I gave her a closed mouth smile. “I know. But I still feel guilty. Anyway, that’s enough about me, how was your weekend?”
Cecelia smiled, “Well, now that you’ve asked, you’ll never believe—”
She was cut off by the sound of my ringing cell phone. I quickly reached for it fearing it was the kid’s school. Fortunately it wasn’t.
“Do you need to take the call?”
“No, it can wait,” I replied as I clicked ignore and tossed my phone back on my desk. “Go on.”
“Okay. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, my sister has been pretty bummed out lately. Even though she was the one who broke up with Gary, she has been second guessing her decision ever since they split.”
“How long were they together again?” I asked.
“Um… Nine months maybe more. I’m not really sure. She’s hard to keep up with. I don’t think she misses him that much, actually. They were totally wrong for each other and she knew it. But she hates to be alone. I think this may be the first time ever she ended a relationship without having someone waiting in the wings.”
“Oh, she is one of those,” I said with a smile.
Before Cecelia married her husband she was never without a man in her life, even though most of her relationships were over before they started. I liked to credit her marriage to my awesome match making skills. Even though Bryce was the fourth friend of Cole’s I had set her up with, I didn’t think I could take credit for the nuptials.
I was actually shocked when she came into work, four years ago, sporting an engagement ring. I never expected their relationship to have lasted. I figured, like all the men who came before him, she’d date him a couple of months before finding a fatal flaw, then end the relationship. I hated to admit it, but I always wondered what was different about him that made her want to get married. I really hoped she fell madly in love with him, but I always have wondered if she was just tired of being alone.
Catching my innuendo, Cecelia picked up a paperclip lying on my desk and tossed it at me. “Yeah, smart ass. It must run in my family. And, do I need to point out you’re not one to talk either, big shot. If I recall correctly, didn’t you tell me you kept Cole at arm’s length while you were deciding if you should give him a chance because you were afraid to risk losing some safe but jerky guy? What was his name? Oh yeah, Mitch?”
“Point taken,” I said.
“So as I was saying,” Cecelia continued. “My sister has been down in the dumps so I decided to leave Bryce home with the twins and take her out for a night on the town.”
Once again my cell phone rang. After a quick glance at the caller ID I hit the ignore button.
Cecelia barely paused and kept talking, “We went to this cute little bar on the upper west side. Oh my God, they had the most amazing lychee martinis! And you will never guess who was there!”
“Who?”
“Remember that girl, Christy?” Cecelia asked as she popped a piece of muffin into her mouth.
“The out of control flirt who worked here about two years ago?”
Cecelia nodded her head slowly.
Memories came flooding back to me as I said, “Yes! She was assigned to the Dawson account and wouldn’t leave poor Tim alone. Remember she drove him crazy? He complained about her constantly barging into his office and interrupting him, calling him all hours of the day and night with silly questions. I think he also said he felt like she was following him. Then the next thing I knew she was fired.”
“That’s what we thought,” Cecelia clarified. “But I think we got the story completely wrong. Tim Dawson was with her, and guess what. They’re married.”
“Shut up!”
Before Cecelia could reply my intercom sounded. “Excuse me, Annabel,” Mary, the receptionist, announced. “Your mother is on the line and she says it’s an emergency. Shall I put her through?”
“Yes,” I replied, and sighed.
“I’ll give you some privacy,” Cecelia said, as she looked concerned.
“No, don’t go.”
Once Mary transferred the call I answered the phone on the first ring.
“Annabel, I keep calling you on your cell phone and you’re not answering it,” Beatrice said in a scolding tone.
“I know Mother. I’m in a meeting and couldn’t. Is everything okay?”
“Really, Annabel. What is the point of having a mobile phone if you refuse to answer it.”
“Like I said Mother, I’m at work and in a meeting. I can’t always answer my phone. What’s the matter anyway? Mary said it was an emergency.”
“It is!” She exclaimed with glee. “Walter and I need to pick a song for our first dance and I don’t know what to choose. What do you think?”
“Are you kidding me?” I asked as I rubbed my face. Cecelia stared at me and looked worried. “Selecting a wedding song is your emergency?”
Cecelia snorted out loud.
“Yes, Annabel. This is a serious issue. I’ve no idea what song I should pick. It’s extremely troubling.” As my mother attempted to rationalize her actions, I opened the McGrevor email and skimmed it.
Anna,
The tag lines you submitted were an embarrassment. What is wrong with you that you possibly thought I would use something like that to represent my company? Seriously, my sixth grade daughter could have come up with something better than our strength + your numbers = decades of success. Call me before noon.
JM
His harsh words caused my heart to beat fast and my face to turn red.
“Mother. I can’t have this conversation with you right now. I told you, I am in a meeting. I’ll have to call you back.”
“When?” She asked disappointed.
“I don’t know. When I can. Most likely tonight when I get home from work and after I put the kids to sleep.”
“Annabel, that is simply not acceptable.”
“What do you mean?”
“We need to discuss this now. I need to get this resolved.”
I took a deep breath. “I told you I can’t talk now. We have a very angry client on our hands. We have damage control to do. Besides, I don’t understand what the rush is.”
Cecelia watched me intently for a few moments before she got up from her seat. “I’m going,” she whispered. “Buzz me when you’re done.”
“Annabel, if your client is already angry another couple of minutes won’t make much of a difference, now will it?” My mother the stellar businesswoman, asked.
I put my head on my desk. I knew there would be no way I would be able to deal with McGrevor until I first dealt with Beatrice.
“Fine,” I said completely irritated that my mother wouldn’t let this go.
“Great!” She exclaimed, clearly not picking up on my tone. “I knew I could count on you. I have breakfast with the girls and then this afternoon Walter and I have a dance lesson to go to. We need to have our song all picked out so we can coordinate our moves. I didn’t think I’d be able to convince Walter to take the lesson, but I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, if you know what I mean.” She chuckled and I tossed the remnants of my muffin into my trash. There went my appetite.
“I’m confused,” I said. “I thought you said Walter was an excellent dancer. Didn’t you spend your first night with him dancing into the wee hours of the morning?”
“Yes, sweetie. We did. But dancing alone on a cruise ship isn’t the same thing as having a first dance in front of three hundred and fifty of our closest friends and family. I need this wedding to be perfect, and I can’t risk us clumsily moving around to the music while everyone stands by, silently judging us. But that’s enough about the lesson, I don’t want to waste your time, you are at work, after all. Let’s just stick to the matter at hand. If you were picking a song which one would you select?”
I thought of the song I would have chosen if Cole and I had a big wedding instead of eloping. “I always liked ‘In Your Eyes’ by Peter Gabriel.”
“Oh Ann
abel, please be serious,” Beatrice scolded.
“I was,” I answered as I wondered what she found so offensive about my choice.
“Well, that song won’t work for me. What other ideas do you have?”
“What about James Taylor’s ‘How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You.’ It’s a great song everybody loves.”
“True, but it is a little fast, don’t you think?”
“Not really.” I replied as I googled first dance wedding songs and prayed for a winner. “How about ‘Here and Now’ is that more your style?”
“Hmm, you’re probably getting closer. But I’m not sure. Do you have any other ideas?”
I started to tap my fingers on my desk as my patience level deteriorated. “I’m getting a strange feeling, Mother, we can debate songs all day long. And I don’t have all day. Did you ask Walter what song he wanted? Don’t you think his opinion matters more than mine?”
“You may have a point. He likes Ella James’s ‘At Last,’ what do you think of that one?”
“I think it’s perfect. Yes! You should go with it. Enjoy your dance lesson. I’ve got to go.” Today was sure off to a stellar start. I hung up the phone, and turned my full attention to Mr. Picky Pants, the man who would never be pleased.
CHAPTER 12
“HEY GUYS. I’M HOME!” I called out as I kicked off my boots and left them by the front door. I had spent the day with my mother, and I was really looking forward to spending some quality time with my family. Too bad only Lila greeted me. I bent down to pick her up. I carried her with me. I gently stroked her head, as I walked into the den where my kids were engrossed in a movie. I kissed them hello and then headed into the kitchen in hopes of finding Cole.
He was ending a telephone conversation and his mouth was set in a firm line. He barely made eye contact with me as I entered the room. I went over to where he sat and kissed the top of his head before I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water.
I took a long sip as Cole put his cell phone down and rubbed his forehead. I sat down next to him. “You wouldn’t believe the afternoon I had,” I wasn’t sure if I had Cole’s full attention, but I continued speaking anyway. “When my mother asked me to go to the club to go over food options for the wedding, I expected we’d look at a menu or two, make a few selections and then move on. But no! That didn’t happen. We had to taste samples of everything. Of course she’s on a diet, so she made me do all of the tasting and then describe everything I ate in painful detail. I sampled so much my stomach is killing me.”
“Hmm,” he muttered. He was facing me, but not really looking at me.
“And if that wasn’t bad enough, we then spent over an hour and a half selecting table cloths and napkins. I don’t understand all the fuss. I mean really! Who’s even going to notice the linens?”
“Hmm.”
“But here is the crazy part,” I poked him for emphasis. “You’re never going to believe this. She is making the whole wait staff get fitted for special tuxedos. Isn’t it the craziest thing you have ever heard of?”
“What?” Cole asked sounding annoyed.
“Have you not been listening to me?” I asked as I smirked. I really couldn’t blame him for tuning me out. Most of my outings with my mother were agonizing. I could understand him not being fascinated with the play by play of my day, although he did usually humor me.
“Actually, Anna, no, I haven’t been. I hate to break it to you, but there are other issues in the world besides your mother and her wedding.”
“Whoa,” I sat up straight in my chair. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you so angry? I thought you were okay with me helping her.”
“Yes. I’m fine with you helping her. I’ve told you a thousand times I was, didn’t I?”
“Yeah. So then why are you acting this way?”
He pointed to his phone that was lying on the table. “I just got off the phone with Nicholas. He wanted to give me, and all the directors for that matter, an advanced warning. He signed the papers this afternoon. He sold the firm to Eastridge.” Cole ran his fingers through his black hair. “The acquisition went through.”
“Well, you kind of knew it was going to happen.” I said softly as I grasped his arm.
“Yeah. I did.” He muttered, as he moved his arm away. “Although, I really did think he was having a change of heart. It probably was just wishful thinking on my part. I was counting on him changing his mind.” He banged his fist on the table. “In the end, he just couldn’t turn down the money they offered him; not that I can blame him. He’s going to stay on for two years to help with the transition.”
“That’s good,” I said enthusiastically.
“Yeah, good for him.”
“What do you mean? Why are you so upset?”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Cole glared at me.
I was afraid to say anything. He was not acting like himself.
“Chances are I am going to lose my job.”
“But why? Nicholas is still there, you just said so.”
“Anna, Nicholas isn’t going to have any say in the company’s direction come Monday. He’s just going to be there to help with the transition. Eastridge is huge. They have a team of project directors across all channels. Hell, their retail division has one hundred people in it alone. They won’t need me.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Don’t you think you are overreacting?”
“No. When companies are acquired people are made redundant and they lose their jobs. Those people are usually managers like me. Nicholas so much as told me the next few months are going to be extremely difficult for everyone, there are going to be a lot of changes. He said he doesn’t know what Eastridge’s plans are exactly, but all of us directors should plan for the worst.”
“Okay. So you’ll brush up on your resume,” I said nonchalantly as I took another sip of water.
“You just don’t get it do you? With the changes in the industry, and Eastridge snatching up all the mid-sized architectural firms, my position will be practically impossible to find. I’m going to have to start over, from the bottom up.”
“Well you always loved drawing. You always say you miss it,” I tried to comfort him.
“Yeah. I miss it but I don’t miss the salary!” he yelled. Then he slowly walked to the window.
I walked over to him and rubbed his back. I chuckled. “You’re upset about money? Come on Cole. You know we have nothing to worry about. We have the money my grandfather left me.”
Cole spun around so fast. His eyes full of rage. “You know how I feel about that money, Annabel. It’s wonderful you have it, but I don't want to live off of it. I refused to accept money from you when I was paying off my student loans. We didn’t touch a penny when we bought this house. And I am certainly not going to take a cent of it now to survive on when I lose my job.”
“Cole, I didn’t mean—”
He cut me off. “I know you didn’t mean anything, Anna. But you just don’t get it. You’ve had everything handed to you your entire life. Rather than appreciate it and being thankful for what you have, you dwell on what didn’t go your way. You’ve gone through a lot of difficult situations, trust me I know that better than anyone else. But come on. Who hasn’t? So many people have had it far worse than you, and I don’t think you even realize it.”
“Cole,” I said as tears streamed down my face. “I—”
He didn’t give me a chance to speak. “You know what, Anna. I think I’ve already said enough.”
“But…” I reached for his arms but he pushed me away.
“I’ve got to go talk to my dad about the acquisition and the layoffs. He understands what I’m feeling. I’m taking the kids with me.”
“Wait. I’ll come too,” I said as my voice cracked.
“No. I think it is best if you don’t. I think some time alone may do us both some good.” As he walked out of the kitchen he yelled out, “Violet, Harley. Get your coats. We are going to Grandma an
d Grandpa’s house.”
My children squealed in delight while I was left sobbing at my kitchen counter. I wondered what the hell just happened.
CHAPTER 13
“I’VE GOT WINE,” I announced as Cecelia opened her front door. I had called her about twenty minutes after Cole stormed out of the house. Part of me wanted to just curl up and cry on my couch but the bigger part of me didn’t want to be alone. I needed to talk to someone. I was thrilled she and her husband didn’t have any plans tonight.
My friend gave me a small smile as I stepped inside her home. “From the looks of it, you could use something stronger.” She then pulled a bottle of tequila out from behind her back.
I followed her to her kitchen and placed the bottle of wine I brought on her counter as she filled two glasses with ice. “I sent Bryce out to the park, and told him to take the twins out to dinner afterwards. This way we’ll have some alone time.”
I sat down at her table. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’d rather have a girl’s night anytime. Even though the boys are only two, there’s already too much testosterone in this house. Oh, and I ordered a pepperoni pizza too. The delivery guy should be here in about an hour.” She stated as she squeezed a little lime in both of the glasses.
“Thanks.” I muttered, even though I didn’t have much of an appetite.
She poured a generous helping of tequila and handed me a tumbler. “Come on. So you had a fight with Cole. Big deal. I’m sure it wasn’t the first one you two have had.”
“Of course it’s not.” I sighed. “But he has never stormed out of the house like this before. He was so angry at me.”
Cecelia raised her glass and held it out to me. I unenthusiastically clinked it with hers and we both took a sip, well I took more of a gulp.
“Tell me everything that happened,” she urged.
By the time I finished my story the pizza was already delivered and we were working on our second glass of tequila.
“Cee, so what do you think?” I asked as I picked off a piece of pepperoni from my slice and popped it in my mouth.
“Truth?” she asked as she put her long red hair into a ponytail.
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