Knight in Shining Suit (17 page)

I didn’t see Ryder again,
but I wanted to. I was hanging out at Oil Rig with my friends,
always on the lookout for him.

“
He really got under your
skin, didn’t he?” John asked me once.

“
No. I just wanted to see
him and ask him how he is,” I lied. In truth, I think Ryder really
did get under my skin that night I got under the sheets with him.
Well, of course, who forgets their first? Maybe the types like
Geena do, but I’m nothing like her. I had a momentary lapse of
values; I gave in to one night of wonderful passion with my knight
in shining Armani. How is that easy to forget?

“
Why don’t you call him
then?” he asked.

I did try to call Ryder.
Once a day, I would stare at his number on my phone, make up a
conversation in my head. I thought I would start by asking if he’s
on duty at Oil Rig tonight and then conveniently plan a night out
there with my friends so I could run into him. But I always
chickened out. And so far, once a week, I have been with my friends
at Oil Rig, and he was never there. It made me wonder if he still
worked there. But I was too afraid to ask his fellow
bartenders.

“
I can’t believe he
refused to accept the ten grand,” Dannie said. “He could use it.” I
wondered the same thing too. “Unless, you slept with him and he
felt guilty about taking the money.”

Somehow, that comment
irritated me so much that I wanted to slap Dannie across the face.
But I prevented myself from doing so because I knew that it
bothered me because… it was the truth. Sometimes, I think that
maybe he didn’t take the money because he already took so much from
me.

He may not be rich, but
Ryder was a stand-up guy. He was a gentleman and that made me
admire him all the more. So much more that it made
me
feel guilty about
sleeping with him. If it weren’t for that, he would have taken the
money, and there was no reason for him not to. He needed it as much
as I did. Especially after renting an expensive suit, an expensive
car, and a luxury hotel room.

I stared at the ring on my
finger again. Well, at least the ring didn’t cost him much. Still,
I knew it cost him a couple of bucks, while he got nothing from me.
Well, just my virginity.

I had been trying to look
for a new job, but somehow, the job market was not hiring people
with my skills. I was already beginning to feel restless. Pretty
soon, all the money I had set aside would be gone.

“
You can always come back
and ask Fiona to give you your job back,” Nicole said to
me.

“
I made her a millionaire,
Nic. And she treated me like crap, not even giving me some
consideration since she knew what I have been going through
anyway!” I said.

“
Pride!” Dannie rolled his
eyes. “Are you happy to live off Adam’s charity for the rest of
your life?”

I sighed. “I’ll find
something soon.”

When I got home that night
though, I realized I was not as confident as I thought I was.
Moreover, I realized that I was slowly getting scared. Weddings had
been my life and if I didn’t believe in dreams coming true or
in
ever afters
, I
don’t have anything.

I was sitting at Adam’s
deck, drinking light beer when he joined me.

“
How’s my favorite cousin
doing?”

I groaned. “I’m still a
bum as you can see. Nothing seems to be available in the market. I
mean, weddings are lucrative, but these companies are not hiring at
the moment. One wanted me so much, but felt I was overqualified. I
told them I’m fine with starting at the bottom; they said they
couldn’t do that to me. Sure! They would rather have me living in
the streets!”

He took a deep breath.
Then he said to me, “I have a client...”

“
Sure you do!
Congratulations,” I said dryly.

He snorted. “Listen before
you comment please.”

I giggled. “Alright, fine.
Attorney Adam Ackers, you have a client, and so?”

“
He wanted to invest in
something,” Adam said. And for the first time, I thought he was
having some difficulty in composing his sentences.

“
If you want my advice,
Adam… I can’t give you any. I’m struggling with my own life as it
is.”

“
What happened to listen
first before you comment?” he asked in an irritated
tone.

“
Alright, fine!” I
giggled.

Adam took a deep breath
and then he said. “He… has some extra cash, and he didn’t want to
put it in a bank or on time deposit. He wanted to invest in a
business venture, which he thinks is lucrative, but he doesn’t have
any idea about it. He asked me if I knew someone who knows how to
manage the business.”

I stared blankly at Adam,
waiting for him to finish his story. He stared back at
me.

“
Now, what?” I
asked.

He sighed. “It’s wedding
planning.”

“
Oh!” I said, realizing
now why he is telling me all this.

“
Interested?”

“
To work for him? Yes!” I
said excitedly.

“
Not just work for him,
Astrid,” Adam said. “He wants no part in managing it. He’s just the
capitalist. He needs a partner who will start the business, manage
it, and work on it. An industrial partner. He will be the main
owner, but he needs someone to do the dirty work. And he needs
someone who has a lot of experience in this industry; who knows
this business from top to bottom. Who already has contacts out
there, and possibly who has a good track record in this type of
business.”

I couldn’t feel my legs,
literally. My hands were shaking and I could actually hear my heart
pounding against my chest.

“
Adam, Adam! Are you
kidding me?”

Adam took a gulp of his
beer. “I wish I was,” he murmured.

“
Oh, my God! But that is
huge!”

Adam nodded. “You’re not
scared, are you? I mean, I thought you were pretty
good.”

“
I think I am! But I
haven’t managed a firm before!”

“
But you did do weddings
before.”

“
It’s my life, Adam. I
made Fiona rich!”

“
Well then now, make
somebody else rich! Including yourself.”

My hands went to my face
and I could feel how hot my face was.

“
I don’t know if I can do
it! I don’t know if I can make it that big!”

Adam reached for my hand
and squeezed it.

“
You have nothing to lose,
Astrid.”

“
Except your investor’s
money,” I said nervously.

“
In that case, you should
be glad I’m your lawyer,” he grinned.

I sighed. It was a lot to
think about. “Can I sleep on it first?”

Adam looked at me as if I
was out of my mind. “This is a golden opportunity, Astrid. What is
there to think about?” he asked.

I sighed. “This is too
huge, Adam! I know I can do all the wedding stuff, but I don’t know
if I can do all the managing! It’s just a lot.”

Adam reached out for my
hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I believe in you, Ash. I’ve
seen Geena’s wedding. It was lovely. You have what it takes. I just
wish you’d had more courage to step up, take some risks. Explore
the world, Ash. It’s big enough.”

“
I’ll let you know
tomorrow morning.”

I couldn’t sleep that
night. Yesterday, I would have taken any job! Didn’t matter if it
was making tea for the office secretary. Now, I was being offered
the chance of a lifetime! And I didn’t know what I was going to do
about it! It was as exhilarating as it was terrifying!

I remembered Ryder. He did
encourage this dream. He told me that I had the experience; I had
the contacts, the skills, and the knowledge. I didn’t have the
capital then. But now an opportunity just presented itself. Could I
let it pass? Was I strong enough? Was I mature enough for that kind
of responsibility?

When I fell asleep that
night, I pictured a wedding, one in the middle of a resort. Lighted
balloons were floating on the shore, giving the entire shoreline a
bright light. Guests were gathered in the middle of the venue.
There was so much merriment; the place looked magical. There were
flowers everywhere.

I saw myself in the
corner. I was wearing a peach dress. I was looking at the place
contentedly. I heard the bride and the groom say their
thank yous
to the
guests.

“
And to Astrid… thank you.
For making the beginning of our ‘ever after’ so magical and
wonderful,” they said to me.

I woke up from that dream
with a big smile on my face. I knew that in spite of the pain I
still somehow felt when I thought about Bryan and Geena, I was not
the type of girl who refused to believe in ever afters. I will
always believe in that. And I will always come up with magical
ideas to make dream weddings come true.

I stood up from my bed
with renewed energy. I took a quick shower, had my breakfast and
then gave Adam a call at his office.

“
He’s in a meeting. Can I
ask him to call you back?” his secretary asked.

“
Alright.”

I paced the living room
back and forth. I went to the deck, holding the cordless phone in
my hand. I anxiously looked at my cell to see if Adam opted to call
me there instead.

After fifteen minutes and
I had not heard from Adam yet, I dialed his cell number from my
cellphone.

It took four rings before
he finally answered.

“
Have you decided yet?” he
asked.

“
You didn’t call me back!”
I said in a demanding tone.

“
Oh, I am sorry, Ma’am,
but some of us have to make a living so we can keep the apartment
that you are living in.”

I groaned. “Okay, fine.” I
took a deep breath. “So, what are the terms of this… offer? Do I
get to meet this guy? Do I give him my CV? Will he interview me
first?”

“
Well, I have already
given him your CV.”

“
How did you get a copy of
my CV?”

“
You used my laptop and
printer, didn’t you?”

“
Oh, right,” I grunted.
“So, what did he say?”

“
Well, as his executor, I
have the power to hire and fire people for him. So basically, he’s
leaving the decision up to me. But I need to submit reports to him
on a monthly basis. We need to hire a good accountant for this. He
is just interested in your expenses and your revenue. The only two
figures he will look at.”

“
B—but Adam… you know that
we might spend a lot at first to put up the business, do the
registrations, rent out an office, buy some furniture, hire one or
two assistants just to get the operation going. The business will
not start making money until after six months or maybe even a
year.”

“
He understands that. That
is also up to me to justify,” Adam said. “Don’t mess this up,
Astrid! Or we’re both going to be fired! I’m handling so many of
this guy’s investments, I can’t afford to lose my biggest
client.”

I giggled nervously. “I
know, I know! Too much pressure already, Adam!”

“
I believe in you, Ash,”
he said quietly. Then he sighed. “Anyway, the funds will be
transferred to my account next week. You can start planning. I’ll
take a look at it and see what you’re missing. I’ll take care of
setting up the business name and getting the business licenses. For
the first twelve months of your job, you’ll be getting a fixed fee
although you will own thirty percent of the company. After twelve
months, you’ll have the right to forty percent of the company’s
profit.” Then he gave me the amount of my monthly allowance. “Good
enough for you?”

I couldn’t breathe. It
was… fifty percent more than what I used to earn with Fiona. Next
year, I’d have the same amount plus forty percent of the total
profits? So it all depended on how big I could make it in one
year.

“
Are you still there,
Astrid?”

“
Yeah, yeah.” I breathed.
“That’s perfect, Adam!”

“
Good. And you’ll have
full hiring and firing powers. I’m the only one who has the right
to fire you though.”

I laughed. “I won’t let
you down, Adam.”

He chuckled, “I’ll draw up
the papers so you can sign them when I get home.”

Because I still couldn’t
believe it was all happening, I stood up from my seat and I let out
a loud shriek.

***

It had been a busy week
for me. I spent most of my time at home, drawing up the proposal to
submit to Adam. I hadn’t done a whole organizational chart before,
but I was glad to learn new things.

At the beginning, I
intended to have one assistant. I could train her. We would put up
our own website to give information about our company and our
services. It was going to be difficult not having a gallery of
previous jobs, but I knew we’d get there soon.