CHAPTER 50
Maddie
“Where is she? Can I talk to her?”
Elsie called and told me what happened. I’m sitting in my office looking over my final plans for the clothing line, and now I don’t care about any of it.
“She’s in a hospital in New Zealand. I can get you a flight if you want to be with her. I’ll be happy to cover the costs.”
Why would she do that? She doesn’t even know me. “Is this Riggs’s idea?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
It seems like it should be, but I can’t think of a reason why. Riggs knows she’s like a sister to me, so it makes sense he’d want to do this. “Is he going to be there?”
“No, he and Ash made sure Rhonda was taken care of. She’s in surgery now. I’m told she has a friend who will look after her, so my brothers are booking flights to come back.”
“A friend?”
“Yeah, they call him Top. But I imagine she would be glad to see you. My assistant can get you a flight out of Portland tonight if you want.”
So her new boyfriend is looking after her, that’s good. At least she won’t be alone when she gets out of surgery.
“Thank you. I definitely want to go.” I’m sure Stacy can manage the store while I’m gone. She’s already been running everything while I worked on the clothing line.
“Good, I think you should. Can you do me a favor before you leave?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Since we aren’t able to meet in person, can you leave what you have for the clothing line with Stacy?”
“Sure, no problem. Can I ask you something?”
“What’s on your mind?”
“Are you looking to open another store? Because I found a location not far from the shop.”
“That hadn’t crossed my mind. Why would I want another store?”
I’m taken aback, and a little embarrassed. “I… I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I thought you might be interested in opening a clothing store with my designs.”
I want to die when she laughs at that idea. “Honey, we think big. If we like your designs, and I have a feeling we will, you’ll see what I mean by that.”
“Okay,” I say sheepishly. She’s so intimidating.
“I’ll be in Portland for the next two weeks while you’re with Rhonda, but I’ll make a trip down there to see the store and meet with Stacy. I’m looking forward to meeting you in person when you get back. Until then, do me a favor and don’t mention the clothing line to anyone.”
Why would she want to keep it a secret? Who knows, but I’m sure she has her reasons. “Yeah, I can do that.”
“Good. I’m going to transfer you to my assistant so he can make your travel arrangements. Have a good trip, Maddie, and I hope Rhonda will be all right.”
“Thanks.”
It takes almost twenty-four hours before I’m at the nurses’ station asking where Rhonda’s room is. The woman behind the counter points to a door across the hall.
I knock twice. I didn’t tell her I was coming, hoping it would be a big surprise. As soon as the plane landed and I had cell service, I saw that I’d missed several text messages from her. She sounded pretty desperate to talk, which makes my impending surprise even more exciting.
I open the door and step into her room. From her hospital bed, she screams holding out her arms. “Oh my God! I can’t believe you came!”
Her leg is in a cast past her knee. It’s awkward with all the hospital equipment and monitors surrounding her, but I manage to give her a big hug anyway. “I came as soon as I could. How are you?”
Eventually, she lets me go, and I take a seat in the chair next to her bed.
“They had to use a bunch of screws and plates to put my leg back together. I was in surgery for six hours. They said I probably can’t travel for several weeks, so I’m stuck in New Zealand for a while. I’m so glad you came!”
“Me too. I’ll be here for two weeks. I was hoping you’d be able to travel back with me.”
“Probably not that soon. Besides, I’m planning on going to Los Angeles with Top, remember?”
“I can’t believe you two are together now. Where is he?”
“He had to go to the warehouse today. He’ll be back sometime tonight.”
“What happened with Ash? I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I came all this way just to find out.”
She laughs. “So that’s why you came?”
“Yeah, why else? Did you think I came because I care about you? Please.”
“You love me, and you know it.”
I lean back in my chair and check my nails like I don’t. “Only if you tell me what happened.”
“You’re never going to leave me alone about this, are you?”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “What do you think?”
“Oh, all right, then.” Her chin drops as she stares at her hands resting in her lap. “We were so busy, and everything was so rushed, and I got caught up with being on the film crew, and…”
“And what?”
She looks up. “And I kind of forgot to take my pill.”
My heart skips a beat. “Are you—”
“No, thank God. But there was a minute there when I thought I was. I was a little late is all. But before I knew, I told him what happened and that I might be.”
“What did he say? Was he upset?”
“No, he was excited.”
“I don’t understand. That was a good thing, right?”
She hesitates. “Don’t judge me, okay?”
I reach over and take hold of her hand. “Of course not. What happened?”
“I told him the truth—that I don’t want kids. I don’t think I ever will. I’m just not like that.”
Ah, I can see how that could be a problem. And how did I not know this about her? Maybe because there was never a reason to talk about it. “And he wants kids?”
“Yeah. I think there’s something wrong with me.”
I squeeze her hand. “Absolutely not. There’s nothing wrong with not wanting kids. It’s who you are. If anyone makes you feel like that’s not okay, I promise, they’re the ones with the problem. You have to be you, or you’ll never be happy.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” I stand and lean over to give her another hug. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”
* * *
It’s been eight days, and Rhonda is getting rambunctious. We moved her from the hospital to an apartment that Elsie rented for her and Top. That was four days ago. I thought National Discovery should be covering the costs, but Elsie said she’ll deal with them later.
Being confined to the sofa would drive me crazy too.
Top spends as much time as he can with her, but he still has a job, and the network is demanding.
They sent a crew from California to pack everything up and ship it back to Los Angeles.
Top has been tasked with coordinating that project, so he has to leave Rhonda whenever there’s a problem, and there seems to be no shortage of problems. It’s a good thing I came, or I think she would have lost her mind by now.
Sitting with her in the living room I’m finally getting around to telling her about MacLucifer and what happened with Jake at the poker table.
With everything that happened to her, I almost forgot about it.
I can tell she loves hearing the story, but I’m interrupted when my phone rings.
It’s Elsie. “I need to take this. I’ll be right back. ”
I quickly step through the back door to the patio. “Hello.”
“Maddie, it’s Elsie. How are things going there?”
“Good.”
“Rhonda is doing okay?”
“She is. They expect her to have full mobility once her leg heals.”
“That’s good news. Look, I’m a little rushed, so I’ll get right to it.
My staff took a look at your ideas for the clothing line.
How would you feel about being the official line for the Riggs and Ash clothing brand?
We’ve wanted to do something like this for some time, but we hadn’t found the right designer.
Turns out we were looking in the wrong places, thinking fashion when we should have been thinking rugged durability.
You really seem to know what our type of customer wants. ”
There’s a full set of white wicker outdoor patio furniture here and I take a seat in one of the chairs wondering if I heard her right. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”
“I’m offering you a spot on my team. My company would provide the capital to get things off the ground for global distribution. We’re thinking twenty million to start. In return, I want thirty-five percent. How does that sound?”
I throw myself back into the chair. I thought she’d want to open a small shop in Sweetbriar to sell to our local farmers and construction workers.
But she’s talking about… I can’t even imagine what she’s talking about.
Selling worldwide? This is the big leagues!
And she would let me keep sixty-five percent? Holy crap!
“I’m going to be rich,” I whisper. The words just come out. I can’t believe this is happening.
Elsie laughs. “I take it that’s a yes?”
I pull myself together. “Yes! Hell yes! Thank you!”
“Don’t thank me yet. There’s a lot of work to do. But don’t worry, I’ll put together a team to help you out. In the meantime, welcome to my big-girls’ club.”
“I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe this is happening.” A thought occurs to me, and I have to ask. “Does Riggs know about this?” I can’t help wondering if he convinced his sister to do this deal only to help me out. It’s certainly something he’s capable of.
“No, but that’s irrelevant. My brothers will have nothing to do with this. To be clear, they’re equal partners with me, but they don’t get involved with the business. This would be no different.”
Riggs doesn’t know about it? That’s interesting. It means this was all me. It means they actually liked my designs! I want to scream.
I also want to ask if I’d ever see Riggs, but that could be awkward. Besides, if I happened to run into him, I’m sure we would be fine. At least I could pretend to be fine. “Okay. I was just curious.”
“I understand. I do have a favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
“Instead of flying back to Sweetbriar on Monday, I’d like you to come to Los Angeles to attend a meeting with me. Can you do that?”
How could I say no even if I wanted to? Which I don’t. “Sure. What should I wear?”
“Rule number one when you’re in the big-girls’ club—wear what you want, say what you want, and don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks about it. Got it?”
She’s such a badass, and she’s definitely my hero now. “Got it.”