So Much for My Happy Ending (23 page)

He looked less than convinced, so I pulled out the heavy artillery. “Tad, I had to do the same thing in order to work things out with you.” He winced and I quickly qualified the statement. “Not that you're deeply flawed, but you did mess up and I had to let go of my anger in order to move forward with you, just like you did for me. Now it's Mom's turn to be forgiven.”

Tad eyed me warily. “The two situations are completely different.” He slid back down and wrapped a lock of my hair around his finger. “Just think about it for a while before you call her.”

“I haven't spoken to her for over four months now. How much longer do you want me to think about it?”

“Give it another month,” he said, and let his foot rub up and down my calf. “What difference will four more weeks make? You have other things that you should be focusing on now, like getting your career back on track. Wouldn't it be nice to have all your ducks in a row before tackling the more difficult problems?”

“True,” I said reluctantly.

“Between dealing with Blakely and making time for all you need to handle at home…”

“What do I need to handle at home?”

Tad grinned wickedly as he took my hand and pulled it down beneath the sheets.

“Oh,
that.
” I giggled. “That
is
a lot to handle…I better get on it right away.”

“G
od, I wish this place served hard liquor.”

I looked up and smiled at Allie as she dropped into the seat I had been saving for her at Boudin. Almost a month had passed since that fateful therapy session and I had been working overtime trying to be satisfied with what I had. Apparently I wasn't the only one failing in that area.

I took the chicken Caesar I had purchased for her off the tray and pushed it toward her. “Problem customer?”

She scoffed and violently rammed her fork into a crouton. “I caught two people having sex in one of my dressing rooms.”

“Again?” I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “Why do they always pick your department?”

“Who the fuck knows? Maybe they think that any lingerie department that charges twenty dollars for a thong must really be a front for a low-priced brothel.” She pressed her fingers into her temples.

I sighed. It really was amazing that I had lasted as long as I had at Dawson's. But things would be better when I got into the buying office. They had to be. “Why do you do it, Allie?” I asked, rotating my plastic spoon in my soup. “You're educated, smart and all that good stuff. Why do you work at that freak show we call Dawson's?”

“Three words—
thirty-three percent discount.
Although after what I put up with today they should be upping mine to forty.” She took a long sip of her 7-Up. “Hey, thanks for buying lunch. I know I've been a little removed lately, but I've had a lot on my plate.”

She'd
been removed? I had barely made time to talk to either her or Caleb since Tad and I reconciled. I had avoided Caleb because he knew too much. He always had questions about Tad, and whenever I told him things were fine he gave me what Allie and I called the “I-don't-think-so-girlfriend” look. I had avoided Allie because I was afraid that if she spent any time with me she would be able to see that under my practiced smile I was really falling apart. But perhaps I'd been so busy avoiding Allie that I hadn't noticed that she was also avoiding me for her own reasons. It's always humbling to know that you're not the center of the universe. “Is everything okay?” I asked before tearing at the edge of my bread bowl.

“Oh, you know, same old same old. My sister just had her fifth anniversary, although judging from the party she threw, you would have thought it was her fiftieth. And you know my family, every time we get together the interrogation begins. ‘So, Allie, any new marital prospects? Are you dating anyone?' My brothers' wives are always trying to set me up, and then my bothers find out and go ballistic because in their minds no one is good enough for their little sister. And then there's my mother who wants to make sure that I'm not out there giving away the milk for free. I'm twenty-seven, April. If I hadn't given the milk away by now it would have gone sour.”

I laughed politely but I couldn't help feeling envious. Allie had a family full of people who wanted to look out for her. Maybe their tactics needed a little refining but it was still a lot better than not having family support at all—which, I reminded myself, was not my situation. I had Tad and Bobe, plus I had a new pair of CK boots that were almost like family.

Allie sighed, oblivious to my internal monologue. “I really don't see what everybody's so worried about. I'll meet someone, right?”

I lowered my spoon, surprised by the insecurity in Allie's voice. “Of course you'll meet someone. Besides, I thought you were dating that guitarist guy, Paul.”

“Yeah, but I can tell that one's not going anywhere. I know my soul mate's out there somewhere. I always wanted to marry before thirty and I can still make that happen.”

“Of course you can!” I smiled encouragingly. I had never heard Allie talk about marriage. She had always seemed so content with single life I had just assumed that she was going to be a confirmed bachelorette until she was at least forty. After all, dancing on top of the bars at nightclubs didn't seem like the behavior of a woman who was looking for a husband.

“And look at how it all fell into place for you and Tad,” Allie added. “You met, started dating and six months later you were man and wife, so if I use your relationship as an example, then I shouldn't have to worry about finding Mr. Wonderful until I'm twenty-nine and a half.”

I looked away. Although things with Tad were better, I wasn't sure anyone should use my relationship as an example. Nonetheless, the fact that she was envious of me just confirmed my decision to be thankful for everything.

As if on cue Tad rang my cell phone. I held up a finger to indicate to Allie that I would only be a moment and pressed the Talk button. “What's up?”

“We landed another client—a big one, April.”

“Tad, that's fantastic!”

“You have no idea. By the fifteenth of next month I'll have made enough money to pay off the credit card with enough left over to buy you a little something special at Tiffany's.”

I laughed. “Just pay off the card and I'll be happy.”

“This is just the beginning. In another year I should be making well over two hundred thousand a year, and a few years after that, who knows? We could be looking at millions.”

I bit gently down on my tongue. Tad was getting ahead of himself again. But still, if he thought he was going to be making two hundred grand then surely he'd be able to pull off a hundred and twenty. That was enough to keep financial issues from causing undue stress on our relationship even if he did charge up the occasional credit card. “I'm thrilled for you, Tad.”

“Don't be thrilled for me, be thrilled for us. We're going straight to the top. Sean or Eric won't be getting in my way now. We are going to be rolling in it.”

There was something in Tad's attitude that disturbed me but I suppressed my instinct to analyze it. I reminded myself to stop questioning everything and go with the flow. I looked up to see Allie watching me inquisitively.

“Tad, I've got to get going. Maybe we can celebrate tonight?”

“I'm going to be working late tonight, maybe even after midnight. I have to make sure that this new account is handled perfectly. You understand?”

“Of course,” I assured him. “We'll celebrate tomorrow. Oh wait, don't you have that business trip to L.A. tomorrow?”

“No, that's the day after. Tomorrow night's ours.”

“Sounds good. I'll call your office when I'm done with work.”

“Why don't I call you instead? After six I'm having my incoming calls automatically forwarded to voice mail so I can concentrate.”

I gave Allie an apologetic smile. I made a gesture with my hands to imitate Tad's run-on of the mouth. “Fine, you call me. But now I've got to go.”

“I understand. I love you, April. I don't think I would have been motivated to do any of this if you weren't a part of my life.”

“I'm not sure that's true, but I'm not stupid enough to spend a lot of time convincing you otherwise. I'll talk to you later.”

I hung up and returned my phone to my purse.

“What was that all about?” Allie asked before polishing off the last bites of her bread roll.

“Oh, Tad just landed another big client. He seems to think that he's on his way to being the next Bill Gates.”

“Men and their egos. If they couldn't brag about their cars, bank accounts, sexual prowess or athletic ability they wouldn't know how to maintain a conversation.” She patted the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “Speaking of careers, how're things going with Blakely? Any more word on your imminent promotion?”

“Actually I was planning on going to Blakely's office right after this to make sure that I'm still her favored candidate.”

Allie arched an eyebrow. “I didn't know that was in question—Wait, did that little bitch Gigi tell her that you were preg—”

“I have no idea what Gigi told her,” I said quickly. “It's just that Blakely hasn't been by the department for a while and I'm beginning to think that something's changed…but maybe not.” I shrugged. “Whatever the case may be, the time has come for me to pucker up and get promoted. If I'm going to stay at Dawson's, then I might as well have a higher-paying job.”

Allie slid her straw up and down in the lid of her drink. “Just watch out for Gigi. I'm telling you, that one has claws.”

“Maybe…it seems like she's been behaving differently around me since she found those vitamins, but then again she's been Miss Congeniality today. She's working the closing shift and she waltzed in two hours early and presented me with a double latte. She even offered to watch the floor so I could enjoy my beverage in peace. As far as I know, nothing's changed at work, so it stands to reason that her attitude is being affected by some outside source.”

Allie smiled. “Maybe she got lucky last night. Can you imagine Gigi having sex?” Allie flipped her hair and batted her eyes. “Ohmygawd,” she squealed in an exaggerated impersonation of Gigi. “Your penis is, like, so totally big! Oh and FYI, this month's
Details
says that adult circumcisions are all the rage—you should so totally do it.”

I willed myself to swallow my Diet Coke before erupting into peels of laughter.

 

I knocked on Blakely's door tentatively at first and then with some force. Clearly I could no longer assume that I was a shoo-in for the promotion, so if I wanted it I would have to exude a contagious level of confidence.

Blakely opened the door. She shared the office with the junior-wear buyer, but she and her assistant appeared to be out. Cherise wasn't there either, which meant that Blakely had probably sent her to another store to check up on some poor unsuspecting manager. My timing couldn't have been more perfect.

Blakely raised an eyebrow at me and offered a closed-lip smile that was so devoid of warmth that she might as well have just cut to the chase and given me the finger.

“Shouldn't you be on the sales floor, April?”

I tried not to let her see how much her greeting had cut me. “Gigi's on the floor and I'm at the tail end of my break.” That was a lie; my break had ended fifteen minutes ago but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt me. “I was hoping you had a moment.”

Blakely nodded curtly and motioned for me to enter. I waited for her to sit in her chair before finding one for myself. I selected Cherise's. After all, I was beginning to suspect that it would be my only chance to sit in it.

Blakely checked her watch and I decided I should get straight to the point just in case she was timing me.

“Blakely, I've come to talk to you about the assistant position.”

“Ah, so you heard about Cherise. That was fast.”

It took me all of two seconds to gauge her meaning. “You fired her today.”

“She should have cleaned out her desk immediately, but she got emotional and ran out. If she doesn't get her things by the end of the day I'll let Housekeeping take care of it.”

Was she kidding? Who the hell was this woman, the Bride of Frankenstein? On second thought, she wasn't good enough for Frankenstein; she lacked his humanity. I kept my gaze firmly on Blakely so I wouldn't inadvertently glimpse the family pictures on Cherise's desk. “Well, I'm sorry Cherise didn't work out, but I'm very excited about the opportunity—”

“You're welcome to apply for the position, April, but you should know that I am also considering Nina from 547.”

The bleached-blond Latina chick; I should have seen that one coming. But I couldn't give up at this point. If Nina's promotion was a done deal, Blakely would have said so immediately. She never chose to drag things out when the alternative was to stab someone in the heart and be done with it. I took a deep breath. “Nina is a very good manager,” I said in my best interview voice. “However, as I'm sure you're aware, my numbers have been consistently better than hers….”

“Marginally,” Blakely said. “And you have location on your side. When you consider that her store is in an area where the majority of the local residents have recently been laid off, her ability to keep up with your successes speaks greatly in her favor.”

True. That was the problem with Blakely, she was too reasonable—hateful bigots should always be unreasonable, otherwise they risk screwing up a perfectly good stereotype.

I cleared my throat and started again. “You're right, I do have location on my side and working at the flagship store has given me insights into what Sassy and Dawson's is all about, insights I wouldn't have gotten if I was working at 547.”

Blakely studied me carefully. I'm pretty certain that Blakely won all the staring contests in grade school. She crossed her legs carefully so as not to wrinkle her D&G skirt. “I have known that I needed to let Cherise go for some time now, long before I spoke to you about it. I have simply been biding my time until I found a suitable candidate to replace her—No, I take that back.” Blakely held an index finger up as if to check herself. “I was looking for someone who was more than suitable. I needed someone exemplary. After watching you for a few months I decided that you were that person. You are a wonderful merchandiser and you have a fantastic eye. Your personal sales are mediocre but that doesn't concern me. I am one of the few people at Dawson's who recognizes that good salesmanship is not a necessity for buying.”