Then You Happened by Sandi Lynn
I slammed my hand down on the button to turn the annoying-as-hell alarm off. I stretched slowly and my legs still ached. But not as bad as yesterday. I stepped into the shower and when I walked out from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me, I saw Cameron going up the spiral staircase.
“Good morning,” I yelled.
“Morning,” I heard him say.
I kept the towel wrapped tight as I climbed up the staircase and saw Cameron with his tool box.
“I thought you were doing the bathroom today?”
“Paolo is going to finish up the one that’s almost done and I’ve hired two other guys to start the tear out in the other bathroom. While they’re doing that, I’ll start your office. Things will get done a lot quicker that way or else I’ll be here forever.”
Forever didn’t sound too bad to me. I liked having him around. He was a fun friend.
“Oh, okay. Are you all right? You seem off.”
“I’m good, Sierra. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do,” he said as he walked by me and down the stairs.
I didn’t know how to feel at that moment. He was pissed off about something. I could tell. I stepped into my closet and pulled out my light pink Prada suit. As I was changing, Kirsty walked in.
“Where are you? Rosa said you hadn’t been downstairs yet.”
“In my closet. I’m getting dressed,” I said as I walked out.
“Wow, is that new?” Kirsty asked.
“Sort of. I just haven’t worn it yet.”
“I love the short skirt with the longer jacket. You look hot, girlfriend.”
I gave her a small smile as I slipped my feet into my Prada platform pumps.
“What’s wrong? You look majorly bummed.”
“I’m just thinking about this dinner with the clan tonight. Do me a favor and book a mani/pedi for later.”
“Already did. Did you think I was going to let you go the country club when your feet were shoved in hiking boots and your hands were roughing it on rocks?”
“I knew firing you wasn’t a good idea.” I smiled. “Also, call Neiman Marcus and have them send some cocktail dresses to the house around three o’clock.”
“You have a shit load of dresses in there,” she said as she pointed to my closet. “And I’m pretty sure more than half of them still have the tags on.”
“I’m in the mood for something new. So do as you’re told and call Paul. Tell him that I’m going to the country club with Delia for dinner and he’ll know exactly what to send over.”
“If you say so, boss.”
Cameron was sitting at the table, eating pancakes. He looked up at me, looked down, and then looked at me again. I think he liked my suit.
“Good morning, all,” Paolo said as he walked in.
Everyone said good morning and Rosa handed him a plate of pancakes. As he was on his way to the table, he stopped and looked at my shoes.
“Nice Pradas.” He smiled.
“Thank you, Paolo.”
As soon as he sat down, Cameron looked at him and shook his head. “I don’t even want to know how you know her shoes are Prada.”
I took a sip of my coffee and my phone beeped with a text message from Royce.
“Hey, baby. I hope you’re wearing something extra sexy for after our meeting. I think your desk is calling for some action.”
Shit. Fuck. Shit. I looked at Kirsty, who was sitting next to James and staring at him as he ate.
“Do I have a meeting with Royce today?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He called the other day and said he needed to go over some figures with you, and he wanted to meet ASAP.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll take care of this.”
I pulled up my contacts and scrolled until I found Royce. I hit the call button and waited patiently for him to answer.
“Hello, gorgeous,” he answered.
“Royce, darling. I’m sending Wayne over to your office for the meeting. I have a doctor’s appointment today and I won’t be able to attend.”
“Are you all right?”
“I don’t know. I’m on my period and I’m bleeding all over the place. Ugh. It’s such a mess. Tampons aren’t plugging it up and pads aren’t absorbing like they’re supposed to. It’s a disaster area down there. Oh, and the odor is unbelievable. Poor Kirsty can’t stand to be within a few feet of me. It’s utterly embarrassing, so I need to have it checked out. But no worries. Wayne is the expert and he’ll report back to me. Have a good day, Royce.”
There was a moment of what I assumed was speechlessness on the other end.
“You too. Good luck with your problem.”
“Thank you. We’ll talk soon.” Click.
I looked over at the table. Kirsty was hysterically laughing, James was shaking his head, Cameron just stared at me in disbelief, and Paolo was smiling and saying how much he loved me.
“Sorry if I offended anyone, but he had it coming.”
“Ha ha. He thought he was going to be coming, all right!” Kirsty laughed.
Chapter 28
Cameron
Paolo needed my help with some wiring in the bathroom before I went up and started working on Sierra’s office.
“Dude, I noticed at breakfast you were acting weird with Sierra. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Something is, man. I’m not dumb and I know when a guy is giving a girl the cold shoulder and that’s exactly what it looked like to me.”
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I really like her and she didn’t tell me something and now I’m pissed off.”
I didn’t know if I should tell him or not, but I felt like I needed to talk to someone about it.
“What didn’t she tell you?”
“That her ex moved back to L.A.”
“Why does it matter if she told you or not? Are the two of you in a relationship? Because the last time I heard, it was a friends-with-benefits-type of arrangement.”
“It matters because we’re friends. Don’t you think that’s something she should have mentioned?”
“I don’t know. If you were in a serious relationship, yes. But you’re not, so drop it.”
“Thanks, Paolo. I appreciate these little talks we have. Now, if you’re done needing my help, I’m going up to the office.”
“Sorry, man. Sometimes the truth hurts,” he said as I walked away.
I walked down the hall and entered her bedroom to get up to her soon-to-be office. Maybe Paolo was right; it wasn’t my business about her ex. I stood in front of the window and looked out over the hills. It was beautiful, especially this early in the morning. As I was taking in the view and thinking, I heard Rosa’s voice behind me.
“Excuse me, Builder Boy, but I overheard you and Builder Boy Two talking. One thing you should know about me is that I make everything my business. So as long as you’re in this house, get used to it.”
I smiled at her as she stood next to me. “I don’t want to talk about it, Rosa.”
“I have a few things to say on the matter and you’re going to listen. You don’t have to talk about it, but I am. Kirsty told me that pompous ass moved back here and, believe me, I’m not happy about it. It took a lot for Sierra to come back from what he did and I’m not even sure if she’s completely back yet. I worked for her father for years and I watched Sierra grow. Seven years of her life she gave to that man, if that’s what you want to call him. I prefer to call him a dick wad.”
I chuckled because coming from Rosa and hearing her say that in her accent was funny.
“I watched her shut down more and more every day. So, forgive her for not telling you that he’s back. If she were to tell you, it would be admitting something that she’s not ready for, or thinks she’s not ready for. I like you and I like you and Sierra together. You fit nicely together.”
“We’re total opposites, Rosa. I’m not sure we fit at all.”
“You
Rosa was right; Sierra was damaged in more than one way. I know if I had a mother like Delia, I’d be emancipating myself.
****
Sierra
I sat in my chair and faced the window as I looked out over the city of Los Angeles. Between thinking about how weird Cameron was acting and having dinner with Delia, I was about to go insane. I got up from my chair and walked over to my bar area. I grabbed the bottle of Kahlua and poured it in my empty coffee cup. Oops, I forgot the coffee. Oh well. As I was sipping it, Sasha came through on the intercom to let me know that Don was here to see me. What the hell was he doing here? I went to my desk and looked at my appointments. He wasn’t on the schedule.
“Tell Don that I’m busy at the moment and he doesn’t have an appointment.”
Suddenly, my office door opened and he came barreling through it. I sighed and cocked my head as I sat down behind my desk.
“What’s going on, Don? How dare you just waltz in here like you own the place!”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Then talk,” I said as I looked at the time on my phone. “You have about fifteen minutes. I have a massage scheduled and I’ll be damned if I’m going to miss it.”
“I can massage you,” he said.
“Fourteen minutes.”
“Okay. Okay. Marta Clareheart is blackmailing me.”
“Why the hell would she do that?”
“Because I didn’t tell her about Milania and now she’s out for revenge. Apparently, she’s in love with me.”
Why the hell would she do something stupid like that?
“She told me that I better sign over all my accounts to her advertising firm or she’s going public with our little affair we had going on. I hope you’re not jealous.”
Jesus Christ, he makes me laugh.
“If I am jealous, Don. I’ll get over it. Trust me. If you hand over all your accounts to her, then we wouldn’t be servicing you anymore, which would mean a great loss of money for this agency.
The lesser of two evils. Decisions. Decisions.
“Let me ask you this. Why would you fuck her?”
He leaned back in his chair and brought his ankle up to his thigh. “Because she’s hot as fuck and I wanted to sample her. Then the samples became appetizers, and the appetizers became full course meals.”
“Spare me the details,” I said as I waved my hands in front of my face.
“Please, Sierra. I know you’re young, but you have that fire that your dad had, and I know you can help me on this.”
“What makes you think that she’d listen to me?”
“You’re scary sometimes.”
Oh, I liked that he thought of me as scary. I gently smiled at him. “What’s in it for me?”
“I knew you’d ask that. Well, for one, you’d get to keep my accounts and all the money I pay your agency.”
“Keep going,” I said.
“I would never bother you sexually again. You would have my word on that. Even if it does kill me to say it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Please, Sierra. I know you can do this. She’s competition and you’re bigger than her. You can crush her. In fact, you can buy her agency.”
“You’ll never text me inappropriate things again? You’ll never say sexually harassing things to me either?”
“I promise. You have my word. And when the king gives his word, it’s solid.”
“You better keep that promise or else I’ll crush your little world, Don.”
“Thank you, Sierra. I knew I could count on you.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Now get out of here. I have a massage to get to.”
“Please, just one kiss on the cheek to seal the deal.”
I sighed as I pointed to my cheek and he softly kissed it one last time forever.
“Thanks, Sierra. You really are a good friend.”
****
Kirsty and I walked down the street to the spa where our massages were scheduled. I’d been going to Nathan for a couple of years. His hands were a work of God and he was the best at his job. Kirsty and I lay on our tables, which were side by side, in nothing but towels covering us.
“Hey, Sierra,” Nathan said as he and Nolan walked into the room. “Any concerns?”
“I went hiking. That’s concern enough.”
I heard him laugh. “You went hiking? Why?”
“Long story. Now work your magic and heal my poor aching body.”
As we were basking in the glory of strong hands upon our flesh, Kirsty looked over at me.
“Cameron knows about Ryan.”
“What? How?”
“Raul mentioned it yesterday during the tuxedo fitting. Apparently, Ryan was in the shop earlier this week and told him that he moved back.”
“Shit.”
“I think it upset him that you knew and didn’t tell him.”
“Ah. So that’s why he was acting strange last night and today.”
“Why wouldn’t you tell him?”
“Why would I? We aren’t in a relationship and it doesn’t concern him. I wouldn’t care if his ex-girlfriend moved here. I wouldn’t expect him to tell me.”
“Bullshit, Sierra. You care about Cameron more than you’re willing to admit.”
“No, I don’t. That’s not how I operate; you know that.”
“I know you. And I knew you before Ryan. So I do know how you operate.”
“I don’t want to talk about this. I have enough on my mind with this dinner tonight. I don’t need you telling me what I should or shouldn’t do.”
“Okay. I’ll wait until tomorrow.” She smiled.
“Then tomorrow is the day that I fire you.”
She rolled her eyes and turned her head the other way. I lay there as Nathan worked his magical hands over my body and I thought way too much about Cameron.
After our massage, we headed for our manicures and pedicures. Instead of talking, Kirsty was doing business, heading off messages that weren’t important to me. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost time for my dresses to be delivered. We climbed in the limo and headed back to the house. I didn’t ask Kirsty about her and James because it was awkward for me. Two of my employees fucking each other. They didn’t act like they were in some type of relationship during work hours, but they were seeing each other at night. As I walked into the house, the Neiman Marcus truck pulled up in the driveway. A big smile spread across my face. It was time to shop.
“Good to see you, Sierra,” Paul said as he kissed both my cheeks. I brought you some goodies.” He smiled.
“You can set up shop in the living room. I’ll be there in a minute. There’s something I need to take care of.”
I followed the banging sound up the stairs, into my bedroom, and then up the spiral staircase. Cameron was pounding away at some two by fours he put up.
“Hey,” I said nervously as I stood in the doorway.
“Hey,” he replied as he turned around.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Yeah. What’s up?” he asked as he continued hammering away.
“Do you think you could stop doing that for a minute?”
He stopped pounding and turned around and looked at me. “Okay.”
“I know you know that Ryan moved back to Los Angeles, and I should have told you when I found out and I didn’t and I’m sorry.”
“It’s none of my business, Sierra.”
“But you’re mad. I can tell because you’ve had an attitude with me since yesterday.”
“Nah, you’re imagining things. I don’t have an attitude with you.”
“Yes, you do. Just admit it,??
“Okay, fine. Yeah, I am pissed off that you didn’t tell me. It obviously upset you and I thought you trusted me enough to open up to me. We’re friends, Sierra, and I’m here for you.”
At that moment, I felt like a complete bitch. I had hurt his feelings because I didn’t talk about mine. I walked over to him and took the hammer out of his hand and set it down. I took hold of both his hands and looked into his green eyes.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to erase the fact that he’s back. If I talked about it, then it would make it real to me. I don’t want it to be real. So if I don’t talk about it, then it’s not. You can thank Delia for giving me that trait.”
“Come here,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him. “I understand. I really do and I’m sorry that I gave you an attitude. I had no right,” he said as he kissed the top of my head.
“Are we good?” I asked as my arms tightened around his muscular back.
“We’re good.” He smiled as he broke our embrace and kissed my lips.
“I have to some shopping to do downstairs.”
“Huh?”
“Paul from Neiman Marcus brought over some dresses for me to look at for tonight. Would you like to come down and help me pick something?”
“Surprise me.” He smiled.
I went downstairs and then I examined all the dresses Paul brought. Kirsty was in heaven and James was sitting on the couch, watching her. Rosa emerged from the kitchen with lemonade for everyone and sat down next to James while I decided which dress to buy.
“They’re all amazing.”
“Well, I have one more that I haven’t shown you yet,” Paul said with excitement.
He unzipped the ivory garment bag and took out a Valentino sleeveless, side-draped dress in red. My eyes just about popped out of their sockets. I held it up to me and looked in the full-length mirror that he had brought with him.