December 17th
No teasing.
Ainsley
I wake up with a smile on my face. Today is my first day of work, and I’m so excited that I can hardly stand it. I shower, get ready, and put on a suit. An actual suit. For my real job.
You hear people say that pregnant women have a glow about them. And today, I finally see it in myself. My hair is thicker than ever, my skin is perfection, my nails are strong, but it’s my smile. Happiness is written all over my face.
I’m having a baby with the man I love, and I’m starting my dream job today.
I grab the big tote bag I used for lugging around samples when I interned in Fort Worth and head from my cottage to the main house, knowing there will be something delicious to eat.
I find Sammy sitting at the kitchen island in his robe, chatting up the chef.
“Good morning,” I tell them both. “Sammy, I’m surprised you’re already up.”
“I decided I’d go into work today. They didn’t give me an exact schedule, just said show up anytime, and since you’re starting today, I figured I should too. Plus, I couldn’t sleep through the wonderful scent of fresh bread baking.”
“What’s your name?” I ask the chef, realizing no one ever told me.
“Chef Paul,” he answers. “On Monday and Thursday mornings, I typically do all the baked goods for the week. What can I get you? The cinnamon rolls and chocolate croissants are still warm. And I have coffee cake and lemon poppy seed muffins coming out of the oven in twelve minutes.”
“I’d love a croissant,” I reply.
“Can I make you a cappuccino, Miss Archibald?” Sammy asks me. “Chef taught me how to use the machine. I’m already an expert.”
“I’d love that actually. I’m feeling pampered this morning.”
Sammy makes me the coffee and sets it in front of me with a flourish, then stands there, waiting.
And I know what he wants, so I take a drink, then say, “Oh my gosh, Sammy, best cappuccino of my life.”
Sammy claps. “I know, right? Now I have a fallback career as a barista.”
I take a few drinks, then go look in the refrigerator, feeling the need to balance the richness of the croissant with some fruit. I find strawberries and blueberries, which sound perfect.
Mom comes out of her room, looking a little worried. “Oh my gosh,” she says. “I overslept. Thank goodness you’re still here!”
“I am. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to see you off on your first day and give you your graduation gift. With everything that’s gone on since, I haven’t had a chance to give it to you. Hang on. I’ll be right back.”
She rushes off, then comes back with a big wrapped package. I open the card first, which offers congratulations on my degree and a sweet note from Mom, wishing me a wonderful career and a happy life.
“Thanks, Mom,” I tell her.
“Open the present, for goodness’ sake,” Sammy says.
“Oh wait. I have something for Sammy too!”
But just as she turns the corner to go down the hall to her bedroom, she runs into a man.
Sammy slaps my thigh and looks at me with wide eyes, then whispers, “Go, Nicole.”
“Shush,” I tell him.
Mom goes, “Oh, I didn’t, um, yeah. So, I forgot Sammy’s present. Um, let me go grab it.”
The man, who is clad in a terry robe that matches the one Mom’s wearing, holds up a small wrapped gift. “This one?”
“Oh, thank you.”
And I can tell she’s flustered. It’s cute.
“Morning, Hayes,” I say loudly and wave.
“Morning,” he says, coming out to join us.
“Hayes, this is my friend, Sammy. I’m sure Mom told you he’s living in the suite.”
Hayes holds his hand out, and the guys shake.
“Nice to meet you, Sammy,” he says, then turns to the chef. “Something sure smells good out here.”
“Your favorite is currently in the oven,” Chef Paul says. “Just a few more minutes. May I get you an Americano?”
“Nah,” he says in a way that reminds me of my uncle Van. “I can rustle it up myself.”
I notice Sammy catch my mom’s eye, and he mouths, Ooh la la.
Mom rolls her eyes at him.
Hayes gets his coffee, then sits at the bar next to me. “Congrats are in order, I hear,” he says. “You’ve graduated, you’re starting a new job, and you’re having a baby soon.”
“Yeah, I am. Thank you.”
“And I thought it might be good for us to have a quick chat because, apparently, I am coming fully out of retirement. Not something I planned on, but I do love a challenge, and your uncles are hard to turn down.”
“What are you going to be doing?”
“Working with you.”
“Really? In what capacity?”
“Well, before I retired, I was the CEO of the commercial real estate firm your uncle owns. And with everything that’s going on with this football stadium deal, there’s going to be a lot to navigate.”
“Like what?”
“Did you hear that they aren’t going to be renovating the stadium?”
“No! Oh my gosh. Does that mean the team decided to move? Will the project get scrapped?”
“Yes, ma’am, it does. But what you may not know is that your uncles knew it was a possibility and planned for every alternative.
I’ve been buying up property for them around all the areas the team owner was looking at.
Helps that we’re friends with him, but as in business, he had to keep the discussions close to the vest.” He stops and smiles at me.
“Side note: you and I met not long after I met your mother. I was one of the guests on the yacht in the Ozarks when Tripp talked about his plans.”
I give him a grin. “That’s so weird. When we met, I thought you looked familiar, but I didn’t say anything. I’m sorry I was rude to you at lunch that day.”
“Water under the bridge,” he says. “In fact, sometime soon, I’d really like you to meet my family. I’m quite smitten with your mother.”
“That would be nice,” I tell him.
“Perfect,” he says. “Now, back to business. Instead of a hotel in the area by the current stadium, we’re going to build a luxury condo building with a nice shopping area around it.
We want the kind of place where you would be able to walk to all your amenities.
Tripp is still thinking he might want to keep the penthouse for himself. ”
“He texted me the other day and told me he was going to get a drone to take videos so he could see his potential views.”
“Sounds like Tripp,” he says with a smile.
“We also bought land near where the new practice facility will be, and now, for the first time ever, Tripp wants to go into the restaurant business. He’s already teamed up with a few current and retired players and wants it to be really high end.
That restaurant will have a twin at the hotel next to the new stadium, which will now be on the Kansas side, over by the Speedway. ”
“But that area is already built out. Lots of shopping, restaurants, entertainment. And quite a few hotels.”
“Quite a few hotels, but none that are five star. Lots of fast food and themed restaurants, but no fine dining on site, thankfully. The renderings of the stadium look incredible, and it will feature a dome, which will be great for those cold weather games. Tripp is trying to see if we can build either an overhead walkway or an underground passageway for our hotel guests to be whisked into the stadium without going out into the elements, as well as offer a level of security some of our more famous guests may be looking for. All of it needs to be layered in with a VIP experience. As a matter of fact, I’m told that when you go to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl, you’ll be helicoptered in, driven a short way, then will get to take the tunnel into the bowels of the stadium.
So, you’ll get to do some research while you’re there! ”
“I heard you and Nicole are going to Paris,” Sammy interjects.
“We are. Thought it would be a fabulous place to ring in the new year,” he says, giving Mom a smile before turning back toward me. “So, basically, instead of one project, we now have, like, ten. We’re going to be busy.”
“I’m very excited to go to work today.”
“Me too,” he says. “I was hoping to walk, but it’s pretty chilly this morning. Would you like to ride with me? Nicole invited me to join you all for dinner tonight.”
“Yeah, that would be great.”
He finishes up his coffee, washes his cup in the sink, and sets it on a towel to dry. “I’ll go get dressed. Probably leave in about ten minutes, if that works for you.”
“It does. Thanks.”
The second he is out of earshot, Sammy goes, “Ooh, Nicole,” causing Mom to blush.
“Why don’t you two open your graduation presents before I banish you from the kitchen?”
Sammy looks slightly offended, but then looks around and must think twice.
“With us all living together, we need to set some boundaries,” I suggest. “Damon will stay with me when he’s in town. Do you think when he does, it’s better that we plan to have breakfast in our cottage to give you privacy, Mom?”
“Of course not.” She turns to Sammy. “But I won’t be made to feel like a child. Or like I’m doing something wrong by having a man over.”
“I’d say you’re doing something right.” Sammy laughs, but he stops quickly when Mom gives him the side eye. “I’m sorry. No teasing.”
“Thank you. Now, open your presents already.”
I open mine to find a black leather tote. “Mom, this is so pretty.”
She glances at the one I brought in with me. “Thought you could use something a little less collegiate.”
“You’re right. Thank you so much.”
She gives me a hug and says, “I’m so proud of you. I kind of feel like I did when I sent you off to kindergarten. And then again to college. You’ve grown up in what feels like the blink of an eye.”
Sammy opens his gift, finding a beautiful writing pen. “Oh, Nicole, this is lovely. Thank you.”
“What are you doing today, Mom?” I ask her.
“I usually have a slow morning. Coffee. Walk on the treadmill. Breakfast. Then I work from home. Although, today, I have a lunch meeting with Alexa and a benefactor she’s courting.”
“That sounds nice.”
I finish up my breakfast, run back to the cottage to brush my teeth again, then grab a coat. I don’t really need one for the car ride, but if we go to any locations today, I will.