Chapter 31
Addison
M onica pushed her way inside my apartment, avoiding the large boxes wrapped in bows and the bags stuffed with tissue paper.
“Uh, did you have a baby shower without me?” she asked, scratching her head as she took in the mess that was my apartment.
“Of course not,” I replied as I plopped down on my couch.
It was the only thing that wasn’t covered in all the deliveries that had been showing up for the past few days. My apartment could hardly hold the minimal amount of furniture I owned, let alone all of these boxes and gifts.
I looked around and sighed. Monica stared at me with so many questions dancing around in her eyes.
“They’re from Daniel.” I shrugged.
She walked over to one of the huge white boxes that was tied with black ribbon. She ran her fingers over it and looked at the tag.
“Bergdorf Goodman?” Her eyes grew wide.
“Ridiculous, I know.”
“This baby is going to have nicer things than me.”
I let out a soft laugh. It was true. One quarter of this stuff was probably enough to pay my rent for the month.
Monica came and sat on the couch next to me.
“So, the handsome CEO sent you all this stuff for the baby you’re having together and you look like you’ve just tasted a lemon. What is up with you?” she asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the arm of the couch.
“He’s not the man of my dreams…”
“Uh-oh. What now? I can’t keep up with you two.”
“Well, you know I went to that charity event the other night. The charity auction one.”
“Yes. I went shopping with you for the dress. I bet you were a knockout.”
“Well, Daniel was there.”
“Of course, he was, and he probably couldn’t keep his hands or eyes off of you.”
“He was totally inappropriate when I was trying to do business. It was like he was jealous or something.”
“No duh.” Monica rolled her eyes.
“Well, we got into an argument over that and then it led to an even more heated argument about the baby and us.”
“And then it led to…”
“Mind-blowingly good makeup sex,” I said, covering my face with my hands.
“Of course, it did. You guys are like a walking, talking romance novel.”
“Yeah, except I don’t get the happy ending.”
“What are you talking about? The guy is clearly into you and you’re having a baby together. And that baby is going to be born into the poshest life. It’s like a modern day Cinderella story. Just with morning sickness and cravings for jalapenos.”
“I don’t care about all of that.” I shook my head. “Not when the man I was starting to see a future with turned out to be a big, fat liar.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, scooching closer.
“After we, you know…” I paused.
“Had sex…” finished Monica.
“Yes, well, we came back down to the silent auction and I overheard him saying some ugly things.”
“Like what?”
“About how he wasn’t into marriage or the white picket fence thing. About how he didn’t want to be tied down.”
“What the actual hell?” screeched Monica.
“I know.”
“Then what’s all this for?” she asked, waving her hand around the room.
“I’ve been ignoring him, but he doesn’t know why. He doesn’t know I heard what he said. I ran out of there as fast as I could.”
“Sheesh. I’m so sorry, Heart. What a mess.”
“I know…”
She stood up from the couch and slapped her thighs. “Well, what can I do to help? Should we start unboxing all of this?”
“I can’t keep it,” I said, shaking my head.
“Like hell you can’t. It’s not like you’re going to use store credit at Bloomingdales or Bergdorf Goodman on yourself. You’re going to need all of this for your baby. I say, keep it.”
She had a point.
“Okay,” I said hesitantly. “But I’m not ready to open anything. It feels too soon. Too real.”
Monica nodded. “Right, well, I’ll just push it all to the back wall.”
“I’ll help.”
“Nope. No heavy lifting. You sit and relax.”
I smiled as I sat back on the couch and watched as my best friend grunted and groaned as she pushed the heavy boxes across the floor. I was damn lucky to have her.
The next morning as I got off the subway to walk into work, I spotted Daniel’s face on the front page of the tabloid papers at the newsstand.
My heart leaped to my throat as I considered what would be written inside.
Had someone found out about us? Had someone found out about the baby?
I swiftly walked over and grabbed one of the magazines, flipping through the pages frantically.
“Excuse me, you’re going to have to pay for that,” said the attendant.
“Right. Sorry.”
I pulled out my wallet and slid him a few bucks before turning my attention back to the magazine.
I finally landed on the centerpiece spread that was collaged with photos of Daniel and a slew of Victoria’s Secret models after their runway show.
I swallowed hard as I studied each photo.
I couldn’t believe he was back to being his old self. How could I have been so stupid?
“Miss, this isn’t a library. Please take your magazine and move along,” said the attendant impatiently.
“I paid, didn’t I?” I snapped.
“Okay, okay. Just don’t crowd the counter,” he said, putting his hands up in defense.
I stepped aside and read the article, trying not to get distracted by Daniel’s dazzling smile and his carefree attitude about being photographed.
He was never like that with me. Everything was always so secretive.
Always sneaking out back doors or dressing down in sweats and a T-shirt.
God forbid, someone recognized him in Brooklyn or with a nobody like me.
It seemed like a stupid thing to be upset about, especially when I had no interest in being in the papers or being hunted by paparazzi. That sounded like a nightmare. I guessed I just couldn’t help feeling like he was embarrassed of me. That was what hurt the most.
I scanned the article and read that these photos were from last year but had just now surfaced.
I let out a mixture of a sigh of relief and laughter, knowing that this was not present day.
Clearly, the tabloids were having a slow news day and were trying to hook their readers with misinformation.
For a moment, I felt bad for him, but then I remembered everything that had happened.
I stuffed the magazine in my bag and walked around the corner to my work.
When the elevator doors opened to my floor, I was met with a slow applause that quickened as I walked into the room.
I looked around feeling very confused. I looked behind me to make sure they weren’t clapping for someone else.
Brian approached with a wide grin.
“There she is,” he said, clapping along with everyone.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’m surprised you didn’t know, since you’re the one who landed Daniel Jacobs in the first place. He just doubled his donation.”
I stood there speechless as I tried to process what he was saying to me.
“When did this happen?”
“All of fifteen minutes ago.”
“But Shelley…” I said, looking for her.
She was the one who I had take over for me. Didn’t she deserve the credit?
“It’s all because of you, girl,” she said sincerely, walking up and giving me a hug. “I just finished up the fine print. You’re the one who got the deal in the first place.”
“Thanks, Shell,” I said shakily as I gave her a squeeze.
She let me go and everyone started to dissipate to their offices and cubicles, leaving me feeling dumbstruck. The original donation amount had changed the entire trajectory of our company, and now it had doubled. We now had more money than we knew what to do with.
I smiled meekly at everyone as I walked to my office, trying to hide the shock on my face.
Once I was in the safety of my office, I closed the door and sat in my desk chair.
What a whirlwind of a Monday morning. And another way of Daniel trying to get my attention. The man was persistent, if anything.
He was either trying to impress me or he was trying to paint himself in a good light after this morning’s tabloids.
It wasn’t because he actually cared about the nonprofit or what we were doing, which suddenly made me angry.
What was it with this man and thinking he could just buy his way out of any trouble he was in? Life didn’t work that way.
I had half a mind of telling him off, but decided to text Monica instead. He wasn’t worth wasting my breath.
Me: Mr. Moneybags is at it again.
Monica: What now? A car for when the baby turns sixteen. I’m sure we could find room for it in your loft.
Me: Haha. I wouldn’t be surprised, but no. He freaking doubled his initial donation with Leading to Learn.
Monica: Shut up. That means it’s…
Me: Yep. A million bucks.
Monica: Holy shit.
Me: I know.
I heard a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I said, placing my phone on my desk and looking busy.
Brian peeped his head in. “Are you free for a meeting in an hour?”
“Uh, sure. What’s up?”
“Mr. Bradley from headquarters is driving in from Philly. He heard about the deal and wants to meet with you.”
I looked at Brian warily.
“It’s a good thing, Addison.” He drummed his fingers on the doorframe. “One hour.”
I nodded and he walked out the door, closing it behind him.
A wave of nausea rushed through me and I leaned over my desk trash can, thinking I was going to hurl. Mr. Bradley was the Executive Director of Leading to Learn. I’d met him a few times, but never had a meeting with him. I started feeling anxious.
An hour passed too quickly and I made my way to Brian’s office. I knocked softly and he invited me in. Brian sat at his desk and across from him was Mr. Bradley, in a navy suit with a leather briefcase by his side.
He stood and shook my hand firmly.
“Hello, Mr. Bradley,” I said, taking the seat next to him.
“Ms. Heartly. I hear you’ve been doing great things here. Things this nonprofit could only dream of.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
“You made a deal with the largest donor we’ve ever had or probably ever will have.”
“We’re very proud of her,” said Brian, smiling at us both.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
“I think your invaluable people skills and negotiation tactics should be recognized,” said Mr. Bradley.
Those were two things I didn’t have. I was put on this deal because someone else was busy. It wasn’t because I had a knack for small talk or was even a little persuasive. Daniel just saw something he thought he liked and threw money at it. Just like he did with everything. I felt like an impostor.
“We would like to give you a promotion to head up the donation team,” continued Mr. Bradley.
“Oh, but…” I started.
“It comes with a generous raise and it will be a good internal move within the company. Who knows? Maybe you’ll have my job one day,” said Mr. Bradley.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I thought about what he was saying.
As if sensing my hesitancy, he said, “You don’t need to decide now. Just think about it.”
“I will, sir.”
He stood and shook my hand firmly before I walked out of the room in a dreamlike state. All of this was happening because of Daniel. I wanted to thank him and punch him at the same time.