Happily Never Forever

by Sarah Peis

  Happily Never Forever

  © 2018 Sarah Peis

  Published by Hexatorial

  Editing: Natasha Orme

  Cover Art: QDesign

  Formatting: Champagne Book Design

  ISBN 13: 978-0-6481085-1-1

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s wild imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  German sayings explained

  About the Author

  Thank you

  To Oma—who doesn’t know a word of English and to this day firmly believes that anyone can understand German if it is spoken loudly enough.

  16 years ago

  “You aren’t allowed to cry.”

  “I’m not going to cry.”

  “Your nose is twitching. I know you want to cry.”

  “Do not.”

  “Do so.”

  I unsuccessfully pushed Rhett away from me, but he had two years on me and was no wilting flower. Last summer he tried out for the football team, and they welcomed him with open arms. He had been training like crazy for the past year, and it showed. I guess anything was better than spending time at home. I knew that feeling all too well.

  But where Rhett was being groomed to take over a billion dollar family business he had no interest in, I was groomed to shut up and find a rich husband. I was eight. But according to mother dearest, one could never start their search too early.

  “Emmi, it’s not going to hurt. I’m just going to put a Band-Aid on.” He held the pink Band-Aid out in front of him. “The worst part is over. Promise all I’ll do is stick the Band-Aid on your knee.”

  “Promise?” I couldn’t stop a tear from escaping. My knee hurt. I’d fallen off my bike going down the hill near the pond where we liked to hang out.

  But Rhett wouldn’t let up. He was my best friend and the most patient ten-year-old I had ever met.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  I nodded my head, trying hard to suppress more tears from escaping. I knew the next part wouldn’t hurt. But I was upset, having ridden like hell to get away from my mom who was high on something and decided to throw an impromptu party. My brother Nate had taken my two-year-old sister Freddie to Oma’s, but before he could come back to get me, things got scary. I didn’t like Mom’s friends. They didn’t smell good and always tried to touch me.

  Before I had another chance to protest, Rhett put the Band-Aid on. I flinched but it didn’t hurt, just like he’d promised.

  Rhett tugged on a strand of my hair again, knowing I secretly liked it when he did. “Told you it wouldn’t hurt. Next time, call me and I’ll send a car to get you. Don’t ride your bike by yourself. I’ll always be there for you, Emmi. Always.”

  I sniffed but nodded. “I know. Because we’ll live happily never forever.”

  He grinned at me, showing his dimple. “It’s happily ever after, you goof. But if you want a happily never forever, you’ve got it.”

  If only I had known how much things would change.

  16 years later

  “You are a terrible assistant.”

  Cassandra De La Croix, my best friend and current boss, stated for the second time that day. It certainly wouldn’t be the last either. Because sadly, it was true. I was useless. I frequently forgot to put appointments in her calendar, double-booked her on multiple occasions and I was usually late. But that wasn’t entirely my fault. Ever tried getting a two-year-old to get dressed and fed before seven in the morning? Well, it’s damn near impossible if you can’t even get yourself dressed and out of the house on time.

  “You have to call Lexie,” Cassandra insisted. I so did not want to call Lexie. She was what you would call a super assistant. She had the looks, the brain and never forgot anything, not even a teeny tiny detail.

  “I’m sure she’s busy. I’ll send her an email.” I wasn’t ashamed to admit that at this stage, I’d try anything so I didn’t have to pick up my phone and dial. Because Lexie was also scary. And she yelled. A lot.

  Cassandra sighed long and loudly in her office. “Emerson.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Cassie.”

  A paper ball flew at me, missing me by a mile. “Fine, I’ll do it. And just for the record, Cassandra sounds pretentious. And I’ll send an email. Nobody uses phones anymore.”

  That one got me another flying object, this time a tissue box that, of course, missed me. “You will do no such thing. This needs to be done now. You can’t wait for her to check her emails. Call her.”

  “I want it noted that I will do so only under duress. This counts as bullying. I will put in an official complaint to HR.”

  “We don’t have an HR department, as you very well know. Now get to work before I dock your pay.” Of course I knew that, but I liked to threaten her. It made me feel better. I was only human. To prove my point, I stuck my tongue out. She gave me the finger before turning back to her computer. She knew I’d cave and do it. She was my boss, after all. I wanted to keep my job, even though recent actions might say otherwise.

  But what Cassie didn’t know was that Lexie worked for Rhett. The very same person that used to share his lunch with me in second grade. The one that beat up anyone who called me trailer trash, carrot stick or—my personal favorite—Kraut. My childhood was all about being quick enough to smell the flowers before someone peed on them, and Rhett made sure I didn’t sit in any shit piles.

  Things would be well if our history ended there. But it didn’t. We both grew up, and I fell madly in love with him. He didn’t return the feeling and instead of salvaging our friendship, he disappeared. Now here we were, him, as madly successful and filthy rich as was expected of a Cormack heir, and me as broke and directionless as was expected of a McAllister trailer trash.

  I might not live in a trailer anymore, but I did still live with my Oma who took us in when my mom screwed up one too many times.

  My hands twitched and my breathing stopped momentarily when I picked up the receiver. I could only hope super assistant Lexie was still in at six pm on a Friday.

  The phone rang once, twice and I thought I would get away with leaving a message when someone picked up. “Rhett Cormack,” a deep and all too familiar voice answered. My mouth clamped shut and my eyes bugged out. Why the hell would the CEO of a multinational cooperation answer his own damn phone?

  “Hello? Anyone there?”

  “Hum, yes. Mr. Cormack. This is Cassandra De La Croix’s office. I’m sorry to call so late but there has been a scheduling issue, and we have to reschedule your appointment with Ms De La Croix.”

  “A scheduling issue?”

&
nbsp; “Yes. It appears Ms De La Croix has been double-booked.” Meaning, I forgot to make a note on her calendar about her appointment with one of our regular clients who would be absolutely beside himself if I cancelled last minute. And he was a whale of a client, so Rhett being new and not signed up yet, meant he was the one who had to be scheduled in for a different time. I braced myself for the shouting. Because there was always shouting. I’d had to make similar calls often enough to detect the pattern.

  His even tone and calm voice surprised me. “I see. And when will Ms De La Croix be available?”

  The last word ended on a hiss, something you would have to listen out for. But I’ve known Rhett long enough to know he was pissed. I could still read him like I could a cheesy romance novel; without hesitation and great skill.

  “She could meet you on Sunday or Wednesday next week.” I clicked on Cassie’s calendar and cursed silently. There was no way she could make Wednesday. She usually didn’t work Sundays so I was hoping he had plans already. “Maybe Thursday would work better,” I muttered into the phone like the professional I was and realized Thursday was even worse. “Let’s say Friday instead. Definitely Friday.”

  There was silence on the line, and I hoped we were cut off. I was strung tight and close to a heart attack. His voice brought back memories. Most of them amazing, some of them good and a few not so great.

  I rearranged my color-coded to-do list. At least I was good at the illusion of productivity. In reality, all I had achieved today was putting all incoming mail into the green folder. I found out early on that an organized desk would get Cassie off my back.

  “I’ll make this quick and put it in words you can understand,” he said. “You get your boss to meet me today, or I’ll find someone else.”

  I guess I knew how he got to where he was. Besides the obvious family dynasty thing, he knew what he wanted and didn’t take no for an answer. Unless he decided to change his name to Mary and move to Timbuktu to run a Tiki bar, his family would give him free reign. And now that I knew he had his dad’s drive of taking over the world, ten companies at a time, there was really nothing stopping him. I wondered what had happened to the boy who didn’t want to be a part of the family business but to make a name for himself instead. Clearly, a lot had changed in eight years.

  I was ripped out of my thoughts by the dial tone, telling me how unimportant I was in the world of Rhett. I wondered if he even remembered me. I had filled out a lot since I was sixteen; changing from a skinny teenager that was all legs and arms to a stressed out mum who ate whatever was available. I might not have birthed Josie and acquired all the kilos that came with carrying a child, but I made up for it with my pretzel habit. The more chocolate I could spoon onto those tiny suckers the better.

  I stuck my head out from behind my screen and called across the small office space. “Cassandra, you gotta take a meeting today after you finish up with Winthrop.” She liked it when I used her full name and I needed her to take that meeting. I wondered if I had time to run out and get her one of those iced coffees that she liked so much.

  “I can’t meet him today. Not sure if you remembered but I’m supposed to be in Indianapolis tonight for my meeting with Clarke. Which requires me to fly there. On a plane. That you hopefully booked last week when you organized the meeting with Spitfire for tomorrow.” Her eyebrows shot up in question. Oh dear, I knew that nagging feeling that I forgot to do something meant I had, indeed, forgotten to do something.

  “Yes, sure, the flight. I’ll send you the details. Of the flight that I booked last week. When you told me to.”

  “Emerson,” she ground out between her teeth, “you better not have forgotten. Spitfire is a huge client. It took me months to get them to agree to a meeting. I know we are doing well, but we can always do better. I want this account.”

  I was calling the airline faster than you could say screw up. I knew I better fix this or I’d be stuck going to lunch with her mother for the foreseeable future. It was the worst possible punishment, and she knew it. She’d sent me more than once simply because she didn’t want to sit through a five course meal that included mostly liquids. And neither did I because even if it sounded like fun, it definitely wasn’t. Her mom’s attitude did not improve with alcohol.

  Five minutes later, I had a seat for her in economy, the only seat available but at least she’d get there.

  “You’ll have to go to the meeting with Rhett instead of me. When you’re not busy screwing up my schedule, you are amazing at remembering every single detail of every single thing we do. You know how to do this. You’ve seen me pitch our services a million times. And you know Rhett. That has to make this easier.”

  “But I can’t,” I wailed, hoping she’d take pity on me. There was absolutely no way I was ready to face Rhett. The last time I’d seen him was forever burnt into my memory. And not in a let’s dream about it because it was so romantic way. “I have to take care of Josie. Oma’s had her all day. She’ll be exhausted. She’s old. Nearly eighty. She needs a break.”

  “Whatever. Oma loves that tiny little angel of stickiness and you know it. Besides the fact that she is the most well behaved child I’ve ever met, she is probably in a sugar coma by now anyway so she’ll have a good long nap like usual. You’re going. Stop arguing.”

  “I’ll call her just to make sure. She might have plans.”

  At that, Cassie started laughing. A full on hold-your-belly-and-watch-out-not-to-keel-over laugh. “We both know that woman hasn’t left her property except to go to the market in over ten years. If she didn’t love her garden and cooking so much, she probably wouldn’t have left her house at all in that time.”

  And wasn’t that the truth. But I wasn’t ready to give up that easily. “It would mean I have to drive to Denver. It’s two hours to get there.”

  “So?”

  “I’ll need tomorrow off.”

  “It’s Saturday tomorrow. You don’t work on Saturdays. Now can we get on with it? I need to finish this proposal before I leave for the flight that you just booked. You better hope I don’t get cramps in my legs from sitting in those small seats.”

  “You’ll be fine. Slumming it with the masses will help keep you grounded. You’ll thank me one day.”

  “Doubtful. Now do your job. And change your shirt. You got a scary looking stain on your boob.”

  Since I didn’t think I’d be going anywhere but the office today, I didn’t bother changing this morning when Josie wiped her peanut butter covered hands on my shirt.

  Cassie shooed me away. Because that’s what she did. If she considered a problem solved she moved on. “Just grab one of my spares.” I knew she had about ten extra sets of clothes in the office wardrobe. Resigned to the fact that there was no way out of this, I changed my shirt to a beautiful and soft, dark blue blouse with cute little bows instead of buttons that felt amazing when I slipped it on. It probably cost as much as my car. There was no way I’d ever return it.

  “And don’t you think you can steal more of my clothes. You still have my grey Alexander McQueen suit.”

  Instead of answering her, I dialed Oma to let her know I’d be home late. She answered on the tenth ring. Impressive considering sometimes she didn’t make it to the phone at all so I was used to calling a few times. She must have been close by.

  “Edeltraud speaking.”

  “Oma, it’s me. Something came up at work today, and I’ll be home late tonight. Can you put Josie to bed for me please?”

  “Okay Spatz. Don’t work so hard. See you when you get home.”

  Despite having lived in the US for over sixty years, she still had a crazy accent and liked to speak German. She told us time and time again how important it was to know another language.

  “You are the best. I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.” I knew I would most likely see her tonight, no matter how late I got in. She didn’t sleep much and always worried about us girls. Me and my little sister Freddie, that is. She had not only
taken me in, but also Freddie, who was seven years younger than me and had only been two at the time.

  Adding another girl to the mix didn’t seem to faze her at all. She never complained, not when Nate showed up on her doorstep in the middle of the night with me and Freddie, and not when I brought Josie home one night. And definitely not when Mom came after me, screaming down the neighborhood. Oma always told us family is everything, even though my mom didn’t seem to get the memo.

  The rest of my day went by in a blur, my thoughts on the upcoming meeting with Rhett. I knew I could do it, I just didn’t know if I could handle seeing him again. In the end, I abandoned work in favor of some solid social media stalking. Turned out, he didn’t have a single social media account but I did find a few pictures of him on a mutual friend’s profile. We did both grow up in Butler and were bound to have some of the same friends, even if he was two years older than me.

  And that’s how I found photos of him and his fiancée. His very attractive, very blonde and very skinny fiancée. They looked perfect together. It made me want to throw up. But that would ruin the very nice—and clean—shirt I was wearing that looked awesome with the kick ass black pencil skirt I’d got on sale. My love for designer clothes was only curbed by my lack of money. I splurged on special occasions like my birthday and Christmas. And by splurged, I mean I’d allow myself to buy one piece of clothing on sale. But I was building up my wardrobe, helped by my best friend having a similar addiction and the funds to go wild. She also hardly ever noticed when I kept her clothes. Unless it was a grey Alexander McQueen suit.

  “Alright chickadee, I’m out of here. Try not to drool over my Louboutins when you see Rhett, no matter how good he looks in a suit.” She blew me a kiss which I returned with a wave and she was gone.

  Which meant I only had about another hour before I had to leave if I wanted to make the dreaded meeting. I was supposed to meet him for dinner to pitch the proposal. Rhett still thought he was meeting with Cassie, so I wasn’t sure how the it was going to go.