Just Me

by Graysen Morgen

  “Hmm, a day bed might have been fun, if this wasn’t your parents' house of course.” she grinned as her eyebrow rose up seductively.

  “Uh huh, let me show you where you’re sleeping, come on.” Cassidy tugged on Ian’s hand.

  “What? You mean I can’t sleep in here with you?”

  “No. My parents are old fashioned. I mean they’re completely fine with me being gay, but I have never shared a bed with anyone under their roof.” She paused. “Come to think of it, now I know why they are acting so strange, they know something’s up. Ian I’ve never brought anyone home to meet them, especially a woman.”

  “Well this is about to get very interesting.” She said dryly as Cassidy led the way into the room across the hall. It was also white, but with baby blue trim and oak colored furniture. The bed was the same size.

  “The last one is my parents' room.” They went back downstairs to the living room. David, Cassidy’s father, was watching some old movie on TV and her mother was in the kitchen.

  “There you are, I thought you ladies were lost upstairs. Here, I made some cookies for you this morning.” Cassidy dug into the chocolate chip cookies.

  “Mm, Mom these are delicious!”

  “My daughter has always had a sweet tooth, she gets it from her father. He’ll sit here and eat this entire batch if I let him.” She shook her head. Ian was still trying to get past the fact that Cassidy looked so much like her mother. “Ian would you like to see Cassidy when she was in diapers? I pulled her baby books out after she called the other night.”

  “Absolutely.”

  The women joined David in the living room, Eileen sat on the couch between her husband and Ian, Cassidy sat in the reclining chair.

  Ian sat there for three hours listening to stories and looking at pictures. Cassidy was involved for the first hour, before she passed out in the recliner. David was engrossed in the war movie he was watching, although he did comment on a lot of the pictures and add details to the stories.

  “If you will excuse me Ian, I need to go start dinner. Would you like a glass of wine?”

  “Yes ma’am. Thank you.” Ian followed Eileen into the kitchen to retrieve the glass. “I’d offer my assistance, but I usually don’t cook much.”

  “Yes, Cassidy tells me you have a butler that takes care of you.”

  She laughed. “Yes, Giles has been in my family since before I was born. He’s from England, came over on a boat to seek out America. He became the butler in my parents house six months later. His mother and father were both part of the staff at the castle in Westminster Abbey. He’s been like an uncle to me all of my life.”

  “He never married?”

  “No ma’am, he did fall in love with a woman once, she broke his heart and he decided to never try again. Although, he’d never say it, but me and my mother always thought he was seeing someone in town over the years.” She shrugged. “Now he just keeps me in line.”

  “I was very sorry to hear about your parents. What a tragedy.”

  “Thank you.” She sipped the wine.

  “What great company my daughter is, I haven’t seen her butt in six months, and what does she do? Come home and pass out in the chair.” She shook her head and sipped her wine. “I hope you like lamb.”

  “Yes, I haven’t really run across anything that I don’t eat, except eggs.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “I can’t believe I fell asleep. I really can’t believe you guys didn’t wake me up.” Cassidy stretched embarrassingly.

  “Don’t worry about it darling, you were tired. I’m sure you guys have been through a lot lately. I can’t believe those reporters are going crazy over your lawsuit Ian.”

  “It is a little more than we were planning for, the guy at Hinkley Metals is playing dirty, he’s the one that leaked the story about our relationship.”

  “What a pompous ass piece of…” The brown haired man looked like a dear in the headlights. “I’m sorry. I’m just upset with that man. You don’t deserve to be drug through the mud and my daughter damn sure doesn’t deserve to have her face plastered all over the paper because she’s in love with a woman. My god, these people need to get their heads out of there asses.”

  “I agree with you Mr. Harland. It’s ridiculous.”

  “Please call me David.” She smiled at him and nodded her head. Cassidy cleared her throat and put her silverware on her now empty dinner plate.

  “Uh…Mom and Dad…I, we, have something to tell you.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Ian and I are getting married.” She lifted her left hand that had been rested in her lap under the table.

  “My word, would you look at that ring David. Oh Cassidy I’m so happy for you. Congratulations.” She stood and walked over to her daughter to hug her.

  “Wow, I’m very impressed.” He stood up and hugged his daughter. “Congratulations.” David and Eileen both hugged Ian as well.

  “There’s more.”

  “You’re not pregnant are you?” Her father asked with a grin.

  “No dad! The wedding is in six weeks.”

  “What!” Her mother practically fell out of her chair.

  “We don’t want to wait, and the trial will be over by then anyway. We’ve decided to have it in Aspen at the Wiley Estate.”

  “It’s sort of a family tradition.” Ian chimed in.

  “There’s so much planning that needs to be done. Oh my god Cassidy, you’re pushing it.”

  “Nah, Ian has a lot of pull in that town, trust me, we can get whatever we will need with no problem.” Ian raised her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side. Cassidy smiled at her. “Mom I’ll get with you next week on the guest list for our side. I know you’re busy with the school year just starting and everything, besides Ian is dealing with the hearing and I’m swamped with work, so we’re going to hire a wedding planner.”

  “A what! Oh Cassidy, you know I hate dealing with them. When you’re cousin Tara got married last year they hired a wedding planner, that women couldn’t find a flower if you shoved it up her nose.”

  “Mom, I think I have a little more commonsense than Tara, besides, Ian has to agree on the person we choose.”

  “I don’t work with airheads, so we shouldn’t have a problem.” She assured Eileen.

  “All right, just let me know what I can do to help. How often does your baby girl get married?”

  “Uh once!”

  They all laughed.

  “I hope so! I’m only doing this once too!” Ian added.

  Chapter 21

  “Good morning, young Wiley. Can I get you anything?”

  Ian sat at the large dinning room table. “A mimosa and a piece of honey toast.”

  The butler returned with a plate of French toast and a large glass of chocolate milk. “If I may say so, I’m glad you chose that woman to do your planning, she had more eggs in her basket than that man did. He seemed to be preoccupied.”

  “I agree. She seems to be doing a good job so far.” Chelsea Gordon was a tall African American woman with very light skin. She presented herself with professionalism and a sense of well being. Ian thought maybe she was a lesbian herself. At least, she seemed to know as much about it as the next lesbian anyway. Ian sat back and sipped her milk. “I want you to walk me down the aisle Giles.”

  “Uh…I…young Wiley, I’d be honored.” He smiled and turned towards the kitchen.

  Well that was easy. She thought to herself as she worked on her breakfast. The trial was dwindling down, she figured they’d go to closing arguments fairly soon. The wedding was a mere three weeks away and the planner was hard at work. She already rented the reception tent, tables, and chairs, booked the cake, and had both women fitted for their white dresses. All that seemed to be left was the traditional tuxedo‘s for Giles and David. Both women had decided to allow Trina and Wendi to walk down the aisle as bridesmaids, but both of them would take seats next to Cassidy’s parents instead of standing up, that way Ian and Cassidy would be
the only two standing. Ian was definitely beginning to feel the jitters as the days went by. The hardest part seemed to be what to do about work. Cassidy lived in Grand Junction and worked at the plant, of course with them marrying she’d have to move to Aspen, two and a half hours one way wouldn’t be worth the travel everyday. The Logistics Director would never be able to work from the corporate office, there’s too much hands on with that position. Maybe I can talk her into it…who knows.

  ~ ~ ~

  Ian sat behind the large Mahogany desk rubbing her temples with both hands. The tiny headache she had at the beginning of the day was now a full blown migraine, undoubtedly brought on by the stress of the lawsuit and the wedding around the corner, amongst other things. Her entire body jerked when the cell phone attached to her belt vibrated.

  “Ian Wiley.”

  “Hello Miss Wiley, this is Chelsea Gordon.”

  “Who?…oh yes the wedding planner. What can I do for you?”

  “I received a call this morning from Versace, yours and Miss Harland’s dresses are ready and will be delivered to your residence by the end of the week.”

  “Thank you, I know this has been hectic.”

  “Not at all ma’am, I’ve seen worse.” She laughed lightly.

  “I guess that’s a good thing. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  “Yes, you and Miss Harland will need to go to the courthouse to sign the Civil Union paperwork by the end of this week. Otherwise, we won't have the marriage certificate in time for the ceremony.”

  “Ah, I see.” Shit. “Is it possible for the papers to be sent to Cassidy to sign? She’s currently residing in Grand Junction?”

  “Hmm…I can check on that. They need to be notarized though. I’ll see what I can do and call you back.”

  “Thanks.” She closed the phone and leaned back against the leather chair.

  ~ ~ ~

  Cassidy spent the entire week running around like a chicken with her head cut off. It seems that every time she cleared her logistics log another fifty shipments appeared. She enjoyed the high pressure situations day in and day out. They seemed to make her days more productive than just sitting at a computer tracking sales and routing the shipment itineraries, also know as I10‘s. She was certainly feeling the stress of the wedding as a heavy weight on her shoulders. If you’d asked her a year ago where she’d be, it would most likely be nothing near marrying her boss. Even now that thought made her chuckle. Oh Cassidy, what have you done?

  “Hey Cassidy, can you get me the I10 for the Dwight Construction Group Account? Kenneth is on the phone razing me about the deadline, apparently they need those steel beams two weeks earlier.”

  “Are you kidding? Rich, I argued with that fool until I was blue in the face yesterday. I told him it was up to you guys, I can’t ship until it rolls out of production.”

  “I know. Who does this contractor think we are Houdini?”

  She laughed. “Yeah, sounds like it. I’ll email you the I10, but it’s not going to help you. I can reroute an I10 up until the time the damn truck arrives, we both know that. The problem is, how fast can we have those beams off of the line?”

  “I don’t know, I just talked to Darren, he says he can push them up, but we may not make this idiots deadline. Kenneth needs to learn the word ‘no’, that’s all there is to it. I’ll go over the I10 and talk to Darren again. At the least, we may be able to cut one week, but two is going to be cutting it very close.”

  “Let me know when you can have them off the line and I’ll reroute the I10, maybe I can give us some room there.”

  “Sure thing.”

  As soon as Cassidy hung up her office phone, her cell phone rang as loudly as it vibrated. The caller ID made the automatic smile appear. “How do you know when I’m always thinking of you?”

  “ESP, or love. Who knows. Anyway, how’s your day going?”

  “Probably worse than yours. Are you out of court for the day?”

  “Why’s that? Yeah.”

  “Because I doubt the head of the company knows every time someone fucks up and we all have to duck tape sticks together to make a bridge for the idiot to climb back up with.”

  “Huh?” Ian shook her head.

  “Nothing. I’m just dealing with the day to day stresses of work. How about you?”

  “Yeah.” That was a lie, she knew damn good and well she was unaware of the day to day screw ups, she was only brought in when no one else could dig them out of the hole someone dropped them all into. Usually, Clark handled it before it got to her. She was merely told of the problem and then how it was already resolved. “Hey Chelsea called me, she needs you to go to your county courthouse tomorrow and sign the Civil Union papers. They should be there before noon according to Fed Ex.”

  “Oh that’s good. I completely forgot about that part. Did she say anything else?”

  “No. Oh wait, yeah our dresses will be here by the end of the week.”

  “That’s good. Don’t peek at mine!”

  “I won’t. What do you take me for?”

  Cassidy laughed. “Is this a secure line?”

  “Uh, it’s our cell phones, why?”

  “I was about to tell you what I take you for, and how I plan to take it.” She spoke in the most seductive voice she could muster up.

  “Oh.” Ian grinned. “I’m going to be out at the plant late tomorrow afternoon, when we get out of court. I need to go over the numbers for the quarter with you and Rich. Besides, I have a few things to talk to you about anyway. I was hoping to stay the night with you and drive back Thursday morning.”

  “That’s fine. I have a few calls to make in the morning, but the afternoon should be okay. Don’t you usually do these meetings in conference calls with us and the entire group?”

  “Of course, but I wanted to surprise Rich, his anniversary with the company is coming up and I wanted to take his gift to him personally, and I have too much going on to do it the week of our wedding.”

  “Ah, I see. So how long has he been with the company?”

  “He’s been with Wiley Steel for twenty years, and he’s been the production director for fifteen.”

  “Wow, I knew he’d been here for a while. So, what’s he getting?”

  “Is that something to ask your boss?”

  “No.” She replied professionally. “I was asking my fiance´.”

  “Oh, well in that case you’ll see it tomorrow. I gotta go, I have a meeting with the directors here to go over the numbers with them today.”

  “Okay. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Ian fixed herself a glass of Remy Martin and sat on the small leather couch in her father’s, now her, study. She sipped the golden liquid as she stared at the documents in her lap. Frustrated, she closed the file and tossed it on the desk across from her. A faint knock at the door caught her attention.

  “Come in.”

  “Young Wiley, you seem stressed. Is there anything I get for you?”

  “No, thank you Giles.” She took another sip. “Actually, have a seat.” He nodded and sat down next to her. She offered the bottle, but he refused. As far as she’d known he never drank a drop in his life. Maybe that’s why he was always after her for drinking so much.

  “I do believe I know what’s causing all of the turmoil I see in your eyes. You hide it like your father, but your eyes could never tell a lie, neither could his for that matter.”

  She smiled. Touché. “That’s my prenuptial agreement for Cassidy.” She pointed to the thick blue file that she’d tossed on the desk. “I’m torn apart over it Giles. I keep thinking that it’s wrong. I mean she’ll legally be a Wiley in two weeks, she should have a right to everything I own. I feel absolutely awful.” She took another sip.

  “I figured as much. When your father married your mother…” She cut him off.

  “She had to sign a prenup, and my grandmother too.” Another sip.

  “I s
ee.”

  “This is like saying ‘I love you’ to the person, then slapping them across the face at the end of the sentence. I’ve fought with myself over this for a week now. Maxwell is on my back, I need to have these papers to him by Friday. My Will and Estate documents will be changed, with her added of course.”

  “It makes since young Wiley. You’re heir to a multi-million dollar fortune that follows a blood line, as well as a name.”

  “You’re right Giles, I know. It’s not about the money, I’ll spend the rest of my life giving her everything she ever wanted. It’s about telling her this is all mine and even though you’re legally bound to me, you can’t touch it. But if I have a blood child with you, that child will inherit everything despite your wishes. The worst part is, if something should happen to me before I have a child then the entire company will fall apart. There’s not a god damn thing she could do about it because legally she’ll have nothing to do with Wiley Steel Corporation.”

  “Yes, I suppose so.” He shifted on the couch, straightening his jacket. The man never let his perfectly tailored suit falter the least bit. Ian figured it was an English Gentleman thing. “Have you talked to her about children?”

  Ian stared at the floor after emptying her glass. “We’ve skipped around the subject.”

  “So, you haven’t told the person that you’re about to marry in ten days that you have to produce a living heir before your twenty-ninth birthday?”

  “No, Giles I haven’t.” She spoke louder than she meant to. “I’m sorry.”

  “Young Wiley, I do believe you need to have a very serious conversation with Miss Harland, and very quickly.”

  “I’m going there tomorrow after the hearing.”

  “Good. She will be upset with you, but I know she loves you very much.”

  “Thanks.” She gave him a halfhearted smiled.