Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
PIPER
Sunday mornings are supposed to be lazy. Filled with the scent of something warm like freshly made bread and strong Arabica coffee, along with the comfort of a cozy bed.
I had the coffee and the bed part; everything else has been go, go, go.
But in the best of ways.
At nine o’clock, I woke to the doorbell ringing. It was Levi’s assistant with the contract. I signed it and handed it back to the tall, gray-haired man, who sealed it in a folder and proceeded to hand me another folder with all the information I would need for the next six weeks.
At nine thirty precisely, I received a notification from the bank on my phone that a hundred thousand dollars had just been deposited into my account.
My stomach actually flipped when I saw the number.
At first, I looked at it in pure disbelief. The kind you feel when you’re waiting for someone to tell you there’s been a mistake.
I was so astounded I logged into my bank account on my laptop just to see the full details. And, my God, nothing could quite compare to looking at all those zeros on the screen.
I’ve never had that much money in my life. To think that there was more to come was unreal.
At ten, Alexis came over with celebratory chocolate, even though I only told her I had good, life-changing news. I didn’t lay down the full story until after she’d signed Levi’s NDA.
She screamed with excitement and is still on cloud nine.
Alexis is sitting around the table scanning the project files I have on my laptop with a wide smile on her face.
Sunlight spills across the desk, catching on the empty candy wrappers and half-finished mugs of coffee we abandoned during our planning frenzy.
We’ve been eating junk food all morning while we went through my business plans. I’ve had those saved up since grad school.
I knew exactly what I wanted for my own business. It was just a matter of getting it done.
Looking over it now, there’s nothing I would change.
For so long, this dream lived in folders and notes apps and secret moments where I let imagination run wild. Knowing I have the funds to actually live the dream is something I can’t describe to anyone.
My marketing and advertising firm is still going to be called Bloom she’s about to go all hypothetical on me.
“It’s been three years since Reece. What’s it gonna take for you to really move on?”
The lightness in me dims. The question is one I’ve worried about for a long time, and I don’t have an answer. “I hope I’ll know when it’s time. Maybe there’ll be some magical thing that will fix me.” Or maybe I’ll meet someone who makes trusting feel easy instead of terrifying.
“I don’t know if it works like that. I think you have to try to push those feelings away and take those first steps.”
“Maybe I’ll just do it for the right person.”
“That’s the hope, but I don’t want you to be closed off to the possibility because you’re afraid.”
I laugh slightly off key. “It’s not that I’m scared.”
She taps my hand and nods. “Yes. You are.”
We stare at each other for a moment. Again, I don’t argue because she’s clearly picked up on more than I thought.
I am afraid. That’s exactly what not ready means. But I can’t entirely blame myself.
It took me all that time to get back on track after Reece went to prison.
I had to heal my mind from the trauma he put me through, then I had to heal my life from the financial hole he left me in.
I moved back in with Aunt Bess, which was how I managed to save up the money to clear off debts Reece left me with and save to make the move here.
I knew right from the moment I had to testify against him on the witness stand, that I couldn’t stay in San Francisco.
I couldn’t leave straightaway, but I settled with the plan to leave as soon as possible. It took me nearly two years to do so, but I left.
“Just try to loosen up. Even a little.” Alexis nods. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Not all men are going to be like Reece.”
“No. I guess not.” I offer a small smile.
Levi certainly doesn’t feel anything like Reece. Not even a little, even though the two men like the idea of control. Reece was just evil.
“He was just a curveball life threw you. But now you can throw it right back.”
“I will,” I promise, even though I still have my reservations. “Until I find the right guy, I want to savor this.” I wave a hand toward the business plan on the computer screen.
The smile returns to her face. “And so you should. What happens now?”
“I see Levi on Tuesday for the first event. It’s a fundraiser at the Lockwood Foundation building.”
“Ooooh. That sounds fancy.”
“It’s going to be. There’ll be a dinner first, and I’m sure Arthur will take the chance to grill us. I’m nervous about that. We’ll be around all his people who’ll be judging me.”
“You’ll be fine. Everyone who meets you loves you.”
“Unless they’re Helen.”
“She’s a stuck-up bitch with a stick too far up her ass. Don’t worry about her. She wishes she were you.”
I laugh. “I’m glad I don’t have to work with her anymore.”
“Me too.” She switches the webpage to Google. “How about I order pizza and we can look at some office buildings?”
My spirits lift again. “A hundred yesses.”
Alexis taps away, pulling up a commercial lease agency, and I get sucked in straightaway.
Today is the first day in years that I’ve felt like I could relax and take my time to do what I want.
I guess that’s what having an extra hundred thousand in the bank does to you.
It’s a good feeling.
Now I just have to earn the pay.
My new job begins on Tuesday night.