“Why can’t he get someone else to co-sign?”
“I haven’t got a clue why he can’t understand his problems are no longer mine. He’s been trying to convince me to pick up my phone all day with his fake-alarming subject lines insinuating I’ll regret it if I don’t get back to him pronto, but I’ve let all his calls go to voicemail and I’ve deleted his text messages. I don’t care if it’s a matter of life and death, as he puts it. He can get support from his current girlfriend, Paula, or his business partner, Jasper.”
“Good on you for moving forward. Don’t let him drag you down or manipulate you like he used to.”
“Nope. Don’t worry. I’m done with Clark and his drama-filled life for good.”
“Honey, you don’t have to deal with either of those traitors for the rest of your life.”
“You’re right, Mom. Thank God for small favors.”
“Listen, I didn’t call all the way from the other side of the planet to talk about you know who. How’s your day? Is it sunny out in Denver? How is it to work for a celebrity like Riley? I can’t believe you’re staying in a house instead of a small room. Do you like it?”
“Mom, that’s a lot of questions in one sitting. And for the record, it’s Fort Collins, not Denver. I’m about an hour north of the big city. It’s hotter than New York here and Riley is amazing, but she’s away currently.”
“So you’re on your own like a big girl,” my mom mocks.
“Yup. I’m pretty proud, considering it’s my first day managing things on my own since Riley left for LA.”
“Doesn’t Riley have any help on the ranch? I mean, you said she had young children.”
“She has a manager and a few workers who come in daily.”
Yup, I’m bypassing the handsome brother and his dangerously hot best friend who I’ve been fucking since I arrived. My mom and I don’t have the kind of relationship where I tell her about my intimate life.
“That’s good. It must be so hard on her… you know, being alone. She sounds like a strong woman. I remember you mentioning in a text she was off to California to become a judge on a reality cooking show, right?”
“Yes. She had to leave in a hurry to sit as a replacement judge on the popular TV show Iron Skillet.”
“Wow, impressive. I love that show. I can’t believe my daughter will have a link to such a primetime show. It’s too bad you couldn’t go with her. Maybe you could have made a cameo appearance.”
My mom sounds so excited. Had I even had the smallest part in that show, she would have contacted all of Chicago press to let them know that one of their own was on TV.
“She already has to deal with her four kids and her nanny, not to mention she put me in charge of a very important project.”
Of course, I omit to tell my mom that travelling to the West Coast would have been a real bummer since it would mean being far away from Jake and Hunter and that would have prevented me from having the most mind-blowing orgasms of my life.
“Oh, do tell.” My mom sounds so thrilled for me. She’s never been the cool mom, the hip mom or the fashionable mom, but she’s always been so supportive of all of us. I love her so much for that.
“It’s never been like this in New York. I spent most of the morning taking care of emails and social media, but the last few hours have been the most exciting so far because I had to edit a series of photos for Riley’s upcoming holiday cookbook. Her last holiday cookbook sold like crazy and she told me her editors have even bigger expectations for this new edition. At this rate, I’ll end up editing about eighty percent of the photos since her last assistant had barely started when she decided to go on her missionary trip. Mom, I lose all track of time when I’m immersed in photography work and Riley has already declared it will be the most important part of my responsibilities.”
“It sounds like you like your job.”
“Mom, I don’t like my job, I love it.”
“Oh. my God, honey, I’m so proud of you. Do you think you might be lucky enough to find a nice young man while you’re at it?”
“Mom, I’m here to work, not fall in love.”
“You know what they say…”
“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” I say, rolling my eyes at the phone.
“It’s when you least expect it that it hits you right between the eyes.” I hear her slap her forehead and I can’t help but laugh. “That’s exactly what happened to Pete and Katie. Remember—”
“Yes, Mom, I know their love story is textbook perfect. You’ve recounted their fairytale so many times I know it by heart, not to mention I was there.”
“Well, no need to get upset at me. I’m simply suggesting you keep the door open, because you never know. Since you seem to have the worst luck with New York men, maybe a change of scenery could be good for your career and your love life.” I don’t know about my love life, but it’s doing wonders for my sex life. “I want you to be happy. After Clark and all those other losers, you deserve the best.”
“I didn’t know you felt that way about the guys I’ve dated. Why is this the first you’ve mentioned it?” My mom has always listened attentively to my heartbreak stories, careful to never judge.
“I never wanted to bring it up. You keep saying you’re unlucky in love, but I suspect you’ve been doing what I did my whole life until I met your father.”
“What’s that?” I ask, knowing the answer before it leaves her lips.
“Settling, because you’re afraid no one will want you just the way you are.”
There’s a heavy silence between us. My mom has told me many times she had dated the worst men hoping one of them would like her even if she didn’t have a perfect body, but they never stuck around because of her own deep-seated insecurities. After she caved in and had sex with them, most would leave her. She had just about given up on love as a single woman in her early thirties when her girlfriends were married with growing families until she bumped into my dad at a wedding. She never expected my father would call her after they had exchanged phone numbers, but he invited her out for a date the very next day and the rest is history.
“When I met Michael—”
“I know the story by heart, Mom,” I interrupt. “You’ve told me a million times about how you and Dad met.”
“Fine, then. Since you seem to know it all, why don’t I let you go and you can go about your day.”
I’m immediately hit by a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“I wasn’t going to tell the whole story, Ali. I know you’ve heard it before. I wanted to remind you of the reason why your dad noticed me.”
“Isn’t it because you got smashed and you became this wild free-spirited vixen?” I tease.
“Very funny,” she answers, unimpressed. “You know I can’t handle more than a sip of alcohol before having a terrible headache. The reason I met your dad is because that night I didn’t care anymore about impressing a guy. I went to the wedding with one intention—to have fun. I hadn’t changed anything about myself and I hadn’t lost a pound. Since I wasn’t expecting anything, my whole demeanor changed. Your dad noticed me well before I caught him staring at me. He said he was instantly attracted to my self-confidence. I laugh every time I tell this story.” She chuckles. “It wasn’t confidence. God, I couldn’t spell that word with Google’s help. It was because I had decided to throw caution to the wind that night. You’ve been too serious since leaving school and then you locked yourself in a relationship by moving in with Clark. I think Colorado spells new beginnings and you should be a little more of a wild child for once in your life. You never know who’s watching.”
“I can’t believe you said that.” My mom has told me this story so many times, but today it really hits me.
“I shared that because I love you and I see myself in you, honey.” Suddenly a wailing infant interrupts us. “Oh, gosh, Samuel is up again and he’s not happy. Katie hasn’t slept in days because your nephew
is teething. Let me go take care of my grandson before he wakes up the whole neighborhood. I’ll call you back later this week, but before I go, promise me you’ll live more while you’re in Colorado. I’m sure not much happens on a ranch located in the middle of nowhere, but maybe there’s a chance one of those workers you talked about might turn out to be a flame or maybe you’ll be invited to a barbeque and something magical will happen.”
If you only knew.
“I promise, Mom. Kiss the baby, Dad, Pete and Katie and call me back soon. I love you.”
“I love you too, honey.”
After I hang up with my mom, I stare at my phone, fascinated. It’s so funny she would say I need to step outside my boundaries since I never expected Jake or Hunter to live on the ranch and I surely never expected to give myself to both men. The only question eating at me is can I really like two men at the same time?
I shake my head and dive back into my work. Everything is so good now. Why rock the boat?
* * *
It’s only when I take a break to unwind the tension building up in my shoulders from hunching over my screen and being so laser-focused that I look at the time on my iPhone. I’m surprised to see it’s already five o’clock. I need to get out of here and get some fresh air. Instead of remaining cooped up in Riley’s office behind this iMac computer until Hunter, Jake and I get together for dinner at seven-thirty, I decide to go grab a few vegetables from Riley’s garden. Since she’s delegated the responsibility of testing the recipes she hasn’t yet tried out, I figure I should get started now because there are a lot of new recipes that will be included in the upcoming edition.
I lean down to grab my bag when my stomach reminds me I’ve not eaten anything since breakfast. I’ve been living off of ice tea, coffee and a few random snacks Riley keeps in the office since I sat my butt in this chair. Other than the few occasional bathroom runs, the short photo session when Hunter left and the call with my mom, I’ve been diligently focused on my work.
Yikes, I need some fuel. Fast. Before I start taking care of these new recipes, I decide to run back to my place for a quick and light snack. As much as I love cooking, the way Isadora has been pampering me since arriving is heartwarming. Before she left with Riley, she packed my fridge with enough food to last me a year.
I get up from my desk and grab my keys, my phone and my iPad. The minute I step outside, I’m reminded of the difference in temperature between the air-conditioned office and the outdoors. Even this late in the day, it’s still scorching hot. I nearly sprint to my house—I’m that hungry and I want to ward off the beating sun.
When I get back to my place, I thank my lucky stars Hunter and Jake grew up in Cali and insisted on installing central air-conditioning in every one of the houses on the ranch. After rummaging through my fridge, I prepare myself a chicken salad sandwich and to be good, I add a few of the veggies Isadora packed in my fridge. It’s not that I don’t like vegetables, it’s just that there are so many other things I prefer eating, like chips.
I pour myself some of Isadora’s homemade lemonade and I grab my plate and my glass, determined to make the most out of this beautiful day by eating outside on my shaded porch. Since this is a luxury I’d never have in New York, I’ve made a point of sitting out here as often as I can since arriving.
When I take the first bite, I realize how hungry I really am. God, this is the best chicken salad sandwich I’ve ever had. I’m enjoying my delicious food with my eyes glued on my iPad as I catch up on my latest food porn when I notice someone moving around from the corner of my eye. At first, I ignore the person, thinking it must be one of the workers who came back, but a female voice peels my eyes away from my screen.
“Yoohoo. Oh, yoohoo!” she chants as she waves both hands above her head at the same time as she walks towards me.
I drop my sandwich, bring my right hand up to shield my eyes from the sun and squint to catch sight of the woman trying to catch my attention. Who is it? I stand up to get a better view. A very thin woman wearing ridiculously high heels and an impossibly short skirt is approaching my house.
Neither Jake nor Hunter mentioned a visitor, so I’m a little bit confused. Maybe she’s lost. As I rack my brain trying to remember our early-morning conversation before my two studs started their day, I can’t help but wonder if this stranger isn’t trying to get directions to a nearby bed-and-breakfast.
As she gets closer, she trips and nearly falls. I bite my tongue to avoid laughing. I know it’s not funny, but everything about this woman seems over the top. She must be one of those high-maintenance fashionistas who even takes a shower in her heels because she’s not dressed for a vacation out in the country.
“Oh, God, it’s so hot.” The stranger stands at the base of the stairs leading to my porch, fanning herself and breathing heavily. “I nearly melted walking from the limousine around the premise to find someone. It’s almost like a ghost town here.”
No, seriously, who is this?
“May I help you?”
“Gosh, this heat is getting to my brain. I’m Lindsay. Are you Riley?” Although she’s shared her name, she makes no effort to extend her hand like most people do when meeting someone new.
“No, I’m not.” I guess I could make it easier on her by revealing my identity, but there’s something that irks me about this woman.
“Then who are you?” Obviously my answer is displeasing to her because she looks me up and down as if evaluating a strange specimen.
For the record, you’re the one who just arrived on this property. I was here first. “My name is Allison and I’m Riley’s new assistant.”
“Of course you are,” she says, avoiding my eyes and scanning around the ranch. What is she looking for? She squints at the bright sun before focusing her attention back onto me again. “Which one of these belongs to Jake?”
Excuse me?
“Is there a specific reason why you’re asking?” I tread carefully. “Jake hadn’t mentioned I should be expecting anyone later this afternoon.”
She huffs impatiently before speaking again. “You know what, it would be much easier if I spoke to him directly instead of his sister’s assistant. Can you go get him?”
What? Do I look like the maid?
If she was trying to get on my good side with her snarky remarks and her demeaning side glances, she’s failing badly.
“Jake is at an important meeting in Denver.” I could be more accommodating and let her know he’ll be coming back shortly, but I don’t like anything about her and I have no intention of making her life easier. Everything about her is pissing me off right now.
“What about Hunter? Is he around?”
“He’s in the field with a couple of the workers.”
“Well, is there any way to get in touch with either of them?” She raises her voice slightly and puts her right hand on her waist. Her body language suggests she’s utterly unimpressed by me and I’m trying her patience.
Condescending bitch! “I can certainly text both of them. Who may I say is looking for them?”
She perks up her collagen-injected lips before answering. “I guess you must have only started your job very recently, since you haven’t heard about me.” Oh, no, she didn’t. “I’m Jake’s girlfriend and I need help with all my luggage over there.” She points a bejeweled hand at the five large suitcases sitting in the middle of the ranch baking under the sun.
Girlfriend? Is she high?
“I’m sorry, but there must be some kind of confusion.”
“Honey, there’s no confusion whatsoever,” she retorts as quickly as if we’re playing table tennis.
“I would remember if Jake had told me a visitor was coming.” I carefully avoid calling her the “g” word.
“Obviously you didn’t understand the first time. I’m no visitor. I’m Jake’s girlfriend,” she snaps as I take stock of the bright red suitcases, trying to make sense of it all. “And I’m moving in.”
TO BE CONTINUED�
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