Fifteen Weekends (12 page)

  Motioning to the empty seat at her table, Ashleigh said, “Please have a seat, Jake. Did you end up marrying Brandy?” 

  Taking the seat across the table from Ashleigh he motioned to the server and ordered a bourbon on the rocks.

  “No, Brandy and I broke up, and then I met Hannah, my wife just a few months later. We’ve been married for six years. We had our first child, a boy, Trent, he’s four and we just had our second, a girl, Taylor in February.” He said with a beaming grin and took out his Blackberry, showing her the photos of each of the kids and his wife. They were the model family. There was even a family portrait with the four of them and their Golden Retriever.

  “What are you up to these days? Are you still writing and taking pictures?”

  Ashleigh took a sip of her drink and smiled. “Well certainly nothing as exciting as you, Jake. Married, kids and a big career move. You have a lovely family.”

  “Well, thank you very much. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.”

  “Still writing, but I’m a freelancer now. I live in Grand Rapids, but I’m lucky because I get to travel all over the world.”

  “Is that what you’re doing in New York?”

  “Yup, I am attending the grand opening of the Refinery Hotel next week, but right now I am spending the weekend here with a friend.”

  Jake lifted one of his blonde eyebrows, inquiring, “A male friend?”

  “Very perceptive Jake, but we
are
just friends.”

  “So has there been anyone since Nick for you Ashleigh?”

  “A few guys, but nothing serious.” 

  “You know Nick would want you to be happy, Ashleigh,” Jake said as he put his hand on top of hers. “I miss him too. There ‘s not a day that goes by that I do not think about my friend.” 

  Ashleigh peered out the window and felt her throat tighten. She could feel the tears coming on, but she pushed them back as hard as she could. She quickly changed the subject.

  “Well, what are you doing here at the Mandarin, Jake?

  Jake removed his hand from hers and sat back in the chair, “We just wrapped up our corporate planning meeting— budget analysis, financial outlook and things of that nature.”

  She only half heard what he actually said, replying, “That’s wonderful to hear Jake,” she smiled affectionately at him.

  Jake took the final sip of his drink. “Ashleigh, it was great seeing you.” He pushed to his feet. Ashleigh stood to join him and he kissed her cheek. “If you ever need anything at all, do not hesitate to call me,” Jake offered while handing her his card.

  “Thank you Jake. You’re very kind,” she replied softly. “It was lovely to see you. Please take care.”

  Jake walked away and when he was out of her view, the tears began to well up in her eyes. Feeling waves of heat wash over her skin, she began to chew her lip. The tears streamed down Ashleigh’s face, and she quickly turned to the window so no one in the bar could visibly see her crying. She desperately tried to choke back the tears. Looking at her phone she saw it was nearly eight, but she had no message from Liam. She wondered what was keeping him. The crowd seemed to have filtered out, and there Liam stood at the bar in a well-tailored ink-blue Dior Homme suit with contrasting red polka-dot tie. She picked up her napkin and dabbed under eyes, but it was too late. Liam had walked over and saw her mascara had been ruined.

  “Ashleigh what is the matter? Why are you crying, my dear?”  Placing his drink on the table he moved the empty chair closer to Ashleigh.

  “I just saw an old friend and he reminded me of someone special I knew a very long time ago.”

  “I see. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Actually Liam, I think I
need
to talk about it. I want to tell you, but it’s a tale of woe and it’s really personal. Not the most inviting dinner conversation.”

  Liam placed his hand on hers and smiled. “You can tell me anything. Would you like to put on some comfortable clothes, drink lots of wine and order room service?”

  Ashleigh wiped her nose and gently brushed the tears from her cheeks. “That sounds like a very good idea.”

  “Come with me and I’ll escort you to your room so you can change.”

  Liam picked up his phone cancelling the reservation he made for the two of them, apologizing and rescheduling for Saturday evening for the same time. Walking to the bank of elevators Liam put his arm around her trim waist, whispering comfortingly, “Everything will be alright Ashleigh. This is what friends are for, to help pick you up when you’re feeling down.”

  He noticed her lips and cheeks were bright red, as if she was trying not to break down in front of him.

  “
Breathe
, Ashleigh,” he whispered clutching her hand.

  All of the air that she hand been holding in quickly expelled from her lungs. They stepped into the empty elevator car, and Ashleigh nuzzled herself into his towering frame.  He gently put his arm around her shoulders pulling her in close and tight.

Chapter Sixteen:

Amanda

  Amanda woke up dazed. Sweat was running down the back of her neck and chest. There was an empty vodka bottle on the nightstand. Sunlight filled the room.
Why the hell are the goddamn blinds open?
  She never slept with the blinds open. Amanda looked at the clock. It was nearly one in the afternoon. Her eyes widened, and she reached for her phone while noticing she had three missed calls, all from The Bath Shop. Trying to sit up she was dizzy and her head ached. She fell back onto the pillow and closed her eyes.

  The long black cocktail dress was crumpled on the floor. The diamond earrings Vince gifted her with were still in her ears. They were heavy and stinging her earlobes. She tried to open her eyes and focus. Looking around the room she noticed she was not at home, not in her bed and not feeling well. Staring at the ceiling, she felt her insides churning. Her heart was pounding, and her thighs and abs hurt.
What the hell was going on?
Amanda was totally confused and sick to her stomach. Mustering enough strength she darted to what she thought could be the bathroom. Lucky for her she was correct. Flipping up the lid to the toilet she began vomiting. When she was finished she collapsed onto the floor. The cold tile felt so good against her warm skin.

  Amanda heard voices and tried to open her eyes, but all she saw was dark shadows. Her skin felt warm again, and she could feel the soft fabric under her fingers. Something was poking her hand, and then it stung. Something cold was on her forehead, it felt so good. Her tongue felt fuzzy, and so did her teeth.

  “Do you think she will be alright?” a male voice said.

  “Yes, she should be totally fine in a few days, but after this she will be feeling much better and her fever should break,” a woman replied in a soft comforting tone.

  “I want you to call me as soon as her fever breaks and let me know if anything changes. I will be back before I leave for New York to check on her again,” the gruff, strong male demanded.

  “Will do boss,” the first male voice replied.

  The voices were getting softer and softer, and her hand felt numb. Her mind drifted.

  It was completely dark aside from the table lamp across the room when Amanda awoke. Somehow, she managed to make it back into the bed. Fluttering her eyes open to focus, she managed to roll up out of bed and turn on the second lamp. Her face felt clean, and her jewelry was placed neatly on a silver tray on the nightstand. The black dress, which she had been wearing, was hanging up on the closet door in a clear garment bag that was labeled
DRY
CLEAN
ONLY
.
She was wearing some silky pajama bottoms and a lace tank top. Her body felt heavy, but she mustered enough strength to ease out of bed. The top of her right hand itched a little bit and she noticed a Band-Aid and cotton ball were there. 

  Studying her surroundings she realized she was in a very posh apartment with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city.
This has to be Vince’s place.

 
She stepped out of what she believed was the master suite and looked to the left. Passing through the great room and the formal dining room she arrived in the kitchen. The kitchen was gorgeous with white cabinets and stainless steel high-end appliances. Opening the door to the refrigerator, Amanda found it was completely stocked with some of her favorite things to eat and drink including: coconut water, Greek yogurt, fresh blueberries, carrots, romaine leaf lettuce and bottled Perrier. There were also a few bottles of Gatorade in several different flavors. Amanda grabbed a bottle of Perrier, stood in the dimly lit kitchen and drank the entire thing. She felt much better than she did earlier. She looked at the microwave which read 8:21.

  Walking back into the bedroom and opening the closet doors she noticed all of her clothes were hanging in the closet as well as her shoes and handbags. Across the room near the windows there was a large dresser. Opening all the drawers one by one she saw all of her personal items were neatly folded. Her picture frames and books were on her bookcase and there was a writing desk in front of the window, where her laptop was stationed.

   Entering the bathroom it was the same thing with the medicine cabinet. All of her toiletries were there, her toothbrush and electric razor. Swiftly walking, nearly running back into the great room, Amanda drew back the curtains and saw a very large terrace with a view of the river. She knew this layout and she knew this view—it was the River House.

  Amanda walked down the hallway to Vince’s home office. Alex was there lying on the leather couch watching ESPN. He was either Vince’s personal bodyguard or right-hand guy, Amanda couldn’t quite figure out what exactly his job title was, but she suspected Vince was a lot more than just a successful businessman. Alex was a nice guy, a retired US Army Ranger, early-thirties, dark brown hair and gorgeous hazel eyes that were thickly lashed. He was, as you can imagine, in top physical condition. He wasn’t one of those meathead guys with tons of tattoos and biceps that could strangle a small child, rather Alex was muscular but with a trim build.

  Knock…knock.
 

  Alex quickly sat up and straightened his shirt and tie. Clearing his throat he said, “Miss Amanda, how are you feeling?”

  “Hi Alex, I feel much better than I did earlier,” she said while leaning against the doorframe.

  “What happened to me Alex?”

  Alex explained to Amanda that she had a nasty case of food poisoning. He told her that he found her curled up on the bathroom floor just after one in the afternoon. When he noticed her temperature had spiked, he immediately called Dr. Sherman. Dr. Sherman had to administer two bags of saline, because she was so dehydrated. Amanda didn’t know who Dr. Sherman was, but she was going to be sure to thank her for her improved physical state.

  “Do you need anything? Are you hungry?”

  “I think I could handle some chicken soup or light broth.”

  Alex stood up grabbed his phone off the coffee table and said, “I’ll see if Vince’s housekeeper, Mrs. Young stocked the pantry with any soup or broth. I am pretty sure there are a few cans in there.”