“I never imagined I’d be seeing so many new places,” I admitted. “I always thought my life would be my being a college administrator until I retired.”
“Do you miss it?”
Blake’s question caught me off guard. It was a good question that I had not considered. Did I miss working as a college administrator? I felt stuck in my answer as I wondered what the truth was.
Suddenly I said, “I prefer working for you and being your wife.”
“I was hoping you would say that.”
At least I said the right thing and did not disappoint anybody. As I thought about it I did have to admit to myself that part of me did miss working with the kids. I liked seeing people learn and watching those who may have had it rough growing up make something of themselves.
I had even told one such teenager to wear purple. When they asked me why I said that purple was the color of royalty and that they could do anything if they wore that color. I didn’t know if they had believed me, but after that I did notice a steady improvement in their grades and everything that went along with it.
I could say the only thing that I really missed was trying to inspire people and then watching them succeed.
For the rest of dinner Blake and I chatted about odds and ends about the day. We had agreed business talk was not to be discussed until tomorrow. Tonight was for the two of us and it would remain that way.
Towards the end of our honeymoon time Blake and I had been invited to a big new shopping center opening. Sure enough it was Ellen who was in charge of that opening. I didn’t know who I had angered but I sure did anger someone! Was I going to have to find a sacrifice to appease the Gods so that Ellen would go away?
The opening was something about her revealing a new style of outfit inside this new store. I couldn’t imagine it being a cheap store either. It would most likely be something that some wealthy person wore once and then put inside the closet.
I did have to admit I wondered if this new outfit would be something that could be worn by people in general or if it were just for display to show off her designing ability. I had seen those documentaries on those couture dresses that looked like they were just barely put together and meant to be worn only once. If they were put on someone for everyday wear and tear they surely would fall apart in no time.
I had seen some of Ellen’s latest designs and I wondered about them. Lately she had been going into the “less is more” thing and while that was sometimes true I wondered how someone would be able to step into her dresses? Having straps and a lot of cut outs made the eye go in every which direction. Cut outs in dresses never really bothered me and if done in the right way they could look nice.
I flipped through the invite that had bold photographs of some of her new designs. Curiosity got the better of me as I asked, “Did Ellen ever go to any sort of designing school? A fashion school of sorts?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Blake answered. “Ellen’s mother thought they were a waste of time and what Ellen wanted Ellen got.”
“It sounds petty of me but she does have some potential, but she doesn’t try to work with it,” I said.
Blake nodded, “I know.”
I looked over a new design, “Is that a…?”
“What?” Blake asked and moved closer to me. “What are you talking….Ohhhhhhhhhhh. Is putting one of those even legal on a dress?”
“I think it might have been an accident.”
“I would think so.”
I never did tell my family that Ellen may have accidently put the outline of a certain human body part down the front of her dress.
Sometime later some clothing had been dropped off for us. Ellen had left a note asking me to wear one of the dresses as an example of how it looked on a human body. There was too much syrup in that letter for my liking and I suspected something was up.
That was it! It was time for a sacrifice! Perhaps I could sacrifice a dust bunny or maybe a banana.
“Do you plan on wearing one of her dresses?” Blake carefully asked.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I admitted. “I’d rather wear something that’s already in my collection.”
It was a passive-aggressive play on her part and I wasn’t too sure how to go about it. If I did wear one of her dresses it was a sign of submissiveness and possibly one that she could walk all over me. If I didn’t then it was a sign of aggression which also had its whole new set of rules. There was no real way out of it unless I could think of a new exit strategy.
“What if I don’t go to the opening?” I suddenly said.
“Do you even want to go?” Blake asked.
“No, but if I don’t then we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I do go and wear one of her dresses it’s submissiveness. If I don’t then it can be taken as an act of aggression. If I don’t show up at all then…”
“Make up an excuse! Say that you’re sick and can’t attend.”
I looked at Blake, “Are you sure about that?”
“I don’t want to go either. I’d much rather be working on something else I have planned.”
“A top secret project?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.”
“Is there any way you can give your wife a hint as to what it is?”
Blake just grinned, “Not yet because it’s not complete yet. Once I’m done with the final stages I should be able to reveal it to you.”
“I wish you’d at least drop me a hint,” I said.
“Patience, my darling wife, patience.”
I stuck my tongue out at him which made him laugh.
“Nothing’s set in stone yet but I promise you’ll be the first to know once it’s all done.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” I said.
Still smiling Blake moved to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, “I want to do something that I know you’ll enjoy. Once it’s done I will let you know and see it.”
“I trust you.”
“Good.” With that Blake kissed me on the forehead.
“Blake?”
“Yes?”
“Would it bother you if I don’t go to that party?”
He shook his head, “I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. Ellen has been very obnoxious towards you and who wants to deal with frenemies like that? An enemy would tell you where you stand but a frenemy could slit your throat while smiling.”
I thought about that, “What could she do about our not attending?”
“Other than complain? Not very much. Say you felt ill and no one will blame you for not attending!”
Announcing that I had contracted the plague was a fairly tempting idea. If it weren’t for Blake I might have gone through with the idea. However, I didn’t want my lie to get him into trouble so I decided to settle on the twenty-four hour flu. Something bad enough to keep me home but not so severe that I would have to see a doctor.
So far a sacrifice wasn’t needed but I still considered how I was going to sacrifice a dust bunny or a banana. Then there was the question of whom was I to sacrifice it to?
I had jokingly brought the subject up to Blake who said “If you sacrifice a banana it’s supposed to bring snow.”
“Really?” I asked.
“That’s what I’ve been told. I’ve never tried it, though.”
“I don’t think I could be mean enough to make sure it snowed for Ellen’s opening. It is tempting, though.”
“If you do so leave me out of your revenge note!” Blake laughed.
“Oh come now! I’d be sure to include you because you gave me the idea!”
“Then I’m running away from home!”
After the opening there was a bit of a fuss that Blake and I did get to hear about. If she was genuinely disappointed or doing it for show I did not know nor did I exactly care. All those famous names and glamorous faces there, why would she care solely if Blake or I showed up?
I did imagine my not showing up did send a message to her and one that she did not
like. I like to think it showed her I wouldn’t put up with her passive-aggressive actions anymore. I knew Blake would stand with me but he was being more of a “don’t get involved” type. Sometimes avoidance like that is a good idea. However, when that person keeps coming onto you like that…
Some people were rather controlling and I knew I’d have to accept that. However, accepting didn’t have to mean liking it. If I could get to the point I tolerated and lived with it that would be acceptable.
In the papers and gossip blogs Ellen did make an announcement about how disappointed she was that some people couldn’t attend.
If I had behaved like that, my mother would’ve eaten me alive for breakfast! Being an adult and learning how to deal with disappointment was something everyone had to do. I could understand if she were disappointed but this came off as far too passive-aggressive for my taste.
It was terribly ironic that as a girl I thought people out grew this behavior when they became adults and I even went as far as to say to my grandmother that “grown-ups didn’t act like that.” Somewhere, somehow, she was now laughing at me. She knew that I now understood and perhaps even matured in some sort of fashion. I think that would make her laugh even more.
I did have some curiosity in what the blogs said about her designs and I tracked down my tablet to be able to look it up. Sometimes I really did miss the old lap tops that you could just rest in your lap. The only thing I didn’t miss about them was how they could get warm and burn your thighs after a while. Not fun!
It certainly was nice to have these non-glare tablets that I could use.
There was nothing on the front page of many of the search engines but that did not surprise me. I didn’t think she was big enough to warrant a news article on that page. I decided to flip through a few of the articles that were on the front page.
New sinks installed in the White House!
It certainly was a slow news day.
Now if aliens suddenly showed up at the Vatican, now that would be an interesting story! I was certain there was a cartoon about that but I couldn’t remember where.
I had decided to see what was going on in the local news.
There wasn’t too much going on in my home port other than a new city hall being built. It was about time!
In other news Ellen had lamented that some people couldn’t attend her party. I was about ready to roll my eyes so hard I would be able to see my own brain. Some people really needed to get off their high horses.
Yet, in a way, I did feel kind of sorry for her. Just to have your life so limited like that if you didn’t get your way it was the end of the world. I did wonder if she were just a product of her upbringing?
Was I having a mature moment?
Either way I knew the best thing I could do was to avoid her and not fall for any traps that she may try to set. I couldn’t know if those comments were actual bait or not and I didn’t want to try to push it. I was also grateful she wasn’t doing more to try to ruin our relationship. Being a pain in the ass was one thing where I could just ignore her for a set amount of time.
In due time it was likely she would move on and find someone else to chase after. People were funny that way.
I decided as long as she left me alone I would leave her alone. I could live with that truce even if it was kind of awkward and uneasy.
Sometimes being an adult was awkward and messy.
I could hear the door open followed by Blake’s voice.
“Oh, that’s great! Yeah, I’ll tell Amanda and we can get that started! Thanks a lot!”
He stopped when he saw me sitting there and staring at him. If I didn’t know better he looked surprised.
“Tell me what?” I asked.
“I’ve been planning a new venture for us,” Blake said.
“What venture is that?” I asked.
“Well, it’s more something that you will be doing.”
“Me?”
Blake nodded, “I know how much you want to do things to help underprivileged children. We have enough money to last at least another lifetime if not more! Working with you has really taught me a lot about other people and how they work. Before I probably really wouldn’t have thought about it because I never lived in that type of situation. I never struggled the way a lot of people have and working with you has taught me about that. I have so much to learn about it and I’m not sure that I can do it. You have the experience and the know how to reach these people better than I could.”
“What are you suggesting?” I asked. I had an idea of where Blake could be going with this but I was not certain and needed to hear the words from him.
“I want to start something up to help low income and disadvantaged boys and girls be able to get an education,” Blake said. “If we start with them then that gets kids off the street and helps them become successful in life. If they can be helped then who knows who else they’ll go on to help? If we did something who knows how many others will be positively affected?”
“Are you certain?” I asked Blake. “This is a big step to take.”
“I’m certain and it’s a good big step to take.”
Setting the tablet down I got off my seat and hugged Blake tightly.
“If I knew I’d be getting a greeting like this I would’ve said it sooner!” Blake joked and wrapped his arms around me.
I smiled at him, “How are we going to get started with it?”
“Well, we’ve got to go through the legal red tape. There’s no getting around that. After that’s done, we can find a good sized building, apply for programs, and hopefully get started.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
“I can’t say for sure but hopefully not too long. There are a lot of questions and ideas that you need to write down so that we can get started.”
I nodded. There were a few that I had thought of but even more that I hadn’t considered. Would it be for profit or non-profit? I didn’t want parents to have to pay to send their kids to this place.
“Where do I begin?” I asked.
“Start at the beginning,” Blake said. “Think about it over night with what you have in mind and wish to do. It’ll take a lot of planning so sleep on it and see what we can come up with.”
“We?”
Blake grinned, “What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t help my wife in this effort to help people? It’ll be largely your project but I’ll be happy to help you with it where I can.”
Blake was right that planning these sorts of things could be time consuming and it was up to me to research and bone up on what I needed to know.
It didn’t take me long to sort out a list of what I did and did not want. To me it was fairly simple but to others it would be terribly complicated to figure out. Funny how things like that work out.
Blake was there to help refine ideas and even to get in touch with a lawyer to make sure that everything I had hoped for was legal and doable. There was a lot more into starting a program than I thought there was! It’s funny how things are like that.
What we would think as the “simple” ideas were the most complicated ones.
I think during that time I learned more about the law and programs than I thought was possible. I really began to wonder if even the rules had their own set of sub-rules and if those sub-rules had their own sub-rules? Sub-sub rules? How far could this even go? I began to feel like Alice who was about to enter Wonderland.
Blake originally had the idea of my idea being a little sub idea of his so that if it didn’t work out I wasn’t out a lot of money but only time. I did appreciate the thought an idea. Finding building space was not cheap and if it were done by my own money it would take far, far longer than I could hope for. I needed the help and I was grateful to get it. I knew Blake meant well and only wanted to help me.
Still, I was bound and determined to make this happen and I wasn’t going to let some small roadblock stop me. I was going to see this through or die trying. I realize
d how cliché that was but that didn’t matter.
I liked it that our relationship was on not just a physical state but also a mental and emotional. I liked it that we thought alike and were able to communicate on more than one level together. There was that maturity moment again…
So far I had been able to successfully navigate through difficult family members and old girlfriends. It was tempting to tease Blake over the fact that that we have had so much happen to us in such a short time by certain people. I knew he would take the ribbing good naturedly, and would probably come back with a few of his own words, but maturity again kicked in so I decided not to discuss it. Maturity certainly was beating me over the head today. Bad maturity! Bad! Down! No cookie!
I was still at the desk when Blake came in. I felt him put his strong hands on my shoulders and I knew he was smiling despite my not yet looking up at him.
“Anything exciting?” He asked and bent over to kiss the back of my head.
“Here are my plans! Care to read them?” I asked.
“How about tomorrow? Tonight is for the two of us.”
Part Four
As honey moons do end and plans were beginning it was time to get down to business. It did feel a bit of a pity that the honey moon had ended. Blake and I did enjoy our time when we were enjoying and experiencing our time together.
It was really a pity that that wonderful time had ended and now it was back to hard work at our plans. Dad always did say anything worth having or doing was worth working hard for.
Days before I had spent time in the well-lit dining room with written out plans. To one side of me had been the ones that had been reviewed and the non-reviewed on the other side. At first I wondered how Blake was able to do this and keep his mind? It was hard at first but I had remembered being told to start at one part and slowly work my way across the work.
Between planning for the program to help the kids real life decided to get in the way. It was good at doing that when one least expected it.
Lucky for us it wasn’t someone from the past trying to wreak havoc and mayhem. I think Blake and I both had enough of that in the past and probably even enough to last into the future as well.
The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 41
