A Husband by New Year's

by Sean D. Young

  Renee could tell that his dysfunctional relationship with his brother was weighing on him.

  “Do you think that your mother dying had anything to do with it?”

  “Oh yes, that’s part of it. When you mentioned the holidays, I started thinking of my mother and how we used to have a house filled with people, laughter, food, and fun. After she died, that all changed and has never been the same.”

  Renee hugged him to her side. “I’m sorry, baby. You know you and your family are always welcome at my family’s house.”

  “How could that be, babe, when I’ve never even met your family?”

  “That’s why I asked you about coming to Thanksgiving, because my sisters are giving me a fit about wanting to meet you in person.”

  Patrick kissed her quickly on the lips. “We’ve got to make that happen then.”

  Renee smiled. “That would be wonderful. Since you can’t come then, maybe I’ll see what everybody’s doing tonight?”

  “We can wait until after the holiday if you want. I don’t want to interfere with your family traditions,” he said, standing.

  Renee caught his arm as he started to walk away. “You wouldn’t be. I’d love for you to meet them all.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you have to be at work early?” Renee asked.

  Patrick checked his watch. “Yes, I’d better get out of here. I have to go to the office and then to my place to shower and change.” He stood in front of Renee, naked. “What’s on your agenda today?” he asked.

  “I’m going to work on a PowerPoint that I’ll be presenting,” she said.

  “Julia’s not still giving you any problems, is she?” Patrick asked.

  “Julia’s just being Julia,” Renee responded.

  “Don’t let that woman get to you, baby,” Patrick warned her.

  The dynamics of her relationship with her old friend had changed since Renee had been having conversations with Patrick about her. She handled herself differently around Julia in ways that didn’t provoke a reaction from her every time the woman voiced a negative opinion.

  “I don’t pay her any mind anymore. I just let her say whatever she’s going to say. As long as she gets the work done, I don’t care about the rest.”

  “Good thinking, because you can’t allow her to push you around or throw empty accusations at you.”

  “I feel differently about Julia now. She can’t hurt me anymore, and I’m not trying to understand why she’s treated me so unkindly. That’s her problem, not mine,” Renee said, getting up from the bed.

  Patrick laughed as he swatted her backside and watched her walk over to the dresser.

  Renee giggled as she opened the drawer and pulled out a pink lacy bra and panty set and laid them on top of the dresser. Her gaze fell on a photo of her sisters, and that’s when she remembered. “I need to call Patrice to see how she’s doing this morning.”

  “You do that while I get dressed,” Patrick said, picking up his clothes that were strewn all over the floor.

  Renee grabbed the phone to dial her sister after she watched him walk naked into the bathroom.

  * * * * *

  Renee tried to contact Patrice but when she didn’t answer, she assumed that she was busy in the lab so she left a message. She called Faith to see how things went with Patrice after she’d left, but there was no answer there either. It was a very busy time of year for Faith and her custom gown shop.

  Renee was happy that she had been able to help Faith realize her dream. One of the most important parts of any new business was the branding. The store has been a big hit and they were in the process of launching an online store early next year. Renee was proud of the work she’d done for Faith. In return, Faith had gifted Renee a custom gown for the New Year’s Eve gala. Renee was so excited about being able to try on her dress. The first fitting wouldn’t be ready for another week. Since she couldn’t get hold of either of them, she kissed Patrick goodbye when he left, showered, and got dressed to go into the office.

  After removing her coat and hanging it up, Renee turned on the computer and logged into her favorite music streaming service so that she could get to work. While it was booting up, she grab the tablet with her notes from last night from her bag. With her help, she believed that Patrick could convince his manager to invest in his ideas for the success of the company.

  Door closed, music just the way she liked it, Renee got to work. After an hour, Cara buzzed her. Patrick wasn’t due for their meeting for another hour and she hadn’t even gotten to the halfway point. Pressing the intercom button on her phone, she answered.

  “Yes, Cara.”

  “Patrice is on line one.”

  “Great, thanks.” Renee ended the call and pressed the line.

  “I hope you’re feeling better, Treecie,” she said.

  “Busy?” Patrice asked.

  “I always have time for you. How are you?”

  “Much better than I was yesterday,” Patrice answered.

  “I’m so glad to hear that, because I was really worried about you.”

  “Child, I was worried about myself. With Jacques out of town and me being in that apartment all alone, everything just got to me.”

  Renee figured her sister was likely having some sort of post-partum issue from the way she was acting. “So when he comes back are you going to talk to him about exploring other treatments so you can start your family?”

  “I’m going to talk to him, but the doctor already told me to wait two years before trying again.”

  “Probably to let your body heal. It’s best to be careful,” Renee said.

  Once Patrice went silent, Renee figured she wanted to ask her about her miscarriage. It was a bit odd, because her sister has never been afraid to broach any subject. Maybe because it happened to her, Patrice was being more sensitive about it.

  “Go ahead and ask me whatever you want, Treecie. I’m not afraid to talk about it.”

  “I’m not sure what I want to know. I was shocked when you told us. That must have been a traumatizing experience for you.”

  “I guess if I had been in a situation like you and really wanted a child, I probably would have been devastated.”

  “You didn’t care?”

  “I wouldn’t call it not caring. Things happened so fast, I was trying to figure out what to do. I still had two years before graduation. I had so many dreams and aspirations that I didn’t know I could put off with a baby.”

  “That is a lot to think about.”

  “Yes, but the night before the miscarriage, I had decided that I’d do whatever I had to for my child. It wasn’t planned, but I would love my baby just the same.”

  “Then you lost it.”

  “Exactly. I cried at first, then pulled myself together. I tried to be a grown-up about the situation.”

  “I get it, Renee. I really do. I never thought I’d feel this way about having a child, but I want to be a mommy like Jenn.”

  “And you will be, Treecie. You will be.”

  “Why don’t you bring Patrick to Jenn’s on Saturday when we meet up?”

  “Okay, I’ll ask him.”

  “Cool. I’m on my way to the airport to pick up Jacques. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Take care of yourself.”

  “I will, and thanks again for everything.”

  Renee ended the call and went back to work. For a minute, her mind drifted as she thought about her and Patrick having a child of their own. Hopefully, someday, she would be a mommy too. Only time would tell.

  * * * * *

  Heading over to the office, Patrick hoped that Robert would be in today. He wanted to talk to him about celebrating Thanksgiving as a family. His heart was broken after listening to his father talk about how his brother was always absent on the holiday. Since the
y were little boys, their mother taught them that holidays were for family to love on each other and share a meal together. From the sound of it, the Dunlaps hadn’t been doing much of either.

  As soon as he pulled into the parking lot, he noticed his brother’s parking spot was empty. He was disappointed, but not surprised. Was his brother running the business from his cell phone? How could Robert lead people when he was never there? Patrick walked inside and greeted the receptionist and continued on to his office. He could tell that something was wrong by the look on Kathy’s face.

  “Good morning, Kathy,” he said cheerfully.

  “Patrick, good morning,” she said, then nodded her head in the direction of the office behind her.

  Moving closer to the desk, he leaned in. “Is he in there?” he asked, trying to keep his voice down.

  Kathy didn’t say a word, but nodded her head.

  “Good, I need to talk to him anyway,” Patrick said before moving past her desk to the office. He still hadn’t gotten through all of the papers that Kathy had given him, but that was another situation. Taking a deep breath before twisting the handle on the door, he pushed it open.

  “I’m surprised to see you here today, big bruh,” Patrick said, ignoring the frown on Robert’s face.

  “Baby bruh, I keep telling you that nobody keeps track of me. I can come and go as I please.”

  Patrick waved his hand before sitting in the empty chair. “No worries, everything is cool.” Patrick relaxed in the chair. “Listen, I wanted to find out what your plans are for Thanksgiving.”

  Robert frowned. “Why?”

  “Well, I was talking to Pop yesterday about what he wanted to do. It’s been a long time since we were together as a family,” Patrick said.

  “I’ve already got plans. And that family thing died when Mom did.”

  “Why would you think that? Pop is still here, even though he hasn’t been feeling too well lately.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Did you know that Pop carries nitroglycerin pills in his pocket?”

  “Nope. I hadn’t paid that much attention.”

  Patrick scooted forward to the edge of the chair. “Well, why don’t you bring your date to the house and let’s have a traditional family meal together with Pop? I would like for us all to be together sooner rather than later, because his illness makes me uneasy.”

  “I’ll have to see, so don’t go making any plans including me,” Robert said.

  Patrick gave him a look.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I said I’ll see.”

  This was a total waste of time, and Patrick knew that going in. If he ever had any children, he would instill in them the importance of loving and caring for your siblings. The one thing he didn’t want was to need some emergency medical help and have Robert be the only person on the planet that could save him. He’d be as good as dead.

  Patrick stood. “Okay, well, I’ll let you know once plans have been set, and if you can make it, that would be great,” he said, walking to the door.

  “I thought Pop was going over to Aunt Bernice’s house for the holiday. That’s what he did last year. You would have known that if you were here.”

  Patrick had had enough of hearing his brother talk. If he didn’t get out of there, the situation would turn ugly. Playing nice with Robert was like playing Russian roulette. He needed to get to his clients, but first he wanted to talk to Kathy.

  Walking as swiftly as possible, he approached her workstation, but she was on the phone. He didn’t want to leave without connecting with her. He waited out of earshot until her call had ended.

  “Kathy, can you come in my office when you have a minute?”

  She smiled. “I’ll be there in a bit.”

  Several minutes later, Kathy walked into his office and closed the door behind her. “I didn’t want to just get up and follow you in here.”

  “I understand,” Patrick said. He leaned forward. “Is Robert mean to you?” He didn’t want any of their employees to be mistreated. Kathy was like family, and a longtime member of their support staff. She’d never do anything to deserve being treated cruelly.

  “No, he’s never mistreated me. There’s only been a couple of occasions where he raised his voice after I asked him a question about a trip that he was going to take or something like that. Otherwise, he tells me what he wants me to do and I do it.”

  Patrick got up and walked over to the window. He didn’t understand why Robert would treat Kathy that way.

  Turning toward her, he gave her some instructions. “Okay, Kathy, this is what I need from you. I’m on my way out to drive some clients, so if I get a package of any kind, please put it away until I come in. I’m not sure if Robert is going through my things or not, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

  “Of course,” she said, pulling out a folder. “Here’s the report from the accounting department,” she said as she handed it to him.

  Patrick walked back to his desk and took the folder from her. “I’d decided not to talk to Ms. Simpson after going to her office and seeing her,” Patrick said truthfully.

  “You didn’t introduce yourself?” Kathy wanted to know.

  “No, I didn’t, because I didn’t want to take a chance that she tell Robert that I was snooping.”

  Kathy gave him a slight smile. “I took the initiative to have them pull some reports for me. I’ve done it in the past, so no one should be suspicious.”

  Patrick stared at Kathy for a long time.

  Scooting close to the edge of the chair to get closer to him, she said, “I’m not trying to throw Robert under the bus. What I want is for your father’s business to thrive and not be torn down. He put so much into it, I just don’t want to see it die because it’s being mishandled.”

  “I won’t have a chance to look over this until I get home, but thanks so much,” Patrick said, standing. “I’ll talk to you later, but don’t forget, if I get a package, please let me know.”

  Kathy stood. “I’ll be on the lookout for it, Patrick,” she said before going behind the desk to embrace him.

  “Thank you for everything, Kathy,” Patrick said with sincerity.

  He stepped back and waited until she left the office. Swiping the folder from the desk, Patrick attempted to scan the contents quickly, because he didn’t have time to study it. Flipping the folder closed, he shoved it under his arm. He would have time to look at the information while he waited for his clients. Just glancing at the information, Patrick had a feeling he was about to make some hard decisions concerning the business. The kind that might ultimately cost him his relationship with his brother.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Renee checked her e-mail before pulling up her calendar to check her schedule. In order to accommodate everything she had going on, she would have to have lunch or dinner meetings with Cara and her sisters about the gala. Otherwise she didn’t have time during the day.

  Next on her agenda for the day was to meet with Patrick. She was excited to go over the brand proposal she’d put together with him. Although it wasn’t complete, she felt it was a great start. Once finalized, she’d even go as far as assisting him with making the presentation to his manager.

  Despite wanting to help Patrick, she would be extremely busy trying to handle his company and her assigned work. She couldn’t trust Julia with her accounts. And if she were truly honest with herself, she’d admit that their so-called friendship had been over a long time ago.

  Renee opened the file that Julia had sent and scanned the notes. She looked up to find Julia in her doorway, her nostrils flared. Does this girl know how to knock?

  “Did you have a nice break, Julia?” Renee asked, trying to use a pleasant tone and shake off her annoyance.

  Julia closed the door behind her. “Did you speak to Priscilla about me working on the soda
project?”

  Renee frowned, because this was not something she wanted to go over again. “No, I didn’t. Why?”

  Julia stared at her silently.

  Renee exhaled, exhausted. “What’s wrong now?” She was getting tired of Julia’s accusations. She had no idea what the woman was talking about, but now she’d have to hear all the details.

  “Let’s go, we need to talk to Priscilla,” Julia said, waving her hands.

  Renee leaned back in her chair instead of standing because she didn’t like the tone of Julia’s request. It was more like an order, and she wasn’t going to be bullied by anyone, especially not Julia.

  Julia put her hands on her hips. “Did you hear me, Renee? Come on, so we can get this straightened out.”

  Renee leaned forward. “As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing to straighten out. If you have a problem with Priscilla, you talk to her. You come in here yelling at me about something I have no knowledge of, then demand that I go and talk to Priscilla about it? I don’t think so, Julia.”

  “I know you did it, Renee.”

  Renee stood. “Did what, Julia? I keep telling you that I haven’t spoken to Priscilla. If they’ve kicked you off the creative brief response that has nothing to do with me.” Renee looked at Julia and was surprised at the fear she saw in her eyes.

  Unbelievable.

  Maybe fear was what had been driving Julia all this time, but it was totally unnecessary. The woman was beautiful, smart, and very good at her job. Being nasty, indignant, and pushy wasn’t the way to succeed in any business, especially not marketing. No company was going to allow an employee to fail a client.

  If Julia had been a different kind of person, Renee would have talked to her about what she could do to make things better, but Julia wouldn’t listen to her. At one time she would have even asked Julia to go into business together. Julia was that good, and together, they could have done marvelous work. Today, there was no way that she’d even tell Julia that she wanted to open her own marketing firm. Julia would be just that lowdown person to try to use it against Renee.

  The intercom on the phone buzzed. Renee sat back down and rolled her chair closer to the desk, pressing the button. “Yes, Cara,” she said.