One Year Later

“What are you looking at?” Cameron asked as he joined me out outside on the wraparound porch of our luxurious beach house.

I flipped the page in the oversized book in my lap. “Pictures from our wedding.”

“Let me see.” He dropped his cell and a printed sheet of paper on a small table.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing that can’t wait.” He joined me on the porch swing, sliding his arm around my pregnant belly and resting his chin on my shoulder.

“I can’t believe you ordered such a large cake. We were only a handful of people.” My family had been brought in and a few of Cameron’s friends and coworkers had arrived to pay their respects. All in all, we were only about one hundred people, and surely not enough for the ornate, four-tiered cake he had brought in from a posh bakery in New York City.

“I know how much you like your sweets.” He rubbed his hand on my belly. “And I’m sure our little girl will like desserts as much as her mother.”

“Stop it,” I swatted his hands away. “It’s only been three months. We won’t know the sex of the baby for several weeks yet.”

“I know.” He slid his hand back over my stomach. “I have a feeling, though.”

“A feeling?”

“There are a lot of women in my family,” he said, referring to his many female cousins. “You have to admit that the odds are favoring a girl.”

I closed the wedding album and set it aside. “Would you be upset if it was a boy?”

“Of course not.” He nuzzled my neck. “Either way, I’m sure the baby will be perfect, just like you.”

“Flirt,” I joked as he kissed my cheek.

“Always.”

“Hey, I have the initial numbers from your new ad campaign.”

“Our new ad campaign,” he whispered as he nibbled on my ear.

“No, your ad campaign. You’re my client, remember?” I placed my palm on his chest and eased him away.

He groaned and leaned his head back on the swing. “Can’t work wait?”

I couldn’t help but smile at his impatience. “This account is very important to me. It’s my first real ad campaign.”

He tilted his head toward me. “And it was the most unique and daring campaign I’ve seen in a long time.” He threaded his arms around me once more. “I knew you had it in you.”

I chuckled. “Well, the response has been great. Off the charts. People really seem to love the clothing line.”

“Who would have guessed that a simple internet meme would have brought in so much business?”

“I can’t believe it went viral so fast. Normally it takes time to cultivate these things. Make sure it is seen in the right places…by the right people. What are you doing?”

“Thanking you.” Cameron kissed me neck, causing tingles of awareness to spread out over my skin.

“You’re insatiable.”

“Always.” Cameron groaned as his cell started to buzz. “I’m sorry, but I’ve been waiting for this phone call.”

“No problem.” I smirked as he pulled out his phone and walked to the other side of the porch to talk to one of his colleagues.

As he started talking, I moved to grab the wedding album, but then the piece of paper Cameron brought me caught my eye.

Frowning, I picked up the paper and started to read. It was an article Cameron had printed from the Huffington Post about my old company, Williams and Chase.

The author was Janet Kingsley, the very ad executive who had given me such a hard time during my internship. Evidently, Janet was complaining about how she had been fired from the company and replaced by someone who was half her age. She complained about how hard she had worked, and how unfair the advertising business could be.

I probably should have felt vindicated over how such a horrible person got what she deserved. Instead, I felt mostly pity. All her life, Janet had clawed and back-stabbed people to find her place in the agency. Now she had been replaced by someone who was several years younger. Janet had sacrificed everything for that company, and in the end Williams and Chase had turned their backs on her just like they had turned their backs on me.

“You found the article, I see,” Cameron said as he sat next to me.

“I did.” I placed the paper back on the table.

“I thought you might find it interesting.”

“Interesting—yes. I also find it a bit sad.”

“How so?”

I slid my arms around his neck. “It’s sad that Janet didn’t find someone to lean on like I did. All she had in life was her job, and in the end, the very people she was trying to impress tossed her aside like yesterday’s garbage.”

“Yes. It puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?”

“Absolutely.” I kissed his nose. “I’m so lucky I found you.”

“Not as lucky as I am.” He brushed his lips against mine. “I don’t know what I’d ever do without you, Sadie. You and this baby mean the world to me.”

“And you mean the world to us,” I said right before he kissed me.

“I’m glad to hear it. Now come here, Mrs. Wolff.”

I squealed as he dragged me into my lap. As his lips covered mine, I couldn’t help but think that getting fired from my first real job had been the best thing that ever happened to me.