For His Pleasure: The Boxed Set, Books 1-6 (For His Pleasure, For His Taking, For His Keeping, For His Honor, For His Trust, For His Forever) (58 page)

Red hit the remote control and the movie started up again. Meeting adjourned, Nicole thought, leaving the room and pulling out her cell in a fit of pique.

A moment later, her mother answered. “Hi, again.”

“Tell Marcie I’ll meet with her for a consultation.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful to hear,” her mother said, and Nicole had to smile. It was so hard to please her, after all.

“Give her my number and tell her to call me to set something up.”

“You won’t regret it.”

Nicole laughed, but inside she wondered if that was true.

***

The next day, Red invited seven of their new employees to the house for an informal brainstorming session. It was basically an all-day meeting, but Red liked to pretend they were just a bunch of cool people hanging out and shooting the breeze, having fun.

Nicole didn’t think it was all that fun. He’d asked her to take notes and she hadn’t particularly wanted to do so, even though it was probably the one thing she was most qualified for at this point.

After all, she’d taken so many notes for Edward when she worked for Jameson International—she’d finally gotten good at it.

But she found that she couldn’t keep her mind on the meeting. Red was talking about branding, positioning themselves in the marketplace, and everyone was shooting out so many ideas that Nicole kept having to ask them to repeat themselves so she could take her notes.

She felt like the lame chick at the keg party trying to collect everyone’s keys to keep them from driving drunk.

The other employees were a lot like the people she’d worked with at Jameson International—hip, attractive, some had tattoos, cool haircuts and weird clothing choices.

All of them were confident and funny and she should have enjoyed being around their energy, but all Nicole could think about was her wedding.

What she wanted to be doing right now was planning her wedding, she realized.

Unfortunately, Red needed her help with this new venture and she’d committed to it already.

When they went on break to relax for a few minutes before dinner (which would be followed by a “night session” of even more work discussion), Red pulled Nicole aside.

The seven employees drifted out of the large conference room and toward the kitchen/verandah area, where everyone tended to congregate on breaks.

“Nicole, what’s up with you today?” Red asked her. He was fully in work mode now, she thought. Dressed in his best Armani, his hair perfectly styled, his presence magnetic and commanding—like a different person than the man she’d come to feel so close to after the miscarriage.

“What’s up with me?” she asked, feeling offended even though she knew she wasn’t at her best. “I’m just taking notes like you asked me to.”

Red put his hands on his hips and kept his voice low, but firm. “You look bored.”

She bit her bottom lip. “Is it bad if I’m actually kind of bored today?”

“Yeah. It’s really bad. Your attitude is blatantly obvious and I don’t want the staff to pick up on that. You’re supposed to be my partner in this thing, and I kind of get the feeling lately that you couldn’t possibly care less about it.”

She shook her head. “Of course I care.”

“But?”

“But I’m a little distracted with the wedding stuff. I really want to get to planning but I have no time with these day and night meetings.”

Red sighed, exasperated. “The wedding stuff shouldn’t be that complicated. It’s going to be small, right?”

Nicole looked around as if there were someone behind her who might be able to better answer the question. “I can’t tell you what it’s going to be until I take some time to actually figure out who we should invite and where I want to have the ceremony and reception.”

“Listen, I need you to be present with me,” he said. “If you can’t do that, then maybe we need to find someone who can.”

She stared at him and he stared back at her. It felt as though they had come to an impasse. “Can I just take some time off here and there so I can start planning our wedding?

It’s only two months away and I haven’t done a thing.”

He crossed his arms. “How much time do you need?”

“I don’t know exactly.”

“Well, we need to figure this out, Nicole.”

“I feel like you really don’t give a shit about our wedding,” she said.

“Of course I care. But I told you that I’m entrusting that process to you, so I can concentrate on getting my business on track. That’s the thing that pays for the wedding, you know.”

“I know. Of course I know.”

He sighed. “I’m not sure why you’re upset with me. I told you we can do it how you want, spare no expense. You said you wanted traditional, but small—about fifty people. Great. And now it’s like you need more, more, more from me.”

“I need some time to actually start getting it all arranged.”

“Fine. Let’s find you a replacement so you can focus on the wedding planning.”

She thought about it. “So I’m fired?”

“No,” he laughed. “I’m not firing my partner and my wife.”

“Then what?”

“You’re taking a temporary leave, a sabbatical. Once the wedding and honeymoon are over, you come back into whatever role you want to come back to.”

She looked at the floor. “Why do I feel as though I let you down?”

“Come here,” he said, bringing her close and hugging her. “You’re not letting me down. I love you more than life itself and you could never disappoint me. I’m sorry if I’ve been distant about the wedding. I’ll do better.”

She laughed as he smooched her cheek. “I’m being wedding obsessed, which I know is annoying. I’ll tone it down. And now that I’m going to have plenty of time to get ready for it, I already feel calmer.”

“Good,” he smiled. “So it’s settled then.”

“Yes.”

They walked out of the conference room together and Nicole wondered if things could ever really be settled in this fast-paced world they lived in. But she knew they were both trying, which was all she could ask.

***

Marcie Tilly was a firecracker of a woman, and Nicole had to admit that she liked her right away. She was a big, blustery woman with a booming laugh that could shake the room when she unleashed it, which was often.

“Oh my goodness, I just love this house,” she shrieked as she came inside with her huge purse and her binders and bags and assorted wedding planner gear. It even seemed like she had one of those Paula Dean Southern twangs to her accent—except Nicole was fairly certain that Marcie had grown up in Syracuse.

“Thanks, Marcie,” she said, laughing.

“So where’s the man?” Marcie replied, looking around. “He is one hot tamale, honey. I am so proud of you for snagging a prime piece of meat like that.”

Nicole laughed into her hand, feeling both embarrassed and also relieved that it wasn’t going to be some stuffy, boring consultation. Knowing her mother, she would have expected Marcie to be uptight and rule conscious to the extreme. In fact, Marcie seemed not to care much what Nicole thought of her.

She seemed to be interested in having a laugh and planning a kick ass wedding, which was what Nicole truly wanted.

They went to the living room and sat down together, and Marcie proceeded to ask Nicole a series of sharp, intelligent questions about what kind of wedding she wanted. It was a relief, Nicole thought, to not have to come up with the questions and the answers all on her own.

When she got tense, Marcie sensed it and lightened the mood with a silly joke.

And Nicole got tense when they started discussing the guest list.

“So,” Marcie said, chuckling. “How many people do we want at this fiesta?”

“I was thinking fifty.”

The wedding planner’s eyes widened. “Fifty.”

“Is that bad?”

Marcie shrieked laughter. “Bad? Honey, nothing’s bad or wrong when it comes to weddings. I’ve seen people go to the alter dressed as cartoon characters. These days, it definitely isn’t one size fits all.”

“Oh,” Nicole said, relieved. “It’s just—you looked surprised.”

“The thing is this,” Marcie said. “I know from talking to your mom that you have a big family. And lots of family friends.”

Nicole took a deep breath. “Mom talked to you about my guest list?”

Marcie laughed. “Honey, does your mother ever not talk when she has an opinion?”

“She always has an opinion, but I’m not comfortable with you being swayed by it.”

“Enough said. I will make sure to put her on ignore when she starts going on a big wedding tangent.” Marcie smiled. “At the same time, I’m just going to tell you that you’re in a unique position.”

“Okay…”

Marcie clapped her hands together. “You said that you’re not on any particular budget, and that your husband trusts you to put this wedding together and just not bother him about it so he can work. Am I right so far?”

“Yes. I mean, I’m not comfortable spending ridiculous amounts of money just to spend it, just to show off.”

“And I’m not saying you should, sweetheart. Not at all. What I will tell you is that you can afford to invite your family, your extended family, and friends. Most of the time when people do a small affair, its at least in part due to the prohibitive cost of feeding folks and serving alcohol and having seats and room for so many people.”

Nicole licked her lips, suddenly uncertain. “I guess.”

“The other reason to have a really small wedding is if that’s just what makes you comfortable, and you want an intimate affair without all of the bells and whistles. People often choose this when they do a destination wedding or if they elope.”

“I suppose I’m sort of in the middle.”

Marcie’s expression grew serious. “Oh, honey. When it comes to weddings, you better not be in the middle, you better know what you want. Being undecided when it comes to your guest list is like standing in the center of a bull ring and swinging a big red cape around and hoping the bull don’t come stampeding right over you.”

Nicole laughed at the image. “I don’t see how.”

“Because,” Marcie said, her voice falling to a whisper. “People want to be offended and they want to find things to complain about and blame you for.” She pointed at Nicole.

“When you’re weak and indecisive, the vultures sense it and they come circling. You need to be strong and you need to know what you want and why you want it. If you want a small, fifty person wedding, you should already know who you’re inviting and why. But it seems to me that you just basically picked that number out of a hat.”

Nicole sat back, surprised. Marcie might have been large and brash and loud, but she was more perceptive than she’d led Nicole to believe at first glance. “I suppose I did just pick it at random. It sounded small and intimate and understated.”

“Nothing wrong with any of that. But why are you going to exclude so many people? Do you not want to declare your intentions before friends and family and community?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then why so small?”

Nicole sat there. “I—I really have no idea.”

Marcie smiled brightly at her and patted her purse. “Listen, I don’t want to take up any more of your time. I’ve had an absolute blast coming here and talking with you. Of course this is a free consultation.”

“I appreciate that, Marcie, and I so appreciate you coming all the way out here just to chat with me.”

“It’s my business,” Marcie replied, standing up with some trouble. “Why don’t you think over what we talked about today, and then you can let me know what you’ve decided? I’d love to work with you and help make your wedding exactly the kind of day that you dream it will be. And if you decide to go in a different direction, I will sincerely wish the best for you.” She started for the exit. “Of course, I’ll be sad that I never got to lay eyes on that big hunk of man meat you call a fiancé.” She roared with laughter again as they left.

They hugged outside the house and Nicole watched the large woman hoisting herself into her station wagon. “You call me anytime, day or night, honey!” she yelled out, before starting the car and driving down the private way and out of sight.

Nicole stared after her, smiling but also puzzled. Half of her positively loved Marcie’s energy, but there was something about the woman that made her distinctly uncomfortable as well. She couldn’t really put her finger on it.

Maybe I just need to talk to Red, she thought.

But when Red came out of his meeting, he was with two of his new employees.

Talking, laughing. He saw Nicole and waved her over. “Hey,” he said, obviously in full-on business mode, as usual these days. “Are you finished with the wedding planner?”

“Yeah,” she said. “She was really surprisingly cool!”

“Oh, good. You have time to run with me to the office and conduct a few interviews for your replacement?”

The two employees looked uncomfortable, as if he was telling her she was being let go right in front of them.

“You mean my temporary replacement.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. Do you have time to come with me right now?”

“Sure. Can we have a talk on the way about wedding stuff?”

He glanced at his co-workers. “I was hoping me and the guys could keep riffing on the way to Hartford. We’re on a roll.”

“Come on, Red. I just want a little time.”

He sighed. “Sure. Of course.”

So the two employees got in their own car and Red and Nicole took Red’s car into the city.

Red was staring straight ahead at the road. Nicole felt completely distant from him, and frustrated that he’d pulled away from her once again. “I really like Marcie,” she said, as they approached Route 84.

“The wedding planner from Syracuse,” he said, doubtfully.

“Yes, she’s from Syracuse. That doesn’t mean she’s a total rube. I think you’d like her. She’s hysterically funny.”

“What about the planner I told you about? The one who does all the celebrity weddings?”

Nicole tried to find room in her mind for that possibility. “I could talk to her, I guess.”

“Don’t do me any favors. I was just thinking it might be best to go with a known quantity. I mean, other than your mom recommending her—what do you really know about her ability to do the job?”