by L. M. Heidle
As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the one. I stepped out of the dressing room and Meg’s mouth dropped open. “That’s it. You are getting that one. You look amazing. He’s going to die.”
“You think so? The tattoo showing doesn’t take away from it?” That was the only thing I was worried about. I wasn’t sure if going to a black tie event with my tattoo on full display was correct ‘etiquette.’
“NO, not at all.”
Even Jenny commented, “You do look beautiful in that dress. I agree with Meg. The women will probably hate you because their dates will be looking at you.”
“Just what I need, to be stared at like a zoo exhibit and being hated by snotty women,” I deadpanned. We all broke out in laughter. Meg decided on a sexy little black dress.
“Lucky for you girls, I already found the perfect clutches to go with your dresses, so now it’s off to find shoes.”
Meg went with fire engine red heels that wrapped up to a little above her ankle. I went for something a little less flashy since the dress was so stunning. They were simple silver heels.
“Are you kidding me? Have you seen the price of these shoes? I’ve never bought a pair of shoes for over $60.”
“Seriously? You’re worried about the shoe price, which, by the way, is pretty good for Jimmy Choos. Did you not see the price tag on that dress?” I shook my head. “Well, let me tell you it makes these shoes look like pocket change.” I cringed. I’d purposely not looked at the price because I wanted it. “Don’t worry. It’s not like you’re paying for it!” She said it like that should have solved all my reservations. When in all actuality, it made me feel horrible. I hated that he was paying for all this stuff.
“Okay ladies, we have your dresses and shoes. What’s next? Accessories! This, by the way, is my favorite stop.” Jenny was all smiles as she led us down the street. When she stopped in front of Cartier’s, I about hyperventilated.
“No way. This is too much. The dress, the shoes, and now Cartier’s. No freaking way! I can’t do that! We’ve already spent a small fortune!”
Meg laughed as she grabbed my arm and dragged me in. “Do you not know how much Kade is worth?”
I pulled my arm out of her hand while replying, “I could care less, but this is way too much.”
Jenny and Meg both looked at me. “Trust me, Ms. Day, he can afford it. He was insistent on us stopping here. He’s a very intimidating man and if possible, I’d rather not make him angry. Plus, I would like to keep my job.”
“See Liz? You don’t want poor Jenny here to lose her job now, do you? I don’t think I could handle knowing we didn’t do whatever we could to help, so it’s our responsibility to spend his money. If we don’t, she could be jobless.” She batted her eyes and pushed her bottom lip out. Meg could always lay it on thick.
“Fine, whatever, but just so you know, I’m strongly against this.” They both nodded as we walked into the showroom.
“I’ll be sure to let him know of your resistance.” Jenny tried to hide a small smile, but I saw it. I didn’t believe for a second she was going to say anything to him.
We walked around looking at the millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry. Okay, so in all actuality, I was jumping up and down inside because I mean what girl doesn’t love diamonds? My plan was to not spend a lot but holy cow; that was going to be hard. Everywhere I looked I saw something I wanted.
“Oh my gosh! Liz, can you believe this? We are shopping at Cartier’s! I think I’m about to pass out!” She seriously was hyperventilating. It was so funny to see that I busted out laughing in the middle of Cartier’s. I’m guessing that didn’t happen often considering the nasty looks I got from the employees.
“Meg, breathe. You’ll be all right, I promise. Let’s just get this done so we can go home. I’m so tired of shopping.”
I finally decided on a simple pair of drop earrings, a matching necklace, and a diamond anklet. They were simple but would complement the dress.
Jenny agreed, “Those are perfect. Only one more stop, ladies, and then we’ll get you home.”
“One more stop?” What else could there be to get? We had the dress, the shoes, and the jewelry. Oh, hell to the no, he was NOT buying me lingerie.
Jenny smiled at my face when realization hit. “Yes Liz, we are going shopping for lingerie. Your look wouldn’t be complete without them.”
“No, absolutely not. I draw the line at that. He is not buying them for me. He won’t be seeing them so what’s the point?” I couldn’t help the slight thrill that ran down my back at the thought of him seeing. “This is not happening!”
Meg started laughing at me. “How embarrassing could it be? The guy you’re going with knows what’s on under your dress. Big deal.” She was biting her lip to keep from laughing.
“Yeah, real funny Meg, so funny that I can’t stop laughing. Oh no, that’s me trying to not freak the hell out. I guess since you’re so okay with this then he’s buying yours too.”
She shook her head no. “I think I’m just going to help you shop on this stop.”
I had to put my foot down here. “No, I’m sorry this isn’t happening. I can pay for my own. I will not let him pay for that.” Just the thought of him having any idea of what was under my dress was mortifying.
“Ms. Day. I completely get it, but either you pick it out or I will. I have specific instructions, so either way he’s paying. I doubt he’s even going to look at the receipt. You might as well get something you like.”
I could see this was going to be humiliating no matter what. “Fine, let’s just get this over with.”
They dragged me into Victoria’s Secret and Meg was trying to suppress a laugh the whole time. I would find some way get her back for this.
Meg looked at Jenny, “All right, where should we start?”
Jenny smiled back at her, “Well, we need stockings, garter, and a bra and panty set. I suggest we start with the set.” I’m pretty sure they were enjoying themselves at my expense.
“Sounds like a plan.” Meg took my hand and dragged me over to the lingerie section. I stood there numbly as they picked out different looks for me.
They finally decided on a suction bra, since my dress was backless, and matching panties. The garters and stockings were next. I stood there numbly praying this torture would be over soon.
Finally, Tony dropped us off at our apartment and Billy helped us with all of our packages. I was exhausted; all I wanted to do was take a nice long bath. I groaned because I knew before I could do that I needed to make a call. I picked up the phone to dial Kade’s number. It rang once and he picked up.
“Hey, Liz. Have fun shopping?”
“Exhausting. I meant it was surprising a lot of fun. Thank you so much. I hope we didn’t spend too much of your money.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure you didn’t break me. Seeing you Saturday will be worth any amount you spent. I hate to make this short but I’m in the middle of something. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, he hung up. Well, okay then.
I crawled into bed with the intention of taking a short nap before dinner. It didn’t work quite that way. I woke up at 6:30 the next morning to my alarm going off.
Chapter Fifteen
Monday, September 9
Why is my alarm going off? I didn’t remember setting my alarm. It is still Sunday, right? I rolled over to hit the snooze button when I noticed the time. Holy crap, I had slept like eleven hours! At least I felt refreshed to start another day.
I made my way to the kitchen where Meg was once again sitting at the breakfast bar eating cereal. “Nice of you to wake up. I thought you might be in a coma except you were sleep talking again.”
“I didn’t mean to sleep that long and I don’t talk in my sleep.”
“Oh yes, you do. You kept saying Brent then Kade then Brent then Kade. It must have been a pretty good dream because you were smiling.”
“Whatever. What did you do last night?” I dreamt about B
rent and Kade? I didn’t remember that.
“The same thing you did just not quite as long.” I sat down next to her to eat my yogurt before getting ready for work.
On my way to work, I passed a newsstand. I don’t usually stop but today, a picture caught my eye. It was Kade with a stunning blonde. It was the same one I saw getting out of his car. I picked up the magazine to read the caption. ‘Mr. Parker partying the night away with Victoria Secret model Grazia.’ Of course, she’s a model. I bet that’s the call he got Saturday. They looked very cozy together. He had his arm around her shoulders while she was snuggled into his side.
The stand owner came around the corner, “Unless you’re buying, put it back and move on.” I knew I shouldn’t buy it, but I couldn’t help it. I shouldn’t care who he was dating. I paid him and started walking to work, flipping through the pages. There was a whole section devoted to the two. ‘Ladies he’s off the market! Sources say the most eligible bachelor in New York is getting serious with Grazia.’ Besides the party pictures, there were several from yesterday evening of them eating at Amore. I’m assuming that was why he hung up with me so fast. Once again, the couple was sitting close, staring into each other’s eyes. The more I read, the more pissed I got. Not necessarily pissed at him, but pissed at myself for caring so much. I didn’t want to care; I shouldn’t care—we weren’t anything, and I wanted it that way. The last paragraph made me stop in the middle of the sidewalk, seeing red. It mentioned the charity event this weekend and how she would be at a photo shoot for two weeks. It also said their source knew she had no need to worry about him finding someone else because he was completely smitten with her. The pictures definitely proved the source’s information.
Wait a freaking minute. Was I the stand-in for this charity? Should that bother me? My thoughts were interrupted by my phone ringing. I didn’t recognize the number but my guess was it was Brent. The area code was one from back home.
“Hello?”
“Hey Liz, its Brenton. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Hey. Should I be worried that you’re using Brenton? Are you preparing me for something?” He started laughing.
“Nah, my aunt always uses it. I think it’s starting to rub off on me.”
I knew he couldn’t see me but I still smiled. “No, I’m just walking to work. What’s up?” Talking to him on the phone brought back a lot of memories. We used to talk for hours. It had always been so comfortable talking to him.
“Well, I was wondering what your plans were for lunch. I thought it’d be fun to get together. If you’re busy, I understand. I just thought I would check.”
“Yeah, Brent, that sounds like fun! Do you want to meet me at the café from yesterday? It’s not too far from my work. Say noon?”
“Sweet! I’ll be there. Talk to you later.” With that, he hung up.
I tried to push everything but work from my mind; I needed to focus on that. The morning flew by with nothing too eventful happening. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime. I went to the bathroom to check my makeup. Why? I’m not sure. Brent had seen me at my worst.
The ping of the elevator announced its arrival. I was getting ready to walk in when Kade walked out. He was still dressed in his suit so I was pretty sure he wasn’t there for an appointment.
“Ms. Day, I’m glad I caught you. I was wondering if you would accompany me to lunch.” All I saw when I looked at him were the pictures.
“Thank you for the offer, but I already have plans with Brent.” He wasn’t the only one who could be interested in someone else. Okay, so Brent and I were nothing, but Kade didn’t know that. Geez, was I in high school still? He turned, and we both walked into the elevator.
He dropped his smile as he asked, “May I ask who Brent is?”
“He’s my ex-boyfriend from high school. Meg and I ran into him yesterday so we thought we’d catch up.”
“I’m sorry, I thought his name was Brenton.” I chose to ignore the fact that I never told him about Brent. What would the point be? We would just fight about it.
“It is Brenton, but his friends call him Brent.”
“I see. So Meg is meeting you guys? I bet you’ll have a nice time.”
“No, it’ll just be me and Brent.” His lips set into a hard line and his face tensed up. We walked out of the elevator and I stopped. “Liz, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just surprised to see Brent here. We were supposed to meet at the café.” I wasn’t quite sure how he knew where I worked, but I’m guessing Meg had something to do with it.
“Really, where is he?” He scanned the crowd with piercing eyes. I didn’t have time to answer him because I was already to Brent.
“Brent, I thought we were meeting at the café.”
Brent leaned in to give me a kiss on the cheek. “I know, I just thought we could talk on the way over there. I hope you don’t mind. You look amazing, by the way.”
“Of course I don’t mind and thank you.” I noticed Kade had slowed down so he was still behind us. If I didn’t know any better it looked like he was sizing Brent up. I had to admit Brent looked pretty hot. His muscles were perfectly shown with his black shirt. He had on jeans that hung in that suggestive way.
Brent put his hand at the small of my back and ushered me out the door. As we turned, I got a glimpse of Kade’s eyes. He looked pissed as he stared down at Brent’s hand on my back. He was so capricious sometimes. I turned towards Brent, trying to put everything Kade out of my mind.
The whole walk to the café, Brent seemed nervous. We talked about how he liked New York and how his aunt was doing. We even talked about the weather. When we sat down, he was radiating nervousness. “Okay Brent. Even though we haven’t talked for a few years, I’m pretty sure I still know you well enough to know when something’s wrong. Give it up. What is it?”
“It’s not that something’s wrong. It’s just I want to say something to you.” I waited for him to sort out what he wanted to say. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for how things ended between us. I was a total jerk. I think I was just angry because you seemed to be doing perfectly fine when I felt like I was falling apart inside.”
“Are you serious? You’re apologizing for something that happened in high school? Brent, it’s water under the bridge. I appreciate it, but it’s completely unnecessary. You were a jerk and I was a bitch. We were immature teenagers. Let’s put the past in the past and enjoy the time you’re here.” After that, he completely relaxed. We talked all the way through lunch; I barely ate anything. Before I knew it, I had to get back to work. “Brent, it was so good seeing you. Maybe we could get together again before you go home.” It was so much fun spending time with him. He was so uncomplicated. He walked me back to the entrance of my building. Ironically, Kade showed up at the same time.
“Thanks again for coming to lunch with me. It was nice. I’ll call you tonight or tomorrow.”
“No thanks needed. I had fun. I’ll talk to you later.”
As I started walking towards the elevator, Kade walked up next to me. “Well, it looks like you guys had a nice lunch. So are you guys getting together again?” He sneered as he said it.
I didn’t let his attitude bother me. I had enjoyed lunch and I wasn’t going to let him ruin my mood. “Yes we did. Why do you care about who I get together with? But if you must know, yes we’re getting together again.”
“You’re right, it’s not my business, but it seems weird that you would have lunch with an ex-boyfriend. I mean you guys are exes for a reason.”
“We didn’t split up because we didn’t want to be together. We just wanted different things. He wanted to get married straight out of high school and I wanted to move to New York.”
“I see. You guys seem pretty comfortable together.”
“We were together for five years so yeah, we’re pretty comfortable with each other. He probably knows me better than anyone besides Meg. He was my first love and I don’t think you ever forget that.” Th
e elevator doors opened on my floor. “Well, you have a good afternoon and I’ll see you for your appointment.” He nodded but he looked lost in thought.
Just like the morning, the afternoon flew by. Kade was due for his appointment any minute. “Liz?” I turned to see Danny looking at me. “Betty just called and said she couldn’t make it today. Her daughter wasn’t going to be there in time to pick her up.”
“That’s too bad. She’s a lot of fun to work with.”
“She sure is. She had me cracking up whenever I worked with her.”
“Can I help you with anything?”
“No, I think we are pretty good here unless you want to help with Mr. Parker.”
“Sure, whatever you need.” I hoped he didn’t see me cringe. Of course, I didn’t want to help with him but it was my job. I turned when I felt the familiar charge. He stood at the doorway looking like his gorgeous self. I tried to be as professional as possible but with him looking so mouthwatering, it wasn’t going to be easily accomplished. “Mr. Parker, if you don’t mind, I’ll be working with you today.”
He gave me his adorable half smile, “I don’t mind at all.” I think my heart skipped a beat.
I looked to make sure Danny was out of earshot before saying, “Thanks again Ka—I mean Mr. Parker—for the shopping trip.” He laughed a little while I stumbled through his name. “You really didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it. I know Meg does too. She was in seventh heaven. You may be her favorite person now.”
“Elizabeth, you don’t have to keep thanking me. It was my pleasure and a small price to pay for you being my plus one.”