Cutting Loose (32 page)

“So you came all the way down here to
tell me this because…?”

She smiled and said, “The couple I’m
talking about is sitting right next to me.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Blessings

Say that one more time, I don’t think I
heard you right the first time,” said Sabrina.

“I’m serious,” Larissa said after
repeating what she had just said. “I think you and Brett would be perfect.”

“I thought you hated me,” Brett chimed
in a second later.

Larissa said, “I never hated you, I just
didn’t like you very much. I’m just now trying to wrap my mind around seeing
you two raise a kid together and honestly, it’s not that bad.”

“I don’t know about all of this,
Larissa,” said Sabrina. “I mean, I don’t exactly have a schedule where I can
take care of kids. My plate is nearly full right now. I appreciate the offer
though.”

Larissa looked hurt. “Sabrina, c’mon. I
know you’ve always wanted kids, even though you never told me you couldn’t
until a while ago. Now is your chance.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Brett.
“Besides, we’re not getting any younger. I don’t see any reason not to.”

“I do,” said Sabrina. “Hell, for one, I
can’t take time off right now. This magazine is in serious trouble and I can’t
just abandon it.”

“Is that all you care about, this damn
magazine?” asked Larissa.

“No, it’s not.”

“It sure as hell doesn’t seem that way
to me. Seems like you spend all your time and energy slaving away hours for
what? It’s not like you have to work, this is just a hobby for you.”

Sabrina considered her next words
carefully. “That’s not the case.” That was a lie. The thought of being a mother
now, on top of dealing with the daily stress of her job scared the hell out of
her. She just wasn’t ready yet.

“So, you’re just going to make that
decision by yourself?” Larissa looked from Sabrina to Brett, just to see if he
would say anything, which he didn’t. It didn’t surprise her. She stood up and
said, “I’m not a religious person, but I guess some people don’t know a
blessing when it’s staring them straight in the face.”

That said, she headed for the door and
was gone. The door stayed closed just for a fraction of a second before Raquel
stormed into the room with a gigantic folder in her hand and a frantic look on
her face.

She said, “Excuse me, but I just got off
the phone and had a conversation with some off the advertisers who are pulling
out. Um, since the computers are still haywire, it’s a mess and editorial is
having a meeting in twenty minutes. I’ve never seen anything like this…ever.”

“I guess that’s my cue for me to leave,”
Brett said, rising to his feet. He headed for the door.

“Wait. Where are you going?” Sabrina
asked. “Are we going to talk about this or are we going to pretend like
something just happened?”

“Or didn’t happen,” Brett said
matter-of-factly. “I don’t think so. There’s nothing to talk about. Besides, I
have an investment meeting with some people interested in buying by my company.
I can’t afford to be late. I’ll call you later.” He turned his back to Sabrina
and disappeared into the hall.

What the hell just happened?

The question daunted Sabrina’s thoughts
as she flicked through images in her mind of the scene that just played out
between her and Brett and before that when Larissa interrupted their perfect
moment with her insane proposal. Things were just getting back to ‘normal’
between her and Brett and now that was shattered by some craziness she never in
a million years thought would take form in her best friend asking her to adopt
her kids. Un-fucking-believable.

She cleared her thoughts as she pranced
over to the staff room and listened for an hour and a half about how some
advertisers were beginning to lose their faith in the magazine and was ready to
pull out unless Sabrina could somehow persuade them otherwise. She managed it
only so many words she conjured up in the back of her mind. She knew how
important the magazine was when her mother first built it and the legacy behind
it; she couldn’t afford to let it slip away just because Camille had a bitch
fit and nearly costs them everything. She was not about to go without a fight.

Sabrina was going to have to make some
bold moves but with nearly a third of the staff gone, she didn’t really have
that much to work with. Certain departments that were crucial to the magazine
was missing and she couldn’t just go out and hire people off of the streets,
that would be career-suicide and just plain stupid. So she turned to the human
resources department and nearly forgotten all about her main problem—the
computer system was screwed—and unless she either:

A: Spent a half million dollars on new
computers and software or

B: Call up the best computer nerd she
could find and get to the source of the problem and figure out what the hell
Camille did to them.

 Evidently, option B was the best choice
and that’s what she did. The next morning some a group of well-qualified
computer professionals (or geeks) showed up at the office and began evaluating
the systems and go down to business to determine the problem. Approximately
three weeks later they were finally able to exterminate the virus that was
released and restored all the computers’ data and well, the magazine was on its
way to dominating the magazine racks.

It was no surprise that Sabrina found
herself at a Starbucks wondering why she was so stressed and remembered Brett
telling her she needed to take things a little slower and stop trying to be so
“independent” all the time. That was easy for him to say. Hell, he was a man and
didn’t have everybody doubting his ability to get things done. Plus, she liked
being in charge, being able to give other people responsibility. It gave her a
sense of control and serenity.

 She gave herself a mental shake as she
heard someone call her name. She turned around in her seat and her jaw dropped—

“Oh, my God! Sabrina? What are you doing
out here?” asked Jasmine Phispatrick, walking towards Sabrina while pushing a
stroller with crying baby in tow.

Sabrina stood up as she whirled around
with a genuine smile etched across her face. “Jasmine? Wow. This is awkward.”

“I know, girl,” Jasmine said as she
stopped in front of Sabrina. “It’s so good to see you. How have you been?”

“In the middle of a damn roller coaster
ride. I had to come out here to take a break from work.”

Jasmine laughed. “I feel you.”

Sabrina paused. “You had your baby
already?”

“Yeah, I had her two months shy of my
due date. I went into early labor and gave birth to my little preemie baby girl
I named Zoë. She’s so tiny and adorable. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but
she’s the best thing that happened to me…well, her and my husband that is,” she
added as she beamed.

Sabrina couldn’t believe how good she
actually looked. The woman didn’t look like she gained a pound during her
pregnancy; unlike some women she saw who had trouble dropping their baby
weight.

“So you got married?” quizzed Sabrina a
second later.

“Yep. My hubby and I got married at City
Hall a week before Zoë entered the world and it’s been so amazing. Sometimes it
still feels like one big dream. Just a few months ago I was in a love triangle
with a loser boyfriend and now I’m married with my first kid. It’s so mind
blowing but God has truly blessed me.” She smiled ruefully.

“It must be wonderful,” Sabrina managed
to say, feeling a lump in the back of her throat.

“Oh, it is. Well, despite the lack of
sleep some nights and the changing diapers and breast feeding. It’s not so easy
with the bills piling up these days though. But we’ll get through it I
suppose.”

“You will.” She paused and said, “If you
want, I could pull some strings and possibly get you a temp position at
Fabulous
—that’s
if you’re cool with starting at the bottom.”

Jasmine smiled and babbled, “Oh, of
course not. Plus my mom likes helping with the baby since it gives her some
company. You would seriously do that for me?”

“Yes. I know it’s hard to believe, or
say, but I feel like I owe you somehow.”

“For what? If anything I didn’t cause
you anything but hell for two years. I’m sorry about that.”

 “Please, don’t be. If it wasn’t for you
I wouldn’t have gotten loose from that piece off shit Carl. And since then I’ve
met my other half.”

Jasmine smiled. “You mean that guy you
were with at the wedding?”

“Yeah,” Sabrina laughed. “That would be
him.”

“That’s really nice. I’m glad you
finally found someone who treats you like you should be.” Just then a tall,
chiseled, good-looking man walked out of Starbucks with two cups of coffee in
each hand and handed one to Jasmine as he gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
When he looked up, Sabrina saw that he was the same guy that Jasmine left
Carl’s sorry ass at the altar for not too long ago. He was way better looking
than Carl.

“Everything okay?” He asked in a deep,
husky voice.

“Yes,” said Jasmine. She beamed as she
said, “Sabrina just offered me a job at
Fabulous
magazine!”

“That’s great,” he said, kissing her
once again on the cheek. “And the blessings just keep on rolling in.”

“I know. It’s crazy,” said Jasmine.

Sabrina made it look like she was
looking her watch and said, “Well, it was nice running into you the both of you
but I have to go back to work.”

“Okay,” Jasmine and her hubby said in
unison.

Sabrina was about to head off when
Jasmine wrapped her arms around her and whispered, “Thank you so much…for
everything.”

“You’re welcome,” was all Sabrina
managed to say before she pulled away. She smiled and said, “Is your phone
number still the same?”

“Yep.”

“Great. I’ll give you a call sometime
this week.”

 Honestly, what in the hell was she
thinking even considering hiring the same vixen that had once almost ruined he
life on numerous occasions? Was something wrong with her? Maybe something was
finally right. It was weird to admit, but as Sabrina thought about it on her
drive back to her office, it did make sense. Hell, being pissed at Jasmine was
a chapter in her life that she closed a long time ago when she forgave her for
doing what she did. And there was no point in holding a grudge over something
petty.

 It was a done deal. And she was happy
for her decision. Despite all that had gone on between her and Jasmine in the
past, she honestly could say that Jasmine was a nice person with good
intentions. Too bad it took something as drastic as a love triangle gone bad to
see it. She thought about how happy Jasmine looked in her new life as
mother/wife and a twinge of jealous shot through Sabrina’s veins before it
disappeared. Thankfully. She didn’t need a reason to be jealous of Jasmine. She
was glad for her and looked forward to a day when would be happy as well.

Once the dust began to settle, Sabrina
was glad with her work and saw that
Fabulous
was back among the
respected ranks of the top-selling fashion magazines in the publishing
industry. It of course wouldn’t have been made possible had she not fought
against the stupid voice in the back of her head telling her to give up, that
Fabulous
was destroyed, and maybe even her future with Brett was going down the drain as
well.

Then it hit her—she messed up big time.
It wasn’t so much as a literal smack in the face, but she might as well have,
when she abruptly crushed Brett’s dream of having kids. She shouldn’t have been
so quick to say no. She should have at least talked to him about it in private
before letting her brain jump ahead. Shit. She needed to have a serious talk
with him.

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Shakedown

So, where are we going out to
celebrate?” Brett asked in his usual sexy, baritone voice.

Sabrina hadn’t wasted anytime calling
him and was surprised when he picked up on the first ring. Now he was babbling
something about celebrating.

“Celebrating?” asked Sabrina curiously.
“Celebrating what?”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t been keeping
track.”

“Of…?”

Brett paused. “Of how long we’ve been
going out. Today makes six months.”

“Oh, my God. I’m sorry, honey, I totally
have been sideswiped and lost track of time. I must be the worst girlfriend
ever.”

She could feel him smiling through his
voice. “Nah, you’re not. Trust me on that.” He paused an added, “What are you
doing tonight?”

She came to a halt at a stoplight. “Uh,
nothing in particular, being that it’s Friday night and all.”

“That’s perfect. I have some great news
to tell you about the deal I made with some investors. Maybe we can talk about
it over dinner. I got us reservations at one of the best seafood restaurants in
the world. I think you may have heard of it.”