Katie
I’m walking into work when I hear my phone chirp. Dropping my purse on my chair and my laptop bag on my desk, I dig out my phone to see a text from Shane.
Shane: Thank you for a great weekend. I’m so glad you agreed to move in with me. See you tonight.
Katie: I love you. I’m looking forward to this next phase of our relationship. Have a good day. ;-)
Smiling, I place my phone on the cordless charger. I have to leave for a meeting in about thirty minutes. Originally, I wasn’t going to come into work until later, but I wanted to grab some things, including the other file I have on this company.
I get busy organizing myself so I can get over to Anna’s Bridal Shop when I hear “What are you doing here?”
I turn to find my assistant, Evelyn, standing in the doorway. “Hey, Evelyn, did you have a good weekend?”
“I did, thank you. Is there something I can help you with? I thought you were meeting with Anna this morning?”
“Oh, I am, but I forgot the file with all the ideas we scrapped, and I want to have it with me when I get there, because if she doesn’t like what I present today, then I’m going to show her all we’ve discussed. If she can’t agree to something today, then I’m done.”
“She has been a bit of a pain.” She sips her coffee.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love a challenge, but I feel like she’s never going to agree to anything. I’m presenting a new idea for her website today, as well as some other things. We’ll see what she says.”
“Good luck. Let me know if you need anything,” she calls out over her shoulder as she leaves my office.
Taking a deep breath, I put the folders in my laptop bag. I grab my phone and walk back out the door so I can get to this meeting on time.
I pull up to Anna’s Bridal Shop. The first thing I notice is the ripped banner and awning above her shop. She needs to fix those immediately. It’s not very nice looking and her shop needs to feel loving and welcoming. She has a gorgeous shop but you drive by and cringe. I have a new slogan for her and I’m hoping she’ll work with me on it.
When you walk in, the main room is lined with every accessory a bride could need. The walls are a gorgeous pale rose color that makes the items stand out, and gives the room a nice glow. “Katie, darling, how are you?” Anna asks as she steps out from the back room.
“I’m well. Are you ready to meet? I have some great ideas for you, and I think you’re going to love them.” I give her a smile as she hugs me.
“Come.” She waves me to the back room where we’ve been meeting. On the way, she tells one of the girls she’s in a meeting, and to keep an eye on the floor. As soon as we’re in the back, she’s right to business. “Okay, what do you have for me?”
“First, you know how I feel about the storefront. We need to clean that up. I have a couple of ideas for a new slogan for you. It’s like nothing else in this area. If you agree to one of the slogans, then we’ll get to work creating a new banner or awning for you.”
She’s already looking unsure, but I show her the logo in a pretty font. It’s no ordinary day and this is no ordinary boutique or Understated elegance…unquestionable taste…uncompromising quality. I’m reading the words as she looks them over. She nods slightly as she’s thinking it over. “I think I may like them. What would you do with the one I choose?”
“Well, we would either create a sign for the front of the store and take down the awning, or come up with a way to incorporate the new slogan into the storefront, keeping the awning and matching it and the sign.”
“It’s probably cheaper to take down the awning than replace it,” she says as she rolls her eyes.
Here we go. She’s worrying about cost again. This has been the ongoing battle. “I would think so, and if you take down the awning, it gives us more flexibility for signs. If you agree to one of the slogans, then we can get to work on the sign and have your website up and running to match. Everything needs to blend together.”
“The sign and website need to have a very elegant feel to it. I want it to be classy.”
“I agree.” Pulling out a binder, I start showing her some ideas that I’ve already come up with. They’re in different color blends and levels of elegance.
She finally gasps. “I love this.” It’s a blend of black, gray, and lavender. I make a note that she likes this color combo. “I want this font, though.” She points to a font on a different page. I nod and make some more notes.
“Okay, so we will be working with you on creating a new logo with your new slogan, as well as creating your website for you. Are you going to update your website yourself, or do you want us to manage it for you?”
“Katie, you know I’m technology challenged. I need you to manage it, but I also need to do this as inexpensively as possible.”
“I understand, but you have to remember doing this should bring in more money, making this more affordable. No offense, but if you leave the front of your shop looking the way it does, people are going to continue to drive by. Once it’s all done, we’ll come up with an event to bring people in and show them the new version of Anna’s Bridal Shop. Also, with us managing your site it will be one of the top websites to pop up on any search engine. Every time someone searches anything to do with a wedding in this area, your shop will come up.” I’m finally confident she’s going to say yes.
She’s biting her lip, and I can see the wheels of her mind spinning as she contemplates what to do. “I don’t know, Katie. It’s expensive.”
“Well, Anna, if you can’t agree to something today, then I’m sorry but I’m going to have to move on to other clients. I can’t continue spending time creating ideas only for you to decline them. I’m here for you when you’re ready.” I start gathering my things, proud that I’ve held my ground.
“Wait, you’re just going to leave?”
“Anna, I adore you. You’re a sweet woman and I see how hard you work here in your shop. I’ve done everything I can to help you in the cheapest way possible, but if you’re not willing to sign a contract, then I have to call it quits. I can’t work for free. My boss won’t allow it.” I sling my bag over my shoulder and start toward the door.
She sighs. “Fine, I’ll sign the contract. Don’t leave.” She sounds nervous and panicked.
I turn to her with a smile. “You won’t regret this. You know we’re the best in the area.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she says with laughter. “What comes next?”
“Well, I’ll draw up the contract and you’ll sign it. Then, I’ll get together with my partner in the design department to create your new logo, with the slogan of your choice. I’ll email you a few options to choose from, along with prices for different sign options we can use. In the meantime, our web design team will be working on your website using the color scheme you chose and the font you want.”
“What do they need from me?”
“I need you to email me exactly what you want on your website. Include things like the designers you have in the shop with pictures of some dresses.”
“Should I take pictures of mannequins?”
“Yes, I would do the top dresses of the season. If you have images of the upcoming season, make sure to include those, but be sure to specify which ones are this season’s and which are next season. That way the web team has them to update when necessary.”
“All right,” she says as she makes some notes. “I’ll also be sure to do the same for bridesmaid dresses.”
“Absolutely. You also have a great selection of accessories and you want to point that out, so do the same thing for those.” She continues jotting down notes.
“When do you need all this?”
“Well the sooner you get them to me and sign the contract, the sooner we can get started. I’m hoping to have you all set before wedding season picks up again.”
“Thank you, Katie. I know I’ve been a bit of a pain, but this was a tough decision for me.”
“I’m sure it was, but you need to invest if you want to grow.”
“You’re very right.”
We shake hands. “You’ll have the contract in your email within the next few hours.”
“Thanks again,” she says as she walks me to the door.
As soon as I’ve pulled away from the front of the shop, I squeal with excitement. I’m proud I stood my ground, and it worked to get her to realize that I mean business. Now I have a new contract and an idea on where she wants to go. She actually looked quite relieved when she finally committed to working with us. I think she was stressing too much.
As soon as I pull up to the office building, I go straight to Tanya’s office with a huge grin on my face. Her door is shut, but I don’t care. I want to tell her the good news so I knock, hoping she’ll tell me to come in. Sure enough, I hear her shout from the other side of the door. When I walk through, I see her on a conference call. She holds her finger to her lips, telling me to be quiet. I take a seat and say nothing while she finishes up. It only takes two minutes before she cuts the call.
“Thank you. That call should have been done thirty minutes ago. You saved me,” she says.
I smile at her. “Glad I could help. I figured you’d want to know that I finally did it. Anna’s Bridal is finally on board.”
“Congrats. How’d you finally manage to get her signed on?”
“I collected my things and started to walk out. I told her to let us know when she was ready, but I wasn’t spending any more time on her project until she was ready to sign.”
Tanya laughs. “That’s great.”
“I figured you’d like that.” I stand up. “I’m going to go write up her contract and give my team an update.”
“Great job, Katie. You’ve come a long way and I’m proud of you.”
I’m giddy with excitement. “Thanks, Tanya.” I walk out of her office with a new sense of pride. This was my first client who was a real struggle. I’ve been lucky in that most of them have been ready to work with us. They knew what they wanted and expected from us, so it was only a matter of drawing up a contract and getting it done. I’m practically running down the hall when I hear, “Someone’s in a good mood.”
I smile at my friend, who is standing in the entryway to the kitchen with Kyle, sipping coffee. “I got Anna’s Bridal Shop on board.”
“It’s about damn time.” Kyle busts my chops. I stick my tongue out at him, making him laugh. “That was real mature.” He pats me on the shoulder. “Congrats, kid. Did you tell Tanya?”
“Yeah, I just came from her office.” I clap my hands. “She told me she’s proud of me.”
“Good for you.” He starts off toward his office, and Miranda and I walk down the hall. I’m filling her in on all the details of the meeting until we reach our offices. Her office is across from mine and Evelyn has a desk just outside our doors.
“I’m going to get her contract done. I’m hoping to have it back before she can change her mind, and then I have to get out of here. We have dinner with Logan and Sky tonight.”
“I’m having dinner with Stone tonight.”
“Really! Want to have lunch later this week and you can fill me in?”
“Sure.” She giggles, and we each take our seats to get back to work, but before I can focus on that, I need to text Shane.
Katie: I did it. Drawing up the contract now!
Shane: Way to go, baby! I’m so proud of you!
Katie: Thanks! See you soon!
I make quick work of drawing up this contract and sending it over. Luckily, we have a generic one on a shared drive. We just change the necessary info and send it out. Attaching it to an email, I request that she let me know once she’s received it and hit send. I have quite a few new emails so I begin to quickly go through them so I can leave here without worrying over what I left behind.
When I’m finally done and feel like I’m caught up, I gather my things to go home for the night. On my way, I bump into Evelyn, who’s also on her way out. “Heard you had a good day. Congrats,” she says.
“Thanks, Evelyn. It was a good day. Now I’m hoping when I get in tomorrow I’ll have a signed contract sitting in my email.”
She chuckles. “I hope so too, and if not then it wasn’t meant to be and you move on to your next client,” she says as we approach our cars.
“Thanks, Evelyn. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
I pull up to our place and hurry inside to change. It’s Monday night, which means dinner at Logan and Sky’s house with Jonah and Sadie. I’m so excited to see the babies. I can’t wait to get over there.
I’m running through the door when Shane greets me. “Hey, baby.” He catches me, spins me around, and says, “What’s the rush?”
“I know we have to go, but I want to change real quick,” I say.
He kisses me. “Take your time. We’re in no rush.” He places me back down on the floor.
“I’ll be two minutes.” I run off to our room to throw on some leggings and a cute top. “I can’t wait to see the babies,” I yell, but Shane scares the shit out of me.
“I’m right here. There’s no need to yell.” He’s right behind me.
I jump. “Shit, I didn’t realize you followed me. Sorry.”
“Did you think I would miss the chance to see this gorgeous body naked?” He runs his hand down my sides and over my ass.
“Behave. We’re expected at dinner.”
He laughs. “Let’s go,” he says as I slip on my ballet flats.
We have a short drive, so we use the time to catch up on our day. Shane has a new client at work who’s a whiner, and he’s telling me how she loves to complain that she’s not seeing the results she wants, but whines about working out too.
“She sounds like Anna from the bridal shop. This woman wants results but doesn’t want to pay for them.”
“Yeah, but you got her today,” he says, clearly full of pride. “I’m meeting with my client on Wednesday, and I’m going to tell her to either stop whining or stop coming. These are the clients that make me want to quit this job.”
“I’m sure they are. She’s probably rich and has had everything handed to her.”
“She has money. She’s a model or something like that, and hates to work out. She told me her agent said if she didn’t start working with a trainer, he was going to drop her.”
“She’s probably a toothpick.” I place my hand on his leg.
“She’s not a toothpick, but she’s not fat either. I’m trying to help her tone up so her agent will get off her back, but you ask her to do ten assisted pull ups and she acts like you asked her to commit murder.” I burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny. She’s so damn lazy,” he says as he parks the car. We climb out and walk up to the door, hand in hand. We’re on the list of guests allowed up so we don’t have to wait. We’re greeted by Darryl, so we both say hello and go straight to the elevator. When we get up to their apartment, Logan greets us. Walking in, we find we’re the last ones to arrive. Sky is holding Laney and Jonah is holding Stephan.
I walk into the kitchen with a huge smile on my face. “Hey.” Sky approaches us, giving us each a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
I scoop Laney from her arms and kiss her cheek. “Hey, pretty girl,” I say in my best baby voice. Jonah hands Stephan off to Sky, and the guys settle in the living room while we sit in the kitchen playing with the babies.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Michaels. I’ve changed Stephan’s bed and put all his laundry away. Your dinner will be done in thirty minutes. Is there anything else you need before I leave for the night?”
“No, thank you, Brenda. I think we’ve got it from here. Thanks for your help today.”
“It’s no problem, dear, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She says goodnight to Stephan, and bids us goodnight before she leaves for the evening.
“How do you like your nanny?” I ask.
“She’s fine. She’s a bit formal for me, but I’m going to give her a little while to loosen up and see what happens. She’s really good with Stephan, and does anything I ask without complaint.”
Suddenly, both babies start to fuss. Sadie takes Laney from me and heads into the other room to nurse. I take Stephan from Sky while she grabs a bottle from the fridge and warms it up for him, and at the same time, the oven timer goes off. The guys come in as Sky is trying to manage the bottle and the oven. “Give me the bottle, Sky.” She tosses it to me, I slip it into Stephan’s mouth, and he instantly quiets. “Who’s a hungry boy?”
“He’s always hungry,” Logan says as he comes up behind me. “Thank goodness for pumps, or you’d never give me any time with Mommy. You have to share, my friend,” he says to Stephan in his best baby voice, and we all start laughing.
“I think someone’s a bit jealous.” Shane slaps his friend on the back.
“You better believe it,” Logan admits. “He sees more of her now than I do.”
The guys start laughing at Logan’s jealousy.
The babies are fed, changed, and Stephan is in bed while Laney is sleeping in her car seat on the floor in the living room. With the baby monitors going, we sit and eat our dinner. Shane is bragging to everyone about my client today and how I handled her. That’s when Logan says, “Can you handle another client?”
“Of course. Do you have someone in mind?”
“Yeah, me. I need some help marketing the clubs. I want to get Thrive rented out on the nights we’re not open and I need to build Heat a little, but I’ve never run a strip club and it’s a bit different than running a nightclub.”
“Let me put some thought into it and I’ll get you a contract so you can see how we operate, then you can decide from there.”
“Send me the contract, Katie. I’m not going with another marketing firm when my friend works for one. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
“I appreciate your confidence. I’ll send it over first thing in the morning and start talking it over with my team.”
“What’s up with your friend and my bouncer?” Jonah asks.
I shrug. “All I know is they’re going to dinner tonight. We’re having lunch later this week to catch up.”
“She’s sweet,” Sadie says, looking at Jonah.
“As long as she doesn’t distract him while he’s at work. He’s one of my best bouncers and I don’t want him screwing up over a piece of ass.” I crumble my napkin and throw it at him.
“Don’t refer to my best friend as a piece of ass.”
Sadie must have kicked him under the table because he flinches and yells, “Ow!” We all laugh as he mumbles an apology.
We get up to clean up from dinner, and the guys are busting Jonah’s balls over Sadie kicking him. He’s never going to hear the end of that one. I hear Shane’s ringtone, and a minute later I see him walk into the kitchen. “Yeah, she’s right here with me,” he says to whomever he’s talking to. “Will do,” he says with a look of panic on his face. I start to worry when I hear him say, “Yes, sir.” He only calls my father sir.
I walk up to him and look into his eyes. I can see the fear as he wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close. I’m practically trembling as he finishes the call. He takes a deep breath as he puts his phone in his pocket. “That was your father.” His eyes close. He seems to be choosing his next words carefully.
“What’s wrong?” It’s obvious everyone in the room is now worrying over the phone call Shane just got.
“A guy he put in jail fifteen years ago was just let out on a technicality. He’s pissed, and word on the street is he has it out for your father and his family.”
My hand flies to my mouth as I gasp. “Daddy,” is all I say.
“Baby, your dad carries a forty-five. He’ll be fine. He’s worried about your mom, you, and your sister. We need to be very careful. Starting tomorrow, I’ll bring you to work. If you have appointments out of the office, you need to let us know,” Shane says.
I turn toward the balcony and stare out the window. “You don’t understand. We have dealt with threats in the past. It never gets any easier. This time is different, though. If this guy spent years in jail, he is going to be beyond pissed. He’s probably been plotting the entire time.” I take a deep breath, turning back toward Shane. “My dad has to figure out how to put him back in jail. He put him there once. He can do it again,” I say with determination.
“I don’t think it’s that easy, baby.” Shane wraps his arm around me and walks me toward our friends, who all have concerned looks.
“Can you work from home?” Sadie asks.
“I’m sure I can some of the time, but my boss isn’t going to allow me to work from home full time. Plus, I have to be able to meet with clients.”
“How many clients do you have?” Logan asks.
“Counting you? I currently have three. The one I signed this morning, Scott, and now you.” Logan nods.
“Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to talk to your boss. I want your undivided attention on my marketing plan, and I’ll make it worth her while to do it. Then you can work from home or the club where we can keep an eye on you.”
“You don’t have to do that, Logan,” I say, panicking.
“Oh, but I do. If you’re not safe, Shane won’t focus. Not to mention you’re a friend, and that’s what friends do. We have each other’s backs.”
I give Logan a small smile as he continues. “Shane, take her into work tomorrow so she can wrap up and hand off what she needs to. I will have everything arranged by the end of the day.”
“Thanks, man.” Shane and Logan shake hands.
This isn’t the first time my dad’s been in danger, but it’s the first time we have been because of his job, and I’m scared.