by J A Fielding
“I know but even my wardrobe doesn’t feel right,” Julie said.
“Cut it out. You have great black tie event dresses,” Meg demanded.
“I know but they wear designer clothes,” Julie argued. Meg rolled her eyes.
“You and I both know that designer clothes are just stupid clothes with a label on them. It’s not like your ass grows when you put them on or anything,” she joked.
“Hey, it works for the Kardashians,” Julie teased smiling. Meg shook her head.
“Actually, all that junk is legit. There is no proof that the Kardashians have had any work done,” she said. Julie shook her head.
“I still think there is something fishy there,” she said before taking another sip of her coffee.
“So, back to the question at hand. You need me to help you pick out some impressionable clothes?” Meg asked.
“Don’t you have to go back to work or something?” Julie replied with a smile. Meg shook her head.
“I got called to my kid’s school for some emergency and when I got there, it turned out to be a little accident at the football field. My mum already took him to her place and by now he is seriously indulging in ice cream and cookies,” she said. “Why can’t I have some fun too?” she asked shrugging.
“And where does your boss think you are?” Julie winked still smiling.
“By my son’s side, tending to his wounds. I have two days off. So, again? What can I do? Lend you a dress or two?” she asked. Julie laughed and shook her head.
“Steven gave me his credit card to get a few things. Besides, I don’t have the boobs for your clothes and I mean that in a good way,” she laughed.
“Did I tell you that I like Steven a little more every day?” Meg asked as Julie got up. She smiled at her and went to her room to get her stuff. When she came back down, they walked out of the house and then Julie looked at her confused. “So, how are we supposed to do this? Your car or mine?” Meg asked. Julie shrugged.
“I have to pass by the office anyway. How about you meet me at the department store in an hour?” she offered. Meg got into her car and nodded.
“Sure. I’ll run a few errands before then,” she said before she backed her car out of the driveway. Julie got into her car and revved the engine. A smile played on her face. She suddenly felt like one of those video vixens in rap videos. The feel of the car was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Steven had even gone the extra mile and got her new seats. She could tell they were new because the old ones were a bit soft and uncomfortable. The new ones on the other hand were perfectly firm and had great support for her back. Needless to say, the ride to the office was more than enjoyable. When she got to the parking lot at her office, she sent a quick text to Steven thanking him for her ‘new’ car before she picked up a file folder on the passenger seat and walked into the office.
She had just walked into the office when she saw the two women she had shown Steven’s properties to, Carrie and Elena. She could not help but notice the other woman who was with them, a tall brunette in a white bandage dress and a pair of black peep toe heels.
“Julie, I wasn’t expecting to see you until next week,” Julie heard Dana’s familiar voice behind her. She turned to look at Dana and smiled.
“I had to drop off these,” she said as she handed Dana the folder.
“What are these?” Dana asked as she looked through the folder.
“The final documents for the penthouse I showed them,” Julie said motioning at Carrie and Elena.
“Actually, that was why they dropped by and they brought a friend who was asking about you,” Dana said. Julie looked at her and shook her head.
“Please tell me it’s not that woman in a bandage dress,” she groaned.
“Actually it’s her. Why? Do you know her from somewhere?” Dana asked. Julie shook her head no.
“No but she just looks impossible. Can’t someone else handle her?” she asked in a whisper.
“Don’t be so quick to judge her. You guys might have a lot in common,” Dana demanded as the two walked towards where the group had gathered. She looked at the woman from head to toe and frowned.
“I really don’t think there is anything I could ever have in common with that,” she said in a low voice. “And plus, I am not even supposed to be here,” she added in a loud whisper.
“You are just meeting her, that’s all,” Dana said as she literally pushed her down the hallway. “Kelsey, this is the person responsible for Elena and Carrie’s house, Julie Parker,” she introduced when they got to where the three other women were.
“Julie. Hey!” Elena said excitedly. “Is everything in place for the penthouse?” she asked.
“Actually I was just dropping off the paperwork. So I guess I can say that everything is in place,” Julie said.
“Perfect,” Carrie said with a smile. “This is our friend, Kelsey.”
Julie forced a smile as she shook Kelsey’s hand.
“Hi, I want exactly what they have,” Kelsey shrieked excitedly.
“Well, I am not sure I can find exactly what they have but we can work something out,” Julie said smiling.
“Well, I was thinking that we would maybe set something up for tomorrow?” Kelsey asked. Julie frowned.
“That’s going to be a problem. I’m going to be traveling tomorrow. So how about we set up something for next week?” she asked. She watched as the smile faded from Kelsey’s face. “Help!” she thought as she looked at Kelsey.
“But I wanted to have something by then,” Kelsey grumbled. Julie shook her head sadly and shrugged.
“Maybe Dana could assign you to someone else until I get back,” she offered.
“But I wanted you,” Kelsey said. Julie could feel the uncomfortable look Elena, Carrie and Dana were giving her and she had no idea how she was supposed to handle it.
“Dana,” she said turning to look at her boss.
“Kelsey, we can definitely take care of you but this weekend is an important one for Julie. You could set something up for next week or something,” she suggested. Kelsey shook her head.
“I don’t think you people understand. I pay your bills and petty salaries. So when I say jump, the only thing I expect to hear from you is when you are asking how high you are expected to jump,” Kelsey hissed.
“Kelsey!” Elena gasped surprised. Julie raised an eyebrow and looked at Kelsey in disbelief.
“Never mind her, Julie. She is just kidding. Right, Kelsey?” Carrie said smiling uncomfortably. There was a long uncomfortable silence before Kelsey finally smiled and then burst out laughing.
“Of course I am,” she said laughing. Julie breathed her relief and looked at Dana.
“You really got me going there,” she grimaced still not amused.
“It’s fine. I can pass by next week,” Kelsey said. Dana smiled and then looked at Julie.
“Perfect then,” she said.
“Well guys, it was nice to see you and Kelsey, I will see you next week. But I really have to get going,” Julie said before she broke away from the group. She made her way to the elevator, her heart still pounding hard in her chest. Kelsey might have been joking, but she did not think she was funny at all. As she walked out of the office building, she noticed that she had taken more time than she had hoped and that she was late for her shopping date with Meg. But the store was not that far from her work. As she drove to the store, she found herself thinking whether she wanted to be a realtor all forever. That would mean that she had to deal with the likes of Kelsey all her life. She knew she was good at what she did but dealing with some clients always made her question whether she had taken the right turn when it came to choosing a career. By the time she got to the store, she was still feeling a bit frazzled.
“Hey, you took forever to get here,” Meg said when she saw her. Julie shook her head and took a long, deep breath. “How bad was that errand?” Meg asked as the two walked into one of the stores.
“Let’s j
ust say that I just met a client who has the potential of being a cunt,” Julie said. Meg laughed.
“Aren’t all your clients like that?” she asked.
“No, not exactly. Some…most are tolerable. I feel like I will be at my wits’ end within the first day of working with this one,” Julie sighed as she picked out a short long sleeved blue royal blue dress from the hangers. “What do you think of this one?” she asked.
“Really cute. Try it on,” Meg urged before she turned to take another dress from the display. “Why don’t you just tell Dana to get someone else for this new client?” she asked as she handed Julie the dress.
“Unfortunately, the woman wants me to handle her. And I don’t know why, but I feel like we will be locking horns soon,” Julie said before she walked into one of the changing rooms.
“You worry too much. Just relax and let everything play out. Right now the only thing you are supposed to be worrying about is what dress you are taking out of this store,” Meg grinned. Julie poked her head through the changing room doorway and smiled.
“What makes you think I’m just getting one?” she asked.
“Well, excuse me,” Meg said, laughing as Julie got back into the changing room. When she got out after a few minutes, Meg was all smiles. “That looks perfect,” she gushed as she looked at her best friend. The blue dress was perfect in every way, accentuating Julie’s assets and still classy. Julie looked at her reflection and smiled. It may have not been a designer dress, but she had to admit, she looked like a million bucks. She was still looking at her reflection when she noticed a familiar figure walking into the store. She turned around and cursed under her breath.
“What?” Meg asked looking around. “What did you see?”
“My mum,” Julie answered without smiling. She and her mother didn’t talk often and when they tried to, it was nothing short of awkward. She wanted to run and hide, but her mum was walking right to her. There was no running from this.
“Sweetie, hi,” Fiona, Julie’s mother said when she got to where they were. Julie smiled as they hugged briefly.
“Hi Mum,” Julie responded as she pulled away.
“Hi Mrs. Parker,” Meg said with a smile. Fiona shrugged and faked a frown.
“It’s Fiona, sweetie. Me and Michael have been divorced for over ten years…it’s a bit weird,” she said laughing. “So, we are all doing a little shopping huh? Anything special?” she asked. Meg looked at Julie and then at Fiona before her gaze fell to the floor.
“I’ll leave you guys to talk,” she offered before she walked away.
“Honey, is there something going on that I should know about or should I wait until Sunday?” Fiona asked. Julie felt a tingle go through her spine. She usually met her mum for Sunday brunch once a month and in planning for her weekend with Steven, she had completely forgotten to mention it.
“About that…mum, I really don’t know how to say this but I won’t be able to make brunch this weekend,” she whispered feeling as guilty as hell. She could see the disappointment on her mother’s face when she said that.
“Oh…okay. I guess things do come up,” Fiona replied.
“I’m really sorry, everything happened so fast…too fast. It never…” Julie’s words were failing her. “We could do next weekend,” she said suggestively.
“No, honey. Next weekend I will be down south trying to close a deal with a new record label. How about today? What about lunch?” Fiona suggested. Julie knew that lunch with her mother would mean ditching Meg, but then again, she knew her friend would understand. She smiled and nodded.
“Sounds good,” Julie said.
“Okay, cool. The usual place at around…one?” Fiona asked as she looked at her wrist watch. Julie smiled and nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you then,” Fiona said as she gave Julie a hug before she walked away.
“This is turning out to be one of the worst days this week,” Julie groaned when Meg walked back to where she was.
“Why?” Meg asked.
“I have to ditch you after this and have lunch with mum because as it turns out, I forgot we had a date on Sunday,” Julie said. Meg smiled and shrugged.
“More movie time for me,” she said with a smile. “So are you going to tell her about Steven?” Meg asked. Julie shook her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“All I want is to just get through the day,” she said with a faraway look in her eyes.
Chapter 5
When Steven and Julie finally got to London, Julie was ecstatic. This was her first time in London and she was asking all the questions a first time London tourist would ask.
“Do we get to see the queen?” she asked excitedly when they got to the airport. Steven smiled and looked at her.
“Really?” he asked. Julie shrugged.
“What? It’s a fair question and I’m a sucker for romantic stories,” she winked. Steven shook his head.
“What does seeing the queen and being a sucker for romance have in common?” he asked.
“Well, it goes without saying that even she has one of the best love stories in the world, plus British people have great love stories,” she said as they walked to the car. Terrence who had come with them opened the car door for them. “Doesn’t Terrence ever get some time off?” she asked when they both got in while Terrence put their luggage in the trunk. Steven shrugged.
“He does, especially while we are in London because I spend most of my time with my family,” he said. “Plus, I have it on good authority that he has a girlfriend here. He’s tried to keep it hush, but I have my ways,” he added with a smile.
“See, even Terrence found love here,” Julie said in a whisper. “By the way, how come you only have one guy who works for you? You are like some weirdly evil baron,” she said. Steven laughed and looked at her.
“Terrence has worked for me for more than ten years. I wouldn’t feel as comfortable with anyone else,” he said. “But if you want to meet the rest of my working fraternity, that can be arranged,” he said with a smile. She looked at him and rolled her eyes.
“Spoken like a real baron,” she teased. Steven looked at her as Terrence got into the driver’s seat and then took her hand in his.
“So, what were you saying about the queen’s love life?” he asked. She looked at him surprised.
“You don’t know how the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh met?” she gasped.
“Should I?” Steven asked, looking a bit confused.
“Hell yeah, they met when she was only thirteen and she fell in love. If they had Facebook and Twitter then, I’m quite sure they would have married sooner,” Julie said. Steven looked at her girlish excitement and smiled.
“You are a sucker for love stories, aren’t you?” he grinned. She nodded and shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess it’s because I never really thought I would have my own story. That was the next best thing,” she said. He drew little circles on the back of her hand with his thumbs as he looked at her.
“Trust me, I will do everything to give you that happy ending you never thought possible,” he promised. She smiled and felt her cheeks getting hot.
“So, are we going to drive by Buckingham Palace?” she asked. Steven was not sure whether she was asking it genuinely or it was just a way to change the topic.
“You know that question is the same as me asking if we are going to drive by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” he said. Julie gave him a confused look.
“Huh?” she asked.
“The White House?” he said before he burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“You know so much about the queen’s love life, yet you don’t know the address of your own primary building. Considering you are a realtor, that is an epic fail,” he said. She smiled and shook her head before she turned to look out the window. They were out of the busy street and on a stretch of private properties. The landscape was perfect, the kind of place she would have gone to if she were to think of r
aising a family. The area was private and quiet…and it looked safe. She was still admiring the area when they turned from the main road and into a long driveway that led up to one of the greenest places she had ever seen. The hedges were all perfectly trimmed and the air proved one thing to her, they were definitely out of her familiar territory. When Terrence pulled up in front of a huge white property, Julie’s jaw almost dropped. That was not even a mansion. To her, she was at a palace for all she cared. The only thing missing was a courtyard.
“Just how big is your family?” she questioned as they got out of the car. Based on her real estate knowledge, the property had to be at least five thousand square feet…or more. She was still staring when a woman who looked like she was in her mid-fifties walked out all smiles.
“Steven, you made it,” she gushed as she walked over to Steven and gave him a hug.
“Nice to see you mother,” he said as he pulled away, a smile on his face.
“Look at you, so handsome. Living in the States must be agreeing with you,” she said. Julie smiled at the way she was talking to Steven like a ten year old. “And you must be Julie,” she said as she walked over to Julie and gave her a hug. “I must say, Steven is very poor when it comes to description. You are divine,” she complimented when she pulled away to look at Julie.
“Thank you, Mrs. Davenport,” Julie said blushing.
“Oh please, call me Victoria. Mrs. Davenport is only used by strangers and I don’t think we should be strangers to each other, or do you?” Victoria asked. Julie looked at Steven and smiled.
“I guess not,” she admitted.
“Terrence, always good to see you,” Victoria said, smiling at Terrence who smiled back at her. “Come on in, you two. The girls are dying to meet you,” she said as she led Steven and Julie into the huge house. They walked down a long hallway that led to a spacious, well lit lounge where four women were. Julie guessed that they were all in their early to mid-twenties. She had always thought of Steven as the oldest of his siblings for some reason. Julie watched as they one by one hugged Steven, squealing in excitement.
“So, you are the reason why we rarely see our brother anymore,” one of the women said. Julie’s smile immediately faded. She had not expected a direct attack so soon. “Relax, I’m only pulling your leg,” the blond haired woman said laughing. Julie smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m Amber,” she said with a smile. “And that’s Lory, Joanna and Leanne,” she said, pointing at each woman as she called out their names. Julie smiled as she said hi to each of them.