?” I ask. I’m trying to be as tactful as possible. I have my doubts that this baby is mine, but getting Sadie pissed off right now isn’t the solution. I’m not even sure that I can do a paternity test right now, so there’s no need to even get into that.
“I’m going to keep it,” she says. Definitely. This isn’t up for debate. She isn’t giving the baby up or getting rid of it. She’s only telling me now because the decision has been made.
“Okay,” I say as definitely as possible. I match her decisiveness, even though that’s the last thing I’m feeling at this moment.
Suddenly, Sadie breaks down. The façade of determination and strength crumbles before me. Her face gets flushed and her eyes tear up.
“What am I going to do, Logan?” she whispers, stuffing large amounts of her spicy tuna salad into her mouth. She’s gulping them down so quickly, for a second, I worry that she’s going to choke.
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t have this baby. I’m only 25. I wasn’t one of those models who got on the catwalk at 14. This has been a struggle for me. So if I have this baby now…my whole life is over.”
I take a deep breath. She needs a rock right now. She needs someone to tell her that it’s all going to be okay. I can be that person.
“It’s going to be fine,” I force myself to say. “But are you sure you’re pregnant?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I took like a million tests!” she explodes. Wrong move. Mascara is running down her face along with the tears. She rubs her eyes and makes the mess even worse.
“Oh shit, it’s getting into my eyes.” Sadie takes out her compact and wipes it away. Then she takes a deep breath and returns to me.
“What are you going to do about this?” she asks.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Are you planning on being a father?” Sadie’s no longer sad. Somehow, her disappointment and fear morphed into anger at me.
“Well, frankly, I don’t know,” I say as honestly as possible. “I hadn’t really considered a baby until this very moment. Not sure how it’s going to fit into my schedule.”
Bad move. Awful. The worst part is that I knew that it was the wrong thing to say as I was saying it, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“Not fit into your schedule! Are you insane? You don’t do anything. You just live off your billions. And you’re unemployed,” Sadie yells. Couples at tables near us turn to look at us.
“Keep your voice down,” I say quietly. “I’m not unemployed. I just sold my business.”
“And what do you do now?” she asks.
“I’m in between things,” I say. That’s the best way I can explain it. She doesn’t know the truth, no one does. So to her, I don’t do anything. That’s the way it’s going to have to be.
The rest of the dinner proceeds as expected. Sadie vacillates between being upset with herself, me, and at being pregnant, and yelling at me for not wanting to be a father. She’s not wrong about that. I don’t want to be a father. I definitely don’t want to be a father to my ex-girlfriend’s baby, an ex who I wasn’t very keen on seeing again at all, but there’s something else to all this. What Sadie doesn’t want to admit is that she doesn’t really want to be a mother either. Finally, after close to an hour, dinner finally ends. I get the check and we say our brief goodbyes while waiting for the valet.
Chapter 4 - Avery
Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!
I’m not going to get these done in time! I look at my phone. I have an hour left before Roberto, the driver, has to pack the centerpieces up and drive them to the wedding venue in Malibu. I’m working as fast as I can, but the flowers are still not cooperating. The design is simple enough: opaque ivory white vases with a band of thick yellow ribbon around the bottom. The splash of yellow is the perfect complement to the yellow and white flowers inside the vase and acts to extend the crisp color scheme of the wedding decor.
When I went over this design with the bride and groom three weeks ago, I thought that it would be a walk in the park, since the vases aren’t see-through. That means there’s no need to worry about the arrangement of stems. Those can be such a hassle! The bride wanted something simple and yellow and this was supposed to be a breeze.
I like to have my centerpieces done completely the night before, but unfortunately there was some sort of tulip emergency, and they didn’t get here until this morning! We’re lucky they came at all.
“Don’t worry, it’s going to be okay,” Cynthia mutters under her breath. Cynthia is my assistant and oldest friend. She’s usually the one that’s freaking out all the time, but this time she’s the one staying calm. Not a good sign.
I cut the stems in the sink and carefully arrange the jonquils, sweet peas, ranunculus and finally the tulips in the second to last centerpiece. Cynthia has already laid them out for me and made the first ten centerpieces. I look at my phone again. We only have five more minutes before Roberto shows up. We need at least ten minutes to look over each centerpiece and make sure that it’s perfect.
My mind and hands have never worked so well together. I’m cutting, arranging, coiffing, and adjusting at record speed. Even though Cynthia is the type to talk endlessly when she’s nervous or anxious, she knows better than to disturb me now. A few minutes later, Roberto arrives and everything is almost ready. There’s only one more centerpiece left to check.
“Wow, I can’t believe you got it all done,” Cynthia says.
I take a step back from the table. My light turquoise long sleeve shirt is drenched in sweat. The apron I’m wearing is barely covering it and, even though I’ve known Cynthia for many years, I hope she doesn’t notice.
Cynthia and I help Roberto load up the van.
“Why don’t I just go to the venue myself?” she asks. “You can stay here and relax.”
I’ve never not gone and set up the centerpieces my
self, but this has been a very stressful job and I’m leaning toward letting go of some control.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Yes, of course!” She has a surprised look on her face, like she can’t believe that I’m actually going to let her do this.
“I’m going to make it perfect,” she adds.
I know she will. She’s even more of a perfectionist than I am.
Cynthia and I have known each other since we were 13. Her parents are like my second parents, and I practically lived with them after the accident. My parents died in a car accident, the summer after we graduated from University of Southern California. I had a job lined up at a boutique investment bank in downtown LA, but after the accident, I couldn’t take it. I didn’t do anything for a whole year, and Cynthia and her family took me in and cared for me. I was 22, way beyond the legal age, but after their death, I became a lost teenager again. It took me close to two years to finally feel normal again. Or as normal as I could.
After Cynthia and Roberto leave, I decide to make myself sangria. I don’t drink often, but I’m in the mood right now. I cut up apples and oranges into squares and toss them into a pitcher and add three tablespoons of organic brown sugar. After muddling everything with a wood spoon, I add a cup of orange juice and a third of a cup of brandy for taste and muddle it again. Then I dump a bottle of Albero Spanish Red, a dry Spanish red wine, and taste it. It needs something else. I add a splash more of brandy and a little more brown sugar to sweeten the mixture. After adding ice and garnishing the rim of the pitcher with orange segments, I pour myself a glass and go out onto the porch.
This account is the biggest one I’ve had to date. The bride’s parents are spending more than $500,000 on the wedding. When I showed them around my shop and showed them my proposal for the centerpiece designs, I was certain that there was no way that they were going to go with me. I have excellent designs, don’t get me wrong, but I also have a little shop in Topanga Canyon, not some fancy storefront in Malibu or Beverly Hills.
Topanga Canyon is a rural canyon nestled between the northern suburbs of Calabasas and Woodland Hills and the lavish ocean front homes of Malibu. It’s not a cheap area by any stretch of the imagination – you can hardly buy a house here for less than $800,000. The reason people live here and love it is because of its unique culture. Rural chic, Cynthia likes to call it. There are no developments, and there are a lot of old ranch homes. The new houses that pop up are architecturally interesting and unique. Lots of people have horses and chickens and shop for all of their food in organic farmer’s markets.
After my parents’ untimely death, I got $200,000 from their life insurance and decided to do what I always dreamed of doing: open my own floral shop. I found a small space on South Topanga Canyon Boulevard, in a little shopping center with its own unique flair. My floral shop, The Flower Patch, is sandwiched between Hidden Treasures, a vintage clothing store, and Quilts!, a quilt supply store. I got a great deal (for this area) when I signed a five-year lease for both the commercial space downstairs for The Flower Patch and the small studio apartment above. The studio apartment is technically not zoned for residential living, but the 88-year-old owner of the shopping center was kind enough to rent it to me for only $1000 a month, which is a steal. And this way, I don’t have to commute or pay much more in rent somewhere in Calabasas or Malibu.
When I first opened The Flower Patch, I thought that I would have to run it in the red for at least 6 months, but much to my surprise, lots of locals started to come in for their weekly flowers and the two nice women who ran Hidden Treasures and Quilts! also spread the word to their customers. Before I knew it, I was making a nice little profit and had time and money to think about expanding into weddings. For the floral industry, weddings are where it’s at. Flowers for weddings are typically marked up 35 to 55 percent, and that may or may not include a 20 percent mark-up for the design.
When I first ventured into weddings, a few months ago, all I did was charge a little bit less than my competitors in Malibu and Calabasas, and I started to have a lot of referrals and walk-ins. Twelve months later, the problem was keeping up with all the demand rather than drumming up business. That’s when I finally started paying Cynthia (she was a thankless volunteer and a cheerleader before then) and hired Roberto, and my two part-time assistants, Peyton and Brie. I could probably use a few more assistants, but the space won’t allow it. It’s crammed as it is when just Cynthia and I are in the room.
Cynthia thinks it’s time to expand – maybe look for another location – but I have a three-year lease, and the rent here is unbeatable. If I move, then I probably won’t be able to charge the same prices. Or worse, I might end up being just another run-of-the-mill flower shop. Here, I’m embedded in the local culture. I know my weekly customers, and they’re the ones sending me my wedding business. No matter how good expansion sounds, I’ve decided not to consider it until closer to the end of my lease.
A few hours later, Cynthia comes back. I pour her a glass of sangria, and she joins me on the porch. She hands me her phone and shows me the pictures of the centerpieces from the reception hall.
“The bride was ecstatic,” Cynthia says. Unlike most people in Southern California, she doesn’t use superlatives very often, so I know she’s not exaggerating. “And the mother-in-law. You should’ve seen her face.”
“I’m glad,” I nod.
She hands me the check. They already paid the down payment, and this is the rest of what they owe me. The sum brings a smile to my face. I take out my phone, scan it and deposit it immediately. A few months ago, one of my customer’s checks bounced, because I waited until Monday to deposit it instead of taking care of it that Friday. It took two months to finally get the money from her, but in that time, I have learned a very important lesson. Now, I deposit all checks as soon as I get them.
Chapter 5 - Avery
“This is the best sangria I’ve ever had,” Cynthia says, finishing her glass and pouring herself another. We are sitting on the little porch in front of my apartment. It’s not so much a porch as a walkway leading to the stairs downstairs, but I’m the only one up here so I’ve decorated it like it’s my porch. I bought a pair of natural wood Adirondack chairs and painted them myself. I’m sitting in the bright yellow one, and Cynthia’s occupying the bright blue one. The pitcher of sangria stands between us on a small side table. I had purchased from the thrift store downstairs. I like it, because it’s from another world altogether. The legs are sleek, like midcentury modern, and the top is made up of tiny little pieces of Mexican tile. It is as if someone had broken a colorful piece of pottery and then glued all the pieces on top of the table.
“It is quite good,” I nod. Sangria is one of my specialties. I’m not actually a big fan of wine, but wine with fruit, brandy and brown sugar is hard to pass up.
“So…” Cynthia says, turning to me. Her eyes sparkle mischievously.
“So?” I ask. “So what?”
“Happy birthday!!” she yells.
“Oh that,” I mumble.
“Oh, c’mon. It’s your 25th birthday! We have to celebrate.”
I sigh. 25 years already. I should be more excited, but for some reason I’m not. Frankly, I was hoping that she would forget all about it.
“I’m too tired to celebrate,” I say. It’s not a lie. I am exhausted. Working on those centerpieces and taking care of all the customers who have been coming in for the last couple of days have really taken it all out of me.
“No, absolutely not,” Cynthia shakes her head. “You’re not getting out of this that easily. I have reservations, tonight. Well, actually in an hour,” she says looking at the time on phone. “At that place in Malibu that you like.”
“The one with the ocean view?” I ask. That doesn’t really narrow it down. Almost all restaurants in Malibu have an ocean view, but Cynthia and I know each other very well.
She nods. “The one with the blue shutters.”
“Well, if
it’s the one with the blue shutters,” I say with a shrug. “How can I say no?”
“And before we do that, I have something else for you.”
“We said no presents,” I remind her.
“That was before your business was doing so well that you actually gave me a job! You’re getting this present. And I’m certainly expecting a present from you in a couple of months.”
I smile. Cynthia reaches into her large Louis Vuitton purse and rustles through it, looking for something. I do not pay Cynthia enough for her to be able to afford a Louis Vuitton – their bags start at as much as I pay for a month of rent for my apartment – and this one is about double in size, so it must cost at least double if not triple that. Cynthia has always enjoyed the finer things in life and even before she started working for me, she spent all of her money from bar-tending on purses and shoes. It also helps that her parents don’t mind helping her out a bit, or a lot, to cover the necessities like her car and her apartment.
Cynthia finally emerges from her bag with an envelope. She holds it up above her head.
“Okay. But before I give this to you, I want to tell you that this was nearly impossible to get. I know that this isn’t your style or anything, but I want you to give this a chance. This woman is very good at what she does.”
I have no idea what she’s talking about, but I nod anyway. She hands me the envelope. Inside, I find a beautiful white card with elegant script that reads ‘Happy Birthday.’ I open the card. A small postcard falls out onto my lap. The front of it says, Dolly Monroe, billionaire matchmaker. The back reads Good for one free consultation.
Auctioned to Him 7: The Contract Page 50