Why did I let my mother talk me into this? I keep telling Deanna to not let her parents affect her, and here I am letting my mother talk me into leaving with her for a private talk. However, this isn’t really a private talk at all.
I glance around the table and politely smile at Mr. Gold while I ignore my father. I then turn my attention back to my mother. “What is this all about? I have work to do, and I need to get back to the office.”
She flashes me a sweet smile and reaches across the table to pat my hands. However, I yank my hands away before she can touch me.
Her smile falters a bit as she stares at me. “Son, we need to have a very important conversation with you. This is the best way to do it without having any interruptions.”
Interruptions. She is worried about interruptions.
Anger rushes through my veins. I grit my teeth and growl, &
Connor and I walk into his office building. What little smile we can muster is barely visible as we walk through the lobby. The bags under our eyes show everyone exactly what we have been going through. Even though we should be going back to the Midwest and to my job there, we are still in the city and dealing with his issues here. A slight yawn escapes my mouth as I try to acknowledge the receptionist as we walk by. She smiles back at us, but it doesn’t reach her eyes as her eyebrows knot together. I need a hot cup of herbal tea. I’ll be good then. Connor places his hand on my back and whispers, “Do you need to take a nap? You can sleep in my office if you can’t stay awake.” I sigh and shake my head. “No. I have too much to do. If for some reason I get too tired, I’ll just lay down on your couch and take a small cat nap.” “Uhm. Okay. I’m assuming you nee
Dotty’s voice booms from my phone. “If you don’t come back here right now, I’m going there. How can you let yourself get so run down that you nearly faint at work? Is Connor not taking good enough care of you?”I shake my head and stare out the bedroom window. “It isn’t like that, and you know it. Connor has been taking good care of me. We have been under a lot of stress lately. You know that full well. I’m sure it has finally caught up to me. There is nothing to worry about, though.”I glance around the room. “Connor has me resting in bed right now. He said he wasn’t going to take no, so I gave in. Everything will be fine. Now, stop worrying.”She sighs. “I’m just concerned, especially after what you went through before. I don’t want a repeat of it.”I slide under t
My gut tells me something is wrong with Deanna. I don’t know what, but I’m not taking any chances.I work like a madman trying to get everything done in a short period of time, so we can go back to the Midwest.I completely ignore my father and mother. I did the only thing I could, and that is I got him his lawyer. However, his lawyer wouldn’t even take the case until I gave him a hefty retainer. I didn’t want to ask how much my father owed him, but I figure I gave him enough money to cover everything.Unfortunately, it hasn’t stopped my mother from trying to bug me, but I let my security handle it, both at the office and at my apartment. In addition, I have removed her name from the approved list of people who can visit me.I have also let Dotty and her parents know what is going on. So, if I need to have backup, I have it when we get back there. With Deanna’s
My palms glisten and my stomach twists as the nurse leads us back to the exam room. With each step, my mind goes wild with the various reasons for why I’m tired lately. However, none of them really makes any sense. I quickly wipe my hands against my pants as I take a deep breath. Connor wraps his arm around my waist and kisses the side of my head. “Don’t worry too much, love. We are here to take some simple tests and then we will hopefully have some answers soon. Okay.” I glance at him out of the corner of my eye as I tentatively nod my head. He kisses the side of my head again and whispers, “I’m going to be right here next to you. Don’t worry. I’m sure it isn’t anything serious.” I take another deep breath. I wish I could be that confident, but my history reminds of what could go wrong. The nurse stops in front of an open door. “You will be in here. Please have a
Dotty and her mom walk into my bedroom as I stand in front of the mirror, making sure I look perfect. My off-white silk wedding dress shimmers in the afternoon light as I shift from side to side, looking at it from every angle. A smile dances around on my face while my eyes sparkle. My attention soon drifts down to my stomach, and my smile widens. The silky material falls loosely across my large baby bump. I gently caress my stomach and whisper, “This is it, babies. I’m finally getting the wedding I’ve always wanted.” Dotty smiles and wraps her arm around my shoulders as she looks down at my stomach. “Kiddos, your mommy is finally getting everything she deserves. Not only is your daddy giving her the gorgeous wedding she deserves, but he has agreed to stay here with us.” Her mother lightly slaps her shoulder. “Stop hugging her. You are going to wrinkle her wedding dress.” She then looks at me throu
Ugh… My entire body aches and my head is drumming like a whole marching band is in there. What did I do last night? Oh, yeah. I was having fun with my friends at my bachelorette party. With my eyes still closed, I try to roll over, but my arm is pinned under something. Something very heavy. Reluctantly, I slowly open up my eyes. However, instead of my hotel room with all the streamers and wedding themed items strung everywhere, I find a bare room. What the heck? Where am I? Once again, I try to pull my arm out from whatever is holding it down. But this time, as I tug, whatever is on top of it moves with me. What the heck? I slowly turn my head towards my pinned arm. My eyes widen when instead of finding a heavy bag or other object, I find a bare back with broad shoulders. When he moves, his muscles flex as if he is trying to show
What have I done? For the entire plane ride home, that one question kept bouncing around in my head. I still can’t believe what has happened. Bits and pieces from last night slowly keep coming back, and I’ve spent the entire plane ride trying to put them back in the right order. I still have missing chunks of time, but the complete picture is becoming clearer. However, I can’t believe that I did half of the things that I did. After looking through my phone, I’m not sure if I should be proud of some things or ashamed. I know one thing, though, that I want to forget it completely. I pat the side of my purse. A slight frown forms on my lips as I feel the circular object inside the pocket. What am I going to do with it? I can’t keep it. How would I explain an extra wedding ring in my jewelry box? I know my friends have a lot of questions, but as soon as I told
** Over 2 years later ** I march into my office and toss the paperwork for today’s proposal on my desk. How could they even think that this was a good presentation? We have been partners with them for a while now. Maybe they are getting lazy. I sigh and run my hand through my hair. It isn’t even 10am yet, and I’m already fuming. I yank my chair out from my desk and take a deep breath, trying to let my frustrations go. However, as soon as my eyes land back on the paperwork strung across my desk, my shoulders stiffen, and my irritation is instantly back. What am I going to do with them now? As I sit down, my mind rolls through all of our various partners in the glass industry, trying to find the right fit for this enormous project. Our partner for this project must be someone that I can rely on. My thoughts are interrupted as Ryan dashes into