Totlandia: Spring (11 page)

She plopped down on his lap and nuzzled his neck. “You’re such a tease! Just look at these six-pack abs.” In a blink of an eye, her fingers unbuttoned his shirt. She stopped to admire his hairy chest. “Don’t ever take off your shirt in the woods, or every female hiker will go crazy.”

“Trust me, they’d run in the opposite direction. They’ll think I’m a grizzly.” He laughed. “Or worse! Sasquatch!”

Jillian shrugged. “Scott was as hairless as a Chihuahua. I guess he spent his lunches getting manscaped.”

Caleb grinned. “You make him sound like such a pussy.”

His remark stopped her cold. Her smile faded.

Seeing it disappear, his did, too. “You’re also still in love with him, aren’t you?”

Jillian pretended she didn’t hear him. “What do you think—was the crust on the Apple Jack flaky enough? If it wasn’t—”

“I thought so.” Caleb shoved his plate away. “Guess it’s time to waddle off into the sunset.”

“No! Wait!” She reached for his arm. “Caleb, we were married for ten years. We had two children together. I thought I’d be spending the rest of my life with him. And now…”

“And now you’re not.” He shrugged. “He’s got some other woman in his life. And you’ve got me, remember?”

She nodded. “Yes. He’s got her, and I…I have you.” The first tear fell before she could turn her head, or wipe it away.

He stepped back from her. “And I’m the one who loves you. I have since the moment I saw you running down the street, screaming after the girls’ runaway stroller.”

She almost choked as her sobs turned to giggles, but just for a moment as he continued, “But Jillian,
I’m not him.
And I’ll never be anything like him, either. Considering how he treats you, don’t you think that’s a good thing?”

She should have screamed “Yes” at the top of her lungs.

She wanted to, really she did, but there was still too much of Scott there in the house. In her memories.

As if reading her mind, Caleb picked up his coat and walked out the front door.

She started to run after him, to call him back, but the crash behind her stopped her dead in her tracks.

One of the girls had yanked the tablecloth. The pies and plates had fallen to the floor. Both girls now sported pie-tin hats. Whatever filling and crust they weren’t wearing was making its way into their mouths as they scooped up the goodies with their plump little fingers.

Jillian plopped down on the floor to cry. Instead, she laughed.

Tuesday, 5 February

“Well, well, well,” Ellis muttered to Ally. “Your Mr. Pierce handled himself admirably. He’s been a big hit with Mr. Bracknell.”

Ally turned toward the conference room’s window, where Brady stood with Laurence Bracknell, admiring the incomparable bay and city views afforded them from the highest floor in the renowned Transamerica Pyramid Center.

During the meeting, she too had been impressed. It was a side of Brady she’d never seen before. After she’d given him a formal introduction, Brady turned on the charm. He was modest about his accomplishments, thoughtful in the questions he asked, and tactful in the answers he gave when asked to comment on the issues facing the board.

Brady earned me big brownie points,
Ally thought.
Just in time, too, considering it’s been almost a month since I gave Ellis my proposal.
“By the way, Ellis, how did Mr. Bracknell respond to my prospectus on the pie shop?”

Ellis hesitated, then shrugged. “Sorry, old girl. You’ll get an answer by May. By then we’ll have better cash flow and we may be looking for something different to do with it.”

She tried not to show her disappointment.

“How did the two of you meet again?” Ellis sounded innocent enough, but she knew him too well. Every question was a probe. Every declaration had an ulterior motive. Everyone was his stepping-stone to Mr. Bracknell’s side.

Just then, Brady looked over at her and waved.

Ellis raised a brow.

Ignoring it, Ally smiled innocently. “His son is in my daughter’s playgroup. He sold AStealAtThisPrice.com in order to be a stay-at-home father.”

“How noble.” Ellis shrugged. “I’m sure he finds hanging in the park with all you yummy mommies an added benefit.”

Before Ally could retort, Mr. Bracknell beckoned her over.

Ally waved back, then murmured, “You’re behind the times, Ellis. All the best business contacts are made on the playground. You should go sometime with your family. Oh sorry, I forgot you’re not married! Too bad because just hanging out might seem a bit pervy.” She paused, as if a thought just came to her. “Hey, there’s an idea for you. Why not just rent a kid?’”

From the look on his face, she could tell he was actually thinking that through.

“Ah, here’s our little star now!” The way Laurence Bracknell put his arm around Ally’s shoulders and squeezed her, you would have thought she was his long lost daughter. “Your ears must be burning from all the praise.”

Ally blushed. “It’s always great to be appreciated.”

“You’ve done the corporation a great service, convincing Brady to join us.”

Brady laughed. “It didn’t take much arm-twisting. Your portfolio speaks for itself.”

“You and Ally know better than anyone—consumers are a fickle bunch. Capturing their attention and keeping it isn’t easy. The knowledge you bring to the board is invaluable.”

“You’ve got a great head start with Ms. Thornton. Where she leads, I follow. She’s a genius at sniffing out trends.”

Better make hay while the sun is shining,
Ally thought. She smiled brightly. “My pie shop concept is a great example. It’s going to be the next big dessert craze.”

Laurence’s face went blank. “Really? A pie shop? What a unique concept. Too bad I hadn’t heard of it before now.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “On the QT, just this morning Bracknell purchased Toppers, the cupcake chain. It was Ellis’s lead.”

Ellis?
Ally fumed.
Why that lying son of a bitch! Laurence never even saw my proposal!

“The due diligence shows he’s was right about it. Very successful, and lots of growth on the horizon,” Laurence continued. “That young man keeps his ear to the ground! He was the one who brought Foot Fetish to our attention.” Noting her dismay, Laurence patted her shoulder. “That’s not to say your pie idea isn’t a good one. But catching a wave means doing more than dipping your toe in the water every now and then. You’ve got to get in the deep end and swim with the rest of us sharks. Whenever you’re ready to come back full time, you let me know.”

“Did you hear what he said?” Ally’s third martini made her both morose and tipsy. “Titan of industry Laurence Bracknell called me a
guppy
! Me, whose company produced nineteen percent of his total net income in the third quarter!” To make her point, she thrust her martini glass at Brady’s chest.

The old me would be putting the moves on her, now that her defenses are down,
Brady thought.
But the new me will be a perfect gentleman...

His resolve melted away when the spaghetti strap of her dress fell off her shoulder.

He held tight to his scotch tumbler, willing himself to resist the urge to move the flimsy piece of silk back where it belonged.

Worse yet, he wanted to strip her down altogether.

He sighed. “You’ve got it all wrong. His exact phrase was that he welcomed you to swim with him and the rest of the sharks.”

“I did. I mean, I am! I gave the sniveling brown-noser, Ellis, a full prospectus on the pie shop business I want to take national. And I asked him to show Bracknell, so that I might get the initial funding. Do you know what he did with it? Buried it! Apparently at the bottom of the sea where he and the other sharks are circling each other.”

She waved down the bartender for another martini.

“A pie shop? That sounds hot.”

Ally toasted Brady with her empty glass. “That’s what I thought, too! And with Jillian’s pies, the lines will be out the door.”

“You’ve got that right. She’s one hell of a baker. Do you think she’s up for it?”

“You betcha. Rarin’ to go, in fact. She needs the cash flow, what with that horrid divorce and all. But now I have to tell her it’s going to take longer than we thought.”

Brady shrugged. “It doesn’t have to. Why don’t you send the prospectus my way? Maybe it’s something I’d like to invest in.”

“Really? Wow, Brady, thanks!” Without thinking, Ally threw her arms around his neck.

He knew he shouldn’t do it, but his lips brushed her forehead. Her hair smelled like roses, just as he remembered from the other night.

Maybe it was because he surprised her. Or maybe she was too tipsy to know what she was doing. Whatever the reason, she looked up at him and said, “I love you, too.”

He had to kiss her.

She didn’t resist. At least, not at first.

Then she jerked herself away. “I’m…so sorry. I didn’t mean to…We promised each other…” She buried her head in her hands.

He knew why. She was trying to hide her tears.

Finally, she pulled her hands away. But she wouldn’t look up at him. “When I told Jade about this opportunity to sit on the Bracknell board, I also made it clear that if she did not want you to do so, the offer would be withdrawn. Just so you know, she told me she hated the thought of you having this excuse to spend time with me, but at the same time, she knew you’d blame her and hate her if she said no.” Finally, her eyes met his. They still glistened with teary sadness. “Brady, she knows about us. She didn’t say, but I can tell. Did you tell her?”

He shook his head. “No! I wouldn’t want her to hate you. And…and it would hurt her too much to think one of her friends is betraying her.”

“That’s my point. I’d never betray her. And I do believe she’s got Oliver’s best interests at heart. She’s dead set on winning the Top Mom spot. In fact, I told her…” She shrugged. “I told her that if they offered it to me, I’d turn it down and recommend her instead. I can’t think of anyone who wants it more.” She shook her head. “Because she thinks it will make you love her again.”

“That’s ridiculous! It won’t. You know that.”

“My point is that she wants you so badly that she’ll jump through any hoop to salvage what she had…
has
with you.” She picked up her purse. “The least you can do is meet her halfway.”

Nothing she could say would have him agree with her. Any argument to the contrary would convince her that they should never see each other again.

Don’t show your hand,
he warned himself.

“I appreciate your honesty, Ally. Send me the pie shop prospectus. I’ll read it immediately. If I like it, you’ll have your funding within forty-eight hours. No strings attached.” He knocked back the last of his scotch. “It’ll be a pleasure doing business with you.”

Wednesday, 13 February

“You’re brilliant,” Ally whispered to Jillian. “And not just in the filling and crust department, either. Look at all the children! They’ve never been so quiet…or so busy!”

She was right. For the children’s Valentine’s Day party, PHM&T had rented out the Presidio Golf Club’s clubhouse and Jillian had turned it into a pink heart-filled palace.

The ooohs and ahhhs of the other moms were all the proof she needed that she’d impressed them.

Well, most of them. “It’s Pepto Bismol pink! No, wait…More the hue of the inner labia,” Mallory sniffed. “Thank goodness it doesn’t smell like one.”

Jillian winced when she heard that.

Ally patted her friend on the back. “Don’t let her ruin your success.” To Mallory, she called out, “Are you sure about that? I could have sworn it’s darker. Please check your facts. If you need one, I’ll lend you my compact.”

Mallory’s face turned dark red.

“You know, I’m guessing
that
’
s
its real color.” Ally snapped open her compact in Mallory’s face.

Jillian was laughing so hard, she almost choked.

What impressed the mothers most were the numerous activities Jillian had devised to keep the children busy. Using heart-shaped cookie cutters, the Fivesies were creating bite-sized sandwiches of cheese and turkey slices. At the same time, each of the Foursies were decorating five-slotted shoe boxes with glitter, doilies and stamp pads, which would serve as mailboxes for the Valentines being created by the Threesies.

Valentines and boxes were to be auctioned off, purchased with chocolates. Mounds represented one hundred dollars, Peanut Butter cups were worth five hundred dollars, and Hershey’s Kisses were a thousand dollars.

“Why not pennies, nickels, and dimes?” Jade asked Kimberley.

Kimberley’s thin brow arched high enough to almost hit her forehead. “Are you kidding? Bettina never passes up an opportunity to have the children learn the value of a dollar. Or a thousand dollars, for that matter.” She licked her lips. “The auction was my idea. I figure the sooner they discern good art from bad, the better. Like that monstrosity over there!”

She pointed to a forlorn-looking shoebox topped with fifteen ripped strips of black construction paper. Sad stick figures were painted on the sides.

Jade didn’t have the heart to tell her new bestie that it was the handiwork of her four-year-old son, Titus.

Why rock the boat?
Jade asked herself.
She’s so sweet! She’s giving me a dozen leads for my AP class. And besides, she’s already told me she thinks I should be Top Mom.

Jade suspected she already had Bettina’s vote, too, what with the money Brady gave Art to invest for him. Still, she was paranoid that Bettina was the type who checked her husband’s cell phone ID. If so, surely she’d know he had called her.

And that he was still calling, in fact. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?

As for the other three committee members, none of them made it a point to warm up to her. Votes for Lorna were a given, considering her relationship to Bettina. As for Sally, she always smiled when she was around Ally. Joanna seemed to like her, too.

Jade could tell Mallory didn’t like anyone. Maybe that worked in her favor, but she doubted it.