Emma agrees to my plan and after we hang up, I immediately call Torrin. My call goes straight to voicemail and I don’t even bother leaving a message. When I first started working at the House of Royalty, Torrin was the constant professional, showing me respect and treating me as an equal. He was an attentive boss, training me on every little detail on how to run the club and alternating closing nights with me to make sure I got a break. All the employees seemed to admire and respect Torrin, and he was very good at making sure everyone was taken care of and not overworked. We soon became friends and I didn’t think twice about going to dinner with him or to the movies as that is what friends do. Three months into our new friendship, he said he wanted more.
At first I was resistant, saying I didn’t think it was a good idea for us to date since we work with each other. I was working hard on bettering myself for once. I was working out daily, continuing to see my grief counselor, but I also started talking to a therapist as well. And even though Jenna lived farther away, she still met me for our walks if she was in town. Life was starting to feel healthy, the only hiccup being that Torrin was not the man I wanted in my life.
Chase is and I still to this day have not heard a word from him.
I left Vancouver brokenhearted, but knew my decision was the right one, even though Chase didn’t see it that way. I reached out to Rhys one week after I had left, begging him to tell me how Chase was doing and to update me on his progress. The first couple of months were rough for Chase and it hurt to read Rhys’ emails detailing the pain and anger Chase was going through. Chase, Rhys and their mother started to attend family therapy together when Chase and Rhys were not on the road promoting Wilson Enterprises and signing more investors and celebrity endorsers. But soon Rhys’ emails started to become more positive. Chase was smiling and laughing more, and seemed less tense and stressed. Therapy was really helping them all resolve the bitterness and betrayal they felt against their father. Chase stopped his heavy drinking that he started the day I left and instead, was pouring all of his energy into the company. I thought with this change, I would start to hear from him again as surely he finally understood why I thought we needed to be apart?
I was wrong and he continued to stay radio silent.
In a moment of weakness from feeling rejected, I agreed to date Torrin. He took me to the fanciest of restaurants, lavished me with gifts, but when it was time to have sex with him, I couldn’t do it. Robert thought I was crazy and should have my head examined, but despite Torrin’s attentiveness and good looks, my heart ached for someone else.
And for once, it was not Charlie.
Chase still occupies my every waking thought and teases me in my dreams. Thoughts of what he was doing, if he was happy, if he was seeing someone else constantly consumed me. And even though Rhys always reassured me that Chase was still single, I had a hard time believing it.
Torrin was patient at first and said he would give me time. He continued to court me and I continued to enjoy having the companionship. But recently his behavior has been erratic and his mood swings have been intolerable. When I decided to finally introduce him to Cal and Jenna one night over dinner, he showed up completely incoherent. I was embarrassed and Jenna immediately hated him. Even though he has apologized and has tried to charm her, Jenna hasn’t changed her stance on him.
She wants him completely out of my life.
Torrin’s complicated behavior has started to affect his job. Missed client meetings and aggressive behavior have been reported to the owners of the club. The other employees and I tried to have an intervention with him and he played us like a fiddle, acknowledging that he needed to seek professional help and will do so. We saw glimpses of the old Torrin, but that only remained for a week.
It wasn’t until I caught him snorting a line of cocaine in his office that I realized what was causing his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality. I couldn’t understand how this once vibrant man, who prided himself in his looks by working out and eating clean, would put something so toxic in his body. I wanted to help save him from himself, so I let the outside world think we were still dating. I didn’t want them to know his problem, so I created this facade in order for me to watch over him. He started to become my very own project, doing well when I was constantly with him, but not being strong enough to stop on his own. As I have learned from my own personal ordeal, no one can save you but yourself. People can help you if you are open to it, but you have to want it.
And Torrin didn’t want it.
He was too far down the rabbit hole of the high that cocaine gave him. I started to cover for him at work, but I have reached my limit and am done trying to take care of him. This weekend will be a last ditch effort and if there is still no willingness to check into rehab, then I’ll have to find another job, which I don’t want to do. I love working at the House of Royalty. The staff became like a second family to me. I love being in control of their events and the owners have been impressed with the amount of revenue I have generated by bringing in outside corporate parties. Jenna and Robert have helped me a lot with this, even collaborating with us on by renting the venue out to use for their clients’ parties. By not having to travel and living in Jenna’s apartment, it has given me the chance to start fresh. I’m strong, both mentally and physically, and haven’t felt this way in a really long time.
I decide to send Torrin a text, telling him that Emma is covering for him, and to not miss his flight on Sunday. Surprisingly, he answers immediately, apologizes and says he’s on his way to the office and that he promises not to miss his flight. I won’t be surprised if he does, but I hope he proves me wrong.
I get out of my car, walk to the front door and punch in the key code. I enter their house, my nose immediately inhaling the scents of the essential oils that Jenna always diffuses. The house is beautiful, decorated in a Hollywood glam meets farmhouse chic kind of vibe. It boasts six bedrooms, offices for both Cal and Jenna, playroom for Avery, theater room, home gym and a pool. From the outside, the house looks massive, but the interior is laid out so that you don’t feel like you would get lost. Everything is accessible, which was a requirement for Jenna as she didn’t want to feel she could never find Avery. The house is bigger than Jenna wanted, but she fell in love with the backyard that has the pool, two outdoor living areas with a grill and outside seating, plus gorgeous landscaping. She already has had multiple photo shoots of themed parties staged outside in her backyard for her business’ blog.
Voices lead me straight into the living room, where Jenna is standing on top of a portable platform with Kellan trying to zip up her dress around her hips. His expression is one of disdain as the zipper seems to not want to move. Jenna looks like she’s about to cry. Cal is on the couch, observing her with heated eyes, while Robert is sitting on the lounge chair, typing on his computer.
“Jenna, that dress looks amazing on you,” I say, announcing my arrival. I hug both Cal and Robert before plopping myself down on the couch to wait my turn. My eyes roam Jenna’s body in a tight, rose gold sequin dress with an extremely low neck line and high leg slit that Cal has voiced his preference for all of her formal dress attire. The sparkle of her dress highlights perfectly with the sparkler she is wearing on her left hand.
As soon as the director said “that’s a wrap,” Cal proposed to Jenna on the beaches of Phuket, Thailand, where she had zero hesitations and immediately said yes. A wedding date has been set for this fall, but they are currently arguing about the size of the wedding. Jenna wants a small, intimate ceremony with a smaller party, whereas Cal wants a big wedding, making sure everyone knows that she’s his.
“How can this dress look amazing on her when I can’t even zip it up!” Kellan exclaims in exasperation. “Jenna, we just let this dress out last week because of all the cheese that has gone to your ass! Please stop eating! We’re now in crisis mode as the other dresses I have aren’t acceptable. This is the dress for you!”
I watch Jenna swallow and quickly glance
at Cal, who is looking at her in bemusement. Robert is staring at Kellan in lust, ready to pounce on him at any given second. The two have been together ever since Vancouver, each of them taking turns flying out to see the other since Kellan is based in Los Angeles. For right now, the long distance seems to be working for them both as they have hectic schedules during the week that require them to work long hours. Seeing them make their long distance relationship work makes me wonder if I gave up too easily on Chase. But Kellan and Robert don’t have the demons that Chase and I have that we need to concur in order to be together.
“How does this happen with the amount of working out you do? I’m sorry, but you have to go on a forty-eight hour cleanse in order to make this dress work.” Kellan stands back to look at her with his hands on his hips, shaking his head in disapproval when he stops as Jenna bursts into tears. She covers her face with her hands in embarrassment, but can’t stop her shoulders from shaking with her sobs.
“Oh, my God! No… please don’t cry, Jenna. I didn’t mean it! We don’t have to do a cleanse if you don’t want. Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph, please stop crying!” Kellan glances between her and Cal, terror written all over his face. “You’re still my second skinniest client. Oh, please stop! Cal, please don’t fire me!”
Cal gets off the couch and wraps Jenna in his arms to comfort her. He murmurs something in her ear and she nods in agreement to whatever Cal said to her. I’m watching this whole scene dumbfounded as the Jenna I know is not the type of person to cry over these kind of things. She would normally just shrug her shoulders and tell Kellan to kiss her ass, because she would never do a cleanse and would tell him to find another dress.
“I should fire your bloody ass for making my fiancée cry, but you’re off the hook due to Jenna’s raging hormones. She’s getting deliciously plump from carrying my baby!” Cal rubs her backside while looking at us with pure joy as excitement lights up his face.
“What? You’re pregnant?” I shout, jumping up from the couch and engulfing them in a hug. Robert runs to join us and we all squeeze each other, tears of happiness falling down our faces. Kellan has fallen to the floor in relief, his hand over his frantically pumping heart.
“Oh, thank you, Lord! When did you find this out and why didn’t you tell me?” he demands as he sits up and looks over her in displeasure. Robert let’s go and runs to the bathroom to get Jenna some tissues.
“I’m officially thirteen weeks,” she says, dabbing the wetness underneath her eyes with the tissue Robert hands her. “We wanted to wait a little bit longer, but I couldn’t handle anymore comments on how large my ass has gotten from you.” She wags her finger at Kellan, who starts to argue with her.
“First off, what the hell is thirteen weeks? I’m a man, I need months, not weeks!” She tells him that thirteen weeks is over three months, which seems to send him into a tizzy. “Three months! You have known you have been knocked up for three months and are now just telling me? I’m the innocent one in this scenario, honey! This is all your fault! If you would have told me this sooner, I could have ordered the dress in a bigger size.” He throws his hands up in exasperation. “Now I’m going to have to dress you in moos moos for the next however months you incubate that thing.”
We all burst into laughter at the ridiculousness that is coming out of Kellan’s mouth. As our laughter subsides, Cal announces we need to have a toast. He and Robert go into the kitchen and come back with four glass flutes filled with champagne and one filled with non-alcoholic sparkling apple cider for Jenna. We take our glasses and raise them in the air for his toast.
“To Jenna! Here’s hoping for an easy pregnancy, a safe delivery for our healthy baby Harrington and to us for hopefully taking home the Oscar this weekend!” We all cheer, clink our glasses together and down our drinks in celebration.
I collect everyone’s glass and walk them to the kitchen, needing a moment to collect my emotions. Despite my happiness for my friends, I can’t help the sadness that creeps into my heart that Chase is not here with us celebrating.
“Layla, you’re up next!” Kellan’s voice breaks me out of my thoughts and I return to join them in getting ready for our weekend in Los Angeles.
29
Chase
I stare out of my office window and watch as dusk settles in the background on the North Shore Mountains. This is one of my favorite times to be in the office since it’s quiet due to most of our employees already gone. I take this time to reflect on how things are going, the beauty of the sunset calming me from the hustle of the day.
Today was a big day for Wilson Enterprises as the first batch of bottled ice wine was exported. We were blessed with the perfect hard freeze this winter, which enabled us to produce a larger than normal production of wine. Due to our extensive marketing and advertising campaign featuring our celebrity endorsers, demand for ice wine was on the rise. We also were able to increase our radio and telecommunication coverage, courtesy of our newly signed investor, Roger Davis, which helped reach new customers. Because of the heightened visibility, our orders for ice wine were the highest in Wilson Enterprises history.
Our hockey team, the Kelowna Lynxes, are only six points away from clinching a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Rhys has been working closely with their sales and marketing departments to increase advertising and promotions in order to sell out these last remaining home games that are left in the season.
There has been a buzz of excitement within the office these last couple of months. Employee morale is at an all time high due to the positive changes we have made for the company, which has included the importance of employee development.
Professionally, this has been one of the best years in my career, even more rewarding since Rhys and I were officially named co-CEOs of Wilson Enterprises.
Personally, this has been one of the worst years of my life.
I was spiraling out of control, trying to numb the pain of the loss of Layla with alcohol any chance I could get. I was physically present at the office, but was mentally unavailable. I was barely functioning and not making any headway in my personal relationship with my family or getting Wilson Enterprises back on track. One day, Ellory showed up at my office to take me to lunch, when in reality she drove me to the airport where my mother and brother were waiting to take me on a week long family therapy retreat in Salt Spring Island. That week of closing off the outside world and just hashing out our family problems kickstarted the journey to emotional wellness. We were able to have closure on the subject of my father and forgive one another for all the wrong doings and blame we had placed that stemmed from his actions. I left all of my emotional baggage that had my father’s name on it on that island and haven’t looked back since. When I do think about my father, I try to feel gratitude toward his hard work at setting up Wilson Enterprises in Canada and leaving that legacy to us.
Rhys and I have continued going to therapy to work on our relationship. We have forgiven each other for our past mistakes and have agreed to start on a fresh, clean slate. The change in each of us toward the other is night and day. Stoic, emotionless Rhys has not reared his ugly head in months. Instead, I have an energetic, enthusiastic partner in crime who is ready to conquer the business world with me. We are closer than ever, something I would never have imagined possible.
“I think Wilson Enterprises needs to step up our game and get back into the venue business,” Rhys says, as he enters my office with a stack of papers, interrupting my quiet time.
“Depends on what venue you have in mind. If it’s in a desirable location and we can keep it occupied, then it could be lucrative.” I consider, remembering the times when we were successful in the past with our former venues before we had to sell them all in order to gain cash flow.
“I already have interest in a certain property.” He throws down a stack of papers of what looks like to be a contract drawn up between Wilson Enterprises and Castle Entertainment, the owners of the House of Royalty night club. I look up at my b
rother in shock, my reaction only causing his smile to widen.
“It’s time for you to go back to Chicago and claim what’s yours, brother. Castle Entertainment was looking to sell and their lawyers have already reviewed the contract and are ready to sign.”
I shake my head in surprise, not believing what my brother is suggesting. “She won’t want me. I said some horrible things to her that night.” Bile rises up in my throat as I recall the deplorable words I had said to her, despite her being right all along. I did need this time to be alone and work on me. If we did try to make long distance work, I don’t know if I would be so far ahead with myself and how well we have Wilson Enterprises running. “Besides, she has already moved on to someone else,” I say with bitterness.
Three months ago I hired one of my old paparazzi buddies to follow Layla around. Despite the hurt and betrayal I had felt, I still missed her and wanted to know she was doing okay. I knew that it was probably a bad idea, but I thought it was worth the torture to just see her face one more time, even if it was in black and white photos. Nothing could have prepared me for the devastation I felt when seeing photographic evidence of her holding hands with Torrin Richards. I burned those photos, stopped having her followed, deleted all Google alerts on Cal and Jenna, and closed myself off from any mention or situation that would remind me of her, them and the city of Chicago.
Perfectly Lonely: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Let Me In Book 2) Page 17
