A Man Who Knows What He Wants Box Set 5

by Flora Ferrari

  I recognize the voice and the question and I’m completely surprised by both.

  Janoff designed the original Apple Computers logo. The voice that asked the question?

  My dad.

  I turn around from my position inside the Gotham Gallery where I was sizing up a display I was putting together.

  “Dad!” I say and he hugs me instantly.

  “Enjoying your time with Alex, Alex?”

  My dad still thinks he’s some kind of comedic genius for coming up with his Alex and Alex setup. Well…he’s a genius alright, but there’s nothing funny about it.

  “Yeah, it’s going great.”

  “Good. He’s treating you well?”

  “Very well. Thanks.”

  “Where is that booger?”

  “Probably in his office or with clients.” I pause. “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought I’d surprise the two of you and drop in for a couple days.”

  “Don’t you have to work?”

  “Took the time off. Wanted to see how you were adjusting to life in the big city.”

  “It’s definitely an adjustment all right.”

  My dad takes a step away from me and then turns back. “Aren’t you coming?”

  “Where?”

  “To Alexander’s office with me to say hello.”

  “Oh right. Yeah, I’m right behind you,” I say. I turn to look at the display and realize it’s crooked, completely out of balance.

  Just like me. My dad’s got me off guard and I’m wobbling. I need to right myself before I fall over metaphorically and spill out some information which could lead to the two of us getting caught.

  Not twenty seconds later we’re knocking on the door to Alexander’s office.

  “You stand in front. I’ll hide right here,” my dad says ducking behind the wall next to the door.

  “No, better if we’re together,” I say trying to pull my dad back into the space in front of the door.

  “No, I want the surprise,” he says darting back to his hiding position. He’s too strong for me to pull him and just then the door opens.

  I make a motion with my head towards where my dad’s standing at the same time I raise my eyebrows trying to tell Alexander there’s trouble just next to the door, but he’s so happy to see me he doesn’t even take the time to notice.

  “How’s my beautiful?” he says as he steps through the door, takes my face in his hands and leans in to kiss me.

  I pull my face away, squirming to escape and he stops looking at me like I’m acting crazy.

  Because I am.

  “What the fuck?” my dad says.

  Alexander’s hands come off my face and he lifts his palms in the air as if to say “hey, what can you do,” towards my dad. Then he extends his hand for a shake but my dad just stares at him.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now.”

  “It’s not what it looks like,” I say. “Dad!”

  But it’s too late. He’s storming to the door and then his hands find the bar and he thrusts it open. It’s better to just let him go right now, especially considering we don’t need a meltdown inside a gallery full of multi-million dollar pieces.

  “Well, that was unexpected,” Alexander says.

  “His visit or my reaction when you went to kiss me?”

  “Both. And now I’ve got to right the ship with both of you. I should have told him sooner. I need to go after him.”

  “But Alexander!” But he’s already headed towards the door. “You don’t even know where he went.”

  “Oh yes I do,” he says as he pushes his way through the door and disappears into the city.

  I just hope our relationship doesn’t disappear with it. I can only imagine the pressure my dad will put on him if and when he finds my dad.

  And suddenly I feel the pressure of my decisions weighing on me. I could lose my position here at the gallery and much more importantly I could lose Alexander…for good.

  Not to mention any hope of staying in NYC and being with him.

  How quickly times change. I just hope Alexander can find my dad and get him to change his mind. I have years of experience trying and I’ve never succeeded once.

  Once his mind is made up it’s made up and right now he’s sure we’re both the lousiest people he knows.

  And that’s putting it nicely.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Alexa

  I check my phone for the time.

  10 p.m.

  I haven’t seen or heard from either one of them for hours. Neither is returning my calls, which have been going straight to voicemail.

  I pace inside Alexander’s flat glad that the doorman recognized me and was kind enough to let me in. Even in the hustle and bustle of NYC there is still a personal connection to the people here and I love that.

  And knowing I might actually lose Alexander just reinforces how much I love him. So, so much.

  I can only imagine where he is.

  Has he even found my dad?

  How could he in a city this gigantic and full of so many people.

  I sit down on the couch and literally twiddle my thumbs.

  “Uhhh!” I exhale. This is the worst.

  Suddenly I hear a key in the lock and the sound of laughter in the hallway.

  Am I being robbed?

  The door pushes open and Alexander and my dad literally fall through the opening and onto the floor in a ball laughing.

  Then they start rolling around on the floor like kids.

  What in the…?

  Are they drunk?

  “Did you ever pass gas around your friends and they suspected it was you?” Alexander says.

  “Huh?”

  “You know,” my dad slurs. “Farted!”

  “Oh my god. What’s going on with you two?”

  “The King Cole bar on East 55th Street. You have to go someday. Wait! We’ll take her tomorrow!” Alexander says.

  “Tomorrow,” my dad says thrusting his fist into the air from his position flat on his back.

  “The King Cole bar? Huh?”

  “Yeah, they have a painting on the wall of King Cole in his throne and he just farted. The reactions of all the other people in the painting are hi-lar-ious!” Alexander says.

  Then he and my dad break out in laughter on the floor, holding their stomachs.

  I Google this King Cole bar quickly and confirm what he’s saying. They’re right. Apparently it’s a NYC iconic place and yes…there’s a painting on the wall of King Cole, well…passing gas and the reactions of the other people in the painting are in response to that. And they’re pretty funny.

  And then I start laughing myself.

  “What were you two doing there?”

  “Well, I chased this crazy guy down because I knew he would go on the boat towards the Statue of Liberty. He thinks she’s hot,” Alexander says.

  “I do not!” my dad says.

  “You always visit it when you come here. You tourist, you.”

  They start laughing again.

  “And I found him on the boat and we had a talk about everything. He couldn’t run away because we were on a boat. Good strategy, huh?” he says.

  “Great strategy,” I say.

  “I had to remind him that the Statue of Liberty is actually taking a step forward and that there’s a chain at her feet. She’s breaking free, just like you’re breaking free of both your life as a kid and also as a woman of the 21st century who can make her own decisions, no matter how unorthodox they might be.”

  “Wow, you can be really articulate when you’re drunk,” I say.

  “I’m not drunk!” Alexander hiccups. “I’m just…buzzed.”

  Then his face finds the floor and I look to see my dad still flat on his back, but he’s snoring.

  “Oh my god I’ve got two little boys on my hands,” I say looking at the cuteness that is my dad and his best friend passed out on the floor. Even approaching forty years
old they’re still the best of buddies who probably like nothing more than fishing, catching bullfrogs, and chasing after snakes as little boys do.

  A huge relief comes over me realizing that Alexander got everything sorted out with my dad.

  And why wouldn’t he? He’s an incredible guy who never ceases to amaze me.

  And what’s going to be amazing right now is if I can figure out a way to get him to his bed and my dad to the couch. There’s a whole lotta muscle in Alexander and I have no idea how I’m going to manage to get all of that manliness up the stairs.

  My dad? Maybe I can roll him.

  Nah. He deserves so much better than that. He’s my dad after all and even if he lost it today it was only because he was looking out for me and that he cares.

  I get down on my knees and give him a kiss on the cheek, ignoring the smell of booze which is coming from every pore in his body.

  I’ll make them some bacon and eggs in the morning and get them right back on their feet. Neither one of them are big drinkers so I can only imagine the headaches they’re going to wake up with tomorrow.

  And my headache is now completely gone.

  Apparently my dad’s quickly come to terms with Alexander and I and my fantasy life with my fantasy man can become a reality.

  I go to the kitchen and pour two glasses of water for my guys.

  My dad and his best friend…the man I love and the man who loves me.

  Forever.

  Epilogue

  Alexander

  Six months later

  We step inside the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia and are immediately greeted by one of my old friends.

  “So this is the lovely lady I’ve heard so much about,” Lucas says.

  “In the flesh,” I say turning my arms toward her with outstretched hands as if to say “introducing.”

  Alexa’s face turns red at all the attention. I love her modesty and the way she is so unassuming.

  I wanted to take her somewhere special for getting a perfect 4.0 her first semester at Parsons.

  We’d already been to Iceland and didn’t feel like going somewhere cold when NYC was cold so we looked at the Southern Hemisphere and quickly picked Australia. How could we not?

  A beautiful country with beautiful people and plenty of really cool art to explore. It was a passion we deeply shared and were both looking forward to today just as much as we were looking forward to spending time outside in the vast Australian landscape. It’s like the entire country is one giant postcard. It’s that beautiful.

  Lucas proceeds to give us the tour and I’m definitely looking at the items he’s pointing out, but I also can’t keep my eyes off of her.

  She’s helped me see art in a more human way. After so many years of being an art dealer I’d started to look at everything in monetary terms, completely forgetting why I got started in art in the first place.

  She helped me rediscover the love and passion as I watched her discover all different kinds of art for the first time.

  I enjoyed serving as something of a teacher and a mentor, and she’s taught me quite a few things about graphic art as well. It was an area where I was weak, but not anymore. She made me strong, which is both perfect personally and professionally as it’s a rapidly growing field.

  And one she’ll be working in one day.

  She’d already commissioned a few pieces for various clients around the city and even one gallery that a friend of mine runs. Her career was fast tracked and she was already on her way to big things.

  I was so proud.

  And she didn’t know it yet, but when we visit Ayres Rock in a few days I was going to give her two for the price of one. The beauty of Ayres Rock and a beautiful rock on her finger to signify to her just how much she means to me.

  I’ve spent the last six months picking out the perfect one and I was able to locate and take ownership of an iconic ring from history worn by a princess. I made some small modifications to suit her, but the idea stays the same. This ring is only for a princess and that’s exactly what she is.

  Until our wedding day when she becomes my queen. And I’m already working on finding the perfect ring for our union.

  I can’t wait until the day when the two of us become one. She compliments me and I compliment her.

  I realize now I never really knew what love was and what it felt like to truly live until her. And now that I know both I want her to know that I know.

  I want the whole world to know.

  Thoughts of pride fill me and right in the middle of Lucas speaking I lean in and kiss her on top of her head.

  “Just how the king used to kiss his queen!” Lucas says pointing to a painting that looks almost exactly like what I just did…although the clothes from five hundred years ago are a little different.

  I didn’t even see the painting on the wall before I did what I did, but now that I do it doesn’t surprise me one bit.

  Princesses and queens have been treated with the utmost respect and admiration throughout history.

  Whether that was in 1518 or 2018. It really doesn’t matter.

  All that matters is I’ve got my queen now. My one and only. And it could only be her.

  My love. My life. My everything.

  And soon to be my wife.

  Forever.

  Extended Epilogue

  Alexa

  Ten years later

  “Hey you,” I say as Alexandra climbs up on my lap.

  “Mommy, what’s that?”

  “That’s called a Wacom tablet.”

  “What’s a wacky tablet?”

  I laugh and kiss her on top of her head. I can’t believe how much she looks like me.

  “A Wacom tablet, or a wacky tablet as it’s known in some circles,” I say tapping her on the nose, “is like a coloring board for adults.”

  “You color?”

  “Yeah, kind of. Want to try?”

  She nods her head vigorously and I reposition her in my lap handing her the pen tool that you run across the Wacom tablet that allows you to do graphic design on a computer.

  She holds the tablet in her lap and starts drawing a bird.

  “There it is!” I say pointing to the computer screen.

  “Cool!” she says. I lean forward and around and see the determination on her face. Her tongue is out and she’s focused on the screen as she adds some cute feathers and then a Mohawk to the bird.

  I laugh and then she starts laughing too.

  “I gave him wacky hair!” she says.

  “You sure did,” I say.

  “What kind of trouble are you two getting into in here?” a voice from the doorway says.

  “No trouble, daddy. Mommy is teaching me how to make birds on her wacky tablet.”

  “Her wacky tablet, huh?” Alexander says as he scoops up Alexandra and carries her out of the room.

  “I think it’s time for bed isn’t it?”

  She shakes her head.

  “Birds go to sleep at dark and it’s already past dark,” he says.

  “Okay. I better go to sleep then so I can fly tomorrow.”

  I smile as Alexander carries her out of the room.

  I love my husband so much but one of the things I maybe wasn’t expecting when I married such a creative man and one who works in the arts is his ability to inspire our children’s imagination and let them take an idea, any idea, and run with it. He never criticizes them or calls them crazy, even when they say they can fly.

  And that’s exactly why they can fly. He encourages them to spread their wings wide and try anything. Sometimes they soar and sometimes they spiral from the nest, but never too far.

  Momma and Papa bird are always there to swoop in and grab them and fly them back up to the next before any signs of real trouble.

  I love that he’s allowing them to be creative and their minds to grow and expand in the most original of ways.

  Just like he’s done with me.

  He’s
showed me so many artistic things and introduced me to so many creative and interesting people that it’s really improved my work, made me a more peaceful person, and just centered me as a human being.

  He gives me balance and he gave me my beautiful children.

  Alexandra and Alexi, who’s over at his friend’s sleepover tonight.

  There’s a saying that I see on T-shirts sometimes that says, “Happy Wife. Happy Life.”

  It’s the simplest of graphic designs but the most true.

  And from the sparkle I still see in his eyes, even after more than ten years, I know he’s having the happiest of lives.

  And I know I sure am too.

  Because of him.

  Because of our children. Our family. Our togetherness. Our home full of love.

  I gave him the gift of my virginity all those years ago and he gave me the gift of himself and now the gift of our beautiful family here in NYC.

  Forever.

  60) ROCK STAR’S BABY

  ROCK STAR’S BABY

  Dad’s best friend from California is a rock hard rock star older man who’s tall, tanned, and totally been my ultimate crush for years.

  When he’s not surfing the shores of Southern California he’s singing with his band on a world tour…which leads him to my state and a visit to our small town to hang out with our family for a week to recharge his batteries.

  It’s the first time I’ve seen him in years and it’s time for another first time that I’ve been saving especially for him.

  But if this rock star rocks my world will his tour bus pull out in the morning or will I get to sing the perfect duet on the beaches of sunny California with a baby from my dad’s bronzed best buddy…forever?

  *Rock Star’s Baby is an insta-everything standalone romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.

  Chapter One

  Hope

  “Oh my god, is that him?” my little sister Harley says as I hear her hands press on the window next to mine.